Legislation

We need to tackle the opioid crisis with public health and epidemic responses to combat the rising number of deaths, and not by further entrenching policing in the problem. We support bills like House Bill 6090 that approach the opioid crisis through a lens of harm reduction.

Criminal penalization through both fines and prison sentences is an outrageously disproportionate response to the vandalization of stone walls.

Relying on police as first responders to drug overdoses and other addiction crises will not improve our public health outlook for opioid addiction, but rather will prop up the system of mass incarceration.

Ending mass incarceration requires us to continue making progress toward reducing the number of people who enter the criminal legal system and reducing the amount of time that people who do not enter the system serve.

Access to places of leisure like public beaches and swimming pools have long been sites of discrimination. Fair beach access is an issue that has haunted Connecticut for too long, with restrictive policies that are grounded in politics and discrimination.

Red light cameras result in increasing police surveillance, while ignoring real solutions and people’s actual safety needs. The ACLU-CT is opposed to the use of speed and red light cameras because of the significant due process, privacy, and racial justice threats these cameras pose.

Exponentially increasing the maximum fine that municipalities can charge for ordinance violations is likely to further entrench people, especially families of color, into cycles of poverty. What results is a two-tiered criminal legal system, where income level determines the outcome.

The sexual abuse of minors is abhorrent, and all children should have the chance to grow up safe and loved. Expanding policing to include an online sting unit in our state, however, would ultimately cause more harm than good, while failing to further protect children.

Contact between community members and police can have tragic consequences for people experiencing mental health crises and substance use disorder. People who are in mental health crises need treatment.