Aclu

by Mary Pemberton The Associated Press Tuesday, August 3, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the way property taxes are assessed for households headed by same-sex couples. ACLU says state regulations as interpreted by the state and the municipality of Anchorage discriminate against same-sex couples by denying property tax exemptions allowed for senior citizens and disabled veterans. The group says lesbian and gay families are permitted only half the exemption allowed others because the state considers them roommates instead of married couples.

With an injunction on the removal of illegal homeless campsites by Anchorage police still in effect, the city and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska argued their cases in state court Wednesday. The ongoing dispute involves the ACLU’s concerns that the homeless aren’t being given the opportunity to recover belongings seized from the campsites and later destroyed by police -- leading to a lawsuit alleging that the city ordinance allowing the sweeps is unconstitutional.

by Jason Lamb Monday, June 28, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska says there's no excuse for the state to violate medical-records privacy laws. The group filed a lawsuit against the state Monday, claiming it ordered a recent police raid of the A Woman's Place clinic in Ketchikan. The lawsuit says police confiscated about 400 medical records during that raid, even reading them while still in the clinic. According to the lawsuit, a Ketchikan police officer later told a patient's daughter that her mother had contracted a sexually transmitted infection.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said Thursday that it had requested numerous city records on last week's troubled elections following widespread ballot shortages, while election workers counted about 1,800 unscanned ballots. Municipal Clerk Barbara Gruenstein's office says 55 of 121 precincts -- many of them reported to Channel 2 by viewers and Facebook users -- experienced ballot shortages. Her office apologized for the shortages earlier this week. In a letter to Gruenstein (PDF)

by Christine Kim Wednesday, April 28, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Wednesday seeking an order to prevent the Municipality of Anchorage and Anchorage police from raiding homeless camps and seizing and destroying homeless individuals' tents, clothing and other personal items. The lawsuit stems from a 2009 city ordinance that cuts down the notice time from 24 to 12 hours to move camp. "You could imagine somebody could leave their tent site at 7 in the morning come back at 7 at night and everything would be gone -- their clothing, their shelter, their personal items.

Several defense lawyers say a new bail law taking effect Thursday as part of Gov. Sean Parnell's domestic violence legislation package is unconstitutional. They're suing the state, asking for a freeze on enforcing the law's provisions. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is representing individual attorneys and the Alaska Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The state Legislature passed Parnell's package earlier this year. The law is slated to take effect Thursday, but some say what it brings into the courtroom is unconstitutional.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said since it created the Anchorage Voter Hotline Wednesday morning, it's received dozens of calls from residents complaining about the ballot confusion. Many voters report waiting in line at their voting stations only to find they ran out of ballots and turned away. The City clerk said some of the confusion might have come from an inaccurate e-mail sent out by the group "Protect your Rights," urging people to register and to vote on the same day Tuesday.

The debate over the controversial Anchorage sidewalk sitting ban is not over yet: it could be reconsidered by the Anchorage Assembly. Assembly members passed the law a couple weeks ago, but that was before they heard a report from Channel 2 News that night about where the ACLU stands on the issue. "The ordinance as it's proposed would bar sidewalk sitting at six o'clock in the morning on a Saturday," said ACLU of Alaska's Tom Stenson. "Anchorage is just not busy at a lot of the times that are in [the ordinance]

The Municipality of Anchorage is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska over a controversial sidewalk sitting ordinance. The law makes it illegal to sit or sleep on Downtown Anchorage sidewalks from 6 a.m. until midnight on weekdays, and 2:30 a.m. until midnight on weekends. It applies to an area bounded on the north and south by 1st and 9th avenues, as well as on the east and west by Gambell and L streets. Mayor Dan Sullivan brought the ordinance to the Anchorage Assembly, which approved it but later tried to repeal the law. Sullivan vetoed that attempt.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said Thursday that it had requested numerous city records on last week's troubled elections following widespread ballot shortages, while election workers counted about 1,800 unscanned ballots. Municipal Clerk Barbara Gruenstein's office says 55 of 121 precincts -- many of them reported to Channel 2 by viewers and Facebook users -- experienced ballot shortages. Her office apologized for the shortages earlier this week. In a letter to Gruenstein (PDF)

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska said since it created the Anchorage Voter Hotline Wednesday morning, it's received dozens of calls from residents complaining about the ballot confusion. Many voters report waiting in line at their voting stations only to find they ran out of ballots and turned away. The City clerk said some of the confusion might have come from an inaccurate e-mail sent out by the group "Protect your Rights," urging people to register and to vote on the same day Tuesday.

The Anchorage Assembly voted against taking another look at the controversial ordinance making it illegal to sit on downtown sidewalks. In a 6-to-5 vote, the assembly voted down the motion to recind the ordinance, that assemblyman Dick Traini had requested a week earlier. Traini had said that the 11-member group deserved another vote on the law. The assembly approved the ordinance in a 7-to-4 vote in November, but that was before they heard new concerns from the ACLU of Alaska about the constitutionality of the law, in an interview aired on Channel 2 News.

The debate over the controversial Anchorage sidewalk sitting ban is not over yet: it could be reconsidered by the Anchorage Assembly. Assembly members passed the law a couple weeks ago, but that was before they heard a report from Channel 2 News that night about where the ACLU stands on the issue. "The ordinance as it's proposed would bar sidewalk sitting at six o'clock in the morning on a Saturday," said ACLU of Alaska's Tom Stenson. "Anchorage is just not busy at a lot of the times that are in [the ordinance]

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief against the state of Alaska, saying the DMV's policy of requiring transgender people to submit proof of surgery before changing the gender listed on their driver's license is unconstitutional.   In a statement,  ACLU of Alaska executive director Jeffrey Mittman said the policy constituted a “undue burden on transgender individuals and presents a gross violation of an individual's right to privacy.” The suit is on behalf of a transgender woman who says the DMV threatened to revoke a new driver's license identifying her as female unless she provided proof she'd had gender-reassignment surgery.

With an injunction on the removal of illegal homeless campsites by Anchorage police still in effect, the city and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska argued their cases in state court Wednesday. The ongoing dispute involves the ACLU’s concerns that the homeless aren’t being given the opportunity to recover belongings seized from the campsites and later destroyed by police -- leading to a lawsuit alleging that the city ordinance allowing the sweeps is unconstitutional.

Anchorage residents are voicing concerns on a controversial dispute between the city and the American Civil Liberties Union. City Hall says it’s receiving dozens of calls and e-mail complaints about homeless camps, but official responses are limited because the issue is tied up in court. After the ACLU of Alaska sued the city, alleging that homeless camp sweeps were unconstitutionally seizing and destroying homeless people’s property, a judge granted a temporary restraining order in July preventing the city from carrying out camp sweeps.

Anchorage's controversial illegal campsite ordinance will be up for public comment Monday night. The mayor's office introduced a new version of the ordinance after a judge granted the ACLU a temporary restraining order in July.   The order prohibits the city from carrying out homeless camp sweeps. The new version tries to address many of the court's concerns.   Police must clarify to the illegal campers what law they're breaking and the new version also gives illegal campers two days to appeal the notice.

by Jason Lamb Tuesday, August 3, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The ACLU of Alaska is claiming that the State of Alaska unfairly discriminates against same-sex couples, in a lawsuit the group filed on behalf of three gay couples Tuesday. The controversy has to do with how much money seniors get to write off their property taxes each year, and whether or not same-sex couples are entitled to the tax exemption. After a 26-year relationship in Illinois, Julie Schmidt and Gayle Schuh moved to Alaska in 2003 for a lot of the same reasons other newcomers have.