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| 04/02/2013 |
| ACLU of South Dakota Seeks Information on Native Women's Access to Emergency Contraception |
| Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota requested information concerning the Indian Health Services' policies governing access to emergency contraception at IHS facilities. |
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| 03/21/2013 |
| Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik |
| Three Indian parents, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a class-action lawsuit to challenge the continued removal of Indian children in Pennington County, South Dakota from their homes based on insufficient evidence and without proper hearings, in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the constitutional right to due process. |
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| 03/14/2013 |
| Public has right to know source of execution drugs, says ACLU |
| Sioux Falls -- SD In a case that may determine the manufacturer and supplier of lethal injection drugs used in South Dakota executions, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota yesterday, for a second time, asked the court to unseal records relating to drugs used in the execution of Donald E. Moeller. |
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| 03/12/2013 |
| ACLU of South Dakota Announces New Director of Communications |
| Sioux Falls -- SD The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota today announced that Heather Smith has been named Director of Communications. The staff addition makes the ACLU of South Dakota the largest civil rights organization in the state, and the fastest growing chapter for the ACLU nationwide. The ACLU of South Dakota is based in Sioux Falls and also administers the ACLU of North Dakota. |
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| 02/14/2013 |
| USD OUTlaws host guest speaker Michael Streit |
| Vermillion, SD - The OUTlaws at the University of South Dakota School of Law and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota will be hosting the Lavender Lecture with former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Michael Streit on February 28, 2013, at 5:30p.m in the Law School Courtroom. Justice Streit will be discussing judicial independence and the Iowa Supreme Court's decision Varnum v. Brien which struck down a statutory ban on same-sex marriage. The event will be hosted at the USD School of Law and a reception will immediately follow. |
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| 01/03/2013 |
| Governor's Proposed Criminal Law Reform |
| Please view the Governor's Proposed Law Reform document. (Click Here) |
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| 11/27/2012 |
| CRIMINAL LAW REFORM INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE |
| South Dakota is currently undergoing a process of review of its criminal laws and ways by which the state handles incarceration. The information provided comes from the Pew Center on the States who reviewed the incarceration and crime rates in South Dakota. |
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| 09/24/2012 |
| ACLU OF SD LAUNCHES 'LET ME VOTE' CAMPAIGN TO INFORM AND EMPOWER VOTERS |
Let Me Vote Campaign Provides Information About How and When to Vote
Sioux Falls - In an effort to combat voter confusion, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota launched its Let Me Vote Campaign today to supply voters with the voting rights knowledge they need to cast their ballot on Election Day. |
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| 09/17/2012 |
| ACLU of South Dakota to Undertake a Major Voting Rights Campaign this year! |
| This year the ACLU of South Dakota will be reach out to almost 40,000 people with voting rights information. Please view the full article for more details, including links to this year's voting rights mailer and brochure. |
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| 09/05/2012 |
| ACLU talks enforcement when it comes to texting ban |
| Passing a texting while driving ban is a big move for Sioux Falls but it's still raising a lot of questions, particularly when it comes to enforcement. The American Civil Liberties Union of North and South Dakota tells KSFY the biggest concern deals with privacy and due-process of each driver that is pulled over. |
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| 08/27/2012 |
| South Dakota Begins Criminal Law Reform. Hopefully not in Vain |
| With the highest rate of incarceration ever in its history South Dakota has under taken a review of its criminal justice system with a "Criminal Justice Work Group". The statistics are astonishing and show a broken system that is in need of substantial over haul. Some of the following statics from The Pew Center on South Dakota's criminal justice system are simply jaw dropping! |
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| 07/26/2012 |
| SDSU and USD Students Work to Protest Anti-LGBT Restaurant |
| Earlier this year, South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota both announced that a Chick-Fil-A would be coming to their respective campuses. Recently, the owner of Chick-Fil-A has openly spoken against marriage equality and has donated millions of dollars to organizations fighting LGBT equality. |
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| 06/26/2012 |
| Supreme Court Decision on Arizona Law Out of Step with South Dakota Values |
| The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court today to uphold part of S.B. 1070, Arizona's anti-immigrant law, shows just how out of touch the court is with reality, said Robert Doody, executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, who noted that "show me your papers" laws condone racial profiling and undermine effective law enforcement. |
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| 05/10/2012 |
| ACLU Files Letter with DOJ Against New Felon Disenfranchisement Law |
| On May 4 2012 the ACLU submitted a letter to the Department of Justice arguing that South Dakota's new felon disenfranchisement law should not be pre-cleared by the Department of Justice under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. |
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| 01/19/2012 |
| Take Action: Honor Roe V. Wade Anniversary By Telling Governor to Veto Anti-Choice Legislation |
| South Dakotans have twice - by resounding measures at the ballot box - told their legislators the decision to have an abortion is between a woman, her family and her doctor. Yet this year's legislative session in Pierre is full of dangerous anti-choice legislation. |
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| 01/12/2012 |
| ACLU to Lawmakers: We're Watching |
| The 87th Legislative Session opened Tuesday and this year promises to be just as lively as its predecessors. Debates on abortion, texting, guns, immigration, human rights, and more, are on the table. |
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| 12/20/2011 |
| Happy Holidays! |
| While some insist that the ACLU has some kind of bias against Christmas and the spirit of the season, this couldn't be further from the truth -- we believe strongly in religious freedom and in everyone's right to celebrate in their own way. |
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| 11/28/2011 |
| US Senate considers National Defense Authorization Act |
| The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is being considered on the US Senate floor as we speak and may come up for a vote as soon as Monday, Nov. 28. Sens Conrad (ND), Johnson (SD), and Hoeven (ND) are key targets for the ACLU on this bill, and we need YOUR HELP in reaching out to their offices and urge them to vote the right way. |
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| 11/01/2011 |
| SD Secretary of State's Office Fails Voters (Again) |
State Has One Week To Fix Breach of Contract
SIOUX FALLS - South Dakotans with felony convictions continue to have their voting rights crushed by the Secretary of State's office despite a lawsuit agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota.
This voting rights infringement is most clearly evidenced on the Secretary of State's Web site, which states: "In order to register [to vote] you must… not serving (sic) a felony sentence." The statement is false and is not the law in the state of South Dakota, which allows for certain classes of felons and those who have completed their sentences to vote. |
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| 10/27/2011 |
| Indian Child Welfare Act Violations Prompts ACLU Investigation Into South Dakota Foster Care System |
ACLU Seeks Input from American Indian Families With Children in DSS
SIOUX FALLS, SD - The appalling treatment of American Indian children, family, and tribes by the South Dakota Department of Social Services as described in recent NPR News reports has prompted the ACLU of South Dakota to investigate the actions as violations of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
The NPR News series, "Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families," explains how American Indian children represent more than half of all children in foster care, yet account for less than 15 percent of the state's total child population. The report also features interviews from tribal members who recall DSS officials driving onto the reservation, removing children from homes, and preventing contact with family. |
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| 10/17/2011 |
| ACLU of South Dakota Announces New Communications and Advocacy Directors |
| SIOUX FALLS – The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota announced today the recent hiring of Tiffany Campbell and Taté Walker as directors of advocacy and communications, respectively. |
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| 10/13/2011 |
| Protecting Protest at Occupy South Dakota |
| The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to South Dakota's Main Streets and the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is standing beside demonstrators and defending your right to speak out. |
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| 09/21/2011 |
| Town hall meeting to discuss LGBT hate crime prevention |
| SIOUX FALLS - The ACLU of South Dakota is excited to announce a special town hall meeting with U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson discussing issues important LGBT communities and supporters, including hate crime prevention. |
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| 09/20/2011 |
| Legislative redistricting: What is it? Why should YOU care? |
| Watch ACLU of SD communications director Taté Walker on a recent panel regarding legislative redistricting filmed live on South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Get the nuts and bolts of redistricting, including history and importance to minority voting rights and power. |
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| 06/08/2011 |
| South Dakota Legislature Redistricting Meetings |
Redistricting season is upon us as the 2010 census has been completed and all of the information has been reported.
On June 8th, 2011 the South Dakota Legislature had the first of several redistricting meetings. The June 8th meeting largely revolved around the issues of American Indian population figures and discussion around redistricting legislative districts that encompass large American Indian populations. The ACLU was present and listening to all of the discussion and debate. Attached below are some preliminary maps that the South Dakota Legislature is using to discuss redistricting and American Indians. We will keep you up to date on the latest redistricting and voting rights news!
Redistricting Maps 2011 |
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| 05/27/2011 |
| ACLU and Planned Parenthood Federation of America asks SD federal court to prevent Abortion Bill |
| On May 27, the ACLU joined Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) in asking a South Dakota federal court to prevent the enforcement of House Bill 1217, a recently enacted law that imposes onerous and humiliating obstacles in the path of any woman in South Dakota seeking to exercise her legal right to have an abortion. |
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| 03/30/2011 |
| Check out our revised Privacy Statement |
| We have revised the South Dakota Chapter Privacy Statement because we want to clarify and provide more information about our collection, use and protection of information collected on this website, particularly as technology has evolved. In addition to clarifying our collection practices, the revisions include a description of our use of Short-Term Cookies. |
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| 03/22/2011 |
| We'll See You in Court: South Dakota's Governor Signs Outrageous Law Restricting Abortion Care |
| Today, South Dakota's governor, Dennis Daugaard, signed a bill that creates unprecedented restrictions on access to abortion care. As we've blogged before, this law requires women to wait 72 hours between the first counseling session with the doctor and the abortion; it also requires women to first visit "crisis pregnancy centers," entities that are notorious for providing false and misleading information; and requires doctors to tell the woman of any possible risk factor published in medical and psychological journals since 1972. These new restrictions are on top of the long list of abortion restrictions in South Dakota, and come from a state that has one abortion provider. |
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| 03/22/2011 |
| Daugaard signs 3-day wait for abortion into law |
| Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a bill Tuesday requiring women seeking abortions to go through additional steps before having the procedure - but opponents will file a lawsuit to prevent the law from taking effect.
The bill, House Bill 1217, requires women to wait 72 hours between contacting an abortion provider and having an abortion. It also requires them to seek counseling with crisis pregnancy centers, groups that consult "with women for the purpose of helping them keep their relationship with their unborn children," before undergoing the procedure. |
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| 03/14/2011 |
| Judge allows lesbian couple to use married names on driver's licenses |
| Two Sioux Falls women who were legally married in Iowa were granted the right to use their married names today. Jessica and Aundrea Dybing-Jorgensen petitioned for a name change in Minnehaha County in late January after the Department of Public Safety refused to issue them driver's licenses in their married names. |
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| 03/11/2011 |
| Gov. Daugaard signs change to concealed weapons law |
| PIERRE -- Gov. Dennis Daugaard has signed a bill that will allow legal immigrants in South Dakota to conceal and carry a handgun. |
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| 03/02/2011 |
| SD Legislature Approves Law to Create Barriers to Abortion Care |
| PIERRE, S.D. -- The South Dakota legislature today passed a law that would require any woman seeking an abortion to first visit anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs)" and report the name of her abortion provider to CPC staff. CPCs are unregulated facilities that are not required to have trained medical personnel counsel women, and are primarily run by private groups that seek to discourage women from having abortions, often by promoting false information. CPCs are also not required to follow standard medical privacy procedures that ensure a patient's medical information is kept confidential. The bill would also require abortion providers to discuss the entire body of research literature related to possible health risks with their patients, even though much of this information may be outdated, irrelevant, false or misleading. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of South Dakota strongly denounced the law. |
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| 02/19/2011 |
| Why legislators love social issues |
| It's almost as if there are two concurrent legislative sessions in Pierre this year. In one session, state lawmakers are wrestling with competing ideas of how to erase a $127 million structural deficit without tapping reserve funds or raising taxes. The other session, however, has dealt with several socially oriented proposals such as legislation that attempted to safeguard South Dakota from Sharia law, allow for justifiable homicide in the protection of an unborn baby, set mandatory gun ownership - a proposal that was introduced as a protest to the federal health care law - and bring an Arizona-style immigration law to the state. |
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| 02/16/2011 |
| Lawmakers reject bill targeting Islamic law |
| PIERRE -- The South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee has rejected a bill that would have prohibited state courts from using certain foreign laws, including forms of Islamic law known as Sharia. |
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| 02/16/2011 |
| ACLU Decries Proposed South Dakota Law That Places Abortion Providers In Danger |
| PIERRE, S.D. -- A law being considered by the South Dakota House of Representatives today would provide legal protection for committing murder in order to prevent conduct "likely to result in the death of" an embryo or fetus. The law raises serious concerns about the safety of abortion providers. The language of the bill is such that if a woman chooses to end a pregnancy, the new law would provide protection to her husband or boyfriend for killing the medical personnel involved. The law would classify such an act as "justifiable homicide." |
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| 02/14/2011 |
| Arizona-style immigration bill fails in South Dakota House |
| SIOUX FALLS -- South Dakota lawmakers have rejected a bill to establish immigration standards that mimic laws enacted by Arizona last year. |
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| 01/21/2011 |
| South Dakota Legislators Threaten To Introduce Arizona-Style Immigration Bill |
Several South Dakota state legislators have threatened to introduce an Arizona-style racial profiling immigration bill here in South Dakota this legislative session. Before our state adopts a similar law that could cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement and defend in court, read the projected economic and legal costs of immigration policies to small American communities.
South Dakota Immigration Facts |
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| 12/21/2010 |
| Summer Legal Internship Opportunity |
Position Announcement: Summer Legal Internship
The ACLU of South Dakota seeks highly motivated law students for internships in the Sioux Falls office. Legal internships are part-time, approximately 10 to 20 hours a week, and run the length of the students' summer break. Virtually all intern work involves civil liberties and constitutional law. Educational benefits include obtaining hands-on experience in applying constitutional theories and case law to legal problems, and learning how to conduct factual investigation of complaints. Students become familiar with administrative regulations and agency protocols, while developing a practical understanding of constitutional law. The interns will be supervised by an ACLU staff attorney. |
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| 12/18/2010 |
| Senate Votes To End Discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy |
| WASHINGTON - The Senate today voted to pass legislation repealing the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, sending the historic bill to the president's desk for signature. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal Act of 2010 (H.R. 2965) was passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The American Civil Liberties Union lauded the vote and urged President Obama to swiftly sign the bill into law. |
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| 11/24/2010 |
| ACLU Reports More Than 900 Complaints This Month Over "Enhanced" TSA Security Measures |
| NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union has received over 900 complaints in the month of November from travelers who have been subjected to the Transportation Security Authority's (TSA) new "enhanced" screening procedures. The procedures include sending travelers through backscatter X-ray machines that produce naked outlines of travelers' bodies and subjecting them to thorough pat-downs that include TSA agents touching their breasts and genitals on the outside of their clothing. |
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| 11/12/2010 |
| Film Raises Awareness about Anti-LGBT Violence |
The compelling documentary, "Two Spirits" will be shown Wednesday, November 17th at 7pm in the Main Library located in downtown Sioux Falls. The free showing is sponsored by the ACLU of South Dakota as part of an ongoing visibility initiative for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals across the state.
"Two Spirits" tells a nuanced story of what it means to be poor, transgendered, and Navajo, and examines the lives of Fred Martinez, his friends, family, the police, and those in the larger community who were most affected by his murder. |
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| 11/05/2010 |
| ACLU Office in South Dakota Expands |
| SIOUX FALLS, SD -- The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota has expanded recently after opening an office in Sioux Falls only two years ago. Since launching in 2008, two additional full-time staff members have been added to fill the roles of staff attorney and program coordinator. Within the past three months, the ACLU of South Dakota has revamped their website, created an email messaging campaign to directly contact South Dakota members, and begun several programming and advocacy initiatives. The staff also moved into a larger office space to accommodate the additional work and resources that are being brought into the state by the National ACLU and local donors. |
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| 09/27/2010 |
| ACLU Sues For Information On American Indian Women Pressured To Induce Labor |
Pregnant Women On South Dakota Reservation Denied Freedom To Make Medical Decisions
PIERRE, SD -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of South Dakota filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit today against Indian Health Services (IHS) seeking information about reports that pregnant women on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation are being pressured into taking medication to induce labor against their wishes. The FOIA lawsuit also seeks information on plans to build a birthing unit on the reservation, funded in large part with federal stimulus dollars. |
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| 09/20/2010 |
| South Dakota Election Scandal: Are Oglala Sioux Voting Rights Doomed? |
| Native Americans have long faced police harassment, illegal voter challenges, and election-day chaos on the way to the polls in South Dakota. Those problems may soon be over on the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. That's because South Dakota has no clear plan to provide any voting at all in this fall's election. |
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| 09/09/2010 |
| Limbo Continues for Shannon County |
| Shannon County commissioners failed to settle their differences with contracted officials during a special meeting Thursday in Hot Springs, and that failure could jeopardize the county's ability to hold the general election in November. |
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| 09/08/2010 |
| Shannon County, Pine Ridge move to protect voting rights |
| PINE RIDGE, S.D. -- Native Americans have never had easy access to the ballot in South Dakota. However, with the official responsible for elections in Shannon County giving 30 days' notice of intent to resign, the county's commission is working quickly to ensure its residents -- almost entirely Oglala Sioux Tribe members living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation -- will get to the polls at all this fall. Time is tight. The national election is about to begin in South Dakota, starting with six weeks of early voting on Sept. 18 and finishing on election day, Nov. 2. |
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| 09/02/2010 |
| ACLU Asks Supreme Court To Review Case Concerning South Dakota Elections System That Dilutes The American Indian Vote |
| WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court late yesterday to review a case concerning an elections system that dilutes the American Indian vote in the city of Martin, South Dakota. |
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| 09/01/2010 |
| Controversial Film on Gay Rights in Small Town America to Tour Eastern South Dakota |
A Call for Inclusion, Fairness & Equality for GLBT People
Sioux Falls, SD -- Sept. 1, 2010 -- In an effort to raise gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) visibility in South Dakota and awareness about the harassment, violence and discrimination that GLBT people often face on a day-to-day basis, a coalition of organizations is bringing the controversial and Emmy-nominated film, OUT IN THE SILENCE to five cities in Eastern South Dakota, from Sept. 11 - 15. |
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| 08/24/2010 |
| ACLU and NYCLU Statement On Controversy Over New York City Islamic Center |
| Religious freedom is one of America's most fundamental liberties, and a central principle upon which our nation was founded. For hundreds of years, even in the face of opposition, religious pluralism and tolerance have sustained and helped to define our nation. Still today, we must continue to boldly oppose religious discrimination rooted in cultural stereotyping, and resist those who seek to trade away our most precious values for political advantage. |
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| 07/27/2010 |
| The ACLU of SD Announces a Career Opportunity |
| New York--The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nationwide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, founded in 1920 and dedicated to the principles of liberty and equality embodied in the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU of South Dakota of the National Chapter office in Sioux Falls, SD is seeking applications for the full-time position of Staff Attorney. |
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| 07/27/2010 |
| ACLU Of South Dakota Seeks Records About FBI Collection Of Racial And Ethnic Data |
| SIOUX FALLS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota Chapter today asked the FBI to turn over records related to the agency's collection and use of race and ethnicity data in local communities. According to a 2008 FBI operations guide, FBI agents have the authority to collect information about and map so-called "ethnic-oriented" businesses, behaviors, lifestyle characteristics and cultural traditions in communities with concentrated ethnic populations. ACLU affiliate offices across the nation today filed coordinated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to uncover records about this activity from their local FBI field offices. |
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| 07/19/2010 |
| Lawmakers Push for SD Immigration Law |
SIOUX FALLS- Several South Dakota lawmakers are considering a proposal - similar to Arizona's law - that gives police authority to seek out illegal immigrants. Backers of the idea here say it would help preserve law and order and pressure the federal government to fix what they see as a broken immigration system. But skeptics argue it will encourage racial profiling, add inmates to already crowded jails and overwhelm local police to the point that the law would be unenforceable. |
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| 07/15/2010 |
| ACLU of South Dakota Issues Alert To State Residents Traveling To Arizona |
| SIOUX FALLS-SD In the wake of the announcement by South Dakota’s Attorney General Marty Jackley and Gov. Mike Rounds pledging support to Arizona in upholding its racial profiling law SB 1070, the ACLU of South Dakota has issued a travel warning for all South Dakotans who are planning on traveling to Arizona. |
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| 02/05/2010 |
| ACLU of South Dakota Concerned By Two Bills in South Dakota House That Chill Free Speech |
| SIOUX FALLS , SD- The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is deeply concerned by two bills that have been introduced into the South Dakota Legislature this week. Both bills seek to add serious constraints to websites that allow users to post anonymous opinions. |
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