ACLU’s Bill of Rights Day challenge

HONOLULU — Today is Bill of Rights Day. The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i, in celebration of the 220th anniversary of the bill’s ratification, is offering free copies of the Bill of Rights to the public and inviting the public to contribute poems to the second annual “Bill of Rights Day Haiku Challenge.”

 “The Bill of Rights reflects the long-standing and fundamental values of the American people,” ACLU executive director Vanessa Chong said. “These rights are in the spotlight daily in Hawai‘i and on the national level in government policies that impact free speech, freedom of religion, the right to associate with whom we want and the right to be treated fairly under the law.”

The Bill of Rights was added to the federal Constitution and ratified on Dec. 15, 1791, to prevent a repeat of English government tyranny, according to an ACLU press release. In 1941, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Dec. 15 to be “Bill of Rights Day.”

“The Bill of Rights exists to keep the government in check,” Chong said. “Otherwise, we risk losing basic freedoms. Those individuals who are perceived as unpopular, poor or who lack political power are often the first to have their rights taken away. The best insurance is to know your Bill of Rights, use your rights and fight for them. Our responsibility to protect these rights becomes especially critical when government time and again seeks to overly expand its power, to silence marginalized communities or to undermine the rule of law.” 

Free copies of the Bill of Rights and a First Amendment toolkit may be obtained by contacting ACLU of Hawai‘i. Call toll-free 877-544-5906 or email office@acluhawaii.org.

Visit http://acluhi.org/know-your-rights/2011-bill-of-rights-day-haiku-challenge/ to enter a Bill of Rights Day-themed haiku in the 2011 challenge and read other entries and rules.