The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, in cooperation with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, is filing an amicus brief on behalf of a 17-year-old gay man who fled to the United States from Mexico after being subjected to repeated beatings and harassment by Mexican police and others.

On at least two occasions, Geovanni Hernandez-Montiel was raped by Mexican police. At another time he was attacked and beaten by others, yet the police did nothing to help him.

After fleeing to the United States, Mr. Hernandez-Montiel applied for asylum with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), explaining that he feared for his life and that his own government would not protect him. For asylum to be granted, an applicant must demonstrate that he fears returning to his country of origin due to persecution arising from his membership in a particular social group. The Board of Immigration Appeals denied his application, a ruling which is presently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Taylor Flynn, ACLU/SC gay and lesbian rights attorney, said "Mr. Hernandez-Montiel was repeatedly harassed, beaten and rapedincluding by the police who are supposed to protect himsimply because he is gay. Neither the police nor any other governmental official has taken a single step to protect him. To deny him asylum is to subject him to further rapes, beatings, and may ultimately cost him his life. I cannot imagine a clearer case for granting political asylum." A hearing date for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has not been set.

The ACLU of Southern California sent a letter to the Kern County Board of Supervisors on June 25 urging that body to terminate County Human Relations Commissioner Douglas Hearn for making anti-gay remarks at commission meetings that the ACLU says make it impossible for the Human Relations Commission to fulfill its stated purpose to, "promote and safeguard the equal rights of and respect for all people within Kern County."

ACLU staff attorney Taylor Flynn sent the letter to all supervisors expressing concern that Hearn's public remarks at commission meetings directly undermine the ability of the Kern County Human Relations Commission to enforce state anti-discrimination laws and the commission's own purposes. In the letter, Ms. Flynn clarified that the First Amendment does not protect the comments of public officials which counter the expressed purpose of the agencies they serve.

"Commissioner Hearn's statements have been defended by members of the Board of Supervisors on the ground that his statements are protected under the First Amendment. This is incorrect. As the United States Supreme Court has long held, when a public official makes statements in his official capacity that are inconsistent with his official duties, those statements are not protected by the First Amendment. In fact, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed precisely this issuea San Francisco Human Rights commissioner had made anti-gay statements and then claimed that his statements were protected by the First Amendmenta claim which the court flatly rejected."

As reported in the June 4 issue of the Bakersfield Californian, "At a Human Relations Commission meeting held May 12, commissioner Douglas Hearn said homosexuals are `sick' and that he wouldn't want a gay teacher teaching his child, comments that were heard by James Merrick, a local teacher who attended the meeting because he was interested in joining the commission. The statements were confirmed by Hearn himself, who later elaborated on his opinions. `Any homosexual in my mind is sick,' he said. `I know those people are sick and I'll stand on that."

Kern County Supervisor Jon McQuiston, who appointed Hearn, defended his appointee, a Baptist minister. As reported in the June 10 edition of the Bakersfield Californian, "Hearn based his opinion on his religious beliefs, McQuiston said, and the commission sand the commission should tolerate members with differing beliefs."

But Taylor Flynn admonished the Board to, "acknowledge its obligation to remove Mr. Hearn from the Human Rights Commissiona public body which distributes flyers to encourage members of the gay and lesbian community to come to the Commission with reports of anti-gay violence and intolerance...The simple fact is that there is no possibility that the Human Rights Commission can effectively enforce the state's anti-discrimination laws while Mr. Hearn continues to serve as a commissioner."

The ACLU of Southern California today filed for a preliminary injunction in federal court to force the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to meet the basic transportation needs of mobility-impaired bus riders. The order sought would require the MTA to keep its wheelchair lifts and safety equipment in proper working order, promptly repair broken equipment, and provide alternative transportation for mobility-impaired passengers who are not able to board. The ACLU is also calling on the MTA to voluntarily make improvements in its service for disabled riders so that a court order will not be necessary.

Mobility-impaired riders have repeatedly complained about the failure to accommodate their disabilities, to no avail. More than five months after the lawsuit was brought, the MTA has still not agreed to make improvements in its service to mobility-impaired riders.

The ACLU's federal class action suit, filed on behalf of mobility-impaired bus riders in Los Angeles County [Beauchamp et al. v. Los Angeles County MTA, et al., C.D. Cal. Case No. 98-0402-CBM (BQRx)], charges that the MTA is failing miserably in its obligation to provide "full and equal access" to disabled bus riders. This lawsuit, filed January 16, was amended, June 2, into a class action. Plaintiffs charge that the MTA is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA") and other disability access laws. The ADA was enacted to dismantle barriers that prevent disabled individuals from obtaining equal opportunities, independence and economic self-sufficiency.

Plaintiffs charge that the MTA is breaking the law by failing to keep its wheelchair lifts in proper working order and that, on some lines, the lifts are broken more than 60% of the time. Frequently, mobility-impaired riders have been passed by completely, often without any explanation. The MTA has also endangered riders in wheelchairs by failing to keep its safety equipment operational or to use this equipment properly. The deplorable conditions on MTA buses have resulted in physical injuries, humiliation, emotional distress, and loss of wages to plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs are informed that the MTA Board will consider making voluntary improvements to its service for disabled riders, including wheelchair lifts and safety equipment, at its June 26 meeting. If the MTA Board refuses to make the necessary improvements, then a hearing will occur on July 20 at which plaintiffs will ask the federal district court for an order that would force the MTA to comply with the ADA and other disability access laws.

The ACLU is calling on the MTA Board to voluntarily agree to improvements in service to mobility-impaired riders, so that a court-ordered preliminary injunction will not be necessary.

ACLU staff attorney Dan Tokaji commented: "While the MTA has squandered billions of dollars on failed projects, the basic needs of disabled bus riders have gone unmet. The MTA has spent extravagant sums on plush new offices, but has failed to keep its wheelchair lifts in proper working order. As a result, mobility-impaired riders continue to suffer every day. Time and time again, disabled riders are left out in the cold or sweltering heat, while bus after bus passes them by. It is high time for the MTA to do right by disabled riders. If they won't make things better on their own, the MTA will face a court order forcing them to stop treating disabled people like second-class citizens."