David Bohnett Foundation Funds ACLU Staff Attorney to Work on Gay & Lesbian Civil Rights

In June, the David Bohnett Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced the creation of the Bohnett Attorney at the ACLU of Southern California, a staff attorney position that will focus on gay and lesbian civil rights litigation.

It is the only dedicated position to be funded thus far by the year-old foundation, which was created by Internet entrepreneur and Geocities founder David Bohnett with an endowment of $32 million.

The Bohnett Foundation dedicates its resources based on a founding vision of investing in social change. Gay and lesbian civil rights have long been a priority for Bohnett, who traces the inspiration for Geocities to his own experience as a gay man.

ãMy passion for the idea of online communities, my idea for giving away free home pages, came from my own experience . . . It was through my personal experience of coming out that I recognized how important it was to give everyone on the Internet that same chance to speak up about who they are - to give a voice to their hopes, their dreams and their passions.ä

The ACLU/SCâs inaugural Bohnett Staff Attorney will be Martha Matthews. She joins the ACLU after years of public interest litigation on behalf of youth and low-income families, most recently as a staff attorney at the National Youth Law Center, where she engaged in impact litigation and legislative advocacy to improve the foster care system and to improve delivery of services to adolescents.

As Director of the Family Advocacy Program at Stanford Law School, Matthews supervised an in-depth analysis of local implementation of welfare reform and built a legal clinic that connected low-income families with law students who could provide assistance on family law and domestic violence issues.

Matthews graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. She clerked with Federal District Court and Court of Appeals judges before clerking for Justice Harry Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The dedicated position will allow the ACLU/SC to expand its ongoing efforts on behalf of gay and lesbian civil rights in new and exciting ways. ãWhen David and I met and talked,ä said Ramona Ripston, Executive Director of the ACLU of Southern California, ãI knew immediately that he and the ACLU share a common vision. David deeply believes in the possibility of creating a better, more humane world, a world where all loving families are celebrated, where individuals can love one another freely and fully, and where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their relationships are accorded the same respect and legal rights that other people and their relationships enjoy. Thatâs a vision the ACLU has long been determined to make a reality, and, with the generous support of the Bohnett Foundation, weâll be well equipped to continue that work.ä

Bohnett noted that the Bohnett Staff Attorney arrives at a critical juncture in Californiaâs history, as Californiaâs gay and lesbian couples and families are struggling for equality and basic rights. ãI believe in the power of community,ä said Bohnett, ãand the Bohnett Staff Attorney will occupy a key position in two overlapping communities: the community of civil rights activists in Southern California, and Southern Californiaâs gay and lesbian community. Like others who lead these two dynamic groups, Matthews has the potential to change the way we live, to help bring about a better world.ä