MORE ON MOLLY IVINS

ACLU Mourns Passing of Molly Ivins

Photographer: Paul Traves DONATE Remember Molly Ivins by making a gift to the Molly Ivins Fund for Justice and Liberty. VIDEO Molly Ivins gives an impassioned account of the ACLU’s ongoing fight for freedom of religion and belief. Watch the video.

By Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director

The ACLU was deeply saddened by the death of legendary journalist and columnist Molly Ivins, who passed away on January 31, 2007 after a long battle with cancer.

She was a much-loved member of the ACLU family, a steadfast supporter of civil liberties and highly respected for her staunch commitment to the protection of individual freedoms. Her cutting wit, remarkable intellect and down-home wisdom will be terribly missed.

In recent years, Molly, in her ever-folksy style, used her columns to point out how the Bush administration, in the name of national security and patriotism, has curtailed Americans’ constitutional rights and usurped excessive power. Molly’s appreciation for the ACLU’s work in fighting off these assaults is best understood in her own words. In a July 2005 column, she wrote: “We suffer the worst attack on this country since Pearl Harbor, and the Bush administration sends the FBI after the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU exists to protect every citizen’s rights as defined in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States. The ACLU works solely through the legal system: It does not advocate violence, terrorism or any other damn thing except the Bill of Rights. Since when is that extremist? … We are living in a time when our government is investigating an organization that stands for the highest and best American ideals.”

In an interview for a documentary on the ACLU, Ivins, commenting on the importance of religious liberty, recognized the ACLU’s unrelenting persistence in defending that ideal: “That principle," she said, "is so important that it’s worth being a pain in the ass about. And that’s what the ACLU is.”

She held a special place in the heart of the ACLU of Texas, Ivins’ home state. As Will Harrell, Executive Director of the Texas affiliate and a close friend of Molly said, “She was a huge supporter of civil liberties and a national icon and she will be mourned by many. But at the ACLU of Texas, we’re deeply saddened that we lost a neighbor and a friend.”

She was one-of-a-kind, but we will continue to do the important work that would make her proud. And we will laugh at ourselves, as she would have wanted from us. The ACLU is establishing the Molly Ivins Fund for Justice and Liberty in Ivins’ honor. To make a gift to the Fund, please go here: http://www.aclu.org/mollyivinsfund