The ACLU of Kentucky has more than 8,000 members statewide. It is governed by a Board of Directors elected by the membership and its work is accomplished through a network of volunteers, coordinated by staff working out of its Louisville office.
Our Mission: Preserving Liberty
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU) is freedom’s watchdog, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people by the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky:
- Our right to freedom of speech, association, assembly, and the press;
- Our right to freedom of religion, supported by the strict separation of church and state;
- Our right to be treated fairly by the government whenever life, liberty or property is at stake;
- Our right to be free from unwarranted government intrusion into our personal and private affairs; and
- Our right to equal protection of the laws, regardless of race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability or other such classifications.
The ACLU also works to extend rights to those who traditionally have been denied them, including:
- women,
- Black, Indigenous, and people of color,
- Immigrants,
- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals,
- people who have experienced incarceration or entanglement with the justice system,
- people with disabilities,
- and young people.