This Week in Civil Liberties (7/29/2011)

In what state are inflato-Americans not allowed to use school bathrooms?
In what state is jaywalking considered more harmful that driving under the influence?
In what state do they expect you to show your junk — or lack thereof — to keep your driver’s license?
What state is home to a think tank where they believe reproductive freedom oppresses women?
Which state governor is hiding his activities behind his Outlook password?

From Pranks to Prison
Tyell was arrested and charged for putting a blow up doll in a bathroom stall on the last day of school as a prank. Today, he faces up to eight years in prison because of a high school prank gone wrong.

Mother Jaywalking Faces More Prison Time Than Man Who Ran Over Her Son
A driver who struck a four-year-old admitted that he had been drinking and took painkillers before getting behind the wheel. After being charged with three crimes, he was convicted of hit-and-run and served six months in prison. After reading an article on the dangers of jaywalking, Georgia’s Solicitor General decided to charge the four-year-old’s mother with three crimes, including homicide by vehicle. She faces up to three years in prison.

Excuse Me, Ma’am, This Isn’t Your ID
Last fall, K.L., an Alaskan who transitioned to living as a woman two years ago, got her local Department of Motor Vehicles office to change the gender marker on her driver’s license from M to F. She was thrilled to have her identity documents reflect her true gender. Then she got the letter from the state – prove you’ve had sex reassignment surgery or we’ll take the new license back.

Opposing Birth Control In the Name of Feminism? Really?
A piece coming out of an independent research center in Princeton, New Jersey said that the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that birth control be among the services covered by insurance was “the greatest attack on women’s freedom;” that separating sex from babies “does not in fact favor women’s preferences about sex, dating, or marriage;” and that contraception ‘leads to a market in which sex becomes the price women pay for even casual relationships with men; women are drawn into this market against their preferences, feeling they have no choice.’

ACLU Helps Gawker Shed Light on Christie Meeting with Fox News Chief
There’s nothing wrong with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie communicating with Fox News President Roger Ailes. That is, unless Christie wants to hide what he says under the cloak of executive privilege.

Learn more about civil rights: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.