News & Commentary

Are you headed to the Camden International Film Festival this weekend? If so, why not add a few films with a civil liberties angle to your schedule? Here are our picks:

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Senator Wendy Davis’ new memoir, Forgetting to Be Afraid, and the two abortions that she discussed in it. Shortly after Davis’s memoir was released, the New York Times published an op-ed piece entitled “This is What an Abortion Looks Like.” In it, Merritt Tierce commends Davis for being so open about her abortions and writes that she respect the level of courage it took for Davis to reveal this very personal piece of her history.

The right to free expression is one of our most cherished rights, yet it seems it is constantly under threat. For all the progress we've made - and there has been much - we still find ourselves stuggling with government censorship both by state governments and local school districts.To draw attention to the censorship that still exists in our country, and to reflect upon the censorship that has been littered throughout our history, we take this opportunity every year to recognize Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read.Since its inception, the ACLU has fought censorship - because a government that polices what we read can police our thoughts. We have stood up time and time again to challenge restrictions on free expression, even when the ideas being expressed are abhorrent or distasteful. Yet even as we go to such great lengths to support the First Amendment, it is a striking reminder of the importance of free expression to see the actual examples of books, poems, music, and other literary works that have been censored both historically and in our modern time.The American Library Association keeps a record of the most frequently challenged books every year, and you might be surprised at what makes the list. In 2013, the #1 spot was claimed for the second year in a row by "Captain Underpants," a children's novel series about two fourth graders and a cartoon superhero. Other titles topping the list include "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "The Hunger Games."A look through the history pages reveals even more shocking censorship. All of the following classic novels have at one time or another been banned: To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, Ulysses, The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men. So many other great novels could be included here, which highlights one of the most important themes of Banned Books Week: the government should not be the arbiter of what is and is not acceptable reading material. History has shown us that some of our most enduring and influential works of art have at one time been deemed "obscene" or "inappropriate."We hope you will join us in honoring Banned Books Week, and in the spirit of free expression, you may celebrate however you choose. Maybe you want to read a banned book. Maybe you want to read the ACLU's blog posts on the subject. We definitely recommend you check out our Banned Books Week hub page with all sorts of resources. Whatever you decide, we hope you enjoy Banned Books Week as much as we intend to. Long live the First Amendment!

Last week, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released a national update on the number of state and federal prisoners in 2013. While the federal prison population declined for the first time since 1980, the number of people incarcerated in state facilities increased by 6,300 – causing an overall increase in the number of people incarcerated in the United States.

As we enter the election season, some GOP candidates are changing the way they talk about reproductive health care – namely, contraceptives. Several anti-abortion candidates are now including support for over-the-counter contraceptives in their campaigns. These candidates say that they, like their opponents, understand the importance of contraceptive access and affordability. Last week, NPR released a story discussing this change in approach and the subsequent responses. 

Today we filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Bar Harbor couple who were arrested for observing and attempting to film an interaction between several police officers and a woman in downtown Portland.

Last week, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report condemning drug criminalization and prohibitionist policies. The Commission, which includes the former presidents of Portugal, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico and Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, called on world leaders to undertake a fundamental review of current drug control regimes and redirect both national and international drug policies to better fall in line with the UN mandate to “ensure security, human rights and development.”

It should come as no surprise that the ACLU has a long history of collaborating with the entertainment history. After all, freedom of expression is one of our cornerstone issues, so it makes sense that those who work in film, television, music and other related fields would appreciate the ACLU’s long history of defending free speech and fighting censorship.

Last year, the Supreme Court crippled one of the most effective voting rights protections in history, by meddling with the requirement that certain jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination get pre-approval to change their voting laws.