What a year! In 2012, the ACLU of Maine moved civil liberties forward for all Mainers and successfully defeated multiple attempts to take them away. Freedom doesn’t protect itself after all.
This year we were instrumental in advancing key civil rights protections, and as the year comes to an end we’re taking an opportunity to reflect on the highlights. Below, in chronological order, are our top 10 civil liberties moments from 2012!
10. Private prisons in Maine are shelved with a unanimous vote by the legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee.
9. Voter ID is rejected by the legislature, which decides instead to commission a study of Maine’s elections.
8. Government transparency triumphs when the Maine House overwhelmingly rejects Governor LePage’s effort to shield his office from Maine’s Right to Know laws.
7. Anti-bullying law passes after extensive negotiations led by the ACLU of Maine with Christian conservatives in the legislature.
6. The ACLU challenges the FBI’s controversial ethnic mapping program in court.
5. Free speech prevails when the ACLU successfully opposes municipal ordinances that try to limit the time and placement of political signs on private property.
4. Civil rights leaders activists and law enforcement come together for a unique conversation about racial profiling at a conference the ACLU helps to organize.
3. Bill of Rights student conferences launch in Farmington. Our educational programming reaches hundreds of high school students statewide.
2. Voting rights for students and new citizens are protected at the polls by ACLU of Maine lawyers.
1. Love wins! After an exciting victory on Election Day, gay and lesbian couples in Maine can get married starting December 29, 2012.
Read about my colleagues’ favorite moments here and check back regularly to see what we’re up to in 2013! Best wishes for a very happy new year.