News & Commentary
Speak Freely: The Alabama Governor Just Signed a Bill That Will Restore Voting Rights to Thousands of Alabamians
Approved in 1901, the Alabama Constitution disqualifies from voting any citizen convicted of a “crime involving moral turpitude.” That may at first seem racially neutral, but the document as well as the moral turpitude provision were designed with clear racist intent. The drafters intentionally sought to subvert the 14th and 15th Amendments’ protection against racial discrimination in voting by using the moral turpitude provision, in conjunction with discriminatory criminal justice enforcement, to target Alabama’s Black citizens.
By Julie Ebenstein
Statement on the Briarwood Presbyterian Church
Alabama Senate Bill 193 would have authorized the formation of a Briarwood Church police force – police officers with full state authority answerable only to the Church. It passed the Senate in April and was expected to pass the House; however, it never reached the floor for a vote. As a result, the bill died this legislative session, but the support behind it remains, and the ACLU of Alabama expects to see something like it again.
New Report Shows Alabama's Pregnancy Law Hurts, Not Helps
Amnesty International released a new report on the dangerous consequences of prosecuting pregnant women who use drugs. America’s obsession with the “war on drugs” has criminalized addiction and led to the incarceration of millions of Americans across the country. Unfortunately, thanks to Alabama’s “chemical endangerment” law and other “fetal assault” laws like it, this attitude has also criminalized pregnancy.
By Rebecca Seung-Bickley
Speak Freely: Kris Kobach, the ‘King of Voter Suppression,’ Will Lead Trump’s Sham Voter Fraud Commission
President Trump signed an executive order forming a commission to investigate voter fraud and voter suppression after repeatedly claiming, without evidence, that the United States has a “major problem” with illegal voting.
Speak Freely: We’re Seeking the Public Release of the Comey Memos Under the Freedom of Information Act
The ACLU today sought the public release of memos reportedly prepared by former FBI Director James Comey that describe his conversations with President Trump. According to multiple news sources, one of those memos documents a conversation in which President Trump urged Comey to close the bureau’s investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. This Freedom of Information Act request comes two days after another ACLU request for documents relating to Comey’s abrupt dismissal last week.
ACLU of Alabama Files Demands for Documents on Implementation of Trump's Muslim Ban
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama filed a Freedom of Information Act request today with its local U.S. Customs and Border Protection office to expose how Trump administration officials are interpreting and executing the president’s Muslim ban.
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