The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) ha agreed to help the KKK after the group was denied to the right to “adopt a highway” by Georgia’s Department of Transportation.
KKK member Harley Hanson filed the groups application on May 21 and it was ultimately denied.
When filing for permission to adopt a stretch of highway Hanson promised to deliver at least six volunteers to clean the highway on a regular basis although he refuses to say who those members might be.
Officials in Union County are not sure why their region was chosen since Hanson and his KKK members live in Fannin County and not Union County. As Union County Commissioner Lamar Paris told the AJC:
“We don’t know why they picked Union County. They could have easily chosen the last mile of Fannin County as opposed to the first mile in Union County.”
ACLU of Georgia executive director Debbie Seagraves says she’s “not sure it is an issue” referring to the legal residence of group members.
A precedent on this very issue was established in Missouri in 2005 after a judge ruled that a local KKK chapter could not be banned from adopting a highway. Residents in that area have since complained that the group has not done its part to keep its stretch of highway clean.
The ACLU which plans to go after the state of Georgia using the first amendment admits that a strategy for the case has not yet been developed.
In denying the Klu Klux Klan’s application GDOT officials said the program is only open to “civic-minded organizations in good standing. “
