News & Commentary

Today the Hawaii Senate cast the final vote needed to advance the marriage bill to the desk of the governor, who will sign in the next day or two, sealing Hawaii's position as the 16th state with the freedom to marry. This brings to a close an intense two-and-a-half week special session, which included the longest hearing in Hawaii's legislative history (over 55 hours of testimony were heard by the House Judiciary and Finance Committees). And this is the culmination of a more than 20-year journey, which began in 1990 when three couples filed a lawsuit seeking marriage equality. While the lead plaintiff in that lawsuit, Ninia Baehr, now lives in Montana (where she is the deputy director of the ACLU of Montana, continuing her work for LGBT rights), today's historic vote will have a deep impact on couples across the state of Hawaii, a few of whom have shared their stories here.

In 2003, California passed a landmark piece of legislation called the Shine the Light law, which gave Californians the right to learn how companies share their personal information for “direct marketing purposes.” Now that ten years have passed since that law was enacted, my colleagues at the ACLU of California have written a report evaluating how the law has turned out—and looking at the role of transparency in general when it comes to private companies and their handling of privacy.

Rap superstar Macklemore is urging his fans to get the card "that lets my gay friends marry the hell out of each other." That's the ACLU's legendary membership card. "If you like being free like me, get the ACLU card today," the award-winning rapper advises in a video he launched today.

The ACLU has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Justice to find out whether federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors think they need a warrant to obtain people’s search queries from online search engine operators, or whether they think they can obtain it on a lower standard like a subpoena.

The cover of a recent issue of The Nation calling for marijuana legalization features President Obama with his high school buddies, known as the Choom Gang, who, allegedly, were very into smoking weed. And as The Nation points out, Obama has company—Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him both admitted to using drugs.

The cover of a recent issue of The Nation calling for marijuana legalization features President Obama with his high school buddies, known as the Choom Gang, who, allegedly, were very into smoking weed. And as The Nation points out, Obama has company—Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him both admitted to using drugs.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, it's time to give thanks to our favorite wingwoman: Birth control.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, it's time to give thanks to our favorite wingwoman: Birth control.

The "Nursing Mothers Provision" of what newly passed federal bill requires ACLU plaintiff Bobbi Bockoras' employer to provide her with a clean and private location in which to pump breast milk?