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Home » About Us » Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions Q: What's up your position on the Second Amendment? A: BACKGROUND The ACLU has often been criticized for "ignoring the Second Amendment" and refusing to fight for the individual's right to own a gun or other weapons. This issue, however, has not been ignored by the ACLU. The national board has in fact debated and discussed the civil liberties aspects of the Second Amendment many times. We believe that the constitutional right to bear arms is primarily a collective one, intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government. In today's world, that idea is somewhat anachronistic and in any case would require weapons much more powerful than handguns or hunting rifles. The ACLU therefore believes that the Second Amendment does not confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons nor does it prohibit reasonable regulation of gun ownership, such as licensing and registration. IN BRIEF The national ACLU is neutral on the issue of gun control. We believe that the Constitution contains no barriers to reasonable regulations of gun ownership. If we can license and register cars, we can license and register guns. Most opponents of gun control concede that the Second Amendment certainly does not guarantee an individual's right to own bazookas, missiles or nuclear warheads. Yet these, like rifles, pistols and even submachine guns, are arms. The question therefore is not whether to restrict arms ownership, but how much to restrict it. If that is a question left open by the Constitution, then it is a question for Congress to decide. ACLU POLICY "The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court's long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual's right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms." Q: What are you doing right now to fight horribly restrictive and draconian Illinois Sex Offender laws? A: The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois continues to be concerned about the expansion of sex offender registry laws here in Illinois and across the nation. We believe that such laws often substitute the stigmitization of groups of people -- because these laws govern a wide range of conduct -- for a carefully considered program that effectively protects children. Despite the ineffectiveness of this approach, the public is often given the impression that the only public policy choice we can make is to adopt harsher and more restrictive sex offender registry laws -- with regulations that do not allow a court to assess which offenders continue to pose a danger to society. Unfortunately, courts -- including the Supreme Court of the United States -- has upheld many of these laws as constitutional. Because of these rulings, it is difficult for the ACLU in Illinois or elsewhere to raise a challenge to such restrictions in court. We will, however, continue to raise our concerns and objections when these harsh laws are introduced in the Illinois General Assembly. The ACLU also is concerned about the continued stigmatization of children - as young as 12 years old - who engage in illegal sexual behavior. The law's blanket treatment of adult sex offenders and youth who engage in illegal sexual behavior ignores important different between adults and youth as well as important differences between the adult correctional system and the juvenile justice system. Children who engage in illegal sexual behavior demonstrate lower recidivism rates than adult sex offenders, are more amendable to treatment, and lack the compulsion to commit offenses. Still, in Illinois, children may be registered as sex offenders for the duration of their lives, affecting any real chance for true rehabilitation, he central tenet of the Illinois Juvenile Court Act. Q: What is your office doing to make sure Intelligent Design doesn't invade Illinois schools? What can I do to help fight? A: Our office is carefully monitoring Illinois schools for their policy on teaching Intelligent Design. One of the most effective ways to support our efforts against the teaching of Intelligent Design is to join our online Action Alert list. You will receive emails urging you to take action on a variety of issues, intelligent design being one of them. Q: I just received an email that says you're trying to take away the right of Marines to pray on federal time. A: We have received several emails from people concerned about this issue. Unfortunately, the email you received is a fabrication intended to discredit the ACLU. In fact, this particular urban legend has been passed around the internet for a number of years and always states that it was "just reported in the news last week." Please visit the link I've provided below to learn more about this and other common urban legends regarding the ACLU and religious issues. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_aclu_crosses.htm Q: Are you really trying to remove crosses from Arlington National Cemetery? A: We have received several emails from concerned citizens regarding this issue. The ACLU is not pursuing, nor has it ever pursued, the removal of religious symbols from personal gravestones. Personal gravestones are the choice of the family members, not the choice of the government. The ACLU celebrates this freedom to choose the religious symbol of your choice. Q: Are you doing anything about the Governor giving 1 million dollars to Pilgrim Baptist Church? A: The ACLU of Illinois is investigating the Governor's plan to assist Pilgrim Baptist Church. Among other things, we are investigating whether this proposal is neutral (i.e., whether secular groups have equal access to such assistance), and whether there are safeguards to ensure that any government assistance is used for secular and not religious purposes. We have received some responsive documents from the Governor's office, and we expect to receive more. |
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