This Week in Civil Liberties: Victories in Maine Legislature and in same-sex marriage

Each Friday, we’ll bring you updates on the latest civil liberties news from Maine and the nation.
 
Maine Legislative Successes
 
The ACLU of Maine has been actively working towards the passage of five bills related to privacy and technology this session (more here) . Yesterday, the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Judiciary voted in support of one of our bills, An Act to Protect Cellular Telephone Privacy. This bill requires law enforcement agencies and officers to obtain a probably cause warrant before obtaining text message content and cell phone records. The police aren’t allowed to read our personal mail without a warrant, they should not be allowed to read our text messages either. The bill now goes to the full house and senate for approval.
 
Another privacy bill before the legislature got tabled until next year. This bill prohibits employers and schools from accessing passwords to the private social media accounts of their employees or students. The ACLU of Maine will continue to educate folks on the importance of this measure. What people do online during their own time, outside of work and school, is their own business.
 
In other legislative news, the legislature defeated two unconstitutional bills yesterday that sought to put in place unconstitutional drug testing and residency requirements for welfare recipients.
 
Same-sex marriage victories in three states
 
Last Thursday, Rhode Island became the tenth state to legalize same sex marriage.
 
On Tuesday, Delaware became the eleventh state to legalize same-sex marriage.
 
Minnesota looks poised to become the twelfth state to legalize same-sex marriage. The Minnesota House of Representatives voted to approve same-sex marriage yesterday. The house was thought to be the biggest hurdle in the legalization process. Commentators expect passage in the senate and Minnesota’s governor publicly declared an intention to sign the bill into law.