As the rest of the staff has noted all week long, there are plenty of highly visible moments in civil liberties to celebrate. From justice for juveniles, protecting voting rights, to the utter jubilation of winning the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, to multiple successes at the ballot box, 2012 has been a great year for civil liberties.
But my favorite civil liberties moment demonstrates how the ACLU of Maine is an effective and useful resource in ways that may not garner media attention.
About a month ago, we got a call from a police officer. He recently attended a forum on racial profiling where we handed out “know your rights” pamphlets detailing what to do when interacting with the police. He found the pamphlets so remarkable, he asked if could have a stack of them to distribute at a community meeting he was headed to later that week.
We did and offered to copy as many as he needs in the future. It’s wonderful to work with police to ensure that our policing practices keep Mainers safe without infringing on their liberties.Though there are many moments like it in the year, this one serves as a testament to our ability to work in a friendly and effective manner to educate everybody in upholding and defending our civil liberties.