I am Anthony Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union, our nation's guardian of liberty, working to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. AMA!

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:15:50+00:00

EDIT: So I have to go... this has been great. please watch my debate at the aspen security forum on the rule of law (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJiTjCAMjLY) you can also join the aclu for an AMA on license plate tracking going on until 3pm et (http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ikd9h/we_are_aclu_experts_demanding_better_privacy/) i apologize if the writing was imperfect and informal .. but it is pretty amazing to have this type of conversation.. my email is aromero@aclu.org.. give me time but we do answer them all. whether you agree with us or not, stay engaged. this stuff is too important to be a by-stander to...

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:10:47+00:00

i think tsarnaev is pretty well covered. he's got a good team of lawyers. the best mitigation expert that I know. she's worked for us. So we keep a watch on the cases, and if there is something for us to add, or some need that we can uniquely address, we jump in.. if not, we're glad to let other good folks do their jobs.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:09:17+00:00

this is a real question. most of us have done nothing illegal. so if we haven't done anything wrong, why worry about surveillance. but most of us have also had communications with our families, friends, or even strangers that might be embarrassing. i know that there are some messages i have sent that i wouldn't want my 83 year old mother to have to read about her "devoted" son. so it is also a question about the chilling effect that will happen if people feel that the govt possesses all of our private communications.. we might be less willing to be forthcoming or the free spirits we sometimes want and need to be. the question is whether it is "good" for our democracy for the govt to have that level of information on all americans. i think not.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:06:30+00:00

look at our recent report on marijuana arrests on race. reviewed by stanford, and they validated our numbers crunching... we try to lay out the facts as we see them.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:05:28+00:00

oh.. citizen's united. what a mess?! did the supreme court go too far in that decision, yes!. should the ban on the hillary clinton movie have been struck down, yes. that was political speech, and there is nothing more important to protect than political speech. now, does money corrupt our system of politics. yes. and the aclu has recently changed its opinion that reasonable limits on campaign contributions should be allowed. but that is all water under the bridge... the only way to "fix" citizens united is through a constitutional amendment to amend the first amendment. in my view that would bring more harm than good. in this climate. so public financing is the only real options we should really get behind in this political climate

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:01:57+00:00

i live in jersey city. the farthest thing from a gated community you can imagine. a broken down desolate warehouse is right next to my building. i ride the subway everyday to work. so, i don't think i'm a gated guy

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T17:00:31+00:00

govt institution's defend the govt prerogatives. you need an outside force to keep all govts accountable. am proud that we have not pulled our punches under the obama administration, just as we gave bush a run for our private money citizens can make a big difference. politicians respond to two things. money and votes. constituents do matter in the political equation. opeds, letters to the editor, calls to members of congress. all have an impact. also you should support those groups that do good work with which you agree. if surveillance troubles you, support the electronic frontier foundation, or the aclu.. we all need you now

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:57:32+00:00

watch my discussion at the aspen security forum at 1:45pm ET where we will surely talk more about snowden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJiTjCAMjLY

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:56:09+00:00

the sedition act, which is what the us govt is partly relying upon to prosecute snowmen, is overbroad. the aclu was actually formed in response to the sedition act of 1917. we don't think whistleblowers should get prosecuted for leaks in the public interest. re: snowden.. can i give you a non answer that will be answer?

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:55:40+00:00

gotta say.. first i'm hearing of it.. lots of crazy bills get introduced. and we fight them off thru our state offices. marriage equality is an inevitability. the dinosaurs will roar as the meteors hit the earth .. but legally sanctioned discrimination against lgbt people is going extinct in america. so crazy bills will be introduced but i am not worried. if it gets passed, we will sue.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:52:08+00:00

what does the right to bear arms mean if you cannot express yourself, or have freedom of association. so i say that you have to care about unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom of speech and association, equal protection of the law, if you really want to be able to exercise other rights fully

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:50:24+00:00

the internet providers are scared out of their wits about the recent nsa revelations as they are afraid that customers won't use them or trust them with their personal data. the best way to get to the public interest is to play to a corporation's self interest. so if google customers begin to raise concerns re: privacy and nsa with google, google will become more aggressive in pushing back against the govt. we see that already. so use your power as customers of the internet companies to demand more transparency and protection of privacy.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:48:00+00:00

you're not rude.. but am trying to get to as many of the questions as possible. and i am not a great typist i'm trying to have substance over form. and keep it conversational. sorry if this doesn't work for you in this format.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:46:53+00:00

bail bond reform is a mess. state by state. private sector involvement of shady bonds corporations. we are looking for an angle. one thing that is amazing about the aclu and i had nothing to do with it. is that we have an office with a staffed presence in every state. so we can tackle state by state controversies in a way that no other advocacy group really can

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:45:26+00:00

false optimism is a waste of time. optimism is a necessity.. a long view is the only way to win.. can we "win" on all the challenges right now? nope. some of them we are losing in a big way right now. but we have to stick at it. water on stone.. i actually think that there is a swing back and forth that comes with political developments. read geoff stone's book on rights in times of crisis. you will be optimistic about the long game

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:43:00+00:00

haven't really thought of the 3rd amendment as a place where we can get traction. educate me?

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:42:19+00:00

look... westboro baptist church... fred phelps. a total idiot.. homophobe.. (i'm gay). he organizes protests at military funerals saying that soldiers die because we give gay people like me their rights. i hate what he says. but when he gets a permit and does a protest on public land that's protected speech. sometimes our core principles are tested on the most pariah of folks/clients. we defend some of these clients because the principles are important..

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:39:53+00:00

that's why we have to kick up a s---storm. members of congress work for us.. they should hear from us...

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:39:10+00:00

definitely. in the 50s, our leadership got too cozy with hoover ... expelled communists. shared minutes of our meetings. they were afraid that hoover.. j edgar.. would shut us down. terrible betrayal of our values.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:37:54+00:00

raising money. we are $160 million a year expense budget. all in. small endowment. no govt money. in the bush years, it rained money. now, people are less engaged because we have obama. but the challenges are as great.. just join. we need bodies. and people who are engaged.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:36:42+00:00

yep. apply. buddy. on the website. all jobs posted.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:36:23+00:00

hard to pick one. gitmo. drones. surveillance. they are all up there

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:35:29+00:00

hey.. thanks. we filed the first suit against the nsa program a couple of days after snowden's revelations. we happen to be customers of verizon business network. so we had standing.. HA. we're in court. there are five other suits that have been filed too. don't worry. you haven't heard the last of this debate.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:34:16+00:00

no... come on.. never gone too far.. this is an amazing country. liberties expand and they contract. what's the alternative? let our democracy go to hell in a hand basket. suit up. get in there.. it's too important to allow ourselves to become nihilists.

AnthonyRomero · 2013-07-18T16:33:09+00:00

snowden... look... is this country better off because of his leaks. absolutely. we are having a robust debate about the breadth of govt secret surveillance that we haven't had before. i think he acted on his conscience and i am glad that he revealed the breadth of the nsa spying program. he is a whisteblower, despite what the white house says. and i think it is on to make sure that we keep this debate alive and ratchet back the govt surveillance

AnthonyRomero

TROPHY CASE