ACLU of Southern California

The government of the United States is built on two basic principles: (1) majority rule through democratic elections; and (2) protection of individuals from any attempts by the majority to curtail individual liberties and rights, as spelled out in the Bill of Rights. The Constitution and Bill of Rights set the ground rules for individual liberty, which include the freedoms of speech, association and religion, freedom of the press, and the right to privacy, to equal protection of the laws and to due process of law. The ACLU was founded to defend and secure these rights and to extend them to people who have been excluded from their protection.