By Jennifer Rudinger, Executive Director, ACLU of North Carolina

 

In the decade I have served as Executive Director of the ACLU of North Carolina, I can't remember a year that brought as many attacks on civil liberties as 2013. Whether it was the right to vote, the freedom for students to read a literary classic, or simply the freedom to drive or walk to work without being unnecessarily harassed by law enforcement, civil liberties for North Carolinians seemed to face a new threat nearly every week.  

 

It's years like this that I am especially proud to work for the ACLU. From the halls of the General Assembly to the steps of federal courthouses, from besieged immigrant communities in the mountains to City Council meetings on the coast, our staff members worked tirelessly to stand up for the constitutional rights of North Carolinians from all walks of life.  

 

Here, in rough chronological order, are our top 10 stories of 2013:  

  1. Immigrants' Rights: North Carolina reinstates driver's licenses for young immigrants.    
  2. Freedom to Marry: ACLU expands lawsuit seeking second parent adoption rights in N.C. to challenge to North Carolina's ban on marriage equality.
  3. Religious Liberty: Court sides with ACLU-NC, orders Rowan County commissioners to cease unconstitutional prayers at government meetings.    
  4. Freedom from Surveillance: ACLU-NC helps introduce three bills to protect privacy from government surveillance, leading to drone regulations in state budget and formation of a drone study committee.    
  5. Immigrants' Rights: Arizona-style anti-immigrant measures defeated in the General Assembly following ACLU-NC criticism.    
  6. Voting Rights: ACLU-NC and allies file federal lawsuit challenging the most suppressive voting law in the country. 
  7. Due Process & Racial Justice: Wilmington City Council abandons plan to ban "gang members" from parks following ACLU-NC criticism.  
  8. Freedom to Read: 'Invisible Man' restored in Randolph County public schools. 
  9. Fair Policing: Jackson County Sheriff changes checkpoint policies following ACLU-NC investigation.
  10. Free Speech: ACLU-NC argues against N.C.'s one-sided 'Choose Life' license plate scheme at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
These stories are just a sample of the work we did across the state this year and will continue to do in 2014. As the ACLU's founder, Roger Baldwin, famously said, "No fight for civil liberties ever stays won."