When most people think of the state of Montana, they think about its wide-open spaces and beautiful landscapes.
But behind the pretty scenery is a growing ugliness that turned the state into a hotbed of the same attacks on civil liberties and civil rights that we've seen across the country.
As the Executive Director of the ACLU of Montana, I'm no stranger to how ferocious a state legislature can be in its efforts to weaken everything from voting rights to transgender rights – and I understand just how critical it is for the ACLU to fight back.
That's why I'm reaching out on behalf of ACLU national and all of its affiliates today – rallying supporters like you to ensure that teams like mine across the country have the resources it takes to defend civil rights.
In a moment, I'm going to outline what we're up against here in Montana, but I want to be clear that what we're fighting for here is not unique to our state. Attacks on civil liberties are happening in nearly every state in our country as part of a concerted effort to slow the hard-won progress the ACLU and its supporters have made possible.
You see, in my state alone, ACLU attorneys and organizers are combatting bad bills on multiple civil liberties fronts.
- On voting rights, the ACLU of Montana, ACLU, and Native American Rights Fund (NARF) are challenging two new laws that hinder Native American participation in the state's electoral process. The first, HB 176, ends Election Day voter registration, which reservation and rural voters have relied upon to cast votes in Montana since 2005. The second, HB 530, blocks organized ballot collection on rural reservations.
- On free speech, our organizers are mobilizing against HB 481, a bill that would increase penalties on those that protest or support protests. It also includes a provision that would impose guilt by association, ramping up the consequences for organizations that provide support to protesters at events where civil disobedience occurs.
- Additionally, we're suing the state over an anti-trans bill, SB 280. The law requires a person to produce a court order certifying they've had gender-affirming surgery before they can change the sex marker on their birth certificate.
- And we're combatting a broad array of anti-abortion measures through advocacy – from attempts to limit access to medication abortions early in pregnancy to bans on abortions later in pregnancy – that have a clear goal: make abortion completely unavailable in Montana.
Unfortunately, these state-level attacks are not unique to Montana.
That's why the ACLU is critically positioned in this nationwide fight – with affiliates like ours located in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Teams in West Virginia and Arkansas, for example, are both fighting in court – and winning – against anti-trans bills. The team in Georgia is challenging the state's new restrictive voting rights law. And the team in Texas is pushing back across the board against the state's new abortion ban, as well as voter suppression and anti-trans bills just introduced in a special legislative session.
The states are the major battleground, and we're doing everything we can to defend civil rights.
But in order for us to be as successful as possible and win, supporters like you have to be with us in all 50 states and beyond.
So please, make a generous gift to the ACLU today and help support the attorneys, advocates, and volunteers that are doing the work on the ground in states across the country.
The road won't be easy. But together, I know we can make our states, and ultimately our country, more equal and just for all.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Borgmann
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Executive Director, ACLU of Montana
This email was sent by:
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004, USA
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