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American Civil Liberties Union
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 budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. 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'' brief (law), briefs expressing legal arguments when another law firm is already providing representation. In addition to representing persons and organizations in lawsuits, the ACLU lobbies for policy positions established by its board of directors. The ACLU's current positions include opposing the Capital punishment in the United States, death penalty; supporting Same-sex marriage in the United States, same-sex marriage and the LGBT adoption in the United States, right of LGBTQ+ people to adopt; supporting reproductive rights such as Birth c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Civil Liberties Bureau
The National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) was an American civil rights organization founded in 1917, dedicated to opposing World War I, and specifically focusing on assisting conscientious objectors. The National Civil Liberties Bureau was the reincarnation of the Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB), in conjunction with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (United States), Fellowship of Reconciliation, after its split on October 1, 1917, with its parent organization, the American Union Against Militarism (AUAM), which opposed American involvement in World War I. Roger Nash Baldwin, who had called for a branch of the AUAM designed to protect the rights of conscientious objectors, became the CLB's head, and continued as director of the NCLB. The NCLB provided legal advice and aid for conscientious objectors and those being prosecuted under the Espionage Act of 1917 or Sedition Act of 1918. The NCLB was subpoenaed by the New York legislature's Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of society and the State (polity), state. Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, right to life, life, and safety, protection from discrimination, the right to privacy, the freedom of freedom of thought, thought, freedom of speech, speech, freedom of religion, religion, freedom of the press, press, freedom of assembly, assembly, and freedom of movement, movement. Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and rights of Participation (decision making), participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minority Group
The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority, and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority. In terms of sociology, economics, and politics, a demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In the academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures. For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid, white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are the "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discrimination In The United States
Discrimination comprises "base or the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit, especially to show prejudice on the basis of ethnicity, gender, or a similar social factor". This term is used to highlight the difference in treatment between members of different groups when one group is intentionally singled out and treated worse, or not given the same opportunities. Attitudes toward minorities have been marked by discrimination in the history of the United States. Many forms of discrimination have come to be recognized in American society, particularly on the basis of national origin, race and ethnicity, non-English languages, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. History Racism Colorism is a form of racially-based discrimination where people are treated unequally due to skin color. It initially came about in the United States during slavery. Lighter skinned slaves tended to work indoors, while dark skinned worked outdoors. In 1865, during the Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abortion In The United States
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnancies. Deliberate actions to end a pregnancy are called induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word ''abortion'' generally refers to induced abortion. Common reasons for having an abortion are birth-timing and limiting family size. Other reasons include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feelings of being too young, wishing to complete an education or advance a career, or not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest. When done legally in industrialized societies, induced abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine. Modern methods use medication or surgery for abortions. The drug mifepristone (aka RU-486 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birth Control In The United States
Birth control in the United States is available in many forms. Some of the forms available at drugstores and some retail stores are Condom, male condoms, female condoms, sponges, Spermicide, spermicides, over-the-counter Progestogen-only pill, progestin-only contraceptive pills, and over-the-counter emergency contraception. Forms available at pharmacies with a doctor's prescription or at doctor's offices are Oral contraceptive pill, oral contraceptive pills, patches, vaginal rings, diaphragms, shots/injections, Cervical cap, cervical caps, implantable rods, and Intrauterine device, intrauterine devices (IUDs). Sterilization procedures, including Tubal ligation, tubal ligations and Vasectomy, vasectomies, are also performed. Various unsafe birth control methods were available throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Effective and safe forms of birth control became available in the United States in the 20th century with advances in science that led to the advent of safe methods and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. Reproductive rights may include some or all of: right to abortion; birth control; freedom from compulsory sterilization, coerced sterilization and contraception; the right to reproduce and start a family, the right to access good-quality reproductive healthcare; and the right to family planning in order to make free and informed reproducti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LGBT Adoption In The United States
Until 2017, laws related to LGBTQ+ couples adopting children varied by state. Some states granted full adoption rights to same-sex couples, while others banned same-sex adoption or only allowed one partner in a same-sex relationship to adopt the biological child of the other. On 31 March 2016, Federal District Court struck down Mississippi's ban on same-sex couple adoptions. On June 26, 2017, the United States Supreme Court reversed an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that allowed a law listing parents by gender on birth certificates to stand. The new SCOTUS ruling allowed both same-sex spouses to be listed on birth certificates. These court rulings made adoption by same-sex couples legal in all 50 states. In 2022, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act which requires that states respect marriage licenses of same-sex couples as long as the marriage was valid in the state in which it was performed. This act repeals the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act which defined marriage as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Same-sex Marriage In The United States
The legal recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state in 2004 (Massachusetts) to Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state, all fifty states in 2015 through various court rulings, state legislation, and direct popular vote. States have separate marriage laws, which must adhere to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States that recognize marriage as a Fundamental rights in the United States, fundamental right guaranteed by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as first established in the 1967 List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark civil rights case of ''Loving v. Virginia''. Civil rights campaigning in support of marriage without distinction as to sex or sexual orientation began in the 1970s. In 1972, the later overturned ''Baker v. Nelson'' saw the Supreme Court of the United States decline to become involved. The iss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capital Punishment In The United States
In the United States, capital punishment (also known as the death penalty) is a legal penalty in 27 states (of which two, Oregon and Wyoming, do not currently have any inmates sentenced to death), throughout the country at the federal level, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in the other 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. It is usually applied for only the most serious crimes, such as aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, 21 of them have authority to execute death sentences, with the other 6, subject to moratoriums. As of 2025, of the 38 OECD member countries, three (the United States, Japan and South Korea) retain the death penalty. South Korea has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997. Thus, Japan and Taiwan are the only other advanced democracies with capital punishment. In both countries, the death penalty remains qui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brief (law)
A brief (Old French from Latin ''brevis'', "short") is a written law, legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail. In England and Wales (and other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, e.g., Law of Australia, Australia) the phrase refers to the papers given to a barrister when they are instructed. Language :Pre-trial briefs are exchanged between parties at a date set during the pre-trial conference to argue matters under consideration before trial. :Trial briefs are presented at trial to resolve a disputed point of evidence. :Legal briefs are used as part of arguing a pre-trial motion in a case or proceeding. :: Merit (legal), Merit briefs (or briefs on the merits) are briefs on the inherent rights and wrongs of a case, absent any emotional or technical biases :: Amicus briefs are briefs filed by persons not directly party to the case. These are often groups that have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amicus Curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amicus'' brief will be considered is typically under the court's discretion. The phrase is legal Latin and the origin of the term has been dated to 1605–1615. The scope of ''amici curiae'' is generally found in the cases where broad public interests are involved and concerns regarding civil rights are in question. In American law, an ''amicus curiae'' typically refers to what in some other jurisdictions is known as an intervenor: a person or organization who requests to provide legal submissions so as to offer a relevant alternative or additional perspective regarding the matters in dispute. In the American courts, the amicus may be referred to as an ''amicus'' brief. In other jurisdictions, such as Canadian law, Canada, an ''am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
