CHARLOTTE – What types of surveillance tools are being used by law enforcement in Charlotte and cities across the country? And what safeguards can we put in place to protect the privacy of citizens?

As Charlotte officials take steps to expand the city’s camera surveillance network, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina will host a May 30 panel discussion on “The State of Surveillance” with privacy experts and a representative from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The May 30 event is free and open to the public. Last year the ACLU of North Carolina announced the formation of a new Charlotte-area volunteer chapter.

A controversial bill under consideration in the North Carolina Senate would grant limited driving privileges to undocumented immigrants in North Carolina while also imposing an Arizona-style racial profiling law and other harsh provisions for people suspected of being in the country illegally. While the ACLU of North Carolina supports giving full driver's licenses to all qualified drivers, regardless of immigration status, we cannot support any measure that would require immigrants to surrender basic civil rights in order to gain driving privileges. The ACLU-NC therefore opposes H.B. 786.

The below infographics in English and Spanish help illustrate the costs and benefits H.B. 786 would have for North Carolina's immigrant community. You can read more about our position under the "Immigrant Rights" section of this page.

RALEIGH – The North Carolina House of Representatives today approved a sweeping bill that would restrict access to abortion care for many women in North Carolina. H.B. 730 would allow public hospital employees to refuse to participate in abortion care if they object to such practices on religious or moral grounds, prohibit local governments from offering health plans that include abortion coverage to employees, and prohibit health care plans offered through the exchange under the Affordable Care Act from offering coverage for elective abortion procedures. The bill now heads to the Senate.

In response, the ACLU of North Carolina (ACLU-NC) released the following statement:

“This bill is just the latest example of politicians trying to take away women’s ability to make their own personal medical decisions,” said Sarah Preston, ACLU-NC Policy Director. “The provisions dealing with so-called ‘conscious’ protections turn the entire definition of religious liberty on its head. True religious liberty means that every individual has the right to make deeply personal decisions – including medical decisions – for themselves, based on their own beliefs. It does not mean that politicians or hospital workers get to force their own views on women by restricting their options on matters as personal and critical as reproductive health care. We urge the Senate to reject H.B. 730.”    

RALEIGH – A bill that would allow public hospital employees to refuse to participate in abortion care and private employers to deny contraception coverage to women because of their personal religious beliefs was approved by North Carolina House Judiciary Committee A today.

House Bill 730 now heads to the full House for a vote. In response, the ACLU of North Carolina (ACLU-NC) released the following statement:

“This bill would undermine a woman’s ability to make personal medical decisions and is the opposite of religious liberty,” said Sarah Preston, ACLU-NC Policy Director. “Politicians, employers, and hospital workers should not be allowed to force their personal religious views on women of different beliefs by making it harder for them to receive comprehensive and sometimes life-saving health care. We urge lawmakers to stand up for women and their right to make their own personal medical decisions by opposing House Bill 730.”