Category Archives: ADF in the News

One News Now: Attorney Matt Bowman of Alliance Defending Freedom tells OneNewsNow, “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith.” “The Obama administration claims it has unwavering support for religious freedom, but the only thing unwavering in the administration is its tenacious opposition to religious freedom,” the attorney asserts.

The New American: A small army of pastors across America is planning to defy the IRS rules against politics in the pulpit by participating in what they are calling “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” October 7. The event, which is being organized by Alliance Defending Freedom, will target the 1954 IRS statute, called the Johnson Amendment, that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing candidates for office. “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor, and not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit,” said Erik Stanley, an ADF spokesman. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

Renew America: Bob Unruh, reporting for WorldNetDaily late last week wrote, The controversy was brought to a head by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed the case on behalf of Pastor Paul Gros of Vieux Carre Assembly of God Church at 433 [Dauphine] Street, just a block off of Bourbon.

Acton Institute Blog: It is alarmingly clear that so-called “Obamacare” has troubling implications for parents and children, not just employers with religious convictions regarding artificial birth control and abortion. According to an article in the National Catholic Register, Matt Bowman, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Obamacare: “tramples parental rights” because it requires them to “pay for and sponsor coverage of abortifacients, sterilization, contraception and education in favor of the same for their own children.” [more]

Nathan Cherry at Engage Family Minute (links to audio): It’s undebatable that America has benefited greatly from the influence of pastors over the years. But, are today’s pulpits free? Attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom don’t think so and they are using Pulpit Freedom Sunday as a way to protect not only the proper role of the church in our society, but also your right to hear and speak the truth of the Gospel. On Today’s episode of Engaging the Issues, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom explains what pastors can do to protect religious freedom and why they should.

Erik Stanley and Barry Arrington appeared on Crosswalk KRKS with Gino Geraci to discuss the Pulpit Initiative. | MP3 audio 19:03 mins

Pastor Jim Garlow, Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State appeared on Air Talk KPCC 89.3 Southern Cal. Public Radio to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 16:04 mins

Catholic News Agency: Matt Bowman, senior counsel for the religious liberty legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said the mandate “tramples parental rights” because it requires them to “pay for and sponsor coverage of abortifacients, sterilization, contraception and education in favor of the same for their own children.”

Letter to the Ventura Star: Oct. 7 is Pulpit Freedom Sunday. This is the day, each year, that an organization by the name of “Alliance Defending Freedom” encourages pastors to freely advise, give opinions and say all that they choose to say about candidates in all elections.

WSET ABC 13 (includes video): The group Alliance Defending Freedom says it’s the pastor’s job, not the IRS, to determine what is said from the pulpit. The group is also asking pastors to send their sermons to the IRS, in hopes a court battle ensues.

Kevin Theriot appeared on KDAZ 730 AM the Morning Show with Birga and Dan to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 15:55 mins

Joe LaRue appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Bourbon Street Outstrips Religious Expression. | MP3 audio 11:03 mins

Joseph LaRue at Townhall: On October 26, 2011, the city of New Orleans criminalized religious expression on Bourbon Street. Subsequently, in May of this year, a preacher from Vieux Carre Assembly of God Church was told by police that he could not continue discussing religion on Bourbon Street, even though he had been preaching there for the past 30 years every Tuesday and Friday evening.

Alan Sears at Townhall: America stands at a precipice. Never before have so many of our fundamental, God-given freedoms hung by so thin a thread here at home as they do now.

Christian Institute (includes video): Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom said: “It’s very ironic that a group with ‘separation of church and state’ in its name is arguing for more governmental monitoring and control of churches. “That’s not the separation of church and state. These letters are nothing more than intimidation tactics.

FayObserver.com: The group, Alliance Defending Freedom, hopes that the bold move will prompt the IRS to enforce a 1954 tax code amendment that prohibits tax-exempt organizations such as churches from making political endorsements. The group believes the law violates the First Amendment.

Christian Post: several key speakers, including ADF President Alan Sears, who addressed the crowd about what the organizations view as the “assault on marriage and the family” currently taking place in society. “Today’s religious freedom forum, a call for all people of faith to join and stand on the Manhattan Declaration, is a cry, ‘to let us be free.’ To preserve, protect, and defend the liberty and Constitution that millions have crossed oceans and deserts to obtain, and countless numbers have shed blood and given even their lives to preserve,” Sears said.

Tucson Citizen: The Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale non-profit group, is representing councils in other states in challenges to legislative prayer. Their focus is to “defend the exercise of religious liberty and the right of government to recognize religious heritage and continue with traditional American practices,” said senior counsel Brett Harvey. “We think it’s a constitutional right to do this,” said Harvey, citing the Marsh vs. Chambers case. “We do feel there’s a benefit to seeking divine guidance and asking for wisdom and blessings for the decisions that are made. The Supreme Court has made it clear that it’s constitutional. We see no reason why our local officials should not be able to exercise those same rights exercised by our founders.”

Barry H. Corey at National Review Bench Memos: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, we are making our stand. What’s at stake? Our fundamental freedom to exercise our faith in the context of a community, and to live out the mission to which we’re convinced God has called us.

Opposing Views: Pulpit Freedom Sunday was organized by the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom. Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the group, told FoxNews.com: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor, and not the IRS, decides what is said from the pulpit. It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

The Georgia Bulletin: “Our religious liberty is under assault like never before in America, in ways that are chilling, that are alien and unimagined on these shores,” said Alan Sears, president of the Alliance Defending Freedom in Scottsdale, Ariz. “If we fail to stand, if we fail to fight, if we fail to refuse to comply, our God-given liberty … will be but a distant memory.” The forum was based on the Manhattan Declaration, a 4,700-word joint statement signed in November 2009 by more than 140 Christian leaders, many evangelical and Catholic, pledging renewed zeal in defending the unborn, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and protecting religious freedom.

Christian Post: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit…It is a head-on constitutional challenge,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the ADF, told FoxNews.com.
Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/preachers-defend-free-speech-and-religious-freedom-with-pulpit-freedom-sunday-video-82004/#Azu4ctPW26J126OO.99

The Alliance Alert will not be published on Friday, September 21, 2012.

Benjamin Bull at Townhall: There is a movement underway in Europe to remove the tax exemptions churches have enjoyed for centuries. In Spain and Italy this attempt is being broadly pursued, while in Britain it is being done piecemeal.

Kevin Theriot appeared on Christ and the City with Christopher Brooks to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 12:32 mins

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: On October 7th the Alliance Defending Freedom will host Pulpit Freedom Sunday . . . Erik Stanley, legal counsel with ADF said: “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit. It is a head-on constitutional challenge…We’re hoping the IRS will respond by doing what they have threatened. We have to wait for it to be applied to a particular church or pastor so that we can challenge it in court. We don’t think it’s going to take long for a judge to strike this down as unconstitutional.”

Daily Caller: n the classic movie “The Sting,” Paul Newman explains to Robert Redford that in the most sophisticated swindles, the victim never even figures out he’s been conned. Well, America’s churches got swindled big time in 1954. They lost their freedom of speech and a significant part of their freedom of religion . . . Now a group of lawyers, The Alliance Defending Freedom, has organized a campaign to force a test case. For the last four years, pastors across America have banded together on Pulpit Freedom Sunday to speak out on elections one Sunday a year, and send their sermons to the IRS. Last year 539 pastors participated and the IRS blinked once again. This year’s PFS will be October 7. Every Pastor who believes his or her pulpit should be free from government censorship should sign up and participate at PulpitFreedom.org.

Washington Post: “Because Pastor Gros firmly believes a large number of people found on Bourbon Street at night desperately need to have saving faith in Jesus Christ, he wants to go there at that time and share the gospel message with them,” the suit said. Attorneys for the Center for Religious Expression in Memphis, Tenn., and the Alliance Defending Freedom in Scottsdale, Ariz., filed the suit on behalf of Gros.

Virtue Online: Same-sex marriage is on the ballot this fall in Maryland, Minnesota, Washington State and Maine. Polls show support for it now in all four states, though it is narrowing in Maine. “When people hear their legislature is considering a law like this and they think, ‘What’s the harm?’ They need to realize that there is a direct threat to religious liberty – to business owners, employees, religious entities,” said Jim Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund. Maggie Gallagher, President of National Organization for Marriage, is blunt: “Christian adoption agencies will be driven out of the public square, which has already happened in Massachusetts, Washington D.C. and Illinois. There will be fewer parents for troubled children.

News-Journal.com (Wood County Democrat): A hearing is set on Oct. 16 on a lawsuit filed by a man who objects to Wood County having “In God We Trust” posted in the courtroom as well as commissioners beginning each of their sessions with prayer. In May the commissioners agreed to retain services from the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Institute for representation in the suit filed by Charles Frederick Scott, III, of Hawkins alleging the county is violating the U.S. Constitution . . . Erin Leu of Liberty Institute said, “The law is entirely clear in this.” She noted there are two issues . . .

Casey Mattox at LifeNews: Yet while Alliance Defending Freedom successfully makes the case that this law violates employers’ religious freedom, the potentially devastating impacts of this mandate on others should not be ignored . . . It might be that the HHS Mandate really has two aims, the first of which is to establish the primacy of “sexual freedom” over religious liberty in the pecking order of constitutional protections. Alliance Defending Freedom and our allies are working to ensure that this does not happen. And the second aim may be to force resistant religious ministries into the prayer closet and out of the public square. Sadly, such an intention to water down the impact of communities of faith would be in keeping with previous steps the administration has taken to water down America’s stand for freedom of religion abroad to a more private and cloistered “freedom of worship.”

Fox News (video): More than 1,000 pastors are planning to challenge the IRS next month by deliberately preaching politics ahead of the presidential election despite a federal ban on endorsements from the pulpit . . . “The purpose is to make sure that the pastor — and not the IRS — decides what is said from the pulpit,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the group, told FoxNews.com. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a ministry in Ridgway, Colo., that printed and mailed a magazine to state residents asking them to vote for Republican candidates. The publication was produced by Ridgway Christian Center, an affiliate of Praise Him Ministries . . . The article cites material produced by the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund), an Arizona-based organization that every year sponsors an event called “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” during which pastors are urged to openly violate the law by endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. . . . In its complaint to the IRS, Americans United asserted that Ridgway Christian Center is knowingly violating the law.

Piero Tozzi at The Bell Towers: Conventional thinking gives Ryan and his party the advantage when it comes to “subsidiarity” – the principle that political and economic decisions are best made at the level closest to those affected by them rather than by a top-down centralized bureaucracy – while crediting the Democrats for their commitment to “solidarity” – acting on behalf of the most poor and marginalized out of an assumed authentic altruism.
Such conventional thinking is only half right, however, for Ryan – at least when not in junior Randian mode – has the better argument not only with respect to subsidiarity, but solidarity as well. For solidarity cannot be thought of solely in horizontal terms, arms outstretched to the poor who dwell among us – though it certainly does (and should) include that.  It is also vertical, extending into the future and touching the welfare of our children and grandchildren and generations yet to be conceived.

Alan Sears on the Hugh Hewitt Show | MP3 audio 7:38 mins

One News Now: Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom says Americans United is trying to frighten churches into silence about elections and “moral and biblical issues confronting the candidates.” “But the reality is that no pastor should ever fear the IRS or Americans United for that matter when they stand in their pulpit to preach biblical truth,” Stanley asserts. “That’s our message, and … no church or pastor should be afraid of these letters that are being sent out by Americans United.”

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: Federal law specifically prohibits zoning officials from subjecting religious organizations to this type of unequal treatment,” says Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “Upper Arlington will allow other groups to occupy a building in this zone, but it won’t allow this school. “No city should use its zoning code to discriminate against a Christian school and keep its students in inferior and overcrowded facilities,” Stanley says. “A city’s zoning code cannot give preferential treatment to non-religious institutions that function similarly to a Christian school.”

Katherine Infantine at First Things: Such poverty remains prevalent in Mother Teresa’s homeland as Alliance Defending Freedom chief counsel and executive director of global activities Benjamin Bull says, “. . . a law designed to prevent conversions to Christianity in India is exhibit A for the truth that, in some countries, religion is but one more aspect of life controlled by government or ruthless factions that fear no government.” Bull says . . .

One News Now: Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom says the city’s zoning codes favor nonreligious businesses and organizations. “So, for instance, a daycare or other nonprofit use could go into that building and use it without having to obtain zoning permission, [but] the Tree of Life is not able to go in to use the building as a private school,” he explains. “That’s just discriminatory and violates the religious land use law, and that’s why we brought the lawsuit in the first place.”

Christian Post: “People in America are allowed to debate these issues except for pastors from the pulpit,” said Erik W. Stanley, senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, on Family Talk last week. “The pastors of America, your voices need to be heard on these vital issues. It’s unjust, it’s unconstitutional that you’ve been censored and taken out of the public debate every time an election season rolls around.
“This restriction must be declared unconstitutional.”

Erik Stanley at Speak Up Movement Blog: Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently announced that it sent over 60,000 letters to churches across the country, warning them from becoming involved in “partisan politicking” during this election season.

George F. Will at the Washington Post: Elaine Huguenin, who with her husband operates Elane Photography in New Mexico, asks only to be let alone. But instead of being allowed a reasonable zone of sovereignty in which to live her life in accordance with her beliefs, she is being bullied by people wielding government power . . . The Huguenin case demonstrates how advocates of tolerance become tyrannical . . . So, in the name of tolerance, government declares intolerable individuals such as the Huguenins, who disapprove of a certain behavior but ask only to be let alone in their quiet disapproval. Perhaps advocates of gay rights should begin to restrain the bullies in their ranks.

Jeremy Tedesco appeared on Koinonia (KPXQ) with Tom Brown to discuss the ACLU’s school intimidation campaign. | MP3 audio 12:15 mins

Alan Sears at the American Thinker: Someone once famously distilled some two centuries of American debate over individual “rights” into a single sentence: “Your right to extend your fist,” he said, “ends about one inch short of the tip of my nose.”

Benjamin Bull at Townhall: A brief glance to Britain’s past, and one can see that it was only after centuries of bloody battles and religious intolerance that freedom of religion was finally secured. However, just a few short years into the new era of “equality,” and that freedom is being eroded at an alarming rate.

Matt Bowman at Townhall: On Wednesday, Missouri lawmakers ignored the warnings of the Obama administration and overrode their governor’s veto to enact religious exemptions to the abortion pill mandate. The bill, which passed through the state senate on a 26-6 vote and through the house on a 109-45 vote, is now law in Missouri and provides citizens of that state with serious religious freedom protections. (also published at LifeNews)

Benjamin Bull at the Christian Post: Although universal in nature, religious liberty is not universal in practice the world over. And a law designed to prevent conversions to Christianity in India is exhibit A for the truth that, in some countries, religion is but one more aspect of life controlled by government or ruthless factions that fear no government.

The New American: But Matt Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), another organization that defends schools and other groups against the attacks of the ACLU, emphasized that the U.S. Constitution is “the only permission slip students need to exercise their freedom of religion. The ACLU’s ‘Religious Freedom Goes to School’ campaign paints a restrictive picture of the freedoms for students, teachers, and school administrators that the First Amendment protects.”

Nathan Cherry at the Engage Family Blog: The silent battle taking place that you have probably not heard much about is in the area of zoning and equal access for public facilities. Churches are systematically being forced out of public spaces and told “no” by local zoning offices for permits to expand, or buy property . . . Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence has been working on the Bronx Household of Faith case in New York City for over 17 years. He spoke with FPCWV president Jeremy Dys in this issue of Engaging the Issues. Lorence explains that the fate of every church that meets in a public school hangs in the balance pending the outcome of this case. You can rest assured that if this case is not resolved in favor of the churches, and the school system is allowed to evict the churches, that and ripple will be felt from coast to coast as other school systems follow suit.

Erik Stanley and Pastor Jim Garlow appeared on James Dobson’s Family Ralk Radio to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday to be held on October 7, 2012. | MP3 audio 25:23 mins

Matt Bowman at LifeNews: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

Casey Mattox at Townhall: Remember just a decade or so ago when the mantra of the abortion industry was that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare?” It was even in the Democrat Party platform for a while. It seemed part of an effort to brand abortionists like Planned Parenthood as reluctant facilitators of a necessary evil instead of owner/operators of a thriving billion dollar industry. Those days are gone.

Mineola Monitor: A hearing is set on Oct. 16 on a lawsuit filed by a man who objects to Wood County having “In God We Trust” posted in the courtroom as well as commissioners beginning each of their sessions with prayer. In May the commissioners agreed to retain services from the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Institute for representation in the suit filed by Charles Frederick Scott, III, of Hawkins alleging the county is violating the U.S. Constitution. This month Liberty Institute, on behalf of the Wood County Commissioners court, filed a motion for summary judgement “to end the frivolous lawsuit.”

One News Now: “A lot of students unfortunately aren’t aware that these restrictions on their sincerely-held religious beliefs are unconstitutional, if they go to a public school,” notes ADF attorney Kevin Theriot. “And even If they go to a private school, sometimes they even have rights bestowed upon them by the private schools.”

Matthew S. Bowman at the Wassau Daily Herald: It is an irony that the promoters of “reproductive choice” insist on coercing everyone else into paying for other people’s abortions and sexual decisions. Frances Kissling, founder of the misnamed “Catholics for Choice,” will appear opposite me on Monday at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County in Wausau to argue in favor of a government mandate that forces employers to violate their religious beliefs just because they operate in America.

One News Now: Legal counsel Matt Sharp gives one example involving the misleading advice the ACLU is giving South Carolina educators. “The ACLU said that the Bible can never — the Bible or any religious text — can never be used in the study of history … science or anything like that at the school, and that’s absolutely false,” Sharp asserts. “In fact, the Supreme Court has said that the Bible is worthy of study for its historical qualities, for its literary qualities.”

Joe Infranco at the Baptist Message Online: With the Olympics fresh in our minds, we see yet again the connection between commitment and performance. Thinking about that connection reminded me of a scene from the Academy Award winning movie Chariots of Fire. There is a scene where the British Olympic Committee attempts to pressure the Scottish runner Eric Liddell to run on the Sabbath during the 1924 Olympics.

Frances Kissling, President of Catholic for Choice at the Wassau Daily Herald:

If you go
What: The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service will host a public forum on “Contraception, religious liberty and the Affordable Care Act”
Who: Professor Mark T. Brown will moderate. Speakers will be Frances Kissling, visiting scholar at the Center for Bioethics, and Matthew Bowman, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom.
When: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday
Where: UW Center for Civic Engagement, 625 Stewart Ave., Wausau.
The event is free and open to the public.

Citizen Link: “The Constitution should be the only permission slip students need to exercise their freedom of religion,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “We hope our letter clarifies the true extent of the First Amendment freedoms of students and schools. Public schools are supposed to serve as institutions of learning where free speech is protected. They should not be places of indoctrination that are hostile to religion.”

Education News: A warning from the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina is a scare tactic and school districts should investigate claims, for example, that “Teachers may not cite the Bible or other sacred texts as authority,” according to a new letter being sent by a team of legal experts on religious freedom. “While a teacher may not use the classroom to indoctrinate students, a teacher may disseminate information about religion in an objective manner so long as the information is reasonably related to the curriculum,” states a letter from the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Alan Sears at Townhall: We need to search out again the aspects of our tangible foundation which transcend our personal or political differences, and upon finding them we need to cling to them tightly.

Alan Sears at the Alliance Defending Freedom Blog: For years, under a law oddly-titled “The Freedom of Religion Act,” the province has required that anyone converting to Christianity (or any other faith) had to notify the local magistrate and have the decision made public record within 30 days. Anyone converting to Hinduism – or reverting back to that religion from a previous conversion – was exempt from this requirement.

Paul Coleman on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Will Europe’s highest court respect religious freedom in workplace? | MP3 audio 15:43 mins

Benjamin Bull at Townhall: There is a growing so-called “children’s rights” movement that is attempting to hijack parental rights, and, as a result, prematurely end the life of ill children. A recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics outlines the “suffering” and “torture” supposedly inflicted by parents who insist on continued medical treatment for their sick children.

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Paul Coleman was there for the arguments involving the cases in which the courts in the U.K. “failed to respect religious freedom in the workplace.” “Two of them involve the right to wear a cross at work,” he tells OneNewsNow. “When other members of the workforce were given accommodations for their religious symbols — be it the Hijab or the Sikh turban — Christians were told they were not allowed to wear the cross.”

Alan Sears at American Thinker: What we have in America today, in effect, are two kinds of “exceptionalism.” One is the kind political candidates (conservative ones, at least) like to speak of, that recognizes the unusual blessings and opportunities that, up to now, have always been within reach of those blessed to be raised in this country. And then there is the other kind — the kind that says freedom is for every group “except this one.” Or that “my group deserves exceptional latitude — exceptional tolerance — exceptional indulgence and promotion from the law and culture and community.”

Pastor Kevin Baird at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: I have been a pastor for over 28 years, and for many of those years of ministry I preached under a misconception that many (if not most) pastors live under, as well. It’s the misconception the IRS perpetuates through the Johnson Amendment to the 501 (c)(3) code that restricts our rights as pastors to apply the Bible to what might be deemed “political.” For year, I avoided many topics from the pulpit because I mistakenly thought that if I broached that topic I could jeopardize the church’s tax-exempt status. There was always this subtle “fear” that the IRS would sweep in and impose some kind of monstrous repercussion . . .

Speak Up Movement Church Blog: Pulpit Freedom Sunday is October 7, 2012.  In case you or others you may know are undecided about participating, let me give you five very good reasons why your participation is so important.  After considering these reasons, the next step is to  go towww.pulpitfreedom.organd sign up.

Speak Up Movement University: Today, Alliance Defending Freedom is launching a new tool with important information and up to date information about your rights on campus. The Speak Up University Newsletter . . .

David Hacker at Speak Up Movement University: FIRE has released its second annual survey of America’s Best Colleges for Free Speech. This year, seven colleges receive the rare distinction of being ivory towers that welcome free expression.

Steve Aden at LifeNews: All this effort, all this money, all lined up to perpetuate and protect the culture of death. Planned Parenthood needs to explain where their portion of the money is coming from. Is it part of the nearly half-a-billion dollars the federal government gave them for clinic operations last year? If it is, then we have a situation where a leftist administration is giving federal taxpayer dollars to a leftist organization that, in turn, is using that money to keep the administration in power. Seems questionable, doesn’t it?

Archdiocese of Denver: . . . When religious people are marginalized from the public square, all of us lose. Religious values (like those of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for example) have served as forces for great public good in America. Public shame of the religiously convicted undermines the American ideal. Sadly, however, Hercules is not alone in being marginalized; religious institutions and practices face increasing threats in America. Last week, the Washington, D.C.-based Liberty Institute released a survey of religious hostility in America, documenting hundreds of unreasonable persecutions of religious Americans. It is a chilling read . . . When religious conscience threatens essential human freedom or dignity, governments have a vested interest in protecting public welfare. But the law which Hercules is fighting is not an assertion of essential human freedom or dignity. The HHS mandate is designed to fund private sexual expression—and even abortion—from the coffers of American businesses. Trading free access to contraception for our foundational reverence for religious liberty is a betrayal of our history—and a short-sighted plan for America. House Speaker Frank McNulty took up the mantle of Hercules’ cause, and rightly commended them for their work. I pray the Denver City Council will do the same. Choosing to marginalize the owners of Hercules for their religiosity is an insult to the founding values of our nation.

Alan Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss various cases and issues including Newland v. Sebelius. | MP3 audio 7:12 mins