News & Commentary

In light of widespread reports of planned student walkouts as protests at public schools across the country, including in Virginia, it is important for school officials and students alike to keep in mind these important legal considerations:

When politicians use social media to conduct public business, the First Amendment demands that critics not be silenced.

We will continue to work against each other on issues on which we don’t and can’t agree and will seek to bring others to those causes. We know others will do the same.

The ACLU of Virginia supports unequivocally the freedom of professors, students and administrators to teach, learn, discuss and debate or to express ideas, opinions or feelings in classroom, public or private discourse.

The decision to represent Jason Kessler, organizer of the Unite the Right rally, wasn’t an affirmation of his views — which we abhor — any more than our advocacy for freedom of religion signals support for the use of religion as a justification for discrimination.

On Wednesday, March 15, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with local, state, and federal law enforcement representatives in Richmond on violent crime and public safety. Our Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastañaga addressed a crowd of protesters, who showed up to oppose the Trump administration's unconstitutional policies, in front of the SunTrust Center, where the meeting took place. You can watch her address here:

Please re-watch our Facebook Live review of the 2017 General Assembly session regarding civil rights and civil liberties in Virginia. In this video, we discussed major bills that we'd like Gov. Terry McAuliffe to veto and explained why those bills, which concern free speech, immigrants' rights, LGBT rights, and voting rights, are harmful to civil liberties in Virginia.

Since 1992, the county approved 25 “pump and haul” permits. The only one it denied was for a mosque.By Rebecca Guterman Paralegal, ACLU national

Want to get a better idea of how the American Civil Liberties Union has made America better? Take two minutes and watch our highlights reel.