Articles Tagged ‘Legal Advocacy and Litigation’
Gay Veterans Will Have Their Day in Court
We may be a few months out from the new year, but it’s safe to say that the demise of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will be marked as a highlight of 2011. The end of that discriminatory statute and its demeaning implications to the men and women who serve our country is something to be celebrated. But even though DADT is gone, the legacy of unfair treatment of gay and lesbian veterans continues.
One of those legacies is the Defense Department’s separation pay policy for discharged service members. If you serve six years in the military and are then discharged involuntarily, Congress says you’re entitled to separation pay to help ease your transition to civilian life. But the DOD has an internal policy — not required by any statute — of cutting that separation pay in half if you’re discharged, even honorably, for “homosexuality.”
Let’s be clear: Many of those who were discharged under DADT were distinguished soldiers, airmen or cadets and had an unblemished record. They were service members in good standing, and there was nothing dishonorable about their discharge. Yet they are denied the same separation pay as other honorably discharged service members merely because they’re gay or lesbian.
That’s what happened to our lead client in our class action lawsuit challenging this needless policy. Richard Collins was a decorated Air Force Staff Sergeant who served nine years before being kicked out under DADT. He was seen kissing his civilian boyfriend, in a car at a stoplight, when he was off duty, out of uniform, and 10 miles off base. After being discharged under DADT, Staff Sgt. Collins discovered that his separation pay was cut in half.
We filed this lawsuit on behalf of Collins and 142 other service members about a year ago. We expected at the time that, once Congress passed the statute authorizing repeal of DADT, the government would quickly settle the case and give these honorably discharged service members the separation pay they are entitled to. Instead, the government has inexplicably dragged its feet every step of the way.
In May, the government asked the court to dismiss the case, without even defending the constitutionality of the policy. Instead the government argued that the courts could not provide any relief to service members whose separation pay was cut in half while DADT was still in effect. It didn’t make sense to us, and apparently, it didn’t make any sense to the court. Today, Judge Christine O.C. Miller of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied the government’s request and will allow these veterans to be heard.
The court’s decision means that these 142 service members will finally have their day in court. The government will have to explain to them and to the rest of the public how cutting their pay in half served important governmental interests. The government will have to make that explanation, even though the Pentagon has already issued a detailed report making clear that discrimination against gay and lesbian service members is entirely unnecessary and doesn’t serve the interests of the military. Good luck with that.
The government’s conduct is all the more baffling because in other contexts, the Justice Department has worked hard to defend LGBT people from this sort of pointless discrimination. Most dramatically, the Justice Department issued a thorough legal opinion explaining why discrimination based on sexual orientation must be treated as constitutionally suspect and has refused to defend the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in federal court. But apparently, the relevant decisionmakers at the Pentagon haven’t gotten the memo, and continue to defend this outdated and irrational policy.
This case is about more than money. It’s about basic fairness. When you make a mistake, the right thing to do is to apologize and try to fix the problem. The government can’t undo all the harm that DADT inflicted on Mr. Collins and other honorably discharged veterans. But it can at least take the small step of giving these veterans the separation pay that was gratuitously taken away from them. In Richard Collins’ own words: “We gave all in serving this nation. The Pentagon should not give us half in return.”
- Joshua Block, ACLU LGBT Project
Posted in Featured Articles, Freedom Forum | 
Tags: Legal Advocacy and Litigation, LGBT Rights | 
No Comments »ACLU Protests Plans for BCSO Deputies Graduation in Church
Albuquerque, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico sent a letter today to Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston protesting plans to hold the only graduation ceremony for new County deputies at Legacy Church in Albuquerque. The ceremony will take place at 1:30 PM this Friday, August 26 at the church located on Central Avenue NW. According to biographical information posted on the County’s website, Houston worked as Legacy Church’s director of security “for several years” before becoming County Sheriff. Like Houston, BCSO Captain Scott Baird also is a member of the Legacy Church.
“Government officials should not use their official positions to promote their personal religious beliefs,” said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Sheriff Houston evidently has a close relationship with Legacy Church. If he wants to encourage people to follow his faith, he should do it outside of the work context and should not use the authority of his position to require new deputies to attend the only official graduation ceremony in his place of worship.”
The ACLU’s letter cites multiple legal cases in which courts held that no government entity “can force [or] influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will.” The letter ends with the request that Sheriff Houston identify a new, non-religious location for the August 26th graduation ceremony.
Simonson said, “It is hard to believe that there were no non-religious sites available to hold this event. Why put the County in the position of discriminating among different faiths? Inevitably the Sheriff is going to alienate some deputies and their families who do not subscribe to his particular religious beliefs and cause them to fear retaliation if they voice their concerns to their new bosses.”
CONTACT: Peter Simonson, Executive Director, (505) 266-5915 Ext. 1002, psimonson@aclu-nm.org
Posted in Featured Articles, News | Tags: 1st Amendment, Legal Advocacy and Litigation, Religious Freedom | 3 Comments »Grace Williams, New Mexico Civil Liberties Pioneer, Passes Away
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – On Independence Day, July 4th, Grace Williams, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico from 1975 to 1993, passed away in her home in Albuquerque. Grace was a founding member of the state affiliate and led the ACLU of New Mexico for 18 years, doggedly defending the civil liberties of all New Mexicans. During her long tenure with the ACLU of New Mexico, Grace grew the organization in size, impact and influence, winning significant victories in the cause of liberty.
New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels, who served as president of the ACLU-NM board of directors during Grace’s tenure, said, “New Mexicans have never had a more dedicated champion of our constitutional rights than Grace Williams. She never forgot that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
“Grace was a pistol,” said ACLU-NM Co-Legal Director Phil Davis. “She had boundless energy, and could wax eloquent on civil liberties at the drop of a hat. She had a great sense of humor. She was fearless and brash about the importance of civil liberties and was willing to tell anyone, anywhere, anytime why civil liberties were critical to the fabric of American society. She stood up against mayors, and governors and legislators, and was not afraid to let them know exactly what she thought.”
As Executive Director, Grace tripled the ACLU staff, recruited volunteer attorneys from the community and organized a legal panel to steer the organization’s litigation efforts. The ACLU of New Mexico also became fully financially independent from the national ACLU due to Grace’s skillful fundraising and management.
Grace played a major role in elevating civil liberties work in New Mexico to the national stage. Under her direction, the ACLU of New Mexico won many important victories that created a lasting impact on the legal landscape, including litigation that:
- Removed religious iconography from the Bernalillo County Seal,
- Challenged infiltration of citizen organizations by the Albuquerque Police Department and
- Introduced sweeping reforms of the New Mexico corrections system in the wake of the 1980 Santa Fe penitentiary riot.
In recognition of her contributions, the ACLU of New Mexico honored Grace as Civil Libertarian of the Decade in 1992. She has also received the Albuquerque Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award, and the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Women.
As Grace prepared to retire in 1993, longtime Albuquerque Journal writer Jim Belshaw reflected on her storied career:
“We all get irritated [with the ACLU] for the same reason. Liberty as an abstraction is sometimes easier to deal with than liberty as a reality. Which is to say that when it comes to the exercise of individual rights, sometimes all we do is talk a good game. For the past 18 years, Grace Watson Williams has dragged us, kicking and screaming, out of abstraction and into reality. It’s all in a day’s work for her.”
“We have lost one of New Mexico’s greatest champions of freedom,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Grace put the ACLU on the map in New Mexico. She embodies the fighting spirit of the organization and its unwavering commitment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. She will be missed.”
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Posted in News | Tags: Legal Advocacy and Litigation, Policy and Legislative Advocacy, Public Education | No Comments »ACLU-NM Ensures Immediate Implementation of Redistricting in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Today, in a ruling handed down in the Second Judicial Court, Judge Nash ruled that the City of Albuquerque did not have to correct the city’s mal-apportioned city council districts before the October elections. However, as a consequence of this lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, the city has agreed to implement the reapportioned districts immediately instead of in 2013 as they had originally planned.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-NM Managing Attorney Laura Schauer Ives:
“We are pleased that, as a consequence of the ACLU of New Mexico’s lawsuit, the city will redistrict and implement those changes immediately. Our primary concern was that the citizens who live in districts one and five on Albuquerque’s West Side would be grossly underrepresented until 2013, when the city initially intended to implement the new districts. However, in its closing arguments, the city stated that “as soon as a redistricting plan is approved by the Mayor and is published for five days, it will go into effect.” This means that, although redistricting will not be completed in time for the October election, West Side residents will be equally represented a few months from now as required under the Constitution.”
The ACLU of New Mexico still maintains that redistricting could be completed before the October elections and the plaintiffs are currently considering an appeal to the judge’s ruling.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 18, 2011
CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 x.1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org
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Posted in News | Tags: Albuquerque, Legal Advocacy and Litigation, redistricting, Voters' Rights | No Comments »ACLU-NM Investigates Ten Commandments Monument
BLOOMFIELD, NM – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request with the City of Bloomfield, NM, requesting records regarding the city’s planned Ten Commandments monument. The monument, soon to be installed in front of the city hall, may violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which prohibits the government from establishing or endorsing religious beliefs. Through this IRPA request, the ACLU of New Mexico seeks to determine whether the City of Bloomfield chose to erect this monument for a religious purpose.
“Religious freedom thrives when the government stays out of religion and does not endorse one faith over another,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “Matters of religious belief should be left to individuals, families and faith communities, not to governments or political majorities.”
Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that the First Amendment prohibits the government from promoting one religion over another, or even showing preference between religion and non-religion. In many cases, monuments on public property featuring the Ten Commandments have been ruled as unconstitutional.
As recently as 2009, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Haskell County, Oklahoma to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the county courthouse grounds, saying that a “reasonable observer” would conclude that the monument was an endorsement of religion. The county’s defense of the monument cost local taxpayers $200,000 in legal fees.
“Which version of the Ten Commandments will the City of Bloomfield choose to endorse?” questioned ACLU-NM Staff Attorney Leon Howard. “Catholic? Protestant? Hebraic? The versions are all different. The City can’t erect the monument without snubbing one religious faith or another.”
Read the IPRA request here: Bloomfield IPRA Request
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2011
CONTACT: Micah McCoy (505) 266-5915 x.1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org
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Posted in Featured Articles, News | Tags: 1st Amendment, Bloomfield, Legal Advocacy and Litigation, Religious Freedom, Ten Commandments | 2 Comments »
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