Category Archives: ADF in the News

Daily Caller: If the threatened lawsuit by the unnamed parents materializes, it would face substantial legal hurdles according to David Cortman, an attorney who specializes in the First Amendment at Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative-leaning nonprofit. “It doesn’t create a constitutional crisis to sing Christmas songs at Christmastime,” Cortman told the Daily Mail. “If every time there was a piece of art or classical musical with a religious theme, we censored it, we would be eliminating much from the students’ education.”

KPHO.com: “It is legal to celebrate national holidays like Christmas in the public square,” said Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is an alliance-building legal ministry advocating for the right of people to freely live out their faith. “Public officials should not fear attacks from atheists because their freedom to participate in community celebrations is protected under the First Amendment,” Tedesco said in his own letter to the Arizona secretary of state and various city and school officials in Prescott. [Click here to read the full letter (PDF)]

Paul Coleman on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss his new book. | MP3 audio 5:35 mins

Jordan Lorence at Townhall: Each year, misguided government officials and fearful corporate executives try to censor expressions of Christmas, and, each year, after people object, others deny such censorship exists. But it does. This year’s examples include . . .

Alan Sears at the Human Life International Truth and Charity Forum: The 19th century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky once wisely said, “If God does not exist, then everything is permitted.” Christians continue to wage a political and legal battle against a predominantly secular culture about the law and the meaning of life—both increasingly corrupted by what Blessed Pope John Paul II coined a “culture of death.”

Examiner.com: Today, Dec. 19, 2012 it was announced by Alliance Defending Freedom that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) officially complained to the Arizona Secretary of State that their participation in a privately sponsored Christmas lighting ceremony in front of the county courthouse violates the Constitution. A false claim to be sure, but they will try anything to stifle the traditions that they do not agree with.

Todd Starnes at Fox News: “For them to include traditional religious Christmas carols is perfectly constitutional,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. “The courts have clearly held that it’s constitutional for schools to include traditional religious carols as part of a secular educational music program.” The ADF said they sent a letter to the Missoula, Mont. School district advising them of their rights under the law and offered to give them legal support in the event of a lawsuit.

Christian Newswire: As a result of increasing attacks on religious freedom, many persons of conscience have meritorious claims for harassment, defamation, and discrimination. With his decades of experience in this area, Charles LiMandri has been selected to head up a joint strike team comprised of the FCDF and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is making available its nationwide network of thousands of attorneys to assist in these cases at the local level under Mr. LiMandri’s direct supervision.

Bill Donohue at Newsmax: While there have been many organizations fighting the foes of Christmas — the Catholic League, the Thomas More Law Center, the Alliance Defending Freedom, the American Family Association — without the participation of men and women in our nation’s towns, villages, and cities, we wouldn’t be winning. Here are a few examples:

The New American: Alan Sears of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, said in a statement that Judge Bork “stands as a constitutional giant of our generation, indeed, one of the greatest legal minds and tireless defenders of religious freedom in American history.” Sears said that Bork “had a dramatic impact on our nation, on its legal culture, and on the minds and hearts of many of its finest judges, law professors, students, and attorneys. Perhaps his greatest mark was the restoration of scholarship on Originalism, which has helped preserve the ingenious framework for freedom forged by our nation’s founders that many others in the legal profession had hoped to toss into the dustbin of history.”

Reality Check: Alliance Defending Freedom filed the suit on behalf of the Walkers, a pair of anti-choice activists who are claiming not only are the taxpayers of Minnesota being forced to pay for abortions for poor women against their will but that those abortions are an act of eugenics on the African American community. The suit ignores the fact that in Doe v. Gomez, Minnesota established that the right to an abortion is a civil right and that as long as the state pays for services related to pregnancy though Medicaid it must also pay to terminate pregnancies, too.

Baptist Press at Florida Baptist Witness: “Marriage between a man and a woman is a universal good that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western Civilization,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jim Campbell said in a statement. ADF supports DOMA and Prop 8. “Marriage expresses the truth that men and women bring distinct, irreplaceable gifts to family life. The ProtectMarriage.com legal team looks forward to advocating before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the people’s right to preserve this fundamental building block of civilization.”

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: If you’ve followed the work of Alliance Defending Freedom for long, you won’t be surprised to learn that, at Christmas time as throughout the year, Christian college students across the country – including your children and grandchildren – have to contend with administrators (paid by your tax dollars) who leave “no room in the inn” for faith and free expression.

Jeremy Tedesco at the Speak Up Movement Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom recently settled the lawsuit it brought on behalf of Julea Ward against Eastern Michigan University. EMU expelled Julea–a stellar student with a 3.91 GPA who was nearly done with the program–for merely inquiring whether she should refer a client with whom she had a values conflict

Matt Bowman at Townhall: Echoing this view, some Christians supporting Obama urge that religious people accept exemptions from ObamaCare’s mandates that would protect only churches and associated non-profit organizations. This would let the federal government crush the Christian laity’s conscience with abandon . . . This minimalist view towards religion denies Christmas. It says that ordinary folks are not capable of preparing the way of the Lord in this world. Ultimately this view denies that Christ really comes into daily life and work. This is why the government says Christians have no claim to be free from ObamaCare’s demand that they betray Christ. Christian denominations as well as other religions reject this secularist view.

Andy Norman at Bell Towers: Most scholars, jurists, and those who love God recognize that preserving our religious freedoms in the United States today is inseparably linked with promoting religious diversity. When the new, the small, the controversial, and the unpopular are able to express their beliefs freely, we all benefit. That freedom, however, comes under attack every Christmastime. . . . In support of an accurate reading of the Establishment Clause numerous groups have joined the battle in recent years. These include the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Legal Society, TMLC, Liberty Council and many others. Thanks to these organizations and the private law firms and attorneys willing to take these cases, the tide may be turning.

Joe Infranco on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss the litigation. | MP3 audio 11:28 mins

Kevin Theriot appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the Julia Ward case. | MP3 audio 14:38 mins

LifeSiteNews: The Alliance Defending Freedom has made itself available to any notaries public in Maine who seek their help. Conley says, “we are so thankful for organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom because the other side works through intimidation.”

Interview with Mr Piero Tozzim of Defending Freedom Alliance, a defender of life . . . There is something truly ironic and downright perverse that the United States is currently promoting the civilization of death, not only in their area, but also abroad. Meanwhile, in the post-communist countries are reborn movements for the defense of life and the renewal of Christian identity – says Mr Piero Tozzi, American lawyer and defender of life . . .

Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: You’ll be shocked at the unconstitutional tactics colleges and universities use to silence and intimidate Christians. On campuses all across America, school officials . . .

Baptist Press: ADF is pleased Ward and “her constitutionally protected rights have been vindicated,” said a spokesman for the legal organization. “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The 6th Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” ADF Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said in a written release.

Bradley Abramson at the Christian Post: For more than half a century the city of Santa Monica, Calif., allowed local churches to place nativity scenes in one of the city parks during the Christmas season. However, this practice was stopped after Christmas 2011 when Santa Monica atheist Damon Vix secured a permit to place an atheist display near the nativity scene – for he constructed not a “celebrate atheism” display, but one that disparaged and attacked Christianity.

Live Action News: Alliance Defending Freedom’s cover story in their latest issue of “Faith & Justice” covered the story of twelve nurses who stood up against a hospital when their faith and ethics were on the line. Here is a part of their story, but I would encourage you to read the entire account, found here.

The Alliance Alert will not be published on Wednesday, December 12th and Thursday, December 13th.

Heather Gebelin Hacker at Speak Up Movement: At Christmas, one would hope that the only controversy surrounding the Salvation Army and their iconic bell ringers would be their fictional dispute with Homelessville and Justin Timberlake. But for a student body obsessed with political correctness at any cost, the mere presence of the bell ringers near campus doing their traditional collection of funds for the needy is intolerable if they are doing so in the name of a Christian organization.

WorldNetDaily: ADF said even though counseling referrals are a common and accepted professional practice, the university instead chose to expel Ward “when she sought to avoid violating her religious beliefs by referring a potential client to another counselor.” Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco, who argued before the court in October of last year, said public universities “shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree.” “The 6th Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” he said. “When Julea sought to refer a potential client to another qualified counselor – a common, professional practice that is endorsed by her profession’s code of ethics – EMU denied the referral. Then it attacked and questioned her religious beliefs, ultimately expelling her from the program. We are pleased that Julea and her constitutionally protected rights have been vindicated.”

Alan Sears on the Hugh Hewitt Show discusses the litigation. | MP3 audio 10:06 mins

Matt Bowman appeared on Relevant Radio with Shiela Liaugminas to discuss the HHS litigation. | MP3 audio 11:41 mins

Ben Bull at Townhall: The attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi brought to light that terrorism is on the rise in North Africa. But for African Christians this has been a reality for many years.

Daily Caller at Yahoo News: Legal proceedings began in 2009 when the Alliance Defense Fund (now called Alliance Defending Freedom) filed a lawsuit on Ward’s behalf. At the time, she was training to become a K-12 school counselor in Eastern Michigan’s graduate counseling program. The Alliance Defense Fund had sought a court order requiring EMU to change its curriculum to permit referrals in cases when the religious beliefs of counseling students could cause a professionalism conflict. Such cases could occur when sexual relationships, abortion, premarital sex and other contentious moral issues arise.

Gayopolis: In related news, the anti-gay Texas Values group, along with the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a “Memorandum of Law” to Abbott’s office last week explaining why the group believes that DP benefits offered by Pflugerville Independent School District violate state law.

AnnArbor.com: Ward’s legal counsel, Jeremy Tedesco, said he is pleased and feels that Ward’s constitutionally protected rights have been “vindicated.” “Public universities shouldn’t force students to violate their religious beliefs to get a degree. The Sixth Circuit rightly understood this and ruled appropriately, so the university has done the right thing in settling this case,” Tedesco said.

Detroit Free Press: The lawsuit was filed in April 2009 by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Julea Ward, a student in the university’s Graduate School Counseling Program, where she was training to become a K-12 school counselor.

Paul Coleman at IntoleranceAgainstChristians.eu: Summarizing what appears to be the popular position on “hate speech” laws, two judges of the European Court of Human Rights recently held that “extremist opinions can bring much more harm than restrictions on freedom of expression.” This book seeks to challenge this prevailing orthodoxy by detailing the stark history of the internationalization of “hate speech” laws, their present day application and their possible future. Over thirty “hate speech” cases are discussed and a fully up-to-date compendium containing hundreds of European “hate speech” laws is included.

MSN.com: The Alliance Defending Freedom criticized the decision, saying it robbed the grade schooler of her First Amendment rights. School reps are now meeting to discuss the situation and come up with a policy should this happen again in the future.

Fox News (includes video): The Alliance Defending Freedom, which advocates religious freedom, criticized the school’s decision in a statement. “The censorship of this young student’s poem about her grandfather is repugnant to the First Amendment rights of all students and sends an impermissible message of hostility towards religion,” the group argued.

Jordan Lorence at SpeakUp Movement: Both Will’s column and Lukianoff’s book show the importance of Alliance Defending Freedom and allies to fight these unconstitutional policies, and why students and faculty need to stand up for liberty and freedom of expression. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys stand ready to protect students and faculty members from these unconstitutional policies restricting their speech. Universities are no longer a marketplace of ideas, encouraging robust debate, when they adopt and enforce these unconstitutional policies.

Matt Sharp appeared on KNRS with Patrick Wiscombe to discuss this: ‘God’ censored in 1st grader’s Veteran’s Day poem. | MP3 audio 7:17 mins

Jim Campbell on KGO 810 AM San Francisco to discuss the litigation. | MP3 audio 2:55 mins

Matt Bowman at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Religious freedom won a victory in New York in the first week of December when a federal court ruled on behalf of the Archdiocese of New York and other Catholic entities and …

Warren Richey at Christian Science Monitor on Yahoo News: The Supreme Court’s decision to take up appeals over DOMA and California’s Prop. 8 ban on gay marriage elicited positive reactions from advocates on both sides of the contentious issue . . . Jim Campbell, a lawyer with the conservative group, Alliance Defending Freedom, stressed that Americans have a right to preserve the traditional definition of marriage. He said the institution forms a “fundamental building block of civilization.” “Marriage between a man and a woman is a universal good that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western civilization,” he said. “Marriage expresses the truth that men and women bring distinct, irreplaceable gifts to family life.”

One News Now: The Scandinavian Human Rights Committee has handed Alliance Defending Freedom the 2012 Human Dignity Award, saying ADF has “truly become a global force.”

WorldNetDaily: ADF reported today “people are once again free to peacefully share their faith at the ‘Bentleyville Tour of Lights’ event.” “The government cannot ban the First Amendment in a public park just because event officials don’t like the message that a person is sharing,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs, who is co-counsel in the case with Nate Kellum of the Center for Religious Expression. “The court has done the right thing in enforcing what the original order sought to protect: the constitutionally protected freedom of citizens to engage in non-disruptive speech in a public place.”

WalshLaw: This morning’s lively en banc proceedings at the Fourth Circuit in abortion-counseling-related First Amendment challenges did not produce clear signs of a winner, but raised questions (at least in my mind) about what legal issues the court took the cases en banc to address. There was virtually no discussion of commercial speech doctrine, and no judge or set of judges developed a line of questioning that would seemingly lay the foundation to displace strict scrutiny as the appropriate standard of review. That said, oral argument reveals only so much. | Related ADF Media Information Page and Press Releases

Video and resources by the Alliance Defending Freedom and Gateways to Better Education.

Available here.

Christian Civic League Faith Matters in Maine: Protect and prepare for any conflict that same sex marriage will bring to your church. Click here for part 2 of a two part “Faith Matters in Maine” interview with Joel Oster, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom. Listen to Faith Matters in Maine with Carroll Conley, Jr. and Bob Emrich every Monday at 6:15 pm (WHCF 88.5, Hodgdon/Houlton 93.7, and Presque Isle 102.7)

WWWNTRadio: An attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which advocates for religious rights and freedoms, criticized the school’s decision. “America’s public schools should encourage, not restrict, the constitutionally protected freedom of students to express their faith,” said Matt Sharp, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, in a statement. “Students should not be censored when speaking about their faith or honoring those who valiantly served to protect our freedoms. … The censorship of this young student’s poem about her grandfathers is repugnant to the First Amendment rights of all students and sends an impermissible message of hostility towards religion.”

Religion Clause Blog: However, the court refused to hold defendants in contempt because of ambiguity in the language of the original preliminary injunction, instead issuing a new modified injunction to cover future Festivals. Alliance Defending Freedom issued a press release announcing the court’s decision. Duluth News Tribunereports on the decision.

C-FAM: Piero Tozzi, Senior Legal Counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, denied any such effects when the principles were first published saying that international law “is not an empty vessel into which currently politically correct content can be poured into and labeled ‘customary.’”

Catholic New York: On Dec. 11, oral arguments in that appeal are scheduled before New York’s Second Circuit Court of Appeals; representing the foundation, pro bono, is the Alliance Defending Freedom. The foundation also has a raft of endorsements from organizations and prominent individuals, including Cardinal Dolan, supporting its effort.

Care2.com: Supported by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian conservative legal group and a private New Hampshire law firm, Care Net is arguing that the government’s actions violated the Fair Housing Act and its constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law. In October, a federal judge ordered a federal hearing officer to consider these arguments in deciding whether Care Net should get the loan.

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bob Dutko Show | MP3 audio 11:05 mins | Related Alliance Defending Freedom press releases: ‘Christmas’ trees axed at NC college and Good grief! Atheist group disgruntled with ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Matt Sharp appeared on NC Family Policy Matters with Bill Brooks to discuss anti-bullying policies. | MP3 audio 14:17 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: ‘God’ censored in 1st grader’s Veteran’s Day poem. | MP3 audio 5:37 mins

LifeNews: “Pregnancy centers, which offer real help and hope to women, shouldn’t be punished by political allies of abortion sellers,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman, co-counsel for the Centro Tepeyac Women’s Center. Bowman added: “Pro-life centers provide women with the emotional support and practical resources they need, giving them more choices. They should be free to share that message instead of being compelled to provide the government’s preferred message, which sends women elsewhere. The 4th Circuit panel was right to rule against Montgomery County’s law, and we trust the full court will agree.”

Jordan Lorence at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: Each year, many liberals and secularists deny that there is any effort by anyone to censor Christmas. They claim that “Religious Right” leaders diabolically promote a phoney “War on Christmas” in order to bamboozle ignorant and gullible Christians into donating money for their efforts to thwart this allegedly nonexistent threat.

Greg Baylor at Speak Up Movement University Blog: The Florida Department of Education recently ended its discriminatory exclusion of a Christian college from one of its tuition assistance programs.

Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: These election results are being touted as a dramatic turning point in American history. Our opponents claim that full-fledged acceptance of same-sex “marriage” by all of America is inevitable. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon announce whether it will hear cases involving both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Prop 8. These are two of the most significant legal battles in our fight to protect marriage in America. In light of these developments, many Christians are wondering if the struggle to preserve marriage is worth it. “What’s the use?” they ask. If you’re wondering why this battle is still important, here are 5 reasons why marriage still matters – and why it matters to you . . .

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Jim Campbell regarding a federal court’s decision in Sevcik v. Sandoval to uphold the state of Nevada’s ability to maintain laws and institute constitutional amendments that protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman . . .

Matt Sharp appeared on Viewpoints Radio with Lockwood Phillips to discuss this: ‘God’ censored in 1st grader’s Veteran’s Day poem. | MP3 audio 23:23 mins

One News Now: “The reporting statistics don’t lie. The state is indisputably funding medically unnecessary abortions in violation of state law,” Aden reports. “40 percent of these abortions are being executed on African-Americans, even though they make up only five percent of the state’s population. This lawsuit intends to stop this from continuing.”

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bill Post Radio Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 14:07 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on KMCO with Greg Knapp last week to discuss the Christmas Tree controversy at Western Piedmont College. | MP3 audio 7:16 mins

Ed News: A school district in North Carolina has been given a deadline to affirm that it will not censor a student’s speech, or a legal team assembled by the Alliance Defending Freedom will seek a “remedy” to the problem . . . But in a letter sent from ADF to the McDowell County Schools in Marion, N.C., the lawyers pointed out that the censorship “was a violation of her First Amendment rights.” . . . [more]

Matt Bowman at National Review: A court decision on Wednesday spells more trouble for Obamacare’s abortion-pill mandate. Defenders of that mandate have been crowing about two court rulings against Christian businesses, notably Hobby Lobby. But the government’s position is much weaker than its defenders let on.

Dave Cortman on the Janet Mefferd Show. | MP3 audio 15:37 mins

Steve Aden appeared on the The Flag with Scott Hennen to discuss this: Minn. taxpayers illegitimately charged for elective abortions. | MP3 audio 7:05 mins

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Montana strips benefits from disabled preschooler. | MP3 audio 11:27 mins

Matt Sharp appeared on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 5:13 mins

Minneapolis Star Tribune: In a lawsuit filed this week, the Alliance Defending Freedom said an analysis of abortions paid for by the state’s Medicaid program found that barely one in four gave a reason of medical necessity, even though the state is permitted to use taxpayer funds only for therapeutic abortions.
Chuck Shreffler, a Minneapolis lawyer working with the alliance, said the state’s own reports show that Medicaid paid for more than 47,000 abortions between 1999 and 2011, and that medical reasons were cited in only 10,044 instances. “It looks like a significant number of these abortions are actually elective abortions,” he said, in spite of state law forbidding the use of public funds in such cases.

Crookston Times: Steven Aden, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the numbers cited in the lawsuit represent the “best assessment” the group could make based on the statistics available. He said a fuller picture of the “illegitimate public funding of elective abortions” will emerge as the case proceeds. Minnesota spends about $1.5 million annually on abortions for indigent women, the lawsuit says. “It’s a gross abuse of taxpayer dollars in the state of Minnesota and an unfortunate tragedy as well,” Aden said.

The Alliance Alert will not be published on Friday, November 30, 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to consider several petitions in marriage cases tomorrow. Visit SCOTUS Blog for updates and commentary. The Alert will have further coverage on Monday Morning.

Matt Sharp appeared on Robert Mangino on KDKA Pittsburgh to discuss this. | MP3 audio 15:41 mins