For the Media

Media Contact: Kelly Jones Sharp, Director of Communication & Education, 317-635-4059 X122

General Information: info@aclu-in.org

About the ACLU of Indiana
In 2006, the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) became the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana (ACLU of Indiana), an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The mission of the ACLU of Indiana is to defend individual rights and enhance and preserve liberties that are grounded in the United States and Indiana constitutions and civil rights laws.

The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The ACLU of Indiana is a nonpartisan membership organization and our membership includes Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Further, it is the ACLU’s mission to restrain government power and to secure rights granted to all citizens in the Bill of Rights.

The issues most common to the Indiana affiliate of the ACLU are: disability rights, freedom of speech, LGBT rights, immigrant rights, police practices, prisoner rights, racial justice, religion and beliefs, reproductive freedom, the rights of the poor, technology and privacy, voting rights, and youth rights. However, there are many more issues affecting civil liberties and rights that are fought all across the country.

First Meeting
The ICLU held its first meeting on Nov. 20, 1953 in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Indianapolis after being denied a meeting place at the Indiana War Memorial by the War Memorial Commission. In 1968, the ICLU filed a complaint in Marion Superior Court against the IWMC, but in April 1970 the commission’s decision to deny the ICLU a meeting place was upheld. Then on Feb. 1, 1973, after 20 years of attempting to reverse the state’s decision through political means, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and ruled in favor of the ICLU. Read more

Membership & Charitable Contributions
Membership dues to the ACLU of Indiana, a 501(c)4 organization, are not tax deductible. ACLU of Indiana memberships automatically include membership to the National ACLU. Charitable contributions to the ACLU of Indiana Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, are tax deductible to the full extent of the law and support our efforts in education outreach and free legal services.