The ACLU aggressively pursues an agenda in many different areas that seeks to undermine the values and beliefs of most Americans in those areas. (Unless noted otherwise in the footnotes, the sources are from the ACLU's website: http://www.aclu.org.)
Criminal Justice Issues
The ACLU opposes:
Ø The use of drug-sniffing dogs [1]
Ø Attempts to strengthen DUI alcohol laws [2]
Ø Laws restricting areas where the sexual offenders of children can live [3]
Ø Life sentences for juveniles convicted of extremely violent crimes [4]
Ø The "Three Strikes" law mandating harsher sentences for those with three felony convictions [5]
Ø Withholding voting rights for felons [6]
The ACLU opposes the death penalty, and:
Ø Claims: "The death penalty is contrary to fundamental notions of human rights. The United States is the only major country of the Western world that tolerates the death penalty." [7]
Ø Seeks to halt death penalty executions, [8] claiming that "death by lethal injection is extraordinarily painful and [can] constitute cruel and unusual punishment." [9]
Illegal Drug Issues
The ACLU opposes:
Ø Mandatory sentencing laws for crack-cocaine possession [10]
Ø Shutting down Methadone clinics [11]
Ø Laws stipulating where half-way houses may be located [12]
Ø Drug testing of welfare recipients [13]
Ø Federal faith-based drug treatment programs [14]
Ø Federal laws banning student loans to convicted drug addicts [15]
The ACLU supports:
Ø "Medical" marijuana laws [16]
Abortion Issues
The ACLU supports:
Ø Abortion and abortion-on-demand [17]
Ø Increased funding for pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood [18]
Ø Euthanasia [19]
The ACLU opposes:
Ø Abstinence-only sex education for students [20]
Ø Conscience protection rights for medical providers [21]
Ø Informed consent and "Women's Right to Know" laws [22]
Ø Pro-life state license plates [23]
Immigration & Illegal Alien Issues
The ACLU supports:
Ø Government services for illegal aliens [24]
The ACLU opposes:
Ø Federal immigration laws targeting border security and preventing entrance of illegal aliens [25] as well as the enforcement of those laws [26]
Ø Denying drivers licenses to illegal aliens [27]
Ø Federal laws identifying citizenship status of those receiving treatment at medical facilities [28]
Homosexual Issues
The ACLU supports:
Ø Homosexuality [29]
Ø Gay marriage [30] and benefits for gay "families" [31]
Ø Adoptions by gays, [32] gays as foster parents, [33] "parental" rights for gay "parents," [34] and gay parent family training [35]
Ø Gay clubs on school campuses, [36] gay campus publications and articles on campus, [37] and forcing straight students to attend gay sensitivity training [38]
Ø Gays in the military [39]
Ø Pro-gay state license plates [40]
The ACLU opposes:
Ø Marriage between only a man and a woman [41]
Ø A school competition asking "students to explain why preserving marriage between men and women is vital to society and why unborn children merit respect and protection." [42]
The ACLU supports:
Ø Bigamy and polygamy [43]
Ø Pedophilia and legalizing sex between children and adults [44]
Ø Transgender rights [45]
Religious Expression Issues
The ACLU opposes:
Ø Ten Commandments displays [46]
Ø Use of government facilities by the Boy Scouts [47]
Ø Religious symbols in public parks [48]
Ø Prayers at military academies [49]
At the federal level, the ACLU opposes:
Ø Keeping "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance [50]
Ø Keeping the national motto ("In God We Trust") on currency [51]
Ø Faith-based programs [52]
Ø The observance of religious holidays [53]
At the state level, the ACLU opposes:
Ø The mention of God in a state motto [54]
Ø Prayers to open legislatures [55]
Ø Moment-of-silence laws at schools [56]
Ø Religious sales tax exemptions [57]
Ø Educational choice and vouchers [58]
Ø Prayer in judicial arenas [59]
At the local level, the ACLU opposes:
Ø Character cities [60]
Ø Mayor's prayer breakfasts [61]
Ø City council prayers [62]
Ø School board prayers [63]
Ø Nativity scenes [64]
Ø Religious symbols in city seals [65]
Ø Voluntary distribution of Gideon Bibles [66]
In schools, the ACLU opposes:
Ø Graduation prayers [67]
Ø Athletic prayers [68]
Ø Intelligent Design or any mention of creation or a Creator [69]
Ø Prayers at school [70] or at school events [71]
Ø School choirs singing religious songs [72]
Miscellaneous Issues
Ø Opposes library policies blocking access of minors to sexual content, gambling, and illegal activities [73]
Ø Opposes denying visas to foreigners who oppose the United States government [74]
Ø Opposes one federal agency from sharing with another federal agency the information that it has on Arabs in America [75]
Ø Supports anti-American foreign terrorists captured on the battlefield having the same constitutional protections as U. S. citizens, [76] even though the guarantees in the U. S. Constitution apply only to American citizens
Ø Supports activists disrupting military funerals and confronting the distraught family members with offensive and inappropriate language [77]
Ø Opposes banning convicted sex offenders from having access to parks where children play [78]
