News & Commentary

Deisy Escalera--Latino Community Organizer, ACLU of Oklahoma--was born in Aguascalientes Mexico, raised in Oklahoma City. She is a student at the University of Oklahoma, former Miss Hispanic OU, Affiliate Lead for Dream Act Oklahoma, and in 2012 she was named one of Oklahoma's 10 Most Influential Hispanic Leaders.

“Today’s report from Anonymous Analytics only confirms what we have known in Oklahoma for sometime now; private prisons are a bad investment. Normally, I would say a business model that depends upon politicians making short-sighted, self-serving policy decisions would be a sound investment, but it is becoming more clear by the day that the private prison industry is a bad investment for states and shareholders alike. We urge policymakers to reconsider their appetite for private prisons and instead focus their attention on actual criminal justice reforms that make us safer and protect our tax dollars.”

“Today is a great day for America. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, violates the Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection brings our nation one step closer to true equality. Likewise, the Court’s ruling on California’s Prop 8 makes marriage equality a reality for the people of California and sets the stage for marriage equality to become the law of the land. We know today’s victories do not mean an end to Oklahoma’s hateful law that stands in the way of love, nor do they mean an end to other discriminatory laws that target Oklahomans for nothing more than who they love. But these decisions do send a powerful signal to the LGBT community in Oklahoma and their friends and loved ones that change is coming, history will vindicate our struggle, and the day is not far off when we will more fully realize the promise of our Constitution. The ACLU of Oklahoma stands ready with our allies to ensure that day arrives with no delay.”

By Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma Foundation

Kellyville, OK—You would be excused for not associating a high school prom with the First Amendment, but when Kellyville Public School officials recently told a student he would be denied attendance to prom if he wore a kilt, they turned a high school rite of passage into a teaching moment about the Constitution and protected speech. After visiting with the student’s father, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma sent a letter to Kellyville High School. Shortly after receiving the ACLU of Oklahoma’s letter, school officials withdrew the prohibition and the student successfully exercised his freedom of expression at his prom.This incident is just one of many similar battles fought at the intersection between schools’ attempts to enforce discipline and the protection of students’ constitutional rights. The U.S Supreme Court has recognized that clothing—even student clothing—is a form of expression entitled to full protection of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. And it has long held that students “do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Even when the speech occurs in a traditional school setting like a classroom—as opposed to the more free and open social environment of a dance­—school officials must still prove that the forbidden conduct would substantially interfere with the operation of the school or would impinge upon the rights of other students.While the enforcement of a dress code does not automatically violate students’ constitutional rights, school officials must apply a dress code in accordance with the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions. In the case of Kellyville High School, kilts are not offensive to the school’s dress code and had been allowed at school events in the past. The ACLU of Oklahoma argued that it was “difficult to perceive how a kilt might substantially interfere with the operation of a school classroom, let alone a school dance.”While the wearing of a kilt may seem like a minor issue in the grander scheme of civil liberties, the ACLU of Oklahoma believes such issues present an opportunity for students to learn the invaluable lesson of standing up for their rights.  The ACLU of Oklahoma closed its letter to Kellyville Public Schools by encouraging the administration to let students exercise their protected rights to the extent provided by law, stating that “doing so would not only teach students the value of their speech,  but would set an appropriate example of respect for the law and for the civil rights of others.”

Report Features Original Data Analysis on Marijuana Arrest Rates by Race and Details High Costs of Enforcement

OKLAHOMA CITY – Following many attempts to convince the Office of the Governor to comply voluntarily with the Oklahoma Open Records Act, The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit today against Governor Mary Fallin and the Office of the Governor in Oklahoma County District Court.

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