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Alabama Forward sat down with some of its partners to discuss their objectives for the upcoming session. These organizations are paying close attention to how our state leaders engage topics on race, religion, education, equality, poverty, criminal justice, sexuality, health care, voting rights, and other issues progressives advocate for across the state.

This is a three-part table read concerning some of the initiatives, legislation, engagements, and events they will either be leading,  involved in, curious about, or paying close attention to while championing the labor of civic engagement and social impact. In part two, we sit down with Dillon Nettles, policy and advocacy director at the ACLU of Alabama. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read part one with Alabama Arise and part three with Greater Birmingham Ministries. 

What are three top issues you hope this state legislature tackles this session? How have you been engaging these topics within your organization? What steps will you take to directly engage legislators on the issues you seek to address?

We know that the legislature is well over due to seriously tackle criminal legal reforms. We of course have an ongoing crisis in Alabama’s prisons and jails. I think it’s really important for people to understand that this is not only an issue in our prison facilities. We are seeing this county by county. The same challenges of overcrowding, abuse and violence, neglect, and deaths – all those are happening in our local county jails as well. We want to see the legislature take these issues seriously and address the root causes, the drivers of incarceration. Things like healthcare, housing, education. These are at the underbelly of all of this, and we need to address them wholistically. In the short term, we would like to see the legislature institute more oversight of our parole board, which has been trending at historically low parole grants over the last couple of years. We want to see the parole board’s guidelines be made mandatory because they are highly discretionary right now, and they are using them as such. We want to also see this legislature take seriously the issues we are having with capital punishment, with the execution protocols of this state. The ACLU is very clear about the fact that we don’t support the death penalty. The process needs to be heavily vetted. Every aspect needs to be reconsidered, especially in a state where there have been multiple botched executions over the last few years. We need this legislature to seriously ensure that the investigation underway is thorough. Also, huge changes are being made to the appellate process for those facing capital punishment. The Alabama Supreme Court recently ended mandatory plain-error review. Plain-error review allows those on death row to show that they had inefficient council or didn’t receive the representation they should have in their original case. In the past, they could bring this up on appeal. Now the AL Supreme Court has essentially ended their ability to do that. So that’s going to be very consequential going forward, and we want to see the legislature codify plain-error review, so that won’t be the case. 

Other top priorities consist of voting rights and gender justice. 

The legislature has really neglected its responsibility to ensure every eligible voter in Alabama has access to the ballot. And right now, Alabama doesn’t have “no excuse” absentee voting or early voting days or weekend voting. That’s very limiting. We are in the twenty-first century, well into it at that. And Alabama chooses, each year, as a legislature, to neglect more expansive options to ensure the vote. We also must consider voting rights restoration – a challenge we still face today. Even in a state that just a few years ago defined crimes of moral turpitude, allowing more people to know if they are eligible to have their rights restored. The state has failed miserably to inform people of that eligibility, and then there are those who can’t pay fines, fees, and restitution costs to have their rights fully restored. The legislature could ensure that Alabama’s eligible voters have broader access and are able to vote and exercise their civic duty like we know so many Alabamians want to be able to do, including people who may have been formerly incarcerated. One of the things we are looking for from the Secretary of State is clarity about how the state will proceed forward with voter roll maintenance after ending our membership with ERIC, an entity that the state has relied on for several years along with more than 30 states who remain members. We stand by prepared to assist with that plan, because if you are pulling us out, then there needs to be a plan. So, we stand ready to review and work as we did, at times, with Secretary Merrill. 

The legislature has shown itself to be highly regressive when it comes to reproductive rights and gender affirming care. The legislature, on the last day of last year’s session, passed the gender affirming care ban that is partially in place today. And when know that after the Dobbs decision this summer, not one but two actual laws remain on the books in Alabama that criminalize abortion. One is a 1951 law pre-Roe statute. I think many people don’t know that that law is still on the books, and with the Dobbs decision, it is technically back in effect, which makes it a misdemeanor to induce an abortion. That includes for the individual who may be pregnant at that time. The attorney general has said that they don’t plan to prosecute people who receive abortions, and if that is true – if the attorney general and the legislature stand by that – then they should remove that 1951 law. Repeal it. They can do that this year. And we stand highly opposed, as we did in 2019, to Alabama’s all-out abortion ban, which makes it a felony penalty for providers. The legislature is not doing what’s in the best interests, from a public health standpoint, for its citizens. Abortion care is healthcare. We know that people seek abortion management and abortion care because of a range of healthcare complications they could be experiencing in a pregnancy not simply because of a choice, even though those who make that choice should have every right to do so. We respect people’s bodily autonomy. That includes those who are choosing gender affirming care, which we know that Alabama geared that ban to trans and gender nonconforming youth. Healthcare decisions that should only be made with their medical professionals and parents, so the legislature has in fact infringed upon the rights of not only those individual patients but their parents who help inform and make those decision with their children.

How do we get folks to not stigmatize gender healthcare in a way that highlights how this kind of care is proper and human like any other health care? How do we get the legislature to recognize that these are human beings and not objects that you have power to wield over however you choose?

I really appreciate you bringing up the humanity of these folks, because that is really what we are talking about. The legislature has chosen to treat some communities as less than human, which is how we see these laws begin to pass. The targeting and restricting of the rights of some versus the rights of others. The way I think it has to really begin to shift is going to take lawmakers and the public to take the time to talk to the people around you. The people in your community. You will find that there are many people you know who have been affected by these restrictive policies. Every major medical organization in the country has been, in no unclear terms, aligned with us on the idea that gender affirming care is healthcare and that it is necessary for those who are seeking it out. Otherwise, we see things like increased numbers of suicide. We see people forgoing other types of medical care and interventions they need because they are fearful of the stigmas they may face. So, legislators and many of us can do better to have these conversations in an honest way about what these policies mean and how they effect people’s lives. And we hear many stories, since the Dobbs decision, about how negatively people’s lives have been affected since these policies, that were on hold, are now in effect. The consequences are undoubtedly serious. Lawmakers are either ignoring these people are not seeking them out.

Are there any events that your organization plans to host during the sessions, and if so, what are your plans for them? And can you tell me about the “Werk The Lege” advocacy training that you all have coming up? How often do you all plan on having these trainings? 

Yes, there are a couple of things we will be doing this session. On March 11, 2023, we will be having our Werk The Lege Teach-In, this is a flagship program for the ACLU. It looks a little different every year because we have adjusted to lessons, we’ve learned – and post COVID-19. That training is essentially focused on helping everyday Alabamians, and people who may have no political background or knowledge, come in and feel that they are in a space that’s safe to ask questions, to get a better understanding of how the legislative process works, how bills become law, how to interact and engage with lawmakers, how to testify in a public hearing, and so on. We know that for many people in this state, even those that are politically astute, the legislative process is confusing and sometimes mindboggling. It’s not the most transparent, and we want to demystify the process and the State House as a whole, reminding folks that it’s the People’s House. That they have a right to be there, and that the people working in that building work for them; it is not the other way around. We will also be creating opportunities for our partners and coalitions. This work is not something we can do on our own. 

The other event is a coalition event on April 4th, 2023. We will be having a lobby day with the Alabamians for Fair Justice – a coalition that we have been a part of for a few years now that is focused on criminal legal reform through legislative policy. Over the years, the coalition has proposed a range of solutions. One of them being some of the supervised release we have seen in recent months that the state has attempted to carry out with some challenges of their own making. We are proud of some of those solutions that have been taken up, but we know that in Alabama some steps forward often come with three, four, and five steps back. But we are looking forward to our first in-person lobby day in a long time, to make sure that advocates, especially those impacted by the criminal legal system, are able to have their voices heard – and to push themselves directly to lawmakers their beliefs and solutions like the things I mentioned before: parole reform and the challenges concerning overcrowding. We also want the folks who have spent time inside who have been left without the resources and the support to survive and thrive on the outside to let their voices be heard. Alabama has a 30 percent recidivism rate. Too many people are going back inside. We are about 25th in the country when it comes to our recidivism rate, and I believe that a functional criminal legal system wouldn’t allow this, especially if folks are being rehabilitated right. The question for the legislature is, “Why is this the case?” What are we getting wrong? What is our system not doing and what does rehabilitation really mean? And is this best facilitated in prisons where people are locked in cages, which has never shown to be productive from a mental health or rehabilitation standpoint. So, we are curious about these questions and look forward to joining together with our coalition partners on April 4th to put these questions before our legislators collectively. 

You talk about lobby days. Young politics and people who are actively engaged in state politics know how to engage these meetings and tracking bills. But the average person, they may not have a clue because of our legislature’s inaccessibility and transparency. How should legislators respond to this inaccessibility? 

I think the legislature could do more to make the process more transparent. We are one of the few states that doesn’t have archives for our committee meetings or floor debates. If you don’t catch it live, then you are out of luck. They increased some of the capabilities of the state house during COVID-19, but there are a umber of committee rooms that remain without streaming capabilities where legislators still hold meetings. The legislature needs to begin archiving and make sure that these crucial conversations are available well after the meetings and debates are over. Lawmakers should also answer their phones that they have listed. It would be nice. Alabama needs to catch up to the twenty-first century when it comes to this stuff. 

Let’s take a more introspective approach now. As I understand it, you are a lobbyist in the state legislature. Can you talk to me about your experience as a lobbyist? Do you think Alabama needs more black and queer folks in this kind of advocacy role? If so, how do you think we as organizations committed to progress should go about this? 

Wow! You are the first person to ever ask me this question! Yes! Absolutely. We need more Black lobbyists, more queer lobbyists, more Black and brown and queer lobbyists – at all of those intersections. I’ve been lobbying for five years, and I’ve seen some progress. It’s been exciting to see some of my colleagues at the legislature who are representing us on progressive issues come in and hit the ground running, ready to push our lawmakers and ensure we have a state fully representative of its people, and a governance respecting the humanity and dignity of all of us. We are inherently implicated by the decisions legislators make, so it’s a bit more personal for us, so it gets difficult to stomach some of the things and to be at the forefront of some of these conversations, but at the same time perhaps it positions us to be the right voices there to ensure we are holding them accountable, representing our communities, and hearing directly from the source – not having to just have white folks being a conduit to our beliefs and feelings and attitudes. So, it gives me a sense of pride not just for being a lobbyist but to represent the communities I am a part of as a Black queer man. It’s not a responsibility I take lightly. When you are in the state house, there is staff and people who are in that building who are looking out for you. It’s that nod, that nudge, that, “Hey, you can stop by my desk,” or “Hey you have my number and know that my door is always open.” And they look like you, and you feel that, and you know what they are saying.

The Republican supermajority in the Alabama State Legislature forces more progressive thinkers and organizations to come up with different definitions of success before, during, and after each legislative session, particularly since 2010. So, what will success look like for you and your organization throughout this session and after it is over? What does a win look like for your organization? 

Great question. I think we have to measure our success not by what bills we’ve passed or don’t get passed but by how much we are galvanizing the public, educating them about the issues and concerns of the ACLU that matter like civil rights and civil liberties for Alabamians. And we feel success when we’ve been effective in reaching new audiences, doubling down on our commitments to folks who we know are looking to us to advocate on their behalf. Whether it be stopping a bill in its tracks or delaying things could be the difference between life and death or people maintaining their rights. These are the considerations we make, and for us, it is never about the success of the ACLU specifically. I think we will be successful. And we know that we are up against a uphill battle because of the supermajority in the legislature, but we also know we have to make sure people are mobilized in their districts not just at the time of session but when we are out of session, when the legislators are at home or on their breaks, so we will do some trainings throughout the session – ongoing – that want just stop at our teach-in on March 11. We want to keep bringing people in while in session instead of waiting on the off season. 

How can people keep in touch with your organization? How can they get more involved? 

First and foremost, you will find me at the legislature. Encourage people to come out on March 11. There, you will receive information about us and be able to plug in with other organizations. Many of our coalitions will be there. People are going to get a wealth of information there. And stay connected to all of our channels. We will be sharing some of the things that we will talk about during that teach-in, so folks who can’t make it can still get that information. We will be doing an ongoing public education series throughout the sessions so that we are building off the work of the teach-in and getting that information out to people. Our lobby days will be advertised, and they are open to everyone. You just have to show up. Props to our communications team for make sure people are up to date on what’s happening. Our ACLU webpage houses our 2023 Legislative Page, which will have our priority bills, our positions summaries, and additional materials on those bills. People will be able to access that throughout the entire of the session. 

Follow Christian on Twitter @CG_Crawford. Follow the Alabama ACLU on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or on their website.