The ACLU founders were a bunch of liberal pacifists. One of them, Roger Baldwin was a member of the American Union Against Militarism. Crystal Eastman was a feminist, socialist, and pacifist, and don't forget Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first director of the ACLU women's rights project. We all know what a great American she is.
Here is a list of issues the ACLU supports and opposes. What a great organization, huh? I can see how liberal's and atheists could fall in love with them.
The ACLU opposes:
The use of drug-sniffing dogs 1
Attempts to strengthen DUI alcohol laws 2
Laws restricting areas where the sexual offenders of children can live 3
Life sentences for juveniles convicted of extremely violent crimes 4
The "Three Strikes" law mandating harsher sentences for those with three felony convictions 5
Withholding voting rights for felons 6
The ACLU opposes the death penalty, and:
Claims: "The death penalty is contrary to fundamental notions of human rights. The United States is the only major country of the Western world that tolerates the death penalty." 7
Seeks to halt death penalty executions, 8 claiming that "death by lethal injection is extraordinarily painful and [can] constitute cruel and unusual punishment." 9
The ACLU opposes:
Mandatory sentencing laws for crack-cocaine possession 10
Shutting down Methadone clinics 11
Laws stipulating where half-way houses may be located 12
Drug testing of welfare recipients 13
Federal faith-based drug treatment programs 14
Federal laws banning student loans to convicted drug addicts 15
The ACLU supports:
"Medical" marijuana laws 16
Abortion Issues
The ACLU supports:
Abortion and abortion-on-demand 17
Increased funding for pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood 18
Euthanasia 19
The ACLU opposes:
Abstinence-only sex education for students 2
Conscience protection rights for medical providers 21
Informed consent and "Women's Right to Know" laws 22
Pro-life state license plates 23
Immigration & Illegal Alien Issues
The ACLU supports:
Government services for illegal aliens 24
The ACLU opposes:
Federal immigration laws targeting border security and preventing entrance of illegal aliens 25 as well as the enforcement of those laws 26
Denying drivers licenses to illegal aliens 27
Federal laws identifying citizenship status of those receiving treatment at medical facilities 28
Homosexual Issues
The ACLU supports:
Homosexuality 29
Gay marriage 30 and benefits for gay "families" 31
Adoptions by gays, 32 gays as foster parents, 33 "parental" rights for gay "parents," 34 and gay parent family training 35
Gay clubs on school campuses, 36 gay campus publications and articles on campus, 37 and forcing straight students to attend gay sensitivity training 38
Gays in the military 39
Pro-gay state license plates 40
The ACLU opposes:
Marriage between only a man and a woman 41
A school competition asking "students to explain why preserving marriage between men and women is vital to society and why unborn children merit respect and protection." 42
The ACLU supports:
Bigamy and polygamy 43
Pedophilia and legalizing sex between children and adults 44
Transgender rights 45
Religious Expression Issues
The ACLU opposes:
Ten Commandments displays 46
Use of government facilities by the Boy Scouts 47
Religious symbols in public parks 48
Prayers at military academies 49
At the federal level, the ACLU opposes:
Keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance 5
Keeping the national motto ("In God We Trust") on currency 51
Faith-based programs 52
The observance of religious holidays 53
At the state level, the ACLU opposes:
The mention of God in a state motto 54
Prayers to open legislatures 55
Moment-of-silence laws at schools 56
Religious sales tax exemptions 57
Educational choice and vouchers 58
Prayer in judicial arenas 59
At the local level, the ACLU opposes:
Character cities 60
Mayor's prayer breakfasts 61
City council prayers 62
School board prayers 63
Nativity scenes 64
Religious symbols in city seals 65
Voluntary distribution of Gideon Bibles 66
In schools, the ACLU opposes:
Graduation prayers 67
Athletic prayers 68
Intelligent Design or any mention of creation or a Creator 69
Prayers at school 70 or at school events 71
School choirs singing religious songs 72
Miscellaneous Issues
Opposes library policies blocking access of minors to sexual content, gambling, and illegal activities 73
Opposes denying visas to foreigners who oppose the United States government 74
Opposes one federal agency from sharing with another federal agency the information that it has on Arabs in America 75
Supports anti-American foreign terrorists captured on the battlefield having the same constitutional protections as U. S. citizens, 76 even though the guarantees in the U. S. Constitution apply only to American citizens
Supports activists disrupting military funerals and confronting the distraught family members with offensive and inappropriate language 77
Opposes banning convicted sex offenders from having access to parks where children play 78
Supports the notion that the separation of church and state trumps students' freedom of speech 79
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