Other Columns by Thomas D. Segel
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Currently the ACLU is waging a frontal attack on the public display of Christian symbols. In Los Angeles County it panicked officials into recommending the removal of a small cross on the county seal. The ACLU won the removal of a cross from a World War I memorial to fallen servicemen. It has caused the removal of the 10 Commandments from public property across the United States. Twenty-four lawsuits have been filed against the display of the 10 Commandments and more are being filed every month. ACLU suits have been brought against the Boy Scouts because the group has a religious foundation. The newest target is to remove any symbol of Christianity from official city, county, state or national seals. Most observers of ACLU litigation believe that in the very near future suits will be brought against cities such as Corpus Christi, Texas and Los Angeles, California to change their names to something void of religious meaning.

Any examination of the ACLU would be incomplete without reference to its agenda to degrade moral values. This is done through defense of Gay and Lesbian objectives. It has defended pornography as a freedom of speech issue and even opposes filtering systems on the computers of public libraries. The ACLU is defending the North American Man-Boy Love Association for its role in promoting the sexual abuse of children. It supports and defends homosexual adoption, legalization of homosexual marriage and pro homosexual recruitment programs in public schools. All of these activities are designed to accelerate the moral degradation of the country.

There are ways to slow down, if not seriously impede ACLU activities, if the American public will develop enough backbone to take action. Though it claims to take no government funding, the ACLU still receives funds from federal, state and local governments. Citizen organizations should examine their public expenditures and demand cessation wherever such payments are discovered.

These fundings of ACLU activities usually come about at times when it is threatening litigation over some perceived wrong. There are now opposing groups recommending suits be filed against any government body authorizing taxpayer support of this so-called civil liberties organization.

Congress could also bring about marked change in the way litigation is filed against municipalities and government agencies. It would need to change the civil-rights statue, which permits the ACLU to collect attorney fees from the very governments it takes to court.

The usual routine is for the ACLU to claim a municipality violates the Establishment Clause with some form of Christian display. If the local government loses the case, taxpayers are hit with the costs and public dollars go directly into the pockets of the ACLU. By Congress changing the law so the Establishment clause does not apply, the ACLU would lose millions of taxpayer dollars.

The civil rights statute also allows anyone to file suit if they perceive they have been "wronged". This brings about numerous suits of little or no merit. Requiring those who file litigation to show they have been personally harmed would reduce such suits markedly.

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