If you are a reporter and wish to speak to a representative of the ACLU of Virginia, please call (804) 644-8080 or email press@acluva.org. If you wish to receive our press releases, please send your name, outlet and contact information to press@acluva.org with the subject line “Press Release Distribution.”
“If Governor Youngkin – or the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association – were serious about public safety, he wouldn’t make it harder for people to come forward when they need help," said ACLU of Virginia Policy Director Chris Kaiser.
“Virginia may no longer be a Confederate state, but the provision of our constitution that was specifically put in place to suppress the voting rights of Black citizens after the Civil War is still oppressing Virginians today," said ACLU of Virginia Senior Supervising Attorney Vishal Agraharkar.
"Immigrant survivors of crime have rights,” said ACLU-VA Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg. “Virginia law is very clear: police departments can’t arbitrarily refuse to issue U visa certifications any more than they could refuse to investigate the crimes that make people eligible for them."
"We applaud the legislature for their bipartisan support of independent prison oversight, and encourage Governor Youngkin to sign this important legislation into law,” said ACLU of Virginia's Policy and Advocacy Strategist Shawn Weneta.
“VDOE’s 2023 model policies harm the very students they’re supposed to protect. They have already resulted in discrimination that violates state and federal law,” said ACLU of Virginia Senior Transgender Rights Attorney Wyatt Rolla.
“VHSL’s policies for transgender athletes have worked for over a decade,” said Breanna Diaz, Policy and Legislative Counsel for ACLU of Virginia. “Banning trans students from playing sports consistent with their gender identity violates federal law and guidance – and hurts cisgender students, too.