American Civil Rights Union
Encyclopedia
The American Civil Rights Union is a civil liberties
organization founded by former Reagan Administration
official Robert B. Carleson
in 1998. It was founded in response to views that the most prominent civil liberties organization, the American Civil Liberties Union
, was too leftward leaning
; ACRU has been described as a conservative civil liberties advocacy group. The ACRU has filed amicus briefs in court cases involving the Boy Scouts of America
including the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case of "Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
", defending the Boy Scouts' right to create their own criteria for membership by barring gay Scout leaders. Peter Ferrara
is the ACRU Legal Director, and Susan Carleson is the Chairman.
The ACRU Policy Board includes:
The ACRU's main focus areas are:
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
organization founded by former Reagan Administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
official Robert B. Carleson
Robert B. Carleson
Robert B. Carleson was a key policy advisor on welfare issues to Ronald Reagan in California and the White House; he also founded a conservative alternative to the American Civil Liberties Union called the American Civil Rights Union in 1998....
in 1998. It was founded in response to views that the most prominent civil liberties organization, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, was too leftward leaning
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
; ACRU has been described as a conservative civil liberties advocacy group. The ACRU has filed amicus briefs in court cases involving the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
including the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case of "Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, , was a case of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the New Jersey Supreme Court's application of the New Jersey public accommodations law, which had forced the Boy Scouts of America to readmit assistant Scoutmaster James Dale...
", defending the Boy Scouts' right to create their own criteria for membership by barring gay Scout leaders. Peter Ferrara
Peter Ferrara
Peter J. Ferrara is an American lawyer, policy analyst, and columnist who is the current general counsel for the American Civil Rights Union and analyst for The Heartland Institute...
is the ACRU Legal Director, and Susan Carleson is the Chairman.
The ACRU Policy Board includes:
- Edwin MeeseEdwin MeeseEdwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...
III, former U.S. Attorney General - William Bradford Reynolds, former assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights
- James Q. WilsonJames Q. WilsonJames Q. Wilson is an American academic political scientist and an authority on public administration. He is a professor and senior fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College....
, professor, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy - Curtin Winsor, former U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica
- Walter E. WilliamsWalter E. WilliamsWalter E. Williams, is an American economist, commentator, and academic. He is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author known for his libertarian views.- Early life and education :Williams family during childhood...
, professor of economics, George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County... - Charles J. CooperCharles J. CooperCharles J. "Chuck" Cooper is an appellate attorney and litigator in Washington, D.C. and a founding member and chairman of the law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC...
, former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel - Richard Bender Abell, former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs
- J Kenneth BlackwellKen BlackwellJohn Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission
The ACRU's main focus areas are:
- Fighting unions by contributing op-ed pieces to newspapers like The Washington Times
- Property Rights
- Freedom of Religion
- Equality Under the Law
- Right to Keep and Bear Arms
- Individual Liberty and Federalism
Selected publications
- These Are the Times That Try Men's Souls: America --Then and Now -- in the Words of Tom Paine, edited by John Armor with illustrations by Olga Calco, 242 pages with index (2010).
- Government IS the Problem: Memoirs of Ronald Reagan's Welfare Reformer, by Robert B. Carleson, edited by Susan A. Carleson and Hans A. Zeiger, 160 pages with index (2009).