Politics

ACLU Claims It Is The Vanguard Of A Movement Resisting ‘Autocracy’

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Anders Hagstrom Justice Reporter
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claimed that President Donald Trump’s administration is “trampling” the rights of LGBT Americans, immigrants, and minorities in the summer issue of its STAND magazine.

The ACLU published the magazine Monday, and asserted that Trump is hostile towards much of America. The magazine touted its fight against Trump’s travel ban, claiming that the ACLU “energized national opposition to the president and his inhumane policies.”

The civil rights organization also accused Trump of using “lies about unlawful voting” to pursue strict voter identification laws, which the ACLU claims unlawfully discriminate against minorities.

“The ACLU is responding on all fronts to an unprecedented assault on liberty. We are at the vanguard of a 50-state movement standing up to autocracy,” the magazine reads. “We have spent years investing heavily in ACLU offices in states where the threats to civil liberties are the greatest, and resources the scarcest. Those efforts are about to become even more important. The Trump administration’s audacity has emboldened officials in state governments to propose a slew of measures once unthinkable in a free society.”

The ACLU finds itself opposed to Trump in nearly every arena, from criminal justice reform to abortion policy. It has lobbied heavily on the state level to oppose “blue lives matter” bills which would categorize police and other first responders as a protected class, making attacks on them hate crimes.

The organization’s fight against Attorney General Jeff Sessions on sentencing reform has been largely successful, with states across the country passing bills to cut down on mandatory minimum sentencing and empty prisons, but Sessions is one of a minority of Republicans who opposes such justice reforms.

While the ACLU has focused on combating Trump’s policies, the organization announced last week that it would no longer defend the First Amendment rights of Americans who bring firearms to rallies, citing violent protests in Charlottesville. (RELATED: ACLU Lawyer Refuses To Defend The First Amendment Because Milo Is ‘Reprehensible’)

In the organization’s final statement in the publication, ACLU President Susan Herman likens the Trump administration to George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984,” and vows further opposition.

“We are determined to outlast Trump and his allies. As always, the support of our members is vital,” Herman wrote. “We cannot win this without you, and win this we must—and will.”

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