Open Government
Vermonters are rightly proud of their state’s tradition of local, direct democracy and respect for constitutional principles.
Police Accountability
The policies and actions of the police are instrumental in deciding who gets stopped, searched, arrested, and funneled into the criminal justice system; indeed, the United States’ overincarceration crisis begins at the front end of the system.
Prisoners’ Rights
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world—a rate five to ten times higher than those of countries like Canada, France, and the UK.
Privacy and Technology
The ACLU has long fought to protect Americans’ basic right to privacy—the right to be left alone in our homes and our private lives, without fear of government intrusion. Today, new and emerging technologies are outpacing the privacy protections on which we have long relied.
Racial Justice
The authors of the Declaration of Independence outlined a bold vision for America: a nation in which all people would be free and equal. More than two hundred years later, it has yet to be achieved.
Religious Liberty
As enshrined in the First Amendment, religious freedom includes two complementary protections: the right to religious belief and expression and a guarantee that the government neither prefers religion over non-religion nor favors particular faiths over others.