LOS ANGELES - What do Yao Ming and Russell Crowe have in common?

They, like Laguna Niguel resident Janice Rooney, can't get a credit card from the Union Bank of California. Despite incredible wealth, or good credit in the case of Rooney, Union Bank won't extend you credit if you are not a U.S. citizen.

In response to its discriminatory policy, Rooney, who is married to a U.S. citizen and was born in the Philippines, filed a lawsuit today in Los Angeles Federal District Court with the ACLU of Southern California and the national ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. Rooney was told last year by Union Bank that her application for a secured credit card was denied simply because she is not a citizen of the United States.

"Denying a credit card to someone because they are a citizen of a different country is discrimination," said Ahilan T. Arulanantham, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California.

Rooney, who is a registered nutritionist, entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident. After relocating to the Los Angeles area with her husband, she attempted to establish her own credit by applying for a credit card from Union Bank. The bank denied her application in a form letter that gave the reason: "You are not a citizen of the United States." A second letter from bank legal counsel to Rooney, who eventually received credit at another bank, claimed that the discrimination was legal. The lawsuit seeks to end this policy that potentially could affect the more than 10 million immigrants living here legally as permanent residents.

"If a woman is denied a room at a hotel because of the color of her skin, it's discrimination that must be stopped, even if another hotel takes her in," said ACLU of Southern California Executive Director Ramona Ripston.

Union Bank and at least two other banks, including United First Mortgage of Virginia and First National Bank of Omaha, also appear to follow a policy of denying credit to people who are not U.S. citizens. The bank's prominent advertising campaign, which features large portraits and captions emphasizing that the bank caters to everyone, led Rooney to apply for a credit card there first.

"While my husband was teaching me to drive I saw Union Bank's billboards everywhere. I thought it would be a good bank to choose," said Rooney. "I hope this lawsuit ends this discriminatory policy so that in the future new immigrants aren't treated the way I was."

"Union Bank's policy is as perplexing as it is discriminatory," added Lee Gelernt, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. "Credit is essential in our society. In a country with 11 million legal immigrants, it doesn't make any sense to say that you must be a U.S. citizen to have a credit card."

LOS ANGELES - Five students and their parents filed an emergency lawsuit today in Superior Court in Kern County seeking publication in the next two weeks of a series of articles about sexual orientation that was censored by school officials.

Student editors, their sources and their parents said they were shocked at the high school administration's decision to silence them and stop publication of five articles from varying perspectives about gender identity, sexual orientation and students' personal stories. The East Bakersfield High School students are asking that the articles be published in the final edition of the paper, which is slated for print at the end of the month.

"I am really surprised and disappointed by our principal's decision to censor us," said Joel Paramo, a senior and editor-in-chief of The Kernal. "I wish we didn't need to file a lawsuit against the school to publish these stories. We chose to focus on sexual orientation in the paper so that the issues could be talked about in the open, not stuffed back into the closet."

The Kernal editors and the students interviewed for the articles first learned they would not be allowed to publish that portion of the newspaper April 29. The East High paper has been selected for several top awards from the local press club and has been allowed to print articles about sexuality in the past. Additionally, the student editors went to great lengths to ensure their sources and even their sources' parents knew about the articles.

"The East High students took an important step in promoting tolerance and understanding. They picked up where the school did not venture to go," said Christine Sun, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. "These students are taking a very courageous step and we take the safety of all students very seriously."

Janet Rangel, a senior at East High, was interviewed for the story with her mother, both are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Rangel said she was shocked to learn the stories would not be published.

"When our principal said the articles on sexual orientation could not be published in The Kernal it made me feel like I'm back where I was - in the closet again, hiding," Rangel said. "I don't want that. It's not ok. I want to be out. I'm out for a reason. I want people to learn from me and not treat me differently just because I'm gay. I went two steps ahead when I came out and now the school is pushing me back. And, now maybe other students who were thinking about coming out won't."

The Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which supports 38 school clubs in central California including GSA clubs at West Bakersfield High, Bakersfield High, South Bakersfield High, Liberty High and Kern Valley High, is also named as a plaintiff in the case.

"The school should provide a safe campus for all students, and protect them from harassment and discrimination, not force them into silence," said Carolyn Laub, the group's executive director. "If the principal has direct evidence that there are safety concerns at school, then his first priorities should not be to curtail free speech rights of students but to take appropriate steps to identify and discipline those students who are making threats and to make clear to the school community that harassment will not be tolerated."

SACRAMENTO - The State Senate today approved a bill that would prohibit state and local governments from issuing identification documents containing a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, a device that can broadcast an individual's most private information including name, phone number, and date of birth. In a 29-7 bipartisan vote, the bill would also make it unlawful for a person to read or attempt to read an identification document without the owner's knowledge.

The bill will be heard next in the State Assembly.

Authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), Senate Bill 682, also known as the Identity Information Protection Act of 2005, is said to be the first bill of its kind in the country and has drawn national attention following the federal government's decision to embed RFID tags in new U.S. passports.

"This represents significant progress for protecting the privacy, personal safety, and financial security of all Californians," said Senator Simitian. "RFID technology is not in and of itself the issue. The issue is whether and under what circumstances the government should be allowed to impose this technology on its residents. This bill provides a thoughtful and rational policy framework for making those decisions."

"I'm particularly pleased that the measure passed out of the Senate on a bi-partisan basis," added Simitian, noting that a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted in support of the measure.

RFID tag readers are readily available to the public, making it easy for anyone to collect an individual's most personal information. That information can then be used to steal a person's identity, stalk them, or even kidnap them. RFID tags embedded in public employee identification tags and other official documents could allow the government to track its employees' movements. SB 682 would also make it unlawful for a person to read or attempt to read an identification document without the owner's knowledge.

"The bi-partisan support of Monday's vote shows California's leaders have heard the message of its residents - protect our privacy rights," said Pam Noles, a policy associate with the ACLU of Southern California. "Now the Assembly must take a pioneering step and vote in support of this measure and the Governor must sign it into law."

SB 682 has gained support from across the political spectrum. Former Congressman Bob Barr (R-Georgia) recently featured Senator Simitian on his weekly show on Radio America. Other supporters include the Capitol Resource Institute, the AARP, The California Alliance Against Domestic Violence, the Statewide California Coalition for Battered Women, California NOW, the California Commission on the Status of Women, and the University of California Student Association (UCSA).

"This bill is important because it will protect Californian's privacy, security, and economic well-being" said Lee Tien, Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The bill was in part inspired by a case of an elementary school in Sutter, California that required its students to wear identification badges that contained RFID tags that broadcast the student's name, photo, grade, school name, class year and the four-digit school ID number. Parents successfully petitioned the school to remove the RFID tags.