News & Commentary

Sunday September 17 is Constitution Day, an annual commemoration of the day the US Constitution was signed in 1787. The individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights applies to all people living in the United States, including the very important freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble. 

In case you missed it, here are a few highlights and headlines from the past few months regarding the ACLU and our work here in Alabama.

In case you missed it, here are a few highlights and headlines regarding the ACLU and ACLU related issues. 

The 2017 legislative session ended May 19, and to many, it seemed to be among the most contentious of recent years. In addition to the removal of Chief Justice Roy Moore and the resignation of Governor Robert Bentley, there were heated debates over many issues such as the federal court-ordered reapportionment, prison construction, confederate monuments, and a racist joke about monkeys.

Here are a few of the basics on what public schools can and can’t do when it comes to dress codes.

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.

FOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2014CONTACT: Brooke Anderson, 334-420-1750, [email protected], Ala. – The ACLU of Alabama, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit today in federal court on behalf of a Chilton County pastor whose right to freely practice his faith was violated by a new Alabama law that prevents him from pursuing his ministry and exercising his deeply-held religious beliefs.For over three years, Pastor Ricky Martin, leader of the Triumph Church in Clanton, Ala., and a volunteer prison chaplain, allowed registered sex offenders recently released from prison to live in trailers behind his church. “Pastor Martin believes it is his Christian duty and his calling to help those in need—especially those in dire need and cast out from society,” said Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama.