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# Columnist wrong to slam the ACLU Editor
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/constitution-doesnt-side-against-homeless/
- Published: 2006-02-21T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:17:29.000Z
- Author: David Pisarra
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Paul Bergman Santa Monica*

If Cliff Nichols wants to align himself with those few souls who think that Sheriff Baca is doing a great job of running the jails, that’s his privilege (SMDP, Feb. 15, page 4). But his attack on the ACLU is totally unwarranted. Nichols castigates the ACLU for its position that it is generally improper to segregate prisoners by race, but fails to point out that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in its favor. And while I’m not a member of and certainly don’t speak for the ACLU, I’m confident that virtually all of its members would support temporary separation of racial groups to protect the safety of prisoners and guards.

Equally misleading is Nichols’ blasting the ACLU for failing to file lawsuits against gangs like the Crips and the Mexican Mafia because they discriminate based on race. While I doubt that Nichols is serious, readers should be aware that these gangs are private groups, not government agents, and therefore do not violate the Constitution by discriminating.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/022106.pdf?ref=smdp.com)