To the editor:
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
We agree with your thesis that different “types” of civil libertarians may have varying perspectives on the act. Yet your argument should have also included the fact that many groups not traditionally recognized as civil liberties advocates have come together to oppose the act. Indeed, resistance to the act and its related executive orders has seen the leaders of the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Rutherford Institute, as well as bona fide conservatives like Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, Dick Armey, Pat Buchanan, and Phyllis Schlafly, join forces with the American Civil Liberties Union, the Religious Action Center, and other “traditional” civil libertarians.
As one local example, last month in Chicago an interfaith coalition, including the Muslim Civil Rights Center, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and the American Friends Service Committee, hosted David Cole at a mosque in southwest Chicago. These three groups, which may not always agree on every political and social issue, were able to work together to generate awareness of the civil liberties intrusions of the current administration in Washington. David Cole’s forceful presentation of the assault on our civil liberties linked all of our faith communities for our concern for the rights of immigrants and refugees in our city. Thank you again for the Reader’s continued attention to this crucial topic.
