By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:32am
Racial profiling not only goes against our Constitution and our country’s value for equality — it also hinders law enforcement officials from doing an effective job.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:52pm
Once the shock subsided, we set out to determine what new powers the government would seek in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The smoke billowing from the Pentagon was visible over Washington as I met with several ACLU colleagues from around the country in a Dupont Circle hotel. We watched the tragedy unfold on television, looking out on streams of frightened pedestrians uncertain the attacks were over.
"Ten years later, as we remember and mourn those who died on Sepetember 11th, our nation still faces the challenge of remaining both safe and free."
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:53pm
Far too often, government policies tend to be at odds with reality when it comes to women's reproductive health by ignoring the services that women need most. Which is why guidelines recently issued by the Department of Human Services requiring insurance coverage for contraception and other preventive services were so welcome. After all, virtually every woman of childbearing age practices some sort of contraception at some point.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:43pm
It isn’t a surprise to anyone that our political system is in crisis, and that in times of crisis, real or imagined, civil liberties are most vulnerable.
Notwithstanding the compromise measure that led to final passage of the debt-ceiling deal Tuesday, the drawn-out debate over the bill demonstrated the weaknesses in our political institutions. Hardened ideological perspectives from the left and right have made compromise a dirty word, and brought the legislative process to a near-standstill. In a town that measures winners and losers with daily news cycles, there are no winners, not even those who appeared to prevail in the negotiation, despite the partisan backslapping and bickering.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:08pm
Even if the debt ceiling is raised, hard decisions will be made about which federal programs will continue and which ones won’t. The civil liberties consequences of those choices are not entirely predictable, but some are.
We can already see that higher unemployment rates and the foreclosure crisis are creating a widening racial wealth gap. Stocks and bonds are not yielding the same return for pensions and 401Ks that working people earned and depend on for their survival in retirement. The middle class is shrinking and poverty is deepening. That has implications for groups like the ACLU – for their policy work, for their litigation strategies, for their membership initiatives, and for their fundraising goals.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:57pm
I grew up in a family that was always extremely engaged in politics. My mother ran for political office three times and from an early age instilled in me the importance of exercising our most cherished fundamental right: the right to vote. At age 70, my mother stopped driving and did not have government-issued photo identification until she died at age 84, although she still was able to vote in every election. Over the last few months, however, state legislatures have passed voter identification laws that would prevent senior citizens like my mother from expressing her political voice at the polls.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:52pm
Today, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively applying the new Fair Sentencing Act guidelines to individuals sentenced before the law was enacted.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:17pm
This month, a civil rights milestone — the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the ACLU case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down state bans on interracial marriage — will be heralded in a new documentary that will have an exclusive congressional screening. The Loving Story superbly chronicles the story of Mildred and Richard Lovings’ courageous fight and the Supreme Court decision that bears their name.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:29am
Rep. Peter King is holding a hearing about the “radicalization” of U.S. Muslims and whether they are sufficiently cooperative with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. This may be the first of a series on this subject. But holding a hearing based on a flawed radicalization theory that conflates religious practices with preparation for terrorism and focuses exclusively on Muslim-Americans is misguided, discriminatory and counterproductive.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:40pm
The events of last weekend are tragic in so many ways, on so many different levels. The ACLU grieves deeply with the rest of the nation for all who were killed or injured in this senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others, and we wish a full recovery for all the wounded who are still struggling. There is no place for such violence in our democracy.
