The ACLU is principled in its longstanding nonpartisan posture, but we have been sounding the alarm on the dangers of a second Trump administration for months.
Key figures in Donald Trump’s orbit have explicitly promised attacks on your civil rights and liberties — bans on abortion and basic reproductive healthcare; threats of mass deportations and detention camps; decimation of diversity, equity, and inclusion measures; shuttering and defunding of government agencies; and surveillance and threatening of dissenters, protestors, and journalists.
These are not empty promises. This and other autocratic strategies are the plan. Our lives will get more difficult. You will know families who suffer.
But resignation and fear are not a strategy. And the ACLU has a plan.
Nationally, that plan includes litigation, policy, and advocacy work — and there’s a place and need for concerned people to help throw sand in the gears and voice important dissent with our People Power campaign.
Here in Connecticut, we have a government that has demonstrated a willingness to protect and expand civil rights and liberties. States like ours — along with others such as Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — are uniquely positioned to push forward policies that ensure safety, dignity, and freedom for all people, even as the federal government threatens to roll back hard-fought gains.
The ACLU of Connecticut is meeting with key stakeholders in government, industry, and advocacy to showcase our plan and provide guidance both private and public. We have specific policy guidance, a full litigation docket, and education campaigns at the ready in our Firewalls for Freedom work.
And we’re coordinating with other states around the country — from those with more aligned governments to those where civil rights work is an uphill battle.
Across the nation, we operate in solidarity, connecting people who are committed to fighting for civil rights and liberties.
We are also coming to you — we are hosting a series of at least eight town halls all over the state in the coming weeks. These are free, public events where advocates, activists, and concerned Connecticut residents are encouraged to come hear from our staff and voice their own concerns.
There is strength in solidarity. There is strength in numbers. And there is strength in showing up for what you believe in.
When President Abraham Lincoln was planning to reconstitute these United States after the Civil War, he looked to New England as the model for a functioning union. We are entering perilous, uncharted waters. But the people of Connecticut — and your ACLU — can be that guiding light for our country once again. We are undeterred, prepared, and focused on working towards a more perfect union.
We are all in this together.
Join us.
David McGuire is the Executive Director of ACLU of Connecticut.