News & Commentary

On January 16, the ACLU launched a digital campaign and accompanying film asking people to take their own oaths to protect and defend the Constitution as Donald J. Trump takes the presidential oath. “The People’s Oath” aim

On January 16, the ACLU launched a digital campaign and accompanying film asking people to take their own oaths to protect and defend the Constitution as Donald J. Trump takes the presidential oath. “The People’s Oath” aims

In the fourth piece in the series, “Waking Up in Trump’s America,”  Deirdre Grimm explains the anxieties of being the parent of a transgender teenager as anti-trans animus and legislation revs up nationally after the election of Donald Trump.  Across the country, states are gearing up to push

Yesterday, around 4:15 p.m., we learned that President Obama commuted Chelsea Manning’s 35-year sentence to 7 years with a release date of May 17, 2017. In four months, with our continued vigilance to ensure her safety and lawful release, she will be free. No doubt saving her life, the president cut 28 years off her egregiously long sentence. Ha

In the third piece in the series, “Waking Up in Trump’s America,” Sharefa Daw, a refugee from Burma, discusses her fear that the Trump administration will limit the number of refugees the U.S. resettles while creating a suffocating atmosphere of hate and fear.  I now live in Dallas, Texas, about 9,000 miles away from where I was born in Southeast Asia. My husband and I came t

I believe in the culture of untrammeled free speech.I don’t block or unfriend people I disagree with on social media. I actively engage with them. Despite the prevailing advice, I read the comments section. It isn’t out of a hope that I’ll find a source of deep insight on complex issues. I do it because I believe it is important to connect with others who hold opposing beliefs. To me, an open exchange of ideas, even when I personally disagree with a viewpoint, is an integral part of living in a free democracy.   That’s what makes it all the more frustrating that I’ve spent almost a quarter of my life fighting the go

President Obama today commuted most of Chelsea Manning’s remaining sentence for disclosing classified information about the impact of America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on innocent civilians. This is an important development both for government transparency and for transgender rights.  With today’s clemency order, she will be released in May 2017 after having served seven years in prison. This isn’t a pardon. Chelsea pled guilty and will face the consequences for many of the charges against her. But the military sentenced her to 35 years in prison, a longer sentence than anyone else in U.S. history has received for disclosing information to the news media.   Chelsea's imprisonment was made far harder by the fact that she is a woman serving a sentence in a men’s prison. For year

In the second piece in the series, “Waking Up in Trump’s America,”  Jason Hernandez discusses his anxiety that clemency will screech to a halt under a Trump administration. Jason, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a nonviolent drug crime, is one of nearly 1,200 Americans who have had their sentences commuted by President Obama during his time in office.  As someone who was fortunate to have his sentence commuted by President Obama, I am frequently asked, "Do you think Presi