ACLU vs. American Civil Liberties

GamePolitics has a rather odd piece today about the ACLU’s new claim that the US is violating the civil liberties of children by not censoring what they see. Or something like that.

[The US has] failed to uphold its commitments to safeguard the rights of youth under 18 from military recruitment and to guarantee basic protections to foreign former child soldiers… U.S. military recruiting practices… target children as young as 11…

And how have they failed?

The Army uses an online video game, called “America’s Army,” to attract young potential recruits at least as young as 13, train them to use weapons, and engage in virtual combat and other military missions… According to Army personnel testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the goal of the then-new recruiting effort that included the “America’s Army” video game was to penetrate youth culture

Granted, yes, the government does not have a right to free speech. Children do, however, have a right to read/view/hear any material which is not deemed “obscene” by the archaic Miller Test. Ergo, the ACLU wishes to take away people’s Constitutional right to access speech and their right to free thought in order to protect their “right” to not be recruited by the military.

And where does this so-called right to be free of pro-military speech come from? A UN protocol. One which, as best as I can tell, only prohibits contractually signing up children as soldiers, not a ban on advertising where they might see it.

Or, in other words, the American Civil Liberties Union is opposing an American civil liberty in favor of a UN mandate. George Orwell couldn’t have dreamed this one up.

Oh, and, look, they’re also claiming that the America’s Army game can “train them to use weapons.” This line is straight out of Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, and the VPC’s playbook. This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed a convergence between the gun grabbers and the censors. It is kind of eerie how the talking points line up here though..