Editing American Civil Liberties Union (section)

====Allegations of prioritizing civil rights over civil liberties{{Anchor|Lost impartiality accusations}}====

Some have claimed the ACLU is reducing its support of unpopular free speech (specifically, by declining to defend speech made by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]]) in favor of [[identity politics]], [[political correctness]], and [[progressivism]].<ref>
* {{cite web |last=Soave |first=Robby |date=June 21, 2018|title=Leaked Internal Memo reveals ACLU is wavering on free speech|url=https://reason.com/2018/06/21/aclu-leaked-memo-free-speech/ |website=Reason|access-date=December 28, 2021}}
*{{cite news |title=Civil Rights v civil liberties at the aclu |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/02/13/civil-rights-v-civil-liberties-at-the-aclu |newspaper=The Economist|access-date=December 28, 2021}}
* {{cite web |last1=Kirchick |first1=James |date=May 24, 2016|title=The Disintegration of the ACLU |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-disintegration-of-the-aclu-james-kirchick |website=Tablet|access-date=December 28, 2021}}
* {{Cite web |last1=Gillespie |first1=Nick |last2=Taylor |first2=Regan |date=2022-06-23 |title=As the ACLU Recedes From Its Core Mission, FIRE Expands To Fill the Void |url=https://reason.com/video/2022/06/23/as-the-aclu-recedes-from-its-core-mission-fire-expands-to-fill-the-void/ |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}
* {{Cite news |last=Bazelon |first=Lara |title=The ACLU Has Lost Its Way |work=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/aclu-johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial/629808/}}</ref> Instead, critics contend that the organization has become a progressive advocacy organization intensely focused on [[identity politics]].{{r|tropes}}

One basis of these allegations was a 2017 statement the ACLU president made to a reporter after the death of a counter-protester during the [[Unite the Right rally|2017 Unite the Right rally in Virginia]], where Romero told a reporter that the ACLU would no longer support legal cases of activists that wish to carry guns at their protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2017/8/20/16167870/aclu-hate-speech-nazis-charlottesville |title=Why the ACLU is adjusting its approach to "free speech" after Charlottesville |publisher=Vox |date=August 21, 2017 |accessdate=February 17, 2022}}</ref>  Another basis for these claims was an internal ACLU memo dated June 2018, discussing factors to evaluate when deciding whether to take a case. The memo listed several factors to consider, including "the extent to which the speech may assist in advancing the goals of white supremacists or others whose views are contrary to our values."

Some analysts viewed this as a retreat from the ACLU's historically strong support of First Amendment rights, regardless of whether minorities were negatively impacted by the speech, citing the ACLU's past support for certain KKK and Nazi legal cases.<ref name="Kaminer">{{Cite news|last=Kaminer|first=Wendy|date=June 20, 2018|title=The ACLU Retreats From Free Expression|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-aclu-retreats-from-free-expression-1529533065|access-date=June 22, 2018|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Freedom of Expression – ACLU Position Paper|language=en|work=American Civil Liberties Union|url=https://www.aclu.org/other/freedom-expression-aclu-position-paper|access-date=June 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Brandenburg v. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969) {{!}} ACLU of Ohio|url=https://www.acluohio.org/archives/cases/brandenburg-v-ohio|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622032745/https://www.acluohio.org/archives/cases/brandenburg-v-ohio|archive-date=June 22, 2018|access-date=June 22, 2018|website=www.acluohio.org|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Powell|first=Michael|date=June 6, 2021|title=Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/us/aclu-free-speech.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/us/aclu-free-speech.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=October 29, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Sykes 2018">{{cite web|last=Sykes|first=Michael|date=June 21, 2018|url=https://www.axios.com/aclu-leaked-memo-free-speech-civil-rights-1108e489-d79f-4d51-ac22-877b14546b76.html|title=Leaked memo reveals ACLU debate on defense of free speech|website=Axios|language=en|access-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622123345/https://www.axios.com/aclu-leaked-memo-free-speech-civil-rights-1108e489-d79f-4d51-ac22-877b14546b76.html|archive-date=June 22, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The memo's authors stated that the memo did not define a change in official ACLU policy, but was intended as a guideline to assist ACLU affiliates in deciding which cases to take.<ref>{{cite web|author=Robby Soave |url=https://reason.com/2018/06/21/aclu-leaked-memo-free-speech/ |title=Leaked Internal Memo Reveals the ACLU Is Wavering on Free Speech |publisher=Reason.com |date=June 21, 2018 |accessdate=February 17, 2022}}</ref>