Action Alert Archive
Urge Colo. lawmakers to enlarge window of justice for clergy sex abuse survivors
The Colorado Legislature is considering a good bill that would expand the rights of survivors of child sexual abuse. Please join FFRF in urging lawmakers to advance this bill and expand the window of justice for survivors to seek justice.
This bill, SB21-073, would remove the statute of limitations for civil actions regarding sexual misconduct, and would also remove several other restrictions that prevent sexual assault survivors from receiving justice through the courts if they don’t bring a lawsuit immediately following the assault.
In the wake of a string of reports of rampant sexual abuse by clergy in dioceses across the country in the last few years, many states have taken similar action to expand the window of justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The Catholic Church has actively lobbied to keep these barriers to justice in place, compounding its disgusting history of protecting abusers and church assets at the expense of children under its care.
The Colorado Senate Health and Human Services Committee has a hearing on this bill tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 1:30 p.m. local time. FFRF has submitted written testimony in support of the bill. Please take a few moments to weigh in on this critical issue and urge the members of this committee to support SB21-073.
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION
- Click on the red “Take Action” link to use our automated system to contact all members of this committee and urge them to advance this bill.
- Submit testimony in support of this bill in writing or virtually during the hearing. Click here to find more information on how to submit testimony.
- Share this link on social media and encourage other Colorado residents to take action.
- Write your own online post or letter to the editor on this topic to further influence public opinion. Let us know if you get published!
Tell Congress: Pass the Equality Act NOW
The U.S. House is slated to vote this week on the Equality Act (HR 5), a critical piece of legislation that would finally cement federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans.
Please join FFRF in calling on Congress to immediately pass the long-overdue Equality Act.
Currently, 30 states have no anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. In such states, LGBTQ individuals can be fired from their jobs, evicted from their homes, denied service from restaurants and stores or refused credit from banks simply because of their identity. The underpinning of this discrimination is religious doctrine that condemns LGBTQ individuals.
At every turn, Christian nationalists exploit this loophole in current federal civil rights law to discriminate under the guise of their distorted view of “religious liberty.”
Please use our simple, automated system and act now to urge your member of Congress to support the Equality Act. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided below. Personalized messages are always the most effective.
More »Urge Missouri lawmakers not to exempt religion from Covid-19 protections
The Missouri Legislature is advancing several bad Covid-related bills that would jeopardize public health in favor of preferential treatment for churches.
Please join FFRF in calling on state lawmakers to reject these dangerous bills and instead prioritize the public safety of all Missouri residents.
The first two bills, HB 61 and HB 575, would prohibit emergency executive orders in the state from restricting worship services, giving religious gatherings preference over other secular gatherings and events. Another, HB 746, would additionally require hospitals to allow clergy to visit terminally ill patients in defiance of limits on outside guests to curb the spread of Covid-19. Finally, HB 308 would require that worship services be exempted from all social distancing requirements.
If passed, this package of bills would strip state and local leaders of nearly every tool shown to save lives by slowing the spread of this deadly virus. Governments already regularly limit worship gatherings that jeopardize public health. For instance, the government prohibits churches from cramming too many people into a building in violation of fire codes and also requires that church buildings comply with necessary building codes. Preventing large gatherings due to a pandemic is even more crucial. Limiting the size and scope of religious gatherings is not a ban on worship any more than speed limits are a ban on driving.
Read FFRF’s Covid state/church resources guide for more information.
The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Accountability has a hearing scheduled on these bills on Monday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. Please use our automated system to contact all members of this committee and urge them to prioritize public health and safety over the special interests of religious groups. Click on the red “Take Action” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. You can also submit testimony on these bills through the committee’s website.
More »TAKE ACTION: Oppose expansion of Fla. school voucher scheme
The Florida Legislature is considering an expansion of the state’s school voucher system, which would divert even more money from public school into private, almost exclusively religious, education. Please take a few moments to tell Florida lawmakers to oppose this damaging proposal.
If passed, SB 48 would allow families that earn up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for the state’s school voucher program. Additionally, this bill would reduce the frequency of private and charter school audit, further decreasing already minimal accountability.
Voucher schemes like the one under consideration for expansion in Florida financially devastate public schools and would force Florida taxpayers to fund private religious education. Lacking oversight and accountability, voucher schemes in states across the country also invariably lead to widespread fraud and mismanagement.
Read FFRF’s “The Case Against Vouchers.”
The Florida Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education has a hearing scheduled on SB 48 tomorrow, Feb. 17, at 3:30 p.m. Please use our automated system to contact all members of the subcommittee and urge them to vote no on this proposal. Click on the red “Take Action” button and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell S.D. lawmakers: Oppose extremist anti-abortion measures
The South Dakota Legislature is deliberating on two extremist anti-abortion bills that threaten reproductive rights in the state. Please take action today to tell legislators to protect reproductive freedom and oppose these dangerous bills.
HB 1130 would ban abortion performed based on the fetus’ sex and would peddle misinformation about “abortion reversal” in the case of medicated abortion. HB 1110 would prohibit abortions if they are performed due to the fetus being diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
Each of these measures employ a favorite tactic of the Religious Right — passing legislation that will restrict access to abortion under the guise of anti-discrimination protections. This is a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to restrict access to reproductive health care without actually increasing resources or social services for people who give birth to children with disabilities. Additionally, spreading disinformation about a so-called “abortion reversal” procedure, which the American Medication Association calls “a patently false and unproven claim unsupported by scientific evidence,” could have potentially deadly consequences.
These bills aim to codify into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights. Almost 70 physicians and medical students in South Dakota have signed a letter opposing each bill.
The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee has a hearing scheduled on these bills tomorrow morning at 7:45 a.m. local time. Please take a few moments to contact all members of this committee and urge them to oppose these extremist proposals. Click on the red “Take Action” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Resist ‘In God We Trust’ in public schools
The Nebraska Legislature is considering a bill that would require all schools to display “In God We Trust” in every classroom or another “prominent location” and also would require the state attorney general to intervene and defend any school sued over its display.
We need your help to ensure that Nebraska schoolchildren are not subjected to government-sponsored proselytizing.
This bill, LB 36, is part of the nationwide legislative push Project Blitz, which seeks to inject state legislatures across the country with a whole host of religious bills. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We, The People.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to showcase the national motto or inspire patriotism, it is clear that their true purpose is to peddle religiosity to a captive audience. The motto “In God We Trust” is inaccurate, exclusionary, and aimed at brainwashing American schoolchildren into believing that our nation is a theocracy.
The Nebraska Education Committee has a hearing scheduled on this bill on March 2 at 1:30 p.m. local time. Please click on the red “Take Action” button to use our simple, automated system to contact the members of this committee and urge them to oppose this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided, or write your own.
We also encourage you to submit written or live virtual testimony during the committee meeting. For more information on how to do this, follow the instructions provided on the committee’s website.
More »TAKE ACTION: Oppose bill allowing religious discrimination in health care
The Kentucky Legislature is fast-tracking a bill that would allow widespread discrimination in health care in the name of religion. Please urge your state senators to oppose this dangerous measure.
The bill, SB 83, would allow licensed health care workers (such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists) and health care payers (employers paying for health insurance) to refuse to participate in any health care they claim to have a religious objection to. This would allow, for instance, pharmacists to refuse to fill contraception prescriptions, nurses or doctors to refuse to provide gender-affirming health care, employers to refuse to pay for contraceptives — and much more.
This bill poses a serious threat to Kentucky residents and could needlessly jeopardize the medical needs of vulnerable patients, particularly women and LGBTQ individuals. Please click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our simple, automated system to contact your state senators and urge them to vote no on SB 83. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »URGENT: Oppose expansion of religious vaccine exemptions
The Tennessee Legislature is advancing two extremely dangerous bills that would expand religious exemptions for the Covid-19 vaccine, putting innumerable Tennesseans and Americans at risk. Please take action today to urge lawmakers to oppose these misguided bills.
The first, HB 13, would completely do away with any vaccine requirement. The second, HB 10, would overturn an existing “epidemic exemption” to the state’s nonmedical vaccine exemption.
These bills would allow religious beliefs to interfere with attempts to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 and would lead to vulnerable Tennesseans dying when we have the means to prevent it. The current epidemic exception to the religious opt-out exists for good reason and overturning it in the middle of a pandemic that continues to threaten lives and our entire health care system is obviously misguided.
The Tennessee House Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on these bills TOMORROW, Tuesday, Feb. 16, at noon local time. Please use our simple, automated system to contact the members of this subcommittee and urge them to vote no on HB 10 and HB 13. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points suggested or write your own. Personalized messages are always the most effective.
TAKE ACTION
More »Urge Dane County to drop Pledge at board meetings
Please urge the Dane County Board of Supervisors to reconsider its policy to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and a “moment of inspiration/prayer” prior to each meeting.
News surrounding the recitation of the pledge at professional athletic events and protests for racial justice has begun to shine a light on its racist and nationalist history. FFRF has documented for decades the pledge’s divisiveness, which erodes our founding ideals of liberty and equality by including a national endorsement of Chrsitianity, literally dividing the “indivisible.”
It’s time that our elected officials get rid of this divisive show of piety and shallow patriotism in favor of true unity. Some supervisors have expressed support for dropping the pledge, and you can help them bring the issue up for discussion by expressing your support.
The Dane County Board of Supervisors next meets on Thursday, Feb. 18. Please email all members and urge them to drop this divisive practice. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most impactful.
We also encourage you to register to attend this virtual Board meeting, and to offer a public comment in support of ending the pledge and prayer practice. Information on how to register is available on the meeting’s agenda.
Dane County Board of Supervisors email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
As a Dane County resident, I urge the Board to reconsider its policy to begin meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of inspiration/prayer. The nationalist and divisive history of the pledge makes it a poor choice to include in meetings that should favor representing all Dane County residents, regardless of race, religion or creed. I urge you to drop the practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the moment of inspiration/prayer in the interest of inclusivity, secularism and true unity. Thank you for your time.
Tell your Maryland lawmakers: Defend reproductive health care
The Maryland Legislature is considering an anti-abortion bill that would prohibit public funding of essential reproductive health care services.
Please take a few moments to urge your legislators to oppose this bill (HB 834) and support such funding.
Legislation designed to curb access to abortion services aims to codify into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights. We must make certain that our lawmakers do not abandon the safety and autonomy of some of the most vulnerable Marylanders in favor of religious dogma.
The House Appropriations Committee has a hearing scheduled on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 1:30 p.m. Click on the red “Take Action” link below to contact all members of this committee and urge them to protect access to reproductive health care services. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points below or write your own. For best results, be concise and courteous.
More »TAKE ACTION: Correct the record on religion in our public schools
Former Louisiana state Sen. John Milkovich has recently published an unhinged op-ed in the Bossier Press-Tribune espousing his desire to “take our schools back” for God.
Milkovich writes: “We’re convicted that is no Time to Rest. It’s time to expel Socialism, Atheism and Alternative Lifestyles from Our Curriculum. It’s Time to get Common Core and Eureka Math out of Our Schools. And itsTime to get God, Patriotism, Discipline, Respect and Values Back In!" [sic]
Public schools exist to educate, not to proselytize. The schools are supported by all taxpayers, and therefore should be free of religious observances and coercion. Neutrality toward religion protects the rights of conscience of public school students and their parents, and eliminates unnecessary divisions caused by religion.
We need state/church defenders to correct the record on these startling claims. We encourage you to write a letter to the editor expressing your views on why public school curricula must remain secular. As a local citizen, your voice carries weight with local papers and is far more likely to get published.
How to write a letter to the editor:
Writing a letter to the editor is easier than you think. Keep your letter short, polite and to the point (between 100 and 250 words). Tell a story about your personal connection to this issue as a secular community member, and make sure to inform them if you are a local resident and that you read the paper you’re writing to.
Send your letter to:
Stacey Tinsley
Managing Editor
318-747-7900 ext. 104
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Letters to the editor are a powerful advocacy tool. Elected officials often monitor local letters to the editor, and they allow you to bring a secular perspective to a larger audience. Please let us know if your letter is published!
More »TAKE ACTION: Tell Biden to stop taxpayer funding of churches
Please join FFRF in telling the Biden administration that your taxes must not be used to fund religion. Act now so your voice counts.
The White House is accepting official comments through Friday, Feb. 12, on a proposal that would permit continued use of taxpayer money to “bail out” churches.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Trump administration trampled long-standing rules and exploited economic relief programs to unconstitutionally fund houses of worship with billions of dollars in taxpayer money. We now need to ensure the regulations that allowed for this do not become permanent. Read FFRF’s full statement on the proposed rule changes.
The corruption and abuse of these church bailouts has already been well documented. If the proposed Small Business Administration rules are finalized, your tax dollars will continue to be siphoned off to churches indefinitely.
Please help ensure that American taxpayers are not footing the bill for religious activities. You can oppose both rules by submitting comments on the public comment pages for these rules. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided or write your own. It just takes a minute or two for your voice to be heard.
Click here to comment on rule 1 and here to comment on rule 2.
TALKING POINTS
As a secular American, I urge you not to remove long-standing protections that prohibit taxpayer funding of churches. I strongly object to my tax dollars going to support houses of worship. Such funding violates the revered principle of separation between state and church.
First, mandatory financial support of religious institutions on the American taxpayer is a profound infringement on First Amendment rights of conscience. That is why long-standing rules have historically prohibited SBA funds from going to houses of worship in the first place. Do not allow these safeguards to fall away permanently.
Additionally, since taxpayer funds were funneled to churches through Covid-19 relief programs less than a year ago, there has already been widespread abuse reported. These religious institutions are financial black holes with no accountability to the American taxpayers, and therefore must not receive public money.
Abortion rights are on the chopping block in Arkansas
The Arkansas Legislature is advancing a dangerous bill that would effectively ban abortion in the state. Please take a few moments to urge your lawmakers to oppose this bill.
If passed, SB 6 would outlaw abortion except to save the life of the pregnant person or to end an ectopic pregnancy. This extremist legislation says that Roe v. Wade is a “gross injustice” and a “crime against humanity” and, shockingly, even compares abortion to the enslavement and disenfranchisement of African-Americans.
The bill codifies into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights. This bill is sponsored by state Rep. Jason Rapert, a Christian Nationalist whom FFRF sued in 2018 after his Ten Commandments monument was erected at the state Capitol.
The Arkansas Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor has a hearing on this bill TOMORROW, Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. Please use our simple, automated system to contact all members of this committee and urge them to oppose this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »TAKE ACTION: Oppose ‘In God We Trust’ in Okla. public buildings
The Oklahoma Legislature is once more considering a bill that would require all state buildings to install giant “In God We Trust” displays. Our members helped to stop an identical bill last year, but we need to stop it again.
Please take action to help ensure that Oklahoma residents are not subjected to government-sponsored Christian proselytizing.
This bill, HB 2085, is part of a nationwide legislative push termed Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic version of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we cherish most about our democracy and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim these measures are intended to showcase the national motto or inspire patriotism, it is clear that their true purpose is to peddle religiosity to a captive audience. These laws are about advancing the Big Lie that the United States was “founded on God” or Christianity, dismantling the wall of separation between religion and government.
The House States Rights Committee has a hearing scheduled on this bill on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m. Click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our simple, automated system to contact all members of the committee and urge them to oppose this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most impactful! We encourage you to watch the hearing live online if you are able.
More »TAKE ACTION: Tell Jeep that Christian Nationalism undermined message of unity
By now, you’ve likely seen or heard about Jeep’s Super Bowl ad that, under the guise of unity and patriotism, promoted the idea that the United States is a Christian nation. Watch the ad here.
Please join FFRF in telling Jeep that, while the message of unity and common ground is laudable, assuming that all Americans are Christian is divisive, exclusionary and counterproductive.
Read FFRF’s full statement on the ad.
Only 65 percent of Americans today identify as Christian, with religiously unaffiliated “Nones” standing at 26 percent. And even if 100 percent of Americans identified as Christian, that still would not make the United States a “Christian nation,” since our godless and secular Constitution ensures our government may not promulgate religion.
Note: This action alert is a consumer complaint, not a state/church violation.
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION:
- Call or email Jeep’s customer complaints department and register your polite opposition to this advertisement. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. It is more effective to respond as an individual, than as someone doing it via FFRF’s action alert.
- Tweet @Jeep and share your thoughts on this ad.
TALKING POINTS:
As a nonreligious American, I was profoundly offended by the exclusionary message and repeated Christian imagery tied to patriotism that was portrayed in your Super Bowl ad.
More than one-third of good American citizens do not identify as Christian, do not kneel in front of the cross, and do not pray to a Christian god. To suggest that all Americans are united behind the cross is divisive, and ironically promotes the Christian Nationalist ideology that led in part to the Jan. 6 insurrection your ad presumably sought to address.
While the message of national unity is laudable, please refrain from promoting Christian Nationalism in the future. Thank you for your time.
More »Tell Ariz. lawmakers not to exempt religion from pandemic gathering limits
The Arizona Legislature is considering a bad Covid-related bill that would declare religious services to be “an essential service deemed necessary and vital to the health and welfare of the public.” If passed, HB 2648 would make it virtually impossible for the state to impose health, safety or occupancy requirements on church services due to an emergency.
Please join FFRF in calling on state lawmakers to reject this dangerous bill and instead prioritize the public safety of all Arizona residents.
Governments already regularly limit worship gatherings that jeopardize public health. For instance, the government prohibits churches from cramming too many people into a building in violation of fire codes and also requires that church buildings comply with necessary building codes. Preventing large gatherings due to a pandemic is even more crucial.
Read FFRF’s Covid state/church resources guide for more information.
The Arizona House Judiciary Committee has a hearing scheduled on this bill on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m. Please click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our automated system to contact all members of this committee and urge them to vote no on this bill.
More »
Tell Indiana legislators not to give churches preferential tax treatment
Religious institutions seem to be always seeking favorable official treatment.
The Indiana Legislature is considering a bill that would allow unscrupulous churches to more easily dodge property taxes. Under current Indiana law, when churches acquire property, they have to certify that they are using this property “for religious worship” in order to secure a tax exemption. If this bill becomes law, the burden would shift to the Indiana government, opening the door to widespread fraud, since it’s virtually impossible for the government to affirmatively prove that a property is not being used for religious worship.
This new rule would only apply to church-owned property and only applies to religious worship, meaning secular nonprofits and non-worship exempted use of the property (charity, feeding the homeless, etc.) would not be able to take advantage of this exemption. This bill (HB 1353) thus favors religious worship and favors churches over secular nonprofits.
The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee has a hearing scheduled on this bill this Wednesday, Feb. 3, at noon. Please use our simple, automated system to contact all members of the House Ways and Means Committee and urge them to oppose this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided or write your own!
More »TAKE ACTION: Oppose bad sex education bill in Montana
The Montana Legislature is considering an anti-science sex education bill that will invite the instruction of faith-based medical providers into our public schools. Please take a few moments to ask lawmakers to stop this bill.
The bill, SB 99, would require parents to opt their children into sex education (rather than requiring religious parents to opt out), and would prohibit any entity or person that provides abortion from contributing to the instruction in any way. This means that any medical professional affiliated with a hospital or clinic that provides abortion services would be barred from teaching the course, providing materials on STD and pregnancy prevention, etc. Perhaps most troubling is that so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers, many of them faith-based, would be able to fill the gap and offer “educational” services and materials, as they objectionably do in many school systems across the country.
This proposal structures education policy to favor those with religious objections to comprehensive sex education, instead of requiring those with religious exemptions to opt out of the curriculum to which they object. We need to stand up for secular education that centers on science-based medical information.
The Montana Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee has a hearing on this bill this Wednesday, Feb. 3. Please click on the red “Take Action” button to use our simple, automated system to contact the members of this committee and urge them to squash this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »TAKE ACTION: Oppose New Hampshire voucher scheme
The New Hampshire Legislature is currently considering what has been dubbed “the most expansive voucher program in the country” — and we need you to urge lawmakers to oppose this dangerous proposal.
If passed, HB 20 would entitle parents who pull their children out of the public school system to have the state pay into an educational savings account an amount equal to 95 percent of the statewide average basic support per pupil, plus “differential aid” that the student may qualify for. Legislators estimate that at least 85 percent of these funds would be used to fund private religious education.
Voucher schemes like the one under consideration in New Hampshire will financially devastate public schools and would force New Hampshire taxpayers to fund private religious education. Further, the program would have virtually no accountability — a problem that has plagued voucher schemes around the country.
Read FFRF’s “The Case Against Vouchers.”
The New Hampshire House of Representatives has a hearing scheduled on this bill on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 1:15 p.m. Eastern. Please take action and urge N.H. legislators to oppose HB 20.
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION:
- Send an email to the entire committee at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and urge them to vote no on this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided below.
- Attend the online hearing and register in opposition to this bill. Again, feel free to use or adapt the talking points FFRF has provided.
- Write an op-ed in your local New Hampshire newspaper opposing this voucher scheme in order to further impact public opinion.
TALKING POINTS:
As a New Hampshire voter, it is critical to me that you oppose HB 20, the voucher scheme proposal currently under consideration.
If passed, this bill would decimate our public schools, including in already underfunded rural districts. Further, this program, like other voucher schemes across the country, lacks oversight and accountability that invariably leads to widespread fraud and mismanagement. New Hampshire taxpayers will cut the checks, yet they will have virtually no mechanism overseeing how that money is used. Where public money goes, public accountability must follow.
Please vote no on HB 20 and recommit to supporting all our students by funding secular public education.
More »TAKE ACTION: Abortion rights are on the chopping block in Iowa
The Iowa Legislature is advancing a dangerous bill, Senate Resolution 2, to amend the state Constitution to say that there is no constitutional right to an abortion. Please take a few moments to urge your lawmakers to oppose this bill.
If passed, this joint resolution would place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would overturn a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision declaring abortion a fundamental right under the state Constitution. This bill would ultimately make it easier for more abortion restrictions and for the state to ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, which many fear may be in the near future. Read more.
The bill codifies into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights.
The Iowa House of Representatives just passed this resolution. It is now headed to the Senate for a vote next Monday, Feb. 1, at noon. Please use our simple, automated system to contact your state senator and urge them to oppose this dangerous bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective!
TAKE ACTION
More »URGENT: Protect Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate
The Wisconsin Legislature is moving quickly to overturn our statewide mask mandate, an egregiously irresponsible move as the pandemic continues to claim lives and threaten the health care system in our state. Please take a few moments to join FFRF in telling our lawmakers to “listen to the science” and uphold the life-saving mask mandate.
Public policy must be based on science, reason, data, compassion and expertise, especially during a pandemic. In the absence of any legislative leadership on the Covid-19 pandemic, Gov. Tony Evers recently extended Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate through March 20, 2021. As he pointed out in his emergency order, there are new, highly contagious Covid-19 variants that pose a significant risk to Wisconsinites, our health care system and our essential workers.
Read FFRF’s full letter to the Wisconsin state Assembly.
Shockingly, the state Senate has voted to overturn this order. The Assembly will vote tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 28, on a similar measure. Please click on the red “Take Action” link below to contact your assemblyperson and urge them NOT to overturn Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate and to defend public health policy driven by science and data. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most impactful.
More »TAKE ACTION: Abortion rights are on the chopping block in Kansas
The Kansas Legislature is advancing a dangerous bill to amend the state Constitution to say that there is no constitutional right to an abortion. This bill is moving quickly — and we need you to take action now.
If passed, this bill (HCR 5003) would place a constitutional amendment on the 2022 primary ballot that would overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision declaring abortion a fundamental right under the state’s Bill of Rights. This bill would ultimately make it easier for more abortion restrictions and for the state to ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, which many fear may be in the near future. Read more.
The bill codifies into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights.
The past Friday (Jan. 22), the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Kansas House passed this bill 86-33. It is now headed to the Senate for a vote TODAY, Jan. 25, at 2:30 p.m. Please use our simple, automated system to contact your senator and urge them to oppose this dangerous bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective!
More »TAKE ACTION: Repeal New Mexico law restricting abortion access
The New Mexico Legislature is currently considering a good bill that would repeal an archaic abortion ban in the state. Please take a few moments to tell your lawmakers to support this bill!
On Monday, Jan. 25, the New Mexico Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee will consider SB 10, which would repeal an existing 1969 law banning abortion except for in very limited circumstances.
As it stands, New Mexico law requires women to go to a “special hospital board” for permission to get an abortion, and doctors performing an unauthorized abortion would be guilty of a felony. The hospital board can only grant permission if the woman files “an affidavit that she has been raped and that the rape has been or will be reported” to police; continuation of the pregnancy would put the woman at grave risk; the pregnancy resulted from incest; or “the child probably will have a grave physical or mental defect.” Read more.
While this law is currently unenforceable under Roe v. Wade, if the Supreme Court removes this federal protection, as many are predicting it may soon do, this law would stand in New Mexico.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact the members of the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee and urge them to support this bill. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective!
Please share this link on social media. Consider writing your own online post or letter to the editor on this topic to further influence public opinion.
More »Tell Cleveland County: No Ten Commandments in schools
A school district in your area is considering a proposal to require each of its schools to display the Ten Commandments. Please take a few moments to contact the school board to oppose this unconstitutional consideration.
A member of the Cleveland County School Board in Shelby, N.C., recently introduced the proposal, which would mandate that schools display the Ten Commandments in a prominent location near the school’s entrance. FFRF immediately sent a letter informing the district of the impermissibility of such displays and highlighting the significant legal liability the district may incur by violating students’ rights. Read FFRF’s full statement.
As an area resident, your voice is powerful. Please contact the district and urge it to ditch this proposal and leave religious coercion out of its schools. Feel free to use or adapt our talking points below. Personalized messages are always the most effective!
Cleveland County School Board Members Contact Information:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
As an area resident, I urge the school board to drop its proposal to require Cleveland County schools to prominently display the Ten Commandments. Please do not put the district at risk of legal action, an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars, when this proposal is plainly unconstitutional and will only serve to divide students and families. Leave religious education to students and their families. Thank you for your time.
Tell Wisconsin legislators not to give churches preferential tax treatment
Religious institutions seem to be always seeking favorable official treatment.
Churches are again lobbying the Wisconsin Legislature to create a special property tax exemption that removes more property from the tax rolls. Assembly Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 would allow churches to become commercial landlords. Last year FFRF opposed the bill, while churches like the Archdiocese of Milwaukee registered in support of it. Please use our automated system below to contact your legislators today and tell them to oppose these bills.
The bills single out property owned by a “church or religious association or institution” for tax exemption, even if the church profits off of the rental. Other nonprofit entities in Wisconsin are excluded from receiving the same benefit. This bill would allow churches and religious nonprofits, but not secular nonprofits, to operate tax-exempt rental properties for the purpose of generating income. As the city of Milwaukee has pointed out, the current law ensures that tax-exempt organizations do not become “real estate investors.”
More importantly, the bills are unconstitutional. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from giving preferential tax treatment to religious entities. Because only churches would benefit from the law (and not all nonprofits), the bill would fail scrutiny under both the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions.
The city of Milwaukee estimates that it would lose an additional $6.7 million to its tax base, which would result in more than $175,000 reduction in tax revenue each year. Of course, if the exemption is added, many more churches may seek to become commercial landlords.
The impact on taxation of other communities is not known. With the expansion of voucher schools across Wisconsin, churches may seek to take advantage and acquire new properties for the purpose of renting them to pop-up voucher schools.
These bills were scheduled for public hearings today, Jan. 19, but those hearings have been postponed. We must voice opposition before the bills are rammed through the Legislature.
Tell your legislators to oppose these unconstitutional bills! Click on the red “Take Action” link below to contact your state legislators and ask them to oppose these bills. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective way to reach your lawmakers!
URGENT! Oppose restrictive S.C. abortion ban
Anti-choice politicians in South Carolina are hitting the ground running in the new year and we need to fight back.
An extremely strict so-called “fetal heartbeat” bill that would outlaw abortion after six weeks of pregnancy has been introduced. Please take a few moments to express your disapproval of this measure.
The bill, SB 1, was introduced yesterday, Jan. 12, and is scheduled for a hearing in front of the Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee TOMORROW, Thursday morning, at 10 a.m. Please don’t delay. Contact the members of the subcommittee right away.
Six-week abortion bans, also commonly misrepresented as “heartbeat bills,” are a favorite of the anti-choice Religious Right, intended to outlaw abortion after an embryonic pulse (not heartbeat) can be detected (as early as five weeks). Most women do not even know they are pregnant that early, which is, of course, the point.
The bill codifies into law beliefs not based on science or morality, but on religion and so-called holy books. The Christian Right has been and remains the primary opponent to women’s reproductive rights. Indeed the “architect” of the “fetal heartbeat” bill runs an organization called “Faith2Action,” which seeks to impose a particular religious viewpoint on all citizens.
Click on the red “TAKE ACTION” link below to use our automated system to send a message to the subcommittee members urging them to stop this bill in its tracks. Feel free to use or adapt our suggested talking points or add your own message.
More »TAKE ACTION: Demand Tanzanian govt. release ex-Muslim activist
Please take action TODAY to ensure the release of Zara Kay, an outspoken ex-Muslim activist who has been arrested on trumped-up charges in Tanzania.
Zara founded the group Faithless Hijabi (which provides support to women leaving Islam) and is openly critical of that religion and theocratic regimes.
Read more in FFRF’s full statement.
Police in Dar es Salaam arrested Kay on Dec. 28 and held her for 32 hours before charging her with a crime. We ask you to take action today to help free Kay.
The International Coalition of Ex-Muslims is asking sympathizers to contact Tanzanian embassies in their country and demand that the Tanzanian government drop all charges against Kay, return her Australian passport and allow her to leave the country.
The Tanzanian Embassy in the United States can be reached by
Telephone: (202)884-1080 (202)939-6125 (202)939-6127
Twitter: @tzembassyus
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fax: (202)797-7408
Website: https://tanzaniaembassy-us.org/
Please contact the Tanzanian Embassy today and demand justice for Zara Kay. If you’re active on social media, please share the message with these hashtags: #JusticeForZaraKay #JusticeForZara #StandUpForZaraKay
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
I am joining international calls for the release of Zara Kay from police custody. I demand that the Tanzanian government drop all charges against Kay, return her Australian passport and allow her to leave the country.
More »
Mississippi: Oppose Gov. Reeves’ “Day of Prayer”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is again inappropriately proselytizing to you and your fellow Mississippians — and needs to hear your opposition.
Reeves has declared Sunday, Dec. 20, a “Statewide Day of Prayer, Humility, and Fasting” and is encouraging you and other citizens to join in prayer and read from the bible.
“We know there is power in prayer,” Reeves said during a Facebook Live event announcing the proclamation. “As we have done throughout the history of the country, we will go to the Lord and ask for His protective hand over us as we conclude the year 2020 and as we enter the year 2021.” He also began and ended the announcement with Christian prayers by two clergymen. FFRF has written to him previously about two similar abuses of his office this year to promote religion.
Ironically, he has failed to use his civil authority to issue mandates that will help stem the pandemic, yet feels free to exhort you to pray and to engage in unconstitutional endorsements of religion.
Read FFRF’s full letter to Gov. Reeves.
Tell Gov. Reeves to get off his knees and get to work! (Feel free to add your own language.)
More »Ask Ohio Senate to reject bill placing bible verse along state seal
Please help thwart a constitutionally dubious bill pending in the Ohio Legislature.
The House recently passed HB 473, a bill that would allow state officials to place the phrase “With God, All Things Are Possible” alongside the state seal. The bill is up for a hearing in front of a Senate committee tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 16. Please take a moment to tell the members of that committee why you oppose this bill.
Regrettably, “With God, All Things Are Possible,” a verse from the New Testament, Matthew 19:26, is the official motto of the state of Ohio (and legal challenges have been unsuccessful). Adopting the sectarian religious phrase as an official motto does not make it any less religious. It was wrong to select this divisive phrase as the state motto — and placing it alongside the state seal compounds that mistake.
HB 473 will be considered by the Senate General Government and Agency Review Committee at a hearing tomorrow. Even if these are not your senators, please take a moment to email the members of this committee to tell them that you oppose HB 473 and want the state seal to remain secular so that it represents all Ohioans, not just Christians. According to the Pew Research Center, 27 percent of Ohioans are not Christian, and that number has been growing every year.
Please feel free to use our automated system to email members of this Senate committee. You may use our suggested talking points, or write your own. For best results, keep your messages polite and succinct.
More »Oppose Ohio anti-choice bill
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is slated to sign an extremist, anti-choice bill — and he needs to hear your opposition.
If passed, S.B. 27 would require fetal remains from abortions be cremated or buried. While pious politicians claim bills like this are intended to “honor the unborn,” we know the true intention is to place undue burden on abortion providers. These callous attempts to further restrict women’s health care based on the religious beliefs of a few cannot go unanswered.
Please contact Gov. DeWine TODAY and urge him to reject S.B. 27.
Click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our automated system to call or email DeWine’s office. Even though his history of opposition to reproductive freedom indicates he is likely to sign this bill, it is critical that secular Ohioans make their voices heard and not let him claim a mandate on this issue. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »URGENT: Oppose Okla. “Day of Prayer”
After months of downplaying COVID-19 and refusing to implement a mask mandate to curb its spread, Gov. Kevin Stitt is now calling on citizens to “fast and pray” for victims of the pandemic.
Tell Gov. Stitt that establishing an “Oklahoma Day of Fasting and Prayer” is an unacceptable religious use of his public office and to instead embrace science and reason-based policy to combat the pandemic.
Not only is it an abuse of power for Stitt to use his public office to promote his personal religion, it is unnecessary and divisive at a time when we need to come together to combat this public health crisis.
Click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our automated system to call or email Stitt’s office to oppose his prayer proclamation. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective. For best results, be concise and polite.
More »URGENT: Pass the ROE Act in Massachusetts!
The Massachusetts Legislature is currently considering Amendment 759, which would remove medically unnecessary barriers to abortion care and improve access for reproductive health care throughout the state. Please tell the Senate Ways and Means Committee to include Amendment 759 — known as the ROE Act — in the final budget.
The amendment would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to make their own reproductive health decisions without court intervention. Furthermore, Amendment 759 provides care for later pregnancies in cases of lethal fetal diagnosis.
Read FFRF's official testimony.
As a secular nation, our laws related to health care, including reproductive health care, should reflect science. Amendment 759 is a bold and important step toward providing medically accurate and science-based reproductive health care for the women of Massachusetts.
Please contact Michael Rodrigues, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and urge him to ensure that Amendment 759 remains in the final budget.
More »National State/Church Call-In Day: Stop Judge Barrett!
As you know, the U.S. Senate is rushing to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, an ideologue who would threaten the separation of state and church, for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is co-hosting a National State/Church Call-In Day today! Please call your senators and ask them to oppose this confirmation!
Barrett, a Christian Nationalist, is a dangerous choice because she believes that the government can, and indeed must, promote religion. Her confirmation to the court would give this fringe view a clear majority.
She has shown support for the argument that employers, based on their religious beliefs, can deny required benefits like birth control coverage. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she voted to exempt religious organizations from bans on large gatherings. She has criticized long-standing precedent that prevents public schools from forcing prayer on students.
The separation of church and state is at risk. We need our high court to protect the rights of everyone. We should only confirm a justice whose record demonstrates she will respect this fundamental First Amendment principle.
Barrett’s personal religious beliefs aren’t relevant. Her position on the separation of state and church is. And unfortunately for all Americans, that position appears to be open hostility. Read FFRF’s full report here.
Please take action — call your senators and ask them to oppose the confirmation of Barrett today!
More »VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Help FFRF stop Barrett
Many of you have contacted FFRF to say you want to do more to stop the confirmation process of Amy Coney Barrett. FFRF supporters already have made hundreds of phone calls and sent thousands of emails to Senate offices, so we have another option for you: Making Patch-Through Calls, working with one of our allied partners: National Equality Action Team - NEAT.
To sign up: go here.
If you join this program, you’ll automatically be able to call favorable constituents in critical states (North Carolina, Iowa, Maine etc.), explain why Barrett must be stopped, then immediately and automatically connect the constituent with their senators’ offices. It’s just like phone banking that many of you have done before, and it allows citizens to take direct and immediate action.
Once you have signed up for a shift, NEAT will send you more information via email about online training, which takes about 20 minutes to complete. You’ll learn how to use the auto dialer and scripts for the campaign. After you have completed the training, NEAT will send you the log-in information for the autodialer. NEAT also has a telephone number you can call or text if you need help during this process.
This is one of the most effective advocacy tools you can use. Senate offices pay close attention to phone calls. You can help motivate and inspire fellow citizens to take an easy and effective action to make sure all of our voices are heard during the Supreme Court nomination.
Can you join this campaign? If so, go here.
P.S. You will be working with NEAT, an allied organization. This is not a project FFRF is managing, but we are helping to sponsor and promote it.
More »Vets & ‘atheists in foxholes’ only: Tell Dept. of Defense to stay secular
NOTE: This action alert is only for U.S. veterans, active military members or employees of the Department of Defense. Everyone else, please disregard — unless you can forward to a nonbelieving vet or military member.
The Department of Defense has requested input on how the U.S. military can improve in terms of “diversity and inclusion in the armed forces.” Please consider taking a moment to share your experience as a nonreligious service member and any thoughts you have on how the military could do better to accommodate nonbelievers and to keep our military secular.
Following national protests against systemic racism, the Department of Defense announced a multistep process to address diversity and inclusion concerns. The first step is an anonymous “crowdsourcing” brainstorm of the problem and possible solutions, conducted by the DoD Board on Inclusion and Diversity. We urge you to participate in this process now, as the deadline for comments is next week. Please tell the board that in addition to addressing racial inequality, it should take the opportunity to address any instances of the military unconstitutionally promoting religion that you may have encountered.There are two ways to submit comments to the Board on Inclusion and Diversity:
First, it has set up a website for this purpose, which you can access here.
NOTE: You must enter your Common Access Card (CAC) number in order to comment. The Defense Department promises that comments will be anonymous, although FFRF cannot independently verify that this promise will be kept.
Second, if you are uncomfortable with the above method but are eligible to submit a comment, send your comment to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will compile comments received and submit them to the Board without any identifying information. All comments must be received by the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 14, to ensure we can forward them to the board.
More information about this effort is available here. Thank you for taking the time to stand up for “atheists in foxholes” and for helping to uphold our secular Constitution.
More »Action Alert! Nominee Barrett will end same-sex marriage, sees law as tool to “build Kingdom of God”
If Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, it initiates the final stage of a Christian Nationalist takeover of the high court. A supermajority will be free to undo so many of our hard-won rights.
Barrett is an immediate threat to same-sex marriage across the country. Just this week, multiple Supreme Court justices openly stated their willingness to overturn the court’s 2015 decision on same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges. Barrett is on the record, during a 2016 lecture, criticizing this landmark decision. She praised the feverish dissent of Chief Justice John Roberts, and will surely join him in overturning Obergefell at the first opportunity.
To protect this hard-fought right and so many others, it is essential that Americans stand up and oppose the confirmation of this Christian Nationalist nominee.
Barrett’s short tenure on the 7th Circuit has been marked by decisions that confirm she is a religious ideologue and judicial activist. She has proven hostile to abortion access, has expressed her view that the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act (stripping health care potentially from millions of Americans) and has supported the Christian Nationalist’s supremely cruel crusade against immigration. Barrett has stated publicly that she believes public schools can impose prayer on students and that her job as a lawyer is to “build the Kingdom of God.”
Read FFRF’s full report on Amy Coney Barrett.
This religious zealotry and blatant disregard for our secular Constitution disqualifies her from service on the Supreme Court. It is all on the line. Now is the time to speak up.
Protest the rush to hold hearings during the election process and tell your senators to oppose the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective.
More »Louisianans: Vote “No” on Louisiana Amendment 1
The Freedom From Religion Foundation urges you to vote “no” on Louisiana Amendment 1 on the November election ballot. Louisiana Amendment 1 is an anti-science, anti-woman measure that would leave women in the state seeking abortion without any legal support. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would then become automatically illegal in Louisiana.
Efforts to pass Louisiana Amendment 1 have received strong support from religious organizations, including Louisiana Baptists, the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Louisiana District Council of the Assemblies of God, which have encouraged their churches and ministries to advocate on behalf of this amendment.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation urges you to reject this demand by religious groups to dictate and deny women’s health care by voting “no” on Louisiana Amendment 1. Stand up for science, reproductive health care, and the separation of state and church by voting “No” on Louisiana Amendment 1 on the November ballot.
MORE INFO:
A secular nation’s reproductive laws should be rooted in evidence-based science, not religion. And the evidence shows that abortions are extremely safe. In fact, risk of major complications related to abortions is less than 1 percent. A 2020 study found that 99 percent of women who received an abortion did not regret their decision. In fact, a recent study found that women denied an abortion reported significantly higher anxiety symptoms and lower self-esteem and life satisfaction levels than women who received abortion care. Seventy-five percent of Americans say they want to keep in place the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Roe v. Wade, and most Americans expect abortion to be legal in the next 30 years.
More »Coloradoans: Vote “No” on Proposition 115
The Freedom From Religion Foundation urges Coloradoans to vote “no” on Proposition 115 on the November election ballot. Proposition 115 is an anti-science, anti-woman measure that would prohibit abortions after 22 weeks gestation with only very narrow exceptions.
Efforts to pass Proposition 115 have received strong support from the Catholic Church. Colorado Springs Bishop Michael J. Sheridan, Pueblo Bishop Stephen J. Berg, and Auxiliary Bishop of Denver Jorge Rodriguez have said that Proposition 115 is one of “the most important political objectives of Colorado Catholics.”
Meanwhile, Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, an organization consisting of diverse religious groups that works toward human rights, equality, and opportunity for all, has issued a letter condemning Proposition 115. In the letter, nearly 130 faith leaders derided religious groups that “use their interpretation of their religion as a justification” to infringe on the rights of others, including abortion rights.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation agrees and urges Coloradoans to reject this invitation of religion to dictate women’s health care.
MORE INFO:
A secular nation’s reproductive laws should be rooted in evidence-based science, not religion. And the evidence shows that abortions after 22 weeks are extremely rare, making up just one percent of abortions. They are already difficult to obtain and require costly, multi-day treatment. The reasons for an abortion later in pregnancy can include medical concerns like fetal anomlies and to protect the health of the pregnant person.
Abortion is a nonreligious issue. A Pew Research Study found that 59 percent of Colorado residents believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, including 37 percent of Evangelical Protestants. However, a small but vocal group continue to create division on women’s health care. The organization behind the measure, Due Date Too Late, organized by the issues committee Coalition for Women and Children, joins many Christian Nationalist organizations in Colorado that seeks to codify their religious beliefs by denying crucial health care to women.
Stand up for science, reproductive health care, and the separation of state and church by voting “no” on Proposition 115 on the November election ballot.
More »URGENT: No confirmation until after inauguration!
President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett — a religious fanatic and darling of the Religious Right — to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court would be a disaster for our nation’s future. This nomination is not only an insult to the memory of Ginsburg, who dedicated her life to equal justice under the law, but it is an overt act to erase everything she stood for.
Barrett’s confirmation would put everything at risk, including state/church separation, reproductive rights, environmental protection and LGBTQ equality. We have no time to waste. Please contact your senators immediately to oppose Barrett’s confirmation.
Read FFRF’s full statement on why Barrett, if confirmed, would complete the Christian Nationalist takeover of the high court for more than a generation.
WAYS TO TAKE ACTION
- Email and call your senators. Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages and phone calls are always the most effective.
- Share information about Barrett’s record and about what’s at stake on social media.
- Urge five people you know to also call their senators to oppose this confirmation.
- Support the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Join if you are not currently a member; if you are, please consider a donation to FFRF’s Legal Fund.
Will your senator will be decisive in SCOTUS vote?
Your senator may play a decisive role in the vote on a nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. We believe with sustained pressure, the senators listed below can be swayed to delay the confirmation until after the inauguration. If you are a constituent of theirs, please click on their name to be connected to their offices.
The loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from the Supreme Court puts everything we are working for at risk. Our right to a secular government. Environmental justice. Abortion rights. LGBTQ equality. Everything is on the line — and we cannot let up pressure now.
Many senators have already pledged to vote for a nominee before one has even been named — a complete abdication of their duty to vet the nominee before the person is appointed to a lifetime seat on our nation’s highest court. These senators need to hear from their constituents that this flagrant disregard for their responsibility to the American people will not go unanswered.
All legislative offices keep a tally of calls they receive on every issue. Calling and making your position known does make a difference. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most impactful way to reach your lawmakers.
TAKE ACTION!
Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue
More »Take Action! Call senators to postpone SCOTUS vote
Our right to a secular government. Reproductive freedom. Racial justice. LGBTQ equality. The survival of our environment. Our health care. All of this — and so much more — is on the line.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to go forward with a confirmation hearing to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shortly after news of her death on Friday. We must fight back.
Voters across the country have already started casting their ballots to determine who will nominate a justice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Voters are energized and know what’s at stake. The Senate needs to let the people decide and not consider a SCOTUS nominee until after the inauguration.
Please call your senators today to demand that a new justice not be confirmed until after the inauguration in 2021. Please call — calls are more effective than emails.
This is a fight we can win. But we must keep up sustained pressure. If you’ve emailed your senators, give them a call today. If you’ve already called, call again and reiterate your demand. There is too much at stake to sit this one out.
All legislative offices keep a tally of calls they receive on every issue. Calling and making your position known does make a difference. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most impactful way to reach your lawmakers. If the phone lines are busy, try looking up the phone numbers of your senators' local offices and call there. (Our automated system cannot currently provide these numbers.)
More »Call your senators: No new SCOTUS appointment before inauguration
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death is an incalculable loss for our country. Her work and advocacy as an attorney charted the path for gender-based civil rights litigation. As a Supreme Court justice, she remained a stalwart defender of the separation of state and church.
To preserve RBG’s outsized legacy, we cannot allow the Senate to rush through her replacement before 2021, even more so when Americans across the country have already started voting on who will nominate the next justice.
Please call your senators to demand that a new justice not be nominated and confirmed until after the inauguration in 2021.
Turn the collective sorrow we feel at the loss of this champion into activism. Harness your dismay and do what RBG always did, what she never stopped doing: Fight. Fight like your rights depend on it. Fight like your country depends on it. Everything is at stake. Our right to a secular government. Roe v. Wade. Racial equality. LGBTQ equality. Our Earth. Our health care. Our health care is at risk in the middle of a pandemic that has killed 200,000 Americans.
Call both your senators right now to tell them not to vote on a replacement for RBG before the election. If your senators have announced their intent to do the right thing, call to thank them, tell them to stand strong, tell them to do more. Tell them to delay. Thank you!
More »Tell your Senators: Pass the Scientific Integrity Act
When the House of Representatives passed the third COVID-19 relief bill (HEROES Act) in May, it included a critical bipartisan provision called The Scientific Integrity Act. Unfortunately, that relief bill is dead in the Senate. So we need your help to pass S. 775, the Scientific Integrity Act.
This act would shield government scientists and their work from political influence. The legislation makes it more likely that the experts who work on our behalf can investigate public health and environmental threats and share their work directly and honestly with the American people.
Read more on the Scientific Integrity Act.
The importance of legislation that protects the independence of scientific research has never been more apparent. Please take a few moments to contact your U.S. senators and urge them to support the Scientific Integrity Act (S. 775).
More »Take Action! Tell Vt. lawmakers to pass reproductive health care bill
The Vermont Legislature is currently considering a bill that would advance reproductive health care in the state.
Can you take a few moments to contact your state lawmakers and urge them to support H. 663, which will increase access to contraceptives in health insurance programs and in educational settings?
Given the alarming growth in religiously affiliated medical services in the United States, it is crucial that the government protect and expand access to essential reproductive health care services.
If passed, H. 663 would ensure that initiatives to provide coverage for outpatient contraceptive and birth control services, including voluntary sterilizations, would be implemented consistently across insurance plans, including Medicaid, in Vermont. Additionally, H. 663 would require school districts to make condoms freely available to students in secondary schools.
Read FFRF’s testimony to the House Committee on Human Services in favor of H. 663.
Click on the red “Take Action” link below to use our automated system to contact your Vermont legislators. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. For the most impactful message, personalize the note.
More »Take action! Oppose theocratic judicial nominee
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote later this week on the nomination of Toby Crouse to be a federal judge in Kansas. If confirmed, Crouse will be a federal judge for life. Please take a moment to tell the members of the committee to oppose Crouse’s nomination.
Crouse has a disturbing history that includes defending discrimination toward LGBTQ by Christian businesses, fighting against contraceptive care for women, supporting religious exemptions to general laws regarding the pandemic and supporting Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s voter suppression efforts, all while serving as solicitor general of the state of Kansas.
MORE INFORMATION
While serving as Kansas solicitor general, Crouse has been consistently on the wrong side of cases while influencing litigation on behalf of the state. These cases show a clear pattern of disparagement of the principles of state/church separation and equal treatment while promoting favoritism toward members of the religious majority. There is no reason to think that Crouse would set his biases aside when ruling on similar cases from the bench.
In Arlene’s Flowers Inc. v. Washington, Crouse’s office joined a brief defending a discriminatory florist who refused service to an engaged couple simply because they are gay. The florist cited a religious objection to gay people getting married.
In Little Sisters of the Poor St. Peters & Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, Crouse signed Kansas onto a brief defending a government action designed to allow businesses to deny contraceptive care to their employees based on the employer's absurd claim that filling out a one-page exemption violates religious beliefs.
Earlier this year, Crouse’s office argued that churches must be exempted from bans on large gatherings because of religious freedom, even though such an exemption threatens the health of the entire public. This unworkable and dangerous standard shows a badly unbalanced view of religious liberty compared to all other rights, including the rights of others to be safe.
While working in private practice, Crouse defended Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach against challenges to his efforts to restrict Kansas voters from participating in the voting process. After becoming solicitor general, Crouse continued to work to oppose voter rights and to promote voter suppression. As FFRF has argued before, ensuring robust voter rights is a secular issue. Secular voters sharply increased their share of the U.S. electorate in recent elections, and that trend must continue in order to stem the tide of Christian Nationalism and to support a strong separation between state and church.
Please help FFRF oppose the confirmation of this Christian Nationalist-style nominee by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Click on the red "Take Action" link below to use our automated system and our suggested talking points below. For the biggest impact, write your own succinct and courteous talking points.
More »Take Action! Religious tradition is no justification for violating human rights
The Congressional Freethought Caucus — a group of U.S. representatives fighting for secular values on Capitol Hill — endorsed a critical piece of legislation last week.
The Stop FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Act would expand the scope of current anti-female genital mutilation laws in the United States. Crucially, the bill specifically states that performing this procedure as part of a custom or ritual provides no legal defense.
In addition to the traumatic and often lifelong physical and emotional pain this procedure inflicts, girls and women who have it inflicted upon them are at risk for dangerous infections and cysts. Infants born to women who’ve been forced to undergo the procedure have a higher risk of dying. The practice has no medical benefit and is based solely on barbaric religious or cultural traditions that have no place in modern American society. Regardless of religion or tradition, female genital mutilation is a violent and horrific human rights violation. The United States must be a leader in the global effort to outlaw and eradicate this barbaric practice.
Please contact your U.S. representative and urge them to co-sponsor the Stop FGM Act. Click on the red “Take Action” link below and follow the prompt provided to connect with your representative. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective way to reach your elected officials!
More »Tell Congress: Pass the Do No Harm Act
When the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Bostock v. Clayton County in June, which upheld civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans, we celebrated the historic victory. But we also issued a dire warning: The court’s opinion left the door wide open for religion to be used as license to discriminate because of the infamous Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Since then, the Supreme Court has allowed religious plaintiffs to use their religion to kick millions of women off birth control coverage, in defiance of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, and permitted them to skirt civil rights employment protections with impunity.
When it was passed into law nearly 30 years ago, it was hoped that RFRA would shield those with minority religious beliefs from the domination of the religious majority. Predictably, however, the Religious Right has hijacked this law as an unfettered license to discriminate on behalf of the majority religion.
We need your help in a national effort to restore true religious freedom. Please take action today to support the Do No Harm Act, a common-sense bill that limits the laws that RFRA applies to, in order to ensure that religious liberty cannot be wielded as a weapon to discriminate.
Please take a few minutes to contact your lawmakers and urge them to pass the Do No Harm Act. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points below. Personalized messages are always the most impactful!
More »Sign the petition: Slain Indian freethinkers (including FFRF honoree) need justice
Seven years after Indian freethinker and FFRF honoree Narendra Dabholkar was murdered by Hindu extremists, the investigation into this crime has stalled. Three other rationalists have been murdered quite certainly by the same Hindu fundamentalist group and still the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation has taken no swift action.
It only takes a moment to add your name — and signatures from outside of the country make a huge difference, spotlighting the international implications of this case.
Dabholkar founded Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), an organization dedicated to fighting superstition and spreading rationalism in India. MANS was last year’s recipient of FFRF’s Avijit Roy Courage Award in memory of Dabholkar. Dabholkar, a medical doctor by training, spent more than 20 years as the face of the rationalist movement in India. The pressure that built after his heinous killing led to the passage of an anti-superstition bill in his home state of Maharashtra.
The Indian government needs to act immediately to bring to justice the masterminds behind these killings and protect other social activists from similar violence. Thank you!
More »Tell N.H. reps: Protect reproductive health care
New Hampshire Gov. Christopher T. Sununu vetoed H.B. 685, a bill requiring insurance plans that cover maternity benefits to provide coverage for emergency and elective abortion services. Called the Reproductive Health Parity Act, the bill would protect against barriers to abortion care access.
Despite the fact that it passed both the Senate and House, Sununu vetoed H.B. 685, claiming that it would "take away the freedom of choice for those employees and employers who object to being forced to partake in or provide abortion services."
The religious beliefs of individuals should not interfere with someone else's health care access and coverage. Please take a few minutes to contact your state lawmakers and insist that they override this veto. Click on the red “Take Action” link below. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided. Personalized messages are always the most effective way to make an impact on your lawmakers.
More »Tell HUD: Don’t enable religious bigotry
A recently proposed rule by the Department of Housing and Urban Development would allow shelters to “establish a policy that places and accommodates individuals on the basis of their biological sex, without regard to their gender identity,” permitting explicit discrimination against transgender individuals.
HUD needs to hear overwhelming opposition to this inhumane policy, which panders to bigotry in the name of religious freedom.
Religion plays a major part in anti-transgender discrimination, as it does in many such historical patterns, FFRF underscores in its official comment opposing this proposed rule. The voices openly calling for the right to discriminate against transgender individuals almost invariably cite “religious freedom” as a justification. Catering to these bigoted demands not only endorses such discrimination, but also endorses a particularly vile religious belief in violation of our entirely secular Constitution’s requirement that religion and government remain separate.
Read FFRF’s full statement on the proposed rule.
HUD is accepting public comments on this proposal and it is imperative that we take action to make sure this doesn’t become law.
STEPS TO COMMENT:
Click on the red "Take action" link below, which goes to the official comment page.
You can also view the rule’s page here.
Fill out the corresponding comment form. We have provided suggested talking points below. Feel free to copy and paste the suggested message. Personalized comments are most influential.
Make sure your comment includes this RIN Number: 2506-AC53
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
I strongly oppose HUD’s proposed rule to permit housing shelters to discriminate based on gender identity. Not only is this a callous policy decision, it will jeopardize the health and safety of transgender homeless Americans — people who already face discrimination on multiple fronts and desperately need government support. One in five transgender persons in the United States has experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. This cruel HUD rule would only further compound such bigotry.
This rule is undeniably motivated by a distorted definition of religious privilege, which impermissibly places the weight of the government behind the oppressors rather than the oppressed, allowing shelters receiving federal funds to turn away an individual simply because they are transgender, or because a shelter worker thinks they might be transgender based on their appearance.
Do not allow federally funded agencies to discriminate based on a person’s gender identity. Do not allow this rule to become law.
More »
