Legislation

Our policy team is a constant presence in Salem and local municipalities to pass bills that advance or defend civil liberties and civil rights, and to defeat those that do not. In addition to our mission to defend and advance civil liberties and civil rights, we are committed to:

  1. Making progress towards achieving a decolonized workspace and culture through a shift in language and centering indigenous sovereignty in internal and external work;
  2. Prioritizing and holding ourselves accountable to the organization’s values of anti-Black racism, equity, and racial justice education and reflection;
  3. Leading with race and centering those most directly impacted by racism and white supremacy in policy decisions, including but not limited to BIPOC/BIWOC communities, immigrants and refugees, people with varying abilities, LGBTQ communities, and people experiencing poverty or other socio-economic injustices.
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Drug Reform: YES on Measure 91 - Marijuana (2014)

Law enforcement’s war on marijuana is a failure and has needlessly ensnared hundreds of thousands of people in the criminal justice system at a tremendous human and fiscal cost. Shifting Oregon away from the unsuccessful prohibition model towards a more effective harm reduction model long has been a high priority for the ACLU and our staff helped draft Ballot Measure 91.

Legalizing, regulating and taxing the recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 and older will bring a new approach to our drug laws, making them more fair, more compassionate, and smarter at reducing drug dependency and improving public health and safety. We urge a YES vote.

September 16, 2014

NO on Measure 89 - ERA (2014)

The ACLU of Oregon has long supported passage of the federal Equal Rights Amendment because we believe that equality under the law for all is a fundamental right to a free people and because the United States Supreme Court has not gone as far as it should to protect Americans against gender discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

By contrast, the Oregon Constitution already has the strongest possible protection against sex discrimination and the Oregon Supreme Court has enforced that protection. Thus, Measure 89 is unnecessary.

September 10, 2014

Oregon Equal Rights Amendment Unnecessary

July 3, 2014 - The ACLU of Oregon has long supported passage of the federal Equal Rights Amendment because we believe that equality under the law for all is a fundamental right to a free people and because the United States Supreme Court has not gone as far as it should to protect Americans against gender discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

By contrast, the Oregon Constitution already has the strongest possible protection against sex discrimination and the Oregon Supreme Court has enforced that protection. Thus, IP 34 is unnecessary. Amendments to the Oregon Bill of Rights should only be made if they would add protections that are not already guaranteed.  Constitutional amendments shouldn’t be purely symbolic; this one would be. For this reason, the ACLU of Oregon opposes IP 34.

July 7, 2014

ACLU Endorses New Approach Campaign to Regulate and Legalize Marijuana

June 17, 2014 - “We need to stop wasting taxpayer dollars arresting and searching people in Oregon just because they use marijuana,” said David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon. “Prohibition hasn’t worked and it never will. It’s time to be honest about that and take a path that makes sense.”

The New Approach Oregon campaign is collecting signatures to qualify an initiative for the November ballot. The initiative would strictly regulate marijuana sales and possession, legalize the use of marijuana by adults 21 and over only, and tax marijuana and its products, generating money for important public services like education, public safety and drug treatment

June 17, 2014

Discrimination Has No Place in Oregon

May 9, 2014 - The ACLU of Oregon is elated the Oregon Family Council has decided not to go forward with its plans to put a discrimination measure on the ballot in November. There is no place for discrimination in Oregon.

Yesterday, the Oregon Supreme Court released the ballot title for Initiative Petition 52 saying it would not order any changes be made to the ballot title certified by the Attorney General. We had urged the Court to improve on part of the ballot title but overall we were pleased that the certified ballot title made the harmful effects of the proposal clear to voters.

The initiative was designed to allow individuals and businesses to use their religion to discriminate against same-sex couples in a wide array of services related to celebrating or recognizing a gay or lesbian couple's marriage or relationship. It is wrong to treat people differently because of who they are and who they love.

May 9, 2014

Don't Punish Poverty - OPPOSE SB 522 (2019

SB 522 would create $250 fines for those who return 25 or more out-of-state beverage containers at redemption stations. Fining people for acts of survival is deeply problematic and likely to exacerbate issues of poverty in our communities.

March 19, 2014