Together, we made history this year. That was you! You made it possible for us to do the work – public education, coalition building, and communications – necessary over seven years to get to this point. Thank you!
Making History: Marriage Equality & Same Day Voter Registration
The Bangor Daily News credited same day voter registration with helping push the marriage equality victory over the finish line. That was you too. Your support of the ACLU of Maine Foundation helped us protect voting rights, successfully restoring same day voter registration and fending off voter ID in Augusta, and we are grateful.
We could not have won same day voter registration and marriage equality without you and other committed Mainers who believe in equality and justice for all.
Election Protection: Defending Immigrants & Students at the Polls
On Election Day, when a man in Auburn tried to stop two Somali women from voting because he “had a feeling,” ACLU of Maine lawyer Alysia Melnick was there to protect the women’s right to vote. When a woman in Gorham started challenging students, ACLU of Maine board member Peter Del Bianco was there to step in and defend student voters. Thanks to you, all Maine voters were able to cast their ballot.
Your financial support made it possible for us to have staff lawyers who coordinated with volunteers statewide to be everywhere we needed to be on Election Day when people’s constitutional rights were threatened.
With your help, we were able to defend Maine’s most vulnerable populations.
Bringing Legal Cases That Make a Difference
Hans Bruns is an elderly German immigrant, battling cancer in Fort Fairfield. When the legislature eliminated MaineCare funding for legal immigrants last year, the ACLU of Maine Foundation and our partners at Maine Equal Justice Partners were there to sue the state on his behalf.
Because, with your help, that’s what we do: we challenge discrimination.
ACLU Leads Solitary Confinement Reform
Sometimes, the ACLU of Maine Foundation wins before we go to court. As Maine’s Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte explained to the Portland Phoenix when asked about his extraordinary reduction in the use of solitary confinement at the Maine State Prison: “There had been threats of lawsuits by the ACLU.”
Our track record in the legislature over the last two years is unparalleled. Of the hundreds of terrible ideas introduced, the ACLU of Maine was there to fight back with your help. And we won time and time again. We defeated the horrible anti-abortion and anti-contraception bills. We defeated the Arizona-style show-me-your-papers bill. We created “Republicans United for Marriage” just as in 2009, we had organized for the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination and Catholics for Marriage Equality. We build coalitions that no one else does.
Opportunities for Positive Social Change
As we reflect on the past year, we feel enormous gratitude for all that you have helped us to accomplish. We also feel optimism for the future, and we pledge to continue to advance social justice.
• We will advocate for positive transformation of our state’s criminal justice system and an end to over incarceration. We have a unique opportunity to capitalize on the current economic crisis to end the needless imprisonment of thousands that occurs at enormous taxpayer expense.
• We will advance the rights of Maine’s growing immigrant and refugee populations who contribute so much to our culture and our state. Our work on marriage equality creates a roadmap for changing hearts and minds.
• We will pursue innovative privacy reforms to reverse the invasive surveillance trends of the last decade. Technology should work for us, not against us. We’ll fight drones, cell phone tracking, and data-mining.
We know we can effect these positive social changes and more. Because we just did.
You helped us have a truly historic year. Thank you for your support to defend the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in the courts, the legislature and schools.
Together, we made a difference in 2012. Please join us in making a gift in 2013 by going to www.aclumaine.org/gift today. Happy Thanksgiving!
