Tag Archives: Alliance Defending Freedom

“All Americans should be free to live according to their faith rather than be forced to violate their own consciences. That’s no different for Geneva College, a Christian college that simply wants to abide by the very faith it espouses and teaches. The court has done the right thing in allowing Geneva College to offer a student health plan that does not cover abortion pills. The government should not punish people of faith for making decisions consistent with that faith.”

Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Monday on behalf of several Columbia State Community College students whose professor forced them to wear rainbow ribbons publicly supporting homosexual behavior in order to complete a class assignment.

Engage Family Minute: Below is the video from our News Conference in which we announced a medical malpractice suit against West Virginia’s largest abortion clinic and its abortionist Rodney Lee Stephens. The suit was filed on behalf of Itai Gravely and in partnership with Alliance Defending Freedom. Jeremy Dys, president and general counsel of the FPCWV shared comments and announced the lawsuit on Monday, June 10, 2013.

Matthew Bowman of the Alliance Defending Freedom, Kyle Duncan of the Becket Fund appeared on the World Over Live with Raymond Arroyo (audio archive) | MP3 audio 22:03 mins

Erik Stanley on Faith on Trial with Deacon Mike Manno. | MP3 audio 9:42 mins

Kellie Fiedorek at Townhall: In the wake of recent events, many people of a variety of persuasions are coming to agree that the First Amendment, which protects and ensures our first freedoms, is facing an all-out attack.

One News Now: “Government loans should not come with an unwritten surrender-your-faith clause,” says Michael Tierney, an allied attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom.

NH Union Leader: n attorney for the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom said, “Parents should be able to choose what’s best for their own children. New Hampshire’s program allows businesses to help make that happen, and nothing about that violates the state constitution, as the state’s legal history clearly demonstrates. “The arguments the ACLU is making against this program do not at all reflect the reality of what the state constitution clearly allows. The people who stand to suffer the most if the ACLU succeeds are New Hampshire’s students,” Gregory S. Baylor said. The Alliance, Cornerstone Policy Research, and the Liberty Institute filed a brief defending the law. Cornerstone Policy Research Executive Director Ashley Pratte was “appalled.”

TimesWV.com (AP): Family Policy Council President Jeremy Dys said last week that Gravely had been going to the clinic for birth control, returned when she became pregnant and was persuaded by counselors to have an abortion. The Family Policy Council is being assisted in the lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Christian civil rights group that also has sued an abortion doctor in Colorado.

Daily Mail: Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, an anti-abortion religious organization, called for greater regulation last week in announcing a lawsuit against one of the two Charleston clinics. Dys and the Alliance Defending Freedom, another conservative Christian group, are representing Itai Gravely in her lawsuit against Dr. Rodney Lee Stephens and the Women’s Health Center.

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Policy Council of West Virginia are representing a West Virginia woman in a lawsuit against the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia abortion facility and abortion practitioner Rodney Lee Stephens of Charleston. In the lawsuit, Itai Gravely claims Stephens forced her to proceed with an abortion against her will and then left her baby’s head in her womb.

TheLeader.info: The argentine Center for Bioethics Person and Family (centrodebioetica.org) has issued a comment on the implications of the judgment and has proposed a revision of it, in the light of a study conducted by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been released by the argentine agency AICA.

“Parents should be able to choose what’s best for their own children. New Hampshire’s program allows businesses to help make that happen, and nothing about that violates the state constitution, as the state’s legal history clearly demonstrates. The arguments the ACLU is making against this program do not at all reflect the reality of what the state constitution clearly allows. The people who stand to suffer the most if the ACLU succeeds are New Hampshire’s students.”

The National Appeals Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined Friday that the USDA wrongly denied a building loan to a pregnancy resource center for which it fully qualified.

“We commend the attorney general for being more concerned about the safety of women than the bottom line of abortionists. What Dr. Stephens and Women’s Health Center did to Itai Gravely cannot be swept under the rug. They exposed her to extraordinary cruelty and put her life in danger. We urge the governor to take immediate action to implement sensible abortion facility regulations in West Virginia.”

David Hacker on Wallbuilders Live to discuss this: Iowa college’s free speech table folds. | MP3 audio 11:16 mins

Erik Stanley on Ave Maria Radio with Al Kresta to discuss this: IRS caught on tape: Keep faith to yourself. | MP3 audio 12:42 mins

Alan Sears at Townhall: As President Ronald Reagan famously stated, “The ten most dangerous words in the English language are: ‘Hi, I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”

KTVU (AP): Family Policy Council President Jeremy Dys said last week that Gravely had been going to the clinic for birth control, returned when she became pregnant and was persuaded by counselors to have an abortion. The pregnancy was near the end of the first trimester; estimates ranged from 9 to 13 weeks. According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a fetus tends to be about 2 inches in length at 9 weeks and about 3 1/2 inches long at 12 weeks. The Family Policy Council is being assisted in the lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Christian civil rights group that also has sued an abortion doctor in Colorado.

Alliance Defending Freedom sent the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education a letterThursday explaining the constitutional problems with an administration “sexual harassment” policy agreement that will serve as a “blueprint” for colleges and universities throughout the country.

Yahoo News (AP) (includes video): Jim Campbell, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, said the court should not short-circuit a vigorous national debate. “The vast majority of the states have decided to retain the traditional view of marriage that has existed throughout Western civilization. This decision belongs to the people and should be decided by the people,” Campbell said.

World Net Daily: The justices of the Supreme Court of Sweden delivered a “perfunctory order” rejecting the family’s appeal and in effect, delivering its “death sentence,” several weeks ago. HSLDA has been working with the a team from the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the family.

Clemente Ferrer at Kashmirwatch.com: The argentine Center for Bioethics Person and Family (centrodebioetica.org) has issued a comment on the implications of the judgment and has proposed a revision of it, in the light of a study conducted by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been released by the argentine agency AICA . . . Now, the government of Uruguay, who approved the liberalization of abortion in late 2012, seems not to have anticipated the large number of gynecologists who would bring objection of conscience.

David Bohon at the New American: Several conservative Christian policy groups responded to the White House statement, with Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, arguing that the response demonstrates that President Obama clearly “opposes constitutional religious freedom for …

Marin Independent Journal: Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Marsha Berzon and Jay Bybee grilled attorney Steven Aden during a hearing about the law. Aden, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, argued that Arizona had a broad power to determine that Planned Parenthood, and other organizations targeted by the law, were not qualified Medicaid providers, allowing the state to withhold from them Medicaid funds. According to the Medicaid statute, anybody eligible for medical assistance can get it from an organization or person “qualified to perform the service or services required.”Aden said since the Medicaid statute does not further define “qualified,” the state should have broad powers to determine its meaning. “They have the authority to impose reasonable qualifications,” Aden said.

NC Register: Joseph La Rue, an attorney with the public advocacy firm Alliance Defending Freedom, told the Register that ADF is investigating the extent of violations of Christian religious liberty and how far up the chain of command they go. “I think there is definitely a reason to be concerned,” he said. “Are we dealing with isolated incidents that were mistakes or are we dealing with something bigger than that? Right now, frankly, we don’t know.” However, he said a number of incidents involve Christians who have articulated their views on homosexuality. ADF is a consultant on one such case involving a U.S. Army master sergeant who bought Chick-fil-A — the fast-food chain targeted by homosexual-rights supporters after its president expressed support for traditional marriage — to celebrate his promotion and vocalize his support for DOMA. “There’s a tension between religious freedom on one hand and full acceptance of homosexual members of the military on the other hand,” La Rue said. [more]

Erik Stanley on the Zeb Bell Show to provide an updated on Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 14:35 mins

Jamestown Sun: The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), released an audio clip of a March 2012 phone call between an IRS agent and Ania Joseph, head of Pro-Life Revolution . . . “The IRS is a tax collector. It shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”

Caffeinated Thoughts: Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, told Caffeinated Thoughts that “Service members shouldn’t be denied the very constitutional liberties they have volunteered to defend. It is clear that the Obama administration opposes constitutional religious freedom for service men and women, and this is the latest example of this administration’s hostility toward religious service members. Antagonism toward people of faith–namely Christians–in the military is real, and it is disappointing that the president is unwilling to support laws that protect and defend the basic liberty of religious freedom.”

Charisma News: Alliance Defending Freedom Litigation Counsel Kellie Fiedorek says this position is unconstitutional. “Service members shouldn’t be denied the very constitutional liberties they have volunteered to defend,” she comments. “It is clear that the Obama administration opposes constitutional religious freedom for service men and women, and this is the latest example of this administration’s hostility toward religious service members. “Antagonism toward people of faith—namely Christians—in the military is real, and it is disappointing that the president is unwilling to support laws that protect and defend the basic liberty of religious freedom.”

“Service members shouldn’t be denied the very constitutional liberties they have volunteered to defend. It is clear that the Obama administration opposes constitutional religious freedom for service men and women, and this is the latest example of this administration’s hostility toward religious service members. Antagonism toward people of faith–namely Christians–in the military is real, and it is disappointing that the president is unwilling to support laws that protect and defend the basic liberty of religious freedom.”

Casey Mattox on Relevant Radio to discuss this: House bill responds to Gosnell horror by attacking pro-life speech. | MP3 audio 9:33 mins

Kevin Theriot on Relevant Radio with Drew Mariani | MP3 audio 22:36 mins

The Rush Limbaugh is here: MP3 audio 1:18 mins. | ADF Media: IRS caught on tape: Keep faith to yourself

AZ Central (AP): Aden said that since the Medicaid statute does not further define “qualified,” the state should have broad powers to determine its meaning. “They have the authority to impose reasonable qualifications,” Aden said. But Bybee and Berzon seemed to take issue with Aden’s construction of the state’s authority. Bybee said Arizona’s interpretation of Medicaid law would open the door to a broad range of restrictions on medical providers.

Glenn Beck Show: TheBlaze reported on the IRS story: Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group, released audio on Monday of a conversation between Ania Joseph, president of Pro-Life Revolution, and Sherry Wan, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent.

Newsbusters: A pro-life legal group on Monday released audio footage of an Internal Revenue Service agent telling them, “You cannot force your religion or force your beliefs on someone else.” Yet, ABC, NBC and CBS all have ignored the story so far. In the audio, IRS agent Sherry Wan lectured, “…You have to know your boundaries.” Alliance Defending Freedom, a Texas-based group, is a pregnancy counseling organization. [Error in Alliance Defending Freedom reference; the report embeds Hannity Show coverage and transcript]

AZ Daily Sun: Steven Aden of the Alliance Defending Freedom will argue that Arizona lawmakers are entitled to decide that Planned Parenthood is not “qualified” to offer family planning services using Medicaid dollars. Aden is not questioning the medical qualifications of Planned Parenthood staff. Instead he wants the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that legislators can declare it ineligible because it also offers elective abortions, even if they are not funded by Medicaid . . . “Arizona taxpayers, acting through their elected representatives, have a strong interest in ending these taxpayer subsidies of abortion,” Aden wrote. Alliance Defending Freedom describes itself as a “servant ministry” to “keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.”

Kristi Burton Brown at LiveActionNews: Obviously, with the wake of the Obama administration’s new position on emergency contraception, Weintraub would probably find her complaints satisfied. However, it’s worth discussing – and debunking – a few of her arguments, as they will continue to be made against anyone else who opposes emergency contraception being made freely available to our kids . . . Kristi Burton Brown is a pro-life attorney, volunteering for Life Legal Defense Foundation and also as an allied attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom. She enjoys being a stay-at-home mom, and is married to the amazing David Brown. Together, they have the cutest two kiddos in the world! Kristi loves her Savior, Jesus Christ, speaking out for the truth, reading historical fiction, scrapbooking, politics, and cooking.

Rush Limbaugh linking to Life News: “The IRS scandal is deepening as a new tape has been released today showing a disturbing phone call the Internal Revenue Service placed to a non-profit organization. Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group, made the audio available today of IRS officials telling a group that provides support to women in abusive pregnancy situations to keep its faith to itself.”

Ecumenical News: A few people should not be able to extinguish the traditions of our nation merely because they heard something they didn’t like,” said Brett Harvey, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending Greece. “Because the authors of the Constitution invoked God’s blessing on public proceedings, this tradition shouldn’t suddenly be deemed unconstitutional.”

LifeSiteNews: Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed the lawsuit last Friday on behalf of Itai Gravely.

Deal Hudson at Catholic.org (includes video): There is no one simple solution to Archbishop Chaput’s rallying cry: There are a myriad of activist opportunities begging for bodies and support, from the Susan B. Anthony List and the Alliance for Marriage to Live Action and the Alliance Defending Freedom. No doubt more organizations and new leadership will be jumping into the breach.

Engage Family Minute: My encouragement to every pastor is to take a Sunday in June or July and be part of this movement to stand for the biblical principles our nation was founded upon. America, now more than ever, needs men of God that are more concerned with what God thinks than what man or the government thinks. If we don’t speak now, we can’t complain when our right to speak is taken away.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden will be available for media interviews following his oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Wednesday in defense of an Arizona law that seeks to end the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.

The audio (10:48 mins) can be streamed here and downloaded here.| The Mike Huckabee Show | ADF Media: IRS caught on tape: Keep faith to yourself

HSLDA: Two applications to the European Court of Human rights have been declared inadmissible, under the “pretext,” according to Harrold-Claesson, that the Johanssons had not exhausted all their domestic remedies. However, according to the appeal submitted by Alliance Defending Freedom’s Senior Legal Counsel Roger Kiska, HSLDA Director for International Affairs Mike Donnelly and Harrold-Claesson, who won a case against Sweden in the European Court in April 2012, this simply isn’t true. “We find it very strange that of the forty-nine judges in the European Court, it was a German judge, in a one-judge-decision, who declared the Johanssons application inadmissible.” Harrold-Claesson also blamed a Swedish bureaucrat at the European Court as being an obstacle. “There is a Swedish court administrator who has been called a ‘gate keeper’,” explained Harrold-Claesson . . . Kiska also expressed great frustration with the situation. “It is disgraceful that a self-styled democratic nation would tolerate this kind of abrogation of basic human rights,” he said. [more]

Hot Air: A pro-life legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, released audio today of a 2012 phone call between an IRS agent and the head of a Texas pregnancy counseling group. During the phone call, IRS agent Sherry Wan is heard lecturing Ania Joseph about how she can’t have a tax exemption and also push her religious beliefs— a bit of advice that would be quite interesting toevery church in America. (Hot Air and ADFMedia Transcript linked on the Drudge Report)

Todd Starnes at Fox News: ADF attorney Erik Stanley said the actions of the IRS are simply unconstitutional.“The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” he said. “The agent seemed to be very biased and have an ideological bent against Pro-Life Revolution.”

GOPUSA: Power in Washington is growing exponentially, but even now, most pastors are not warning their flocks of the danger. They could start by participating in the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Pulpit Freedom Sunday events. And they can start talking about the little girl who was nearly condemned to death for being 10 years old.

ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM COMMENT June 11, 2013 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.adfmedia.org/home/contact   The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster regarding the Obama administration’s decision to drop its opposition to …

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster: “The lives and health of young girls should be more important than the bottom line of those who sell abortion-inducing drugs. President Obama has yet again sided with Planned Parenthood, his favorite political ally and the single largest distributor of Plan B drugs–drugs that can destroy a life. Whatever guides this administration in its decisions, it is apparently not the health and well-being of our daughters and granddaughters. The administration’s decision is nothing short of shameful.”

Caffeinated Thoughts: Alliance Defending Freedom released audio today of a phone conversation that an IRS agent had with Ania Joseph, President of Pro-Life Revolution. In this recorded conversation an IRS agent, Sherry Wan, lectured Joseph about forcing its religious beliefs on others and then explains, inaccurately, that the group must remain neutral on issues like abortion . . . Here is the entire transcript in full (you can listen to the audio here) . . .

Charisma: Alliance Defending Freedom represents the group, which did not receive its tax-exempt status until last week, nearly 2 1/2 years after applying for it. “The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech-and-belief police,” says senior legal counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”

Christian Post: “The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”

Washington Free Beacon: In March 2012, Pro-Life Revolution President Ania Joseph received a call from IRS Exempt Organization Specialist Sherry Wan, according to Alliance Defending Freedom, who inaccurately told Joseph that the organization must remain neutral on positions such as abortion to get a tax exemption.

The American Catholic: “The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” said Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”

WorldNetDaily: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said the IRS “is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police.” “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms,” he said.

One News Now: Erik Stanley is an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom. “The IRS is a tax collector; it shouldn’t be allowed to be the ‘speech and belief police,’” says the attorney. “The current scandal isn’t really new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”

BizPacReview: Alliance Defending Freedom, who provides legal representation for Pro-Life Revolution released the audiotape Monday where an “IRS agent lectures the president of the organization about forcing its religion and beliefs on others and inaccurately explains that the group must remain neutral on issues such as abortion,” Life News reported. According to Life News, Pro-Life Revolution “provides support to women in abusive pregnancy situations.” In the article, ADF recounted how the IRS sent letter after letter to the group’s president Ania Joseph “requesting more information” and deeper explanations on the activities and charitable work of the organization.

Leigh Jones at World Magazine: “A woman’s life and health is more important than an abortionist’s bottom line,” said Alliance Defending Freedom-allied attorney Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “What Stephens and Women’s Health Center did to Itai is beyond the pale. She has been exposed to extraordinary cruelty, and her life was put in jeopardy.”

Charleston Daily Mail: Dys is president of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, an anti-abortion religious organization. Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit with goals that are similar to Dys’ organization, also are representing Gravely. The legal complaint describes Gravely’s visit to the center.

LifeSiteNews: “What Stephens and Women’s Health Center did to Itai is beyond the pale,” said Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “She has been exposed to extraordinary cruelty, and her life was put in jeopardy.” “Our tax dollars should not fund abortionists who are irresponsible and only promote their own self-interest and bottom line,” said Michael J. Norton, co-counsel, who is with the Alliance Defending Freedom.

One News Now: According to Mattox, Stephens”went ahead and continued on with the abortion, holding her down to complete it despite the fact that she was in extreme pain.”

TimesWV.com (AP): “When a patient tells the doctor ‘stop’ and the doctor continues, that’s egregious,” Dys said. “She has revoked her informed consent. They did not regain her informed consent, and they proceeded with the procedure anyway with her physically restrained on the table. That’s unacceptable.” . . . The Family Policy Council is being assisted in the lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Christian civil rights group that also has sued an abortion doctor in Colorado. [more]

Charleston Gazette: “A woman’s life and health is more important than an abortionist’s bottom line,” said Jeremiah Dys, lead lawyer on the case and president of the Family Policy Council. “What Stephens and Women’s Health Center did to Itai is beyond the pale. She has been exposed to extraordinary cruelty, and her life was put in jeopardy.”
Casey Mattox, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, said clinics such as Women’s Health Center should be inspected, licensed and regulated. “Abortionists should be held to the same health and safety standards as all other medical facilities,” Mattox said during Monday’s press conference. “It is not too much to expect that abortionists meet basic standards to protect women’s health.”

Erik Stanley at Townhall: Texas-based Pro-Life Revolution applied for 501(c)3 status with the IRS in January 2011–they received that status some 900 days later, on June 6, 2013 in a letter dated May 19.

Alliance Defending Freedom made public Monday audio of a phone conversation that the Internal Revenue Service placed to a non-profit organization that provides support to women in abusive pregnancy situations.

Kelly Fiedorek at American Thinker: But why is concern for First-Amendment freedoms met with a piercing silence by the mainstream media when it comes to Americans simply trying to live their lives according to the dictates of their faith? The same First Amendment that protects the freedom of the press protects Americans’ religious liberties, which are likewise facing sustained attack, if not more so.

One News Now: The purpose of the campaign was to inform university officials if their policies conflict with the Constitution, says ADF attorney Kevin Theriot. Theriot, Kevin (ADF)The mission is to protect students “who are often the victims of discrimination in these contexts because they’re expressing a view that’s either religious or considered offensive by others,” he explains. [more]

LifeNews: Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Policy Council of West Virginia are representing a West Virginia woman in a lawsuit against the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia abortion facility and abortion practitioner Rodney Lee Stephens of Charleston. In the lawsuit, Itai Gravely claims Stephens forced her to proceed with an abortion against her will and then left her baby’s head in her womb. “A woman’s life and health is more important than an abortionist’s bottom line,” said Alliance Defending Freedom allied attorney Jeremiah Dys, president and general counsel of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia. “What Stephens and Women’s Health Center did to Itai is beyond the pale. She has been exposed to extraordinary cruelty, and her life was put in jeopardy.”

Robert Knight at Washington Times: They could start by participating in the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Pulpit Freedom Sunday events. And they can start talking about the little girl who was nearly condemned to death for being 10 years old.

LifeNews: It’s also worth noting that the “T” in FTC stands for “trade,” making the agency a dubious fit for regulating non-profit, non-commercial groups. Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Casey Mattox explains: The broad language of the bill redefines a “non-profit” as a for-profit business: “The Federal Trade Commission shall enforce this Act with respect to an organization that is not organized to carry on business for its own profit or that of its members as if such organization were a person over which the Commission has authority.” “‘As if’ is the revealing phrase,” Mattox noted. “The bill itself acknowledges that the commission has no authority to regulate the free speech of local non-profits. But the lawmakers who sponsored this bill want to order the commission to do so anyway in their brazen attempt to harm the efforts of pro-life charitable organizations.”

ChristianNews.net: “When the church is silent, the culture suffers,” Stanley said. “The church is integral to the moral stability of a society. Every day that pastors are intimidated into silence on issues like life, liberty, the family, and marriage is another day the cultural erosion continues unchecked. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is just one opportunity for pastors to speak up and make a difference for the good of their congregations and the culture.”