Tag Archives: ADF: David Cortman

The Alabama Baptist: The Vanderbilt is just one of dozens of cases playing out on campuses all across the country, said David Cortman, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. “The university is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, but it ends up being the storefront of censorship,” he said, noting the CLS v. Martinez decision does not apply to private schools.

David Cortman at the Washington Examiner: The intolerant and discriminatory exclusion of people of faith from university programs and professions has no place in a society dedicated to religious freedom and tolerance for all. Public universities, hospitals, and professional licensing boards should not force people to violate their sincere religious beliefs as the price to enter or stay in a profession. In the words of the court, “tolerance is a two-way street.”

The Republic: As long as the course is objective, it’s constitutional, said David Cortman, a lawyer with Phoenix-based Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group that supports the Bible classes.
“I believe it’s an extremely important type of course to provide just because our culture is so saturated with biblical reference and biblical allusions,” Cortman said.

ADF Attorneys Brett Harvey and Dave Cortman at the Washington Examiner: Therefore, the core question remains unanswered: Must the government force prayer-givers to avoid the name of Jesus (or other specific deity names) when they pray before legislative meetings? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said yes, but the rest of the country still says no. That conflict means the Supreme Court may yet weigh in on the question.

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman appeared on the Drew Mariani Show to discuss the Forsyth prayer case. | MP3 audio 8:20 mins

Ames, IA Patch: he Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedoms, particularly within the classroom, told Inside Higher Ed that after making adjustments to ensure the class was taught objectively, Iowa State should have allowed the class to continue. “It is a shame that certain academics and groups on the left … would rather engage in educational censorship than allow true academic freedom,” ADF senior counsel David Cortman wrote in a statement released to Inside Higher Ed. “Any objections to the method of teaching the course could have been addressed without canceling the entire course.”

The New American: “No federal court has ruled that prayers cannot be offered before public meetings,” said attorney David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the conservative legal advocacy group that represented the county in the case. He added, however, that the Supreme Court had “missed an opportunity to clear up the differing opinions among the various circuits about the content of the prayers. This means that, for the time being, the standard for prayer policies in the 4th Circuit will be different from the standard held by the rest of the country.”

ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hosanna Tabor (ministerial exception for Christian school teachers) and its refusal to hear Forsyth County (sectarian legislative prayer). | MP3 audio 7:10 mins

Inside Higher Ed: “It is a shame that certain academics and groups on the left … would rather engage in educational censorship than allow true academic freedom,” ADF senior counsel David Cortman wrote in a statement released to Inside Higher Ed. “Any objections to the method of teaching the course could have been addressed without canceling the entire course.”

Rocky Mount Telegram: “This means that, for the time being, the standard for prayer policies in the 4th Circuit will be different from the standard held by the rest of the country,” said David Cortman, senior counsel for the group.

Ken Klukowski at the Washington Examiner: David Cortman, ADF’s lead counsel said, “we are obviously disappointed that the Supreme Court did not agree to hear our case on behalf of the Forsyth County Commissioners and the local community. “We continue to believe that the lower court’s decision requiring public officials to censor the prayers of private citizens is inconsistent with historical practice and constitutional requirements. ADF will continue to defend legislative prayer throughout the country until the Supreme Courts hears a case that clears up the confusion.”

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman on Koinonia (KPXQ AM 1360) with Tom Brown: The Idaho charter challenge at the Supreme Court. | MP3 audio 12:19 mins

One News Now: “The mere fact that a classical text is religious does not mean it has no educational value,” contends ADF attorney David Cortman. “In fact, the Supreme Court itself has clearly acknowledged this, and that’s why it should hear the case.” . . . “It’s ridiculous that a historical, religious text that has been studied as part of Western civilization for centuries is somehow automatically off-limits,” the attorney argues. “When government officials ban the objective study of all religious texts, including the most important literary works of all times, it only contributes to the further dumbing down of government-run education.”

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 6:02 mins

One News Now (includes audio): “The school should not succumb to pressure from the faulty legal demands of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which spends its time threatening and intimidating school districts with disinformation to further its own constitutionally incorrect agenda,” Sharp contends. And ADF attorney David Cortman says . . . “An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that it’s okay to celebrate Christmas in schools and in the public square, and they are certainly correct,” he offers. “There is nothing unconstitutional about inclusion of this song in the school’s program, and that is supported by how the courts have consistently ruled.”

ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Janet Medford Show. | MP3 audio 13:18 mins

One News Now: The university is not telling the Democratic club it must be led by a Republican, or the vegetarian club that it must be led by a meat-eater,” points out ADF attorney David Cortman. “But it is telling Christian groups that they must allow themselves to be led by atheists.”

Todd Starnes of Fox News at Baptist Press: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told Fox News & Commentary they plan on offering legal services to the school district free of charge in the event someone tries to file a lawsuit. “Groups on the left such as Americans United have been trying to bully schools across the country all during this Christmas season, Cortman said. “When they tell schools it is unconstitutional to include a song such as Silent Night in their Christmas program, they are simply wrong not only as a matter of law but also as a matter of fairness.”

Examiner.com: David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund praised the school’s decision. “Groups on the left such as Americans United have been trying to bully schools across the country all during this Christmas season,” he said. “When they tell schools it is unconstitutional to include a song such as ‘Silent Night’ in their Christmas program, they are simply wrong not only as a matter of law but also as a matter of fairness.” “I think it’s about time that not only Americans but schools specifically stand up to these Grinches who go on this Christmas attack every year yet deny there is any war on Christmas,” Cortman added.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a petition Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court that asks it to weigh in on a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit against Christian student organizations at San Diego State University.

ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show. | MP3 audio 16:51 mins

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman appeared on Drive Time with Bill Bunkley to discuss the Bronx Household of Faith litigation. | MP3 Audio 17:35 mins

ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show. | MP3 audio 18:40 mins | Legal Memo: Constitutional Rights of Students, Teachers, and Public Schools to Seasonal Religious Expression

OneNewsNow.com: . . . and David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) thinks that was the right decision. “I think the court opinion said it best,” he contends. “It basically said the Establishment Clause does not shield citizens from encountering the beliefs or symbols of any faith to which they do not subscribe, and I think that’s exactly what’s going on here.”

Baptist Press at OpposingViews.com: The Vanderbilt case has attracted the most media attention in recent months, but it’s just one of dozens of cases playing out on campuses all across the country, said David Cortman, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. Most adults, who only know what college life was like when they were in school, have no idea how prevalent discrimination against Christians on campus has become, he said.

Leigh Jones at WORLD Magazine | Campus conformity | Leigh Jones | Dec 03, 11: The Alliance Defense Fund, which also argued CLS v. Martinez, plans later this month to ask the high court to consider the California case. Its decision will determine whether religious organizations can maintain their autonomy and their status as official school groups . . . The Vanderbilt case has attracted the most media attention in recent months, but it’s just one of dozens of cases playing out on campuses all across the country, said David Cortman, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. Most adults, who only know what college life was like when they were in school, have no idea how prevalent discrimination against Christians on campus has become, he said. “The university is supposed to be the marketplace of ideas, but it ends up being the storefront of censorship,” he said. “Rather than being wide open to all viewpoints, including some you may disagree with, [administrators] want you to agree with liberal orthodoxy just to maintain equal status on campus.”

Christian Post: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, agrees with Jones. Cortman told The Christian Post that: “There is no need to give preference to certain categories, such as sexual orientation, when all bullying should be banned. Students in such politically correct categories should not be singled out for special recognition or protection, as it necessarily leaves out equal protection for all other students who may be experiencing bullying.”

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Townhall : Nearly every week, I come across an article where parents in some community are in an uproar over school districts promoting inappropriate sexual materials to our kids. Whether it’s related to homosexual behavior or other age-inappropriate sexual issues, there seem be school districts across the land intent on sexualizing our kids.

OneNewsNow.com: “In fact, the Freedom From Religion Foundation turns the constitution on its head,” Cortman contends. “It basically argues that because someone is employed by the government, they somehow forfeit all their constitutional rights — and that is simply not true.”

OneNewsNow.com: “Obviously, this is a complete violation of the constitutional rights of the group for being excluded merely because they’re Christians,” contends ADF attorney David Cortman. “This was a secular assembly approved by the school, and yet this far-left group wants them prohibited merely because they’re Christian.”

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Townhall Conservative: So how exactly do we move from a nation whose founders and first public servants included many Christians, to a place where Christians are no longer fit to participate in public life? Because if the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF) has their way, that’s exactly what our country will look like.

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Speak Up Movement University Blog (10/21): The Latin phrase in loco parentis literally means “in the place of parents” and has been referred to loosely by courts as the place held by local schools when students are in attendance. But this concept is being taken too far by public school officials.

OneNewsNow.com: “Christian students have positive messages to share with other students that are not only protected by the Constitution, but that should be welcomed in public schools,” notes ADF attorney David Cortman. “The court was right to stop this unconstitutional ban on Christmas party invitations.” Though school officials prohibited invitations to the church party, ADF staff counsel Matt Sharp says they indiscriminately permitted other students to distribute invites to other events . . . [more]

The Tennessean | tennessean.com: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, said that teachers from Cheatham County have contacted his organization, which is considering a lawsuit. Cortman said Fields of Faith was a community event, and teachers were free to take part in it. He compared the situation to a teacher attending a church that meets in a school. In that case, a teacher would be free to talk about religion to students who attended that church, even though it met in a school. “Otherwise, they would have fewer constitutional rights than an ordinary person,” he said.

The Tennessean | tennessean.com: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, said that teachers from Cheatham County Schools have contacted his organization, which is considering a lawsuit. Cortman said Fields of Faith was a community event, and teachers were free to take part it. He compared the situation to a teacher attending a church that meets in a school. In that case, a teacher would be free to talk about religion to students who attended that church, even though it met in a school. “Otherwise, they would have fewer constitutional rights than an ordinary person,” he said.

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman on the Georgene Rice Show to discuss See You At the Pole. | MP3 audio 10:30 mins | Website: See You at the Pole

The Town Talk: “Christian students should not be prevented from peacefully expressing their beliefs outside of class time. They don’t abandon their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” said ADF senior counsel David Cortman. “Misinformed public school officials need to understand that the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ cannot be used as a reason to keep students from promoting or participating in ‘See You at the Pole.’”

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Human Events: But no matter how the ACLU plays this one, it’s indefensible for a simple reason: it does not violate the First Amendment protected rights of anyone to block sexual sites in school. And make no mistake, the sites that would be accessible if the filters were removed are rife with what can only be considered pornography.

Boise Weekly: The article mentions that Moffett is suing the board over the revocation of the charter. His lawyer is David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund, a group that defends so-called “Christian” causes “One of our claims in the case is, the closing down of the school, under the alleged guise of financial reasons, is a reaction to the teaching of religious books,” said Cortman.

The Bandera Bulletin: According to David Cortman, Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials.” Cortman says, “The ‘Don’t Filter Me Initiative’ would be better named the ‘Public School Porn Initiative.’ The ACLU is pushing its radical sexual agenda on children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics disguised as a concern over censorship. In truth, these school districts have no obligation to cave to the ACLU’s unwarranted demands. Our children come first . . . An internet article by Alan Sears (ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel) gives school districts who try to protect students from offensive materials reason to hope and stand firm . . . [more]

OneNewsNow.com: “The ACLU cannot set its own opinion up over the Supreme Court or the United States Constitution and decades of legal precedent,” Cortman contends. “‘Lip service is students’ First Amendment protective rights to express their religious beliefs at school’ is a flimsy cover for the ACLU’s real agenda, which is imposing restrictions that trample these rights.”

ADF Attorney David Cortman at Townhall: On college and university campuses around the country, officials are increasingly using “nondiscrimination” policies to deny religious groups the right to choose prospective members and leaders based on whether they share the group’s religious beliefs. In other words, laws that were originally designed to protect religious groups and persons from institutionalized discrimination are now being used to punish religious groups for exercising their religious freedoms.

Fox News: “I suspect the Supreme Court is going to eventually write the final book of this case,” David Cortman predicted as he too walked across the abandoned field that was once Nampa Classical. Cortman is from The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based group that defends Christian causes. “The Supreme Court of the United States has held for decades now,” he explained, “that it is Constitutionally permissible to objectively teach the Bible in public schools for history or comparative literature.”

OneNewsNow.com: “It’s simply reprehensible that the ACLU and Yale Law School are more concerned about faring their own agenda that exposes children to harm than they are about protecting those children,” Cortman laments. “Certainly, removing porn filters does nothing to end bullying.”

The Monitor – Kansas City Metro Edition: “The ACLU’s ‘Don’t Filter Me Initiative’ would be better named the ‘Public School Porn Initiative,’ says David Cortman, Senior Counsel for ADF. “The ACLU is pushing its radical sexual agenda for children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics disguised as a concern over censorship. School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials. Our children come first.”

Houston Chronicle (AP): ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said in a statement that no district should be bullied into exposing children to sexually graphic material. “It’s reprehensible that the ACLU and Yale Law School are more concerned about forwarding an agenda that exposes children to harm than they are about protecting those children,” Cortman said in a news release.

OneNewsNow.com: “The mere fact that a classical text is religious doesn’t mean that it has no educational value,” contends ADF’s David Cortman. “The Supreme Court itself has clearly acknowledged this. It’s ridiculous that a historical religious text that has been studied as part of Western civilization for hundreds or even thousands of years is somehow automatically off limits.”

ADF appeals 9th Circuit ruling that upheld Idaho ban on all religious,
classical Western Civ. texts from objective study in every public school, university

Deseret News: The Alliance Defense Fund in turn says that getting rid of filters like “sexuality” would not be a good idea.
“School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials,” ADF attorney David Cortman, told OneNewsNow. He went on to say that “the ACLU is pushing its radical sexual agenda for children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics,” adding that if demands are met, certain pornographic and pro-homosexual websites would be available to students.

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman on the Drew Mariani Show to discuss this: ADF responds to additional ACLU demands that schoolchildren be exposed to porn. | MP3 audio 7:39 mins | The ACLU press release announcing the initiative in partnership with Yale law school | Yale Daily Herald: Yale Law goes online for LGBT rights

ADF Attorney Dave Cortman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Amen! Principal, teachers at Miss. school told prayers are protected. | MP3 audio 15:33 mins

ADF Attorney David Cortman on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 7:10 mins

CBN.com: David Cortman, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, told The Christian Post, “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials.” The ADF has mailed letters to at least eight school districts, urging the schools to reject ACLU’s demands. “We want to make sure that schools don’t unnecessarily cave to the ACLU’s demands,” Mr. Cortman said.

Christian Post: However, for David Cortman, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which supports conservative organizations, says, “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials.” Letters by ADF, urging schools to reject ACLU’s demands, have been sent to at least eight school districts.
“We want to make sure that schools don’t unnecessarily cave to the ACLU’s demands,” Mr. Cortman said.

OneNewsNow.com: The Alliance Defense Fund has entered the fray, writing to seven school districts urging them to reject the ACLU’s demand. “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials,” argues ADF attorney David Cortman, adding that the ACLU’s “Don’t Filter Me Initiative” would be better named the “Public School Porn Initiative.”

California Catholic Daily: “The university should be a marketplace of ideas, not a place where the purveyors of political correctness pick and choose who will be allowed to exercise their First Amendment protected rights,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “SDSU only requires religious clubs to operate with members and leaders who disagree with the clubs’ views and purpose. The university is not telling the Democratic club it must be led by a Republican, or the vegetarian club that it must be led by a meat-eater. But it is telling Christian groups that they must allow themselves to be led by atheists.”

Cheryl Wetzstein at Washington Times: But David Cortman, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which defends traditional values organizations, counters that “school districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials.” The ADF recently sent letters to at least eight school districts, urging them to reject the ACLU’s demands and reactivate their filters on gay-related websites. “We want to make sure that schools don’t unnecessarily cave to the ACLU’s demands,” Mr. Cortman said.

Beliefnet News: “Public school principals, teachers, and staff members should not be threatened for exercising their constitutionally protected right to organize and participate in private, religious events in their personal capacities. Contrary to what the Freedom From Religion Foundation is arguing, this is not a government establishment of religion by any stretch of the imagination, except theirs,” said attorney David Cortman from the Alliance Defense Fund, a non-profit that has committed to defend the district in court if necessary.

Christian Post: ADF letters to the Pascagoula district Superintendent contend, “The Supreme Court has recognized that ‘there is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.’” ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman concluded, “Contrary to what the Freedom From Religion Foundation is arguing, this is not a government establishment of religion by any stretch of the imagination, except theirs.”

The Alliance Defense Fund sent a letter this week to Cedar Falls Community School District to discount an atheist group’s claim that the district cannot make safety and handicap-accessibility renovations to a nearby church property so that it can use the facilities to accommodate overcrowding for its pre-school program and meet city codes.

ADF Attorney David Cortman appeared on the Citizen Link Report (Aug. 23) to discuss the issue. The video can be viewed here. It runs just under 10 minutes

Beliefnet News: The ACLU “is pushing its radical sexual agenda for children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics disguised as a concern over censorship,” says David Cortman, Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. “In truth, these school districts have no obligation to cave to the ACLU’s unwarranted demands. Our children come first.”

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/08/aclu-campaign-schools-must-stop-blocking-kids-access-to-pornography.php#ixzz1W5432Jyc

The New American: In reality, a majority of Americans are probably more aligned with the views of legal advocacy groups like the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which in a similar case involving the FFRF has advised a Mississippi school district that its officials and students are well within their constitutionally guaranteed rights to pray at school functions . . . ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman noted in reference to the case. “Contrary to what the Freedom From Religion Foundation is arguing, this is not a government establishment of religion by any stretch of the imagination, except theirs.” . . . ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco noted that the circumstances in question “would be no different from Principal Sparkman teaching a Sunday school class at a church that rented school facilities for its Sunday services. In both situations, Principal Sparkman is acting in his personal capacity as a citizen and has the same right to express his religious beliefs as any other citizen.”

Yall Politics: “Public school principals, teachers, and staff members should not be threatened for exercising their constitutionally protected right to organize and participate in private, religious events in their personal capacities. Contrary to what the Freedom From Religion Foundation is arguing, this is not a government establishment of religion by any stretch of the imagination, except theirs,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman.

The Christian Institute: ADF lawyer David Cortman said that the “ACLU is pushing its radical sexual agenda for children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics disguised as a concern over censorship”. And he added: “In truth, these school districts have no obligation to cave to the ACLU’s unwarranted demands. Our children come first.” Another ADF lawyer cautioned: “Parents expect schools to be places where their children learn – not places where they access pornography.

OK for school district employees to pray (OneNewsNow.com): “Contrary to what the Freedom From Religion Foundation is arguing, this is not a government establishment of religion by any stretch of the imagination, except for theirs,” contends David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). Jeremy Tedesco, also of ADF, adds . . .

Christian Post:
David Cortman, the defense fund’s senior legal counsel told the Idaho Press-Tribune, “In our opinion, the court failed to perform any meaningful analysis of any issue in the case including the seminal one: whether there is any educational purpose to ban all religious documents from objective teaching.” Cortman also accused the circuit judges of ignoring the right of local school districts to choose their own curriculum and texts. “Censoring classical books, including religious books, does not improve a student’s education,” he said in a statement. “It harms it.” [more]

LifeSiteNews.com: “ACLU is pushing its radical sexual agenda for children by intimidating school districts with a long string of scare tactics disguised as a concern over censorship,” said David Cortman, Senior Counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). “In truth, these school districts have no obligation to cave to the ACLU’s unwarranted demands. Our children come first.” [more]

OneNewsNow.com: “It’s certainly our hope that a majority of the Supreme Court will understand that it’s not permissible for any state agency at any level to completely ban an entire category of books,” Cortman contends. “It’s just another way of the dumbing down of our public education system.”

The New American: David Cortman, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the legal advocacy group representing Moffett and the charter school, told the Idaho Press-Tribune in an e-mail that he is prepared to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. “In our opinion, the court failed to perform any meaningful analysis of any issue in the case,” Cortman wrote, “including the seminal one: whether there is any educational purpose to ban all religious documents from objective teaching….” In addition, he charged, the 9th Circuit panel ignored the right of local school districts to choose their own texts and curricula. “Censoring books, including religious books, is not the proper way to educate children,” Cortman said in an ADF statement, adding: The court’s opinion requiring the removal of religious books to comply with the so-called “separation of church and state” conflicts with established U.S. Supreme Court precedent stating that “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.”

Charisma: “School districts shouldn’t be bullied into exposing students to sexually explicit materials,” says ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The ‘Don’t Filter Me Initiative’ would be better named the ‘Public School Porn Initiative.’ . . . “The materials that the ACLU wants children exposed to is sexually explicit enough that just mentioning them in an email to adult district officials triggers an ‘offensive content’ filter,” says ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “The ACLU cannot mask its attempts to turn school computers into porn portals for children with a supposed concern for censorship. Parents expect schools to be places where their children learn—not places where they access pornography.”

Citydesk: But a senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund told the Idaho Press Tribune that his group is prepared to take their case to the Supreme Court. David Cortman said the Ninth Circuit “ignored the right of local school districts to choose their own texts and curriculum.” Ultimately Cortman said he’s prepared to file a petition to submit the case for review by the high court.

Idaho Press-Tribune: “In our opinion, the court failed to perform any meaningful analysis of any issue in the case, including the seminal one: whether there is any educational purpose to ban all religious documents from objective teaching …” Cortman said.
He said the court also ignored the right of local school districts to choose their own texts and curriculum.

Christian Post: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit filed against a Missouri school district for filtering what it calls “educational lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender content” has no legal grounds or traction and will likely be thrown out, speculated Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Senior Counsel David Cortman. “There is no basis in law for the claims that the ACLU are making in that case,” he said.

ADF attorney David Cortman at FFRF: Imagine No Religion |: Are we that far gone in this country where community members–even those who work for the government–can no longer voluntarily gather together to pray for our students, schools, community, or country? And isn’t that what we do each year at See You at the Pole and on the National Day of Prayer? If FFRF has its way, these events will no longer be “legal” under the supposed evolving, changing version of our founding documents.