> They now take sides on what speech should be allowed.

Alternative framing: Given limited resources and lots of things to care about, they pick the specific cases that best improve the freedoms they're interested in protecting.

In the case of the Second Amendment, they decided to let the NRA handle it, as that seems to be working just fine.

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selectodude an hour ago | parent | next [-]

I mean defending horrible shitty people who are exercising their 1st amendment rights.

The ACLU should defend people who suck ass and another group should defend the heroes who beat their ass for saying awful shit.

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ceejayoz an hour ago | parent [-]

Sure. But there's 100 shitty people and you have to pick one or two.

So maybe you pick the anti-ICE protester instead of the Nazi to help out. Both got shot with pepper balls, both had their rights infringed upon. Why not pick the one who isn't a complete ass to establish the same precedent with?

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selectodude an hour ago | parent [-]

I agree 100%, I’d rather the ACLU picked their battles and if there’s a choice, not pick a Nazi. But I’m not a huge fan about how they’ve explicitly said they won’t defend hate speech. It’s a betrayal of their original cause.

	▲	ceejayoz an hour ago \| parent [-]
		> But I’m not a huge fan about how they’ve explicitly said they won’t defend hate speech. They've explicitly said the opposite. https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/defending-speech-w... 2023: "We joined Young Americans for Freedom, the Cato Institute, and other unlikely partners in filing an amicus brief on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in its challenge to New York’s new law regulating 'hateful conduct' in social media."

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CamperBob2 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A disingenuous take. The ACLU has actively published anti-2A literature in the past, arguing (as all such arguments must) that only the police, government, and military forces should have access to effective weapons.

	▲	ceejayoz 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I mean, the ACLU is allowed to say they don't interpret the Second the individualist way you do. That's their First Amendment right, yes? The Second is probably the amendment least in need of defending by the ACLU. It's well covered, and pretty much a third rail of American politics.