News & Commentary

Andrew Goddeeris, Legal InternThis past weekend I had the opportunity to represent the ACLU of Michigan at Motor City Pride, and while I consider myself a strong ally of the LGBT community and have been to smaller pride events in the past, it was eye-opening to see such a huge number of people proclaming every person’s right to love.It is tremendously rewarding to be part of an organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights and liberties of all people, and to see so many wildly different people in one place proudly celebrating their identities impressed upon me the importance of the work of organizations like ours. We had a great time recruiting new members, explaining the work of the ACLU, and catching up with old supporters, all on a couple of beautiful days in Downtown Detroit.► See photos of our friends & allies at Motor City PrideIt was especially heartening to see so many young people proudly declaring their identities. I’m not too many years removed from high school, and I can still vividly remember the struggles of my LGBT classmates. There's a lot of work to be done to allow young people to feel comfortable with their gender and sexuality, it brought a smile to my face to see so many teenagers celebrating their pride.We had dozens join the us as members at Motor City Pride, but you don't have to wait to become a card-carrying supporter of equality and justice in our state: it only takes two minutes to join online.Comparing events like Motor City Pride to what would have been possible 40 years ago really hammers home the impact that advocates for civil rights and liberties can have on society, and I’m so glad I was able to play a small, small role with the ACLU of Michigan. Learn more about issues you care about and take action: become a member, subscribe to our email action alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. 

The government is tracking every citizen’s every move in a humungous, all-encompassing surveillance program behind closed doors, then a young protagonist reveals the federal government’s secrets and has to run away to foreign lands to avoid its harsh prosecutions. This sounds like some sort of horrifying science fiction movie; however, sadly, it is real life. By now, I am sure that you have heard of the new and alarming revelations about the government’s gigantic surveillance program. Here's the gist of it: the National Security Agency has not only been tracking almost every phone call made within the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries, it has been accessing the servers of major technology producers like Google, Facebook, and Apple.  This information was made public through Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old contract computer employee who has worked for both the NSA and the CIA. Snowden is now seeking asylum, probably in Hong Kong, and U.S. officials are in the process of filing charges against him. Snowden joins the ranks of whistleblowers who have been put in legal hot water for bringing us vital information on how our government is really treating our rights. It shouldn't have to take destroying someone's life for the public to gain access to knowledge. In an ideal world, the information that Snowden provided would be accessible without the necessity of a leak. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives Americans the right to access U.S. government records and demands the openness and transparency that are necessities in a free and liberated society and allow citizens to make informed choices that are the basis of democracy. The FOIA (pronounced foy-yuh) requires government agencies to disclose any records that are asked for in a written FOIA request, unless the information falls under one of these nine exemptions. Unfortunately, the government keeps a lot of information, including documents and facts concerning its spying programs, inaccessible to the public by marking it as classified. In 2009, Obama signed an executive order that declassified some of the information that the Bush administration kept hidden, but government agencies still prevent government transparency through molding the FOIA to suit their own desires. Currently, we rely on leaks to inform us about the government’s actions. However, if the FOIA was consistently executed properly by federal government agencies, leaks would not be necessary and the American public could continually hold the government accountable for its wrongdoings. The FOIA has gone through many changes in the past, especially after huge scandals such as Watergate, which led to expanded access to federal files. Hopefully, this recent scandal will lead to similar improvements. The ACLU has been worried about an encroaching surveillance society, which was exposed in these recent findings, for years, and has filed many FOIA requests investigating it within the past decade. Most recently, in May 2011, the ACLU filed a FOIA request to access information concerning the “secret interpretation” of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and these new revelations will likely affect this pending FOIA lawsuit. After this week's incredible disclosures, the ACLU has filed a motion to release court records concerning government surveillance. Take action now! Sign this petition to stop the massive government spying program and learn how to file your own FOIA request.

Revelations about civil rights violations have been bountiful this past week. We have discovered that black people are arrested for marijuana possession at a very disproportionate rate; activists have been told that they cannot hand out flyers on public sidewalks; and the government has been tracking innocent citizens’ phone calls.

It looks like the summer of 2013 is shaping up to be just like that of 2012 – all about vagina. Tomorrow morning, the Michigan State Board of Canvassers is holding a hearing that could be the first step towards ignoring the will of the people and forcing policy that would endanger women’s health through the legislature. If the Board approves petition language for this extreme ballot proposal, it would mean that opponents of reproductive rights would have a shot at enacting a law that cannot be vetoed by the Governor or challenged in the courts. Join us tomorrow at the State Capitol to make it known that we are not going down without a fight.

The ACLU of Michigan and the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Grand Rapids Police Department’s longstanding practice of arresting innocent people for criminal trespass on commercial property without warning and without the business owner's knowledge.

Think twice before parking your car in Grand Rapids.

In each of the last five years, more than 90,000 youth were incarcerated in adult jails and prisons in the U.S. Although the practice of incarcerating youth as adults has become increasingly common in the U.S., the rest of the world views the practice as a human rights violation.

The use of drone technology is predicted to explode in the next few years, but current legislation regulating their use says nothing about your privacy. 

During the December 6, 2012 “lame duck” session of the state legislature, the Capitol doors were locked for several hours, keeping out thousands of people who had gathered at the Capitol to protest proposed legislation.While the doors were locked, the legislature passed several controversial bills, including the unpopular “Right to Work” bill whose validity is now being challenged by the ACLU of Michigan.Join the ACLU of Michigan Metro Detroit Branch to hear a discussion of the lockout and our lawsuit challenging the validity of the Right to Work Act at our annual meeting.