Tag Archives: Group: WyWatch

One News Now: “Honoring free speech doesn’t come about by completely eliminating it,” argues Scruggs. “Although the commissioners have done the right thing by recognizing that they violated the First Amendment rights of WyWatch members who simply wanted to display signs as others had been allowed to do, we disagree that the solution is then to shut everyone up so they don’t have to allow pro-life speech anymore.”

LifeNews: Honoring free speech doesn’t come about by completely eliminating it,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan Scruggs, who litigated the case together with ADF-allied attorney Nate Kellum. “Although the commissioners have done the right thing by recognizing that they violated the First Amendment rights of WyWatch members who simply wanted to display signs as others had been allowed to do, we disagree that the solution is to then shut everyone up so that you don’t have to allow pro-life speech anymore,” Scruggs explained.

s part of a court order issued Thursday, members of the Wyoming State Building Commission admit they unconstitutionally violated the free speech rights of WyWatch Family Action in February of last year when they approved but later removed the group’s pro-life signs from Herschler Gallery at the state capitol.

One News Now: Wyoming Senate File 44, which dealt with compulsory school attendance, had the potential of jailing and heavily fining parents who home school their children.

Birth Control, Meet Damage Control: Last week, at the request of a Wyoming family organization WyWatch, FRC’s government affairs team alongside the Alliance Defense Fund, advised the state group in putting together model legislation that state leaders could introduce across the country. To access a modified version of that language and promote it in your state, click here.

ADF Attorney Jonathan Scruggs appeared on Across America with Gary Freeman. | MP3 audio 21:29 mins

Billings Gazette: Jonathan Scruggs, an attorney for the Allied Defense Fund, who handled the WyWatch case, could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, when Freudenthal’s order was released.

Wyoming Tribune: Jonathan Skruggs is an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of WyWatch. The Alliance Defense Fund is an Arizona-based Christian civil rights group that has litigated against same-sex marriage in California. The group also has supported the recent, unsuccessful push in Wyoming to change state law to specify that the state shouldn’t recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

AP on NECN.com: Scruggs told Freudenthal that the commission action adopting the new rule the week after the group filed its lawsuit “shows that the defendants are not interested in constitutional compliance — they’re interested in avoiding judicial sanction.” The state never responded to the group’s letter last year threatening legal action, he said . . . We believe that if you look at the picture, it’s not offensive at all,” Scruggs said of the group’s picture of a fetus. “It’s an unborn child, it’s not an aborted child.” [more . . . ]

OneNewsNow.com: “The university will allow political speakers to come on campus without having to [jump through] these hoops and go over these burdens. But for our client’s religious speech, he has to get insurance, pay money, [and] do all these difficult things,” Scruggs explains. [more . . . ]

The Republic: Jonathan Scruggs, a Tennessee lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund who is representing WyWatch Family Action, also declined comment on the state’s claim that its new policy should end the legal action. The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian civil rights group, has litigated against same-sex marriage in California. The group also supported the recent unsuccessful push in Wyoming to change state law to specify that the state shouldn’t recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

Wyoming Tribune: Jonathan Skruggs is one of the attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed WyWatch’s lawsuit. He said Wednesday he couldn’t say how the state’s new policy would affect the lawsuit since he hasn’t seen the policy. “The state has not filed anything in this lawsuit,” Skruggs said. “It is impossible to comment until we’ve seen actually what’s been done.” “At this point, we have no reason to believe anything the state is offering is sufficient,” he said. “So given the information we have now, we will continue to pursue our motion and continue to seek to vindicate our client’s rights.”

Opposing Views: In a press release, ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jonathan Scruggs said: “Free speech is protected by the First Amendment, which means it can’t come with a price tag and a burdensome waiting period. The courts have routinely ruled policies like this one unconstitutional. Christians visiting public college campuses shouldn’t be deterred from expressing their beliefs because of cumbersome, unconstitutional policies.”

Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online: Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing WyWatch, said Wednesday they will continue to fight for the ability to use the gallery for public displays. “Given the information that we have, we believe our clients should have the ability to express themselves in this area,” he said.

Billings Gazette: Jonathan Skruggs is one of the attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed WyWatch’s lawsuit. He said Wednesday he couldn’t say how the state’s new policy would affect the lawsuit since he hasn’t seen the policy. “The state has not filed anything in this lawsuit,” Skruggs said. “It is impossible to comment until we’ve seen actually what’s been done.” “At this point, we have no reason to believe anything the state is offering is sufficient,” he said. “So given the information we have now, we will continue to pursue our motion and continue to seek to vindicate our client’s rights.”

Wyoming Tribune Eagle: “We’re interested in protecting First Amendment rights across the country in situations like this where a group is being singled out because of its religious expression and that expression is being banned, even where other groups are allowed to erect similar displays and similar viewpoints in the area,” said Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer for the fund. He added that WyWatch wants to put up materials communicating members’ belief that “life begins in the womb.” “I don’t think it’s the type of situation where it’s any type of gruesome photo or anything along those lines, where it’s a baby that’s been aborted or a fetus that’s been aborted,” Scruggs said. “It’s more of a depiction of a baby in the womb.”

Billings Gazette: Jonathan Skruggs, one of the attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund that filed the lawsuit, said that as far as the attorneys and WyWatch knew, the vague state policy was still in place. “At some point, we have to act to protect our client’s First Amendment rights. Not just our client but everyone else,” Skruggs said. “We’re not seeking special treatment. We’re seeking equal treatment,” he said. “Other people get to put displays in the gallery, and our clients should as well.” Alliance Defense Fund is linked to a network of Christian attorneys who litigate strategic cases to preserve and reclaim constitutionally protected religious freedom, sanctity of life and the family, according to the group’s website.