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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

As made famous in the famous movie, "The Blues Brothers" [imdb.com], the American Civil Liberties Union would defend everyone's right to free speech, even that of Nazis. (BTW, "I hate Illinois Nazis." Elwood) But now the Union is reconsidering whether sticking up for the rights of armed groups of bigots is such a great idea [nytimes.com].

Since Charlottesville, the A.C.L.U. has clearly wrestled with what to do when the next case comes along. It indicated on Thursday that, in evaluating whether to take free-speech cases involving public gatherings, the group would consider the potential for violence at the event and whether protesters were going to be carrying firearms. But Ms. Sullivan, the spokeswoman, said that was not a new policy; rather, it reflected existing practices.

As reported in the NY Times [nytimes.com], also covered by The Hill [thehill.com], and The Splinter [splinternews.com] blog.

Well, couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Did I mention that they are all guys? Even the girls are guys! It is like a Biker convention! So now Americans will have chose between civil debate, and being a fascist asshole, and if they chose the latter option, between getting the ACLU to cover your ass, or relying on your own penis-compensator.

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