As fireworks light up the sky this Fourth of July, millions of Americans will gather to celebrate freedom. But for far too many in the US and right here in Kentucky, freedom is slipping away.
Across our commonwealth, basic rights are under attack. The government is banning books, stripping away reproductive autonomy, targeting trans youth, surveilling communities, tearing immigrant families apart, and locking up Black Kentuckians at staggering rates.
Freedom is under fire. This is a coordinated, relentless assault on civil liberties, fueled by fear and power, and it is just the beginning.
Let’s break it down:
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The Right to Read is being erased by book bans that censor race, gender, and truth.
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Reproductive Freedom is a myth in Kentucky, where abortion is virtually banned, even in cases of rape or incest.
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Trans Youth are being denied gender-affirming healthcare by politicians who have never met them but want to control their lives.
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The Right to Protest is constantly under attack with efforts to silence dissent.
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Immigrants are being terrorized by ICE raids that separate parents from children in the dead of night.
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And Black Kentuckians have been over-policed, over-incarcerated, and treated like suspects instead of citizens.
This is not freedom. This is oppression, plain and simple.
But we refuse to accept it as the new normal.
The ACLU of Kentucky is on the front lines, fighting every day to defend the rights of all people. We are in the courts, in the streets, and at the Capitol, because freedom is not something we remember once a year. It is something we defend every single day.
Your support powers this work.
Your donation helps us keep fighting.
Stand with us as we defend freedom, not just for some, but for all.