News & Commentary

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!

When a chronically sick, honor roll student is referred to court for truancy, that’s a problem.

An extreme 20-week abortion bill was introduced yesterday in the WV House of Delegates. The legislation, HB 2568, fails to protect women who have real medical emergencies.

The West Virginia legislature has just introduced HB 2153. This legislation is even more extreme than the 2015 version of last year’s 20 week abortion ban that passed both the House and Senate only to be vetoed by Governor Tomblin.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted review of a federal appeals court ruling that upheld bans in four states on the freedom to marry and recognition of marriages of same-sex couples legally performed in other states.

Over a year ago, the Parkersburg City Police arrested Charles Kelly for panhandling. Kelly is a disabled veteran, who is unable to work and relies on disability benefits for survival.

We have to enact reforms to current juvenile justice policies and programs that seek to engage and support struggling families rather than punish them for not complying with court rules