The longtime head of one of Florida's most visible civil rights organizations is retiring.
Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU Florida, says he is stepping down from his job at the end of the month.
The 75-year-old Simon has spent the past 40 years leading American Civil Liberties Union chapters in Michigan and Florida.
The Miami Herald reports that Simon spent more than two decades with the Florida chapter.
Under his guidance, the ACLU Florida fought to strike down restrictions on abortion access and battled a gag order on doctors talking to patients and their families about the safe storage of guns.
He also clashed with then-Gov. Jeb Bush over the 2005 case of Terri Shiavoa and whether her husband had a right to remove her feeding tube. Most recently, he championed the restoration of voting rights for ex-felons.
