About - ACLU of Hawai'i

About the ACLU

Who is the ACLU of Hawai'i?

"ACLU" stands for the American Civil Liberties Union. Our mission is to uphold and defend the civil liberties granted in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution and the extension of those rights granted in the Hawai'i State Constitution.

The ACLU of Hawai'i is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization, which shares a common national agenda with ACLU affiliates and chapters across the country. The national ACLU which binds these affiliates is headquartered in New York City and has a nationwide membership of more than 500,000 people. The ACLU of Hawai'i sets its own local agenda in response to local community issues.

The Bill of Rights is the document that makes America unique. It guarantees our individual freedoms. However, these freedoms should never be taken for granted, and we must always be vigilant that these freedoms are not taken away or eroded.

Minorities and people with unpopular opinions are often the first to have their rights violated, since they have less influence than the "mainstream". However, our society is not truly free unless all people have the same rights. This principle sometimes generates controversy for the ACLU, but it is important to understand that it is the rights of everyone which we are defending and not necessarily the views or actions of any particular individual or group.

How Do We Defend People's Rights?

The ACLU of Hawai'i protects the rights of the people in three ways. First, with our legislative program we lobby government bodies such as the state legislature and county councils to keep laws from being passed which will encroach on people's freedoms. Second, in our legal program we advocate for people whose rights have been violated, filing suit in the courts if necessary. Finally, with our public education program we try to inform the people about the rights they have in order to curb future government violations.

A Brief History of the ACLU of Hawai'i

Although the national ACLU was founded in 1920, it wasn't until 1949 that there was an attempt to form a local affiliate in Hawai'i.

During the late 1940's and early 1950's, the most prominent civil liberties issue was the fear of communism. At this time, the rights of communists and people accused of being communists were being severely restricted. While there was a strong need to defend these people's rights, the widespread fear of these individuals made it very difficult to do so. For this reason, the early history of the ACLU of Hawai'i is marked by a number of failed attempts to establish a lasting organization.

The 1949 attempt failed, but in the early 1950's, the Hawai'i Civil Liberties Committee was organized by Steve Murin. Its goal was to defend John and Aiko Reinecke, who were fired from their public school teaching jobs because of alleged communists leanings. The Committee was active for a few years but was never recognized by the national ACLU.

In 1953, about sixty people gathered, wrote by-laws, and elected a board of directors to from an official ACLU affiliate. Communism was still an issue, so the organization worked hard to prove its non-partisan nature. Allan Saunders, considered the founder of the present ACLU of Hawai'i, spoke for the group, noting that the national ACLU had defended Fascists, Protestants, and Catholics as well as Communists. "Unless people in the community are willing to defend the civil liberties of others," Allan said, "they will be lost to everyone eventually." Unfortunately, this organization also dissolved due to lack of infrastructure.

Finally, in 1965, many supporters of the previous attempts met to form the current local affiliate. It was better organized than any in the past and in September of that year, was recognized by the national organization.

In 1972, the ACLU of Hawai'i hired its first full-time employee and has grown steadily since. Today we maintain four full-time staff members, who along with board members and volunteers carry out the mission of the ACLU.

ACLU of Hawai’i v. ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation

The ACLU of Hawai’i’s work to protect fundamental freedoms is based on a three-pronged approach: lobbying, litigation and public education.

In order to support all three advocacy tools and to comply with federal law, it is necessary to have two organizational entities: the ACLU of Hawai’i and the ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation. Fully funding both is vital to protecting civil liberties in Hawaii and across the country.

The ACLU of Hawai’i is a 501(c)(4) corporation, but gifts to it are not tax-deductible. It is the membership organization, and you have to be a member to get your ACLU card. ACLU of Hawai’i monies fund our legislative lobbying – important work that cannot be supported by tax-deductible funds. Thus, your membership dues support our lobbying efforts in Washington, DC and Hawai’i.

The ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Foundation gifts support our litigation and public education efforts. Gifts to the ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation are fully tax-deductible to the donor.

Many donors choose to make tax-deductible gifts to the ACLU of Hawai’i Foundation but also make gifts to the ACLU of Hawai’i in order to maintain their “card-carrying” membership status and to support our important legislative lobbying efforts.

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