Category Archives: Issues

Denver Municipal Elections- Get-out-the-vote Phone Bank Monday, 5/6 6 pm - 8 pm | Doors open at 5:30 pm | Training starts at 6 pm ACLU of Colorado Offices: 303 E. 17th, Suite 250, Denver, 80218 RSVP HERE Every vote counts. And so does every voter. Join the ACLU of Colorado and voting rights activists as we increase voter turnout by making phone calls and sending texts to voters. We'll encourage voters to turn in their ballots and to support Initiative 300, the Right to Survive ordinance..... | Read More

It is always sad to lose allies and friends of civil rights and civil liberties, but Colorado experienced a particularly great loss recently with the death of the Rev. Tammy Garrett-Williams. A fierce champion for the rights of people caught in the criminal justice system, her Above Waters Project has been deeply rooted in the lives of people directly impacted by mass incarceration and the criminal legal system. Her activism was widely visible across the community, from the NAACP to the Greater.... | Read More

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit this morning seeking previously requested records related to the arrest, detention, and subsequent death of Kamyar Samimi, an Iranian man who died on December 2, 2017 while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility, a for-profit detention center operated by GEO Group, Inc. Mr. Samimi came to the United States as a student in 1976 and became a Legal Permanent Resident in 1978. ICE agents.... | Read More

February 11, 2019 ACLU: Colorado company denied health care coverage to transgender man DENVER – The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed a discrimination charge against InnoSource Inc. today on behalf of Dashir Moore, a 32-year-old transgender man who was denied health care coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria and subsequent transition-related care. Insurance carve-outs for transition-related care are illegal, yet two days after his.... | Read More

January 8, 2019 DENVER —ACLU of Colorado and Participant Media are proud to host a special engagement screening of "On The Basis of Sex" followed by a panel discussion with state representatives and leaders from the gender equality movement. The screening and discussion will take place on Thursday, January 10 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas – Sloan’s Lake. Check-in and concessions will begin at 5 p.m. ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes will give the opening remarks at.... | Read More

December 19, 2018 Ahead of Joint Budget Committee's Thursday briefing on proposed DOC budget—which includes nearly $40 million for prison expansion—ACLU of Colorado and CCJRC release memo warning of 'significantly overestimated' prison population growth projections DENVER — As Colorado's corrections budget nears $1 billion, criminal justice reform advocates are urging state lawmakers to explore alternatives to opening another prison in the state. In a memo released Wednesday,.... | Read More

December 7, 2018 DENVER – State District Court Judge Eric Bentley issued a final ruling last night barring El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder from holding people in jail at the request of federal immigration enforcement (ICE) after they have posted bond, completed their sentence, or otherwise resolved their criminal case. “In issuing a very thorough final ruling that concludes the proceedings in state district court, Judge Bentley explained that Colorado sheriffs have no legal authority to enforce.... | Read More

The 2018 elections are critical, and we encourage everyone to vote. We do not endorse candidates, but we do take positions on initiatives that impact civil rights and civil liberties. Click here to download your 2018 Voter Guide. This year, ACLU of Colorado has taken the following positions on statewide ballot initiatives: Vote YES on Amendment A to remove slavery from the Colorado constitution: The Colorado constitution currently reads, "There shall never be in this state either slavery.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/scotus-and-life-after-roe With Justice Kennedy’s retirement and Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court there are a lot of anxieties about civil liberties in general, but specifically reproductive rights. On this episode, ACLU of Colorado Reproductive Rights Campaign Coordinator Delana Maynes interviews Reproductive Rights Policy Council Lizzy Hinkley on the real possibility that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade. Later.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/inmigracion-conozca-sus-derechos Las acciones recientes de ICE y la Administración de Trump han generado preocupacion en la comunidad de inmigrantes de Colorado. Ahora es un buen momento para recordarles a todos que la Constitución y la Carta de Derechos protegen a "Nosotros la gente", no a "Nosotros los ciudadanos." Field Director Alejandra Garza y Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian presentan un programa especial sobre los.... | Read More