News & Commentary

Numerous organizations and faith leaders from around the state called on Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin and members of Charleston City Council to vote “No” on a bill that would prohibit free speech and further criminalize poverty in West Virginia’s capital city.

Despite being aware that a proposed ordinance would unlawfully restrict the free speech rights of the Charleston community, members of Charleston’s Public Safety Committee advanced a bill Thursday night that presents significant concerns for free speech in West Virginia’s capital city.

Some Charleston City Council members want to pass an unconstitutional bill that would prohibit anyone from congregating near “inherently dangerous” intersections in West Virginia’s capital city. This attempt to further criminalize poverty creates numerous concerns for civil liberties. It should be rejected.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The City of Charleston has determined that ACLU-WV client Solutions Oriented Addiction Response of West Virginia (SOAR) is not in violation of city or state law in conducting its harm reduction program.

As a matter of policy, we do not regularly call for the removal of public officials.

ACLU-WV Legal Director Loree Stark addressed members of the Capitol Building Commission during a virtual meeting Wednesday regarding the commission's authority to remove Confederate monuments from the Capitol grounds. 

The following op-ed by ACLU-WV Executive Director Joseph Cohen appears in today's edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

2020 has so far been one of the deadliest for trans people in the United States.

A coalition of organizations working to reform West Virginia’s outdated, costly, and ineffective system of criminal laws is optimistic for the possibility of continued bipartisan cooperation ahead of the 2021 Legislative Session.