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Comment by cloakandswagger | Hacker News Reader

They defend every part of the Constitution except the Second Amendment. That hypocrisy is why the ACLU will never see a penny from me.

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>In a report issued in February, the Texas affiliate of the National Rifle Association joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition “to spotlight unlawful, unnecessary governmental encroachment on average law-abiding citizens.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05guns.html

Not defending the 2nd amendment is different than opposing it. You could consider donating to the ACLU and also to an organization that defends the 2nd amendment; assuming there's no blanket organization to your liking. There are many organizations specializing in the 2nd amendment, so it makes some amount of sense for the ACLU to let them do that work, while it's more of a generalist.

>Not defending the 2nd amendment is different than opposing it.

That's not how it works, at least not in my mind. When dealing with something that is assailed as frequently as gun rights, lack of support is the same as opposition.

I want an organization that supports the Constitution, completely and fully.

ACLU is not that organization, and doesn't claim to be.

But then I hope you're not sending a single cent of your money to NRA, either? I mean, they also don't "support the Constitution, completely and fully", right?

Or is that okay because they're explicitly scoped to the Second Amendment?

If so, then ACLU is in the same exact boat, being explicitly scoped to everything other than the Second. And then some: ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union, not American Constitutional Liberties Union - US Constitution to them is a tool to aid in protecting the civil rights they care about, it's not a definitive list of rights that are worth defending.

It's not hypocrisy, it's just their point of view on the 2nd amendment differs from your view.

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.

And the Supreme Court has ruled, again and again, that it is an individual right. How is it that the ACLU is an originalist when it comes to every amendment except the Second?

ACLU is not originalist - what made you believe that it is?

They protect civil rights, not whatever people who wrote the Constitution 200 years go thought civil rights should be.

It's the ACLU's position that the Supreme Court is wrong.

It's my position that that ACLU is wrong and will never see a penny from me.

You're out of your god damned mind. They sure as hell don't defend the 9th or 10th amendments.

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