(The following text was obtained from American Civil Liberties Union Website on September 20, 2001.)

In Defense of Freedom at a Time of Crisis

1. On September 11, 2001 thousands of people lost their lives in a brutal assault on the American people and the American form of government. We mourn the loss of these innocent lives and insist that those who perpetrated these acts be held accountable.

2. This tragedy requires all Americans to examine carefully the steps our country may now take to reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks.

3. We need to consider proposals calmly and deliberately with a determination not to erode the liberties and freedoms that are at the core of the American way of life.

4. We need to ensure that actions by our government uphold the principles of a democratic society, accountable government and international law, and that all decisions are taken in a manner consistent with the Constitution.

5. We can, as we have in the past, in times of war and of peace, reconcile the requirements of security with the demands of liberty.

6. We should resist the temptation to enact proposals in the mistaken belief that anything that may be called anti-terrorist will necessarily provide greater security.

7. We should resist efforts to target people because of their race, religion, ethnic background or appearance, including immigrants in general, Arab Americans and Muslims.

8. We affirm the right of peaceful dissent, protected by the First Amendment, now, when it is most at risk.

9. We should applaud our political leaders in the days ahead who have the courage to say that our freedoms should not be limited.

10. We must have faith in our democratic system and our Constitution, and in our ability to protect at the same time both the freedom and the security of all Americans.

Endorsed by:

Al-Fatiha Foundation, Washington, DC
Alliance for Justice, Washington, DC
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Washington, DC
American Association of Law Libraries, Washington, DC
American Association of University Women, Washington, DC
American Civil Liberties Union, Washington, DC
American Conservative Union, Alexandria, VA
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Washington, DC
American Friends Service Committee - Washington Office, Washington, DC
American Humanist Association, Washington, DC
American Immigration Lawyers Association, Washington, DC
American Liberty Foundation, Alexandria, VA
American Muslim Alliance, Newark, CA
American Muslim Council, Washington, DC
American Policy Center, Warrenton, VA
Americans for Democratic Action, Washington, DC
Americans for Religious Liberty, Silver Spring, MD
Americans for Tax Reform, Washington, DC
Amnesty International - USA, Washington, DC
Arab American Institute, Washington, DC
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York, NY
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Washington, DC
Association for Competitive Technology, Washington, DC
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Tucson, AZ
Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Washington, DC
Benton Foundation, Washington, DC
California First Amendment Coalition, Sacramento, CA
Campaign for America, Washington, DC
Catholic Vote.org, Washington, DC
Center for Democracy and Technology, Washington, DC
Center for Digital Democracy, Washington, DC
Center for Economic and Social Rights, Brooklyn, NY
Center for Media Education, Washington, DC
Center for National Security Studies, Washington, DC
Chinese for Affirmative Action, San Francisco, CA
Citizens and Immigrants for Equal Justice, Mesquite, TX
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Bellevue, WA
Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, DC
Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, Washington, DC
Common Cause, Washington, DC
Common Sense for Drug Policy Legislative Group, Washington, DC
Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC
Consumer Action, San Francisco, CA
Council on American Islamic Relations, Washington, DC
Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, Washington, DC
Democracy Foundation, Ballwin, MO
Doctors for Disaster Preparedness, Tucson, AZ
Drug Reform Coordination Network, Washington, DC
Eagle Forum, Washington, DC
Eagle Forum of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Washington, DC
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, TN
Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation, Washington, DC
Family Violence Clinic, Columbia, MO
Federation of American Scientists, Washington, DC
First Amendment Foundation, Washington, DC
Free Congress Foundation, Washington, DC
Free the Eagle, Fairfax, VA
Freedom of Information Center, Columbia, MO
Friends Committee on National Legislation, Washington, DC
Fund for New Priorities in America, New York, NY
Fund for the Fourth Amendment, Washington, DC
Global Strategic Management, Annapolis, MD
God Bless America, http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/GOBA1953/default.htm
Government Accountability Project, Washington, DC
Gun Owners of America, Springfield, VA
Harvard Information Infrastructure Project at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Health Privacy Project, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Human Rights Watch, Washington, DC
International Religious Liberty Association, www.irla.org
Independent Institute, Oakland, CA
Islamic Institute, Washington, DC
James Madison Project, Washington, DC
Japanese American Citizens League, San Francisco, CA
Latina and Latino Critical Legal Theory, Inc., Coral Gables, FL
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Washington, DC
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Washington, DC
Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation, New York, NY
MoveOn.org, Washington, DC
Multiracial Activist & Abolitionist Examiner, Alexandria, VA
Muslim Public Affairs Council, Washington, DC
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Washington, DC
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, Washington, DC
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Board of Directors, Washington, DC
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Washington, DC
National Black Police Association, Washington, DC
National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, Washington, DC
National Committee Against Repressive Legislation, Washington, DC
National Consumers League, Washington, DC
National Council of Churches of Christ, Washington, DC
National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Washington, DC
National Lawyers Guild, New York, NY
National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Washington, DC
National Native American Bar Association, Birmingham, AL
National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Washington, DC
Net Action, San Francisco, CA
Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Washington, DC
Nuremberg Legacy Project, Washington, DC
North American Council for Muslim Women, Great Falls, VA
OMB Watch, Washington, DC
Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, Fairfax, VA
People for the American Way, Washington, DC
Philadelphia II, Washington, DC
Physicians for Human Rights, Washington, DC
Privacilla.org, http://www.privacilla.org
Privacyactivism.org, Bellevue, WA
Privacy International, Washington, DC
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, San Diego, CA
Privacy Times, Washington, DC
Project On Government Oversight, Washington, DC
Research & Policy Reform Center, Washington, DC
Rutherford Institute, Charlottesville, VA
Second Amendment Foundation, Bellevue, WA
Sentencing Project, Washington, DC
Seventh-Day Adventist Church, World Headquarters, Silver Spring, MD
Sixty Plus Association, Arlington, VA
Society of American Law Teachers, Minneapolis, MN
Sovereign Society, Ltd., Baltimore, MD
Square One Media Network, Seattle, WA
Strategic Issues Research Institute, Arlington, VA
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, Washington, DC
United Church of Christ, Justice & Witness Ministries
United States Committee for Refugees & Immigration and Refugee Services, Washington, DC
USAction, Washington, DC
Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Washington, DC
WILD for Human Rights, San Francisco, CA
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, US Section, Washington, DC

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