Oral arguments in Obama v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, which challenges the National Day of Prayer, will take place Thursday, Dec. 2 before the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

FFRF won its challenge against the unconstitutional law in federal court last spring. Congress has required the president to exhort citizens to observe an annual National Day of Prayer and to “turn to God in prayer” since the law was passed in 1952 at the behest of Rev. Billy Graham.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in FFRF’s favor on April 15. Attorney Richard L. Bolton, who is handling the litigation for the Foundation, will appear before the appeals court.

Among the many Christian Right groups filing briefs seeking to overturn FFRF’s victory were 29 state attorneys general, representing the citizens of their states.

FFRF members whose states filed against FFRF are urged to contact their Attorney General’s office to register their dismay over this action. Let your Attorney General know that you expect him or her in the future not to represent Christian believers, but the rights of all citizens — including those with no religious beliefs. Every attorney general takes an oath to uphold the entirely godless and secular U.S. Constitution.

There is no country where citizens are freer than in the United States to organize private prayer, to start tax-exempt (and unaccountable) places of worship, or, as FFRF Co-President Dan Barker puts it, “to stand on their heads, speak in tongues and worship Mother Goose.” But, Barker advised, “government should have no hand in religious devotion, much less organize it on an annual and national scale, inveighing all citizens to worship an imaginary deity.”

Judge Crabb got it exactly right when she wrote: “In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual's decision about whether and how to worship.”

To see whether your state attorney general joined the citizens of your state onto a “friend of the court” brief hostile to FFRF and Judge Crabb’s decision, check the list below. E-mail and phone contact information is provided.

Attorneys General Contact Information

ALABAMA

Troy King
334-242-7300
http://www.ago.state.al.us/contact_online.cfm

ARKANSAS

Dustin McDaniel
1-800-482-8982
http://www.ag.arkansas.gov/contact_us_form.html

COLORADO

John W. Suthers
303-866-4500
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CONNECTICUT

Richard Blumenthal
(860) 808-5318
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FLORIDA

Bill McCollum
1-866-966-7226
http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Attorney_General

HAWAII

Mark J Bennett
(808) 586-1500
http://hawaii.gov/ag/main/contact_dept/main/forms/general_responses

IDAHO

Lawrence Wasden
(208) 334-2400
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/about/ConstituentComments.htm

ILLINOIS

Lisa Madigan
(312)814-3000 (Chicago office)
(217)782-1090 (Springfield)
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/about/email_ag.jsp

INDIANA

Greg Zoeller
317-232-6201
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

IOWA

Tom Miller
515-281-5164
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MICHIGAN

Mike Cox
(517)373-1110
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MINNESOTA

Lori Swanson
1-800-657-3787
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/ContactUs.asp

MISSISSIPPI

Jim Hood
601-359-3680
http://www.ago.state.ms.us/index.php/contact

MISSOURI

Chris Koster
573-751-3321
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NEBRASKA

Jon Bruning
(402) 471-2682
http://www.ago.state.ne.us/consumer/emailforms/constituent_complaint.htm

NEW MEXICO

Gary King
(505)827-6000
http://www.nmag.gov/office/contact.aspx

NORTH CAROLINA

Roy Cooper
(919) 716-6400
http://www.ncdoj.gov/Home/ContactNCDOJ.aspx

NORTH DAKOTA

Wayne Stenehjem
701-328-2210
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

OHIO

Richard Cordray
(800) 282-0515
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Contact

OKLAHOMA

W.A. Drew Edmondson
405-521-3921
http://www.oag.state.ok.us/consumer/complt.nsf/complaint.html

PENNSYLVANIA

Tom Corbett
717-787-3391
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/contactus/

SOUTH CAROLINA

Henry McMaster
1-803-734-3970
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Marty J Jackley
(605) 773-3215
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TEXAS

Greg Abbott
(512) 463-2100
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UTAH

Mark Shurtleff
(801) 366-0260
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VIRGINIA

Kenneth T Cuccinelli II
1-800-451-1525
http://www.vaag.com/ContactUsForm/ContactForm.aspx

WASHINGTON

Rob McKenna
(360) 753-6200
https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ContactForm.aspx

WISCONSIN

JB Van Hollen
608-266-1221
http://www.doj.state.wi.us/ag/contact.asp

WYOMING

Bruce Salzburg
(307)777-7841
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Sign FFRF’s petition or read more about the historic victory and FFRF’s significant legal challenge: http://ffrf.org/legal/national-day-of-prayer-victory/