Issues

Criminal Justice

Criminal justice constitutional protections guard against governmental abuse of power when anyone is suspected or accused of committing a crime.

“[L]awyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.

Death Penalty

Death penalty court process errors have raised serious questions about whether the death penalty is fairly administered in our country.

“More often than we want to recognize, some innocent defendants have been convicted and sentenced to death…After 20 years on (the) high court, I have to acknowledge

Free Speech

Free Speech constitutional rights are the foundation of our society.

“[W]e have little trouble in concluding that the people who framed and adopted Article I, section 8, as part of the original Oregon Constitution intended to prohibit

Immigrants' Rights

Immigrants’ constitutional rights are based on the right to fair and equal treatment.

Since the nation’s founding, more than 55 million immigrants from every continent have settled in the United States.

LGBT Rights

Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered people are not constitutionally protected from discrimination. Advancing LGBT rights brings us closer to the promise of full equality for all.

Believing that a violation of a person’s individual rights imperils the rights of all, the ACLU works to extend basic freedoms to the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

National Security

National security constitutional protections guard against violations of individual rights.

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-- Benjamin Franklin,

Police Practices

Police practices should respect the constitutional rights of individuals while enforcing the law.

"If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."

Prisoners' Rights

Prisoners’ constitutional rights stress that prisoners should be protected from inhumane treatment and be treated fairly.

The population in American prisons and jails has tripled in the past 15 years. It now tops two million.

Privacy & Technology

Privacy and technology constitutional rights protect us from unwarranted government spying.

“The progress of science in furnishing the Government with means of espionage is not likely to stop with wiretapping.

Racial Justice

Racial justice constitutional rights stress that we are all treated fairly regardless of our race.

Slavery was included in the original U.S. Constitution.

Religious Liberty

Religious liberty constitutional safeguards protect us from the government interfering with our religion, or from forcing any religious view upon us.

The mixing of government and religion can be a threat to free government, even if no one is forced to participate....

Reproductive Freedom

Reproductive freedom constitutional rights ensure that personal privacy is protected.

“Few decisions are more personal and intimate, more properly private, or more basic to individual dignity and autonomy, than a woman's decision . . .

Voting Rights

Voting and election law constitutional rights require that all adults be able to vote and that what appears on the ballot is presented in accordance with Oregon’s guidelines.

The right to vote freely for the candidate of one's choice is of the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of repre

Women's Rights

Women’s constitutional rights protect women from discrimination based on their gender.

We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all civil and political rights that belong to the citizens of the United States be guaranteed to us and our daughters fo

Youth & Student Rights

Youth and students' fundamental freedoms and rights are protected by the constitution.

"In our system, state-operated schools may not be enclaves of totalitarianism. School officials do not possess absolute authority over their students.