News & Commentary

The very first piece of legislation Barack Obama signed into law as President of the United States was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The law extended the statute of limitations for to an individual to file a lawsuit against employers based on unlawfull wage discrimination. This is relevant now because April 20, which is Equal Pay day, symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009. This day reminds us of the pay inequalities that affected Lily Ledbetter and still affect women everywhere. Lily Ledbetter worked for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for nearly two decades. Despite her dedication to the company, she never made as much money as the lowest paid male who did the same job. She sued for discrimination and her case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, only to have the Court rule that Lily Ledbetter had waited too long to file her complaint. President Obama recognized this as a travesty and signed into law the Lily Ledbetter Act. President Obama is to be commended for making this important act his first bill to sign into law, but this is only the beginning. The Michigan legislature should further expand on existing anti-discrimination laws to put an end to the wage inequality that not only exists in Michigan but everywhere in this country. Even with the Lily Ledbetter Act and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination in Michigan, women everywhere are paid significantly less than men. This reality hurts the women who are paid less and their families, many of whom rely on two incomes to make ends meet. President Obama made it easier for employees to challenge their employers for equal pay but we still have a lot of work to do before sex discrimination in wages and salary is eradicated. According to the U.S. Census Bureau approximately 84 percent of custodial parents are mothers, and only 49.8 percent work full time. That means they are cheated and their families are suffering because these women do not earn the full wage that their male counterparts earn. And in Michigan things are even worse. Around the country women are paid 78 cents to every dollar a man makes but in Michigan that number is only 71 cents. This makes Michigan 45th in the nation for wage gap and disparity between men and women. With so many families struggling in Michigan, this pay disparity could mean the difference between a family keeping or losing their house. And as time goes on the situation is getting worse. The numbers for new college grads also show disproportionate wages between men and women. According to American Association of University Women, women are paid 80 percent of their male counterparts’ wages one year after graduating college. And so even though we have the Lily Ledbetter Act, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and other anti-discrimination laws there is still much more that needs to be done, especially in Michigan. Michigan can succeed where it has failed before and pass legislation that will help put an end to wage discrimination. The women who work just as hard and get paid less deserve it and so do their families.

Thirty years seems like a long time. That's about as long as I have worked at the ACLU of Michigan here in Detroit. During that time I have seen some of the most devastating examples of government violations of constitutional rights. Over the years, I've seen a pattern of indifference regarding people who can't afford to hire their own private lawyer. As a result, these “indigents” must depend upon Michigan’s broken public defense system. Whether Michigan’s Supreme Court decides to allow our lawsuit to move forward after hearing arguments today or not, it is still deeply satisfying to witness the success of this movement. I know that with this attention, one day all those accused of a crime in Michigan receive the same quality of justice, no matter how rich or poor. I hear firsthand evidence of the need to fix this broken system every day. Part of my job is speaking directly to people reaching out for the ACLU of Michigan's help. Over the years, I have heard complaints about on-the-spot court-appointed lawyers with huge caseloads and very little resources. These lawyers are unable to provide the legal representation necessary to help exonerate an innocent person, or work out a fair plea and sentence. For me, it was tremendously frustrating that I could only express our sadness to these victims of inadequate assistance of counsel. I would tell them that we are working to change the system, that we're in Lansing advocating for reforms every day. And now that day is here. Here at the ACLU of Michigan, we speak to those who suffer from poverty and are extremely vulnerable to being swept through the system. They are lost in a system that has broken its constitutional promise. There are innocent people who are serving prison sentences, and there are people who endure harsher penalties than is warranted, with no hope that their voice can be heard. We have even heard from poor people who have been denied court appointed counsel altogether by their county because it is believed that they are not “poor enough.” Hopefully, the Michigan Supreme Court will do the right thing and we can begin to reform and heal. Our court appointed lawyer system should be exemplary, we can’t afford anything less.

Constance McMillen successfully challenged the Itawamba County School District’s decision to cancel the senior prom because she planned to attend with her girlfriend.It should have ended there. The judge did not force the school district to reinstate the event because a private prom was being organized by parents. All seemed to be well, until last week, when Constance asked another student for the details about the alternate prom. She was told it was being held at a country club.When Constance and her date showed up at the country club Friday evening, only five other students were in attendance. Meanwhile, another prom for the other students was under way at a secret location.As ACLU staff, I have the inside scoop on civil liberties violations – atrocities from illegal body cavity searches by police on the streets of Detroit to the eviction of a woman terminally ill with brain cancer from her apartment for using a legally prescribed medicine. One could reasonably assume that I’ve developed a thick skin; that I can’t be shocked by human behavior.Well, I can. I am stunned by the actions of these parents in Mississippi and can’t decide which is worse – that a group of adults would organize a secret prom or that they would encourage their own children to lie. Most everyone I’ve told about this simply shakes their head and says, ‘Mississippi.’I remind them that this could have happened right here in Michigan, and they agree.It is a common misconception that the ACLU is a strictly litigious organization comprised entirely of lawyers. We aren’t. In fact, only one third of us here toiling away at the ACLU of Michigan hold a degree in law. The rest of us are out in the field, speaking to students on Constitution Day, building coalitions with like-minded organizations, and advocating on behalf of people just like Constance McMillen.It is the education and advocacy work of the ACLU of Michigan that prevents a situation like Constance McMillen’s from ever making it to court. Our on-the-ground work educating public institutions about offering domestic partner benefits in the wake of Prop 2 in 2004 ensured that thousands of residents and families across Michigan retained their health coverage. Our advocacy on behalf of Gershon Avery, who was arrested for collecting petition signatures at the Clinton Fall Festival, ultimately ensured that the free speech rights of the Village’s residents were protected. In the summer leading up to the 2008 elections, a coalition we created that included religious and community leaders ensured that thousands of voters across Michigan knew their rights when they went to the polls, despite efforts to mislead them and keep them from voting.These are just three examples. There are dozens of other success stories spanning the 50 years the ACLU of Michigan has been educating the public and advocating on behalf of individuals whose rights have been trampled. Without the support of people like you, our education and advocacy work wouldn’t be possible. Please consider making a gift today.

Almost 40 percent of University of Michigan undergraduate students live in dorms, including almost every first-year student. That is 10,000 students eating, socializing, studying and sleeping in residence halls.In the last few years, the University has gone to great lengths to make students feel like their residence hall is more than just a dorm, but it is their home and their community. Unfortunately, this concern has not carried over to the University embracing these communities as a place for dialogue and discussion. During the 2008 campaign season, University Housing sporadically banned student groups from canvassing in the residence halls. The current written policy infringed on students’ right to political speech in 2008 and, if not changed immediately, will prove equally detrimental to campaign efforts in 2010.That is why the U-M Undergraduate ACLU chapter teamed up with the ACLU of Michigan, U-M law school ACLU chapter and Washtenaw Branch ACLU to send the university a message:University Housing must not only respect the First Amendment rights of students in the residence halls; they should encourage the free exercise of ideas. It is the conversations that we have with our neighbors and our peers that make the University a vibrant, stimulating community. It is these discussions that allow students to discover a world outside of their hometowns. It is this atmosphere that promotes education and understanding. And it is these interactions that can make the old dorms a true community.

Long before I knew Kerouac, Bukowski, or Nabokov, I knew Dr. Seuss. “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham” were staples during my childhood. The fact that I attended a Lutheran Parochial school and Dr. Seuss just happened to be Lutheran only gave me more opportunities to get better acquainted with his strange characters and rhyming prose. The simplicity of his work guided me at a time when I barely understood the English language. Along with millions of other children, Theodor Seuss Geisel helped me make sense of it all in a completely nonsensical way. And now while we celebrate his birthday, not only is it a good time to acknowledge that Dr. Seuss wrote many stories that made reading fun for young children but also to that Dr. Seuss was a victim of censorship. In 1988, 17 years after the book was published, a school district in California banned Seuss’s book “The Lorax.” The book tells the story of a character called the Once-ler who cuts down trees to make a garment called the Thneed. The Lorax protests on the behalf of trees and the Bar-ba-loots who eat the trees. The Once-ler eventually destroys the forest and pollutes a nearby pond in the book. The school district banned the book of negatively portraying the logging industry. Certainly everyone is entitled to their own opinion; in fact, the First Amendment guarantees this freedom. However, students and their parents should decide on what books are unfair or not worth reading not schools and libraries. In the case of “The Lorax,” the school district was restricting information and ideas based on nothing more than hurt feelings. And by simply removing this book, the school district lost an opportunity to have a thoughtful discussion with students about the book’s theme. Although “The Lorax” was censored in the 80s, censorship is not limited to the distant past. Every day, one book is removed, banned or censored somewhere in the U.S., according to the American Library Association. If we let this kind of censorship go unchallenged we may miss the next Dr. Seuss, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski or Vladimir Nabokov.

As a Wayne State University student, it’s hard to listen to people complain of a lack of things to do in Detroit.Although sometime's the landscape looks a little dismal, there are so many ways to experience the city, from the neighborhood bars to the city’s beautiful architecture to a visit to an art gallery.Like any place that is as culturally rich as Detroit, it’s these experiences that make students and residents feel connected to the city. So when I heard about the raid of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, I was not just concerned about the violation of people's civil liberties but also worried about the future of a cultural institution that I love.In 2008, during CAID's monthly Funk Night, more than 100 people were arrested and charged with loitering by the Detroit police. Also, more than 40 legally parked cars were impounded. This wasn't some crazy rave or illegal warehouse party. The CAID has been promoting art in the city for 31 years.Although the Detroit police have since dropped all criminal charges, the incident has still sent a powerful message. With police action like this, those who come to the city looking to experience art and culture might think twice before attending another event in the city. And that's a shame.The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit today to stop the DPD from punishing innocent people who are just trying to have a good time in the city. For those who were at this event, the damage has already been done.It's time that DPD understands that such raids only hurt the city – it’s not illegal for young people like me to gather in the name of art.

Valentine's Day – a day to show your loved one just how much you care, to exchange cards, give gifts and celebrate the joy of being together. While LGBT relationships are increasingly public, Valentine's Day continues to be a bittersweet reminder of how far we still have to go to have our relationships acknowledged and validated. Today, 5 states extend to gay people the fundamental right to marry that is rooted in the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In Michigan, not only do we have a state constitutional amendment that says we cannot marry, but according to the Michigan Supreme Court, it says we cannot have civil unions, domestic partner health insurance benefits or any other basic recognition of our relationships. For some of our clients, like Jim and Paul who have been together in a committed relationship for almost 20 years, under Michigan law they are virtual strangers. They lack the legal right to make medical decisions for one another, to inherit property without a will, or to make funeral and burial decisions. And our clients Nancy and Margo were legally married in Massachusetts, but their marriage is ignored by the State of Michigan and the federal government. They are not entitled to each other's social security benefits, the IRS does not acknowledge them for tax purposes, and they are not considered married for purposes of immigration. And because Thom and Dan cannot marry, Michigan courts deny them the right to jointly adopt their children and to ensure that their children have the legal protection of both parents in case something should happen to the other. Imagine a country where the majority, through a voter referendum, can deny a minority group the same constitutional right that is afforded to the majority. You wouldn't think that this is democracy, but this is exactly what has happened in more than 30 states in the United States. Denying LGBT couples fundamental rights won't diminish their love for one another, but it does put them at risk. On this Valentine's Day, while we share the love for others, let us also think about how to create a fairer and just state for all people who love, including our friends in the LGBT community.

Today marks the first congressional hearing on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 17 years. The repeal of this misguided policy, which calls for the discharge of members of the military who engage in “homosexual acts” or “demonstrate a propensity to engage in homosexual acts”, is long overdue.