Lance Corporal Sok Khak Ung no longer has the right to free speech. This is because he was shot dead by a gang member who mistakenly took he and his friends for members of a rival gang. It wasn’t as if they were cruising the streets looking for trouble either. Ung and his friends were "free-style rapping” at a barbecue in celebration of his return from Iraq, his return to his neighborhood, a neighborhood mired in the hopelessness that a gang haven has to offer. This is when and where the murder took place. Over his backyard fence the shots rang out from the weapon of a criminal that Ung didn’t know. It is ironic, and tragically so, that LC Ung spent a five month tour of duty in Iraq fighting against and eliminating the remnants of a murderous and oppressive regime, getting injured by shrapnel and receiving the Purple Heart for his service only to die in his own backyard, the victim of senseless gang violence. The quagmire for Ung was in Long Beach California, not Baghdad, Iraq.

Ung’s father brought his family here to the United States in 1979 to escape the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. He did it legally too, not skipping over the border in the middle of the night or paying some coyote to get them to the land of opportunity. He put his own life on the line so he could offer a better one to his family. He arrived in this country with dreams of simplicity that respected the bounds of humility. He embraced the opportunity to work rather than depending on the government to subsidize his life and found himself engaged in the art of being a handyman. He works in his small community in Long Beach, California, a community the locals call Little Phnom Penh because of the concentration of Cambodians who call it home. Mr. Ung said the dreams he had for his son were simple, "I wanted to see him grow up, stay in school and get a good education and a good job," he said through another of his sons who was interpreting for him. "That's what we came here for."

But no matter the fact that Mr. Ung did the right thing by his family. No matter that he reached the land of promise and did it by the rules. No matter that he chose the respectable and admirable path of pride and hard work over the easy excuses and self-pity that could have seen him feeding off of the public trough like so many other unmotivated and self-absorbed people in our country who routinely abuse the system. For all of the things that Mr. Ung did correctly in his life, escaping a country enveloped in war and persecution, setting up life in a new country for his family among a community of strangers, and working hard everyday to set an example and provide for his family, his reward was having his son murdered for coming home and singing.

The acceptance of gangs in our society has reached such a pitiful level that many among us have simply decried it as a part of life. People who live in areas that are considered "gang turf” have even started to accept the fact that sporadic gunfire and ridiculously loud car stereos have replaced the sounds nature had chosen to adorn the hours of the night when most of the world sleeps. The unwelcome edit of nature’s symphony all courtesy of those who would hear a group of people enjoying themselves, celebrating the return of a friend from a situation where he put his life on the line everyday, and feel the need to end it through the senseless use of violence because they suspected the revelers were members of a rival gang. No proof of the matter just the thought and then deadly action, action that snuffed out the life of someone who had enough honor to voluntarily serve his country.

When we look at this tragic and needless loss of life invariably we have to wonder how we allow this kind of activity to continue. There is no question that we know it is wrong. Each time a young person, the son or the daughter of one who feels so helpless in the matter, is laid to rest courtesy of a barrage of firepower usually attributed to military force, we hear the cries of a loved one giving testimony to that wrong. There is also no question as to whether we know who condones and perpetrates the illegal actions that have come to be known as gang activity. Gang-bangers walk around so arrogantly displaying their gang colors and flashing their gang signs that one would have to possess the ocular wherewithal the likes of Stevie Wonder not to be able to see them. They display their affiliations proudly and assert their brand of dominance whenever and wherever they feel the need. It matters not that innocent people are trying to go about their lives free of the evils of gang activity. It matters not that most people want to be free to learn in a classroom, go about their occupations or even celebrate the return of an American hero devoid of the threat of death, senseless death, at the hands of pompous ignorance.

The arrogance of the gang mentality has no room for respecting those who choose not to participate. Instead it embraces the thought of their right to exist. After all, it really is all about their right to free speech and their right to assembly, right? If we were to outlaw gangs and enforce laws created to make our streets safe from their illegal and violent activities we would be infringing on their civil rights, right? If you disagree I am sure any local chapter of the ACLU would be happy to explain how gangs have the right to exist even though the product they give back to the community is death, drug addiction, violence and the destruction of life and community. Of course you would probably get a much straighter explanation from any inner-city gang cop who stands, hands tied by the courts, courtesy of the ACLU, helpless to do what he or she knows needs to be done in order to make the streets safer for respectable citizens.

I defy anyone to find one thing good any organized gang has done for their community or their country. It cannot be done. While groups such as the 4H Club in the Los Angeles Area are being threatened with non-existence by the ACLU and the NAACP because they can’t attract enough potential minority members from their community, gangs such as the ‘Bloods’ and the ‘Cryps’ have enrollment numbers that rival those generated in college admissions offices all over the country. While groups such as the Boy Scouts of America are being threatened with lawsuits because they adhere to their beliefs of traditional values, love of country, and respect for God, values that have been their center for decades, the ‘Latin Kings’ and the ‘Gangster Disciples’ are teaching children as young as sixth grade to sell narcotics and pimp out their female counterparts.

Our society, courtesy of those who would bastardize the laws of our land and the Constitution of our country, finds itself defending those who would rob, cheat, steal, harm and murder while those who live honorably, work hard and risk their lives trying to overcome the adversity the world holds have to learn to live with the sickness that is defended by organization such as the ACLU.

Mr. Ung, a Cambodian immigrant to the United States will bury his son, Lance Corporal Sok Khak Ung of the United States Marine Corps, hero and Purple Heart recipient for his sacrifice in battle for his country, his corps and his unit. Mr. Ung will bury his son, Sok Khak, for whom he had the simple dream of peace and prosperity. And while Mr. Ung buries and grieves for his son, whom he risked his life for in escaping the murderous land of the Khmer Rouge, the indignant arrogance of the creature that took his life finds himself reloading his weapon and putting another notch on the barrel - "Yo, homie! Good cap! That was straight up,” - all because of the bastardization of our system of rights by organizations such as the ACLU.

Mr. Ung will bury his son and grieve. We, the law abiding citizens of the United States are in the process of burying the American dream and we don’t even know it, courtesy of the ACLU, and organizations like theirs that embrace the idea of defending the offender for semantics’ sake rather than embracing the responsibility of defending the right for our country to exist freely and without threat of having our heads blown off while we are celebrating a homecoming. Yo, homies! Good cap! Give me some more of that free legal assistance! The blood of Lance Corporal Sok Khak Ung is on the hands of the ACLU. Sleep well, defenders of the offenders.

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.