Friday, December 26, 2008
Vowing at one time to defend Proposition 8, California Attorney General Jerry Brown has now altered his decision and asked the state Supreme Court to strike down the same-sex marriage ban saying that Prop. 8 violates constitutionally protected liberties.
Brown’s 111-page brief, filed at the last possible moment before the court’s deadline, argues that that Prop. 8 should be invalidated because it is inconsistent with the guarantees of individual liberty safeguarded by the California Constitution.
Prop. 8 supporters recently asked Kenneth Starr, former independent counsel in the Whitewater investigation and current dean of Pepperdine University law school, to argue the Yes on 8 case before the Supreme Court along with Andrew Pugno, general counsel for the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund.
As we join our Prop. 8 allied legal counsel, Advocates for Faith and Freedom will file an amicus brief and is fervently committed to protecting traditional marriage and upholding the will of the people.
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts! To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Friday, December 19, 2008
A federal judge in Columbia, South Carolina, has temporarily stopped the state from making and issuing license plates featuring a stained glass emblem with a cross on it and the words “I Believe.”
Granting a request from a group that had argued the plates showed an unconstitutional preference toward Christianity, U.S. District Judge Currie ordered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to stop taking any more orders for the plates until the court reaches a final decision. Although over 400 plates are in production, none have been shipped.
In April, 2008, the bill establishing the license plate was overwhelmingly passed by the South Carolina Legislature. Even the Lt. Governor displays the “I Believe” tag on his official website stating that the tags reflect South Carolina’s values.
In June, the Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Washington, D.C.) filed a lawsuit stating the plates send a message that South Carolina is endorsing religion, and therefore, the plates violate the separation of church and state.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster stated, “I am extremely disappointed in the court’s ruling, and feel the ‘I Believe’ license tag is completely constitutional. I will strongly urge and recommend that the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Corrections immediately appeal this decision to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.”
This effort to halt production of the “I Believe” license plates is yet another attempt to strip religion from the public and silence those who wish to share their faith. Advocates for Faith and Freedom is committed to fighting this type of incorrect interpretation of the First Amendment and ensure the right to religious freedom for all Americans under the Constitution.
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts! To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Friday, December 12, 2008
eHarmony, an online dating service that conducts extensive personality profiling before introducing men and women with matching values and interests, has reached a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General requiring the privately owned online matchmaker to cater to homosexuals.
The settlement stemmed from a discrimination lawsuit filed by a homosexual man, Eric McKinley, against eHarmony in 2005. Under the terms of the settlement, eHarmony is required to pay $50,000 to the state for administrative costs and $5,000 to Mr. McKinley. In addition, eHarmony must create a new web site – Compatible Partners – exclusively for homosexuals by March 31, 2009.
eHarmony legal counsel, Theodore Olson, stated, “Even though we believed the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle this case with the Attorney General since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable.”
It is clear that there is currently a greater threat to religious liberty as the homosexual agenda is forced on private businesses across the nation that hold religious values and principles. Advocates for Faith and Freedom is dedicated to promoting traditional values and advocating for religious liberty rights in the courts.
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts!
To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the United States, is under scrutiny for handing out gift certificates for its services.
Indiana’s Planned Parenthood, along with its network of 35 clinics across the state, announced it is offering holiday vouchers. The vouchers can be redeemed for basic health care services “or the recipient’s choice of birth control method,” including abortions. Becky Cockrum, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, is offering the vouchers because many people are uninsured or are putting off health care because of the cost.
Abortion opponents said Planned Parenthood was making a “mockery” of the holiday season. Sister Diane Carollo, director of the Office for Pro-Life Ministry for the Catholic Archdioceses of Indianapolis, stated that the gift certificates were a “horrendous” idea and that “they deserve coal in their stocking, not money for lethal gift certificates.”
Indiana is among a handful of its 99 affiliates that currently offer gift certificates for services, i.e. birth control, breast exams, and abortions.
The realization that more than one million abortions are performed every year, and one abortion is performed every 20 seconds, is staggering. Advocates for Faith and Freedom is committed to preserving the sanctity of life and advancing the pro life cause!
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts!
To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A Miami-Dade judge has declared that Florida’s 30 year ban on gay adoption is unconstitutional and has permitted a gay man, represented by the ACLU, to adopt two foster children who have been living him since 2004.
In a 53-page order that sets the stage for what could potentially become a constitutional showdown, the court’s decision came after a four day trial where Judge Lederman heard from experts on children’s health and development and listened to the justifications for the ban offered by the state.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has filed a notice of appeal arguing that gay men and lesbians are “disproportionately more likely to suffer from mental illness or a substance abuse problem than straight people, rendering them less fit to parent – especially children in foster care who already are under tremendous stress.”
In California, the ACLU and their supporters are asking the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment approved by California voters defining marriage between one man and one woman. In Florida, the ACLU is challenging the constitutionality of a law that has existed for 30 years and exists solely for the protection of children. We are at a crucial time in our nation’s history.
This Florida ruling is just one of the many cultural battles that are being waged across the Nation…battles that will impact our religious liberty and the values we share. This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts!
To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom,
click here to donate to Advocates.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Pleasant Grove could be forced to remove existing monuments, including one of the Ten Commandments, from its parks, or, be forced to accept all donated monuments depending on the outcome of a Utah free-speech case heard on November 12, 2008, by the US Supreme Court.
Justices wrestled with several First Amendment issues in the lawsuit over Pleasant Grove’s decision to reject a monument from Summum, a Salt Lake City based religious group that follows tenets of Gnostic Christianity and ancient Egyptian teachings, including mummification.
In 1971, Pleasant Grove accepted a Ten Commandments monument built by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and after September 11, 2001, the city allowed the Boy Scouts of America to build a monument to the firefighters and police officers who responded to the terrorist attacks. However, in 2003, Summum was denied an attempt to donate a monument bearing the church’s Seven Aphorisms, a set of principles that are central to the Summum religion.
If Pleasant Grove is required to either remove all existing monuments or permit the display of every monument that is donated, city governments across America will lose the ability to make decisions as to what message it wishes to portray. Pleasant Grove is simply recognizing the historical significance of the Ten Commandments as the foundation of our laws and the sacrifice made by civil servants on September 11, 2001.
We are a Christian nation and our government should not be forced into removing all religiously based monuments respecting our Judeo Christian heritage just to avoid displaying all donated monuments regardless of their message or relevance. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected within 90 days.
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts! To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Monday, November 17, 2008
This holiday season, we are asking you to partner with Advocates for Faith and Freedom by giving the gift of religious liberty!
Click here to read four compelling cases and make the fight for justice and religious freedom your own.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Protestors continue to march outside churches from Sacramento to San Diego as gay activists take to the streets in opposition to the passage of Prop 8, the ballot initiative that preserves traditional marriage as only between a man and a woman and was approved by 52% of California voters. Prop 8 represents the second time California voters have taken decisive action to protect traditional marriage.
The ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the City Attorneys for Los Angeles and San Francisco have filed lawsuits with the California Supreme Court. These lawsuits assert that Prop 8 is invalid and asks the Court to stop the state from enforcing the initiative until the court has decided on its constitutionality.
In response to these lawsuits, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is urging backers of gay marriage to “never give up” and he predicted that the 18,000 gay and lesbian unions would not see their marriages annulled by the initiative. The Governor continued to discuss his view on the passage of Prop 8 by stating, “It’s unfortunate, obviously, but it’s not the end. I think that we will again maybe undo that, if the court is willing to do that, and then move forward from there and again lead in that area.”
Governor Schwarzenegger’s disrespect for the democratic process and for the majority of California voters who have elected him twice is clear. The Governor has now publicly expressed his hope that the Supreme Court will again choose to ignore the votes of over six million Californians who previously voted to pass Prop 8. In a nation and state built on democratic principles, the Governor’s total disregard for those principles is especially shocking since California has voted TWICE to keep the definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Now that Californian’s have again voted to protect traditional marriage, it is clear that those six million people must protect that vote by fighting to assure that the democratic process is respected both by elected officials and the courts.
This information is provided by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit religious law firm dedicated to protecting religious liberty in the courts! To help us in our ongoing battle for religious freedom, click here to donate to Advocates.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Chad Farnan will give his second deposition for the lawsuit Advocates filed on his behalf last December after he was continuously subjected to his teacher’s blatant anti-Christian comments for a large portion of his AP European History class. Advocates’ attorneys will also depose the opposition, which includes the former principal of Capistrano Valley High School. On November 17, 2008, Advocates’ attorneys will depose the teacher named in the lawsuit, Dr. James Corbett.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Arizona, Florida, and California voters have provided a clear win for traditional marriage! The Constitution of these states has been amended to limit marriage to one man and one woman. Thank God for these victories!
However, for some reason, many in the media have delayed making the “official” call in the grand-daddy of them all – California! As of 10:30PST, the California Secretary of State’s website showed a 52.2% to 47.8% vote in favor of traditional marriage with 96.4% of precincts reporting. Our battle is not over … Fox News has reported that the City of San Francisco intends to take legal action against Prop 8!
Prop 4 was defeated with a 47.7% to 52.3% vote. Prop 4 would have required doctors to notify an adult family member within 48 hours before performing an abortion on an unemancipated minor. It is incredible that the voters in California would choose to provide greater protection to farm animals than young girls and babies! The people of California voted in favor of Prop 2 – an initiative that increases regulations regarding the confinement of animals on factory farms - by a margin of 63.3% to 36.7%.
It is outrageous that increased regulations to protect farm animals were an overwhelming success, while a majority of voters failed to approve a measure providing for the protection of our children! Keep praying for America as there are sure to be many more cultural battles ahead that will impact religious liberty and the values we share.
We are at a critical point in our nation’s history! Join with Advocates for Faith and Freedom so that we can continue to protect religious liberty. Your one time gift or monthly commitment of $10, $50, $100, or more can help us in our ongoing efforts to protect our God-given liberties. Thank you!