Tag Archives: Group: ACLU

Salisbury Post: . . . How much longer will citizens across this country duck their heads in the sand when faced with ACLU lawsuits that threaten to erode the rights given to us by the U.S. Constitution? It’s natural to have fear. But I imagine many of the Rowan citizens have faced fear in their lives and did not surrender to those fears. There is no guarantee what the outcome will be in your case. But one thing is for sure — if you give up, then the battle is already lost. The ACLU is not always right. Sometimes doing the right thing involves pain and sacrifice. I never wade into litigation lightly. Your county is being sued. You have a right to defend against the lawsuit. The commissioners are charged with the duty to do just that. They are fulfilling that duty. Bryce D. Neier is a Fayetteville attorney and volunteer with the Alliance Defending Freedom. He notes the article above is “my private response and comment. It is not endorsed by any particular attorney involved in this case nor any county official. I am responsible for its contents.”

News and Advance: Following a legal battle that began in September 2011, a federal judge Tuesday permanently barred the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors from holding sectarian Christian prayers during its meetings.

Winston-Salem Journal: The Christian prayer delivered before the Davie County Board of Commissioners meeting March 4 violated the Constitution, according to the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

Houston Chronicle: A federal judge says the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ practice of opening meetings with sectarian prayer is unconstitutional.

Business Insider: The legislation protects “sincerely held religious beliefs” from infringement unless there is “a compelling governmental interest.” The courts will still consider and rule on each matter.

WPSDLocal6.com: Gov. Steve Beshear will have to decide Friday whether to veto a bill intended to protect religious freedom in Kentucky.

Santa Fe New Mexican: ACLU files suit on behalf of New Mexico same-sex couples ACLU: Two same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry filed a lawsuit today after they applied for and were denied marriage licenses by the Bernalillo County …

Religion Clause Blog: Publicly funded child-care agencies and foster homes across the state also will be barred from placing religious items in children’s rooms without their consent, and religious materials will be given only to children who request them.

SanDiego6: A civil rights group is ending a decade-old lawsuit over San Diego’s leasing of city property to the Boy Scouts.

WISTV.com: Reverend Bill Godair, pastor of Cornerstone Church, says he is pledging $10,000 to fight the American Civil Liberties Union over the issue.

Charlotte Observer: Rowan County commissioners are scheduled to hold their first public meeting Monday evening since being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for refusing to stop opening their meetings with a Christian prayer.

Brett Harvey at Townhall: In 1992, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of public prayer. Justice Anthony Kennedy warned that when the government dictates that public prayers must be generic or avoid references that are unique to any particular faith, like referencing Jesus, it is constitutionally problematic.

Public Opinion: The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has agreed to give Chambersburg Area School District an extension amounting to three more business days to reverse a decision that blocked a Gay-Straight Alliance from forming at Chambersburg Area Senior High School.

Mississippi Business Journal: Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a bill that could lead to student-led prayer over school intercoms or at graduations or sporting events. The American Civil Liberties Union said the measure, which becomes law July 1, is likely to prompt a lawsuit in the school year that begins in August

AP: The superintendent of an Ohio district facing a federal lawsuit over a Jesus portrait in a middle school says it’s been moved to a high school at the preference of the Christian-based student club that the district views as the picture’s owner.

Fox News: The wife of the American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith is on her way to Washington, where she will press lawmakers to fight for her husband’s freedom.

The Economist: “The new paradigm of the pro-life movement”, explained Dan Becker, president of Georgia Right-to-Life, “is all about introducing tension into the law…We have different courts ruling in different ways, which is a surefire way to challenge Roe.”

Reuters: In Kentucky, a Bible Belt state where voters have passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the movement to promote gay rights has two factions. One seeks to overturn discrimination through a legislative path, admitting it faces long odds. The other wants to break down barriers to gay marriage with demonstrations and civil disobedience.

ACLU: The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, details how more than 95 percent of board meetings since 2007 have opened with prayers specific to one religion, Christianity . . . The lawsuit, Lund, et al. v. Rowan County, can be found at acluofnc.org . . . More information can be found at: www.aclu.org/religion-belief/lund-et-al-v-rowan-county

AP: A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an Indiana woman who says a Catholic diocese fired her from her teaching job because she had in vitro fertilization.

Religion Clause Blog: The ACLU of Puerto Rico announced Friday that it has filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of a police officer who is an atheist who was harassed and demoted to handling menial tasks after he refused to participate in Christian prayer made a part of a workplace meeting by a police commander.

Politico: Abortion rights groups are gearing up for a legal fight against Arkansas’s new law banning abortions after 12 weeks, the most restrictive early abortion ban in the nation.

David Crary at Bay News 9 (AP): “Anti-abortion groups divided over legal tactics”
Steve Aden, who helps oversee abortion issues for the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, suggested that the 20-week bans had a better chance of reaching the high court than measures such as the heartbeat bill or the new Arkansas ban. However, he said the entire swath of bills conveyed a common message. “What they demonstrate,” he said, “is that there’s a tidal wave of sentiment at the grass-roots level that abortion is unconscionable and that states should do their utmost in restricting it.”

WPCVA.com: In 18-month battle over prayer at Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ meetings is headed back to federal court after the two sides failed to reach an agreement during mediation.

Kansas City Star: The American Civil Liberties Union says it will keep fighting against Missouri’s new constitutional amendment on prayer after a federal judge dismissed its initial lawsuit.

Religion Clause Blog: In a consent order in Hunter v. Board of Trustees, Salem Public Library, (ED MO March 5, 2013), a Missouri federal district court ordered the Salem, Missouri public library to refrain from reactivating on its public computers filters that blocked websites relating to the categories “occult” or “criminal skills.”

LifeNews: The Republican House voted 56-33 on Wednesday to override after the state Senate voted yesterday to do the same thing. The bill arrived on Beebe’s desk after clearing the Senate, 26-8, and the House, 68-20.

Washington Post: A lesbian whose adoption request was recently denied by Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court is appealing the ruling.

News & Tribune: A controversial bill that imposes new state requirements on clinics that offer the abortion pill is likely headed for a constitutional challenge if passed and signed into law, as expected.

Missouri Family Council: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Missouri’s new religious liberty amendment. U.S District Judge Howard Sachs has ruled against a challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two inmates incarcerated in state prisons.

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Still, those who champion public invocations say the practice is legal, no matter which deity is mentioned. “The Supreme Court made it clear in 1983 that public prayers are constitutional,” said Brett Harvey, senior counsel for the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defending Freedom. Harvey said if the Founding Fathers delivered prayers according to the dictate of their conscience, legislators and those giving invocations today should be able to do the same.”The wording of the Constitution hasn’t changed,” Harvey said. “It’s not the government’s job to tell people when and how to pray, and the ACLU would like prayers to conform to some generic civil orthodoxy that they agree with, that’s consistent with their beliefs.”

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Still, those who champion public invocations say the practice is legal, no matter which deity is mentioned. “The Supreme Court made it clear in 1983 that public prayers are constitutional,” said Brett Harvey, senior counsel for the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defending Freedom. Harvey said if the Founding Fathers delivered prayers according to the dictate of their conscience, legislators and those giving invocations today should be able to do the same.”The wording of the Constitution hasn’t changed,” Harvey said. “It’s not the government’s job to tell people when and how to pray, and the ACLU would like prayers to conform to some generic civil orthodoxy that they agree with, that’s consistent with their beliefs.”

The Oakland Press: The Oakland Township Board of Trustees is under fire by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan for beginning a meeting with a prayer that singles out one religion.

River Front Times: In Missouri, when state troopers are killed in the line of duty, the state provides “survivor benefits” for spouses in the form of an annuity of the late employee’s salary. But because the state doesn’t recognize same-sex couples, Glossip hasn’t been able to obtain any of these benefits since his spouse, a Highway Patrol corporal, died.

Robert Knight at Townhall: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has lost its six-year campaign to tear down a Ten Commandments monument at the Dixie County, Florida courthouse. They’ve even lost their usual extortion money for harassing a community.

ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have sent a letter requesting that school officials at Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County stop using Internet filters that violate students’ First Amendment free speech rights. The district uses a “sexuality” filter that blocks sites that express support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and an “intolerance” filter that blocks political advocacy sites that are labeled as intolerant.

Hartford Courant: A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut said during a public hearing before the joint committee on children Tuesday that the group opposes a bill that would restrict children’s access to certain video games.

ACLU-TN: This week the Tennessee General Assembly will consider two bills that would allow the use of religion to discriminate, under the guise of protecting religious freedom.

MyFox28Columbus: The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says officials in a school district are reversing themselves and allowing a student to wear a T-shirt with an anti-gay message.

Daniel J. Kevles at the NY Review of Books: Can genes be patented? This spring, the Supreme Court will hear a case that may well decide the question, and the consequences for American biomedicine could be huge.

Vinton Daily: In Tuesday evening’s Jackson Board of Education meeting several business matters were discussed, but the focus of the meeting seemed to be what the Liberty Institute would disclose about the investigation they conducted regarding the portrait of Jesus Christ hanging in the Jackson Middle School foyer . . . The following morning Howard did not have too much to add to the numerous comments made by Liberty Institute, but was able to say that the demands of the FFRF and ACLU was not the only battle the district was facing. He said he had received a letter that morning from a group of attorneys representing Hi-Y Club members.
In that letter the attorneys of the Alliance Defending Freedom, for Faith, for Justice, requested that the school district resist FFRF’s unreasonable demand to censor the private religious speech of the Hi-Y Club, a student led Christian Club, simply because it is included in the forum for honoring important historical figures at Jackson Middle School. [more]

How Appealing links to coverage of the case.

Religion Clause Blog: In 2006, Dixie County, Florida commissioners approved a request by citizens to permit them to place a 5-foot tall, 6-ton granite Ten Commandments monument at the county courthouse. The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the monument on behalf of an ACLU member, identified only as John Doe, who did not live in Dixie County, but said he was looking to purchase property there on which he and his wife could park their recreational vehicle.

WTAQ.com: The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Walker administration yesterday. The group wants the state to stop requiring permits to demonstrate at the Capitol – and to stop arresting protestors who don’t have those permits.

Orlando Sentinel: Proposed rules comes after student application to form Gay-Straight Alliance was denied

USA Today: Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group that advocates prayers at public meetings and crosses on public land, called the rule an “abortion pill mandate.” “The administration’s narrow gesture does nothing to protect many faith-based employers or religious families from the unconstitutional abortion pill mandate,” said senior legal counsel Matt Bowman. “The government has no business putting religious freedom on the negotiating table, or picking and choosing who is allowed to exercise faith.” Bowman refers to the “morning-after pill,” or Plan B, available as an over-the-counter pill for adult women that prevents pregnancy up to three days after unprotected sex, or Ella, a prescription-only pill that prevents pregnancy up to five days after unprotected sex.

Salon: The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative religious liberty group which is representing several for-profit businesses in lawsuits over the regulation, said it would continue to press for exemptions for business owners in court. So far, about 10 businesses have obtained temporary injunctions against the regulation while their cases move through the courts.

Concord Monitor: Supporters of New Hampshire’s new education tax credit program got a big boost yesterday when a key senator came out against a repeal bill being considered by the Democratic-controlled House, signaling the legislation could face a deadlock in the Senate.

Greg Baylor at Speak Up Movement: On January 8, 2013, plaintiffs represented by the ACLU,Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and theNew Hampshire Civil Liberties Union launched an assault on educational freedom in New Hampshire.

Religion Clause Blog: The Washington Post reported yesterday on an interesting method of accommodating Muslim students’ religious needs at Prince Georges County, Maryland, Parkdale High School.

Michael Norton on AM 91 Point of Faith with Roy Hanschke and Denise Washington-Blomberg | Roy MP3 audio 8:02 mins

Gary Duff at the St. Louis Post Dispatch: In a letter Jan. 21, Sheila Greenbaum, president of the local ACLU, made the case for a woman’s right to an abortion and in her argument took a few shots at males in general and politicians in particular (“Stop politicians from interfering with women’s decisions”). She asked several good but leading questions, so let me offer some questions from a different perspective.

Norman Transcripts: The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and CAIR-Oklahoma, the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, recently expressed their appreciation to the Oklahoma Bankers’ Association for clarifying a security measure commonly referred to as “No Hats, No Hoods, No Sunglasses” employed by many of Oklahoma’s banks to better take into account the religious requirements of some customers to cover all or a portion of their heads.

FlaglerLive.com: The ACLU of Florida intervened today on behalf of a Lake County middle-school student leader seeking to establish a gay-straight alliance (GSA) at Carver Middle School in Leesburg. The eighth grader spearheading the effort, Bayli Silberstein, says the club is needed to combat bullying at her school, but has faced administrative resistance in trying to establish it.

San Francisco Chronicle: In a statement, Walgreens said its company policy is to fill all prescriptions, including birth control medications. “Having said that, we must recognize that there may exist pharmacists who object to filling certain prescriptions based on their religious, moral or ethical beliefs,” the company said. “To balance the needs of our pharmacists and our customers, Walgreens has developed appropriate policies and procedures for our pharmacies to assure that these prescriptions, for example, birth control, are handled as efficiently as other prescriptions without imposing any burden on the customer.”

he Fourth Circuit Court found that the town government did not violate the First Amendment by fining the late David Bowden for the message he had painted on his house in 2009. Three judges unanimously overturned a lower-court decision in the Bowden estate’s favor. “We acknowledge that the Town’s Sign Ordinance, and in particular its application to Bowden, has aggravated some Cary residents who believe it excessively restrictive,” wrote Judge Albert Diaz. “But their recourse here lies with the ballot, not the Constitution.”

Missouri Family Policy Council: Instead of backing down, the Franklin County Commission adopted a policy formalizing the procedures for prayer before Commission meetings. The new guidelines reflected recommendations from the Alliance Defending Freedom, the nation’s leading Christian legal defense firm . . . Please be praying as well for the lawyers who are protecting our free exercise rights in this case: Brett Harvey of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and St. Louis attorney Tim Belz.

NY Times: The agreement followed a federal judge’s Jan. 7 ruling that, as a matter of law, the A.C.L.U. failed to provide any evidence that the Kansas Legislature’s predominant motivation in passing the 2011 law was to make it more difficult to get abortions.

Arkansas Times: The Arkansas affiliate of the ACLU has announced its opposition to a proposed $300,000 contract between the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock and the Union Rescue Mission to operate the city’s day center for the homeless, soon to open in a building acquired from Union Rescue on Confederate Boulevard. The ACLU said taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to pay a staff that will be hired in a way that discriminates on the basis of religion.

Inquisitr.com: The Liberty Institute offered free legal service to an Ohio middle school’s fight to keep a portrait of Jesus Christ donated by a student group several decades ago. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Freedom From Religion Foundation demanded the image be removed from the rural southern Ohio school.

ACLU Blog: A small town in eastern Kentucky is making some big news. Vicco, Kentucky adopted a fairness ordinance, meaning one that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Why is this a big deal? Vicco is now the FIRST town in Kentucky’s Appalachians to pass Fairness protections. Vicco is the FIRST Kentucky city in 10 years to approve an LGBT Fairness law. Vicco is also the FIRST rural Kentucky community to pass LGBT Fairness protections.

San Francisco Chronicle: Lincoln County schools officials say they are working with the American Civil Liberties Union to address a prayer controversy at the West Lincoln Attendance Center.

ACLU of Massachusetts v. USCCB, Nos. 12-1466, 12-1658 (1st Cir. Jan. 15, 2013) (Lynch, Chief Judge, Torruella, Circuit Judge, and DiClerico, District Judge.) LYNCH, Chief Judge. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM), asserting taxpayer standing on behalf of …

ACLU press release: The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Utah have filed a lawsuit against the Davis School District after elementary schools in the district were instructed to remove a children’s book about a family with same-sex parents from library shelves . . . Status: Victory! The Davis School District has agreed to return In Our Mothers’ House to its library shelves.

Liberty Institute: Today, Liberty Institute, on behalf of Jackson City School District, responded to demand letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation and ACLU regarding the school’s longstanding “Hall of Honor” display that contains a portrait of Jesus. The FFRF requested that the school remove the portrait of Jesus, which has been a fixture at the school for more than 65 years without complaint.  Read copies of the response letters to the FFRF and ACLU.

ACLU Press Release: A statewide tuition tax-credit program that would divert taxpayer funds to private religious schools in violation of the state constitution was challenged in a New Hampshire court today by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of New Hampshire and the Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Pittsburgh Tribune; The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said the organization might sue over the filing of “sexting” charges against two Greensburg Salem Middle School students.

ACLU: Former service members who are part of a class action lawsuit challenging a Defense Department policy that cuts in half the separation pay of those who have been honorably discharged for “homosexuality” will receive their full pay after a settlement announced today.

New York Times: “FEMA said that they considered the church a business, so they offered us a loan,” the Rev. Alex K. Joy said in an interview about a month after the storm. “But we don’t want a loan. We have 400 members, 90 families. In this situation, we need some assistance.”

Religion Clause Blog: President Obama issued a statement Wednesday rejecting several provisions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a conscience protection for military chaplains that he called “ill-advised”.

Georgetown Times: On Sept. 18, the Georgetown County School Board — for the first time — began its meeting with a moment of silence rather than a prayer. The decision to make the change was made by chairman Jim Dumm who said he was following the advice of board attorney David Duff. Duff said because of an investigation into religious activities being conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, the district needed to stop the practice of praying at board meetings and other district events. The interpretation of the law by the ACLU has been challenged by both the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Palmetto Family Council.

One News Now: Rory Gray of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) tells OneNewNow In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco depicts the happy life of a same-sex couple and their adopted children. But after receiving a number of complaints, a Davis School District review committee stipulated the book be made available only with parental permission. [more . . . ]

Star-Tribune.com: The Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union fired off a letter to the Jackson mayor and Town Council about a new prayer at the summer rodeo, saying it’s illegal.

Yahoo (AP): Brett Harvey, a lawyer at the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian group that often helps towns defend their practices, sees it the other way. He says liberal groups have made a coordinated attempt to bully local governments into abandoning prayers, resulting in more cases. “It’s really kind of a campaign of fear and disinformation,” Harvey said. Harvey has talked with hundreds of towns about their policies and been involved in about 10 court cases in the past three years. Right now, his advice differs for different parts of the country because the law is in flux.

MyFoxAtlanta: A judge is considering whether to block Georgia’s new law that bans abortions after 20 weeks pending the outcome of a legal challenge.

Andy Norman at Bell Towers: Most scholars, jurists, and those who love God recognize that preserving our religious freedoms in the United States today is inseparably linked with promoting religious diversity. When the new, the small, the controversial, and the unpopular are able to express their beliefs freely, we all benefit. That freedom, however, comes under attack every Christmastime. . . . In support of an accurate reading of the Establishment Clause numerous groups have joined the battle in recent years. These include the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Christian Legal Society, TMLC, Liberty Council and many others. Thanks to these organizations and the private law firms and attorneys willing to take these cases, the tide may be turning.