Many Bill of Rights fights joined, won with ACLU

When Gary Peck arrived on the scene 13 years ago as the executive director of the Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Review-Journal editorial page offered him some suggestions about issues his organization could address.

Looking back, now that the 58-year-old Peck is leaving the ACLU, it appears he either took our advice or had similar objectives to begin with.

We noted back then that the "First Amendment has come under attack in Nevada by a judicial discipline process which initially gags, under threat of contempt of court, those who file official complaints against judges. This is outrageous and unconstitutional."

In 2002, the ACLU filed suit in federal court over that very issue. At the time Peck was quoted as saying, "It makes for a permanent gag order."

The case was dismissed. The court said the ACLU should have sued the state Supreme Court instead of the discipline commission. But no one since has really been punished for talking about a complaint. I think they know how silly they would look.

We also mentioned then that the ACLU had historically been reticent to press for Second Amendment adherence. But when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an onerous District of Columbia gun ban, the Nevada chapter of ACLU was the first to stand up, saying, "The Nevada ACLU respects the individual's right to bear arms subject to constitutionally permissible regulations. The ACLU of Nevada will defend this right as it defends other constitutional rights."

We mentioned in that 1996 editorial the problem with judges closing courtrooms, and the ACLU has worked to prevent that.

Though we did not foresee the state Legislature setting up what we called the "Truth Squad" to punish those thought to be untruthful in campaign speeches and advertising, the ACLU was there with us. They, along with the Nevada Press Association, filed a federal lawsuit.

The ACLU also fought and won when the Truth Squad went after politicians Chris Giunchigliani, arguably the most liberal Democrat in the state, and Bob Beers, one of the most conservative Republicans in the state, thus supporting Peck's long-standing philosophy that government should not be allowed to evaluate someone's message based on its content, no matter which side of the political spectrum it comes from.

The ACLU also defended a Liberty High School student expelled for wearing a T-shirt with a religious message. They supported a woman who demanded copies of School Board members' e-mails. They fought for free speech on the Strip and under the Fremont Street canopy.

When the gaming regulators went after the Hard Rock Hotel for a racy billboard, the ACLU came to assist.

They backed Irwin Schiff's right to sell his books claiming people did not have to pay the federal income tax.

Most recently, the ACLU has fought for the rights of people who posted comments online, anonymously, below a Review-Journal news story. The organization is challenging a federal grand jury subpoena for their identities.

Though the ACLU under Gary Peck did not get around to specifically supporting states' rights under the 10th Amendment, all in all, it is a respectable scorecard.

Counting heads: A couple of weeks ago, a helpful reader named William sent us a letter advising us to change our ways or face extinction. At least that's what I think he was implying, when he wrote:

"In reading your editorials I feel like I'm watching Fox News. You do realize that only 22 percent of Americans consider themselves Republican. The demographics are not on your side."

Actually, Rasmussen Reports puts the numbers at 36.8 percent Democrat vs. 33.3 percent Republican.

But we consider our editorial page stance as neither Republican nor Democrat, but more libertarian (lower case) leaning and fiscally conservative. (Of course, in the news pages we strive for objectivity and giving voice to all sides of a matter, though it is sometimes difficult to find wire service copy that always lives up to that standard.)

Though we do not base our editorial philosophy on counting heads, the number of heads, unlike William's conclusion, actually appears to be in our favor.

Gallup reported in June that the number of Americans identifying themselves as conservative ticked up a bit, outnumbering self-identified liberals by 40 percent to 21 percent.

A week ago, Gallup followed up with the results of a January to June survey that found conservatives outnumber liberals in every state of the union, but not, of course, the District of Columbia. The figures for Nevada show 37 percent called themselves conservative, 37 percent called themselves moderate and 22 percent called themselves liberal.

When it comes to elections, it depends on which way that big block in the middle tilts.

Thomas Mitchell is editor of the Review-Journal and writes about the role of the press, free speech and access to public records. He may be contacted at 383-0261 or via e-mail at tmitchell@reviewjournal.com. Read his blog at lvrj.com/blogs/mitchell.