Friend –

April 1, 2022

Take action to support transgender student athletes!

Politicians in Harrisburg are leading an effort to discriminate against transgender students who want to participate on their schools' sports teams. This week, the state House Education Committee passed a bill to prohibit trans students from participating in sports based on their gender identity. School activities like sports give trans youth a feeling of belonging and inclusion, while the supporters of this bill want exclusion and discrimination to be public policy. Take action at this link and tell your state rep to vote "no" on House Bill 972.

Voting Rights – ACLU-PA takes a stand to protect voter's rights.

ACLU-PA is in federal court against Lehigh County on behalf of five county residents, asking the court to order all 257 ballots from voters who mistakenly forgot to date their return envelope be counted. All of the voters impacted are otherwise eligible to vote and properly followed the procedures for voting by mail. "Dating the return envelope is an irrelevant technicality and is a foolish reason to disenfranchise someone," said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

Black History Month – Recent Takes from ACLU-PA Executive Director Reggie Shuford.

In a blog post in honor of Black History Month titled "Students, Your School Can't Stop You from Knowing Black History," Reggie states that, "Black history is American history. And no school board members in Bucks County or Lancaster County or anywhere in Pennsylvania can change that reality."

Reggie also reflected on the history of disenfranchisement of Black voters and the struggle for equality in "Access to the Ballot is our North Star." He draws throughlines from the fight for access to the ballot following the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement and to today.

Listen to this podcast. Then take action.

Pennsylvania's probation system is broken and in desperate need of reform. On the latest episode of our podcast Speaking Freely With ACLU-PA, we hear from our friends at Abolitionist Law Center and the Defender Association of Philadelphia about what probation is, why it's flawed, and what real reform would look like.

Listen to the podcast at this link or on your favorite podcast app and then tell your state rep to vote "no" on Senate Bill 913, legislation being considered in the state House that would actually deepen the probation crisis in the commonwealth.

To stay up-to-date with the ACLU-PA, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram @aclupa.

Thanks for sticking with us,

ACLU of Pennsylvania