Blog

Recent news of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged by four SFPD officers is troubling, but what's worse is that we don't have a clear picture of how these prejudices actually play out on our streets. Read More

We are very pleased to announce that California Lawyer magazine has honored our own Julia Harumi Mass with a 2015 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award! Read More

I was born and raised in LA, but sheriffs detained me because they didn’t believe I was an American. I've sued the LA Sheriff’s Department for detaining and harassing me for more than 14 hours after they should have released me. Read More

Today the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to repeal a resolution that promoted one particular religious belief over all others. The vote is a victory for the religious freedom of all Calaveras County residents. Read More

The ACLU filed lawsuits against two CA law enforcement agencies. The people deserve to know if these agencies are using StingRays without appropriate judicial authorization. Read More

The U.N. Human Rights Council could take a big step this month toward protecting privacy rights around the world. At its current session, the HRC plans to vote on whether to appoint an independent expert on the right to privacy, called a Special Rapporteur. Read More

With a smile, Sonny Villar said, “Magkikita tayo sa daan,” as he wrapped up his testimony at an Asian Pacific Islander (API) media briefing on AB 60 driver’s licenses last Monday at the Asian Resource Center. California’s AB 60, also known as the Safe and Responsible Driver Act, went into effect January 2015 and allows all eligible California residents to apply for a driver’s license, regardless o... Read More

If you’re black in Ferguson, you have a greater chance of being stopped, searched, arrested, cited, and abused by police. Read More

Federal agencies served with a Freedom of Information Act request are refusing to release documents related to their purchase, use and disclosure of zero-day exploits, keeping the American public in the dark about a practice that leaves the Internet and its users less secure.Zero-day exploits are special software programs that take advantage of security vulnerabilities in software that are un... Read More

“You did it, honey.”That is what Edie Windsor imagined her late spouse, Thea Spyer, would have said after their love story brought down the core of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor. Edie and Thea did do it. They brought down DOMA and – along with hundreds of thousands of other same-sex couples and their families– they transformed our nation’s understanding of sa... Read More

Edward Snowden is right.Snowden recently pointed out how the victories of the LGBT movement in this country might never have happened if the government had the ability to conduct “perfect surveillance.” For decades, LGBT people had to fight official government persecution, including aggressive surveillance and targeting by law enforcement.Some of the earliest organized advocacy efforts o... Read More

In an important moment of bipartisanship, Congress unanimously passed a bill this month that honors the thousands of people who marched for voting rights 50 years ago in Selma, Alabama, with the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor. Read More