News & Commentary

In a landmark settlement, the federal government was forced to concede that there is no border exception to this First Amendment right.

Read about some of the books that have most recently been banned or challenged for removal across public schools and libraries in our ‘ACLU Banned Book Club Reading List’.

A journalist fights back after police try to silence her

When the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General, our nation had not yet been founded. The Bill of Rights would not be drafted for another 16 years. Yet nearly two and a half centuries later, the United States Postal Service’s ability to provide every person in America with a private, affordable, and reliable means to exchange information transformed it from a mail delivery service into a baseline for the exercise of American constitutional rights.Recent news that the Postal Service’s financial condition is being used as a pretext for degrading its service – including allowing mail to go undelivered for days and scaling back the hours of or closing post offices – threatens to degrade that constitutional baseline as well.In an early response to novel coronavirus, Congress allocated $10 billion to help shore up the Postal Service’s finances, but the Treasury Department has held up those funds without explanation. Instead, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is preparing to make dramatic service cuts, treating the USPS like a private business facing bankruptcy. This should draw universal condemnation.The U.S. Postal Service was never a business. It is an essential government service guaranteed to the American people by the U.S. Constitution and it should be preserved accordingly.To understand how the Postal Service became so central to America’s national identity and the actualization of our constitutional rights, one needs to examine its history.

As you take to the streets to demand racial justice, know your rights.

 

In its recent editorial (July 29), the Albuquerque Journal suggests that in the wake of federal judge Robert C. Brack’s ruling that the Albuquerque “Pedestrian Safety Ordinance” violates the First Amendment, the city of Albuquerque can still somehow “walk the line” on safety and free speech.

A recent agreement reached by the ACLU and the City of Albuquerque offers some relief and hope for Albuquerque residents who depend on panhandling to get by, but who live in fear of being cited, cuffed, and even jailed.

John Martin makes a living soliciting donations for bottles of water on the side of the street. Every day he swallows his pride, puts on a smile, and offers the best service he can right now. Not too long ago he was homeless, but thanks to the generosity of strangers and strangers-turned-friends, he and his wife now have a roof over their heads – something he is beyond grateful for as the cold weather moves in. John knows all too well that those donations are all that’s standing between him and the cold hard floor of a tent or a shelter.