Comment by tempnow987 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by tempnow987 | Hacker News Reader

"First Amendment protections are disproportionately enjoyed by people of power and privilege" - Dennis Parker, ACLU

Police are white supremacist and defunding police big focus

"We need to defund the budgets - It’s the only way we’re going to take power back." - Mr Romero (head of the org).

400+ lawsuits against trump.

Started trying to stop circulation of books they don't agree with:

"Stopping the circulation of this book and these ideas is 100% a hill I will die on.” - https://twitter.com/donovancleckley/status/13274901590765854...

They are a nonpolitical (edited: should be nonpartisan) (required by charitable status) group running ads like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0aqKS3ihVM

"Stacey Abrams will end dependence on private prisons which will save millions" Stacey Abrams did some deal with someone that will do X. etc.

On title IX issues, where you had some crazy stories around due process, the ACLU pushed back on more due process rights:

"It promotes an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused and letting schools ignore their responsibility ..."

https://twitter.com/aclu/status/1063456843706585089?lang=en

Also doing a lot more twitter lecturing I think then in the past.

"There’s no one way to be a man.

Men who get their periods are men.

Men who get pregnant and give birth are men.

... "

It's been lucrative to the ACLU. $750K in salaries and benefits to ED, he used to be at $340K range.

For those looking for other civil liberties orgs you might look at

Institute for Justice - good project on adding some limits to civil asset forfeiture:

https://ij.org/issues/private-property/civil-forfeiture/

They were attorneys on the Timbs case (not ACLU) which they won at the Supreme Court. They've had lots of success in this in lower courts with some crazy cases.

ACLU used to do a lot to improve policing (ie, look at how line-ups are conducted etc). Some other groups taking that on - this is less about defunding / abolishing police and more about improving accuracy of policing (ie, still catch a murderer but do it in ways with less collateral damage / fewer false allegations).

I'm actually trying to explore the question of other groups as I've been an ACLU member since the 90's so just know so much more about them! I was drawn to some of their earlier policing work (I volunteered in some prisons) in particular because certain approaches just result in real problems in policing (project innocence helped prove I think many of the ACLU's earlier points here).

That said, I think no question a change with Romero. I might describe it as a change from a "civil liberty" type org to a more traditional "human rights" type org more along the lines of NAACP, Sierra Club etc? And a LOT more politically focused than in the past from a feeling standpoint? They do things like anti-trump ads etc. Historically they might have cheered some of the due process protections in Title IX, now they denounce them.

Internally worth noting that some efforts around free speech issues are seen as "white supremacist" - that may make it harder for folks there to take on classic campus type free speech issues just internally. Speech = violence type stuff.

DEI is a big push. They are doing interesting work around trying to push employers to take identity characteristics into account when making employment decisions, including numerical goals / targets which historically folks were cautious about. They have some good examples here, like reserving 50% of new hire slots for black workers only as still being in compliance with non-descrimination law as long as black workers are not equally represented etc.

> They are a nonpolicial (required by charitable status) group running ads like this

They're a 501(c)(4), not a 501(c)(3). They aren't nonpolitical and have no obligation not to engage in politics. In fact, engaging in politics is the entire point of the ACLU

A 501c4 is a social welfare org. Political activities are generally prohibited

"Political or social activities. The promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.501(c)(4)-1

I think this is a fair confusion currently however given their strong dem tie-in recently and their current approach of taking on individual politicians (for and against) by name.

Note: If you are active in the ACLU they have a related ACLU Foundation they use to collect 501c3 money, is run by the same people out of the same offices, and actually brings in more money I think than the c4 if that matters.

You are correct about the letter of the law. The Supreme Court disagreed in Citizens United v. FEC and ruled that the government cannot restrain corporations from making independent expenditures for political campaigns. It definitely applies to 501c4 orgs, as Citizens United itself is one!

Don't disagree - the "dark money" c4's have (ironically) been a complaint on the left for a while.

That said, this is still a real shift for the ACLU - this type of campaigning is not something they historically really did. So the push to actively campaign more is newish for them.

It's def where the money is though - the MAGA orgs, the NRA, the ACLU - in some ways they are just following the money.

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