The South Carolina National Office of the ACLU
Our
State’s Guardian
of Freedom
MISSION
The ACLU of South Carolina’s National
Office is dedicated to preserving the civil liberties enshrined
in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Through communications,
lobbying and litigation, the ACLU South Carolina’s
National Office works to preserve and enhance the rights
of all citizens of South Carolina. Foremost among these rights
are freedom of speech and religion, the right to equal treatment
under law, and the right to privacy.
Proposed Summerville Ordinance Is Inconsistent With U.S. Laws and Subjects People to Potential Discrimination
The housing and employment ordinance being considered by the Summerville Town Council not only is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights laws, it also subjects people who look or sound foreign to potential discrimination based on their race, ethnicity or national origin. This undermines fundamental American values of fairness and openness. We expect the government to make laws that will prevent discrimination, not require it. Ordinances like the one proposed in Summerville do not take into account the complexity of existing federal immigration law. They place individuals and businesses in the impossible position of trying to comply with multiple sets of incompatible rules at the federal, state, and local levels. These unconstitutional ordinances do nothing to solve the problems with our immigration system, serve only to divide communities, and cost cities millions of dollars to defend them in the courts. We hope that the Summerville Town Council will reconsider and vote "No" on the proposed ordinance.
Read the ACLU SC National Office Statement on the Proposed Ordinance >>
EVENT
 Please join us at South Carolina Pride Festival in Columbia on September 4. It's so much better when you are there! March with the ACLU and volunteer at our festival tent to spread the word about defending civil liberties in our state. The parade begins at noon and the festival in Finlay Park is from 1-6 p.m. We need volunteers for one- to two-hour time slots at the festival and you may sign up for as many times as you want.
ACLU of South Carolina National Office Seeks Records About FBI Collection of Racial and Ethnic Data
 July 27, 1020. The South Carolina National Office of the American Civil Liberties Union today asked the FBI to turn over records related to the agency's collection and use of race and ethnicity data in local communities. According to a 2008 FBI operations guide, FBI agents have the authority to collect information about and map so-called "ethnic-oriented" businesses, behaviors, lifestyle characteristics and cultural traditions in communities with concentrated ethnic populations. While some racial and ethnic data collection by some agencies might be helpful in lessening discrimination, the FBI's attempt to collect and map demographic data using race-based criteria for targeting purposes invites unconstitutional racial profiling by law enforcement, says the ACLU.
Read the press release >>
Learn more about the ACLU seeking records on the FBI's collection of racial and ethnic data in 29 states and D.C. >>
Ask your senators and representative what information is being collected >>
ACLU South Carolina National Office Supports Department of Justice Challenge to AZ Law and Seeks to Keep South Carolina From Passing Similar Laws
On Wednesday, July 14, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster submitted a brief in U.S. District Court in Arizona supporting SB1070, Arizona's discriminatory racial profiling law. We are disappointed that Attorney General McMaster has filed a brief supporting Arizona's 'show me your papers' law, which invites racial profiling and unconstitutionally usurps federal authority. Laws that encourage discrimination have no place in this country, including in South Carolina, where residents value fairness and equality.
Read the press release >>
Victoria Middleton: Don't Support Arizona Law >>
Get involved to stop Arizona's law and prevent other states from enacting similar laws >>
Voters Are Entitled to Know Their Votes Are Properly Counted, Says ACLU in a Letter to South Carolina State Election Commission
June 16, 2010 -- The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of South Carolina sent a letter to the South Carolina State Election Commission asking the commission to require South Carolina counties to copy or preserve the flash memory cards from voting machines used in the June 8 South Carolina primary elections for the U.S. Senate so that the information on the cards can be audited.
There have been numerous complaints about malfunctions with the touch-screen voting machines used in the South Carolina primary elections. Generally, South Carolina counties erase the memory cards for reuse in upcoming elections. The ACLU believes the information on the cards must be saved and audited so that South Carolina voters know whether or not their votes were counted.
In the letter to the commission, the ACLU and the ACLU of South Carolina said, "We take no position on whether there were irregularities sufficient to place the outcome of the election in doubt but believe the voters in South Carolina are entitled to know that their votes were properly counted. That assurance can only be given if the information on the flash cards is preserved and audited."
Read the full text of the letter | More information on the ACLU Voting Rights Project
ACLU SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE NEWS
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