Protecting equal access for New York
churches . . . again |
| In 2005, ADF won a 10-year legal battle against New York City public school officials--in the case Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York--allowing churches to have the same access to public school facilities as other groups. |
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Two victories over discriminatory school officials
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| Officials of Montgomery County Public Schools prevented a Maryland Christian organization from sending flyers home with students while allowing other groups that privilege. Attorneys with ADF and our ally the Christian Legal Society (CLS) filed suit to protect the group's free speech and equal access rights. |
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| Victory for marriage in California! |
| In March 2005, a California Superior Court judge declared the state's marriage laws unconstitutional. |
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| Ministry Friend Spotlight |
Bertha Cording, a dedicated ministry friend of ADF for six years, opens a card from the ADF team on her 103rd birthday!
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Keeping the Door Wide Open to Hear and Speak the Truth in America |
Series of strong legal victories helps reclaim and advance Our First Liberty--religious freedom . . .
In 1994, when more than 35 evangelical leaders came together to launch the Alliance Defense Fund, their purpose was clear: Protect religious freedom in America before it is lost forever.
At that time, decades of legal attacks--often led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)--were changing the country into one our Founding Fathers would hardly recognize. The erosion of Our First Liberty came slowly at first but grew into a tidal wave built on one bad legal precedent after another. Religious freedom was slipping away, primarily because our side had no effective, organized opposition. |
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Today, by God's grace, ADF is leading the charge to protect what we have, reclaim what we've lost, and shape who we become through strategy, training, funding, and litigation. The success of this approach is evident in the following highlights of just a few of the crucial victories--and key legal precedents--that ADF and our allies have achieved.
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ADF Readies Fourth-Annual Christmas Project - Who Decides Our Future - the ACLU or 95% of America? |
Americans have the freedom to celebrate Christmas publicly, joyfully, and without fear. Yet due to political correctness, disinformation, and even the threat of lawsuits from the ACLU and its allies, religious expression at Christmastime is increasingly absent from the public square.
That's why ADF launched our national Christmas Project in 2003--to spread the message, "Merry Christmas. It's okay to say it."
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Now in its fourth year, the effort has earned remarkable, God-given success--in the legal arena. Since the Christmas Project began, ADF has "called the ACLU's bluff" many, many times by providing legal information to individuals, schools, and organizations threatened by the ACLU for celebrating Christmas. As a result, many of the threats simply evaporate.
In addition, ADF and our allies have been successful against the ACLU in defending the right of communities to allow privately sponsored nativity displays on public property.
A key goal of this year's Christmas Project is to further reduce seasonal fear, intimidation, and disinformation from the ACLU. That's why--with God's grace and if funding goals are met--ADF will attempt to strongly increase the number of school districts (from nearly 11,000 in 2005) that receive accurate information on their constitutional right to publicly celebrate Christmas. In addition, this information will be sent to the mayors of our 3,000 largest cities.
This information is also available on our website, www.saychristmas.org. Because the ACLU now denies a legal assault on Christmas exists, the website also documents many ACLU-led attacks on the public celebration of the holiday. The website also lets you send free Christmas e-cards, order ADF Christmas-related products, review your legal rights, and request legal help if needed.
Thank you for helping ADF get the wonderful Truth out across the land that it's still okay to say Merry Christmas in America. |
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As Christmas Nears, ACLU Hypocrisy on Full Display |
Over the past year--perhaps to placate an American public that increasingly disapproves of its anti-religious agenda--officials with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have repeatedly claimed that "religious freedom thrives best when government stays out of religion." The ACLU wants to be seen as a defender of religious freedom!
Of course, what the ACLU really wants is to get God out of America's governments.
ACLU attorneys have spent most of the last 86 years working to silence Christian and orthodox Jewish voices and curtail their influence in every arena of public life. They have become America's #1 religious censor.
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Alan
E. Sears, President, CEO & General Counsel |
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The ACLU and its allies can demand a strict "separation of church and state" when it concerns public expressions of faith or our nation's religious heritage, but then will turn a blind eye or even support the stringent, invasive regulations the government uses to force pastors to obey by threatening them with the loss of their church's tax-exempt status. |
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The ACLU is insisting on a Virginia Wiccan's right to offer public prayers, even as it stopped the Fredericksburg, Virginia, city council from allowing a Christian to do the same thing. |
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It demanded the County of Los Angeles remove a tiny historical cross--a testament to California's settlement by missionaries--from its seal, while ignoring a much larger image of the Roman pagan "goddess" Pomona! |
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| ADF Attorney Spotlight: Nate Kellum |
God has provided ADF with many exceptionally talented individuals who are fiercely committed to engaging in the legal battle to preserve Our First Liberty--religious freedom.
One of these is Nate Kellum, an attorney who graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi Law School in 1988. Nate joined the ADF team full-time in 2004, after serving as legal counsel with AFA's Law Center and as an allied attorney in private practice. |
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