One Of The Many Reasons I Love The ACLU

I kinda saw this one coming ever since I heard the audio tape of Larry Craig’s police interview after his arrest for soliciting sex in a men’s bathroom at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

Now, I’m no Larry “Self-Loathing” Craig fan, but when I heard the under cover police officer interrogate Mr. Craig, I was able to put aside my partisan feelings for a moment and thought to myself, this is a bogus charge that would be easy to railroad a public official with. Of course, I think the ACLU put it best when they said:

It is a crime to have sex in public. It is not a crime to propose or solicit sex in public, whether it’s in a bar or in a bathroom. [...] To be able to solicit sex in private, in public spaces, for instance, is constitutionally protected speech.

-Anthony Romero, Executive Director, ACLU

I’m guessing that the good people working at the ACLU are likely not big Larry Craig fans (probably because if the charges were against someone else, it is unlikely that Mr. Craig, with his history of anti-gay rhetoric and voting record, would have defended them). But, that’s why I love the ACLU. They are the definition of an apolitical organization. They defend Americans’ rights, period, no matter who you are nor how socially abhorrent your speech may be. If your rights are abridged by the government, you can be sure that the ACLU will be on your side. That’s why I’m a card carrying member and it’s why you should be too.

Of course, the ACLU isn’t defending against the fact that Mr. Craig is a hypocrite. It’s up to the citizens of the great state of Idaho to decide if they are bothered by hypocrisy. I, for one, hope Mr. Craig survives this ordeal and comes out the other side as a more tolerant, honest, and self-actualized individual. Conservative or not, no one should lose their job and personal/professional relationships over federally protected free speech.