Action Alert Archive
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Media Inquiries
Please phone the Freedom From Religion Foundation office at 608/256-8900 to speak directly with Foundation Co-Presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker or other staff here in Madison, Wis. We receive an especially heavy volume of e-mails and we don't want to miss an inquiry, so please phone to set up an interview, especially if you are on deadline. We would be pleased to try to answer your questions, or accommodate your request.
Current Action Alerts
WI Action Alert - Stop vouchers now!
Dear Wisconsin FFRF'er: FFRF has asked you earlier this year to contact your state legislators to oppose vouchers. It’s time to act again — putting pressure on your state senator and the Joint Committee on Finance. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's recent budget proposal includes major…More »
Protest Pennsylvania House fasting and prayer resolutions!
Below is a copy of a letter from FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor submitted to Pennsylvania newspapers as an opinion piece objecting to HR 17 and HR 51, which designate April 30, 2013 as “National Fast Day” and May 2 as the “National Day of…More »
Tell HHS to stand up to Catholic Bishops on contraceptive health care!
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a new notice of proposed rulemaking on February 1, with a comment period ending April 8. The rules seemingly broaden the definition of “religious employer” to exempt more groups from the requirement that health insurance plans…More »
Protest ‘state religion’ proposal
Without intended irony on April Fools' Day, Republican Rowan County Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford introduced House Joint Resolution 494 to establish a state religion in North Carolina. Unbelievably, the bill has already attracted 12 other equally ignorant sponsors. It’s no joking matter that…More »
SOS! Oppose prayer of Clark County Board!
The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants your help in contacting the Clark County (Washington) Board of Commissioners to oppose a plan to open civil Board meetings with prayers. The prayers would marginalize nonbelievers and community members who are not in agreement with the proselytizing messages.…More »
Let Texas school district know school sponsored biblical messages are not OK
The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants you to help give perspective to a Texas school district over allowing religious "run-through" banners displayed by school cheerleaders on the field during school football games. The Kountze ISD Board of Trustees has asked for public input.FFRF maintains that…More »
Oppose Congressional storm aid for religious institutions
Please contact your U.S. Senator today and tell him or her to vote against the Senate version of House Resolution 592.The federal government is perilously close to using your tax dollars to directly fund the building, maintenance and repair of "houses of worship," including churches, synagogues,…More »
Urge South Carolina education board to drop prayer
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking for your help in persuading the School District of Pickens County Board of Trustees, S.C., to drop prayers to begin its monthly meetings.FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott sent a letter to the District on Nov. 26, 2012, protesting…More »
Ask Congress to adopt Darwin Day
Continuing the tradition of former Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has introduced a resolution designating Charles Darwin's 204th birthday, Feb. 12, 2013, as Darwin Day. The resolution "recogniz[es] the importance of science in the betterment of humanity."Holt was recently quoted in The…More »
BSA to keep discriminating against atheists
It is absolutely outrageous that the Boy Scouts of America, which has proudly excluded both atheists and gays from its membership, announced yesterday that lifting its ban on gays — but not atheists — is on the agenda for the biannual meeting of its national…More »
Ask Brownback to 'repent' of his 'Day of Repentance'
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to rescind his religious proclamations and opt not, in his official capacity, to attend or endorse the overtly Christian event "Going to the Heart," which is scheduled to broadcast live from Topeka, Kan., on…More »
Thank Buhler mayor for taking cross off city logo
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has successfully petitioned the city of Buhler to remove a cross from its official seal — and now we need your help to sustain the victory. FFRF Staff Attorney Patrick Elliott wrote to Mayor Daniel Friesen on Sept. 14, urging…More »
Ask Obama to drop religion in presidential oath
ACT NOW, CONTACT PRESIDENT OBAMA The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a letter to President Obama asking him to reject the way this country politicizes religion. The Constitution, which prescribes the oath in Art. 2, Sect. 1, does not contain the “so help me…More »
Call Texas AG & Gov. over their atheist potshots
As you know, the Texas governor and attorney general have attacked FFRF and all Texas freethinkers and nonbelievers over FFRF's role in protesting religious banners by public school cheerleaders in Kountze. The school district properly halted the cheerleader practice of placing bible verses on banners,…More »
Oppose Pennsylvania 'Prayer Month' resolution!
Update: Unfortunately this resolution passed 189-2 shortly after this action alert was sent out, so please contact the lawmakers below and make a fuss. Below is a copy of the Freedom From Religion Foundation's letter objecting to Pennsylvania House Resolution 922, "Recognizing October 2012 as…More »
Help remove the Ten Commandments from the Georgia Capitol
A display of the Ten Commandments recently went up in the Georgia Capitol. We need your help to take it down. The Decalogue is part of a larger display titled “Foundations of American Law and Government” which includes various historical documents. Needless to say, the…More »
Thank Pueblo for stopping government prayer
The Pueblo City Council, Colo., is indefinitely postponing sectarian prayers to open meetings and going to a moment of silence. Thank them for their commitment to the secular Constitution and freedom of conscience. Freedom From Religion Foundation Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel, a former Pueblo resident,…More »
Help banish bible verses from Texas high school’s football games
Ever since the Freedom From Religion Foundation persuaded a Texas high school last week to disallow the practice of having football players run through giant paper posters adorned with bible verses and prayer, the state of Texas has been in a state of hysteria! Please…More »
Help FFRF tackle UTK football prayer
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking Chancellor Jimmy Cheek of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to end prayers over the loudspeaker at Neyland Stadium before Volunteers football games. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported today that "the administration does not believe there is anything wrong with…More »
Tell Illinois schools to stand by Jessica Ahlquist!
Three Illinois public schools are coming under fire because of a decision to invite First Amendment advocate Jessica Ahlquist to speak during their "Constitution Week" festivities. (FFRF'ers can hear and meet Jessica at FFRF's upcoming annual convention in Portland Oct. 12-13, where she will receive…More »
Help block prayer from UTC football field
The Freedom From Religion Foundation scored a touchdown against football prayer at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga this week. The pre-game prayer, which typically included a reference to 'Jesus Christ,' was traditionally delivered by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and had been a home game staple…More »
Help FFRF sustain Ten Commandments victory in Pennsylvania!
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Connellsville Area School District to stand firm in its decision to remove a large, unconstitutional Ten Commandments display from Connellsville Junior High School East in Connellsville, Pa. Pittsburgh-based attorney Marcus Schneider represents FFRF and a concerned district…More »
Help remove cross in Santa Clara park!
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Santa Clara officials to remove a Latin cross from public property. After many months of indecision, the city council has agreed the cross is not on constitutional footing. The city council has announced it will discuss the future…More »
Urgent: One more day to help indonesian man
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is asking you to stand up for Indonesian civil servant Alexander Aan. Aan was recently given a 30-month prison sentence for saying what FFRF'ers and 750 million people today believe: "There is no God." FFRF sent a formal letter of…More »
Help three young women avoid religious ‘burning’
Please speak out now against the prosecution and possible imprisonment of three young Russian women for singing a protest song in a Russian Orthodox Church to denounce its corruption and ties to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The women are members of the feminist punk rock…More »
Oppose Tucson giving Catholic Church $1.1 M to restore building it neglected for 10 year
In bustling downtown Tucson — between Ochoa and Corral Streets, and Stone and Church Avenues, near the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Children’s Museum, and the Convention Center — is a Catholic enclave owned by the Diocese of Tucson. The block includes the Cathedral of…More »
FFRF tells Augusta Mayor eggs and bacon need a side of toast, not prayer
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is renewing its request that Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver "cease all organization of the monthly Mayor's Prayer Breakfasts." FFRF first wrote to Copenhaver about these illegal, city-sanctioned prayer breakfasts in June. Yesterday, the group sent a second letter of complaint…More »
Voice your opposition to Knox County prayer
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging Knox County Commissioners (Tenn.) to drop a resolution that would create written guidelines for "pre-meeting prayer." Knox County officials will meet next Monday, July 23 at 1:45 p.m. to make a final decision about the resolution. The county…More »
Help FFRF end the Ellwood City saga
The Ellwood City Borough Council (Ellwood City, Pa.) is at it again and we ask you to contact them immediately. On Mon., July 16 at 6 p.m., the Ellwood City Council will vote on a proposal intended to “save” a nativity on government property. Some…More »
Ask Rhode Island governor to veto unlawful bill
Last week the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed H8143A, a bill sponsored by Woonsocket-area lawmakers that would allow any elected state or municipal official to "identify and designate" a memorial as having "a secular traditional, cultural, or community recognition and/or value." The bill awaits…More »
TAKE ACTION! Protest imprisonment for atheism
Please join the world in condemning yesterday's 30-month prison sentence given to Indonesian civil servant Alexander Aan for saying what FFRF'ers and 750 million people today believe: "There is no God." FFRF's formal letter of complaint below lays out the facts. You may also read…More »
Ask Colorado governor not to appeal FFRF victory
The Freedom From Religion Foundation needs your help to support our court victory last week, when a three-judge panel of the Colorado State Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in our favor that gubernatorial proclamations of an annual Colorado Day of Prayer are unconstitutional. The National…More »
FFRF: Mayors overstep bounds hosting prayer breakfasts
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is busy this week protesting all kinds of National Day of Prayer-related entanglements between government and religion, including violations occurring in two separate states involving mayoral-arranged prayer breakfasts observing the day of prayer. FFRF, which represents more than 18,000 nonreligious More »
Weigh in on church's lack of financial accountability
FFRF sent a memo to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, weighing in on 17 issues regarding the financial status of churches in our country. We need your help to drive our message home. On Nov. 5, 2007, Grassley and the Senate Committee on Finance More »
An Unholy Alliance: Kathy Byron, the Falwell Empire, and the True Motivations behind HB 462
Infamous Virginia House Bill 462, currently in a Senate committee but expected to pass and be signed into law imminently, forces women to undergo invasive ultrasound imaging prior to an abortion. The bill would essentially require women to have a transvaginal ultrasound — a More »
Tell Brown County Board to work, not pray
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has formally urged the Brown County Board to cease "unnecessary" and "inappropriate" prayer before government meetings. County Board meetings currently open with an overtly Christian prayer that often includes specific references to "Jesus." FFRF Senior Staff Attorney Rebecca Markert called attention More »
E-mail/phone Cranston School Committee over Ahlquist case!
Please let the school committee in Cranston, R.I. know that the nation is watching them. Join FFRF (read FFRF's letter here) in urging the committee to do the right thing, and not appeal the Jan. 11 federal appeals court ruling in Jessica Ahlquist's favor. More »
Help Saudi writer escape death!
Saudi Arabian journalist Hamza Kashgari faces conviction for "blasphemy" over a series of religion-themed "Tweets." Kashgari had previously fled to Malaysia to avoid arrest after word broke out about his "blasphemous" Twitter column. He was deported to Saudi Arabia yesterday. According to the New More »
Tell the Airforce to adopt a secular motto
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken issue with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office's (USAF-RCO) latest decision to change its Latin motto from "Doing God's Work, with Other People's Money" to "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money." While FFRF applauds the gesture, we More »
Catholic bishops go after women's right to contraception
During church services on the last Sunday in January, Catholic hierarchy read what CBS News called a "blistering letter," assailing the Obama administration for an "assault on religious liberty." (Read a version of the bishops' letter proclaimed in every Catholic Church, urging Catholic congregants More »
FFRF protests misuse of federal, presidential Seals by National Prayer Breakfast backers
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has contacted four federal agencies over what appears to be egregious violations of federal law by publicizers of the National Prayer Breakfast, who are appropriating the Presidential, Congressional and Great Seals of the United States to promote the breakfast. More »
FFRF hails long overdue Alaska Airlines announcement
Statement by Annie Laurie Gaylor FFRF Co-President Today, at long last, Alaska Airlines will cease a much-protested-by-us practice of distributing “prayer cards” to its airline customers. Late last week Alaska Airlines announced it has been providing those cards for “more than 30 years,” but has finally reconsidered. A statement More »
Pennsylvania bible resolution is ‘sinfully’ unconstitutional
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is protesting an unconstitutional resolution naming 2012 the "Year of the Bible," unanimously passed (193-0) in the Pennsylvania General Assembly this week. House Resolution 535 arrogantly exhorts citizens to "study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.” What More »
Help sustain Ahlquist victory
Jessica Ahlquist needs your help! The battle over the illegal prayer banner at Cranston West High School is up for discussion tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 25) evening at 6 p.m. Humanists of Rhode Island expect over 100 Jessica Ahlquist and Constitution supporters to be present More »
Jessica Ahlquist needs your support!
A few days after Jessica Ahlquist's important victory over an illegal prayer banner, some Rhode Islanders have started to fester over the ruling and attack the teenager personally. Rep. Peter Palumbo D-R.I. called the 16 year old an "evil little thing" in an interview on More »
Support secular franking rule!
Rep. Diane Black R-Tenn. sent an inappropriate, religious message to her Tennessee constituents on Dec. 24. Her letter "Wishing You a Merry Christmas... Even if I'm not supposed to (copied at the end of this page)" began and ended with a personal rant in More »
Help remove illegal creche in Athens, Texas
It has been almost one month since we wrote to Henderson County officials in Athens, Texas, about their illegal nativity scene on courthouse property. The unconstitutional creche still stands in defiance of the law while county officials refuse to hang FFRF's Winter Solstice banner More »
Keep Christ out of Pitman government
FFRF has recently taken issue with a "Keep Christ in Christmas" banner in Pitman, N.J. Borough officials refuse to remove the Knights of Columbus sign that was erected over a public street. The banner stretches across Broadway, near 2nd Ave., and is strung in More »
Thank inclusive Governor
The Freedom From Religion Foundation applauds Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee for designating the Statehouse tree, a "holiday tree." Gov. Chafee contends in an ABC news interview that, "he's just respecting the state's history as a place respectful of all religions." Unlike the recent More »
Help raise FFRF banner
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is perplexed over recent action taken by Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court. Last December FFRF wrote to Ellwood City asking it to remove a nativity scene from government property. In response, the city on Friday erected its manger scene, More »
Thank President Obama for secular address
President Obama's Thanksgiving Day address was as American as apple pie, but has the Christian Right in a tizzy because he did not utter the word G-O-D. Christians have been up in arms, tweeting comments such as, "God help us!" and "So sad," according More »
Tell Obama to side with women, not Catholic bishops!
Dear FFRF'er: Please contact President Barack Obama to urge him to stand firmly in favor of women's right to contraceptive health care in the face of attacks by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. Our office contacted you in September asking you to chime in during More »
Make public comment against federal Jesus shrine
Dear FFRF'er: We need your continued help to remove a shrine to Jesus from Big Mountain on Flathead National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service, at FFRF's request, had agreed not to renew a no-cost lease to a Catholic group to erect a statue to Jesus More »
Walker trims holiday from tree
It's not even December yet, and the war against state/church separation has begun! Dear FFRF Member: Gov. Scott Walker's "momentous" announcement that he is renaming the state tree that goes up in the Capitol every December a "Christmas" tree instead of a "holiday" tree is getting More »
Act now to oppose Christian license plate in Texas
The Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is meeting this morning (starting at 9 am) and is considering approval of a specialty license plate promoting Christianity. This plate, dubbed "Calvary Hill," also includes the words "One State Under God." Incredibly, sales revenues More »
Protest ‘In God We Trust’ vote in U.S. House
The U.S. House of Representatives is playing political football with religion. Yesterday, in a 396 to 9 vote, the U.S. House approved Rep. J. Randy Forbes' pandering resolution "reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging More »
Take a stand against Montana Jesus shrine
HELP FFRF REMOVE THE JESUS SHRINE ATOP BIG MOUNTAIN: • Please take a moment to participate in U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg's "public comment for Mountain Jesus Memorial" online form. (Note: This is the Congressman whose protests caused the federal government to retract its sensible decision More »
FFRF to Forest Service: Remove Montana Jesus shrine
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has contacted the chief of the US Forest Service asking him to remove a Catholic shrine atop Whitefish Mountain, and overrule an underling's decision to take public comments on whether the federal government should host the religious display. FFRF is More »
Keeping tabs on PBS's groundbreaking series on Catholicism
A member of FFRF in Colorado contacted us this week about "Catholicism," a series of 60–minute episodes that began airing on PBS in the Maryland market in late September, with later airings on PBS in Chicago and elsewhere beginning Oct. 3. As FFRF staff More »
Support removal of cross from Tenn. water tower!
The Freedom From Religion Foundation's 9-month-old request to the town of Whiteville, Tenn. has finally got action. Three FFRF letters to Mayor James Bellar were ignored until a letter on FFRF's behalf to remove the cross atop its water tower. "If you fail to More »
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