This week at the ACLU of Maine: The state legislature wraps up its session, SCOTUS hands down major decisions, Maine upholds its strongest-in-the-nation internet privacy laws, and more.   

ACLU Files Nationwide Class-Action Lawsuit to Protect Birthright Citizenship Following SCOTUS Ruling

This Friday, we filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship alongside several coalition partners. The executive order threatens to deny U.S. citizenship to babies born on U.S. soil -- a direct violation of the plain language of Fourteenth Amendment.

 

The new lawsuit was filed in response to Friday's Supreme Court ruling that restricts courts' ability to block illegal federal policies using nationwide injunctions. The ACLU's lawsuit aims to protect all families across the country who may be affected by those restrictions. It follows an earlier lawsuit we filed in January on behalf of advocacy groups whose members face harm under a birthright citizenship ban. While that case is currently pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, this new case fills the urgent gaps left by the Supreme Court's decision.

Read more about the lawsuit here 

The Supreme Court issued several other impactful decisions this week, which you can read about here. 

 

A Win for Internet Privacy in Maine

This week, we helped defeat LD 1088, protecting Maine’s landmark internet privacy protections from repeal. LD 1088 was the tech industry's latest attempt at rolling back Maine's strongest-in-the-nation internet privacy laws, which prohibits internet service providers from selling our personal data without our consent.

 

Thanks to advocacy from our supporters, lawmakers received over 6,500 messages supporting strong data privacy protections. It was a major win, and we couldn't have done it without your engagement. Next session, we’ll continue to need your help to pass LD 1822, which would set some of the highest standards for data privacy in the country.

Read more about LD 1822

 

Coming Soon: Legislative Session Wrap-Up

The Maine Legislature officially wrapped up its session this week, and we're excited to share some amazing outcomes from the session. We helped pass a number of priority bills protecting bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, freedom of expression, due process, data privacy, and more. We also defeated a slate of harmful proposals that would have undermined these fundamental freedoms.

We’ll share a full recap of the session next week, so stay tuned!

 

See You at Bangor Pride!

Come celebrate with us on Saturday, June 28, at Bangor Pride! We’ll be tabling at the festival along Merchants Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., sharing resources and connecting with our community. The parade is set to kick off at 11 a.m. We’d love to see you there!

 

Bangor Pride

This week at the ACLU of Maine: A victory for due process and immigrants' rights at the State House, all bills attacking trans rights are officially defeated in Augusta, and a devastating loss for trans rights at the Supreme Court.

A Victory for Due Process and Immigrants' Rights

In a very close vote, lawmakers passed LD 1971. This bill would strengthen the due process rights of all people in Maine and ensure local taxpayer resources are not used to commit civil rights violations through partnerships with federal immigration authorities. When state and local law enforcement proactively carry out federal immigration enforcement, they support federal practices that often violate due process and undermine community safety. This not only violates a fundamental constitutional protection, but also exposes our towns and cities to costly legal liabilities and undermines community safety more broadly.

The bill is now before Gov. Mills. Read more about LD 1971 here.

ALL Bills Attacking Trans Rights Have been Defeated

Maine lawmakers have officially defeated all eight bills attacking transgender rights. The bills ranged from banning trans student-athletes to entirely removing gender identity protections from the Maine Human Rights Act.

Some of these bills were defeated by margins as small as one vote. Every single phone call, email, and conversation with elected officials made a difference. Your voice is your power, and you truly made this possible.

In Maine, we take our freedoms seriously. Our state's commitment to privacy and individual rights, from reproductive freedom to marriage equality, consistently supports the idea that all people should have control over their bodies and their lives.

Supreme Court Ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that Tennessee's law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth can remain in effect.

The court returned these decisions to the states. This ruling is a devastating loss for transgender people around the country and an affront to the Constitution. But gender-affirming care remains legal in Maine for young people and adults. Just this week, Maine lawmakers upheld state-level protections that will ensure access to care.

The ACLU’s other cases against the president on behalf of trans people can proceed. We will not back down from the fight for trans health care and for trans people’s dignity and freedom.

Read more about the ruling here.