ACLU Letter Opposing S. 1 (Combating BDS Act)

In this vote recommendation, the ACLU urged Senators to vote no on a procedural vote for S. 1, a bill that includes the Combating BDS Act, legislation that was unable to move forward in the 115th Congress primarily due to First Amendment concerns. Senators have yet again introduced a version of the Combating BDS Act that would encourage states to adopt unconstitutional measures intended to suppress protected political expression when those opinions are disfavored by the government. While we take no position on Israel boycotts, the BDS movement, or Israel-Palestine, we do maintain that states should not be sanctioning business on the basis of First Amendment-protected expression and association.