News & Commentary

ANCHORAGE – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers can’t unfairly fire or otherwise discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. This decision alleviates the anxiety among gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or transgender employees that they could be fired from their job — thereby losing their health care and the ability to take care of themselves and their family — just because of who they are. Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court has taken action to prevent life-threatening harm for millions of Americans. 

On Wednesday, May 7, 2020 ACLU of Alaska Policy Director Triada Stampas testified during a Matanuska-Susitna School Board meeting in support of rescinding the board's April 22, 2020 decision to remove books and teaching materials labeled “controversial” from the High School English Elective Curriculum and Reading List, Part I. 

This op-ed was origionally published in the Anchorage Daily News on May 5, 2020.

Failure to reduce jail population is the Achilles heel for the efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska is urging state leaders to improve the collection and reporting of aggregated race, ethnicity, and other demographic data of COVID-19 infections and deaths after several states revealed disturbingly dipropionate rates of death for Black individuals.

The ACLU of Alaska is attempting to work with the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) to reduce the risk of spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 in state jails and prisons. In a letter sent to Department Commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom, the ACLU of Alaska details a series of necessary steps corrections officials must take to ensure the health and safety of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

The Dunleavy Administration has attacked a woman’s constitutionally protected access to abortion TWICE this week. In addition to an abortion ban, he also submitted a second line-item budget veto to the Alaska Court System to continue to punish the Courts for defending a woman’s constitutionally protected right to choose.

In light of health and safety measures taken by the Alaska Court System in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the April 15 oral argument in the ACLU of Alaska’s lawsuit against Governor Michael J. Dunleavy has been vacated. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Henderson is expected to rule without holding any further hearings.

The ACLU of Alaska offered guidance to Anchorage officials, as the Municipality takes restrictive measures to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Anyone with concerns or problems regarding these new measures should contact [email protected].