ACLU and Rights

Re Stephen F. Rohde’s paean to Upton Sinclair and the ACLU, Commentary, May 18: “For 75 years the ACLU . . . has struggled to remain true to Sinclair’s courageous spirit: to protect freedom of speech, press and assembly; to protest lawless government repression; to come to the defense of the powerless. And, above all, to preserve and uphold the Bill of Rights.”

When last I looked, the Bill of Rights included the 2nd Amendment. How many battles has the ACLU fought to “preserve and uphold” the 2nd Amendment? The Bill of Rights also includes the 9th and 10th amendments. How much effort has the ACLU expended on behalf of those elements of the Bill of Rights?

To a disinterested observer, it might appear that the ACLU’s “upholding” of the Bill of Rights is a bit, well, selective. Limited in fact to the 1st and 5th amendments and the others be damned.

With friends like the ACLU and Rohde, the Constitution hardly needs enemies.

JAMES F. GLASS

Chatsworth