ACLU of Georgia

Crossover day is still going and lawmakers have many bills to consider and pass out of their original chamber to have a chance of becoming law this year. Our Policy and Advocacy team are stationed at the Capitol defending the civil rights for all Georgians.

We’ve seen this attempt before. More beds mean more issues. Overcrowding at the jail is better solved by diversion instead of arrests, fairer bail policies, more timely trials, and pre-trial release for nonviolent offenses.

Take action! Tell lawmakers to to reject HB 1482: secure.schr.org/a/hb1482a A House committee pushed forward HB 1482 w/o offering public input. The bill would allow the Fulton Co. sheriff to use the Atlanta City Detention Center in an effort to ease the deadly overcrowding at Fulton Co. Jail.

Decisions made during session have consequences across Georgia. By speaking out, you help protect civil rights and liberties. Tell lawmakers to reject rushed voting changes and restrictions on government accountability.

SB 568: https://bit.ly/4le1dln
HB 1223: https://bit.ly/474IqU7

It’s Crossover Day! We’re watching to see which of our priority bills will pass key votes. We continue to urge lawmakers to protect Georgia’s people, not power.

📣 #CobbCounty: Join the SPLC,
@lwvmariettacobb.bsky.social, @acluofga.bsky.social & @scsjofficial.bsky.social on March 24!

📲 RSVP for this town hall on the 2026 elections and the Finn v. Cobb County case challenging the Cobb County School Board's racially gerrymandered map: https://bit.ly/3OIiIhK

Also, read the ACLU's latest commentary about why license plate readings shouldn’t be public data: bit.ly/4u69nAy

Dunwoody was an early adopter of Flock Safety. Now it's reevaluating that partnership The city of Dunwoody is holding off on signing a new deal with Atlanta-based Flock Safety, at least until it gets answers about who can potentially access its data.

Dunwoody is holding off on signing a new deal with ATL-based Flock Safety until it gets answers abt who can access its data. https://bit.ly/4sjtppt

Surveillance tech like automatic license plate readers don’t just track crime. W/O safeguards, they can track every aspect of a person’s life.

You have the right to be visible, loud, and boldly you. LGBTQ+ liberation is tied to all of our freedoms.

We’re joining numerous advocacy partners for Pride to the Capitol 2026. A free breakfast and lunch will be provided with your RSVP: https://www.mobilize.us/hrcga/event/897243/

GA’s legislative session is well underway, and we need your help to protect democracy.

Capitol observers are supporting our advocacy every day, monitoring actions under the Gold Dome and defending civil liberties and free speech. Take action and attend our next training: https://bit.ly/3MW9MVg

We’re calling on all officials — law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges — to take action and reduce the Fulton County Jail population. No one person can solve this crisis alone.

Read our report examining the causes and consequences of overcrowding at the jail: https://bit.ly/4rlB3PT

Here's what to know:

• SB 74 deputizes librarians to be agents of state sponsored censorship.
• It uses the guise of “protecting children” to advance book bans.
• And the bill will be used to target literature from and about marginalized communities.

Take action! If you support libraries, please email Speaker Jon Burns and urge him to reject SB 74: https://bit.ly/4trCv4Y

Bills passed in previous legislative sessions have negatively impacted libraries statewide, as former librarians have shared. Read their stories: https://bit.ly/4b3Wuye

Change doesn’t wait and neither should you🗽 Apply for an ACLU of Georgia summer internship before March 20! Spots are available in community engagement, policy, communications, and our Voter Access Project. More info @ acluga.org/internships

ICE is quietly buying warehouses for detention centers in Georgia and other US states At least 20 communities with large warehouses across the U.S. have become stealth targets for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s $45-billion expansion of detention centers.

ACLUGA rejects policies that treat people as disposable and joins others in demanding an end to a cruel and broken immigration system. Current plans would make Social Circle home to one of the largest immigration prisons in the country. https://bit.ly/4rBrtc2

How Cops Are Using Flock Safety's ALPR Network to Surveil Protesters and Activists Through an analysis of 10 months of nationwide searches on Flock Safety's servers, we discovered that more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies ran hundreds of searches through Flock's national ...

Without safeguards, information collected by cameras could be misused to target people who visit sensitive places such as reproductive health centers, immigration clinics, gun shops, union halls, protests, or centers of religious worship. https://bit.ly/46mzkld

Black graphic with orange and white text in all caps: This country belongs to the people. Join us in the streets Saturday, March 28. Find a protest near you." A black and white protest sign reading "immigrants are welcome here" is on the graphic.

When ICE agents tear apart our communities, we take to the streets. When the Trump administration tries to silence dissent, we just get louder.

Find a No Kings protest near you at nokings.org/?SQF_SOURCE=aclu

Georgia lawmakers are pushing three bills that would reshape how young people use social media. The First Amendment protects them, too. And privacy should not be the price for accessing lawful speech online.

#gapol

‘Trump, I’m not afraid of you’: meet some of the people suing the president More than a hundred lawsuits were filed against the Trump administration over the past year. Four people explain why it’s important to protect rights and fight back

Three of the ACLU’s clients spoke with The Guardian about how they fought back against the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back their rights. https://bit.ly/473X0ec

The efforts have created chaos, trampled on our rights, and harmed so many of us. But we’ve been fighting back — and winning.

New laws enacted across the country have increased penalties for blocking traffic, in an attempt to crack down on protest activity.

We oppose HB 1076 because it could be weaponized against protestors, and current laws already address the behavior it claims to target.

It’s a new era for civil rights leadership in Georgia. Black women are leading the state’s top civil rights and civic engagement organizations, including at ACLUGA. Don’t miss this conversation feat. our Executive Director Andrea Young.

RSVP: https://bit.ly/LWVGATickets

Atlanta playwright Lee Osorio brings ‘Prisontown’ into living rooms Osorio is the writer and sole performer in “Prisontown,” a one-act play about a writer who works to uncover the harsh conditions inside Lumpkin’s Stewart Detention Center.

"Prisontown" has performances under Out of Hand Theater’s Shows in Homes program, which hosts works about social justice in intimate spaces.

Each performance is followed by discussions w/ social justice orgs, incl ACLUGA & Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta. https://bit.ly/4qxvddf

Various forms of correctional supervision are promoted as alternatives to incarceration. But in reality, they feed people into jails and prisons.

Read our report “Jail Overcrowding in Fulton County: Causes, Impacts, and Interventions,” here: https://bit.ly/4rlB3PT

Protecting Free Expression, Protest Rights as Bills Advance in Georgia Legislature  - ACLU of Georgia The ACLU of Georgia's recent actions include testimonies against bills that threaten free speech, promote censorship in schools, and expand criminal penalties.

Lawmakers are advancing bills that threaten rights in Georgia. We’re under the Gold Dome every week fighting back, and we need you with us.

Learn what’s moving and how to take action: https://bit.ly/3Om6BXr

Limiting location sharing on your devices is a great first step to protect yourself against prying eyes.

BREAKING: The Department of Education has ended its directive that attempted to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools nationwide.

This is a victory for academic freedom and education equity.

Our partners are leading a day of action for reproductive justice; we’re proud to advocate w/ them. Join us Feb 26 @ the Capitol. RSVP: https://bit.ly/3Mr5l4N

ACLUGA is dedicated to creating a future where abortion care is not only legal but also accessible, affordable, & free from stigma or fear.

Measures like the SAVE America Act are part of a coordinated effort to suppress turnout, particularly in states like Georgia with a long history of voter suppression.

Don't let the administration's actions deter you from voting in GA's elections. Do not let anyone make that choice for you.

This week at the capitol, we made some positive improvements to harmful bills. There's still time to take action on SB 74 - email Speaker Burns today: https://bit.ly/4trCv4Y

NEW: We filed a brief seeking the return of Fulton County, Georgia voters' sensitive information that was recently seized by the FBI.

Our privacy must be protected and efforts to undermine public trust in our elections must be stopped.