News & Commentary

Just over one year ago, many of us celebrated the passage of Issue 2, a citizen-initiated statute that legalized adult-use cannabis in Ohio.

The ACLU of Ohio does encourage the members of this committee to be cognizant of the unrealistic demands HB 289 places on your homeless constituents and the various ways it encourages, rather than minimizes, failure of various types.

Every even-year election, as lawmakers prepare for the next General Assembly, we enter the “Lameduck period,” taking place between Election Day and the start of the new session.

Should some people profit off others’ misfortune? At the ACLU of Ohio, we believe the answer is a resounding no. Sadly, we know profit comes into play at many levels of our criminal legal system, but the most notable is within the prison industry itself.

The ACLU of Ohio urges the committee to reject HB 473 because of its failure to adequately address crucial and serious mass surveillance concerns.

It is long past time for Ohio to join the majority of states with protections against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and further protect free speech.

The ACLU of Ohio encourages the committee’s rejection of Senate Bill 293 in favor of current law which allows local school districts to decide themselves whether or not to accommodate religious release time programs.

In November 2023, Governor Mike DeWine announced the formation of a Juvenile Justice Working group to right the ship and set Ohio’s youth justice system back on a path towards progress.

As we enter a second Trump Administration and the path to protecting the civil rights and liberties of all Americans, one thing is crystal clear: We have a plan.