By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:33am
In the late hours on Thursday evening, the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 84-15, passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sending the measure to President Obama for his signature. Included within the sprawling annual defense authorization is a repeal of the military’s stigmatizing and discriminatory ban on private, consensual intimate conduct – defined in Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as "unnatural carnal copulation."
By Nicole Ozer, Technology & Civil Liberties Policy Director, ACLU of Northern California at 2:29pm
This op-ed originally ran in the San Jose Mercury News before the tech giants released their letter to Pres. Obama and Congress urging widespread surveillance reform.
In August, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington,…
By Alex Berger, Legislative Assistant, ACLU at 3:00pm
Lucille MacBeth, mother of slain Florida teen Jordan Russell Davis, did all she could to keep from crying during her testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution earlier this week. After nearly five minutes of testimony,…
By Andy Hoover, Legislative Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania at 12:30pm
Here in Pennsylvania, we have a full-time legislature, so as the lobbyist for the Pennsylvania affiliate of the ACLU, I have plenty of opportunities for face time with state legislators and staff. Since June, I've been hearing a similar refrain repeatedly:…
By Alex Berger, Legislative Assistant, ACLU at 3:10pm
"Too many Americans go to too many prisons for too long for no good law enforcement reason."
That's what Attorney General Eric Holder said in an historic speech before the American Bar Association earlier this year. He was talking about people…
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Michael German, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:21am
Newly sworn in FBI Director James Comey has ordered all new FBI agent trainees to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, so they can reflect on the FBI's infamous history of hounding the civil rights leader and recognize "the…
By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:11am
Over the last several months, members of Congress have introduced at least two dozen spying reform and transparency bills. Today, a new proposal called the USA FREEDOM Act from Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) was introduced…
By Mike German, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:05am
This story originally appeared at Defense One.
Since whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed the incredible scope of the government’s domestic spying programs, two different narratives are moving forward in Congress.
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:57pm
It’s been half a year since the Associated Press revealed a subpoena sweeping up phone metadata records for more than 20 of its lines, in offices where more than 100 reporters work, covering tens of thousands of newsgathering calls.
By Heejin Hwang, Washington Legislative Office at 12:49pm
Few things evoke stronger emotion and action than divided families.
One hundred fifty years ago for the United States, it was the Civil War. Sixty years ago for my family, it was the Korean War, when my grandmother could never again see family…
