Stop the ACLU Thursday

New Orleans has been emptied of people: rich, poor, white, black, young, old, good citizens and bad.

Cities and citizens taking these refugees in ought to be worried about one group: the bad---the criminals.

The criminals have left New Orleans, along with the rest of the people, and are now living in Red Cross shelters or other places provided by generous people, churches, and cities across the country.

Don't the shelters, the people, the churches, and the cities have the right to know who they are housing? Don't they have a right to know if a murderer or rapist or pedophile is living among them?

Not according to the ACLU.

Take this story, for example:

Auhorities search for criminals among hurricane refugees (not the misspelling in the headline is CNN.com's, not mine)---

MIDDLETOWN, Rhode Island (AP) -- After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, federal officials flew Brian Murph and more than 100 other victims to Rhode Island. They were greeted by the governor and cheered by residents.

Then the handcuffs were placed on Murph.

State police did criminal background checks on every refugee and found that more than half had a criminal arrest records -- a third for felonies. Murph was the only one with an outstanding arrest warrant, for larceny and other crimes.

Around the nation, state and local authorities are checking refugees' pasts as they are welcomed into homes, schools, houses of worship and housing projects. In some states, half the refugees have rap sheets.

"It's a balancing act," said Kyle Smith, deputy director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. "We don't want to treat them like criminals after they have been traumatized, but we want to make sure they are in no danger nor the families they are housed with."
---
Some state and local governments screened just those refugees evacuated by the federal government. Others screened anyone placed in private homes -- and screened the hosts as well.

In South Carolina, state police checked every evacuee flown there by the government. Of 547 people checked, 301 had criminal records, according to Robert Stewart, state Law Enforcement Division Chief.

While most had been law-abiding for years or had committed minor offenses, the group included those convicted of rape or aggravated assault. Two had warrants, but were not held because the states weren't interested in extraditing them.

"This was all done for everyone's protection," Stewart said. "If you're going to be sheltering people, it would be prudent for people taking them in to know what criminal pasts they might have."

Sounds extremely sensible to me.

But guess who doesn't think this is such a good idea.

If you said the ACLU, then you would be right!

"I think it's happening partly because who these people are and where they came from," said Steve Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU. "The mere fact that people have past criminal records in and of itself doesn't say anything about harm to the community."

The mere fact that people have past criminal records certainly does say something about possible harm to the community. While people do repent and show remorse for their crimes, not everyone emerges from court or jail or prison reborn and pure of heart.

Which is more important? Making sure everyone is safe or making sure criminals (people who have harmed society) feel good about themselves? I know the ACLU thinks the latter should be the focus.

I doubt the ACLU would feel the same if Mr. Murderer were living in their homes, unbeknownst to them. Does anyone really think they wouldn't do their own background checks?

This is just another reason why the ACLU is so dangerous to America. They always put the criminal, the pedophile, the insane ahead of the well-being and safety of fellow Americans. Is this the kind of organization we need in America?

If you would like to join Stop the ACLU and read more about efforts to stop it, please visit Stop the ACLU.