Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Miami Vices. Those in "awe" of the ACLU may experience "shock" in discovering that organization's limp response to the Miami police department's declared terrorist assault on Miamians. The city's deputy police chief warned that police officers might stop people to check their... By Butler Shaffer. [LewRockwell.com Blog] Such a tepid response is not surprising. While the ACLU has been good on many issues, its actions tend to arise not out of any sense of the innate inviolability of the individual, but from a desire to protect the state from political excesses that might weaken popular sanction for statist rule. Flag-burning can be defended as a form of free speech, because very few Americans would choose to engage in such an act. The ACLU does, however, support "reasonable regulations of gun ownership" - even though gun control laws violate the Second Amendment. I suspect this group's position on gun ownership - like that of other so-called "liberals" - derives from a fear of having effective power in the hands of ordinary people, which might intrude on the state's monopoly on the use of force. It is the ultimate power and authority of the state that the ACLU is most interested in protecting. A few years ago, an ACLU representative spoke at our law school. During the question and answer session, I asked him about the ACLU's position on the government's slaughter of innocents at the Branch Davidian facility in Waco. He adamantly condemned the Branch Davidians for their murderous attacks on the police officers! I don't know if this man represented the ACLU party-line on Waco, but there was little doubt as to his sentiments, particularly regarding a harmless group that had gathered to express their First Amendment "freedom of religion." comment () trackback ()  9:30:47 AM

© Copyright 2005 Ken Hagler. Last update: 12/1/2005; 9:10:09 AM.

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