Category Archives: ADF in the News

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: This week’s deadline for filing your 2012 U.S. income taxes is a good reminder that many organizations you care about depend on Alliance Defending Freedom to defend their tax credits and tax-exempt status. Just this month, we’ve intervened in two cases to protect your religious freedom from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, who once again are proving that their idea of liberty does not include parents deciding where their children are educated.

Des Moines Register: Dagel’s complaint, which was filed by Des Moines attorney Timm Reid and three lawyers from the Georgia-based Alliance Defending Freedom, seeks a court declaration that the campus policy is wrong.

LifeSiteNews: Phone calls made by LifeSiteNews to Mrs. Young’s business line were not immediately returned. But Jim Hochberg, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who represented Mrs. Young in the case, said the ruling was a violation of his client’s freedom of speech and religion under the First Amendment. “The public needs to be aware of this decision because it has far-reaching consequences,” he told reporters Monday.

Delaware Online: Abortion protesters who picketed the Wilmington facility said last month they assisted a patient there after a botched abortion that forced her to seek emergency hospital treatment. That patient has retained Colorado-based attorney Michael Norton, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which promotes religious liberty and First Amendment protections.“We try to make sure abortion providers are held to the same standard as regular medical practices are,” Norton said.

Des Moines Register: The complaint, which was filed by Des Moines attorney Timm Reid and three lawyers from the Georgia-based Alliance Defending Freedom, seeks a court declaration that the campus policy is wrong, plus attorney fees and “compensatory and nominal damages for the violation” of Dagel’s rights. (complaint is embedded on the web page)

The Huffington Post: The Texas Aggie Conservatives and Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in June 2012 over which student groups on campus are funded, alleging bias against right-wing clubs.

Examiner.com: No stories were originally done on Gosnell’s murder trial. Only lately has the mainstream media given a hint they may be watching. Casey Mattox, an attorney with the pro-life legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, noticed all the empty benches upon entering the courtroom.

Tonika Reed at Baptist Press: Steve Aden, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, asked if this problem was one of inherent selfishness among those who are able but choose not to have children.

JIllStanek.com (includes video): Alliance Defending Freedom is defending Bomberger and the Radiance Foundation in U.S. District Court. Court documents and more details can be viewed online. | also posted at LifeSiteNews

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorney Charles M. Allen with the Glen Allen, Va. firm Goodman, Allen & Filetti PLLC is defending Bomberger and Radiance in U.S. District Court in The Radiance Foundation v. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division.

Lexology: The case has generated a lot of interest from groups concerned with religious liberty issues; both parties are represented by lawyers from non-profit organizations committed to different views on religious freedom and expression: The District by the The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the plaintiffs by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Several entities have also filed amicus curiae briefs in support of the District’s petition: Alliance Defending Freedom, the state of Texas, the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, and a series of education associations, led by the Association of School Administrators.

Washington Times: Fortunately, however, groups are beginning to pop up all over the nation, such as the Alliance Defense Fund, who held their fourth annual “Pulpit Initiative” to challenge the IRS into forgoing this Unconstitutional power. There also is HR 127, a bill to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which has been proposed by Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina’s Third District.

BeforeItsNews.com: According to an updated Alliance Defending Freedom report, Planned Parenthood facilities across the country are accused of abuse and rampant fraud . . .

Rapid City Journal: The vote means the city will continue to look at prayer as a tradition as it prepares for a potential lawsuit against the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit agency that has sent at least two letters to the city raising concerns about the practice . . . According to Landeen, the city has received offers from several organizations, including the Liberty Council, which has offered pro bono legal representation. Alliance Defending Freedom, the Liberty Institute and the American Center for Law and Justice have also contacted the city, he said.

Baptist Press also posted at Townhall: Now that the future of marriage is center stage, Kellie Fiedorek hopes that the Supreme Court does not offer a radical ruling that cuts short the debate. A lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, Fiedorek, 29, sat in the courtroom as the justices heard the arguments. She’s been to seven states this year testifying before legislatures about the ways redefining marriage would interfere with religious freedom. She’s learned that many citizens have never had to think about the meaning of marriage and why it matters. Now that people are alert, social conservatives have the opportunity to make their case to a young generation that has both rallied for life and dealt with the aftereffects of divorce. “I think that, as more young people engage in the issue, we will see more of them eager to defend marriage, recognizing how important it is to parents and children,” Fiedorek said.

Mike Norton on the Meeting House with Bob Crittendon to discss this: Report to Congress: Planned Parenthood continues abuses, potential fraud.| MP3 audio 20:15 mins

Charisma News: Alliance Defending Freedom has submitted official comments to the Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of 22 Catholic colleges and higher-education programs and four Protestant colleges explaining their objections to the Obama administration’s abortion-pill mandate.

CBN: Gonzalez’s accusations support the findings of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, which has charged the abortion organization with abuse, waste, and potential fraud totaling over $100 million in tax funding. [more]

The Eastern Echo: The GAP is also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit brought against EMU in March. The Alliance Defending Freedom group filed the suit on behalf of the Students for Life organization citing that EMU’s Student Government denied Students for Life funding from mandatory student activity fees.

Alliance Defending Freedom at Christian Post: California Senator Ricardo Lara is the latest in a series of people and entities to bully young boys. This phrase is intended to be as shocking as it sounds, only because the advocacy he is engaging in is equally so.

Diane Rufino at Beaufort Observer: What exactly do we mean by “Our Christian Heritage”? We certainly don’t refer to it as a way to suggest that Christianity be the official religion of the United States. We have the First Amendment to protect us from the establishment of any one religion, so that our religious conscience is free from the coercion or criticism of other religions (or non-religion) and no one is forced to support an offensive religion with their tax dollars . . . Michael and Jana Novak, “Washington’s Providence,” Alliance Defending Freedom. Referenced at: http://www.alliancedefendingfreedom.org/Faith-and-Justice/5-3/Opinion

MansfieldNewsJournal: Wampler is providing his services for free in part to fulfill his membership obligations to the Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates in the courtroom for religious liberty, the sanctity of life and marriage and family. “He’s trying to change people’s lives for the good,” Wampler said of Brummitt. [Alliance Alert Editor Note: Dee Wampler is an allied attorney. Alliance Defending Freedom is not a membership based organization]

Christian Post: The fight to preserve the sanctity of life in America requires tireless prayer, vigilance, and determination – and, more and more, that your Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys take on the formidable legal and political juggernaut that is Planned Parenthood.

The New American: ADF Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster said that American taxpayers “deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are abusing it. When it comes to accountability and transparency, Planned Parenthood’s publicly-funded, billion-dollar abortion empire has to play by the same rules as everyone else.” [more]

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: Stutzman’s lawyer is J.D. Bristoll, an attorney allied with the Alliance Defending Freedom, the national law firm representing California’s Prop 8 before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bristoll explains this is not about homosexuality, since the shop serves gay customers all the time. It is instead specifically objecting to homosexual marriage on religious grounds and declining to take part in one.
This case goes to the absolute core of religious liberty, asking whether the government can compel a sincere Christian believer to violate her religious conscience, and it could make new law.

Alliance Defending Freedom: Senator Lara and Equality California should issue a formal apology for trying to bully BSA into changing its values. And, if UPS or Intel has the courage to stand up to the bullies and defend Scouts’ honor, they should publically reward Boy Scouts of America’s excellent service with true charitable gifts—the kind that come with no strings attached.

Kelly Boggs at Baptist Press: While the Army might deem the matter closed, a few things remain troubling to me. If the slide in question was deleted and it was never again used, how — after more than a year — was Alliance Defending Freedom able to obtain it? | also posted at Townhall

McPherson Sentinel: In its lawsuit against Sebelius, Hercules Industries (a Colorado-based manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning units owned and operated by the Newland family) is represented by The Alliance Defending Freedom, a public interest legal foundation. In its separate lawsuit against HHS, Colorado Christian University (a nondenominational Christian liberal arts university lead by former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong) is represented by the public interest legal foundation called The Becket Fund. Huelskamp released this statement . . .

Casey Mattox at Christian Post: Like many, I’m both not surprised and disgusted by the fact that the bulk of the media continues to ignore the multiple murder trial of Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist accused of killing a Nepalese immigrant and at least seven infants, born alive and grotesquely murdered with scissors

Christian Post: Alliance Defending Freedom provide slides from the Power Point presentation used by the U.S. Army Reserve in training soldiers on religious extremism.

LifeSiteNews: The Alliance Defending Freedom also published a statement: The Mandate and suggested “accommodations” in the NPRM blatantly violate the right to religious freedom protected throughout federal law, including under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act… and the First Amendment the U.S. Constitution. The NPRM’s refusal to expand the Mandate’s exemption beyond houses of worship is offensive because it drastically minimizes what counts as a religious employer. Applying the Mandate to any entity or individual possessing a religious objection is illegal. No other federal rule has so narrowly and discriminatorily defined what it means to exercise religious conscience, and no regulation has ever so directly violate plain statutory and constitutional religious freedoms. The NPRM does nothing to change that fact.

One News Now: ADF attorney Catherine Glenn Foster contends that U.S. tax dollars should be used responsibly and for the common good. “Taxpayers deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are abusing it,” she insists. “When it comes to accountability and transparency, Planned Parenthood’s publicly-funded, billion-dollar abortion empire has to play by the same rules as everyone else.”

Heritage Foundation: As Alliance Defending Freedom wrote on Monday on behalf of over 20 Catholic colleges, “No other federal rule has so narrowly and discriminatorily defined what it means to exercise religious conscience, and no regulation has ever so directly violated plain statutory and constitutional religious freedoms. The NPRM does nothing to change that fact.

Sarah Torre at Heritage Foundation: As Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in a public comment on Monday on behalf of over 20 Catholic colleges, “No other federal rule has so narrowly and discriminatorily defined what it means to exercise religious conscience, and no regulation has ever so directly violated plain statutory and constitutional religious freedoms. The NPRM does nothing to change that fact.”

Robin Marty at RH Reality Check: Groups like the Susan B. Anthony List, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), and Americans for Tax Reform are eager to support any possible lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, nationally or at the state level. “Engaging our opponents at every level of the courts, our attorneys are seeking out ever-more effective means to block, inhibit, and bring to an end the efforts of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to make their fortune off the killing of children in the womb,” said ADF’s Alan Sears in a statement. “By God’s gracious mercies, and with the continuing gifts and prayerful support of friends like you, Alliance Defending Freedom is winning more and more battles for life—battles that are shaping the future of our laws and culture for your children and grandchildren.”

Alan Sears at the Christian Post: The fight to preserve the sanctity of life in America requires tireless prayer, vigilance, and determination – and, more and more, that your Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys take on the formidable legal and political juggernaut that is Planned Parenthood.

LifeNews: “American tax dollars should be used responsibly and for the common good, and taxpayers deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are abusing it,” said Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster. “When it comes to accountability and transparency, Planned Parenthood’s publicly-funded, billion-dollar abortion empire has to play by the same rules as everyone else.”

Catherine Glenn Foster at American Thinker: On April 5, Federal District Court Judge Edward R. Korman ordered the Food and Drug Administration to allow over-the-counter distribution of Plan B abortifacient pills to girls of any age, thus striking down even the Obama administration’s practice of requiring a prescription for girls 16 years old and younger.

American Independent via Huffington Post: In addition to NOM, the brochure’s listed sponsors included the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the Heritage Foundation, all social conservative groups based in Washington, D.C. The first “consequence[] of redefining marriage” listed in the brochure is that, “Redefining marriage would hurt children. Decades of social science – including very recent and robust studies – show that children do better when raised by a married mom and dad.” The endnotes cited Regnerus’ New Family Structures Study findings to support this claim.

Think Progress: The suit asks for a permanent injunction against future discrimination and a $2,000 fine for every violation. An employee at Arlene’s told KEPR-TV that “none of us will have any comment.” Stuzman’s attorney’s warned Ferguson that “a number of national non-profit organizations… are ready for a fight,” perhaps referring to groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which regularly defends individuals when it believes their “religious liberty” has been infringed upon.

The Blaze: “SB 323′s primary purpose is to penalize BSA based on its constitutionally protected membership policy and the values that underlie it,” lawyers for the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in a letter to lawmakers last week. “This type of targeted punishment of a group based on how it exercises its associational and free speech rights violates the First Amendment.”

Washington Post (AP): “SB 323’s primary purpose is to penalize BSA based on its constitutionally protected membership policy and the values that underlie it,” lawyers for the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in a letter to lawmakers last week. “This type of targeted punishment of a group based on how it exercises its associational and free speech rights violates the First Amendment.” | also at NBC

Examiner.com: Lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom, took not of the bill, pointing out that it is a violation of the First Amendment: “SB323′s primary purpose is to penalize BSA based on its constitutionally protected membership policy and the values that underlie it. This type of targeted punishment of a group based on how it exercises its associational and free speech rights violates the First Amendment.”

Logan Daily: The Logan-Hocking School Board refused to allow an elective Bible Literature Course under similar wispy threats, with the same measly excuse. Some of us tried to tell them of the enormous amount of help available for courageous freedom lovers. Think Alliance Defending Freedom; American Center for Law and Justice; Heritage Defense; Christian Freedom Foundation… It’s a long list. But fear carried the day. They stand spinelessly, while the very knowledge or reference to Jesus Christ is systematically obliterated from the thoughts of our youth. Thus freedom dies.

Cardinal Newman Society: The joint comment, prepared by the expert attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), is posted online here. The comment asks the Obama administration to exempt all organizations with “a religious or moral objection from being forced to provide, offer, pay for or in any way participate in a health insurance plan that covers or specifically triggers coverage of‘contraceptives’ (including abortifacients… ), sterilization, and related education and counseling. Religious freedom requires no less.”

Charisma: Youth organizations that have benefitted America for generations should be free from harassment by politicians who don’t agree with the very values that have made these groups successful,” said Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The Constitution protects the freedom of youth organizations like the Boy Scouts to promote the values that have defined them as an organization and to ensure that their leaders and members adhere to those values.” . . . “The First Amendment protects the freedom of youth organizations to associate with members and leaders who share their values,” added Senior Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Our youth deserve to continue to benefit from these groups, and bills like SB 323 severely threaten their ability to do so.” [more]

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel David Cortman says nonprofits serving youths have constitutional protection to promote their beliefs and values. “America’s youth organizations that have benefitted our country for generations should be free from harassment by politicians who don’t agree with the very values that have made these groups successful,” says Cortman. “The Constitution protects the freedom of youth organizations like the Boy Scouts to promote the values that have defined them as an organization for well over 100 years.” . . . . ADF senior legal counsel Jeremy Tedesco explains further. “The First Amendment protects the freedom of youth organizations to associate with members and leaders who share their values,” he explains. “Our youth deserve to continue to benefit from these groups, and bills like SB 323 severely threaten their ability to do so.”

One News Now: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a lawsuit against a Michigan university for denying funds to a pro-life student group because of its “very controversial” views.

Austin American Statesman via InsuranceNews.net: In December, conservative groups Texas Values and the Alliance Defending Freedom submitted a brief to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asking that his office find the Pflugerville district and other government entities in violation of the state constitution.

Examiner.com: Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group, are representing Byer in behalf of Colorado against Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and one of its doctors.

The B.C. Catholic: The organization is also able to provide pro-bono legal assistance through its partnership with legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom for individuals who are prosecuted by the abortion clinics. Since the ministry’s start last June, 47 abortion clinic workers have left the abortion industry with Johnson’s help.

Townhall: Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Michael Norton, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which publicized the suit. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.” ADF filed the suit on behalf of Jonathan Bloedow, a Washington resident who uncovered the alleged fraud through open records requests with the state. By law, such suits must be sealed until the federal government decides to join the case, according to ADF.

World Magazine: Now that the future of marriage is center stage, Kellie Fiedorek hopes that the Supreme Court does not offer a radical ruling that cuts short the debate. A lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, Fiedorek, 29, sat in the courtroom as the justices heard the arguments. She’s been to seven states this year testifying before legislatures about the ways redefining marriage would interfere with religious freedom. She’s learned that many citizens have never had to think about the meaning of marriage and why it matters. Now that people are alert, social conservatives have the opportunity to make their case to a young generation that has both rallied for life and dealt with the aftereffects of divorce. “I think that, as more young people engage in the issue, we will see more of them eager to defend marriage, recognizing how important it is to parents and children,” Fiedorek said.

The Alliance Alert Daily Email Digest will not be distributed tomorrow, Friday, April 5, 2013.

Charisma News: “Americans should not be forced to pay for abortions with their hard-earned taxpayer dollars,” said Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Steven H. Aden. “Indiana has sought to close the loophole that allows abortionists to obtain those taxpayer dollars. Any state has the freedom to make such determinations according to federal law. We trust the U.S. Supreme Court will ensure that every state retains the freedom to make this determination for its citizens.”

Columbus Dispatch: The painting long hung in the middle school, which was once the high school, until the Hi-Y club recently moved it to the new high school. Some Jackson residents hope the club sues the district to seek the painting’s return. The club’s attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom did not return calls yesterday.

Kellie Fiedorek at Washington Examiner: In their recently filed brief before the U.S. Supreme Court, advocates for redefining marriage argued that “gay men and lesbians are a suspect class” and thus need special judicial protection of the “politically powerless.”

Red State: Michael J. Norton, a senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told Media Trackers that abortion clinics, “should not be able to play by a different set of rules than everyone else.” Norton went on to say that, “All women deserve to be protected, but the abortion industry has long fought to make sure that it doesn’t have to maintain the same safety and sanitary standards as other medical centers.” The case of Ayanna Byer’s botched abortion, and subsequent trip to the emergency room, came as no surprise to Norton, who noted that PPRM treated her “life and health with utter disregard.” Ayanna Byer is currently suing Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains for malpractice. Byer is being represented by Doug Romero, another attorney affiliated with Alliance Defending Freedom.

Speak Up Movement: You may be tempted to think if marriage is redefined to include same-sex couples, then the whole issue may just go away and the two sides can come to some sort of grudging peace. Everyone can get on with their lives, right? Well, not so fast. One of the things that is often overlooked in the debate over marriage is the effect redefining marriage will have on religious freedom. In short, redefining marriage to include same-sex couples poses a significant threat to religious freedom. Examples abound to illustrate this fact . . .

LifeNews: Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group, filed suit on behalf of a Colorado against Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and one of its doctors. The mother says the abortion facility forced her to undergo an abortion without anesthesia and then left part of her baby’s body inside of her.

Patheos: April 8, 2013 is National Leave the Abortion Industry Day. Abby Johnson and her coworkers at And Then There Were None picked the date at random . . . The organization is also able to provide pro-bono legal assistance through its partnership with legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom for individuals who are prosecuted by the abortion clinics. Since the ministry’s start last June, 47 abortion clinic workers have left the abortion industry with Johnson’s help.

Kellie Fiedorek at Alliance Defending Freedom: As I walked out of the Supreme Court last Tuesday, I had the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy and Justice Samuel Alito in my ears.

Jeremy Tedesco at Speak Up Movement: Rarely can the essence of a lawsuit be captured through pictures. But in Alliance Defending Freedom’s case involving a tiny Church’s First Amendment challenge to the Town of Gilbert’s discriminatory treatment of signs advertising its religious services, a picture truly speaks a thousand words.

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: One of the quieter – though equally intense – battles for religious freedom in America is being fought almost daily on behalf of young school children. This week, two cases from two different parts of the country spotlight the obstacles being placed before people of faith, like you, who want nothing more than to select a school that best meets the needs of their children and grandchildren.

Charisma News: “Abortionists should be held to the same health and safety standards as everyone else,” said senior counsel Casey Mattox. “Their resistance to such standards exposes their real attitude toward women. Planned Parenthood, for example, is a billion-dollar corporation that performs an abortion every 95 seconds. It is not too much to expect that abortionists, including the nation’s largest abortion seller, meet basic standards to protect women’s health.”

DFWCatholic: Former abortion clinic manager Abby Johnson is organizing a day – called “Exodus 2013” – for abortion workers seeking to leave the industry to band together in solidarity and encouragement . . . The organization is also able to provide pro-bono legal assistance through its partnership with legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom for individuals who are prosecuted by the abortion clinics. Since the ministry’s start last June, 47 abortion clinic workers have left the abortion industry with Johnson’s help.

Politico: The continuing battle over gay marriage shouldn’t be equated with the civil rights movement, Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization, argued Sunday. “We understand historically that keeping the races apart is wrong. What marriage is about is bringing together the two opposite halves of humanity for a deep social good,” Nimocks said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.

One News Now: The two recent appeals court rulings were in favor of prayer before town council meetings in Lancaster, California and Lakeland, Florida. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Brett Harvey tells American Family News the lawsuits were filed by atheists. “They’ve got two complaints: Their first complaint is that there’s any prayer at all. But they know that that’s a tall order in light of clear Supreme Court precedent that says you can have a prayer, so they’ve modified their complaint to say, Well, you can pray, but you can’t pray in the name of Jesus,” Harvey reports.

Ken Klukowski at Breitbart: The nature of constitutional law is such that when I litigate or file briefs on religious liberty issues, I survey and cite to the Supreme Court’s decisions and religious liberty historical facts in this country going back to when the Constitution and Bill of Rights were first adopted. Doing so recently, it vividly struck me that in all of American history religious liberty has never been as gravely threatened as it is today, especially for Christians. One need only look at the cases being litigated by public-interest law firms, such as Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty Institute, Becket Fund, and Liberty Counsel.

Washington Post: When asked about such research, a NOM rep cited a NOM poll, conducted by the Polling Company Inc., showing that 60 percent of respondents “agree” that marriage “is between one man and one woman.” Those results, noted the NOM rep, are consistent with the results collected by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is an “alliance-building legal ministry that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.”

Rees Lloyd at News with Views: For the first time in some twelve years, Americans will be able to exercise their First Amendment Free Exercise of Religion rights by attending Easter Sunrise Services at the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial – with the Cross established there by veterans to honor veterans once again intact . . . “We want to thank all those who fought so hard to save the cross. The VFW. The American Legion. Liberty Institute. Alliance Defending Freedom. Thomas More Law Center. The California Legionnaires of the Defense of Veterans Memorials Project. And so many more,” said Mrs. Sandoz. “We are very, very grateful to them.”

Salisbury Post: . . . How much longer will citizens across this country duck their heads in the sand when faced with ACLU lawsuits that threaten to erode the rights given to us by the U.S. Constitution? It’s natural to have fear. But I imagine many of the Rowan citizens have faced fear in their lives and did not surrender to those fears. There is no guarantee what the outcome will be in your case. But one thing is for sure — if you give up, then the battle is already lost. The ACLU is not always right. Sometimes doing the right thing involves pain and sacrifice. I never wade into litigation lightly. Your county is being sued. You have a right to defend against the lawsuit. The commissioners are charged with the duty to do just that. They are fulfilling that duty. Bryce D. Neier is a Fayetteville attorney and volunteer with the Alliance Defending Freedom. He notes the article above is “my private response and comment. It is not endorsed by any particular attorney involved in this case nor any county official. I am responsible for its contents.”

HutchNews (AP): The Wilsons, backed by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, say refusing to provide tuition assistance to attend a religious school is unconstitutional.

WECT.com: “No university should refuse promotion to an accomplished professor simply because it disagrees with his religious and political views,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Vice President Jordan Lorence. The group is representing Adams in his lawsuit.

KTAR: Ken Connelly, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which defends the traditional definition of marriage, said he hopes the court will “let the debate continue where it should – at the people.”