LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California and a Pasadena couple who was forced to remove a sign questioning the war in Iraq from the exterior of their home, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal district court seeking a permanent injunction blocking the city from enforcing a municipal code that is counter to the First Amendment.

Mary Gavel-Briggs and Patrick Briggs, who are long time Pasadena homeowners, filed the suit after they were forced to remove two political signs that read "Support Cindy Sheehan" and "War starts with 'W.' Bush Lied. People Died." from the front of their home or face a fine of up to $500.

"The signs have allowed us to have many conversations and debates with our neighbors and passers by," said Mary Briggs. "I think that kind of communication is very important to the health of our country. I can't believe we're the first people to challenge this rule, but I hope we help other people express their views too."

Pasadena residents are prohibited from posting most signs on their own property - no matter the content - if they do not obtain a permit and comply with a host of city requirements. Pasadena Municipal Code states that for single-family and duplex homes the maximum number of signs what may be posted is "four signs per parcel" and that maximum sign area is "one square foot per sign" - about the size of a sheet of paper.

"Limiting maximum signage area to one square foot offends another core constitutional principle - that as to the First Amendment, size matters," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director for the ACLU/SC. "Political signs placed on residential property that express views on controversial issues uniquely fulfill a core function of our democracy to reflect and animate change in the life of a community."

The Briggs first called the ACLU/SC after a long exchange of phone conversations, letters and emails with the Zoning Department attempting to clarify the rules and obtain a permit, if necessary, to place a sign on their home. In mid-August the Zoning Department said after consulting the city attorney the Briggs' signs were "prohibited," but provided no rationale why.

The Briggs are active in community groups and their church. Mary Briggs is a third generation Pasadena resident and has owned the home in the North Pasadena Heights section of Pasadena for nearly ten years. The couple bypassed the rule last month to post a sign notifying neighbors they could leave donations for Hurricane Katrina victims at their house.

"We just think this regulation is counter to the spirit of our city," said Patrick Briggs. "At first it seemed like a minor issue, but changing the code is worthwhile for the sake of discussion and democracy in our community."

LOS ANGELES - Less than a week after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against top U.S. officials demanding the release of a long-time U.S. resident, the government freed him Tuesday.

The release comes almost two months after a military court declared Numan Adnan Al Kaby innocent and just two days before a judge was to hear the case in Washington, D.C.

"A federal judge set a hearing and the government was going to have to defend the indefensible, which explains the timing of Mr. Al Kaby's release," said Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU of Southern California legal director. "It is absolutely chilling that more than two months after Mr. Al Kaby was cleared by our government it took a federal lawsuit against the president to secure an innocent man's release."

Numan Adnan Al Kaby, a long-term legal resident of the United States who escaped the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War, returned to Iraq after Hussein's capture to reunite with his family and found a job aiding an American contractor. Al Kaby, who is an applicant for U.S. citizenship and a Shiite originally from Iraq, was arrested by the U.S. military in April and declared innocent by a military court July 4, but still remained in custody without contact with his family or access to a lawyer. Al Kaby was originally arrested after calling in sick the same day his construction site received mortar fire, but the military court determined he was not involved in the incident.

"I am so glad he's safe," said Haider Al Saedy, Al Kaby's first cousin with whom he lived in Michigan. "I didn't know where he was or why we couldn't speak to him even though he was innocent, but now I am so happy he is back with our family."

Al Kaby's lawsuit was filed in federal district court by Al Saedy, and Cyrus Kar, an American who became friends with Al Kaby while the two were detained in neighboring cells for more than a month at the Camp Cropper detention facility in Iraq. Kar, a U.S. Navy veteran in Iraq working on a documentary film, was released after the ACLU of Southern California filed a lawsuit that made national headlines.

The suit was due to be heard Thursday, Sept. 8 in Washington, but Justice Department attorneys, filed papers seeking a 23-day delay to respond to the ACLU suit. In a motion filed Sunday, the ACLU wrote: "The only truly novel question here is chilling -- whether a determination of innocence of a lawful permanent resident by a military tribunal may be arbitrarily voided or ignored such that liberty becomes illusory."

After growing up in Iraq, Al Kaby was forced to escape the country after refusing to continue to serve in Saddam Hussein's army in 1991. He fled to a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia where he spent more than three years before receiving political asylum in the United States. In the U.S. Al Kaby worked first in Salt Lake City at an airport shop before reuniting with his cousin, Al Saedy, who had spent seven years in the same Saudi Arabian refugee camp. The two moved to Michigan where they opened restaurants.

Attorneys in the case are international law specialist and former Chair of Amnesty International USA Paul Hoffman, Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky; Rosenbaum, Ranjana Natarajan and Ahilan Arulanantham of the ACLU of Southern California; Legal Director Steven Shapiro and Ben Wizner of the national ACLU; Lucas Guttentag and Lee Gelernt of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project; and Art Spitzer of the ACLU of the National Capital Area; and Moss and Legal Director Mike Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan.

For a copy of the complaint, please visit: www.aclusocal.org

For more information on Cyrus Kar, please visit: www.aclusocal.org/News/

LOS ANGELES - The ACLU of Southern California, an Orange County high school senior, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network filed a lawsuit today against the Garden Grove Unified School District in an effort to stop discrimination and harassment of gay and lesbian students on campus.

Charlene Nguon filed suit with her mother after Santiago High School Principal Ben Wolf told her that either she or her girlfriend had to leave the high school at the end of her junior year for a neighboring school, Bolsa Grande. Previously he had singled Nguon out for discipline a number of times for displaying affection with her girlfriend.

"Charlene is the type of child every parent should be proud of," said Christine P. Sun, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "Instead of derailing Charlene's academic achievements because she is a lesbian, school administrators should be doing their job to make sure that every student thrives regardless of their sexual orientation."

Nguon, 17, is a straight A student ranked in the top 5 percent of her class, and had no prior record of discipline. She is enrolled in a number of advanced placement and honors classes and was a candidate for the National Honor Society until the offer was rescinded because of discipline, including one week-long suspension, for hugging her girlfriend on campus.

"I just don't understand why my girlfriend and I were not allowed to be affectionate but other couples are," said Nguon, who hopes to attend USC, Stanford or Loyola Marymount next fall. "Most other students at Santiago are very accepting and tolerant of gay students, but the administration is a different story. We were singled out and disciplined because we are lesbians."

The lawsuit, which was filed along with the law firm Latham and Watkins and the ACLU's Lesbian & Gay Rights Project, in federal district court in Santa Ana, seeks to clear Nguon of any discipline on her record. Nguon's grades slipped when she switched to Bolsa Grande High School as she struggled to catch up with that school's curriculum and her commute grew from a four block walk to a 4 and a half mile bike ride. After the ACLU sent a letter to the district in late July, Nguon was allowed to return to Santiago where she has been enrolled since her freshman year. But the school has made no effort to improve the climate on campus or to ensure Nguon will not be targeted for discipline again.

"The way Principal Wolf and the staff at Santiago have treated Charlene, myself, and our family is not fair and not right," said Charlene's older sister, Eileen Malm of Laguna Hills. "Charlene's distress pushed her to consider dropping out of school. I told her not to throw her life away because of one person's unjust actions. Because the school refuses to stop the discrimination against Charlene I feel we have no other choice but to file a lawsuit to make sure Charlene can continue with her studies and not face any harassment."

The lawsuit also seeks to create a district wide policy and guidelines to ensure that gay and lesbian students are treated equally.