Editing American Civil Liberties Union (section)

===1980s===
====Reagan era====
[[File:Oliver North mug shot.jpg|thumb|upright|The ACLU defended [[Oliver North]] in 1990, arguing that his conviction was tainted by coerced testimony.]]

The [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|inauguration of Ronald Reagan]] as president in 1981 ushered in an [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|eight-year period of conservative leadership]] in the US government. Under [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]'s leadership, the government pushed a conservative social agenda.

The [[Arkansas]] 1981 creationism statute, which required schools to teach the biblical account of creation as a scientific alternative to evolution. The ACLU won the case in the ''[[McLean v. Arkansas]]'' decision.<ref>Walker, pp. 342–43.<br />''[[McLean v. Arkansas|McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education]]'', 529 F. Supp. 1255 (E.D. Ark. 1982) ([http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mclean-v-arkansas.html "transcription" by Clark Dorman], January 30, 1996, at TalkOrigins).</ref>

In 1982, the ACLU became involved in a case involving the distribution of [[child pornography]] (''[[New York v. Ferber]]''). In an amicus brief, the ACLU argued that child pornography that violates the [[three prong obscenity test]] should be outlawed. However, the law was overly restrictive because it banned artistic displays and non-obscene material. The court did not adopt the ACLU's position.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/privacy/speech/14793leg20020508.html|title=Letter to Reps. Smith and Scott on H.R. 4623, the "Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act of 2002"|date=May 8, 2002|access-date=November 20, 2007|work=ACLU.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214213745/http://www.aclu.org/privacy/speech/14793leg20020508.html|archive-date=December 14, 2007 |url-status= live}}</ref>

During the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]], Vice President [[George H.&nbsp;W. Bush]] noted that his opponent [[Governor of Massachusetts|Massachusetts Governor]] [[Michael Dukakis]] had described himself as a "card-carrying member of the ACLU" and used that as evidence that Dukakis was "a strong, passionate liberal" and "out of the mainstream".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1988-broadcast.html|title=Debating Our Destiny: The 1988 Debates|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231042713/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1988-broadcast.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The phrase subsequently was used by the organization in an advertising campaign.<ref>{{cite news|author=Randall Rothenburg|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/28/us/aclu-goes-hollywood-in-countering-bush-s-campaign-of-derision.html|title=A.C.L.U. Goes Hollywood in Countering Bush's Campaign of Derision|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 28, 1988|access-date=September 28, 2008}}</ref>