News & Commentary

Senate Bill 916 (Schaefer - R) proposes alterations to the Missouri Human Rights Act that purport to protect religious freedom but in fact merely expand opportunities for discrimination. The language of this bill essentially removes all reasonable parameters for qualification as a religious organization, stating that any entity which “holds itself out to the public in whole or in part as religious,” even unaffiliated entities such as hospitals and schools, may discriminate against formerly protected populations under the tenuous guise of religious freedom.

The ACLU of Missouri and PROMO released the following statement today in response to the filing and referral of SJR39, Sen. Bob Onder's proposed religious exemption amendment to Missouri's constitution:

Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Missouri, released the following statement regarding the Ferguson City Council vote on the proposed consent decree with the United States Department of Justice:

Friday evening, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction in Free the Nipple, et al., v. City of Springfield. The injunction stops Springfield from enforcing a discriminatory provision in the City’s indecent exposure law that made it illegal for women to show any portion of their breasts beneath the areola as an act of protest.

A federal trial gets underway today over voting rights and the effects of race discrimination in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri is challenging the Ferguson-Florissant School District's at-large electoral system, charging it dilutes the votes of African-Americans in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri, in conjunction with the Don’t Shoot Coalition and other community partners, announced the filing of The Fair and Impartial Policing Act, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) and Representative Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin).

The Circuit Court of Cole County ruled that the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) knowingly violated the Sunshine Law by refusing to provide information related to the state’s execution witness selection process.

Over the course of seven months, Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson denied all three of Mr. Aaron Malin’s requests for public records on the basis that his office’s documents are “closed to the public” and that compiling and providing them would be “unduly burdensome.” Today, the ACLU of Missouri and Dave Roland, a public interest attorney, filed a Sunshine Law suit against the Prosecutor on Mr. Malin’s behalf.

On November 7, 2015, Bobby Honicutt, a 61-year old Springfield resident, was threatened with criminal charges after silently holding a sign on a public sidewalk that read “Trying to Support My Sick Wife| Please help.” Today, the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield on Mr. Honicutt’s behalf.