A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury. Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly; the right to vote; freedom from involuntary servitude; and the right to equality in public places. Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular group or class. Statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual preference. Civil rights attorneys handle cases involving the rights of individuals to be free from unequal treatment (or discrimination) based on legally-protected characteristics such as race, gender, disability, national origin, age, sexual orientation, and religion. Civil rights cases can arise in a number of settings -- including employment, housing, lending, and education.
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mason County and the principal city of the Point Pleasant, WV-OH Micropolitan Statistical Area. Point Pleasant is most famous for the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge, which killed 46 people. The town is also noted for the October 10, 1774, Battle of Point Pleasant, in which Virginia militiamen led by Colonel Andrew Lewis defeated an Algonquin Confederation of Shawnee and Mingo warriors led by Shawnee Chief Cornstalk. The event is celebrated in Point Pleasant as the first battle of the American Revolutionary War, and in 1908 the US Senate authorized erection of a monument to commemorate Point Pleasant as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution. Most historians, however, regard it not as a battle of the Revolution but instead as a part of Lord Dunmore's War. It was the final home of Confederate Brigadier-General John McCausland, the next-to-last Confederate General to die. He died at his farm at Grimm's Landing on January 23, 1927, and is buried in nearby Henderson. Point Pleasant is located at 38°51′27″N 82°7′43″W / 38.8575°N 82.12861°W / 38.8575; -82.12861 (38.857527, -82.128571).