FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2024
Contact: Emily Hagan-Howe, Communications Director, ACLU of Vermont, [email protected], 802-223-6304 x121
MONTPELIER, Vt. – The following statement can be attributed to James Lyall, Executive Director at the ACLU of Vermont:
“As a nonpartisan, government accountability organization, the ACLU of Vermont is clear-eyed about the threat President-elect Trump poses to our nation and our state. There is no question that a second Trump administration presents a clear and present danger to our democratic norms and institutions, and the rights and liberties of countless people.
“During the first Trump administration, the ACLU filed 434 legal actions against the federal government and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people. Together, we the people succeeded in holding the line against some of the worst government abuses we have faced in recent history. We are again ready to respond in the courts, in state legislatures, and in the streets, and that includes a detailed plan for Vermont policymakers to safeguard our civil liberties from attack.
“It is also important to remember that there were many positive outcomes and hopeful signs in this election. The ACLU and our allies helped advance ballot measures in multiple states impacting the reproductive freedom of millions of people. In Vermont, voters won stronger police oversight in Burlington and sent 46 Smart Justice candidates to the state legislature—showing yet again that Vermonters want their representatives to invest in people, not prisons.
“What also remains unchanged by the election results are Vermonters’ shared values of tolerance, compassion, and respect for the dignity of everyone who calls this state home. And it is our commitment to these values, to the well-being of our neighbors, and to our shared traditions of ‘freedom and unity’ that will see us through in the days to come.”
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