News & Commentary

October 6, 2014OKLAHOMA CITY –The following is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director:In short order, and not a minute too soon, the State of Oklahoma will begin to license and  recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, and one era of discrimination in Oklahoma will be resigned to the history books. We celebrate today’s victory and offer our sincere appreciation for the many allies of equality that have made today possible. As we celebrate, we know that this giant step towards equality must not be the last. We now turn our attention to ensuring that there is not a single jurisdiction in the United States that lawfully discriminates against same-sex couples. And that right here in Oklahoma, we have work to do to ensure that no one is discriminated against by an employer or a landlord for exercising their Constitutionally protected right to marry. However long that next movement may take, we can take comfort in knowing that like marriage equality, true equality marches onward with the progress of society.The following response is attributable to Brady Henderson, ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director:Though today’s order from the U.S. Supreme Court consisted of just eight words, it is life-changing for thousands of Oklahomans. Today is an enormous victory for the simple idea that we should be able to marry who we love rather than who the state tells us to. It is feasible that marriages between couples of the same-sex can go forward as early as today. A sad chapter in our state’s history is now at an end, but there remains much work to be done; true equality is not just about what the law books say, but how we treat one another in everyday life as fellow Oklahomans.The following is a statement from  ACLU National:NEW YORK – The Supreme Court of the United States today denied review in all of the marriage equality cases pending before it. As a result of the Court’s action, same-sex couples in Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma and Utah will now be able to marry the partners they love. Today’s orders also mean that same-sex marriage will soon become lawful in at least 30 states."This is a watershed moment for the entire country. We are one big step closer to the day when all same-sex couples will have the freedom to marry regardless of where they live. The time has come and the country is ready," said James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "This is life-saving news for same-sex couples all across the country. Marriage helps families deal with times of crisis, and the Supreme Court’s action today means more loving and committed couples will have access to the protections that marriage provides."The ACLU was co-counsel in five of the seven petitions that were denied today, in cases from Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin.The ACLU has been working for the rights of LGBT people since 1936, when it brought its first gay rights case. The organization filed the first freedom-to-marry lawsuit for same-sex couples in 1970, represented Edie Windsor in her successful challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013, and has filed thirteen federal marriage lawsuits on behalf of same-sex couples since then.More information on the ACLU’s work to secure marriage equality across the country is available at: https://www.aclu.org/out-freedom

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Laws

July 9, 2014 by Hilary HudsonAn expired driver’s license typically demands a routine trip to the tag agency and the accompanying annoyances - waiting in line, paying renewal fees, and posing awkwardly for a picture. Most Oklahomans, however, do not know just how much personal information they are sharing when they smile for the digital camera. The high-resolution photographs taken for Oklahoma driver’s licenses and identification cards actually contain biometric data: unique information that can be used to identify you based on your facial features. The information gathered includes physical signatures like iris recognition data containing color or texture patterns, and a digital image that is compatible with facial recognition programs used by law enforcement.In response, a Cleveland County resident filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety objecting to the collection and storage of this biometric data as a condition to drive a car in Oklahoma. According to the petition, a DPS agent denied the plaintiff’s application for a driver’s license renewal when the plaintiff refused, on religious grounds, to allow a high-resolution biometric facial photograph to be taken of her. The plaintiff now asserts a violation of the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act, which forbids government entities from substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion, unless that burden is essential to a compelling governmental interest. The reasons the State of Oklahoma has produced to justify the mandatory collection of biometric data fall considerably short of this standard.Initially, the DPS claimed that it was complying with a federal law requiring the collection of biometric data, but the department has since admitted that no such law exists. Then DPS asserted generally that biometric images verify the identity of a person applying for a driver’s license. There is no apparent justification, however, for refusing to accept a birth certificate, along with some acceptable form of secondary identification, as sufficient to identify an applicant. Furthermore, a lower-resolution photograph would serve the same photographic identification purposes on a driver’s license, without collecting the data that raises privacy and religious freedom concerns.Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this is the lack of notice to citizens that the government is collecting personal biometric data at local tag agencies. Most Oklahomans have no idea that they are turning over sensitive information to be stored in a database when they pose for their drivers’ license picture, let alone told how that data may be used in the future. MorphoTrustUSA, a United States corporation owned by a French aerospace and security conglomerate, provides biometric data-collecting services to Oklahoma and forty other states, as well as to the State Department, the FBI, and the Department of Defense. The information available about just who has access to the personal data stored in biometric databases is murky. Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed opposition to the idea of a national identification system. Yet, the potential accessibility and interoperability of biometric data systems, with one company providing services to numerous state and federal agencies, raises concerns that broad data sharing may already be occurring.This makes it possible for a law abiding citizen to have a picture of themselves on Facebook to be crosschecked against this massive database, thereby revealing personal information to any number of government and private sector entities. With alternatives available to meet the State of Oklahoma’s need to have a photo on a drivers’ license that don’t require Oklahoma drivers to surrender their privacy, there is no reason the state should make Oklahomans choose between privacy and driving; let alone not even giving them notice to make that untenable choice in the first place.Hilary Hudson is a second-year student at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and an intern at the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma.