Tag Archives: Group: ACLU

Echo Press: In March 2011, a school employee informed R.S.’s mother, S.S., that a parent of a boy had contacted the school and reported that her son and R.S. had been discussing sex via computer.

AZ Family: “I personally don’t have a moral objection to contraceptives but I respect the people that do,” said Rep. Debbie Lesko (R, District 9), who introduced House Bill 2625. “House Bill 2625 allows Arizona employers to opt out of the contraceptive mandate if they have a religious or moral objection”

NY Daily News: An ACLU lawyer is sticking up for a Boston-area high school student who was told by her vice principal to cover up her “All The Cool Girls Are Lesbians” t-shirt.

Robert Knight at the Washington Times: As the American Civil Liberties Union prowls the land to muzzle public prayers, rip out Ten Commandments monuments and terrify small towns over Nativity scenes, help may be on the way from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Missouri Family Update: ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman says the ACLU’s “Don’t Filter Me” project is part of a nationwide campaign of intimidation aimed at public school administrators . . . No school district should be bullied into exposing children to sexually graphic material,” Cortman says. “It is reprehensible that the ACLU is more concerned about advancing an agenda that exposes children to harm than they are about protecting those children. Those who oppose bullying should not be bullies themselves.”

Webpronews.com: The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by the ACLU of Minnesota, and claimed the Minneapolis area school in question disciplined a 12-year-old after she’d posted on Facebook that she ‘hated’ a hall monitor that had been ‘mean’ to her. School principal Pat Falk deemed the comments to be bullying, and gave the girl detention and forced her to apologize.

Newbernsj.com: Two residents speaking to Craven commissioners about their decision to stop the formal prayer before meetings to avoid a lawsuit said pray anyway.

Idaho Press-Tribune: A proposed bill that would amend existing state abortion laws to require women seeking the procedure to first undergo an ultrasound is causing controversy as it makes its way through the Idaho Legislature.

Brown Daily Herald: Seven people are seeking an injunction to block a federal judge’s ruling that ordered Cranston High School West to remove a prayer banner from its auditorium, the Providence Journal reported. After almost two months of debating whether to appeal the ruling, the banner was officially removed last weekend.

The Republic (AP): “Pray for Our Schools,” many fading yard signs scattered throughout Santa Rosa County say, remnants of a bitter court battle over school prayer between conservative Christian groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.

WPTZ.com: For years, the Vermont town of Franklin near the Canadian border started Town Meeting with a prayer. A lawsuit stopped that from happening this year.

Salisbury Post: The Alliance Defense Fund, a national group focused on religious freedom, defended the county. Now that Forsyth has lost the case and is responsible for the ACLU’s legal bill of about $200,000, a citizens group that formed to help defend the county — the N.C. Partnership for Religious Liberty — will pay the bill. • Another fight? The Alliance Defense Fund suggested an alternative policy for the board . . .

KOB.com: A Gallup teen says she was kicked out of middle school then publicly humiliated by the school’s director and counselor because she was pregnant.

Jackson Sun: Haywood County High School’s principal has resigned after a national civil rights organization said she made anti-LGBT remarks and threatened to expel gay students.

Catholic Culture: For the government to hold fast to its new definition of ministry, one crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union, reflects deafness to the Constitution that is unbecoming to the man sworn to defend it.

DNJ.com: The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee sent a letter to the superintendent of the Haywood County school district superintendent after receiving reports that a high school principal said gay students are “not on God’s path” and threatened to expel them if they publicly showed affection for members of the same sex

David Whisenant at Salisbury.WBTV.com: I have never heard a prayer delivered by any commissioner that could be considered a violation of the establishment clause. One simple prayer at the beginning of a meeting cannot be viewed as religious establishment by any rational, reasonable person

KnoxNews.com: A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments over whether a Knoxville student should have been allowed to read and discuss Bible passages during recess.

Kokomoperspective.com: Gilbert Holmes, the ACLU of Indiana’s executive director, said FSSA’s new rule is contrary to the whole notion of family values. “Here is a family member taking care of a family member, and the state wants them to pay for someone else to do that job,” said Holmes. “It seems like a dehumanizing and callous approach to addressing the need of a segment of humanity that cannot fend for itself.”

Worcester Telegram: In the small, northern Vermont town of Franklin, the annual Town Meeting starts with the banging of the gavel, the Pledge of the Allegiance and a prayer, delivered by a local pastor. But one woman has objected to the last custom for the last eight years.

My Fox Chicago (include video): The ACLU released a poll Tuesday that showed only one in three Illinois voters support the bill. The poll also found the majority of both men (57 percent) and women (53 percent) were opposed to it.

Politico: The American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are separately calling for investigations into White House funding of a domestic spying program launched by the New York Police Department against Muslim-Americans.

Fox News: A Franklin woman is asking a Vermont judge to block a prayer that is used as part of the opening ceremonies on Town Meeting Day.

ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of South Carolina today asked a federal court to block South Carolina’s discriminatory voter identification law that would keep minorities and others from exercising their right to vote.

Baltimore Sun: Carroll County commissioners have asked county employees to attend a seminar on the Maryland Constitution led by a conservative Christian minister, sparking accusations that local officials are overstepping the boundary between church and state.

Tampa Tribune: Inside Freedom High School’s gymnasium, heads are bowed in prayer at a club meeting where students talk openly about their religious beliefs.

Charlotte Observer: Rowan County commissioners opened their meeting Monday night with a prayer invoking Jesus, defying a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the practice.

Sunshine State News: “We’re trying to anticipate problems we see in other states and address them proactively,” said Rep. Larry Metz, R-Eustis, sponsor of House Bill 1209.

WPRI.com (includes video): Cranston Mayor Allan Fung tells Eyewitness News that school and city officials will meet next week to discuss the ACLU’s request for $173,000 in legal fees related to the prayer banner lawsuit. Until then, the mayor says, the banner will remain intact.

Orlando Sentinel: A school prayer bill is headed to a final vote in the Florida House, after a panel of lawmakers signed off on the measure Wednesday morning.

CBSLocal.com: Planned Parenthood, along with the ACLU and several female lawmakers say the bills — one requiring abortion doctors to offer to show the mother an ultrasound and the other tightening health regulations on many clinics – are simply further attempts to undermine Roe vs. Wade.

Sun Journal: Schneider and 11 other attorneys general on Feb. 10 sent a letter to the Obama administration opposing what they described as an unconstitutional mandate. The attorneys general, all Republicans, stated in the letter they were prepared to “vigorously oppose it in court.”

The Florida Independent: “The Florida Family Policy Council, one of the most influential anti-gay rights and anti-abortion groups in the state, is joining the chorus of opposition to a school prayer bill quickly making its way through the Florida Legislature.”

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears appeared with ADF Attorney Doug Napier, and Abbey Johnson on the Mike Gallagher Show. The show is available in three separate audio files. | First MP3 audio 53:20 | Second MP3 audio 53:20 | Third MP3 audio 53:20

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/21/3032520/rowan-commissioners-ignore-aclu.html

Religion Clause: In McGlone v. Cheek, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18820 (ED TN, Feb. 15, 2012), a Tennessee federal district court upheld rules at the University of Tennessee that permit outside speakers on campus only if they are sponsored by a student organization

FOX Charlotte: In a letter to commissioners this week, the ACLU legal director writes, “These legislative prayers are explicitly sectarian and favor only one religion, Christianity.” It goes on to read, “…We have received more complaints about sectarian legislative prayer by the rowan county board of commissioners than any other local government in North Carolina…”

The Volokh Conspiracy: As I’ve said before, the Supreme Court has never decided whether K-12 schools may remove books from school libraries based on their viewpoints, or may filter out Web sites based on their viewpoints . . . This makes yesterday’s Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, Inc. (PFLAG) v. Camdenton R-III School Dist. (C.D. Mo. Jan. 15, 2012) especially interesting . . .

OneNewsNow.com: A Rhode Island public school district committee has voted not to appeal a federal court decision ordering the removal of a prayer banner displayed in a high school auditorium.

Findlaw: So it may come as a surprise that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a noted advocate of the women’s rights movement, wishes that Roe v. Wade hadn’t happened.

ABP: The same month the high court refused to hear an appeal from the Forsyth County, North Carolina, board of commissioners of a lower court’s ruling to end deity-specific, sectarian-oriented prayers at meetings. The case stemmed from a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. While ministers of all faiths were encouraged to volunteer for the occasion, the Christian majority dominated, often ending prayers in “Jesus’ name.” ACLU lawyers said that showed government favoritism toward one religion over others. Opponents, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, called the lawsuit a denial of religious liberty to those who pray from their specific traditions.

Salisbury News: For years meetings of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners have opened with prayer, and more often than not, that prayer was offered “in the name of Jesus,” but citing complaints over a number of years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has asked commissioners to stop using prayer to open meetings.

American Civil Liberties Union: A federal district court ruled today that the Camdenton R-III School District must stop censoring web content geared toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities through discriminatory filtering software. The ruling orders the district to not block content based on the viewpoints expressed by the website.

Seattle Times Newspaper: With the governor’s signature Monday, same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state — even if couples can’t yet marry here. As a result, the ACLU of Washington wants the language in an initiative filed last month by an attorney and gay-marriage opponent to be rewritten to reflect this new state of marriage.

LifeSiteNews.com: “Ever since Barack Obama came into office there has been an aggressive effort to undermine peaceful pro-life activity by casting pro-life activists as terrorists,” Scheidler said. “We’ve seen the Department of Homeland Security listing pro-lifers as potential terrorists. We’ve seen special meetings between the FBI and pro-abortion groups.”

Politics in Minnesota: The Board of Directors for the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is preparing a 2012 push to defeat the constitutional amendments backed by Republican majorities at the Capitol — all of them.

WTOP.com: The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia revealed Barbara Hudson’s identity in a letter sent to U.S. District Court Clerk Julia C. Dudley. ACLU-Virginia sued the board on Hudson’s behalf last September.

Charles C.W. Cooke at National Review Online: The Washington Examiner correctly characterized the ACLU’s position on the contraception mandate as being that “individuals who choose not to pay for employees’ contraceptives . . . are forcing their beliefs on their employees.” But it is downright impossible to “force” a “belief” on another adult by doing nothing.

Gaston Gazette: In a letter to State Attorney General Roy Cooper last week, ACLU leaders said the organization was echoing residents’ concerns that the prayers recited before the General Assembly overtly favored Christianity.

WVEC.com Norfolk – Hampton Roads: On Thursday, the ACLU of Virginia faxed a letter to the School saying the policy is unconstitutionally vague and discriminates based on sex.

KRQE.com: The ACLU of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Bloomfield over the Ten Commandments monument on display on the lawn of city hall. | ACLU press release and complaint

Fox News: A Rhode Island town is bracing for a potentially “boisterous” public hearing next week where officials will vote on whether to fight a court order to take down a prayer banner that has hung for decades in a high school.

NewsOK.com: Religious groups that oppose President Obama’s mandate that they provide contraception are using the right to religious liberty as a way to discriminate against women, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in an email opposing congressional repeal of the mandate.

Havelock News: “It’s amazing to me that by virtue of being elected to this office, my speech is being restricted,” Commissioner Jeff Taylor said.

Hot Air:The ACLU protests this perception, pointing to a number of controversial clients they have defended and insist that their mission is only to preserve the civil liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights and the rest of the US Constitution. I think this puts the ACLU argument to rest once and for all . . .

Altavista Journal: A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors from opening meetings with Christian prayers pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

American Civil Liberties Union: The American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Perkins Coie appeared in Alaska Superior Court yesterday seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the sex marker on their driver’s licenses.

JournalNow.com: Although the Alliance Defense Fund is also offering to defend its revised policy if challenged in court, there were no takers on the county board on Thursday. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said she was against telling anyone how to pray: “I could never invite anyone here to pray, and meet them at the door and tell them how to pray,” she said. “That is insulting.” | Also reported at: MyFox8.com

BET: Sticks and stones can break your bones, and, as the old schoolyard ditty goes, words may never hurt you. But at least they may lead you to be granted large damages in a lawsuit. A Seattle man has been awarded $100,000 in his suit against the Aberdeen School District, charging they did little to stop the racial and anti-gay bullying he endured from 2003 to 2009.

Alaska Dispatch: You may have been confused about this whole issue if you read an article published earlier this month in the Catholic Anchor, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Anchorage. That article — picked up and featured by the Alaska Dispatch — said “religious liberty groups … are already raising concerns about the impact that the proposed law would have on faith-based institutions and nonprofits in Anchorage.” The article goes on to mention only one religious liberty group, the Alliance Defense Fund, a national legal fund defending “religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage and the family,” according to its website. The fund analyzed the initiative, according to the article. In that analysis, the fund determined the initiative would “undermine religious liberty.”

Pat Buchanan at Townhall: Now, not only is this a battle the Church must fight, it is a battle the Church can win if it has the moral stamina to say the course. In forcing the Church to violate its own principles, Obama has committed an act of federal aggression, crossing the line between church and state to appease his ACLU and feminist allies, while humiliating the Catholic bishops.

American Civil Liberties Union: Among the key requirements of the rule is a prohibition on inquires regarding sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as a prohibition on using sexual orientation or gender identity as grounds for decision-making in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs. Additionally, the rule brings the definition of “eligible families” into the 21st century by including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT).

David French at National Review Online: I argued the case at the trial-court level (and cough lost cough) when I was at the Alliance Defense Fund and was on the appellate briefs, but the credit and congratulations go to Julea Ward, my former ADF colleagues, and my friend ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco, who argued the case at the Sixth Circuit. Well done, Jeremy.

ChicagoTribune.com: The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana’s top lawyer said Thursday that a bill pending that would allow schools to teach creationism in science classes clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and invites legal challenges.

The Washington Post: EqualityMaine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the Maine Women’s Lobby have collected more than 100,000 signatures — far more than needed to seek the referendum — made their announcement Thursday at the State House in Augusta.

Florida Independent: A bill that would allow students to pray during school events passed through its final state Senate committee yesterday.

AnnArbor.com : The Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously Monday night in favor of a resolution directing the city administrator and city attorney to assist the civil rights group in the lawsuit filed in federal court this month after Gov. Rick Snyder signed Public Act 297 into law.

IrishCentral: The American Civil Liberties Union has insisted on the right of political candidates of all kinds to walk in the Dublin Ohio St.Patrick’s Day parade.

The Republic: Bill Sharp, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney in Louisville, says the recent cases could have been postponed to let the high court rule on the appeal.

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.

Joyce Brown letter in Citizen-Times: I believe many taxpayers would opt to send their children to private schools but they have so much taken from their income to keep the government schools operating that they cannot afford private or religious schools.

ParagouldDailyPress.com: Noble said he had not responded to the letters pending legal advice. He said the Rutherford Institute and Liberty Counsel had volunteered to help the school district in the matter and the Alliance Defense Fund had sent a list of court cases that might be applicable to the situation.

American Civil Liberties Union: The board of the Chesterfield County School District voted tonight to adopt a proposed settlement agreement that would put an end to the district’s pervasive practice of school-sponsored prayer, preaching and religious activities aimed at students.

630WPRO.com: The prayer banner that hangs at Cranston West High School must be removed immediately said U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux in his decision issued Wednesday.

Wichita Eagle: The American Civil Liberties Union is planning to question Kansas insurance providers about the impact of a new law restricting abortion coverage.