American Civil Rights Union

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The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), states its mission as protecting "the civil rights of all Americans, by publicly advancing a Constitutional understanding of civil rights; monitoring judicial nominees, judges, and legal organizations, while resisting those that threaten civil rights; and filing amicus briefs in critical civil rights court cases... the ACRU stands against harmful anti-Constitutional ideologies that have taken hold in our nation's courts, law schools, and bureaucracies. While others promote entitlements and license in the name of "liberties," the ACRU defends the civil rights set forth at the American Founding." ^[1]

With a one of its website pages titled "ACLU Outrages", it clearly presents itself as an alternative to the ACLU.^[2]

Issues about which it is particularly concerned are: ^[3]

• Regarding the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution it says "But activist judges are taking away our most basic American liberties by determining what words we may use to express ourselves"
• Objecting to the presently repealed Fairness Doctrine, it says that it would jeopardize "what most Americans take for granted - the right for radio broadcasters to discuss the news and current issue topics of their choice"
• It wants the Supreme Court of the United States to recognize a right of self-defense in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
• Specifically citing ACLU lawsuits, it defense the Boy Scouts of America, as having "a tradition of ethical activity for American youth", but is under stress from "ACLU lawsuits, financial cuts, public partnership cancellations, and facility evictions. (more)
• It states that Executive Authority "lets the president receive the most able advice from key policy-making aides and advisers;" there are a number of issues here, including Congressional authority and the unitary executive theory; it agrees that the courts have not settled this.
• Its concern with Federalism is that the "Constitution wisely limited the reach of government into our daily lives, but over time the Federal government has encroached upon the States' sovereignty through excessive mandates and controls."
• It opposes limitations on broad Presidential authority to engage in international communications intelligence collection, as granted by amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, although its introductory discussion does not address domestic surveillance.
• ACRU believes that freedom of religion is a basic American principle, "but decades of ACLU litigation have distorted it into "freedom FROM religion," twisting the Constitution into an enemy of all religions rather than a protector of all, to the discrimination of none."
• Under the rubric of illegal immigration, "the ACRU opposes all efforts to weaken or strike down the laws intended to assure that only Americans vote in American elections, and that Americans and legal aliens are the residents and the workforce in America".

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