LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of a man who filed a sex discrimination claim against his former employer, MGM Grand Hotel, Inc. for sexual harassment he endured while working as a hotel butler in Las Vegas, Nevada. The decision overturns a lower court ruling in favor of MGM Grand and reinstates the plaintiff's case.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Mr. Medina Rene's case.

"We are very pleased with the ruling," said ACLU/SC board member and UCLA law professor William Rubenstein. "This decision will provide important workplace protections to employees throughout the 9th Circuit. The court recognized that sexual harassment is wrong whether it comes from individuals of the same sex or of the opposite sex, whether it is aimed at men or women, and whether the victims are gay or straight. This is an important ruling by a large group of Ninth Circuit judges that will reverberate throughout the nation."

Medina Rene is an openly gay man who was employed at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1993 through 1996. Mr. Rene was continually harassed by his male co-workers and his male supervisor. He endured verbal taunts and whistles and was physically assaulted on several occasions.

Mr. Rene filed a complaint alleging that he had been sexually harassed in violation of Title VII, a federal law that makes it "unlawful employment practice...to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges or employment because of...sex[.]" A federal district court had granted summary judgement in favor of MGM Grand, finding that the discrimination Mr. Rene faced was based on his sexual orientation, not his sex. Title VII does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Mr. Rene appealed to the Ninth Circuit and the court, sitting en banc, overturned the federal district court's ruling. Seven of the ten judges on the Ninth Circuit panel supported this outcome.

Acknowledging the harassment Mr. Rene faced because he is gay was not covered by Title VII, the Ninth Circuit held that he could nonetheless state a claim the he was discriminated against on the basis of sex, if he faced the type of sexual harassment that is prohibited by Title VII's ban on sex discrimination.

Writing for the court, Judge Judge William A. Fletcher stated that:

"We would hold that an employee's sexual orientation is irrelevant for purposes of Title VII. It neither provides nor precludes a cause of action for sexual harassment...It is enough that the harasser have engaged in severe or pervasive unwelcome physical conduct of a sexual nature."

In a concurring opinion signed by three judges, Judge Harry Pregerson also found that the plaintiff's case should not have been rejected but under a second Title VII theory. Judge Pregerson found that Mr. Rene was harassed because he did not act "manly" enough:

"This is a case of actionable gender stereotyping harassment...More than a decade ago, the Supreme Court held that gender stereotyping is actionable under Title VII."

LOS ANGELES - Today, Californian's right to make private childbearing decisions free of government interference became law as Governor Gray Davis signed a historic bill that is widely supported by a broad coalition of women's groups, heath-care providers and civil rights organizations. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California's Latina Rights Project was a main supporter of the bill and worked to mobilize community support and awareness by holding a bilingual community forum on access to reproductive health care.

Senator Sheila Kuehl sponsored the legislation, SB 1301, also known as the Reproductive Privacy Act. The act will update California's outdated and largely unconstitutional 1967 abortion law to reflect the principles of Roe v. Wade. Kuehl's bill will protect Californian's right to choose abortion and make child bearing decisions. Under the new law, women will be provided greater access to early, non-surgical abortion methods by expanding the number of qualified clinicians authorized to provide non-surgical abortions.

"This is a tremendous victory for California women," said Rocio Cordoba, Director of the ACLU/SC's Latina Rights Project. "In California, Latinas make up the largest portion of women without health insurance; this bill will make safe, non-surgical methods of abortion another option available to women are in serious need of health services."

LOS ANGELES - The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, together with the law firm of Ross, Dixon & Bell, today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging the blatantly discriminatory treatment of two Afghan-American, Southern California college students at the hands of AMC Theaters located at 'The Block' in Orange County.

The young men, Mohammad Sayed and Omar Zazia, both Cal State Fullerton undergraduates, were waiting for the opening credits to start, speaking amongst themselves in both English and Pashto. They were not being disruptive and were speaking in a tone that was consistent with the other patrons. They noticed a security guard staring at them intently. The security guard later returned with an usher and asked them to leave the theater. The only stated reason for their expulsion: they were ?speaking in a foreign tongue? and looked ?suspicious.?

?This is a case of out and out discrimination,? said Ben Wizner, staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California. ?As a nation, we long ago settled the issue of discrimination in public accommodations. Not only did we decide it was immoral and contrary to fundamental American values, but we also made it illegal. AMC Theaters is now on notice that they are not above the law.?

The plaintiffs were paraded through the crowded theater lobby by security and escorted out of the building. Their requests to speak with a manager were rebuffed. Once outside, they were met by more than a half-dozen City of Orange police officers. The officer threatened the young men with arrest if they were to return to ?The Block? later that night.

?We couldn't believe it,? said Mohammad Sayed, a plaintiff in the legal action. ?We had just been kicked out of the theater with no explanation and no refund. We had not committed a crime and we were not disruptive or disrespectful. We weren't even allowed to speak with a manager.?

AMC Theaters is one of the largest multiplex theater chains in the nation, with over 200 theaters throughout the country, and 33 in California alone.

?We have added this case to our pro bono workload because we believe it is an extremely significant case,? said Kevin Keiffer, associate at the Orange County firm, Ross, Dixon & Bell. ?It speaks volumes about the times we live in. It reminds us that despite our troubled times, we cannot bow to fear. We cannot allow discrimination like that faced by Mohammad and Omar to become part of our everyday lives.?

?Sometimes I think that people in power get away with this sort of thing because they pick on people who are not aware of their rights,? said Omar Zazia, also a plaintiff in the suit. ?People who get mistreated are sometimes afraid to speak up. But one of the things that being an American has taught me is that you have to stand up for your rights. In other countries, you may not have any rights, but here you do, and I want people to know that you don't have to sacrifice your dignity when you come to this country.?

The lawsuit seeks to compel AMC Theaters to take all necessary steps to ensure that such discriminatory conduct does not occur in the future.