I've got one main gripe against the ACLU.Quote:Gun Control
The Second Amendment provides: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
ACLU POSITION
Given the reference to "a well regulated Militia" and "the security of a free State," the ACLU has long taken the position that the Second Amendment protects a collective right rather than an individual right. For seven decades, the Supreme Court's 1939 decision in United States v. Miller was widely understood to have endorsed that view.
The Supreme Court has now ruled otherwise. In striking down Washington D.C.'s handgun ban by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, whether or not associated with a state militia.
The ACLU disagrees with the Supreme Court's conclusion about the nature of the right protected by the Second Amendment. We do not, however, take a position on gun control itself. In our view, neither the possession of guns nor the regulation of guns raises a civil liberties issue.
In my opinion, "gun control" is very much a civil liberties issue. In every totalitarian regime in the 20th century, one of the very first acts the dictatorial government took was making sure that only their police and armies had access to self-defense weapons, and in most cases, offensive weapons. The ACLU's position is that the 2nd Amendment only guarantees a collective right, ie; the right of "the people" as a part of a larger group or militia. My opinion is that the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right - one that is guaranteed to every citizen of the United States. My reasoning for this is:
-- The Constitution of the United States defines "militia" as "every able-bodied man between the ages of 18 and 45" years of age. Not "every organized group of men."
-- People have argued that since the 2nd uses the plural "the people", it only applies to groups, not to individuals, but the first amendment uses similar language to the second (the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances) but has always been understood to apply to individuals, not just groups of people.
-- The Supreme Court of the United States has just recently held in no uncertain terms that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right and always has.
The ACLU has effectively represented several gun owners in the recent past from being disarmed by the local governments. If they would just change their official position regarding the 2nd Amendment, then I would have no quarrel with their organization.