The ACLU offers its deepest condolences and mourns the loss of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman who were targeted in an act of heinous political violence. The ACLU also recognizes the targeting of Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette and that 45 other Minnesota state and federal elected officials, community leaders, and abortion rights advocates were also potential targets of the same violence.
As Speaker of the House, Melissa was a dedicated, admired, and steadfast leader who changed society for the better. She was a champion and advocate for Minnesota culminating in her historic leadership of the 2023 legislative session that, in part, secured Minnesota as a refuge for trans people and people seeking reproductive care, legalized adult-use cannabis, ensured paid family and medical leave, provided driver’s licenses for immigrants, and restored voting rights for thousands of people.
The ACLU honors this remarkable legacy that profoundly improved the lives of all Minnesotans.
As we all settle into this new moment, one thing is clear – nothing will be the same. The political, social, and civic landscape in Minnesota has dramatically changed. The long view of our nation’s constitutional journey, a vantage point that has given us a sense of progress and certainty, is hazy with a new toxicity.
Political violence has become all too real – targeting transitions of power, political campaigns, and elected leaders in their homes. In a country that has long celebrated its thick skin when facing controversial and unpopular speech, some fear that a terrible chill has set in. Political violence is a dramatic escalation that is meant to divert attention from the truth. It is meant to intimidate, and above all else, the specter of its lethality is meant to silence.
In this challenging moment, the ACLU offers its sincere gratitude to those civic leaders who continue to speak out unapologetically and use the legitimate levers of power to defend our constitutional rights and freedoms. These leaders continue to effectuate change whether that be through exercising the authority of elected office, passing laws in legislative bodies, or adjudicating pleas for redress in our courts.
The ACLU also applauds all the people who actively participate in our vibrant and complicated democracy in countless roles, whether it be a legislative staffer, school or park board member, election judge, community association leader, public school employee, or a junior high school class president.
The ACLU celebrates everyone, highly visible or not, who continues to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech and uses their voice to protect the rule of law, bodily autonomy, and all the civil rights and liberties to which we are all entitled. Whether at demonstrations and protests, in opinion pieces and blogs, in community groups, student clubs, or the kitchen table, your commitment in the face of uncertainty is a testament to a simple truth that will never be obscured.
Above all branches of the government, WE THE PEOPLE are the source of the greatest power in American democracy.
And we the people will not be intimidated from using our voice to fuel social change.
We the people are greater than fear.
We the people will not be silenced.
We the people will win.