Arizona travel alert. If you're traveling to Arizona, be aware of threats to your constitutional rights.
Border Patrol stops. Been stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint while driving south on I-91 near White River Junction? Read about what's going on, and learn why the ACLU opposes the stops -- and how you can speak out against them.
Campaign finance. The American Civil Liberties Union’s position on campaign finance was affirmed in June 2006 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that limits placed by the state of Vermont on a candidate’s campaign efforts were unconstitutional.
Death penalty. Why we oppose capital punishment.
Dissent is patriotic; know your rights. We've assembled some resources to help you understand your rights.
Most of the information applies to protests or
actions in Vermont or elsewhere. Information specific to Vermont is
specifically marked.
Equal marriage rights. The Vermont Legislature's passage in 2009 of an equal marriage bill made Vermont the first state in the nation to provide same-sex marriage through legislation rather than court order.
Ferry searches. ACLU-Vermont challenged random security searches on Lake Champlain ferries, but lost.
Military recruitment of high school students. Federal law requires high schools to give military recruiters student names and contact information. But students can opt out. Read more.
NSA domestic phone call tracking. Did the phone company turn over your call records to the National Security Agency? We'll probabably never know for sure. In 2008 Congress agreed to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to stop inquiries such as the one the ACLU-VT brought before the Vermont Public Service Board. But in early 2010 the Washington Post confirmed what we all suspected -- that for years the FBI broke the law in phone record searches. Read our blog post about the story in Civil Liberties Journal.
Reckoning with torture. How do we hold government accountable and come to terms with the torture that was done in our names in the "war on terror"? Our program at the University of Vermont in April yielded some concrete things you can do.
Religious observances in public schools.
Expression of religious beliefs within public schools is a controversial and complex issue. Get solid, well-researched information through links to nonpartisan sources.
Sex offender residency restrictions. They're a bad idea; find out why. Also, read about the ACLU's successful challenge of the city of Barre's residency restrictions ordinance.
Smart grids and smart meters. Wiring the state into a “smart grid,” with every house having a “smart meter,” has seemed like science fiction -- until now. Vermont recently received a multimillion-dollar federal grant to be the first state in the nation to build a smart grid. Important privacy considerations are at stake.
Student free speech. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the political free speech rights of a Williamstown Middle School student who was suspended from school in 2004 for wearing a T-shirt critical of President George Bush.
Tasers. Links to documents about Tasers.
Link to national ACLU Web site. Issues of national interest are covered extensively at the national ACLU's Web site.
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