Many of you have probably seen articles about or the video showing the couple who walked into various offices of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, posing as a pimp and prostitute, and the alleged advice that ACORN staff at these offices provided to them regarding how to maintain a prostitution business and evade paying taxes.

As a reaction to this news story, as well as concerns from some on the right that ACORN was also involved in voter registration fraud during the 2008 election, the Senate passed a bill yesterday preventing ACORN from receiving any federal funding for their operations.  Additionally, today, as part of a bill that increases funding for higher education, the House of Representatives included and overwhelmingly passed an amendment presented by the GOP leadership which not only defunds ACORN, but prohibits federal funds for any indicted organizations.  Not convicted.  Indicted.

I am not here to defend ACORN.  What was seen on that video was certainly damning, and if they truly are engaged in illegal actions on either front of which they are accused, they need to be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.

I will remind you, however, that for both individuals and organizations, the law applies the same: you are innocent until proven guilty.  ACORN, just like you if you were accused of a crime, deserves due process.

So this is where I have a serious problem with what the House and Senate have done.  Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution provides that “no Bill of Attainder shall be passed by the Congress.”  In Lehman’s terms, a Bill of Attainder is an act of any legislative body declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial.

Both bills passed in the Congress clearly do this.  Not only do they punish this organization (or in the case of the House bill, any organization) without a conviction, but the House version makes it legal to punish organizations that are merely indicted.  An indictment is not a confirmation of guilt.  It is merely the initiation of the process of determining guilt.

Both bills are clearly unconstitutional, and I do not see how anyone who claims to be a constitutionalist, or anyone who is of the opinion that the sacred document of our democracy should be read as it is written, can deny that.  So I am quite disappointed in what the Congress has done over the past two days, and while I am fairly certain neither bill will be signed into law as it is currently written, it is still a sad state of affairs that legislators fail to refer to the founding document of our democracy before pursuing legislative action.

Democrats and Republicans alike are responsible for this reactionary legislative failure, and it is a shame.  When ACORN or any other organization like it is given its due process and found guilty of a crime, I have no problem with defunding them and holding them fully accountable.  Until then, they should be given the same rights of any other individual or organization accused of a crime.  I am sure you value your right to a due process, and there is no reason they should not have that right.