aclu

American Civil Liberties Union
Does just what its name says: supports civil liberties and constitutional rights
In more words it Supports:
-SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE- this stance tends to generate controversy b/c many people think they are trying to stop religious expression by the people when they are really trying to keep the government's nose out of religion and actually defend religious freedom (see below)
-*GASP* FREEDOM OF RELIGION- Yes, the ACLU defends people (including *GASP* Christians) who have been denied their rights to religious expression (two recent cases are an elementary school student who wanted to sing Awesome God at a school talent show, and a high school student whose senior quote was a verse from the Bible.
-FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND PRESS- (They even support the free speech rights of NAMBLA and the KKK, which some people mistakenly think this means they support the message; they do not, they just affirm that these groups have the right to speak out peacefully about their beliefs). The ACLU has also criticized the government for censoring "obscene" materials
-FREEDOM FROM CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT- they oppose police brutality, prison rape and other prison abuse, and (controversially) the death penalty
-FREEDOM FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE AND RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS - Many people think this makes them favor terrorists; however if there was enough evidence to charge the "terrorists" with crimes, why doesn't the government do it? Also remember people said the same thing about Japanese Americans in WWII, and back then the ACLU was the ONLY major national organization to oppose the internment camps
-EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW- gay rights (including marriage), rights of the poor, racial and gender equality, transgender rights and youth rights - they oppose curfews and rules that require u to be an "adult" to buy porn/see R-rated movies (see free speech too)

For more information on the ACLU u can go to one of its two websites:
www.aclu.org
www.aclu.tv

Or look it up on wikipedia

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police brutality

When police use excessive or otherwise unwarranted force against an often (but not always) innocent person. The victims are usually blacks, Muslims, and/or students. Often times the police department will investigate (oftentimes part of a cover-up) just enough to say they did with no real effort to punish the officers involved,letting them off with a reprimand or a months suspension for what would be a felony for the rest of us. If the officers involved are prosecuted the prosecutors will usually conduct just enough of a prosecution to say the officers were prosecuted or the officers friends in the department will hamper the prosecution, which often relies on the police department for evidence.

In an act of police brutality the UCLA campus police tazed a Muslim student as he lay helplessly paralyzed and handcuffed on the ground, because he refused to stand up. They said there actions were necessary to protect the safety of UCLA students.

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