ACLU of South Carolina

Students and librarians take S.C. superintendent to court over school censorship rules COLUMBIA – South Carolina public school librarians and students filed a lawsuit today asking a federal court to block enforcement of the state’s unconstitutional book banning regulation and a

NEW: Three students and the SC Association of School Librarians are suing SC Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver to challenge her book banning and classroom censorship policies. During Banned Books Week and every week, we’ll show up to defend the freedom to read. www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

Advocacy Director Courtney Thomas on Beloved by Toni Morrison, one of the most banned and challenged books in the country. #BannedBooksWeek

Read more about your rights when interacting with military troops or federal agents at aclu.org/deployment_kyr

Itinerant Literate Banned Books Week Anti-Censorship Panel. In partnership with the ACLU of South Carolina. Commonhouse Aleworks, Sunday, October 5, 5 PM. Featuring Cinelle Barnes, bestselling author.

Just announced: Our free Banned Books Week panel on Sunday will feature Cinelle Barnes, bestselling author of Monsoon Mansion and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Join us this Sunday, Oct. 5, 5 p.m. at Commonhouse Aleworks in North Charleston!

Details here: www.aclusc.org/en/events/ba...

ACLU-SC sues Clemson for firing faculty member who criticized Charlie Kirk CLEMSON – The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina is suing Clemson University for violating the First Amendment based on its decision to fire a faculty member for a Facebook post that

...The Constitution requires a stronger spine than that.”

Read more here: www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

To quote from today’s filing: “[H]owever challenging it must have been for Clemson to confront bullying legislators or the online mob and its 280-character pitchforks, the First Amendment does not credit Clemson’s impulse to capitulate as a ‘legitimate’ interest...

"ACLU-SC sues Clemson for firing faculty member who criticized Charlie Kirk." Photograph of Clemson's Sikes Hall on a purple background.

NEW: Clemson University bowed to political pressure and fired an assistant professor over a Facebook post that was critical of Charlie Kirk. We’re asking a federal court to uphold the First Amendment and reinstate the faculty member.

ACLU-SC opposes further ICE collaboration by local law enforcement Today Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Lindsey Graham promoted a program that provides federal financial incentives to local law enforcement agencies that sign collaboration agreements with U.S.

Today the governor held a press conference pushing for more local ICE collaboration. But the 287(g) agreements he is promoting are a disaster for civil liberties, a fiscal burden on local governments, and a threat to public trust in law enforcement. Learn more here:
www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

ACLU of South Carolina. Stop the Extreme Abortion Ban in South Carolina. Stop the Extreme Abortion Ban — Tell the Full Senate Medical Affairs Committee

After yesterday's subcommittee on the total abortion ban (Senate Bill 323), lawmakers need to keep hearing from the people their bill would harm. Please write to them. We have a form to help you get started: aclusc.org/s323

Stop the Heinous Ban South Carolina lawmakers are pushing S.323 — a total abortion ban that would equate abortion with homicide and carry up to 30 years in prison. It does not allow for exceptions such as rape or incest. ...

After today's subcommittee on the total abortion ban (Senate Bill 323), lawmakers need to keep hearing from the people their bill would harm. Please write to them. We have a form to help you get started: secure.ngpvan.com/Po2WmdvpqU27...

Emma Giglio, who just spoke against the total abortion ban, was a guest on our podcast. She shared her family's heartbreaking story of traveling out of state to terminate a non-viable pregnancy. You can hear her story here: www.aclusc.org/en/publicati...

A livestream of the subcommittee hearing is available here. Public testimony has begun. www.scstatehouse.gov/video/stream...

Relaying your message.

Total Abortion Ban (S. 323) South Carolina Senate Bill 323 would create a total abortion ban with almost no exceptions. It would equate abortion with homicide, and it would make it a felony to provide information about

South Carolina Senate Bill 323 is unconstitutional and deadly. We're at the State House today with thousands of South Carolinians opposing it. More information about this harmful and extreme bill here: www.aclusc.org/en/legislati...

We oppose S. 323

Today is the subcommittee hearing for S.C. Senate Bill 323, which would create a total abortion ban with almost no exceptions. It would equate abortion with homicide, and it would make it a felony to provide information about obtaining an abortion via the phone or internet.

ACLU-NBLSA Southern Legal Internship Program 2026 The ACLU has partnered with NBLSA to deepen the bench of talented, passionate, and committed civil rights and social justice attorneys in the South. The Southern Legal Internship Program (SLIP) will

Details + link to apply here: www.aclusc.org/en/jobs/aclu...

"Intern with us." Logos of the NBLSA and ACLU of South Carolina. Photo of the Statue of Liberty.

Law students, heads up: Applications are open for the 2026 Southern Legal Internship Program, created in a partnership between the ACLU and National Black Law Students Association. Priority application deadline is October 31, 2025.

If you experienced an immigration raid, we would like to hear your story. Hearing community members’ stories helps us understand how rights are being violated as part of immigration enforcement efforts.

✉️ aclusc.org/redada

Si usted experimentó una redada de inmigración, nos gustaría escuchar su historia. Escuchar las historias de los miembros de la comunidad nos ayuda a entender cómo se violan los derechos como parte de los esfuerzos de aplicación de la ley de inmigración.

✉️ aclusc.org/redada

S.C. Supreme Court green-lights partisan gerrymandered maps COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Supreme Court has dismissed a legal case brought by the League of Women Voters of South Carolina that challenged the practice of partisan gerrymandering. In a 5–0

Read more here about yesterday's State Supreme Court opinion in League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander: www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

“As a result, we are seeing — and will continue to see — state legislatures race to further minimize and perhaps erase the representation of the state's minority political party in Congress. These results may, indeed, be in line with each respective state's constitution and laws, but they collectively have the effect of diminishing our constitutional republic as a whole. This is a troubling prospect for those who adhere to our nation's founding principle that the People are sovereign. We can expect the current trend to continue unless the United States Supreme Court steps back into the fray.”

This is an ominous prediction from Chief Justice Kittredge in yesterday's State Supreme Court decision green-lighting partisan gerrymandered Congressional maps.

Are your local police collaborating with ICE? Look up your county here. Make some noise. www.aclusc.org/en/news/are-...

Firing faculty without due process intimidates students as well as their teachers. That kind of widespread fear damages the learning environment that our public colleges and universities can offer their students.

The SC Supreme Court has green-lit a partisan gerrymandered Congressional district map. The court dismissed a legal case brought by the League of Women Voters of South Carolina that challenged the practice of partisan gerrymandering.

www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

Teacher intimidation campaigns have no place in South Carolina In the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, an organized political effort has emerged: Political figures are mining social media for statements about the murder and demanding that state employees be

The American Civil Liberties Union and its state affiliates have a long history of defending free speech, including speech that offends local sensibilities. Core political speech is worth defending, especially when it is controversial. Full statement here: www.aclusc.org/en/press-rel...

... to model the tolerance for upsetting speech that is demanded by the First Amendment so that they might instill that firmly-rooted American value in the next generation.” (5/5)

Allen Chaney, Legal Director, ACLU-SC: “It is in the hard times, not the easy ones, when our commitment to American values is tested. In the face of politicized and sometimes manufactured outrage, we call on school districts and university presidents... (4/5)

To protect that same free exchange, we also condemn the targeted harassment of educators for political statements published in their personal capacity. Our state cannot & should not respond to violence by infringing on the free speech rights guaranteed by the 1st Amendment. (3/5)

The ACLU-SC strongly condemns political violence, including the killing of Charlie Kirk. As we have been reminded multiple times this year, politically motivated killing not only takes a loved one from their family, but it endangers the free and democratic exchange of ideas (2/5)

"ACLU-SC: Teacher intimidation campaigns have no place in South Carolina." Blue tinted background images of chairs in a lecture hall.

In the wake of the murder of Charlie Kirk, an organized political effort has emerged: Political figures are mining social media for statements about the murder and demanding that state employees be fired or otherwise pushed out of their jobs because of their speech. (1/5)