Wednesday, January 15, 2025

CT ACLU Organizes “Firewall of Freedom”

 

Concerned with the future of democratic rights in a second Trump term, 250 people filled the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme to solidify their resistance. The meeting was one of eight called by Connecticut ACLU to share Trump’s day-one plans and their “Firewall of Freedom.” response.

Trans and migrant communities will be the first targets. Specifically, Trump will likely use executive orders to roll back educational protections for trans gendered students. Over time, Trump and the MAGA majority in Congress will move to add conditions to federal dollars to states as a way to further curtail LGBTQ+ rights by labeling the LGBTQ+ community as “obscene,” along with mandates to force “patriotic” speech in schools.

The history of placing conditions on federal funds includes the example of encouraging states to raise the drinking age to 21 as a condition of getting federal money for roads.

Accepting conditions on federal funding is not a requirement. States can choose to reject MAGA dictates and fund their programs directly to the extent possible. Participants in the meeting were urged to call on Governor Lamont to reject any federal dollars that contain MAGA conditions: and at the same time roll-back the fiscal “guardrails” that greatly limit state spending on peoples’ needs.

To carry out his threat of mass deportations, Trump may declare a state of emergency allowing the military and national guard to conduct violent and aggressive raids on migrant communities. ICE raids may become more common in Connecticut. The ACLU has been working closely with elected officials throughout the country and Connecticut to prepare for a Trump sham “national emergency.”

Efforts are also underway in the General Assembly to strengthen Connecticut’s privacy laws and remove unnecessary citizenship questions used by ICE and right-wing groups to target migrant communities. CT ACLU has prepared a Know Your Rights: Immigrants Rights pamphlet on what to do if your community is being raided by the federal government: available at: https://www.acluct.org/en/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights

Endangering women's’ rights and the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion, extremist groups and large companies will likely be permitted to buy, sell, and share private medical data, violating the privacy of women’s healthcare decisions. In addition to pushing for stronger privacy laws, the CT ACLU has launched an Abortion Legal Hotline: 833-309-6301.

In preparation for the first 100 days Trump assault, participants were urged to get educated and organize.































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