The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Where do you go if someone is threatening your personal rights? Do you go to the police, or maybe to the government? What if the police and government are the parties threatening your rights? All you have to do is just call the
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Sounds like a commercial doesn't it. The
ACLU blankets the United States with its legal protection. It is involved in so many aspects of the fight for civil liberties that it is difficult to cover it all. To fully understand what the ACLU has done for the United States would take much longer than I have. Therefore, I have picked a couple of incidents that, to me, exemplify what the ACLU is, and how they have affected our society.
The ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, is an organization that began the struggle to protect the civil liberties of the American people. The ACLU is defined as being a US non-partisan organization offering legal aid and other assistance in cases of violation of civil liberties.(Websters) Civil liberties contain a substantial body of law including: freedom of speech and press, separation of church and state, free exercise of religion, due process of law, equal protection, and privacy.(Walker 3) The Encyclopedia of the Constitution defines civil liberties as "those rights that an individual citizens may assert against the government." In a formal sense, the ACLU is a private voluntary organization dedicated to defending the Bill of Rights. Officially established in 1920, the
ACLU now claims over 270,000 members. With offices in most of the states and the
District of Columbia the ACLU justifiably calls itself " the nation's largest law firm."(Walker 4)
The ACLU, despite its noble goal, has a terrible public image. The reason for such hatred or support is the fact that civil liberty cases generally involve moral and personal issues. These issues are those that incite feelings from all corners of society. The rights the ACLU is generally protecting are those segments of society that least agree with mainstream society. The ACLU has promised to protect the rights of everyone. Those rights include the free speech rights of such detested groups as the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, and Communist. The
Skokie Case is an example of the classic freedom of speech case the ACLU would undertake. This case which hit the media April 28, 1977, concerned the right of
American Nazi Frank Collin to demonstrate in Skokie, IL. (Walker 323) This case like many before and after defended the rights of a person espousing one of the most universally despised ideology in the country.
The articles "Freedom of Speech: Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan v. Kansas City" and "Freedom of Religion: Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association" both engage in conflicts pertaining to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
Civil liberties can be defined as the basic rights and freedoms of an individual granted to citizens in the United States and the entire world through the national common law or the statute law. The liberties include freedom of association, speech, movement, religious worship, and that from arbitrary arrest. The liberties get to form the roots of democracy in society. In a dictatorial administration, the citizens are denied the rights and freedoms. However, liberties can be described as universal rights and freedoms.
All throughout history civil liberties have been established, fought for, and abused. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the civil liberties in the United States of America were tested. There were many events where the freedoms that our founding fathers had fought for Passive Voice (consider revising). Prejudice, fear, and racism all played a role during these events, during many of which they decided the outcome. Two events that demonstrate when the civil liberties in America were tested were during the trial of Sacco and Vanzettii and Schenek v. United States.
Justice Jackson's disagreement on the ruling of the Terminiello case is supported by many historical examples which demonstrate that freedom of speech is not an absolute right under the law. Although Terminiello had a right to exercise his right under the First Amendment, had the majority carefully considered this principle it should have rejected his claim. In this case, the majority's treatment of Terminiello's case skirted the real issue and did not benefit from true constitutional interpretation.
Schultz, David, and John R. Vile. The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. 710-712. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale Virtual Reference Library, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. .
The NAACP means National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It was formed on February 12, 1909 in New York. A group of black people formed it when a group of white citizens wanted to have social justice. There was an issue called the “Call”. It was a collection of 60 signatures. They had a few famous black people at their meeting, such as Ida B. Wells, W.E.B DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, and William English Walling. They all led the “Call”. It renewed the civil and political liberty. It is a network of 2,200 branches. It also covers 50 states. It even covers the District of Columbia, Japan, and Germany. It is divided into seven regions. The NAACP is managed and governed by a National Board of Directors. The biggest headquarter is in Baltimore, Maryland. They have over 500,000 members existing today. The NAACP has made great strides toward the advancement of African Americans. (General History, 2014).
I alerted Franklin County Animal Care and Control (FCACC) Dispatcher B. Grotsky, that I was at that location on dog at large, will point out call. He explained that The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) contacted them in regards to a bite at that location. I asked FCACC Dispatcher B. Grotsky if we had victim information. He stated that he doesn’t but would contact the Columbus Division of Fire (CFD) to see if they are able to provide any information. After contacting CFD, FCACC Dispatcher B. Grotsky stated that he was provided with a contact number for victim. He contacted the phone number given and received no answer; a voice message was left to contact FCACC in regards to the incident. Per Supervisor Deputy Warden J. Kroeger I was instructed to issue a 10 day quarantine to the dog
The first inception of individual rights began with the founding fathers of the United States, who had a vision in which all citizens would have the right to live in this country without being discriminated based on race, gender, religion, or sexual preference (US Constitution, 2010). These are basic human rights for which many people lost their lives to protect as this country was formed. Nonetheless, today one lives in a society in which one must fight to continue to posses those rights once again. Similar to the rest of history, when there have many examples of individual rights were not protected.
... law enforcement and legal counsel will be involved. It may also be necessary to contact a child psychologist or other therapist to assist.
In the United States, the adversarial system of justice relies on ensuring a criminal defendant receives a fair trial. The sixth amendment gives defendants the right to legal representation in criminal trials even if they cannot afford one themselves. Each city and county in the United States ensures a defendant the right to counsel. There are different ways cities and counties across the United States provide representation for indigent defendants. One such approach to indigent defense is public defender programs and is a popular system used by many states today. Public defender programs have been around since the 1900’s but gained popularity throughout the years due to the many indigent defense cases.
Since the beginning of American history, citizens who resided the country lacked the basic civil rights and liberties that humans deserved. Different races and ethnicities were treated unfairly. Voting rights were denied to anyone who was not a rich, white male. Women were harassed by their bosses and expected to take care of everything household related. Life was not all that pretty throughout America’s past, but thankfully overtime American citizens’ civil liberties and rights expanded – granting Americans true freedom.
The National Association for Advancements of Colored People (NAACP) is a widely recognized civil rights organization built by advocates who desire to achieve equality for all victimized of racial discrimination. Since being founded in 1909 among supporting advocates, the NAACP holistically shares support on the following black policy issues: inequality in political, educational, social and economic opportunities granted for all citizens, need for legislative change to diminish racial prejudice and replenish equal rights, ensure communities are well acquainted with their constitutional rights and knowledgeable enough to use them in advantage of achieving racial progress and need for more conscious awareness of effects of racial discrimination
...the same in many aspects (committee100). They do this primarily through their surveys and diverse committee staff meetings. Members are added when needed and constantly change over time. Wile the AAJC spends more time fighting for justice and equal opportunities for Asian Americans through legislative practices and ground level outreaches (What We Do).
The other three big white Power Groups are the Nazi’s, Klu Klux Klan or KKK,
When I was much younger and green to the ways of the world, I didn’t have much of an opinion when it came to my first encounter with a gay individual. I had heard of people being gay of course, but never actually met a gay person prior to that time, at least not to my knowledge. It was a girl in middle school claiming that she was only attracted to women. Two thoughts came to mind at the mention of this: 1) As I had heard time and time again from many adults, it was simply a phase and she was vying for attention and 2) lesbians were super fricken hot! Now, you have to understand, I was young, immature, and probably addicted to porn in some respect. The thought of girl on girl action was extremely appealing to me. As time went on, I realized