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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The ACLU provides legal assistance in cases where it considers civil liberties at risk. Legal support from the ACLU can take the form of direct legal representation or preparation of amicus curiae briefs expressing legal arguments when another law firm is already providing representation.
Civil liberties in the United States are certain unalienable rights retained by citizens of the United States under the Constitution of the United States, as interpreted and clarified by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts. Civil liberties are simply defined as individual legal and constitutional protections from entities more powerful than an individual, for example, parts of the government, other individuals, or corporations. The explicitly defined liberties make up the Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to privacy. There are also many liberties of people not defined in the Constitution, as stated in the Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
TheRutherford Institute is a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of civil liberties, human rights, and religious liberties. Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, the non-profit organization's motto is "its our job to make the government play by the rules of the Constitution." The organization was founded in 1982 by John W. Whitehead, who continued to be its president as of 2015. The Rutherford Institute offers free legal services to those who have had their rights threatened or violated. The Rutherford Institute has a network of affiliate attorneys across the United States and funds its efforts through donations. In addition to its offer of legal services, the organization offers free educational materials for those interested in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Michael Les Benedict is an American historian, who taught at Ohio State University from 1970 until his retirement in 2005. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Illinois and his PhD from Rice University. His expertise is principally in constitutional and legal history, civil rights and civil liberties, and the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Benedict brings a political science approach to his analysis of historical events. Benedict has contributed several works to the field of Civil War and Reconstruction studies including The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson (1973), A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction, 1863-1869 (1975), Fruits of Victory: Alternatives in Restoring the Union, 1865-1877 (1986), and, more recently, Preserving the Constitution: Essays on Politics and the Constitution in the Reconstruction Era (2006).
Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980), was a court case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Kentucky statute was unconstitutional and in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because it lacked a nonreligious, legislative purpose. The statute required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall of each public classroom in the state. The copies of the Ten Commandments were purchased with private funding, but the Court ruled that because they were being placed in public classrooms they were in violation of the First Amendment.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nearly 50,000 members across New York State.
Jerry Sonnenberg is an American farmer and politician who serves on the Logan County commission. He served in the Colorado Senate from the 1st district as a member of the Republican Party. During his tenure in the state senate he served as the President pro tempore. Prior to his tenure in the state senate he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 65th district.
Walter Nelles was an American lawyer and law professor. Nelles is best remembered as the co-founder and first chief legal counsel of the National Civil Liberties Bureau and its successor, the American Civil Liberties Union. In this connection, Nelles achieved public notice for his legal work on behalf of pacifists charged with violating the Espionage Act during World War I and in other politically charged civil rights and constitutional law cases in later years.
The School Prayer Amendment is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution intended by its proponents to protect the right of the students if they wish, to voluntarily pray in schools, although opponents argue it allows for government-sponsored prayer.
Sanford Edmund Lee is an American politician. He served in the Colorado Senate from the 11th district as a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his tenure in the state senate he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 18th district.
Owasso High School is a high school located within Tulsa County in Owasso, Oklahoma, United States. It is among the largest high schools in Oklahoma by enrollment with nearly 3,000 students. In 2024, the school received international attention following the death of Nex Benedict.
Tom Gann is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 8th district since 2016. 8th House District which covers Mayes, Rogers, and Wagoner Counties. He was re-elected by default in 2020.
Jacob Rosecrants is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 46th district since 2017.
Mauree Nivek Rajah Salima Turner is an American politician and community organizer. A member of the Democratic Party, they have served as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives since 2021. Turner is the first publicly non-binary U.S. state lawmaker and the first Muslim member of the Oklahoma Legislature.
Warren Hamilton is an American politician and retired military officer serving as a member of the Oklahoma Senate from the 7th district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 5, 2021.
Steve Kunzweiler is the current Tulsa County District Attorney. He has worked on shows for the Forensic Files, See No Evil and 60 Minutes. He is on the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.
Ryan Walters is an American politician who has served as the elected Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2023 and who served as the appointed Oklahoma Secretary of Education between September 2020 and April 2023.
Nex Benedict was a 16-year-old non-binary American high school student who died the day after a physical altercation in the girls' restroom of their high school. Investigators later determined Benedict's death was a suicide caused by an overdose of Prozac and Benadryl. The incident was the subject of national media attention as some have argued Benedict's death was the result of anti-LGBTQ policies in Benedict's home state of Oklahoma.
Rainbow Youth Project USA is an American non-profit organization that aims to provide support for LGBT youth.
The year 2024, a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, involved and is expected to involve several major events in Oklahoma.
References
- 1 2 "Response to Death of Nex Benedict From Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education Legal Team". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ↑ "Oklahoma SB615 | 2022 | Regular Session". LegiScan. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
