Media advisory: Civil Liberties Lobby Day set for Capitol

This year's event will include a People's Public Hearing.

February 18, 2025 9:45 am

  • Media Advisory
  • WHAT: Civil Liberties Lobby Day
  • WHERE: West Virginia State Capitol
  • WHEN: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025
  • CONTACT: Communications Director Billy Wolfe [email protected]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – News media are invited to attend and cover the 2025 Civil Liberties Lobby Day, which will bring civil rights advocates and our supporters to the West Virginia state Capitol for resource-sharing, one-on-one meetings with legislators and a “People’s Public Hearing” to protest the recent decision by the state House of Delegates to shut everyday West Virginians out of the lawmaking process.

The event begins at 10 a.m. with tabling in the Capitol rotunda by ACLU-WV and partner organizations like West Virginia Trans Coalition, Planned Parenthood, Fairness WV, WV FREE, Mountain State Justice, and others.

Issue areas to be highlighted include defense of democracy, prisoners’ rights, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQ+ equity, reproductive freedom, and much more.

“With rising authoritarianism at the federal level and aggressive attacks on vulnerable populations at the state level, the next few months promise to be the fight of our lives,” ACLU-WV Executive Director Eli Baumwell said. “That’s why we intend to leave no doubt in legislators’ minds that the ACLU of West Virginia will have a strong presence at the Capitol throughout this session, and that we will be advocating forcefully for our Constitutional rights.”

Baumwell added that programming will continue throughout the noon hour to allow people to attend on their lunch breaks, and will go a bit later than usual to allow students and families to attend after school.