Rick's Reason

This week, Las Vegas summer law intern Rick Sadowski answers our question: there are a lot of reasons to support the ACLU--what's your reason?

“Are you one of those bleeding heart liberals?” It’s a question I have been asked many times since I announced that I’d be spending my first summer in law school interning with the ACLU of Nevada. The question came only as a half-surprise; the ACLU has a reputation (accurate or not) for supporting liberal causes, and at times garnering disdain from conservatives whose ideas have been challenged. In reality though, the ACLU has a history of stirring the pot in all political directions.

A group will praise the ACLU one day while cursing their name the next. For instance, a gun rights activist pleased to have the ACLU defending Second Amendment rights one day may very well dislike the ACLU’s efforts to limit police powers the next. Or, a street preacher may like the ACLU’s work supporting religious and free speech rights, though be against the ACLU’s stand on LGBT equality issues.

For me, the sometimes diametrically opposite efforts of the ACLU are what makes the organization so important, and ultimately attracted me to an internship position with their Las Vegas office this summer. In a time where political rhetoric flourishes in a climate of sharp political divide, the ACLU readily tackles even the most unpopular causes. Unbridled by political pressure and popular opinion polls, the ACLU focuses on preserving essential American rights provided to us by the U.S. Constitution.

Since starting my internship with the ACLU of Nevada, I have been more mindful of instances where people are willing, and even eager, to sell their rights for some other objective. I witnessed this phenomenon firsthand here in Las Vegas. At a recent rally in support of assemblyman Chad Christensen’s bid to import Arizona’s SB 1070 to Nevada (now abandoned after challenges brought by the ACLU and others), one adamant supporter spoke up. She told about her half-Hispanic son’s frequent interactions with law enforcement. Because of the color of his skin, her son was routinely stopped for questioning, even before the AZ law dominated headlines. She was quick to tell her son that she was glad he was being profiled, and she hoped for more of the same. In her mind the benefit of maybe “catching” an illegal alien or other criminal was well worth the “inconvenience” of the targeted racial profiling and increased scrutiny by police.

Frustration over illegal immigration is natural and understandable. Polls show wide support of Arizona’s immigration bill. However, the ACLU strives to prevent the frustrations of even the majority from eroding our fundamental rights. While others obliviously (or sometimes intentionally) forgo the basic freedoms provided for by the Constitution, the ACLU is there to ensure our forefathers’ ideals are protected.

I am proud of the work I have done with the ACLU of Nevada this summer, and proud of the work the ACLU has done and will continue to do. As ACLU founder Roger Baldwin put it: “So long as we have enough people in this country willing to fight for their rights, we'll be called a democracy." The individual rights and liberties given to us by the Constitution are guaranteed for everyone, whether liberal (bleeding hearts and others), conservative, or somewhere in between.

Rick Sadowski is a law student at Hofstra University