Donald Trump has created—again—a one-man constitutional crisis.
This national assault on the very foundation of our democracy comes on top of some devastating developments here in Iowa: A relatively new law now prohibits doctors from providing most abortions after six weeks. And the Iowa Legislature has stripped out key nondiscrimination protections for transgender Iowans.
But we will not be deterred. After all, these are the types of difficult times that prompted the creation of the ACLU of Iowa in the first place, back in 1935.
We've had notable recent wins. We've won a temporary injunction on Iowa's banned book and don't-say-LGBTQ law in public schools. We've been able to, so far, block SF 2340, Iowa's worst-ever anti-immigrant law. And we continue to bring other legal actions to protect our fundamental freedoms and equality as Iowans.
- We have brought multiple cases to stop the governor's office from wrongly withholding public information.
- We’ve sent legal information letters to Iowa cities leading to the repeal of ordinances restricting the right to wear drag in public, and others that sought to criminalize begging.
- We’ve filed a legal complaint with the Iowa Office of Civil Rights to allow the Iowa congregation of The Satanic Temple the same ability to have public displays and events at the Capitol that other religions enjoy.
- Our emergency voting rights litigation filed shortly before the November general election was effective in getting the state to retreat from some of the worst aspects of its directive to challenge new citizens when voting at the polls or by absentee ballot, and our case to prevent similar wrongful challenges in the future is ongoing.
We're able to do this because of our generous supporters—many of whom started donating after Trump’s first election. We are better equipped than ever to handle what comes.
Nationally, we are twice as large as we were in 2016. Here in Iowa, we have more than doubled our staff overall and tripled the size of our legal team. In just a few short years, we've been able to build a statewide network of volunteers 10,000 strong.
The breadth of our work, both statewide and nationally, includes reproductive freedom, immigrant rights, racial justice, LGBTQ issues, gender equality, religious freedom, student rights, government and technology privacy issues, voting rights, disability rights, and our long-held focus on free speech and freedom of expression—the very foundations of our democracy.
Our ability to do this work makes us grateful for your support since the ACLU relies solely on private donations.
We all want a just and equitable Iowa in which everyone can live and thrive. And we won't stop working for it.
