News & Commentary

At 1 p.m. today, Monday, November 16, the ACLU of West Virginia will be heading to the legislature for a hearing on the proposed youth facility in Logan: one of three new state-funded and privately operated out-of-home facilities for youth with mental and behavioral health needs.

West Virginia took important first steps last year reforming our state’s broken juvenile justice system. With overwhelming support from the state Legislature, we were able to reform harmful truancy laws that locked kids up after missing just five days of school. And the Governor’s lauded omnibus juvenile justice reform bill passed that put the focus on serving kids within their communities instead of unnecessarily locking them up.

The ACLU of WV is proud to present our 2015 Summer Newsletter! Read about all of our recent exciting work for justice and find out what the future holds for freedom in West Virginia!

ACLU-WV and our supporters worked tirelessly this past year with the West Virginia Legislature and the Governor to pass sweeping changes to help fix our state's broken juvenile justice system.

Since the Supreme Court ruled last month that gay and lesbian couples have a constitutionally protected freedom to marry, many same-sex couples, along with their friends and families, have celebrated. At the same time, questions have been raised about the impact of the decision on religious liberty. Let us be clear — it has no impact at all.

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia applauds the Supreme Court of the United States for ruling on the side of love. In its historic decision 5-4 decision with Kennedy writing for the majority, the Court ruled to grant marriage equality for same-sex couples seeking the right to obtain marriage licenses and be legally recognized in all 50 states.

With the U.S. Supreme Court on the cusp of issuing a historic ruling on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples,it is mindboggling that there is still no federal law that explicitly protects LGBT students from discrimination in our public schools.

West Virginia takes meaningful first steps in reforming our state’s broken juvenile justice system as House Bill 2550 takes effect today. Yet to create lasting change we must fund community-based alternatives to incarceration in the Mountain State. As a result of passage of truancy reform and the Governor's Juvenile Justice bill, the predicted $20 million dollars in savings that the state will realize by locking up fewer youth for low-level or first time offenses should be reinvested into programs that have a proven record of reducing child poverty and keeping kids out of the criminal justice system.

The ACLU of WV is proud to present our 2015 Spring Newsletter! Read about all of our exciting accomplishments this past legislative session and our on-going work for justice throughout West Virginia!