Dear Nedd Kareiva:
I wanted to advise you - someone (not the ACLU, Nedd, calm down) may try to humiliate you by strategically circulating the following information!
As I did not want to see you exposed as a fool at the peak of your crusade, I wanted to give you a heads-up as to what you may be facing. We need to stop the ACLU...from doing things that make you look like a goofball!
I just really really hope this information does not start making its way to the editors of your various websites and to certain school boards and whatnot. I mean, I know you want people to "educate" themselves about the ACLU at your website StoptheACLU - but I'm sure you didn't mean with the actual facts and stuff!
On a personal note, consider reducing your caffeine intake.
Very truly yours,
JLFinchh
[Update II: Dear Nedd, do you see how we beat you down with the facts? How we win on the merits? We don't need to expose your home address or use intimidation and scare tactics, try to shut you up or run you out of town. When it comes to people who do use those tactics, all we need to do is expose the facts and expose you for what you are - an ignorant, cowardly bully.]
ACLU defends Church's right to free speech:
ACLU Defends Church's Right to Run "Anti-Santa" Ads in Boston Subways (1/8/2002)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON--The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and a local attorney today filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for removing subway advertisements promoting the views of a local church and refusing to sell additional advertising space to the church.
One of the controversial ads, paid for by The Church of the Good News, said that early Christians did not celebrate Christmas or "believe in lies about Santa Claus, flying reindeer, elves and drunken parties." A second ad, which was rejected by the transit authority and never posted, said, "There is only one true religion. All the rest are false."
"The transit authority has lost at least three other cases involving its refusal to display various ads because of their content or viewpoint," said John Reinstein, Legal Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We are confident that the court will preserve the principles of religious liberty and free speech and rule in favor of our client."
The church, represented by the ACLU and Boston civil rights attorney Harvey Schwartz, seeks an injunction ordering the transit authority to sell them advertising space and prohibiting officials from using a vague advertising policy to filter out ad campaigns it finds objectionable.
link
ACLU defends religious freedom:
ACLU's Defense of Religious Liberty (3/2/2005)
The right of each and every American to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The Constitution's framers understood very well that religious liberty can flourish only if the government leaves religion alone.
The American Civil Liberties Union has a long history of working to ensure that religious liberty is protected...
Recent ACLU involvement in religious liberty cases include:
September 20, 2005: ACLU of New Jersey joins lawsuit supporting second-grader's right to sing "Awesome God" at a talent show.
August 4, 2005: ACLU helps free a New Mexico street preacher from prison.
February 2005: ACLU of Pennsylvania successfully defends the right of an African American Evangelical church to occupy a church building purchased in a predominantly white parish.
December 22, 2004: ACLU of New Jersey successfully defends right of religious expression by jurors.
November 20, 2004: ACLU of Nevada supports free speech rights of evangelists to preach on the sidewalks of the strip in Las Vegas.
November 9, 2004: ACLU of Nevada defends a Mormon student who was suspended after wearing a T-shirt with a religious message to school.
August 11, 2004: ACLU of Nebraska defends church facing eviction by the city of Lincoln.
July 10, 2004: Indiana Civil Liberties Union defends the rights of a Baptist minister to preach his message on public streets.
June 9, 2004: ACLU of Nebraska files a lawsuit on behalf of a Muslim woman barred from a public pool because she refused to wear a swimsuit.
June 3, 2004: Under pressure from the ACLU of Virginia, officials agree not to prohibit baptisms on public property in Falmouth Waterside Park in Stafford County.
May 11, 2004: After ACLU of Michigan intervened on behalf of a Christian Valedictorian, a public high school agrees to stop censoring religious yearbook entries.
March 25, 2004: ACLU of Washington defends an Evangelical minister's right to preach on sidewalks.
February 21, 2003: ACLU of Massachusetts defends students punished for distributing candy canes with religious messages.
July 11, 2002: ACLU supports right of Iowa students to distribute Christian literature at school.
April 17, 2002: In a victory for the Rev. Jerry Falwell and the ACLU of Virginia, a federal judge strikes down a provision of the Virginia Constitution that bans religious organizations from incorporating.
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Nedd, please don't add Jerry Falwell to your list!
ACLU Defends Florida Families Fighting Removal Of Religious Symbols from Cemetery (3/22/1999)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?Monday, March 22, 1999
WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- In the first case to be filed under Florida's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida goes to trial today on behalf of seven families seeking to prevent the removal and destruction of religious symbols placed at the gravesites of their loved ones.
At issue is the City of Boca Raton's threat to remove various vertical memorials, including Christian crosses, Stars of David and other religious symbols, from cemetery plots at the Boca Raton Community Cemetery. The ACLU will argue that under the new law, passed in 1998, removal of religious items from grave sites would constitute a substantial burden on religion.
The lawsuit, Warner, et al. v. The City of Boca Raton, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union's Palm Beach Chapter on January 12, 1998, on behalf of seven families who are members of the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths.
"This may be the first case anywhere in the United States defending religious freedom and expression at a public cemetery," said ACLU attorney James K. Green of West Palm Beach.
According to the families, the religious monuments have been placed at the grave sites with the permission of cemetery officials since 1984. Some families have also covered the grave sites with floral ground cover or erected barriers around the grave site to signify their religious faith and to prevent desecration by people walking on the graves.
...
"There are few rights that are more precious than honoring a loved one at a grave site in accordance with the dictates of one's religion," said ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon.
"Florida's religion freedom act creates expanded protection for people of faith," he added. "It does not permit restrictions simply because the religious expression is cluttered, messy, or does not meet with someone's sense of good taste. Restrictions like these reflect religious intolerance and insensitivity."link
ACLU of Pennsylvania Supports Congregation's Fight for Religious Freedom (1/7/2002)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHILADELPHIA--Citing the "constitutional promise of religious freedom," the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today announced its support for members of Congregation Kol Ami in their fight to use a former Catholic convent as a synagogue.
At a news conference today in Abington, a town of 56,000 just outside Philadelphia, the ACLU joined other civic and religious organizations in calling on the Abington Township Board of Commissioners to end its two-year opposition to the Congregation's proposed use of the convent.
"Sadly, the dispute in Abington is not all that unusual here in America," said Larry Frankel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "During the last ten years, there have been numerous incidents of zoning laws being used in a discriminatory manner that burdens the free exercise of religion."
In response to those incidents, Congress unanimously passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act in June of 2000. Frankel explained that "the law protects the constitutional promise of religious freedom and the fundamental right to worship free from unfair and unnecessary governmental interference."
The ACLU strongly supported passage of the land use law because many religious communities had been subjected to arbitrary and discriminatory zoning decisions. The ACLU joined with many other organizations in urging Congress to address the substantial burdens local land use agencies were imposing on religious institutions.
"The problems facing Congregation Kol Ami are exactly the problems addressed by Congress," said Frankel. "We think that the Abington Township Commissioners should follow the lead of Congress and honor the principles of religious freedom and the right of Congregation Kol Ami to worship."
link
ACLU Defends Religious Freedom Of West Virginia Minister (7/20/1999)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?Tuesday, July 20, 1999
CHARLESTON, WV -- The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia yesterday asked a federal judge to issue a summary ruling in favor of a minister who declines, for religious reasons, to have his photograph taken for a drivers' license.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of Rev. Benjamin David Daniel Cyrus of Garrardstown in December in federal court in Charleston after the state refused to issue him a drivers' license without a photograph.
Rev. Cyrus, a minister in The Church of the Firstborn at New Jerusalem, objects to picture taking as a matter of faith. His religious beliefs prohibit the use of "graven images."
The ACLU contends the state failed to show why Rev. Cyrus should not be granted an exception to the photograph requirement. In other states, as well as in other West Virginia situations, citizens have not been required to have their picture on their operators' licenses.
link
Dr. Jeremy Gunn, Expert on Religious Freedom, To Lead New ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief (7/14/2005)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ? NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced that Dr. Jeremy Gunn has joined its national staff as Director of the ACLU's new Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
The program was founded earlier this year to help promote the American Constitutional value of freedom of religious opinion. "I could not be more pleased to have Jeremy joining our team at the ACLU," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "His globally recognized work on religious freedom, his expertise on the establishment clause and his deep commitment to civil liberties will further the ACLU's vital mission -- to protect the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution."
Dr. Gunn comes to the ACLU from Emory Law School in Atlanta where for the past five years he has been a Senior Fellow for Religion and Human Rights and a Senior Associate at the Washington-based Institute for Global Engagement. He is a member of the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion and Belief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, working on behalf of evangelical Christians and other religious minorities.
Before his work in Atlanta, Dr. Gunn was Director of Research at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He has also served as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom at the Department of State and as a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Dr. Gunn spent four years at the JFK Assassination Records Review Board as General Counsel and Executive Director.
"Religious freedom is an essential element of our democracy -- indeed it is the very reason America is the most religiously diverse nation in the world," said Dr. Gunn. "The two critical components of religion are the free exercise and the establishment clauses in the First Amendment of the Constitution and neither should be overlooked. The ACLU has been at the forefront in defending our religious freedom, and I look forward to engaging in the ongoing debate about the need for government neutrality in matters of religious opinion."
Dr. Gunn received his Ph.D. in Religion and Society from Harvard University in 1991, and he holds a J.D. from Boston University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1987. He earned his M.A. in Humanities at the University of Chicago and his B.A. in International Relations and Humanities at Brigham Young University, where he received high honors with distinction.
link
Thank God - for the ACLU!
[UPDATE: Title changed to add Don't per suggestion from the comments!]