ACLU's mission misrepresented in letter
January 27, 2012 11:38 PM
A recent letter (“ACLU once more serving the wrong interests,” Jan. 24) fundamentally misrepresented the American Civil Liberties Union’s ongoing work to ensure that local governments are inclusive of all members of the public whom our elected officials are supposed to serve.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees every American — regardless of who they are — the right to personal religious freedom and a government that does not pick sides in matters of religion. The ACLU proudly defends those rights. If the majority can use the government to advance a particular religion, as the letter’s author would support, our Constitution’s protections of individual religious liberty would be meaningless.
The ACLU of North Carolina’s recent legal victory in Forsyth County, which was affirmed by three separate courts, made clear that governments cannot endorse one particular religion over others by hosting sectarian prayer at public meetings. As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, any prayer at public meetings “should send a signal of welcome rather than exclusion. It should not reject the tenets of other faiths in favor of just one.”
Private citizens have an indisputable right to pray however they want, and the ACLU has fervently defended that right on countless occasions. But our Constitution also requires the government to stay neutral on matters of belief, so that all members of the community, and not just a preferred religious group, feel welcome and part of their government.
For more than 90 years, the ACLU has been proud to defend the civil liberties of all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. We will continue to stand up for religious and other minorities any time their rights are being trampled by the government.
MIKE MENO
Raleigh
Mike Meno is communications manager, ACLU of North Carolina.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees every American — regardless of who they are — the right to personal religious freedom and a government that does not pick sides in matters of religion. The ACLU proudly defends those rights. If the majority can use the government to advance a particular religion, as the letter’s author would support, our Constitution’s protections of individual religious liberty would be meaningless.
The ACLU of North Carolina’s recent legal victory in Forsyth County, which was affirmed by three separate courts, made clear that governments cannot endorse one particular religion over others by hosting sectarian prayer at public meetings. As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, any prayer at public meetings “should send a signal of welcome rather than exclusion. It should not reject the tenets of other faiths in favor of just one.”
Private citizens have an indisputable right to pray however they want, and the ACLU has fervently defended that right on countless occasions. But our Constitution also requires the government to stay neutral on matters of belief, so that all members of the community, and not just a preferred religious group, feel welcome and part of their government.
For more than 90 years, the ACLU has been proud to defend the civil liberties of all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. We will continue to stand up for religious and other minorities any time their rights are being trampled by the government.
MIKE MENO
Raleigh
Mike Meno is communications manager, ACLU of North Carolina.
