The ACRU Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2008

Eagle Scout: Save Learning for Life in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES--Eagle Scout and author Hans Zeiger, a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union, today reacted to a February 26 letter from Lambda Legal which asked the City of Los Angeles to cancel its partnerships with the Learning for Life youth program. Lambda called the partnerships "illegal," because Learning for Life is sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America.
"This letter is nothing but a cruel attack on the children of Los Angeles," said Zeiger. "If the city evicts Learning for Life from its police and fire departments, it will be hurting thousands of inner city kids who need role models and life skills.
"This attack on Learning for Life has nothing to do with membership policies. Learning for Life doesn't even discriminate on the basis of religious belief or sexual preference. The Left has a bigger agenda than simply forcing the Boy Scouts to change their membership policies. The Left wants to destroy the Boy Scouts' entire system of values--values that are generally shared and taught by Learning for Life."
"I urge the City of Los Angeles to keep Learning for Life in its city facilities. Without Learning for Life, children will find alternatives: crime, gangs, and drugs. Americans who care about the welfare of our communities should contact City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo at rocky.delgadillo@lacity.org. Tell him to reject this radical agenda to destroy the Boy Scouts and Learning for Life."

HANS ZEIGER, an Eagle Scout, is a senior fellow at the American Civil Rights Union. In addition to volunteering as an assistant Scoutmaster for his troop, Hans is the author of Get Off My Honor: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America. Hans has been a guest on many radio and television programs. He is a student at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy in Malibu, California.

Both Hans Zieger and John Armor will be on the radio March 4.

At 9:40am EST, Hans will be on with Jay Kersting on KLIK 1240AM. He will be talking about the attack on the Boy Scouts. You can listen live here.

Then at 11:33am EST, John will be talking to Greg Allen, on his show, "The Right Balance." He will be talking about the latest ACLU Outrage, ACLU argues over church tax exemption. You can find your local affiliate here or listen online here.

This week is a busy radio week for the ACRU.

On Tuesday, March 11, John Armor will be talking to Greg Allen on "The Right Balance" at 10:20am EDT. He will be talking about the latest ACLU Outrage: ACLU defends: Exhibitionist by Night, Teacher by Day. You can listen online here.

On Wednesday, March 12, John will be talking to Pat Snyder on 550 WSAU-AM in Wausau, WI at 10:05am EDT. He will again be talking about the latest ACLU Outrage: ACLU defends: Exhibitionist by Night, Teacher by Day. You can listen online here.

On Thursday March 13, Hans Zeiger will be talking to Dr. Judy Heist on the "Let Freedom Ring Show" out of Atlanta, GA. He will be talking Lambda Legal and the Boy Scouts at 1:15pm.

On Friday, March 14, will be on the "Stan Milam Show" on 1230 WCLO-AM in Janesville, WI at 11:30am EDT. He will again be talking about the attack on the Boy Scouts. You can listen online here (a free signup is required).

Also on Friday, Hans will be on the "Tri State Viewpoint" with Jean Dean on WRVC-AM in Huntington, WV. He will be on at 12:35pm EDT and will be talking about the attack on the Boy Scouts.

More interviews will be posted as they come in.

In the March 10th Waco Tribune-Herald, Hans Zeiger has an op-ed talking about Texas Governor Rick Perry's book, On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For.

Zeiger discusses the assault that the ACLU and the left have engaged in for years. He also praises Gov. Perry's defense of Scouting.

Says Zeiger,

What Perry calls the "vices of license" are incompatible with "the virtues of liberty." Though the "culture war" is much larger than the Scouting controversies, the attacks on Scouting serve Perry as a potent symbol of what's at stake.

You can get a copy of Rick Perry's book here and you can also read Hans Zeiger book on Scouting, Get Off My Honor: The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America, here.

On March 17th at 12:06PM EDT, Horace Cooper will be talking to Zeb Bell and the "Zeb at the Ranch" show. They will be talking about FISA and the president's call to action. You can hear him on KBAR out of Murtaugh, ID or listen live on the internet here.

John Armor will be talking to Mike McConnell on 700 WLW-AM on Monday, March 17th at 10:00am. He will be talking about the latest ACLU Outrage: The ACLU Gets "Behind" Civil Liberties. You can listen online here or if you are an XM subscriber, you can also tune into Channel 173.

Tomorrow morning, before the Supreme Court hears DC v. Heller, both Horace Cooper and Peter Ferrara will be on the air talking about the case.

First, at 7:30am ET, Horace will be on WTTG Fox 5 News in Washington, DC talking to Bob Sellers.

Then, at 9:30am ET, Peter will be on the "Panhandle Live" show on WEPM 1340AM in Martinsburg, WV.

If you live in either of these areas, check them out.

On March 19th, Peter Ferrara will be on "The Chuck Baker Show" on KKKK-AM in Longmont, CO at 4:00pm ET. He will be discussing the DC Gun Ban Case.

UPDATE: Because of scheduling problems, Peter will be on "The Chuck Baker Show" Thursday, March 20th at 2:00pm

Also on the 20th, Peter will be talking to Jim Buchanan on the "Talk of the Town" show on WICC-AM in Bridgeport, CT. He will be on for the entire 12:00pm hour and talking about the DC Gun Ban Case. Listen online here.

Also on the 19th, Horace Cooper will be talking to Pat Snyder on WSAU-AM in Wassau, WI at 9:20am. The DC Gun Ban Case is the topic of the interview.

On March 20th, Horace Cooper will be "The Right Balance" with Greg Allen on Accent Radio our of Clearwater, FL at 11:50am ET. He is also discussing the DC Gun Ban Case. You can listen online here.

UPDATE: Horace will also be on the "The Doug Guetzloe Report" at 11:30am ET on WAMT 1190AM out of Orlando, FL. He will again be talking about the DC Gun Ban Case. You can listen live here.

You can also read the transcript of the oral arguments in today's Supreme Court hearing of DC v. Heller here.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on March 18, 2008 in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. Heller is a Federal security guard employed during the day to help protect the Federal judiciary at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC. During the workday, he wears a handgun. He applied for a permit to keep a handgun at his home in Washington, DC for self-defense. But his application was denied because under DC law all such applications are denied with only very limited exceptions, as handguns have been effectively banned in DC since 1976. Heller then sued the District arguing that this handgun ban violates his right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

This is potentially an historic landmark decision because it squarely presents the issue of whether that Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, or just some right relating to state militias. The Supreme Court has never decided that issue before. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Second Amendment did protect such an individual right, and held that the DC gun control statute banning handguns was in violation of that right. The court consequently struck down the DC handgun ban as unconstitutional. That decision is now on appeal before the Supreme Court. The transcript of the oral argument in the case is posted at the link below.

http://supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/07-290.pdf

John Armor was quoted on March 20th on the latest ACLU Outrage: ACLU Wants the US to Lose the War on Terrorism on American Family Association's OneNewsNow.com.

Says John:

"They do want to aid these guys," he exclaims. "If you look at it politically, not legally, the ACLU wants the United States to lose in the war on terror because it feels that governments which are socialistic are preferred to what we have -- and those are the kind of people we're up against," he adds. "Of course, the fact that they're murderous dictators seems to escape the interest of the ACLU, so they're rooting for the other side to win and trying to help them."

Check out this ACLU Outrage or any of the others by going here.

On Friday, March 21, Horace Cooper will be talking about "The James Gang" on KCOL-AM out of Loveland, CO. He will be on at 12:30pm ET. You can listen online here.

Please, if you have a moment, head over to savethephillyscouts.org and sign the online petition. This is a project of the ACRU and several other organizations.

As has been noted on this site, the Philadelphia City Council is about to evict the Cradle of Liberty Council from its 80 year old headquarters. We want to know where federal, state and local candidates stand on the issue.

The petition at savethephillyscouts.org is to the media asking to questions every candidate on where they stand with the Boy Scouts. We need a lot of signatures, so please head over there and sign today.

On Saturday March 29, Hans Zieger will be talking to Roger Hedgecock from 1:00-1:30pm ET. about the Philadelphia Scout issue. You can here him in San Diego on KOGO-AM or on one the many affiliates around the country. Check your listings for the station in your area.

On March 31, Hans will be talking to Ed Banker on "Intelligent Radio" on WZNZ-AM out of Jacksonville, FL. He will be on after the 10:30am news break. Again, he will be talking about the Philadelphia Scout issue.

If you have not already done so, please go to savethephillyscouts.org and sign the online petition.

March 31st, the ACRU had two great write-ups online.

The first being on America Family Association's OneNewsNow.com. Hans Zeiger talked to Chad Groening about the problems the Cradle of Liberty Council in Philadelphia is facing. You can read that story here.

The second was on Human Events Online. Chris Fields, the managing editor of Human Events wrote about the ACRU in general in his "Conservative Spotlight." You can read that article here.