New life breathed into ACLU

By Steve Kanigher

Monday, Nov. 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A familiar voice in the fight for individual rights on a national level is about to re-emerge in Nevada after remaining dormant locally for more than a year.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has a new executive director and 11-member board that will meet in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 to form committees and discuss priorities.

New Executive Director Gary Peck, 46, is working out of a Third Street office to help the nonprofit organization get back to the business of litigation, legislation and advocacy. Owner of a law degree from Stanford University, Peck comes from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where he was a teaching fellow.

He calls himself an activist, educator and administrator who has served as a union organizer and advocate of tenant rights. But Peck is quick to dispel the notion that the ACLU is "a bunch of radical leftists."

"We're great believers in the American Constitution," he said. "We believe it should apply to all citizens regardless of race, creed, color or sexual orientation."

Board member Richard Siegel, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, who founded the state chapter in the 1960s, said there are other misconceptions about the ACLU, as well.

"We're not soft on crime," Siegel said. "We just want an intelligent, balanced approach that focuses on violent crime. The ACLU always testifies for alternatives to incarceration for drug use, and we're opposed to the death penalty."

The organization is no stranger to controversy, particularly because it always gets involved in touchy issues, from abortion to neo-Nazi marches. A staunch defender of freedom of speech and religion, the ACLU also supports due process rights.

"We want to make sure that fair procedures are in place before you go to jail or lose your job," Peck said.

He's also quick to note that the ACLU is nonpartisan. Peck said the organization has not been entirely pleased with the civil liberties' records of either President Clinton or former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, the losing Republican presidential nominee.

Under the Clinton administration, says Peck, wiretaps are at record levels and the death penalty has been expanded.

"It is much more difficult now for someone convicted of a crime in the state courts to have that conviction or the penalty reviewed by the federal courts," Peck said.

After Chan Kendrick resigned as executive director of the Nevada chapter in 1995, it fell into limbo and was in dire need of reorganization. With a peak of 1,100 dues-paying members in the 1980s, that number has dropped to about 850 today.

The Las Vegas-based chapter will get an annual $50,000 infusion from the national organization but Peck concedes he'll have to do some fund-raising to run the local operation at full speed.

"An important part of an ACLU affiliate is education and outreach," he said. "As executive director, I'm going to emphasize education and outreach more than the previous executive director. I hope you'll see more of a presence (by the ACLU) in neighborhoods and schools."

On a national level, the ACLU takes a pro-choice position on abortion, and also is fighting for gays and lesbians to be treated like any other citizens. Peck said the local affiliate will keep a close eye on those issues in Nevada.

On the abortion issue, for instance, Peck said the chapter likely would oppose legislative attempts forcing teenage mothers to notify their parents before obtaining an abortion.

"As a practical matter, when you have a notification requirement it makes it more difficult for people to freely exercise choice," he said.

Aside from wanting to participate in relevant committee hearings of the 1997 Legislature, the ACLU will continue to battle police brutality and illegal treatment of homeless people.

Peck said the chapter will form a litigation committee that will advise him on possible lawsuits for the ACLU. The organization normally relies on local attorneys to volunteer their time for court battles, but the ACLU will pay necessary expenses.

He also said the national organization would lend some of its own attorneys to a case if necessary. Peck emphasized that the ACLU will take on cases even with only a single plaintiff as long as the litigation has broad implications.

He cited at least three recent local examples of situations that may warrant ACLU action. One is the way security guards hired by the Fremont Street Experience treat people considered undesirable.

"One of the problems is you can't hassle people based on their appearance because you don't like how they look," Peck said. "Another problem are the security guards and how far their authority extends. It doesn't extend to the point where people's civil liberties are being violated."

Peck said Operation Weed and Seed, a national program aimed at halting crime and developing social service programs in low-income neighborhoods, also has problems locally.

"As I understand it, this is a program that is using a disproportionate share of its resources on the weed side of the formula in communities of color, and using a disproportionate share of its resources on the seed side in communities that are predominantly white," he said.

He criticized Metro Police for reportedly blacklisting members of a musical "drum circle" from Sunset Park after one of the individuals was arrested on a marijuana possession charge.

"That (blacklist) on its face does not sound constitutional," Peck said. "It's outrageous as far as I'm concerned."