The right to question our government, speak freely, protect our privacy, and demand fairness under the law is central to the American promise. These freedoms shape how we live, how we raise our families, and how we participate in our democracy. They also connect Marylanders across political beliefs and lived experiences. At a time when our country is debating its future, protecting these fundamental liberties is among our most important shared responsibilities.
Our nation’s founding documents established principles of liberty, equality, and justice that generations of Americans have fought to make real. Those struggles have expanded the promise of freedom and challenged our country to live up to its highest ideals. They have also demonstrated a fundamental truth: the strength of our democracy depends on the rights we protect for everyone.
Consider what those rights mean in our daily lives.
The freedom to express our beliefs allows us to challenge policies, advocate for change, and hold elected officials accountable. The right to privacy protects our personal lives from unwarranted government intrusion. Due process ensures that every person receives fair treatment when confronted by the power of the state. Voting rights give us a voice in determining who governs and whose interests are represented.
These protections matter whether we live in Baltimore City, Western Maryland, or on the Eastern Shore. Whether our families have lived here for generations, are newly arrived neighbors, and whether we identify as conservative, liberal, somewhere in between – or even outside the traditional political spectrum.
A parent advocating for their child’s ability to read books that are banned, a community member speaking out at a public meeting, a family seeking fair treatment in the immigration system, and a voter expecting equal access to the ballot all have something in common. Each is exercising or relying on fundamental rights that give meaning to our democracy.
And each deserves the full protection of those rights.
The promise of liberty has never been accessible to all Marylanders. Black Americans, Indigenous communities, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and countless others have organized, challenged injustice, and demanded the freedoms and protections guaranteed under our laws. Their courage and persistence have helped to try and move our nation closer to its founding ideals.
That work continues today.
Across Maryland, questions about government surveillance, freedom of expression, racial disparities in policing, immigration operations, and voting access are shaping the lives of our neighbors. These issues raise an essential question about the relationship between people and their government: How do we ensure that those entrusted with power remain accountable to the people they serve?
For nearly a century, the ACLU of Maryland has taken on – and responded to that question through advocacy, litigation, and public policy, most often guided by the expertise of community members closest to the failings of our democracy. Our commitment is rooted in a principle that has guided generations of civil rights and civil liberties advocates: the Constitution’s protections belong to everyone, and our responsibility is to make those protections meaningful in people’s lives.
That responsibility extends well beyond any one organization.
It belongs to the people who speak out when they witness injustice, the communities that organize for change, and the individuals who insist that government power be exercised fairly and transparently. It belongs to all of us, including when the rights at stake protect people whose beliefs or experiences differ from our own.
As Marylanders prepare to vote this Election Day, we have an opportunity to reflect on the freedoms that make democratic participation possible in the first place. Our votes help determine who exercises political power. Our civil liberties establish the principles and protections that must guide how that power is used.
The leaders we elect will shape the direction of our state and country. The rights we protect will shape the kind of democracy we leave to future generations.
Freedom of expression. Privacy. Due process. Equal protection under the law. The right to vote and have that vote count.
These are American values. They are our shared inheritance and our collective responsibility.
What’s more American than protecting them?
