Fellow civil libertarians, raise your pocket Constitutions in celebration – it’s Banned Books Week! Now in its 30^th year, the annual tradition is a time to reflect on books and other works of literature that have, at one time or another, found themselves banned by the authorities that be. For the ACLU, few principles are more fundamental to our organization than the idea that the government has no business censoring its people in their words and in their writing.
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If you’re anywhere near the Portland area on Tuesday, come join us at Brian Boru for an exciting fundraiser to benefit the marriage campaign. We're specifically reaching out to young voters -- that important-yet-underrepresented demographic that will be especially key for Question 1 this November.
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If you’re passionate about the issues we work on and are looking for ways to get involved, you’re in luck! The next couple months are chock-full of events going on all around the state. Many are associated with the “YES on 1” campaign, but not all. To stay up to speed, keep an eye on our “Upcoming Events” list on the upper-right corner of our website. Here’s a sampling of what’s going on just in the next couple weeks:
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This afternoon we stood on the steps of Portland City Hall along with hundreds of other supporters for the "YES on 1" campaign's kickoff rally. It was a glorious day and the energy from the crowd couldn't have been better. With Election Day looming less than two months away, we're on the cusp of making history in Maine as the first state to proactively win the freedom to marry via the ballot box.
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Last month the ACLU issued a preliminary report on single-sex education programs in the United States. We took special note of the report here in Maine, since one of our public schools in Sanford had been operating such a program until earlier this year, when the ACLU of Maine demanded they end it and the school committee agreed. | continue reading

It’s back to school for many students this week, and for us here at the ACLU of Maine that means the planning is officially underway for our annual Bill of Rights Student Conferences. Last year we taught more than 600 students at the conferences, with 21 schools attending from 10 different counties across the state.
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The ACLU released a preliminary report today on single-sex education programs in public schools around the country. The report’s findings were gathered as part of our ongoing “Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes” campaign that has involved investigations in fifteen states, including Maine, that deprive both boys and girls of equal educational opportunities.
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Over the weekend, the New York Times reported on the so-called “behavioral detection program” at Logan Airport in Boston, where TSA screeners say that pressure to meet quotas has led to racial profiling and targeting of passengers based on race, ethnicity and religion. | continue reading