There are now 225 families in the Nassau chapter and 300 in Suffolk group.

"The D.A. will not take no for an answer," said Barbara Bernstein, director of the Nassau chapter of the civil liberties union.

"We're certainly interested," said the executive director of the civil liberties union's Nassau chapter, Barbara Bernstein.

The First Amendment is the basis of all other freedoms, said Barbara Bernstein, executive director of the Nassau chapter.

But there are also questions, said Dianne Weiss of East Meadow, president of the 225-member Nassau chapter and the mother of twin boys.

Barbara Bernstein, the executive director of the Nassau chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, applauds this change in focus.

Kay McKiernan, president and founder of the Nassau chapter, said the group's philosophy is "Neighbor helping neighbor."

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, the Nassau chapter raised $1.8 million.

Churches with leaders or members that support the Nassau chapter include mainstream Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.

News quickly spread to Long Island and the Nassau chapter sprang up the same year.