Tag Archives: ADF: Media Clips

LifeSiteNews: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys defended the law and the amendment on behalf of Hawaii Family Forum, which the court allowed to intervene in the case in April. “This ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society,” said Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. “The people of Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage, and the court rightly concluded that the democratic process shouldn’t be short-circuited by judicial decree.”

Holly Carmichael appeared on Hawaii Public Radio to discuss the Hawaii marriage ruling in Jackson v. Abercrombie. | MP3 audio mins 2:57 mins

Michael Foust at Baptist Press: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented the Hawaii Family Forum in defending the law. Hawaii Family Forum was allowed to intervene after Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, refused to defend the law in court. “This ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society,” ADF attorney Dale Schowengerdt said in a statement. “The people of Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage, and the court rightly concluded that the democratic process shouldn’t be short-circuited by judicial decree.”

Ed Whelan at National Review: Via William Duncan at the Corner, I’ve learned of this strong and sound ruling yesterday in Hawaii by senior federal district judge Alan C. Kay holding that there is no federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage . . . Because the proper exercise of rational-basis review has been so rare of late in the marriage context, I’m going to briefly outline Judge Kay’s reasoning . . . Congratulations to the ADF team that stepped in to help defend Hawaii’s marriage law after governor Neil Abercrombie declined to do so.

NC Register: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told Catholic News Agency Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties, while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

One News Now: Many churches shy away from public schools because they fear violating the so-called “separation of church and state” laws. But Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom says churches have the same rights other public organizations enjoy in public schools. “In all of this, the important context is whatever the school allows other community groups to do, the school has to allow church to do the same,” he explains. “There’s no violation of the Constitution or the Establishment Clause when the school merely treats every group equally.”

One News Now: Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s support for the biblical definition of marriage has outraged “gay” activists, who have since been demanding that his restaurants be excused from college campuses. But Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom says such action would be illegal. [more]

Religion Clause Blog: Hawaii has enacted a law providing for civil unions that give partners all the same state legal rights as married couples. AP reports on the decision. Alliance Defending Freedom links to the pleadings in the case.

CNA: Matt Bowman, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, objected to the president’s contention that offering exemptions to the mandatory coverage allows employers to control women. “The only ‘controlling’ actions in this case involve the president’s command that families abandon their faith just because they want to earn a living or serve their community,” Bowman told CNA Aug. 8. “The government is picking and choosing what faith is and who can live it out, and then targeting religious people with massive penalties while bureaucrats exempt millions of other people for political reasons.”

Fox News (AP): “The ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society,” said Dale Schowengerdt, an attorney representing Hawaii Family Forum.

David Cortman at the Washington Times: To prevent this from happening, Alliance Defending Freedom sent letters focused on the First Amendment and the Supreme Court precedent supporting Chick-fil-A’s speech to four public universities that have received demands to kick Chick-fil-A off campus. This type of retaliation is not only un-American, it’s likely illegal, too.

Wesley J. Smith at The Weekly Standard: A recent federal trial court ruling has warmed the hearts of social conservatives and civil libertarians alike . . . William Newland and his siblings, self-insuring owners of Hercules Industries, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning manufacturing company, did not appreciate being ordered by the federal government to violate the precepts of their Catholic faith. With the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom, the family members and their business (an S corporation in Colorado) sued, claiming (in addition to constitutional arguments) that the free birth control rule violates their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) . . . As Hercules’s attorney Matthew S. Bowman told me, “Apparently the only things a family business may legally pursue—according to the government—are profit and whatever else Washington bureaucrats decide to mandate, which in our case includes contraception, sterilization, and what many believe to be abortion-inducing drugs.”

David Cortman at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: But the First Amendment dictates no such separation. In fact, it requires that churches receive the same access to schools as other community organizations. Here are a few suggestions for ways your church can get involved with local schools . . .

Matt Sharp at the Speak Up Movement University Blog: But the fight isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning. Because now activist groups are demanding that several universities that have Chick-fil-As on campus take immediate steps to sever all ties with the company.

Mike Norton and Sue Thayer appeared on The View from a Pew with J. Michael McCoy to discuss Thayer v. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. | MP3 audio 11:20 mins

Michael J. Norton appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the Newland ruling. | MP3 audio 8:55 mins

Catherine Foster at Townhall: It seems that every day the effects of the culture of death on our society are more and more obvious, and more and more gruesome. Just take the continued funding of Planned Parenthood with taxpayer dollars.

One News Now: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” says Matt Sharp, litigation counsel for ADF. “The First Amendment protects Chick-fil-A’s right and its president’s right to express their opinions on marriage and other political and social issues. Any retaliation against Chick-fil-A based on its speech is a violation of federal law.”

Christian Concern: However, an attorney from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), David Cortman, said that a restaurant cannot be blocked from opening because of the owner’s beliefs. “It absolutely is not constitutional,” Cortman told the Baptist Press. “And I think the irony here is that they are claiming this is an issue of freedom and civil rights, but they’re actually the ones who would be violating the civil rights of Chick-fil-A not to allow them to open up their business simply because of their views.” Cortman said that the issue effected any business or organisation in America whose owners held views different from that of the government.

Newsmax: Both the Family Policy Council of West Virginia and Alliance Defending Freedom came to the defense of the restaurant chain on Friday after gay advocacy group Fairness WV urged university president James Clements to boot the restaurant, MetroNews reports.”The First Amendment protects Chick-fil-A’s right to express its opinion on marriage and other political and social issues and that any retaliation against Chick-fil-A based on its speech is a violation of federal law,” the Alliance’s senior counsel, David Cortman, wrote. In a separate but similar defense letter, Jeremiah Dys, president of the state’s Family Policy Council noted, “Were your office to approve the disassociation with a company who serves your students by selling chicken, you would undermine the very important lessons of free speech and tolerance that the university seeks to teach to its student body.”

The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register: “The Madison, Wis., foundation has decided to challenge the city over their unofficial logo. And Steubenville has a number of very motivated Christians and Catholics who are used to being very politically motivated. They are also very good at getting media attention on a national basis,” said Terry McKeegan of Steubenville. McKeegan, one of 2,200 attorneys affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the city’s unofficial logo may be “the perfect case to take to the Supreme Court.”

Azhar Majeed of FIRE at The Moral Liberal: Following receipt of a letter from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the University of Alabama has made an important change to university policy in order to protect the freedom of association of religious student organizations on campus. ADF explains . . .

UPI: It takes four votes on the nine-member court to grant review. Aside from Kennedy, who votes conservative most of the time, the court is split into a four-justice liberal bloc and a four-justice conservative bloc. If Kennedy joins either side, he makes it the majority. A number of analyses, including one in the LGBT Weekly last week, point out this poses a problem for both blocs. Should the four liberals vote to deny review, leaving Prop 8 struck down by the appeals court panel? Or should they vote for review, hoping that Kennedy will join them in any eventual U.S. Supreme Court decision affecting the whole country?

Michael Foust at Baptist Press: Previewing what could be the next front in the public debate over Chick-fil-A, a religious liberty organization has sent letters to five universities urging them to reject demands to boot the restaurant from campus and warning them that any such move would be unconstitutional. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sent the letters to the five universities, making clear it was not representing Chick-fil-A . . .

Colorado Statesman: Mike Norton, one of the attorneys representing the Newland family who is also counsel for the Christian conservative organization Alliance Defense Fund, told The Colorado Statesman that the Hercules case could set the tone for many pending and looming lawsuits. “It’s definitely a precedent-setting case,” said the former congressional candidate and U.S. Attorney for Colorado. “It really is the only case of its kind to this date which has an adverse ruling against Obamacare and this HHS mandate.” [more] . . . A new lobbying organization in Colorado, Secular Coalition for Colorado, says it will fight to ensure that politics never interfere with access to health care or other public policy issues . . .

NYT: A federal appeals court ruling has affirmed a lower court decision upholding the arrest of two protesters who refused to leave a no-demonstration zone across from Madison Square Garden during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. | Courthouse News Service: Anti-Abortion Activists Lose RNC Protest Suit – The anti-abortion activists were represented by the D.C.-based Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group. They have no affiliation with the NYCLU or its pending class action. | Marcavage v. NYC

Steve Aden at Townhall: To protect mothers as well as their preborn children, Arizona lawmakers passed H.B. 1036—a bill banning elective abortions after 20 weeks. Although the legislation was aptly titled “The Mother’s Health and Safety Act,” the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued to block its implementation.

Hugh Hewitt provides this brief update on the Newland ruling. | MP3 Audio 1 min

NRB: As noted last week, Hercules Industries in Colorado went to federal court in search of an injunction to stave off the Obama Administration mandate . . . As of August 1, that new mandate is now in effect . . . The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) celebrated the day as a victory for women, but noted, “The Obama administration will continue to work with all employers to give them the flexibility and resources they need to implement the health care law in a way that protects women’s health while making common-sense accommodations for values like religious liberty.” In a blog post, Amy Payne and Sarah Torre of the Heritage Foundation responded to the HHS statement, “Religious liberty is a fundamental right guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution, not a mere ‘value’ whose worth is subject to devaluation by any given Administration’s policy.” | Original NRB report: Hercules Battles HHS

Matt Bowman appeared on the Victoria Taft Show to discuss the Newland case. | MP3 audio 8:34 mins

Herald Star: “The Madison, Wis., foundation has decided to challenge the city over their unofficial logo. And Steubenville has a number of very motivated Christians and Catholics who are used to being very politically motivated. They are also very good at getting media attention on a national basis,” said Terry McKeegan of Steubenville. McKeegan, one of 2,200 attorneys affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the city’s unofficial logo may be a strong test case.”This may be the perfect case to take to the Supreme Court,” McKeegan said . . . The FFRF issued a press release Thursday afternoon quoting foundation staff attorney Patrick Elliot as telling Repella, “Do not be duped by offers from religious right legal groups. They may volunteer their time pro bono, but they never pick up the plaintiffs’ tab.”

CBS 4 Denver reports on the Newland case. The Video is here.

Mike Norton & Sue Thayer on Who NewsRadio 1040 with Jan Mickelson to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 27:38 min

National Review Online: Carrie Kolesar of Seneca Hardwood Lumber Co. in Cranberry, Pa., tells National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez in an interview. “No American should be faced with a decision like that,” she continues. Kolesar is a part owner of this family business established in 1961 . . . A few weeks after the mandate was finalized, I saw that Alliance Defending Freedom was taking a case for a private business and I contacted them for advice regarding our situation. The HHS mandate has put us in a situation where we can’t provide insurance for ourselves and our employees without violating our moral obligations and freedom of conscience. My parents, my siblings, and I believe that the public and our government need to be more aware of the problems caused when we don’t protect freedom of conscience.

Andy Newland and Matt Bowman appeared on Dateline Washington, Radio America with Greg Corombos to discuss the Newland ruling. | MP3 audio 7:05 mins

Hugh Hewitt at the National Catholic Register: With the help of the superb lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund), the Newlands sought relief from President Barack Obama’s mandate, citing both the protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the 1993 U.S. Constitution . . . The Newlands have shown the way and are to be thanked for their courage. Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom or other groups like the Becket Fund (which is representing the Register’s parent company, EWTN) will evaluate any case that any private employer may want to press to free themselves from Obamacare’s imposition on their genuine religious beliefs.

Matt Bowman and Andy Newland on the radio with Tom Lucero on AM Colorado, 1310 KFKA to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 11:43 mins

Catholic Culture: In arguing against a firm’s attempt to block application of the HHS mandate, lawyers for the Department of Justice stated that “for-profit, secular employers generally do not engage in any exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment.” . . . “A secular entity by definition does not practice religion,” the Obama administration had argued in its filing. “The Newlands nonetheless claim that the regulations substantially burden their religious exercise because the regulations may require the group health plan sponsored by their secular company to provide health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage.”

Denver Post: “The principle decided here is applicable to all of the cases raising the issue of can the government justify forcing people to choose between their faith, and engaging in business or serving the community,” said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of Christian lawyers.

World Magazine: Dale Schowengerdt with the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) is one of those lawyers working with the House to defend DOMA in lower courts. In one challenge to DOMA in Philadelphia, he found himself standing on the side of the aisle where the Justice Department lawyer would normally stand, defending U.S. laws, while the Justice Department lawyer stood on the other side of the aisle. “When they made the announcement [that they wouldn't defend the law], we thought they’d just sit on the sidelines,” he said. “It was very strange to have the DOJ lawyer get up and attack the law.” [more]

Jane Norton at the Denver Post: Fortunately, a court just issued the first-ever order against Obama’s mandate, preventing it from being applied to the Newland family while their lawsuit, filed by their attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, goes forward. And we’d all better hope the Newlands prevail in the end. (Jane Norton was lieutenant governor of Colorado from 2003 to 2007. Her husband, Michael Norton, is a member of the legal team representing Hercules Industries.) [Jane was also a regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1988-1993 for six states, including Colorado.]

CNSNews: Gary Marx, executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, praised a federal judge in Colorado for issuing a temporary injunction on Friday, stopping the Obama administration from enforcing the regulation against Hercules Industries, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business owned by a Catholic family. “Confidence in the system and hope for religious liberty was mildly restored when a federal district judge issued a temporary injunction blocking Barack Obama’s health care mandate from compelling a business to provide insurance coverage of sterilization, contraception, and abortion-inducing drugs,” Marx said. [see also powerful Brent Bozell III quote]

Investor’s Business Daily: Since Hercules Industries would be required to begin offering the new coverage when its self-insured plan renews on Nov. 1, Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing Hercules, has requested a preliminary injunction that could prevent the government from enforcing the mandate against the company by Aug. 1, the date when the company would need to begin the process of making changes to its plan.

Ruth Institute Blog: The law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, represent the Newland family, who were the victors in today’s court ruling. Twenty lawsuits against the HHS mandate remain, and we will continue to keep you up-to-date on their progress!

Defenders of California’s marriage amendment asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that declared the amendment unconstitutional.

Paul Newland and Matt Bowman appear in the Fox News video interview here.

AP on MySanAntonio: Coleman is alleging the incident was a violation of Fourth Amendment rights that guard against unreasonable seizure. He was tossed out after another man had spoken during the period and questioned the commission’s decision to accept free legal representation from the Alliance Defense Fund in the lawsuit. The fund is a Washington-based legal alliance of Christian attorneys.

Steve Aden appeared on the Schilling Show to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 8:48 mins

CBN (includes video): The Denver company is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund)

Alan Sears appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the Newland case. | MP3 audio 8:42 mins

Matt Bowman appeared on the radio to discuss the Newland ruling. | Drew Mariani Show, MP3 audio 16:40 mins | Al Kresta in the Afternoon Show, MP3 audio 11:49 mins | News and Views with Chuck Bates, MP3 audio 13:08 mins

Jonathan Lee and Matt Mellema, participants in the Blackstone Legal Fellowship appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss their experiences. | MP3 audio 9:05 mins

NC Register: “We’re very pleased the judge recognized that religious freedom applies to families and their activities in business and that a mandate that violates religious freedom cannot be imposed against faithful Christian believers,” said Matt Bowman, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a coalition of Christian attorneys. Alliance Defending Freedom was formerly called the Alliance Defense Fund.

Catholic Online (includes video): As the August 1, 2012 date for the initial implementation requirements of the HHS mandate drew near, the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund) issued an opinion advising Catholic Colleges and other Church related institutions of the a “temporary one year safe harbor” which could delay the consequences of their non-compliance for one year . . . However, the Alliance Defending Freedom was doing more than just helping Colleges and other organizations delay the punitive effects of this mandate. They were busy on another front, showing themselves to be outstanding religious liberty lawyers.

Christian Post: Earlier this year, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against Rockdale on behalf of New Generation over the county’s zoning laws, which forbid churches from meeting on property smaller than three acres. “Government officials should not use zoning restrictions to close down religious services of small, start-up churches, so we commend the county for agreeing to a court order that allows this church to meet while the case moves forward,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley in a statement. “It’s unconstitutional and a violation of federal law to target churches with these kinds of zoning restrictions. Small ministries like this one shouldn’t be forced underground simply because they can’t afford a property of more than three acres.”

NRLC News: Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. For the time being, Hercules Industries will be able to do just that,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The cost of freedom for this family could be millions of dollars per year in fines that will cripple their business if the Obama administration ultimately has its way. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that Washington bureaucrats cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living. Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

FRC Washington Update: Because of the ruling, at least one family-owned business, Hercules Industries, won’t feel the sting of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) war on religious liberty when the order takes effect this Wednesday. Thanks to our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the Newland family has three months to take its lawsuit to the next level before the administration’s mandate, requiring it to offer abortion pills, contraception, and sterilization to the company’s 265 employees, takes effect.

Jordan Lorence on Engaging the Issues with Jeremy Dys of the WV Family Policy Council to discuss the Bronx Household case. | MP3 audio 21:28 mins

Michael Norton on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss the suit. | MP3 audio mins 13:47

David Hacker apeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: ADF: Calif. student free of disciplinary hearing, but not of unconstitutional speech policy. | MP3 audio 8:30 mins

Michael J. Norton appeared on The What’s Up Radio Program with Terry Lowry to discuss the Thayer fraud suit versus Planned Parenthood. | MP3 audio 12:56 mins

Matt Bowman on the Ladona Harvey Show on KOGO FM 95.7 to discuss the Newland case.  | MP3 audio 8:42 mins

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence will be available for media interviews following his oral argument before the Minnesota Supreme Court Tuesday disputing the ballot title Secretary of State Mark Ritchie assigned to the Minnesota marriage amendment.

Steven Aden at LifeNews: The Left, by its very nature, is ideologically driven. Ideology has a tendency to crowd out reason for the sake of vision.
Witness the fact that certain members of the Left now want Americans to believe the Obama abortion pill mandate—which violates religious freedom—is, in fact, an exercise of religious freedom.

Newsmax: In its brief responding to the Justice Department on behalf of the Newland family, the Alliance Defending Freedom said, according to CNSNews.com, “The government argues that the Newlands forfeited their right to religious liberty as soon as they endeavored to earn their living by running a corporation.” “Nothing in the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s decisions, or federal law requires — or even suggests — that families forfeit their religious liberty protection when they try to earn a living, such as by operating a corporate business,” they argued.

Reuters: “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” Matthew Bowman, a lawyer for Hercules with the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a statement.

Michael Foust at Baptist Press: The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the company. “This lawsuit seeks to ensure that Washington bureaucrats cannot force families to abandon their faith just to earn a living,” ADF attorney Matt Bowman said in a statement. “Americans don’t want politicians and bureaucrats deciding what faith is, who the faithful are, and where and how that faith may be lived out.”

Wall Street Journal (via Google): What’s significant about Friday’s decision is that it opens an avenue for nonreligious employers to challenge the requirement . . . The decision by Judge Kane only applies to the heating-and-cooling company. But other small businesses could apply for similar relief, said Matt Bowman, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the Newlands in the case. Mr. Bowman also said that the decision would boost other challenges to the contraception provisions. Religious universities and charities, including the University of Notre Dame, have also sued the administration over the requirements. The Obama administration has said it will work with Catholic-affiliated institutions to try to reach a compromise, prompting two judges to toss out those cases. “Right now, the first judge to rule on the merits of religious freedom ruled that religious freedom is more important than government mandates,” said Mr. Bowman.

Ken Kuklowski at Breitbart: On August 1, Obamacare’s latest outrage goes into effect as the “HHS Mandate” takes effect, and the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) just scored the first victory in religious liberty against this authoritarian decree days before its implementation . . . This victory is by no means final, but it’s the first of its kind. As ADF’s lawyer on this case, Matt Bowman, said today, “Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith. Hercules Industries will be able to do just that.” He’s right, and now we’ll see if the courts continue to agree.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys obtained the first-ever order against the mandate on behalf of Hercules Industries and the Catholic family that owns it. The administration opposed the order, arguing, contrary to the U.S. Constitution, that people of faith forfeit their religious liberty once they engage in business . . . Still, leading pro-life advocates like Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life applauded the ruling. “This decision marks the beginning of the end of the unjust and unconstitutional HHS mandate. Even though the Aug. 1 deadline for compliance is still in effect for organizations like Priests for Life, it’s good news that the suit filed by the owners of Hercules Industries has been successful in holding off, at least temporarily, this mandate that is so clearly a violation of the religious freedom guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the laws of our country. This gives us reason to be optimistic as our own lawsuit progresses,” he told LifeNews.

Ed Whelan at National Review Bench Memos: That said, the lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom (the new name for the Alliance Defense Fund) deserve high praise for their fine work presenting this case on behalf of plaintiffs.

GOPUSA: “This is the very first ruling on whether Obamacare can violate religious freedom and the judge said no,” said Matt Bowman, a lawyer for legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund.