American Civil Liberties Union

Current Action Alerts:  Health Data: Put the Patient First Now, as the Department of Health & Human Services considers health IT regulations that will control how our health records are converted from paper to electronic data, patients have the unparalleled opportunity to control their own health information. Read more or take action right now! Help Stop Indefinite Detention It is critically important the everyone who believes in the Constitution and the American system of justice let President Obama know that preserving our values and the rule of law are a top priority -- before indefinite detention becomes a reality. Tell Read more or take action right now! Support the State Secrets Protection Act of 2009 For those who have had their attempts at justice stymied by improper claims of "state secrets," this bill could prop open the courthouse doors once again and put us on the right path towards restoring justice. Read more or take action right now! Urge Your Representative to Support the Youth PROMISE Act The Youth PROMISE Act is bipartisan legislation that provides much needed resources to at-risk communities from across the country that will enable them to engage in comprehensive prevention and intervention strategies to decrease juvenile delinquency. Read more or take action right now! Stop Sentencing Discrimination Current federal sentencing law punishes crack cocaine offenders more severely than any other drug offenders for possession. Possessing or dealing 5 grams of crack cocaine results in the same five-year minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder. Read more or take action right now! Call now to protect Wisconsin families Since the vote is so soon, please take just a few more minutes and call your assembly member. Read more or take action right now! It's time for a Select Committee to Uncover the Truth Nobody should be shielded from investigation for political reasons, and nobody is above the law. Please contact your Members of Congress right now and tell them it is time to create a Select Committee and uncover the truth. Read more or take action right now! Tell Your Senators to Support The Paycheck Fairness Act In these tough economic times, the Paycheck Fairness Act is an important and measured approach to eradicating wage discrimination and allowing workers to bring home every dollar they earn. Take action today to close pay disparities for women. Read more or take action right now! Protect American Workers Please join us in urging Congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress: Rein in DHS Travel Abuses Planning a vacation? Thinking about traveling outside the country? If you travel outside the United States, you can kiss your right to privacy, and perhaps your laptop, digital camera and cell phone, goodbye. Read more or take action right now! Google: Don't Close the Book on Reader Privacy The time is now for Google to pledge to protect user privacy and not become a one-stop shop for government fishing expeditions into the private reading records of Americans. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Support the Democracy Restoration Act of 2009 Action is needed to establish a uniform standard that restores voting rights in federal elections to the millions of Americans who are living & working in the community, but continue to be denied their ability to fully participate in civic life. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress it's Time to Reform the PATRIOT Act Please contact your Senators and your Representative right now and tell them it is time to re-examine our security superstructure to restore our civil liberties. Read more or take action right now! Tell Google Not To Enter Into an Agreement With the NSA The ramifications of companies like Google working with the NSA are frightening. If companies think they need the government's help to secure their networks, it must come from a civilian agency with government oversight, unlike the NSA. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" We can no longer afford to lose some of our most talented linguists, doctors, intelligence analysts and soldiers to this discriminatory and unconscionable policy. To protect this critical civil liberty, we must protect journalists and reporters. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Get It Right! Fight for Women's Abortion Access Health care reform bills in both the Senate and the House include severe restrictions on women's health. We must let our senators and representatives know that both provisions are unacceptable and must not be included in any final health care legislation. Read more or take action right now! Say NO! to executions in Maryland Say NO! to executions in Maryland. Your voice is needed to reject proposed lethal injection regulations. Read more or take action right now! Honor Roe v. Wade email Speaker Pelosi [out of district] Tell Speaker Pelosi to Honor Roe v. Wade and protect abortion access. For people who are not a constituent of the 8th district of California. Read more or take action right now! Honor Roe v. Wade, Protect Abortion Access Tell Speaker Pelosi to Honor Roe v. Wade and protect abortion access Read more or take action right now! Investigate Katrina Abuses Prisoners were abandoned in the New Orleans jails during Hurricane Katrina, and many spent days in water that rose up to their shoulders, without food, or vital medical care. And abuses continue to this day. Congress needs to investigate. Read more or take action right now! Commit to Call for Reproductive Health Make the call for the Reproductive Health and Access Act - ensuring all Illinois women have information about and access to as many responsible options as possible when it comes to making important personal decisions about her reproductive health care. Read more or take action right now! Urge Congress to Stop Racial Profiling Many Americans know about racial profiling -- the practice of using ethnicity or religion as the primary factor in deciding who to subject to law enforcement investigations. Racial profiling is ineffective and steeped in erroneous assumptions. Read more or take action right now! Help Restore Net Neutrality Massive innovation on the Internet since its creation is the result of pre-2005 Net Neutrality protection. Now recent government action threatens the long-term prospects for free speech on the Internet. Read more or take action right now! We need a full and thorough investigation. Attorney General Eric Holder finally appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate torture -- but it does not go far enough. Urge him to launch a full and thorough investigation -- that follows the evidence wherever it leads. Read more or take action right now! Stop DEA Obstruction of Scientific Research on Medical Marijuana Science, not politics, should determine which drugs become legal medicines available through prescription. The DEA should allow much-needed research on medical marijuana to go forward without delay. Read more or take action right now! Tell Your Representative to Fix REAL ID Act Urge your Representative to fix the civil liberties problems with REAL ID Act. Read more or take action right now! Terrorist Watchlist: Out of Control The terrorist watchlist now has over one million names on it. Terrorist watch lists must be tightly focused on true terrorists who pose a genuine threat. Read more or take action right now! Tell DHS: Stop Funding Video Spying The Department of Homeland Security is fueling an enormous expansion in the purchase and use of video cameras by cities and states. Instead, DHS should fund civil liberties friendly, and more effective, security measures. Read more or take action right now! Help Stop the FBI's Abuse of National Security Letters It's Time to Fix the Patriot Act! The FBI uses NSLs to compel internet service providers, libraries, banks, and credit reporting companies to turn over sensitive information about their customers and patrons. Read more or take action right now! North Dakotans: Speak out for equality today If you live in North Dakota, you can be denied housing or refused access to public facilities simply because if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Take action now and demand a change! Read more or take action right now! Reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws The Rockefeller Drug Laws create stark racial disparities in prison populations and exact an enormous financial toll on all of New York State. After 36 years, the chance for true reform of these laws is greater this year than it ever has been. We nee Read more or take action right now! Real ID Act Should Be Repealed, Not "Fixed" Tell your Senators that a fix to Real ID should include real reforms, not just "Real ID-lite". Read more or take action right now! Stop Indefinite Detention It is critically important the everyone who believes in the Constitution and the American system of justice let President Obama know that preserving our values and the rule of law are a top priority -- before indefinite detention becomes a reality. Tell Read more or take action right now! U.S. Citizen Detained and Tortured in United Arab Emirates An American man detained in the United Arab Emirates at the behest of the U.S. government has been released from State Security custody. He was detained incommunicado in a secret location, and transferred to a prison in Abu Dhabi after being tortured. Read more or take action right now! It's time for some sanity when it comes to security. Planning a vacation? Thinking about traveling outside the country? If you travel outside the United States, you can kiss your right to privacy, and perhaps your laptop, digital camera and cell phone, goodbye. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress We Don't Need More Useless Verification Systems Health care reform legislation is about to include another useless system that purports to keep undocumented aliens from getting health care. However, study after study has shown that there are almost no undocumented aliens in state health care systems. Read more or take action right now! Tell Your Senators You Want Patriot Act Reform Our best chance of reforming the Patriot Act is making sure the Senate supports the Feingold JUSTICE Act. Action on this critical issue could take place at any moment. Please contact your senator now and ask them to co-sponsor the JUSTICE Act. Read more or take action right now! Tell Your Senators You Want Patriot Act Reform Our best chance of reforming the Patriot Act is making sure the Senate Judiciary Committee supports the Feingold JUSTICE Act. Action on this critical issue could take place at any moment. Please contact your senator now. Read more or take action right now! Support the "Medical Necessity" Defense for Medical Marijuana Medical marijuana is the only hope that some seriously ill patients have for relief. Yet the Drug Enforcement Agency continues to prosecute sick people under federal law. Read more or take action right now! It's time to reform the Patriot Act Our best chance of reforming the Patriot Act is making sure the Senate supports the Feingold JUSTICE Act. Action on this critical issue could take place at any moment. Please contact your senator now and ask them to co-sponsor the JUSTICE Act. Read more or take action right now! Demand Accountablity for Deaths of Immigration Detainees The government must submit to outside oversight and accountability, and it must end its over-reliance on detention without due process. We need your help in delivering that urgent message to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Read more or take action right now! Protect LGBT Students from Harassment and Discrimination The Student Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 4530) will help to ensure that discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students has no place in our country's public schools. Urge your Representative to support H.R. 4530. Read more or take action right now! Tell Obama to Take the Lead on Women's Rights! The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women treaty needs visible leadership and support from the President to gain Senate advice and consent. Urge President Obama to lead ratification efforts on CEDAW. Read more or take action right now! Thank Your Lawmakers for Ending Abstinence-Only Funding Please write to your Senators, Representative, and President Obama to thank them for ending funding for failed, ideologically-driven abstinence-only programs. Read more or take action right now! Tortured Logic Demand accountability for those who authorized and carried out torture. Restore the rule of law. Read more or take action right now! Tortured Logic Demand accountability for those who authorized and carried out torture. Restore the rule of law. Read more or take action right now! Demand an End to DHS's Domestic Spy Satellite Program The nation's security agencies have spent billions of dollars over many decades building up the capabilities of their spy satellites. The prospect of turning those lenses inward upon the American people cannot be allowed to happen. Read more or take action right now! Send the evidence to Attorney General Eric Holder The evidence of the Bush administration's illegal torture program continues to mount. But, the Justice Department has not yet appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate. Let's make sure Attorney General Holder see's the evidence. Read more or take action right now! Send the evidence to Attorney General Eric Holder The evidence of the Bush administration's illegal torture program continues to mount. But, the Justice Department has not yet appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate. Let's make sure Attorney General Holder see's the evidence. Read more or take action right now! Send the evidence to Attorney General Eric Holder The evidence of the Bush administration's illegal torture program continues to mount. But, the Justice Department has not yet appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate. Let's make sure Attorney General Holder see's the evidence. Read more or take action right now! Send the evidence to Attorney General Eric Holder The evidence of the Bush administration's illegal torture program continues to mount. But, the Justice Department has not yet appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate. Let's make sure Attorney General Holder see's the evidence. Read more or take action right now! Take the next step toward justice Attorney General Eric Holder announced that some Guantánamo detainees will be tried in federal court. While today's announcement is a important step towards justice, we can't let up until all of the Guantánamo detainees are given a fair trial. Read more or take action right now! We need a full and thorough investigation Attorney General Eric Holder finally appointed an independent prosecutor to investigate torture -- but it does not go far enough. Urge him to launch a full and thorough investigation -- that follows the evidence wherever it leads. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Support Stronger Whistleblower Protections Currently the Senate legislation lacks full court access for federal employees and coverage for national security whistleblowers. Tell Senators to pass the protections included in the House bill H.R. 1507. Read more or take action right now! Protect Women's Access to Abortion Care in Health Care Reform Tell your Senator to protect women's ability to make private health care decisions without government interference. Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Protect American Workers Please join us in urging Congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009 Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Protect American Workers Please join us in urging Congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009 Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Protect American Workers Please join us in urging Congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009 Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress: Protect Women's Access to Abortion in Health Care Health care reform bills in both the Senate and the House include severe restrictions on women's health care. We must let our members of Congress know that both provisions are unacceptable and must not be included in any final health care legislation Read more or take action right now! Tell Congress to Protect American Workers Please join us in urging Congress to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009 Read more or take action right now!

Action Centers by Issue: Criminal Justice Death Penalty Drug Policy Free Speech Immigrant Rights LGBT Rights National Security Police Prisons Privacy & Technology Racial Justice Religious Liberty Reproductive Rights Rights of the Poor Voting Rights Women's Rights