A couple of months back, the city of Vista (located just north of San Diego) passed an ordinance requiring people who hire day laborers to register with the city. The ACLU has filed suit before over the ordinance alleging, oddly, that requiring registration infringes on free speech and equal protection rights.

Which raises the question: Do required business licenses, zoning requirements, etc., also violate "free speech and equal protection rights"?

The ACLU filed another suit on Friday after the city sensibly determined that the day laborer registration forms were public records.

The class-action suit – filed on behalf of four anonymous employers – says that releasing the information would discourage people from signing up.

So? That outweighs the public's interest in an open government how exactly? What civil liberty is being infringed upon here?

I just don't get the ACLU.