First Amendment Rights

The First Amendment protects our right to speak, assemble, organize, protest and practice – or not practice – religion. These rights are the foundation of our democracy.

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What you need to know

73% of Virginians oppose removing books from public schools even if some people find them offensive according to a 2023 Roanoke College poll.

Virginia's marriage code still discriminates against non-religious wedding ceremonies.

As few as 0.2% of license plates photographed by automated license plate readers are ever linked to criminal activity, according to a 2012 national ACLU study.

The First Amendment protects our right to speak, assemble, organize, protest and practice – or not practice – religion. These rights and freedoms are the foundation of our democracy.

As the premier guardian of civil liberties in the Commonwealth, the ACLU of Virginia bears a special responsibility to defend our First Amendment rights. Over the last 50 years, we have:

 

  • Challenged unconstitutional book bans in schools and public libraries.
  • Sued to limit mass surveillance by police through the use of automatic license plate readers.
  • Protected the right to protest by observing police during lawful demonstrations and represented protesters in court when police violated their rights.

Attacks on our basic rights will never cease. We will oppose government censorship, ensure that students are taught an honest and complete account of history, and protect the right to protest.

MAKE A DONATION today or BECOME A MEMBER to defend civil liberties in Virginia.


MARY'S STORY

Book ban attempts have surged in recent years – not just in public schools and libraries, but in private bookstores as well. In 2022, we represented several Virginia-based bookstores, library associations and other organizations to defend their right to sell two challenged books:

  • Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.

Under a Virginia law that hasn’t been used in decades, an individual filed a petition to the court claiming that the books are “obscene.” If the courts had agreed, anyone in Virginia who published, sold, lent or transported these two books may have been held liable.

We fought in court and stopped that from happening. Censorship has no place in America, and Virginians should have access to these books.

The Latest

Press Release
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Georgetown scholar to remain free after appeals court rejects Trump admin bid to re-detain him

“The Trump administration is trying to silence speech it doesn’t agree with by targeting people like Dr. Khan Suri and Mahmoud Khalil, but ideas are not illegal,” said ACU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer.
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Press Release
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Georgetown scholar Dr. Badar Khan Suri, reunited with his wife and children, releases statement

“The moment I stepped out of the detention center, I inhaled deeply, a breath of freedom I had been deprived of for two, long months," said Dr. Badar Khan Suri.
Press Release
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Georgetown scholar to be freed from detention in another loss for the Trump administration

Federal judge orders Dr. Badar Khan Suri released; ICE arrested him on March 17th for constitutionally protected speech and associations
Court Case
Apr 16, 2025

EK v. Department of Defense Education Activity

The ACLU of Virginia, American Civil Liberties Union, and ACLU of Kentucky filed suit against the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of 12 students that attend DoDEA schools after DoDEA removed books and changed curricular in violation of the students' First Amendment rights.
Court Case
Jun 26, 2025

Khan Suri v. Trump, et al.

Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown professor and postdoctoral scholar on religion and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia, is legally in the U.S. on a research scholar and professor visa. He is an Indian national who lives with his U.S. citizen wife and three children in Rosslyn, Virginia. When he arrived home on the evening of Monday, March 17 following a traditional Ramadan meal celebration, he was taken into custody by masked federal agents without being charged with or accused of any crime. In just over 72 hours, he was shuffled to multiple immigration detention centers, ultimately landing in Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, where he was detained until his release on bond on May 14.
Court Case
Aug 05, 2024

Young America's Foundation v. Sitman et al.

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the ACLU Foundation of Virginia, together with firm co-counsel, have filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit brought by the Young America's Foundation (YAF) against Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell, the hosts of the Know Your Enemy podcast, and Dissent magazine, asserting nine types of trademark infringement.
Court Case
Jun 23, 2022

Virginia Obscenity Proceedings against Two Books

On behalf of Virginia bookstores & others, we urged a Virginia court to dismiss obscenity proceedings that would block two books from being sold & distributed in Virginia. Baseless claims of obscenity should not be allowed to override our First Amendment rights.