News & Commentary

Today, Chris Ahmuty announced he is retiring as the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin effective December 31, 2016.  Ahmuty, who will be 66 later this month, has served as the ACLU of Wisconsin’s executive director since he was promoted to that post in July 1992.  Overall, he has been with the ACLU for 33 years. Notable activities during his tenure include numerous lawsuits challenging government abuse of power, special attention to the rights of society’s most vulnerable, and expansion of the affiliate’s programs, especially youth development.  He intends to remain active in Milwaukee civic affairs come January. Mary Jo McBrearty, Board President, remarked, “Chris has been a wonderful leader for the ACLU of Wisconsin during challenging times.  The Board has a plan in place that will ensure a smooth and successful transition.  We will be conducting a nationwide search to find someone as knowledgeable, thoughtful, and passionate as Chris is about Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.” For more than 90 years, the ACLU has been our nation's guardian of liberty, working in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. The ACLU of Wisconsin is a non-profit, non-partisan, private organization whose 7,000 members support its efforts to defend the civil rights and liberties of all Wisconsin residents. For more on the ACLU of Wisconsin, visit our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @ACLUofWisconsin and @ACLUMadison.

Most elected officials in this country profess to support the U. S. Constitution. While the constitutionality of various issues is debated in our state and federal judicial systems every day, the Constitution is becoming a political issue in this year’s presidential primaries. In this environment of largely unaccountable campaign rhetoric, we should take caution whenever a candidate pledges that he or she will defend the Constitution. Our caution should take the form of demanding to hear that candidates actually understand the Constitution. Views of our Constitution and what public policies flow from it vary widely. It is not enough for a candidate to claim that he or she will f

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 8, 2015

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorships." - George Bernard Shaw

Update:

In 1999, Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary” enraged New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, leading to a First Amendment showdown when the mayor threatened to revoke the City’s $7 million dollars in funding to Brooklyn Museum after it showed the mixed media piece that included elephant dung. Now Niki Johnson and her work, “Eggs Benedict,” have ignited a similar controversy in Milwaukee, with some Catholic leaders condemning the piece – a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI made with colored condoms – as insulting and demanding its removal.  Some donors have withdrawn their financial support from the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is showing the work.

MADISON, WI – Today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will formally announce his candidacy for president of the United States.  The ACLU of Wisconsin has compiled a summary of the Governor’s actions that reflect his positions on important civil liberties and civil rights issues that have emerged during his tenure in Wisconsin’s highest executive office.  Voters around the country should study Governor Walker’s record on civil rights and civil liberties during his time as the Wisconsin Governor as they compare him to others seeking the highest executive office in the nation. The following actions by Governor Walker exemplify his stance on civil liberties and civil rights: 1. Opposing marriage equality and equal treatment under the law: Not long after he was sworn in, Governor Walker stopped defending Wisconsin’s domestic partner registry, which provided a few – but far from all – of the rights and benefits of marriage for people who are LGBT*. Although the Wisconsin Supreme Court late

"Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants." "Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman." "Captain Underpants and the Farty Fight for Free Speech." Okay fine, I made up the last one. The silly titles of the "Captain Underpants" series lined our bookshelf at home, thanks to my younger brother. As his wiser and worldlier older sister, I wanted nothing to do with such absurdity. It seems some older people, however, have taken greater offense to Dav Pilkey's children's books, their paranoia almost more farcical than the titles themsel

Mary Ellen Schutz and Dave St. Amant, ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation