Tag Archives: ADF: Erik Stanley

Catholic News Agency: “[Erik] Stanley charged that groups that want to ‘redefine’ marriage are ‘intentionally threatening’ churches’ tax-exempt status to promote ‘fear, intimidation and disinformation to silence their voice . . . ADF will stand with these churches to defend their right to free speech and religious expression against these baseless scare tactics,’ he stated.”

CitizenLink: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), said his group is offering free legal assistance to any church that becomes a target of the IRS. ‘Churches and pastors have a right to support or oppose legislative efforts directly,’ he said, ‘as long it constitutes an insubstantial part of what they do overall.’”

WorldNetDaily: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said pastors and churches have a right to discuss biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of being punished for their religious beliefs. ‘They can encourage their congregations to take a stand for marriage and can directly support legislative issues like Question 1 without running afoul of IRS rules,’ Stanley said. ‘Groups that want to redefine marriage are intentionally threatening the tax-exempt status of churches through fear, intimidation, and disinformation to silence their voice.’”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on AFA Focal Point Radio with Bryan Fischer to discuss this: Maine churches threatened with IRS complaints for supporting marriage.

The MP3 runs just under 13 minutes.

Question 1 opponents encourage frivolous attempts to revoke tax-exempt status;
ADF standing ready with free legal assistance.

WorldNetDaily: “‘We agree with the court’s conclusion that the ordinance violated the free speech rights of pro-life advocates by zoning them out of the areas where they have a First Amendment right to speak,’ said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which argued the case.”

“Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley [the 'hate crimes' bill] ‘provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe. ‘ADF has clearly seen the evidence of where ‘hate crimes’ legislation leads when it has been tried around the world . . . ()

Bill Muehlenberg writes in Christian Today Australia: “Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund points out the foolishness and danger of ‘hate crimes’ legislation: ‘These types of crimes are already punishable under existing federal, state, and local laws. Violent crimes should be punished regardless of the characteristics of the victim. Bills of this sort are designed to forward a political agenda and silence critics, not combat actual crime. The bottom line is that we do not need a law that creates second-class victims in America and that gives the government the opportunity to ignore the First Amendment.’”

Tulsa World: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, called it ‘a grave threat to the First Amendment designed to forward a political agenda and silence critics, not combat actual crime.’”

Christian Post: “‘ADF has clearly seen the evidence of where “hate crimes” legislation leads when it has been tried around the world: It paves the way for the criminalization of speech that is not deemed “politically correct,”‘ warned Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with Alliance Defense Fund. ‘”Hate crimes” laws fly in the face of the underlying purpose of the First Amendment, which was designed specifically to protect unpopular speech.’”

Denver Political Buzz Examiner: “Erik Stanley, Senior Legal Counsel for the group called the legislation ‘another nail in the coffin of the First Amendment.’ Other opponents cite cases in both Canada and Sweden, where Christians have been prosecuted for quoting the Bible on homosexuality.”

Washington Times: “‘Bills of this sort are designed to forward a political agenda and silence critics, not combat actual crime,’ said Erik Stanley, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian advocacy group.”

Christian Examiner: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, called the new law ‘another nail in the coffin for the First Amendment.’”

Baptist Press: “‘All violent crimes are hate crimes, and all crime victims deserve equal justice,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said in a written statement. ‘This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe.’”

CitizenLink: “‘This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel or believe,’ [Erik Stanley] said. ‘It paves the way for the criminalization of speech that is not deemed “politically correct.”‘”

Associated Baptist Press: “‘This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe.’ said Erik Stanley, senior counsel for the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund, in a press release.”

WorldNetDaily: “‘All violent crimes are hate crimes, and all crime victims deserve equal justice,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said in a statement. ‘This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe. ADF will be on the front line to defend those whose free speech or free exercise of religion rights are violated by this unconstitutional law and to ultimately overturn this attack on freedom.’”

“The new ‘hate crimes’ bill expected to be signed into law by President Obama Wednesday is another nail in the coffin for the First Amendment, according to attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund.”

WorldNetDaily: “A Christian minister who has spent time in jail . . . is warning that the federal legislation . . . is ‘one of the most dangerous pieces of federal legislation in the history of our nation’ . . . Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, told WND the move is alarming because ‘this would be the very first governmental and societal disapproval of a sincerely held religious belief, held by a majority of Americans, namely that homosexual behavior is immoral.’”

Baptist Press: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told Christianity Today the language to protect freedom of speech and religion was insufficient. ‘While the wordings are nice, the amendments are really meaningless,’ Stanley said. ‘Treating them as a panacea that would treat the problems of the hate crimes law would be wrong.’”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss hate crimes legislation pending in Congress and the threat it poses to religious freedom.

The MP3 runs just under 35 minutes.

Christianity Today: “However, Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, believes that the provisions do not offer anything new that isn’t already protected under the Constitution. ‘While the wordings are nice, the amendments are really meaningless,’ Stanley said. ‘Treating them as a panacea that would treat the problems of the hate crimes law would be wrong.’”

WorldNetDaily: “A ‘hate crimes’ law is looming in Washington, and at least two organizations are urging Americans to contact their representatives and even the president to express their concern over the plan’s potential ‘thought control’ aspects . . . Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, told WND the move is alarming because ‘this would be the very first governmental and societal disapproval of a sincerely held religious belief, held by a majority of Americans, namely that homosexual behavior is immoral.’”

WorldNetDaily: “Eighty-three pastors in churches in 30 states and the District of Columbia have challenged the Internal Revenue Service to investigate them for preaching biblically based sermons about the positions of electoral candidates or government officials . . . ‘The government shouldn’t be used to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights, as church leaders have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley.”

Dakota Voice: “Eighty-three churches from 30 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27.”

Eighty-three churches from 30 states and the District of Columbia participated in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27.

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Reality Check with Mike and Clairie Monokian to discuss the Pulpit Initiative.

The MP3 runs just under 9 minutes.

ADF Pulpit Initiative

ADF Media: Pastors ready for second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on Ave Maria Radio with Al Kresta to discuss the second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday.

The MP3 runs just over 13 minutes.

ADF Pulpit Initiative information page

ADF Media: Pastors ready for second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27

CitizenLink: “On Sunday, more than 80 pastors across the nation openly defied a 1954 amendment by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, that restricts political speech from the pulpit. The Pulpit Initiative is sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).”

Associated Press: “The Alliance Defense Fund’s Erik Stanley says most of the sermons were preached this past Sunday, with a few scheduled this coming Sunday.”

Dakota Voice: “Dozens of pastors across the country will preach this Sunday providing biblical perspectives on the position of political candidates . . . ‘Pastors have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. ‘No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights.’”

Christian Post: “Dozens of pastors across the country will preach this Sunday providing biblical perspectives on the position of political candidates. The sermons are an act of defiance to the Internal Revenue Service rule that says nonprofits with tax-exempt status cannot endorse a candidate or be involved in political activity . . . ‘Pastors have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. ‘No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights.’”

WorldNetDaily: “Dozens of pastors around the nation are challenging an Internal Revenue Service rule that anti-Christian activists often invoke when they want to silence the message of churches, according to the Alliance Defense Fund . . . ‘Pastors have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment. No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,’ ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley explained.”

OneNewsNow: “September 27 is ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday.’ According to senior counsel Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund, it is a time when pastors can stand in their pulpits and proclaim the entire truth of the gospel — even as it applies to candidates in elections. ‘It really flows from the fact that pastors have a right to speak freely from their pulpits without fearing government censorship or intimidation — and that no one should be able to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,’ the attorney explains.”

Dakota Voice: “The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is announcing the second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday coming up on September 27.”

LifeNews: “The second Pulpit Freedom Sunday on September 27 is meant to challenge what are considering onerous IRS restrictions on what pastors and priests can say . . . ‘Pastors have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment. No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley told LifeNews.com.”

“More than 80 pastors nationwide will be participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27.”

OneNewsNow: “Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is suing the city of Phoenix over trying to silence church bells . . . [ADF Attorney Erik Stanley] is asking the court to rule the ordinance unconstitutionally vague and stop criminal prosecutions of the churches and pastors.”

Catholic News Agency: “Three churches have filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix, charging that its noise ordinance which prohibits the ringing of their church bells is unconstitutional and suppresses a long American tradition . . . ADF senior legal counsel Erik Stanley explained the suit, saying that churches shouldn’t be published ‘for exercising their faith publicly.’”

WorldNetDaily: “Three churches in Phoenix have brought a legal action against the city because one pastor already has been convicted and other churches are being threatened over the “noise” from their bells, some of which have rung out to the community for decades . . . ‘Churches shouldn’t be punished for exercising their faith publicly,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. ‘The law is unconstitutionally vague and has been abused to silence a form of worship that has peacefully sounded through the streets of our nation since its founding.’”

Phoenix New Times: “In June, a Catholic bishop was sentenced to three years of probation and 10 days in jail (suspended) for violating a noise ordinance by ringing church bells in a Phoenix neighborhood . . . ‘The bells represent a means of religious worship for the churches,’ Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, tells Courthouse News Service.”

Courthouse News Service: “Three churches say Phoenix is unconstitutionally prohibiting them from ringing their bells . . . ‘The bells represent a means of religious worship for the churches,’ [Erik] Stanley said. ‘They show the community the church is there, and for the Catholic churches they are also a reminder to pray.’”

ABC 15: “Attorneys representing three churches are suing the City of Phoenix claiming that a noise ordinance prohibiting the ringing of their bells is unconstitutional . . . [Erik Stanley said,] ‘the city’s problematic ordinance is being used to inconsistently single out the peaceful sound of this time-honored expression of worship while allowing exceptions for others.’”

Colorado Statesman: “Supporters of a ballot proposal to bring back a slightly altered form of last year’s controversial ‘Personhood’ Amendment have a more immediate goal: to become the first initiative campaign in Colorado to be run entirely by volunteers . . . Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund . . . wrote in a recent letter that many pastors may want to speak in defense of life and in support of the amendment, but could be deterred for fear that their church’s federal tax-exempt status would somehow be endangered.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley and Anglican Bishop Rick Painter of the Cathedral of Christ the King Church in Phoenix, Arizona appeared on KPXQ Radio to discuss efforts to silence the Church Bells.

The MP3 runs just over 40 minutes.

Minnesota Independent: “The ADF’s Eric Stanley said that the campaign ‘is really part of a long, sustained campaign’ to get a court challenge to IRS laws governing electioneering. ‘We feel very confident that when we do, it will not take long for a federal judge to strike down this unconstitutional restriction on churches’ rights.’”

OneNewsNow: “‘That’s right — and when Congress passed the Church Audit Procedures Act, it was intended to remove some of the political wrangling that might be going on behind the scenes at the IRS and to require that this decision to go after a church to be made at a sufficiently high level,’ [Erik Stanley] notes.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Salem Radio Network with Phil Fleischman to discuss the 2009 ADF Pulpit Initiative. The MP3 runs just under 8 minutes. Learn more: ADF Pulpit Initiative

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on The Word 100.7 FM with Janet Mefferd to discuss pending “Hate Crimes” legislation.

The MP3 runs just under 18 minutes.

OneNewsNow: “‘We’re going to hold another ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ this year, September 27,’ [Erik Stanley] explains. ‘We’re going to continue to seek to have this issue clarified — either by the IRS clarifying the issue itself and admitting that what a pastor says from the pulpit does not violate the Johnson Amendment, or seeking clarification of the issue by federal court.’”

WorldNetDaily: “‘The IRS apparently has no desire to clarify the law for churches and has studiously avoided a court confrontation over this issue for years,’ Stanley explained. ‘They continue to vaguely interpret the law, leave churches guessing as to what the law actually means, and enforce the Johnson Amendment through fear and intimidation.’”

Steve Karnowski reports in the Duluth News Tribune (AP): “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Arizona-based group, said 33 pastors in 22 states participated in the Sept. 28 Pulpit Freedom Sunday. He said they all sent the IRS copies of their sermons testing the ban. The IRS never went after any of them for those sermons, Stanley said.”

CitizenLink: “ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said the IRS continues to leave churches in limbo while it refuses to clarify the tax code. ‘It illustrates everything that is wrong with the current enforcement of the Johnson Amendment,’ Stanley noted. ‘After an 11-month audit, it is disingenuous for the IRS to simply close the file and walk away as if nothing happened.’”

Nathan Black reports in The Christian Post: “‘This latest action from the IRS continues to leave churches in limbo when it comes to speaking freely from their pulpits,’ Stanley added in a statement Tuesday. ‘It illustrates everything that is wrong with the current enforcement of the Johnson Amendment. After an 11-month audit, it is disingenuous for the IRS to simply close the file and walk away as if nothing happened.’”

Paul Walsh reports in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “The fund’s senior legal counsel, Erik Stanley, said Tuesday that the IRS’s latest action ‘continues to leave churches in limbo when it comes to speaking freely from their pulpits. … After an 11-month audit, it is disingenuous for the IRS to simply close the file and walk away as if nothing happened.’”

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: “Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund said they were disappointed the IRS has dropped the examination. ‘ADF would likely have waived any complaint about procedural concerns involved in the investigation stage of the audit in order to reach the merits of the case and clarify the law,’ said Erik Stanley, the fund’s senior legal counsel, in a statement.”

“After launching an audit of the church in August 2008, the IRS has now stated in a letter that it is closing its examination of the sermons due to a procedural problem.”

ADFMedia.org: “The Daily Kos and a few other bloggers have misrepresented the position of ADF on the current Hate Crimes Bill based on some selective quoting. . . . ADF has never claimed and does not claim that some people deserve ‘overly-equal’ rights and some deserve ‘no rights at all.’ Indeed, ADF opposes ‘hate’ crimes legislation precisely because we believe that all Americans should have the same rights.”

Daily Kos link

ADF attorney Erik Stanley discusses the right of conscience on the Michael Medved Show.

Dan Gilgoff writes at the U.S. News & World Report “God & Country” blog: “As religious conservatives mount a last-ditch effort to derail the bill, however, legal experts say the legislation narrowly focuses on violent acts and that pastors’ speech remains protected by the First Amendment. And some religious activists acknowledge that they’re less concerned about the immediate effects of expanding hate crimes protections than about the broader message it sends. ‘This is the first time you would have written into law a government disapproval of a religious belief held by the majority of Americans—that homosexuality is sinful,’ says Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘It’s more of a slippery slope argument than about the law itself.’”

Paige Winfield reports in Christianity Today: “Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said that while churches and their ministers will probably not be directly prosecuted, pastors could still be called upon to testify in the prosecution of a hate crime just because they preached on homosexuality. ‘I think once that happens, that is going to send a huge chill through the pastorate,’ Stanley said.”

CitizenLink: “‘This particular hate-crimes bill would be the first time the federal government disapproves of a valid, sincerely held religious belief held by a majority of Americans,’ [Erik Stanley] explained. ‘And that’s very troubling for free speech and free exercise of religion.’”

Tiffany Stanley reports at USA Today (RNS): “There is no evidence that a lack of prosecutions is occurring,” said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel of Alliance Defense Fund. “There is a well-documented pattern that these crimes are being punished under current criminal law without adding any kind of hate crimes provisions.”

Michael Foust writes at Baptist Press: “‘IRS regulations are very clear that a church is allowed to support or oppose legislation — including initiatives and referendums — as long as it does not constitute a substantial part of the church’s activities,’ Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization, told Baptist Press. ‘… Basically, if it’s under about 15 percent of a church’s activities overall, a church is allowed to do that. That’s such a high threshold. Most churches never have more than that.’”

Baptist Press:

If California can do it, then so can Maine — that’s at least what Carole Edgerly of Farmington Baptist Church in Maine believes . . . IRS regulations are very clear that a church is allowed to support or oppose legislation — including initiatives and referendums — as long as it does not constitute a substantial part of the church’s activities,” Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization, told Baptist Press. “… Basically, if it’s under about 15 percent of a church’s activities overall, a church is allowed to do that. That’s such a high threshold. Most churches never have more than that.”

A church, Stanley said, can gather signatures, address the issue from the pulpit and even take a church vote to formally endorse the People’s Veto effort.

“All of that is perfectly permissible,” he said. “No one is going to get in trouble with the IRS for doing that.”

Christian Science Monitor: ‘s ridiculous to be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history, especially when the sound of the church’s bells did not exceed the noise level that the law allows for ice cream trucks,” said Erik Stanley, a senior legal counsel with Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Painter.

Drew Zahn reports at WorldNetDaily: “‘It’s ridiculous to be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history,’ said a statement from Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been retained by Painter. ‘Christians shouldn’t be punished for exercising their faith publicly.’”

ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley: “It’s ridiculous to be sentenced to jail and probation for doing what churches have traditionally done throughout history, especially when the sound of the church’s bells did not exceed the noise level that the law allows for ice cream trucks.”

ADF attorney Erik Stanley, who heads up the ADF Pulpit Initiative, writes at Townhall: “FactCheck.org recently posted an article that proposes to “answer” some questions about the impact of the Hate Crimes Bill, currently pending in the Senate as S.909…but perhaps they ought to check their facts. The article summarily dismisses claims that the Hate Crimes Bill would muzzle pastors and churches and states, ‘In reality, there is nothing in the bill that says pastors must zip their lips rather than denounce homosexuality… The article misses the point entirely.’”

Church Executive:
The Liberty Legal Institute, meanwhile, cautions that liberal groups are engaged in a national campaign filing IRS complaints against pastors. “They sound very confident and file many complaints yet none are found valid even by the IRS,” said Shackelford. Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal firm, also says the Texas case reveals attempts by “radical groups bent on squelching any church involvement in societal affairs” to use the IRS as an advocacy tool. “While the outcome of this case was good, the history of the case and the IRS’ investigation demonstrate that the tax code must be changed to prohibit these attacks on churches,” Stanley told The Christian Post, noting that the IRS continues to issue increasingly vague guidance.

ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on Reality Check with Mike and Clairie Monokian to discuss the “hate crimes” bill pending in Congress.
The mp3 runs just over 7 minutes.

New York Times: “‘The wheels of bureaucracy move slowly,’ said Erik Stanley, the group’s senior legal counsel. ‘We’re prepared if they do come after these churches, and we’re also prepared if they do not.’”

Stanley, the ADF’s attorney, said the organization will continue its protests as long as necessary . . . If the IRS does not take action against future protests, he said, pastors will learn the regulation can be safely ignored.

Jurist reports: “Erik Stanley [Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund]: “The Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission case is pending for decision before the US Supreme Court, and the case raises some serious constitutional questions. ADF filed a friend-of-the-court brief focusing on one specific – and highly important – portion of the case.”

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AP): “In a letter to FEMA, attorney Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers, said, “We are aware the trucks were not FEMA, but the companies contracted with FEMA to do cleanup work.”