Probably the most successful nonprofit legal institution in American history, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is at once the most popular and unpopular group in America. Their stances have both thrilled and enraged people, yet, at the end of the day, anyone who accuses them of not standing up for the principles as established in the Constitution doesn’t understand what their mission is.
Their mission, as they say on their website, is to act as America’s guardian of liberty. In trying to guard those rights, some of what they say they’re protecting are:
• First Amendment rights – freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
• Right to equal protection under the law – protection against unlawful discrimination.
• Right to due process – fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
• Right to privacy – freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.
• Rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including people of color; women; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; prisoners; and people with disabilities.
You would think that would make them a favorite of everyone, but it hasn’t. Conservatives don’t like them because they’ve taken up causes for things such as separation of church and state issues, and their position against the death penalty. Liberals don’t like them because they’ve supported people who they feel are abhorrent, such as neo-nazis and NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) on free speech issues. The ACLU’s position is simple; just because the client might not be a perfect example of what someone might call a citizen, or, at times, non-citizen of this country, doesn’t mean they’re not all entitled to the same rights as supposedly defined under the Constitution.
To that end, the ACLU’s strong point is as a lobbying organization, and they’re not only a very powerful one, but a well financed organization as well. They state they have more than 500,000 members, and their annual revenues are well over $70 million a year. Most of their money comes from donations, while other money comes from grants and, at times, attorney fees that they’ve been awarded for successful representation.
Anyone who subscribes to the belief that anyone who’s either for or against them always has to be for or against them will never support a group like the ACLU. They may not always do what’s popular, but they always do what they feel is right, often at their own expense.
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