ACLU Promotes Censorship — When It’s Good For Them

Posted on June 21, 2006

As Jay (of Stop the ACLU) reported, the ACLU has filed suit against the Miami-Dade County School Board over it’s decision to ban a pro-communist and pro-Cuba book.

MIAMI (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Miami’s public school system on Wednesday, saying its ban on a children’s book about travel to Cuba was unconstitutional.

Howard Simon, the executive director of ACLU Florida responded:

“We can appreciate that the book might be found to be offensive by some parents, but censorship is a cure that is worse than the disease.”

While I cannot disagree with the Simon’s anti-censorship position, I also cannot keep from enjoying the irony in light of their own internal censorship scandal. The Miami lawsuit comes just days after Jay commented on the ACLU censoring their directors from publicly disagreeing with national board members and staff:

One of the provisions said, “a director may publicly disagree with an A.C.L.U. policy position, but may not criticize the A.C.L.U. board and staff.”

Another said, “Where an individual director disagrees with a board position on matters of civil liberties policy, the director should refrain from publicly highlighting the fact of such disagreement.”

The provisions have attracted criticism from several newspaper editorial boards, members and donors, who said they clashed with the A.C.L.U.’s historic defense of free speech.

Nice. Do As I Say and Not As I Do. If the ACLU really practiced what they preached, the directors would not only be criticizing board members, but they would also be filing weekly lawsuits against the national organization. That is — after all — what the ACLU really means when they say “free speech.”

» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, News