Why does the aclu still exist?

Question

Who in their right mind would support an anti-usa institution like this? Some examples:

Brought a lawsuit against a city (Mount Soledad) for displaying a cross....which has been there for about 40 years.

Tries every year with their threats to squelch students at graduation time from mentioning the name of Jesus in a speech.

Sues bible clubs for having bible studies in public forums when those same forums are used by other groups as well.

Is in favor of defending someone's right to protest at a military funeral.

Seeks to destroy anything religious (especially christianity) in a public place when we all know that this nation was founded by christian puritans in search of freedom from oppression.

This organization is run by satan himself. Can anyone honestly say thatthe aclu represents "civil liberties" for them?

Thanks Michelle....I am a card-carrying member of the aclj. Love the work that Jay Sekulow does in defending our religious freedoms.

Answer 1

My friends and I jokingly call it Wolfram & Hart (the demon law firm from the tv show Angel). The ACLU isn't interested in protecting the Constitution of the United States. They are interested in battling Christianity and making money (let's not forget that they make money off those lawsuits). They bully people whom they know cannot afford a lawsuit with the threat of litigation. They selectively choose to attack Christianity (you almost never hear of them trying to take a non-Christian symbol down).

If you are really interested in trying to stop the ACLU from further eroding our Constitution, you can get involved with or donate money to the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice). They confront the ACLU's tyranny in all kinds of court cases, and often submit briefs to the Supreme Court. They are quite effective against the ACLU.

Answer 2

Sounds like you wonder why anyone would support an institution that is against what YOU want. 300 million people live in this country. The ACLU is still here because American's civil liberties are still being violated. Simple rule of the market place: If no one wants or needs it, it would fade away. As to your silly anecdotes: Are you aware that 1 in 4 people in this country are NOT christian?? Fred Phelps gets freedom of speech also. Being an a$$hole does not strip one of 1st amendment protection

Answer 3

Because w/o organization like the ACLU, freedoms guaranteed to us are protected because some groups try to strip them away (like, oh, Republicans).

Especially the first issue--the courts have ruled over and over and over again that the cross on Mt. Soledad is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Local interest groups have squandered hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars of private and public money fighting this lawsuit, passing illegal ballot measures, lobbying interest groups...when it is absolutely clear that a religious symbol may not be used for religious reasons on public land. Period. IT'S RIGHT IN THE CONSTITUTION!!!! And if it weren't for the help of groups like the ACLU, things wouldn't change.

Remember, the ACLU is also the organization that has protected Jews, African Americans, women, etc. from discrimination. Yes, some of what they do is a bit extreme. But their overall message is important. Think of it this way--they exist for the same reason that we give lawyers to violent murderers for whom we have strong physical evidence against. They exist as the extreme to guarantee that somewhere in the middle we still have a slightly free society.

Lastly--this nation was not founded by Christian puritans. A large number of the colonists were puritans. BUT! the founders of the U.S. (authors of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the early lawmakers) were not Christians (for the most part). They were Deists who belived that God existed but had no direct interaction with the world anymore. And even if there were Christians among the early leaders, that doesn't mean ANYTHING about what is right and proper today. Italy was "founded" as a pagan nation (the Roman Empire)...does that mean they should ban Catholicism?

I am a believing Christian. And Christ and God gave all of us the right and freedom to make our own religious choices. Don't try to take away what God has given.

Answer 4

"Why does the aclu still exist?

Who in their right mind would support an anti-usa institution like this?"

Well, a lot of Christians have asked the ACLU to defend their religious freedoms:

http://www.riaclu.org/20060111.html

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3379553&nav=15MVaB2T

http://www.aclu.org/religion/gen/19918prs20050804.html

http://www.aclu.org/religion/schools/20174prs20050920.html

http://www.aclu.org/religion/govtfunding/22354prs20051206.html

http://www.laaclu.org/News/2005/Aug26SandersvCain.htm

http://www.aclu-wa.org/detail.cfm?id=57

http://www.aclu.org/religion/discrim/16230prs20040603.html

http://www.iclu.org/news_article.asp?ID=97

http://www.aclu.org/studentsrights/expression/12828prs20030221.html


The above are just SOME of the cases that individual Christians and Christian groups have asked the ACLU to take on for them, and which the ACLU has won on their behalf.


So you're only seeing one side of things, which is typical of the anti-ACLU crowd who make loud noises about the "anti-Christian" slant of the ACLU.

Or are you going to just ignore the links I posted and keep listening to people with an axe to grind against the ACLU?

You do know how the ACLU operates, don't you? They don't decide in and of themselves to get involved in cases. They have to be ASKED by citizens to represent them in cases in which the government or a governmental agenciy has abrogated the citizen's civil liberties.

So, based on just the examples I cirted above, there are co-religionists of yours who have confidence that *when the case is legitimate*, the ACLU will represent them, and likely win.

I just have NO respect for people who keep this kind of disinformation going.

BTW, cite examples of the cases numbers or something if you're going to make these claims, so the more intelligent among us can find out the specifics of each case.

Answer 5

No one is saying people can't be Christians. What the ACLU has a problem with is people imposing their religious beliefs on others.

A lot of people seem to have forgotten this, but "freedom of religion" means ANY religion, not just the one practiced by the majority. To give a couple of examples:

There is still anti-Muslim harassment going on in this country.

I've known people who lost their jobs when their employers found out they were Pagans.

As long as this kind of discrimination goes on, there will be a need for organizations like the ACLU--to prevent the majority from imposing THEIR religious beliefs on the minority, and to protect freedom of religion for all Americans.

Answer 6

The ACLU has done some outstanding work in the past. America would not be recognizable without its contributions. But today the ACLU is just an organization that promotes the radical left political agenda of socialism.

Read the book "ACLU: The Devil's Advocate, The Seduction of Civil Liberties in America."

Answer 7

Er, "anti-usa"?

You're not fooling anyone with that kind of talk. If you don't like living in the United States, you're welcome to move out, Osama.

Oh, and Jay Sekulow is a traitor. He doesn't "defend religious freedom" - he's one of leaders of the attack on religious freedom.

Answer 8

What makes me sad as a Christian is when groups like whatever you belong to distort some real issues so much that it just makes you all look ignorant and not terribly bright. And its members never even try to find out if what is being said is really true.

Answer 9

The American Civil Liberties Union defends civil liberties. The ACLU has even defended the civil liberties of people who would be regarded as "right wing."

You might want to turn off Rush and do some reading.

Answer 10

You have a point my friend. I think it was started for the right reasons but has spiraled dreadfully out of control in recent years. They claim to want to protect our civil liberties but seems to only be ending them.