A fighter for our rights

Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

Gary Peck said on public radio the other morning that he “poured a lot of heart and life’s energy into that job.” He was talking about his recently concluded 13 years as executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

He was right about his heart and life’s energy.

Wherever there was a constitutional issue, whether it was a homeless person being shunted from one street to another, a member of a minority group fighting discrimination, or a police officer telling someone he couldn’t hold a sign or otherwise express his on a public sidewalk, there was Gary Peck.

He was interviewed recently on Dave Berns’ “State of Nevada” program on KNPR-FM. The interview, printed in Friday’s Las Vegas Sun, was headlined, “Peck presses for free speech as if he’s still at the ACLU.” It is a measure of Peck’s passion that he remains devoted to constitutionally protected freedoms.

In addition to throwing himself and the resources of his organization into free-speech cases, Peck led the ACLU on many other issues, including overcrowding and inadequate health care in prisons, the huge caseloads carried by public defenders, voting rights, gay and lesbian rights and access for the disabled.

Residents of Nevada have benefited from Peck’s actions in the courts and his appearances before local government boards and the state Legislature. Freedoms, if not defended vigorously, can weaken over time. Peck was never going to let that happen on his watch.

Berns expressed our thought when he said to Peck, “It just doesn’t sound right to call you the former director of the ACLU of Nevada.” We can take heart, though, that largely because of the high standard Peck set, the ACLU of Nevada will continue its influential role in our lives.