Friend –

During what we know has been a heart-rending set of weeks, we wanted to share some progress that you made possible.

Of course, uplifting these victories isn't intended to lessen the hurt or impact felt right now – but we're hoping it serves as a solid reminder that the ACLU exists to protect all of our rights, even in the toughest of moments. And however long or uphill the work may be – together, we do achieve real change.

The four latest updates below are a direct result of that persistence – and it is in tandem with the work we're already doing to actively protect abortion access, push for systemic equality, and more:

• A win this week for transgender justice and free speech: On Tuesday, in our litigation work in Tennessee, a federal judge struck down the state's law that tried to force businesses to post discriminatory language if they let transgender customers use their restrooms. This recent ruling is a victory for free speech, Tennessee businesses, and transgender Tennesseans.
• Critical progress for the safety and rights of trans youth in Texas: Last Friday, the Texas Supreme Court partially upheld a court order preventing the state from investigating families of transgender youth who receive essential medical care. It is a win for our clients and the rule of law – and allows our case to continue as we fight for every young person in Texas to receive the health care they need.
• A major and hard-fought victory for privacy rights: We reached a settlement last week in our lawsuit in Illinois state court against Clearview AI – a secretive face surveillance company claiming to have captured more than 20 billion faceprints from people's online photos across the globe. The central provision of this crucial settlement restricts the company from selling its faceprint database not just in Illinois, but across the U.S., bars sales to Illinois law enforcement for five years, and ensures Illinois residents can opt-out of the database.
• A win for voting rights and fair redistricting: South Carolina agreed to adjust district lines in some of the most historically significant areas of the state for Black voters – stemming from our lawsuit that charged some of the new districts intentionally discriminated against Black communities. This historic agreement is another victory in our nationwide work for fair and equal voting maps – which also includes wins in Ohio and Alabama, respectively.

ACLU Supporter, these gains are because our teams – and supporters like you – believe in the long-haul work for civil liberties.

It's why we'll never stop fighting for people's rights – not just those listed above, but across the issues – from racial justice to reproductive freedom to immigrants' rights to every urgent freedom under threat.

We hope this email serves as an extra ounce of strength to you, and thanks as always.

With you – and with the people,

The ACLU Team