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Join the Keep Our Care Act (KOCA) coalition in discussing hospital mergers hurt access to health care and how the Keep Our Care Act can help safeguard it in Washington. 

Your voice in local politics matters. A lot. That’s what our organizing team wants you and all Washingtonians to know.  

Read an interview with our organizing team and learn why and how you can join the fight for a more just, equitable and safe Washington this legislative session. 

Sign in PRO on HB 2065 by 12:30 p.m. on Monday, January 22, and tell Washington lawmakers it is time to correct past harms.

It is fundamentally unfair to require people to serve vastly different sentences for the same offense.

That’s why we’re advocating for HB 2065, which corrects past harms by making sure sentencing reforms apply to everyone hurt by past unjust practices.

Our annual Advocacy Day is back! Join us in Olympia on Wednesday, January 24th for a day of community and activism as we work together to transform the criminal legal system.

⬇Register at the link below.

Everyone has a role to play in the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality for all. Together, we can share our resources of time, money, rest, and care to defend and expand equity and justice for all. 

Read ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms’ letter for this MLK Day and find out how you can join us in the fight. 

NEW BLOG POST: Sentencing reform is directly connected to community health and safety. Chelsea Moore, our Smart Justice Policy Program Director, explains how and why they’re intertwined and the reforms we’re fighting for this legislative session.

📣 Tell lawmakers it's time to bring Washington state sentencing practices in line with the best evidence regarding brain-development and offer hope to a large population of incarcerated individuals.

Sign in PRO on HB 1325 before 12:30pm on Monday, January 15th.

We’re headed to Olympia to show up and fight for the rights of all Washingtonians. Read about our priorities for this legislative session and how you can take action with us. 

It will take all of us to build a more equitable, safe, and just Washington.

BLOG POST: There is a growing national understanding that young adults need to be treated differently in the criminal legal system because their brains are still developing, especially in regard to long sentences. This legislative session, the ACLU-WA, in collaboration with partner organizations and currently and formerly incarcerated allies, is back in Olympia advocating for the passage of the Emerging Adults Bill, HB 1325/SB 5451, to address this issue.

As we gear up for the year ahead, we invite you to take a look back at our 2023 Annual Report and all that we accomplished together.

BLOG POST: To make meaningful strides in youth safety and reforms, we need to rely on what works: family and community support. As we move through the rest of this holiday season, remember: the greatest gift we can give our youth is keeping them at home. 

On Thursday, a jury acquitted the three Tacoma Police officers accused of killing Manuel Ellis in a 2020 encounter.  

Today’s verdict is devastating and does not result in the accountability the community has demanded and deserves. While no verdict would provide true justice for Manny — as that would mean never being killed in the first place — officers cannot be allowed to act with impunity and kill community members without consequence. Our thoughts are with Manny’s family who have had to be fierce advocates in the face of a system that was not investing time on investigating itself.

Take action! Tell lawmakers that it is time to stop police civil rights abuses by supporting HB 1445.

Too many police departments show a pattern of mistreatment and misconduct, but right now, there are very few ways to investigate or change these ingrained problems.

HB 1445 is designed to break these patterns and prevent future harm by expanding the Attorney General's ability to investigate and bring a lawsuit where there are systemic failures at a department. 

BLOG POST: What can be done when it seems a police department — not just an individual officer — is harming people?

Enoka Herat, ACLU-WA's Policing and Immigration Policy Program Director, explains why we need House Bill 1445 to help change bad police department cultures.

HB 1445 strengthens and clarifies the Washington Attorney General’s civil authority to investigate and sue where there are systemic failures at a department, resulting in violations of the Washington constitution or state laws.

In our latest newsletter, get a glimpse of how, together, we continue to show up for the civil rights and civil liberties of all Washingtonians, and where there’s space for us to dwell in possibility.  

BLOG POST: The gap between rich and poor continues to widen in the U.S. — and it should be treated as a national emergency. Learn about how baby bonds can break the cycle of poverty and make prosperity achievable for the next generation.

Reactionary forces are trying to roll back hard-fought progress for civil rights and civil liberties in Washington.

You can protect that progress by: ❌Declining to sign petitions for I-2113 and I-2081.
💬Spreading the word to friends and family members.

BLOG POST: We lock up too many people, for too long, without considering the impacts of incarceration. Read up on the much-needed sentencing reforms passed this year and what we're fighting for in 2024. 

Arrest, prosecution, and a cold, lonely cell are often the first things that come to mind when we envision a young person who has been caught in the web of our criminal legal system. For decades, this has been the response to address youth delinquent behavior. What if there was something better?

As a part of our new blog series “Home Safe,” ACLU-WA Youth Policy Program Director Roxana Gomez sheds light on diversion: what it is, how it works, and how to expand access across Washington.

Our Annual Celebration is back and better than ever! Join us on October 21 for a night of community, honoring partners and progress made for civil rights and civil liberties throughout Washington state. Tickets are on sale now, from $10-$50.

Each in-person ticket includes admission, two drinks, appetizers from That Brown Girl Cooks (Chef Kristi Brown of COMMUNION), and exclusive gifts featuring artwork created for this event.

Can't make it in person? We also have $10 tickets available for the livestream at 6 PM on October 21. Whether you’re joining us from home or at Townhall Seattle, we can’t wait to celebrate with you.

This coming Monday is Indigenous People's Day! It's a day to CELEBRATE Indigenous history and resilience AND ACT to advance Indigenous Justice. Read ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms’ Indigenous Peoples’ Day message to learn more about our work to advance Indigenous Justice.

BLOG POST: Kids should be educated and supported in schools, not put on a path to prison. As a part of our new blog series “Home Safe,” ACLU-WA Youth Policy Program Director Roxana Gomez breakdowns how some of our most vulnerable kids end up in youth jails and prisons.

This month and every month let’s listen, learn, and lift up Latinx/e communities and follow their leadership. And of course, celebrate the beauty and diversity of Latinx/e communities!

Read ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms’ Latine Heritage Month celebration message below. 

BLOG POST: How do we build resilient, safe communities? The stock answer has been harsher punishments and more enforcement.

Our new blog series will dig into how we can actually keep each other safe and build stronger communities in Washington. The first blog post is out now! Read it at the link below. 

Enoka Herat, ACLU-WA Policing and Immigration Policy Program Director, had the following statement: “The comments made by Officer Auderer are abhorrent and highlight the urgent need for a real transformation of policing culture and practices at the Seattle Police Department (SPD). At the very least, we expect officers to uphold the law, protect and serve all community members, and value each of our lives. To suggest Jaahnavi Kandula or anyone’s life has ‘limited value’ is a horrifying comment for an officer to make and leads us to question the department’s ability to keep people in Seattle safe."

Join us on Tuesday, September 12 at 6 PM for a conversation about reimagining the future of accountability for youth in our state. For decades, Washington has invested in increasingly harsher punishments for young people. Has it made our kids safer and more successful? We'll dig into that question and more.

BLOG POST: We all have a right to a fair trial in front of a jury of our peers. But what does it mean to have a jury of your peers — people like yourself, from your community — deciding your fate at trial? We’re hopeful a recent court decision clarified and reaffirmed that right for Black and brown defendants in Washington state.

We're celebrating Pride in Washington all summer long. Head to the link below to find a celebration near you!