Watch this space for ACLU-NM Press Releases starting in January 2005.

December 15, 2004
Re: Response to Ned Cantwell’s “Ned reads today from Litigious, 12:04″ www.ruidosonews.com

Dear Editor:

Mr. Cantwell’s editorial “Litigious 12:04” (a not very flattering and frankly not very clever fictional account of two ACLU members, David and Abraham as ‘Jesus patrol agents’” conspiring to file lawsuits to stop every traditional holiday ritual from light parades to coloring Easter eggs) is demeaning, disgusting and demagoguery of the worst kind. Mr. Cantwell has the right to say what he pleases and he has numerous times. However, when wise and learned men practice bias and prejudice, permission is given to those of meaner and lesser ilk to do far worse. I, like most, appreciate a funny story, but Mr. Cantwell’s mocking editorial condemns those of Jewish faith (Abraham and David are very popular Jewish names), derides those who fight for freedom of religion (ACLU) and ignites prejudice against those who may not be of the “Christian faith”.

To set the record straight, the position of ACLU-NM is that we oppose public officials using their governmental authority to tell citizens that one religion and its rituals are more important than all others or that the belief in a god may or may not exist. In drafting the United States Constitution, our countries’ founders aimed to make sure that the beliefs of the minority can not be suppressed by the ideals of the majority. They saw this as the cornerstone of democracy and as an essential condition of freedom. John F. Kennedy, on June 11, 1963, said it well when he said “this nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

ACLU has consistently, courageously, and vigorously fought to preserve the Constitutional rights of every person. In particular, ACLU and its members have sought full and complete compliance with the First Amendment of the United States Constitution which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” ACLU is dedicated to protecting the rights guaranteed to all people in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Those who think that the ACLU only defends “a select few” at one end of the spectrum should consider the following:

In 1999, the ACLU fought for Congressional passage of the “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.” The Act, which passed in 2000, protects people from discrimination because of their religious belief. The ACLU’s Coalition Partners in this effort included the Baptist Joint Committee, the Family Resource Counsel (a stalwart of the so-called “Christian right”), the Christian Legal Society, and Christian denominations ranging from Catholic to Mormon to Seventh Day Adventists. In 2002, the ACLU joined with the Reverend Jerry Farwell in a successful federal court challenge of Virginia’s ban on charters of incorporation for churches. Earlier this year, we fought valiantly to protect Rush Limbaugh’s right to privacy. We simply believe that every person should receive and be guaranteed the rights set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

There is no more sacred American value than the one that says the government can’t tell us what to think. We don’t want them telling us what political party to belong to, what religion we have to be, what god to worship or not to worship, what to say, to read or to watch. We don’t want the government in our homes, tapping our phones, opening our mail, stopping us just because our skin is darker than others, or inciting one group to act against another. Government has its place but we want to preserve, as I think most of you do, our individual liberties. ACLU stands for our liberty and fights to preserve it every day. It is a great irony that when a person’s liberty is about to be taken, he or she turns to the organization ACLU, which so often in the past they have defamed, for protection of that liberty.

We do not ask for an apology from Mr. Cantwell, we only suggest that a wise and learned person should respect the great tradition of liberty we have in this country and not demean those who have suffered in far too great a number for far too long and mock an organization that seeks to protect the very liberties that give him the right to mock us.

Respectfully,

Gary C. Mitchell
President of the Board of Directors, ACLU-NM

Since 9/11 and the start of the war on terror, the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) has been one of the leading voices in the fight
for the protection of civil liberties. They have taken on cases when no
one else would touch them, cases involving foreign nationals living in
our country whose rights were violated in the early round-ups post 9/11,
or cases where law enforcement infiltrated groups of U.S. nationals in
our soil, only because they disagreed with our government’s policies.
Most recently they have been in the news for making public a series “of
U.S. Navy documents that reveal that abuse and even torture of detainees
by U.S. Marines in Iraq was widespread.” Bill Moyers speaks with
Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, who will talk about life
amidst an ongoing war on terror and the delicate balance between
protecting civil liberties and national security.

Show is on KNME 5 at 9pm Friday and 8am Sunday.
www.pbs.org/now

New Mexico State Senator Joe Carraro recently sent a memo to New Mexico school districts encouraging them to teach about Jesus Christ in the public schools. In so doing, the Senator overstepped his legislative authority and set public schools on a course that could alienate many students and their families, and that could result in civil litigation based on protections in the federal and New Mexico constitutions. That the Senator emphasizes Jesus’ historical importance, rather than his religious significance, does not obscure the fact that the Senator, as a representative of the government, has asked schools to use their state authority to impress upon students that Christianity deserves extraordinary attention in our society and culture. A religious intent clearly underwrites the Senator’s action, making it unconstitutional as government establishment of religion, in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and of the corresponding provision of New Mexico’s Constitution.

It is important to note that Senate Memorial 83, the basis for Carraro’s missive, does not have the binding authority of law and may be unconstitutional.

In drafting the U.S. Constitution, our forefathers aimed to establish a country in which the beliefs of the minority were protected from suppression by the ideals of the majority. They saw this as the cornerstone of democracy and as an essential condition of freedom.

Although many, perhaps most, New Mexico students probably adhere to some form of Christian teaching, some do not. Some have grown up in homes where Judaism is the central tradition and Hannukah, not Christmas, is the focus of celebration at this time of year. Other students may just have completed Ramadan. Still others may live in homes where religion and spiritualism are questioned. None of these families would want to see their traditions challenged or diminished by the religious preferences of legislators or teachers.

If teachers choose to indulge the request of Senator Carraro and teach about Jesus Christ, the ACLU of New Mexico urges the following in order to avoid problems:

* Give equal teaching time to key figures in other religious traditions, as well as to key proponents of atheism and agnosticism and their influence in the development of U.S. society;

* Provide a balanced, critical analysis of Jesus and Christianity, examining facts and myths, as well as both positive and negative impacts. Recall that this country was founded by people fleeing Christian religious persecution in England.

* Avoid any tendency to celebrate Jesus or Christianity and keep to a purely objective, fact-based discussion of their influence in the world.

Finally, the ACLU strongly urges teachers to take this opportunity to discuss with students why our forefathers insisted that government should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Peter Simonson
ACLU-NM Exec. Director
266-4622

From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU

For months now, the Bush White House has refused to release dozens of documents related to the Administration’s policies on the detention, interrogation and torture of foreign prisoners. But President Bush’s nomination of Alberto Gonzales, who is widely regarded as one of the key architects of those policies, to be the nation’s top law enforcement officer should finally allow the Senate to insist on receiving these crucial documents.

Despite requests in congressional hearings and a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the Bush Administration continues to refuse to release dozens of documents that reportedly show how policy changes that Gonzales recommended be made at the White House and at top levels of government trickled down to decisions by the military and the CIA for holding prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The American people deserve to know the truth about these policies. Unless senators receive these documents, they cannot know the true story of how Gonzales’ actions relate to some of the worst violations of human rights committed by our country against foreign prisoners.

Take Action! Urge your Senators to demand that Gonzales and the Bush Administration release all of the torture-related documents before considering Gonzales as Attorney General.

Click here for more information and to take action:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=17083&c=108