Action Alert Archive
Please urge your U.S. legislators to vote down DeVos neo-voucher bill
The Trump Administration is once again taking a swing at the wall of separation between state and church, this time by proposing a federal voucher-like program that would open the way for public funding to go to religious schools. We need your help to stop it.
A Senate bill, S. 634, has been introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would establish a program intended to give tax credits for private school education, dubbed the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act. (The proposed new federal budget also contains $5 billion in tax credits to fund such a program.)
Voucher and tax credit programs create a host of problems. The lack of oversight of voucher schools encourages widespread fraud and mismanagement. Taxpayers cut the checks to such schools, yet have no say in how they are run. Because private schools receiving vouchers are not subject to the safeguards required for public schools, abuses are rife, such as lack of safe playing spaces, adequate lunches and textbooks. Such schemes are a cynical way of funneling public funds to religious schools, as FFRF has repeatedly pointed out.
This is yet another example of the Trump administration weaponizing religious liberty in pursuit of profit and privilege at the expense of American taxpayers. Please contact your U.S. legislators and ask that they oppose S. 634. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Take action to help end child marriage in New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Legislature is considering HB 378, a good bill that would raise the minimum age for marriage from 16 to 18, and we need your help to make sure this bill passes.
The bill outlaws marriage for anyone younger than 18 and removes the option to bypass the age restriction with consent from a parent.
More than 200,000 minors in the United States were married between 2000 and 2015. According to UNICEF, minors who are married are 50 percent more likely to drop out of school. Additionally, early marriage doubles a teenager’s chances of living in poverty and triples the likelihood he or she will be a victim of domestic violence, compared to married adults. Often, these child “marriages” stem from antiquated and horrifying religious beliefs that compromise the safety of children, but many states including New Hampshire, still allow the practice in order to pacify powerful theocratic constituencies.
The N.H. Children and Family Law Committee is holding a hearing on this bill tomorrow, Wednesday, March 13, in Room 208 at 10 a.m. Please show up and speak out in support of this bill. If you can’t make it to the meeting, please use our simple, automated system to contact the members of the committee and ask them to vote yes on HB 378.
More »Ensure that nonreligious have equal representation at Abilene City Council meetings
Recently, an Abilene, Texas, resident informed us at FFRF that each Abilene City Council meeting begins with a religious invocation delivered by one of the council members.
While FFRF believes that the best practice for government meetings is to forego the invocation and get straight to work, since a prayer may ostracize some members of the community, unfortunately the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this practice is legal.
As an Abilene constituent, however, you have a powerful voice in your community and we need you to stand up for secularism and inclusivity at public governing events by asking your council to skip the prayer, or replace it with a moment of silence. While there is no law prohibiting the council from beginning each meeting with prayer, it is unnecessary, disrespectful and divisive to include it.
The Abilene City Council needs to hear from you about how this practice affects you and other nonreligious citizens!
Please attend the Abilene City Council’s next meeting this Thursday, March 14, at City Hall (555 Walnut Street) at 8:30 a.m. and speak out against this unnecessary prayer. The public comment period of the meetings is open for input on any item and is not restricted to the agenda.
TALKING POINTS
Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided below.
As a secular Abilene voter, I am concerned with the inclusion of prayer at the commencement of every City Council meeting. It is unnecessary and divisive and makes me feel politically ostracized in my own community.
There is no practical reason for the council to begin each meeting with a prayer. I am urging the council to skip the prayer at each meeting and get down to legislative business in order to reduce the appearance of religious preference and foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all Abilene citizens, regardless of personal religious views.
Thank you for your time.
More »Please support Minn. bill to ban conversion therapy!
The Minnesota Legislature is considering a good bill to ban conversion therapy for children and vulnerable adults. We need your help to make sure it passes.
The bill, HF 12, would protect LGBTQ Minnesotans from the barbaric religious treatment deceitfully called “conversion therapy.” Additionally, this bill prohibits the “misrepresentation of conversion therapy services or products.”
Conversion therapy is a dangerous and discredited practice aimed at altering a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity, often basing the “therapy” in religious shame and guilt. Many governmental health organizations have denounced the practice as both physically and psychologically traumatizing. Individuals who endure this so-called treatment are at a higher risk for suicide and depression. Read more.
The Minnesota House Commerce Committee is having a hearing on the bill tomorrow, Tuesday March 12, in Room 200 of the State Office Building at 2:30 p.m. Please use our simple, automated system to contact the members of the committee and ask them to support this bill. If you would like to attend the meeting, please sign in and register your support for the bill.
More »URGENT: Please resist In God We Trust in schools bill!
The Kentucky Legislature is fast-tracking a bill that would require public schools in the state to display “In God We Trust” in a “prominent location.” We need your help to ensure that young, impressionable students aren’t subject to religious proselytization.
HB 46 is part of the nationwide legislative push, 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 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. 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 motto In God We Trust is inaccurate, exclusionary and aimed at brainwashing American schoolchildren into believing that our nation is a theocracy.
This bill has, alarmingly, already passed the House, and the Kentucky state Senate will hold a hearing on the bill Monday, March 11, at noon in Annex Room 154 and HB 46 is the first bill on the agenda. If you can’t make the meeting, please use our automated system to contact the members of the committee and ask that they stop this bill in its tracks.
More »Please support repeal of religious exemptions from immunization requirements!
A new bill, LD 798, introduced in the Maine Legislature would remove religious exemptions from vaccination requirements.
Many states, including Maine, allow parents to claim a religious exemption from regulations that require they vaccinate their children. When parents choose not to vaccinate, it not only compromises the health of their own children, but also jeopardizes the “herd immunity” those who cannot receive vaccinations for health reasons rely on to stay healthy.
Please counter the influence of the anti-science Religious Right, whose dangerous rhetoric is causing very serious and preventable infectious disease outbreaks in numerous states across the country. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 206 individual cases of measles were confirmed in 11 states between Jan. 1 and the end of February. The nation saw 372 cases in all of 2018. The states that see the highest incidences of the disease are those with the most relaxed exemption laws.
Please stand up for this common sense bill that will protect Maine residents from the dangerous implications of others people’s religious dogma. Please use our simple, automated system to ask your representatives to support LD 798 and feel free to use or adapt the provided talking points.
LD 798 is currently being considered by the state’s Committee on Education And Cultural Affairs, which is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the bill on Wednesday, March 13, at 1 p.m. in Augusta. If you are able to attend this hearing to support this bill, please consider doing so.
More »URGENT: Protect safe, legal abortion access in KY!
The Kentucky Legislature is furiously at work attempting to undermine Roe v. Wade and restrict access to safe and legal abortion for women in Kentucky.
Three bills, SB 9, HB 5 and HB 148, are each religion-based attempts to limit abortion access and are currently being considered by various legislative committees.
SB 9, in the House Rules Committee, is a “fetal heartbeat” bill that would outlaw performing abortion before most people even know they are pregnant, functionally outlawing abortion altogether.
HB 5, in the Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, & Public Protection Committee after passing in the House, would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion if they feel their patient is ending the pregnancy because of the fetus’ sex, race or disability. Critics rightfully point out that this is a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to restrict abortion access without actually increasing resources or social services for people who give birth to children with disabilities. Additionally, laws like this encourage patients to lie to their doctors, according to Dr. Nicole Nolan, an OB-GYN at the University of Louisville.
Finally, HB 148 is what is commonly referred to as a “trigger law” and would completely outlaw abortion in the state of Kentucky should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, sending the issue back to states to legislate. Given the new majority of anti-choice male Catholics on the Supreme Court, this is a more serious threat now than ever before.
Please contact your Kentucky representatives and urge them to reject religious dogma and protect safe, legal abortion in Kentucky. Please use our simple, automated system to get connected to your state legislators and ensure that they strike down these bills, and any others that use religion-based defenses to undermine abortion access in your state.
More »Tell your WA legislators to protect children, repeal faith-based exemptions
Two bills have been introduced in the Washington House and Senate that would repeal faith-based healing protections for parents who choose not to seek medical attention for their children based on their religious beliefs. Currently, Washington has a law that protects these parents from legal charges even if their children die as a result of this negligence.
The two companion bills, HB 1376 and SB 5749, aim to remove this exemption as it relates to “criminal mistreatment of children and vulnerable adults.”
The law currently states that: “It is the intent of the legislature that a person who, in good faith, is furnished Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner in lieu of medical care is not considered deprived of medically necessary health care or abandoned.”
If these two proposed bills are passed, this language will be removed and children will no longer be at risk of death because of the state sanctioning their parents’ dangerous religious beliefs. Please use our simple, automated system to ask the members of both the House and Senate committees reviewing these bills to support them. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below, follow the prompt, and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »URGENT: Oppose discriminatory adoption policy in Tennessee
The Tennessee Legislature is considering a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded child-placing agencies to discriminate based on religion — and we need your help to stop it.
TN HB 1152, currently in front of the Tennessee House Children & Families Subcommittee, would prohibit the state from taking any action against a child-placing agency that declines to facilitate adoptions conflicting with the agency’s “sincerely held religious beliefs.” If passed, the law would allow these agencies the right to refuse services to, among many other groups, LGBTQ families and children.
This bill is part of Project Blitz, a Christian fundamentalist nationwide push that seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious template bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there were more than 440,000 children in foster care in the United States in 2017. Some 50,000 of these children will be adopted every year through the child welfare system, while another 20,000 will “age out” of the system before being adopted. Allowing agencies to turn away parents looking to adopt, on the basis of their religion, is both morally reprehensible and puts further financial burden on an already strained child-welfare system.
The health and care of a child should be the only factor that an agency and its employees consider when looking to place a child in a foster care or adoptive family — not advancing the bigoted agendas of those promoting discrimination at the expense of children in need.
Please use our simple, automated system to ask the Tennessee House Children & Families Subcommittee to reject this harmful bill. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below, follow the prompt provided, and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
If you would like to attend the hearing and make your voice heard in opposition to this harmful bill, the details are below.
When: Tuesday, March 5, 9 a.m.
Where: House Hearing Room II, TN Capitol Building
**Please sign in as being in opposition to this bill**
URGENT: OPPOSE bill putting MO state/church plaintiffs in danger
A Missouri House bill would threaten the safety and well-being of plaintiffs involved in state/church separation cases by requiring them to reveal their identity — even in cases where they are the recipients of violent threats.
Oftentimes, if FFRF or a similar organization takes a case, we file a protective order to keep the complainants’ identity secret to protect them from retaliation and threats of violence within his or her community. A judge is able to balance the interest of the public right to know the identity of the plaintiff with the potential dangers to that person. HB 728 requires “the name of the real party in interest to be named in civil actions involving the separation of church and state unless the party in interest is a minor.”
This is a blatant attempt to deter citizens from holding truth to power and filing suit against the Missouri government for state/church violations. It also will, in no uncertain terms, put plaintiffs in danger. At FFRF, we have seen firsthand that it is common for those who sound the alarm on state/church violations to be subject to ridicule, ostracization, bullying and threats of violence.
The Missouri House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on this bill today, at 5 p.m., at the state Capitol. FFRF Staff Attorney Ryan Jayne will be testifying at the hearing in opposition to HB 728. If you are able to attend the hearing to show local opposition to this dangerous bill, please show up.
Please use our automated system to ask the Missouri House Judiciary Committee to oppose this bill and continue to allow judges to protect plaintiffs from violence and vitriol in cases where it is deemed necessary. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell Missouri legislators to protect access to abortion!
A bill is being considered in the Missouri Legislature that would outlaw abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, which is before most people even find out they are pregnant.
If passed into law, HB 126 would become one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning abortion after as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
Ominously named “heartbeat bills,” which have been introduced and voted down in several states across the country, are punitive and fueled by the religious dogma that “life begins at conception.”
The right to choose is not only a right of privacy, but of conscience. We need your help to stop HB 126 in its tracks. Please use our automated system to contact the members of the Missouri House Committee on Children and Families and ask them to vote this bill down at the bill’s hearing tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
More »Please tell Hawaii House Judiciary Committee to ban FGM!
This week, the Hawaii Legislature is considering a bill, HB 132, that prohibits performing female genital mutilation (FGM). Offenses would be a class B felony.
In addition to the traumatic and often lifelong physical and emotional pain FGM inflicts on women, girls and women who have FGM are at risk for infections and cysts. Infants born to women who have had FGM have a higher risk of dying. The practice has no medical benefit and is based solely on barbaric religious traditions that have no place in modern American society. Many states are taking action to ban the practice, and you can help add Hawaii to that list by supporting this bipartisan bill.
Please ask the Hawaii House Judiciary Committee to vote yes on HB 132, protecting women and girls from being subjected to FGM in Hawaii.
Please use our automated system to contact the members of the committee. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Ensure that nonreligious have equal representation at Killeen city council meetings
The City Council recently changed its policy at council meetings to establish a formal policy of beginning each meeting with an invocation. (The council had previously begun each meeting with an invocation, but did not have a formal policy). Under the new rule, the council has invited any Killeen resident the opportunity to give the opening invocation.
While FFRF believes that the best practice for government meetings is to forego the invocation and get straight to work, since a prayer may ostracize some members of the community, unfortunately the Supreme Court ruled that the practice is legal. So, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
We want you to ensure that the nonreligious have equal representation at Killeen meetings. The city has reached out to every church to participate, but the nonreligious can also participate by contacting the City Secretary, Lucy Aldrich, and asking for a slot: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (meetings typically take place on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. at City Hall). You can find out more details from the city's press release, attached.
If you do give the invocation, let us know about it! Remember, FFRF runs an annual Nothing Fails Like Prayer contest where we select the "best" secular invocation and award the speaker with an all-expenses-paid trip to FFRF's annual convention, a plaque, and an honorarium of $500! (see rules of entry here).
More »Tell your representative to vote yes on comprehensive sex education bill!
A Colorado bill is being considered to combat the Religious Right’s grip on sex education and we need you to ask your representative to support it!
HB 1032, currently under consideration by the Colorado House, would, among other things, specifically “prohibit instruction from explicitly or implicitly teaching or endorsing religious ideology or sectarian tenets or doctrines.”
With the pattern of “crisis pregnancy centers” infiltrating public school sex education programs across the country and propagating religiously based, anti-health, abstinence-only myths, it is imperative that freethinkers support initiatives for comprehensive, secular sex education like this one.
Please use our automated system and ask your Colorado representative to vote YES on HB 1032! Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and follow the prompt. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Ask your U.S. legislators to support Darwin resolutions!
In the age of “fake news” and “alternative facts,” we need you to stand up for reason and critical thinking in government by supporting the “Darwin Day” resolutions in Congress.
Two resolutions, House Resolution 123 and Senate Resolution 63, have been introduced in the U.S House and Senate. The resolutions designate Feb. 12 as “Darwin Day” to promote scientific research of global warming and climate change, and the integrity of science education in our public school systems.
Please use our automated system to contact your legislators and ask them to support the Darwin Day resolutions. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your Virginia reps. to reject bible classes in public schools!
The Virginia Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
SB 1502 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
This bill has already passed the Virginia Senate and is now being considered by the House. Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on SB 1502. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your West Virginia senator to reject bible classes in public schools!
The West Virginia Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
SB 234 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on SB 234. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your Georgia reps. to reject bible classes in public schools!
The Georgia Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
SB 83 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on SB 83. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your Mississippi rep. to reject bible classes in public schools!
The Mississippi Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
HB 1403 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on HB 1403. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your Missouri reps. to reject bible classes in public schools!
The Missouri Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
HB 267 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on HB 267. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your Alabama reps. to reject bible classes in public schools!
The Alabama Legislature has introduced a bill that would allow state-funded public schools to indoctrinate students with bible classes and we need your help to stop it.
SB 14 is part of a Christian fundamentalists’ nationwide legislative push — Project Blitz. Project Blitz seeks to inject state legislatures with a whole host of religious bills, imposing the theocratic vision of a powerful few on We The People. It is an unvarnished attack on American secularism and civil liberties — those things we most cherish about our democracy, and now must tirelessly defend.
While politicians claim that these laws are intended to teach the bible in the context of U.S. history, we know their true agenda is to abuse their access to young and impressionable children and indoctrinate them with dogmatic religious orthodoxy. Public school bible classes have been tried across the country and have invariably ended up unconstitutionally promoting religion. Click here to learn more.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representatives and ask them to vote no on SB 14. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »URGENT: Tell your reps to vote no on anti-LGBTQ bill!
A bill before the Colorado legislature, deceitfully titled the “Live And Let Live Act,” would codify protections for those who discriminate against LGBTQ citizens and patrons and we need your help to stop it.
HB 1140 is a proposed bill that would legalize discrimination against people in same-sex relationships any time that relationship conflicts with the religious beliefs of an individual, business or government employee. This toxic bill would remove all consequences for a cake decorator or florist who refused to serve a gay couple and would embolden government employees to follow the lead of officials such as Kim Davis in denying gay couples equal access to services.
Please use our automated system to contact the Colorado House to voice your opposition to this discriminatory bill. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below. Feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Please support Portland ordinance to assure nonbelievers are protected against discrimination!
A city ordinance change that would extend religious civil rights protections to atheists and freethinkers is being considered by the Portland City Council and we need you to show your support.
In the city of Portland, the definition of what is included in the protected class of “religion” is unclear, leaving atheists and freethinkers vulnerable to discrimination. In such cases, City Code defers to State Code, where the inclusion of nonbelievers is also unclear. There currently stands no guarantee that all Oregon courts would determine that nonbelief is protected under the category of religion.
A proposed change to the city ordinance, initiated by FFRF — Portland Area Chapter and ACLU of Oregon and proposed by Commissioner Amanda Fritz’s office will assure equal protection for nonbelievers in the city of Portland against discrimination in employment, housing and accommodations. Please show your support for this important change!
Ways to support this ordinance change
Attend the City Council meeting
Date & Time: Wednesday, Feb. 13, 10:15 am (30 minutes requested)
Location: City Hall, 1221 SW Fourth Ave, Portland, Ore.
The general public may sign up to make a public comment (time limit of three minutes).
Individuals who are unable to attend Council meeting in person may watch it livestreamed here. The Council agenda is posted here.
Write a letter in support of the ordinance
Letters of support may be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In the subject line, include ‘Support for Non-Belief Ordinance’
Note: All letters must be received by Monday, Feb. 11, to allow time to provide the information to the City Council. Keep in mind that this is a City Ordinance and will only apply to the city of Portland.
Key talking points
· If you are representing an organization, give the organization name, its purpose, and size of the organization.
· The current code is unclear, opening the door for the courts to decide if nonbelievers are protected from discrimination in the same manner as those in a religion.
· Protection against discrimination is beneficial to Portland businesses and to all who live or do business in Portland.
· We are not asking for any special privileges. We are merely asking to be treated the same as those from a religion.
· Be brief. Remember that the invited guests will be providing background/support for this proposal. If you give public comment, respect the three-minute time limit.
· Be respectful. We are very pleased that the Council has worked with us on this issue
We are hoping for a display of widespread and strong support for the change! Your participation, by attending, giving public comment, and/or writing a letter is greatly appreciated! Let’s help make this change a reality!
Tell the S.D. House Education Committee to kill anti-LGBTQ bill
The House Education Committee is considering an insidious bill to suppress LGBTQ rights in South Dakota schools and we need your help to stop it in its tracks.
The bill, HB 1108, is only one sentence long: “No instruction in gender identity or gender expression may be provided to any students in kindergarten through grade seven in any public school in the state.”
This blatantly anti-LGBTQ bill is a clear attempt by the Religious Right to censor an important topic on the basis of their outdated and unpopular theology-based views. The House Education Committee is having a meeting on this bill TOMORROW (Wednesday, February 5, 2019). Please make your voice heard by attending the meeting and signing in and speaking out against the bill or e-mailing the members of the committee using our automated system. Click on the red "Take Action!" link below.
More »Tell your senators to protect the Johnson Amendment!
Once again, the Johnson Amendment is under attack from the religious right and we need your help.
The Johnson Amendment is the federal law that keeps all 501(c)(3)s, including churches, from endorsing political candidates. If the amendment were overturned, churches would be able to politik from the pulpit while retaining tax exemption and become unregulated super PACs. This would create a new category of “dark money” because churches are financial black holes and are not required to report annual financial returns to the IRS.
This week, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., Reps. Jody Hice, R-Ga. and Mike Johnson, R-La. and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. announced the reintroduction of the Free Speech Fairness Act, intended to repeal the Johnson Amendment.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your senators and tell them to protect the Johnson Amendment and to vote down the Free Speech Fairness Act—a name Big Brother would admire. Click on the red “Take Action!” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »Tell your representative to reject state-funded religious education
A bill was just passed in the West Virginia state Senate that, if approved by the House, will funnel vast amounts of the state’s public school funding to private religious schools by creating a private voucher-like scheme.
SB 451 would use taxpayer money to fund private religious schools by implementing so-called “education savings accounts” that force the state Department of Education to give funds earmarked for public schools to parents, who then use the money on private school tuition and other expenses.
Besides private school tuition, parents would be able to divert public school funds to pay for individual “tutoring services,” “computer hardware,” and many other expenses. For example, taxpayer funds could be diverted from public schools to pay for a new laptop computer and for a religious minister to provide religious counseling.
This program would financially devastate public schools and would force West Virginia taxpayers to fund private religious education. Further, the program would have virtually no accountability — a problem that has plagued voucher and voucher-like schemes across the country.
Please use our simple, automated system to contact your representative and ask them to reject the ESA program outlined in SB 451. Click on the red “Take Action” link below and feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »URGENT: Tell your Nebraska senators to reject Project Blitz bill!
A Nebraskan bill (LB73), introduced by state Sen. Steve Erdman, would require schools to display “In God We Trust” signs or posters in classrooms or common areas “where each student shall be able to see and read it each day school is in session.”
According to local media, Erdman claimed this bill, which tells students to put their trust in Erdman’s god, “has nothing to do with religion.”
"This is not putting God back into our schools,” he said. “It’s my opinion that we need to put God back into our schools but this isn’t about doing that.”
Instead, Erdman is insisting that “In God We Trust” is a patriotic expression, and ought to be displayed to honor the national motto. The truth, of course, is that this proposal is one of many pieces of model bills being disseminated across the country as part of the Christian nationalist legislative crusade, “Project Blitz.”
Please remind members of Nebraska’s Legislature that they are elected to represent all citizens, including those of us who do not believe in a monotheistic god or any gods. "In God We Trust" is a religious statement. The history of the motto "In God We Trust" evidences no secular purpose; on the contrary, the motto was first adopted in 1956 during the Cold War, as a reaction to the purported "godlessness" of communism. "E Pluribus Unum" [out of many, one] is the entirely secular original motto selected by a distinguished committee of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.
TAKE ACTION
If you live in the area, please attend the hearing TODAY (Tues., Jan 22) in front of the Education Committee at the capitol in Lincoln.
When: TODAY, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Room 1525, Capitol building: 1445 K St, Lincoln, NE 68508
If you can’t testify at the meeting, please immediately contact members of the Nebraska Education Committee. Click on the red "Take Action" link below to e-mail the members of the Education Committee.
More »URGENT! Tell your senators to reject anti-choice bill!
A group of senators is rushing through a punitive bill to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has blocked federal Medicaid funding for abortion services. The Senate is poised to vote in time to pander to religious antiabortionists, who will be in Washington, D.C., for their annual “March for Life” this Saturday, Jan. 19.
The bill, S. 109, “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act,” also would require Affordable Care Act health insurance plans that provide coverage for abortion to make costly and unnecessary reports on the portion of their premiums spent on abortion care.
This bill is a clear attack, expressly backed by the Catholic Church in service of a dogmatic religious agenda, upon women’s right to comprehensive reproductive care. It picks on the poorest and most vulnerable women. The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has asked all parishioners to lobby the Senate to pass this bill, which is why we need your help! In a letter of support for both this bill and the “March for Life, the Archbishop of Kansas City encourages anti-choice activists to “celebrate God’s miraculous gift of human life from its very beginning,” revealing the religious nature of this legislative assault.
Please tell your senators not to earn cheap political points with the religious right at the expense of women’s healthcare. Tell them to VOTE NO on S. 109 when it appears before the Senate.
More »Tell your senators to reject William Barr!
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee William Barr. Barr is a proven extremist who has and will weaponize religious liberty, continuing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ legacy of using religious beliefs as a defense for bigotry and discrimination.
BACKGROUND
After Barr became attorney general in 1991 during a previous stint, he delivered speeches in which he blamed secularism for a “moral decline” and called for American law to be based on “God’s law.” He repeatedly attacked Americans who value a secular government, such as those who work for and support the Freedom From Religion Foundation, as “clearly fanatics.” He even argued that preventing public schools from organizing and imposing prayers on children, which is required by the Constitution, moves the nation away from Judeo-Christianity, causing “soaring juvenile crime, widespread drug addiction, skyrocketing rates of venereal disease, [and] 1.5 million children aborted each year.”
These were not isolated statements, but themes and accusations that Barr, while using the podium of his office, repeated constantly, going so far as to claim that “extremist notions of separation of state and church” had inflicted a “moral lobotomy” on the country.
Barr has praised Sessions’ decision to offer Department of Justice support to discriminatory businesses in cases like the Masterpiece Cakeshop. He also presents a serious danger to Roe v. Wade, which he thinks “was wrongly decided and should be overruled.”
Click here to read FFRF's full statement.
It is clear that William Barr’s views are wildly out of touch with an increasingly secular America and that he is unfit to serve as attorney general. Please click on the red “Take Action!” link below, and use our automated system to tell your senators to vote no on William Barr’s confirmation as attorney general.
More »URGENT: Defend FFRF victory at school board meeting, Thursday, Jan. 17!
The Chino Valley School Board prayed, proselytized and read the bible at school board meetings. No more! It has lost to FFRF and 22 brave plaintiffs in federal district court and twice before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Despite the courts’ clear messages that the board is violating the law, it intends to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Given the current composition of the Supreme Court, including newly confirmed and pro-religious privilege Justice Brett Kavanaugh, this puts the precedent protecting the separation of state and church in severe danger.
You have a chance to protest this decision to appeal by attending the next board meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m., 5130 Riverside Drive, Chino, CA 91761. The Board, includes two new members, Joe Schaffer and Christina Gagnier, who need to hear from you. Please also make sure board member Irene Hernandez-Blair hears your comments. We expect the local megachurch to send members and urge the appeal; we need your voice there too. This litigation is already going to cost the board somewhere around $500,000.
There is still time for the board to do the right thing, if you speak up! Tell the board to reverse its decision to ask the Supreme Court to review the case.
BACKGROUND
Since FFRF filed our lawsuit in 2014, the district has lost more than $200,000 at the lower court level. If this case reaches the Supreme Court, it is possible that it could cost the district upward of $1 million. Instead of investing this money in teachers or textbooks, these board members are intent on using their public offices to promote their personal religion. Regardless of the district’s frequently boasted pro bono representation, tax-payers remain on the line for all court costs and fees in losing cases.
Please attend the meeting. Call if you are able. Email too, even if you speak in person.
Chino Valley School Board
Christina Gagnier: (909)536-5034 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Joe Schaffer: (909) 536-5048 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Irene Hernandez-Blair: (909) 731-2597 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
James Na: (909) 315-1344, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Andrew Cruz: (909) 472-7863, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MESSAGE
Feel free to copy and paste the sample text for an email that we’ve provided.
Please do not appeal the 9th Circuit's decision against Chino Valley School Board prayers to the Supreme Court. The board has already wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on this case. Regardless of pro bono representation, it is the citizens who will still have to pay all the costs and fees for the other side if this case is lost. The Dover School District in Pennsylvania spent more than $1 million on a losing fight to preach creationism in the public schools. Get back to teaching our children. Please don’t waste time and money on this appeal. We have better things to do.
More »Tell Gov. Kasich to sign anti-FGM bill!
This week, the Ohio legislature sent a bill to Gov. Kasich’s desk that prohibits performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on anyone under the age of 18, or transporting a minor to a location for the purpose of performing FGM. Offenses would be a second-degree felony, and it specifically states that “cultural or ritual necessity” is not a defense to the crime.
In addition to the traumatic and often lifelong physical and emotional pain FGM inflicts on women, girls and women who have FGM are at risk for infections and cysts. Infants born to women who have had FGM have a higher risk of dying.
Please contact Gov. Kasich’s office to tell him to sign the bill into law, protecting the estimated 24,320 women and girls currently at risk for FGM in Ohio.
CONTACT INFORMATION
You can submit a comment to the governor’s office online by following this link or you can call the office at this number:
Governor John Kasich
Phone: (614) 466-3555
TALKING POINTS
Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided below
As a citizen and taxpayer, I am strongly urging you to sign SB 214 into law, outlawing the practice of performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on women and girls under the age of 18 in the state of Ohio.
Regardless of religion or tradition, this practice is a violent and horrific human rights violation and Ohio must not be complacent in allowing it to occur.
Please sign SB 214, protecting the estimated 24,320 women and girls at risk for FGM in the state. Thank you for your time.
More »Tell Missouri city officials to stand by the Constitution
Earlier this week, city officials in Ozark, Mo., pledged to honor their citizens’ constitutional rights and take down a large cross from public property after a letter from FFRF.
“While we respect the interests of those who have long enjoyed the holiday display in Finley River Park, we must acknowledge the federal Constitution and its interpretation by the Supreme Court,” the city wrote on its official Facebook page. “This letter has brought a concern to our attention and we cannot ignore the First Amendment which protects the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and prohibits the government from making laws or taking actions that may promote or prohibit one religion over another.”
Then, after an extreme backlash from the community, the city reversed its decision and committed to “working through the legalities of the situation” and left the cross in place.
The law is clear: This cross is unconstitutional and, popular or not, has no place on public property. Please contact city officials by letter (information below) or (even better!) by social media (linked below) to tell them they made the right decision the first time and they should remove the cross from public land.
We encourage you to identify if you are a Missourian, and note specifically if you are an area resident.
City Mayor's Office:
Honorable Richard Gardner
Mayor
City of Ozark
205 N. First St.
Ozark, MO 65721
City Administrator’s Office:
Honorable Stephen Childers
City Administrator
City of Ozark
205 N. First St.
Ozark, MO 65721
Tell your senators to preserve Johnson Amendment
The U.S. House passed a bill that would defund all enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, which keeps 501(c)(3)s, including churches, from endorsing political candidates. This would, in turn, allow churches to become unaccountable, unregulated super PACs through which dark political money will flow.
We need once again to put the heat on lawmakers to oppose this provision while it’s still in its early stages. The new budget will need support from at least nine Senate Democrats, who have opposed this in the past, but they need to hear from you. Please contact your U.S. senators today and ask them to protect the Johnson Amendment and fund its enforcement.
You can click on the red “Take Action!” button below to use our automated system (Phone2Action) to contact your representative. Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided.
More »
Tell D.C. Board not to approve plan to give taxpayer money to churches
The D.C. Council’s proposed Clean River Impervious Area Charges relief plan would give taxpayer money to churches and favors churches over secular nonprofits.
This proposed package would relieve nonprofits, churches and cemeteries from Clean River Impervious Area Charges, which they complain have become burdensome.
According to the proposal, secular nonprofits will be eligible for relief from the charges if they amount to at least 5 percent of the nonprofit’s revenue (after expenses), verified with the nonprofit’s Form 990. For churches and cemeteries (most of which are affiliated with a church) that relief threshold falls to nearly nothing: 0.75 percent. It will also not be verified by the D.C. Council or taxpayers because religious institutions are not required to file Form 990s with the IRS.
In short, the proposed plan would require nonprofits to show a financial burden nearly seven times that of churches and not going to require churches to actually prove the claimed burden is accurate. The plan openly favors religion over nonreligion.
The D.C. Water Utility Board is voting on this proposal on Dec. 6. Please contact the board’s chairman using the e-mail below and tell him not to approve this plan.
CONTACT:
Tommy Wells, Chairman
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
(202) 535-2600
TALKING POINTS:
Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points below.
As a taxpayer and voter, I am dismayed to learn of the D.C. Water Utility Board’s proposal to implement a relief plan that would benefit churches over secular nonprofits. I urge the Board to vote against this proposal this Thursday.
The proposed plan to offer relief from the Clean River Impervious Area Charges for nonprofits would financially favor churches and other religiously affiliated institutions with no accountability to taxpayers, as these groups do not file Form 990s with the IRS.
Public trust requires public transparency. Without it, the public cannot verify that nonprofits are honoring that trust and that it is not being abused or exploited. I ask that the Board not approve the current version of this plan, which gives a taxpayer handout to churches on more favorable grounds than to secular nonprofits.
More »
Oppose new rule requiring double billing in the service of religion
Last week, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that would require ACA marketplace plans to send consumers a specific “abortion bill” each month, representing the share of their premium going toward covering abortion services. Consumers would be required to pay this bill separately.
This seemingly innocuous proposed rule, said to “protect rights of conscience,” is another insidious attempt by the Trump-Pence administration to impose discriminatory barriers to women’s health care in the name of religious liberty.
FFRF fervently condemns the administration’s continued use of religious dogma to subjugate women and this frivolous proposed rule, and has submitted an official comment.
CMS is accepting public comments on this proposal right now. Click on the red “TAKE ACTION” link below and then click on the blue “Comment Now!” button in the upper-righthand corner. Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points provided below.
TALKING POINTS
As a taxpayer, I am dismayed by the unnecessary and burdensome proposed rule, file code CMS-9922-P. It purports to protect rights of conscience, but it is clearly a religiously motivated attempt to create additional barriers to women being able to exercise their right to choose. The rule does not protect religion, it imposes religion on consumers.
Secondly, the rule is burdensome and confusing for consumers. Forcing customers to decipher and pay two separate bills for the same premium is ludicrous. It is unimaginable that this same practice would be implemented for other routine health care procedures. Therefore, it is clear that advancing religion, specifically conservative or evangelical Christianity, is the true purpose of this rule.
I strongly disapprove of and urge the department not to move forward with this proposal. It puts undue burden on both consumers and health care providers in the name of elevating religion and has no place in public policy. Thank you.
More »Please take action to help protect state/church separation and close this tax loophole
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking public comments on a proposed rule that, among other things, puts a stop to a widespread practice of taxpayers legally profiting from donating to private religious schools. Pro-voucher activists are opposing this change by flooding the IRS with comments asking them to leave this loophole open. We need your help to fight back and convince the IRS to follow through with this common-sense proposed rule.
Here’s how this tax loophole works: First, some states provide dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to educational scholarship programs, which keep some of the funds for themselves and pass the rest onto private schools, most of which are religious. If you donate $100,000, the state takes $100,000 off of your state tax bill. Second, the federal government gives a deduction on federal taxes on the same donation. After donating $100,000 and having the state pay you back in full, you also get to deduct $100,000 from your federal taxes.
For more details about the proposed rule and how this loophole advances religion, you can read FFRF’s formal comment.
Please take action today and tell the IRS that taxpayers should not be financially incentivized to donate to private religious schools. You can use or adapt our sample language below, or come up with your own. Comments are due soon, so please take action today!
To submit a comment, follow this link and click on the green button that says “SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT.” Public comments are due TOMORROW, so please take action right away.
TALKING POINTS
I support the proposed rule change to stop the tax loophole that allows donors to educational scholarship programs to double dip on state and federal tax exemptions. Under current rules, taxpayers who donate to educational scholarship programs may deduct the donation from federal income tax in addition to a dollar-for dollar state tax credit.
Educational scholarship programs divert funds that should go to public schools into the coffers of private schools, the vast majority of which are religious, and into the pockets of scholarship program administrators. This system, like private school voucher systems, invites fraud due to a lack of accountability and devastates public schools.
There is no legitimate reason for the federal government to encourage taxpayers to donate to educational scholarship programs. The government should be focused on promoting secular public education and should never incentivize taxpayers to fund religion. Allowing taxpayers to profit from a donation to an educational scholarship program directly encourages taxpayers to support religion. It also stretches the credulity of the term “donation.” This is inappropriate and violates our country’s core principle of keeping church and state separate.
It is improper and imprudent to incentivize taxpayers to divert their funds from public schools to private religious schools, much less to profit from such a “donation.” Therefore, I urge the Internal Revenue Service to put into place this proposed regulation that closes this outrageous tax loophole.
More »Please keep the heat on your senator to vote no on Kavanaugh!
Sexual assault allegations. Missing records. Hostile and partisan judicial testimony.
It is clearer than ever that Brett Kavanaugh is categorically unfit to serve a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. Don’t be fooled by the hasty and incomplete FBI investigation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others are “plowing through” this confirmation through for political gain to the detriment of the integrity of the Supreme Court.
Even if your senators have remained un-swayed on Kavanaugh, they still need to hear that you want them to vote no on his confirmation to the Supreme Court.
More »Please ask your senators to protect free speech globally!
This week, Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced a resolution that calls for the “global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws.”
Since 2015, two other similar resolutions have been introduced but have not gained any traction, despite being a universal victory for protecting freedom of speech and freethinkers worldwide.
“Freedom of expression and religion are fundamental human rights that are the bedrock of any open society,” Coons stated upon introduction of the resolution. “As a person of faith, I am proud to introduce this resolution which aims to protect religious and secular minorities by calling for the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws around the world.”
“The U.S. government can and should use our leverage as a world leader to help protect religious minorities in nations with whom we have or form international agreements and relationships,” Lankford added.
Please contact your senators and ask that they support this bipartisan effort to repeal archaic blasphemy laws around the world.
More »Implore your senators to delay Kavanaugh confirmation vote
Since Christine Blasey Ford made her identity known as the woman who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of attempted sexual assault, leaders in the Senate Judiciary Committee — notably members of the Religious Right led by Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley — have dismissed the accusations and denied the need for a standard FBI investigation of the claims.
The credibility of Ford’s accusations has been reinforced by a passed polygraph test, the fact that she reported this assault to her husband and therapist in the past, and this NYT op-ed by psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman.
In addition to these extremely troubling accusations, Senate Judiciary leaders have refused to let their colleagues and the American people see over 90 percent of the documents relating to Kavanaugh’s critical years in the federal government.
This is not a partisan issue — Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would put every Americans’ most fundamental liberties in jeopardy. Despite what this hasty confirmation process would suggest, there is no rush to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat sat open for more than a year while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans refused to even meet with, let alone hold a hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
Please tell your senators that the lack of transparency and hurried mishandling of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings is unacceptable and demand that they take a stand (even if they aren’t on the committee) to delay the confirmation vote until Kavanaugh’s complete record has been thoroughly vetted, including Ford’s accusations of attempted rape. There are 21 senators on the committee. If one of them is yours, you have power. Be sure to contact him or her.
Senate Judiciary Committee Members:
Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)
John Cornyn (R-Texas)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Michael S. Lee (R-UT)
Ben Sasse (R-NE)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
John Kennedy (R-LA)
Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
More »
Tell the Department of Education that you do not want to pay for religious education
A recently proposed rule change by the Department of Education could open the door for spending federal tax dollars on religious education. If you don’t want your taxes to be used to promote religion at private religious schools, please follow the link below and submit a formal comment to voice your concerns to the Department of Education. You can use our suggested wording below, or write your own comment.
BACKGROUND
Under current regulations that implement Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the Department of Education is prohibited from using tax dollars to advance religion. This includes providing financial aid to students in order to become preachers or for inherently religious activities such as proselytizing or worship services. These restrictions are not only constitutionally permissible, they are required under the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from advancing religion.
However, students who attend religious schools in order to pursue secular degrees are eligible for financial aid. So long as the government does not directly subsidize inherently religious activities in violation of the Establishment Clause, the Department of Education has made every effort to provide financial aid to students at religious institutions.
Nevertheless, the Department of Education has decided to revisit these regulations. This is unnecessary and risks violating the Establishment Clause by forcing taxpayers to pay for religious education or religious activities. The proposed change is a direct response to a Supreme Court case last year called Trinity Lutheran, but that case had nothing to do with higher education and does not require any changes to HEA regulations. Please take a moment to urge the Department of Education to leave the regulations regarding faith-based entities the way they are.
To submit a comment, follow this link and click on the green button that says “SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT.” Public comments are due TOMORROW, so please take action right away. There are currently less than 20 public comments on this issue, so it’s a great time for you to have your voice heard and it only takes a minute.
TALKING POINTS
Please feel free to use or adapt the talking points below.
As a taxpayer, I am strongly opposed to the use of any Department of Education funds in order to advance religion. The Department’s recent announcement of revisiting the regulations implementing Title IV of the HEA is deeply concerning because it suggests a loosening of the important restrictions on funding that advances religion.
The Department’s current regulations ensure that religious institutions are treated fairly without forcing taxpayers to advance religion. The current restrictions are constitutionally mandated by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trinity Lutheran does not require or allow the Department of Education to fund religious education or religious activities. Please leave the Title IV rules regarding faith-based entities the way they are in order to protect the religious liberty of all Americans.
More »Contact your senators now to oppose Kavanaugh
This morning, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh begins his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Even if you’ve previously contacted your two senators to oppose Kavanaugh, please call and email again now. Kavanaugh’s confirmation would be a disaster for the separation of church and state, our secular republic and our godless Constitution.
Kavanaugh’s judicial record makes it clear that landmark cases protecting the separation of state and church, as well as reproductive and LGBT rights, are at risk:
- Kavanaugh, a religious Catholic who sends his children to Catholic schools, actively supports taxpayer vouchers for religious schools. His confirmation would ensure six Catholics remain on the 9-seat bench.
- Kavanaugh argues for religious exemptions for employers to deny birth control coverage to female employees. He’s refused to say he supports Roe v. Wade (calling it “settled law” is meaningless). As an appellate judge, he dissented in a decision upholding the right of a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant to end her pregnancy. More than 300 law professors from across the country sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leadership warning the danger that Kavanaugh presents to Roe and urging them not to confirm him.
- Kavanaugh praised former Chief Justice Rehnquist for calling the constitutional concept of a wall between state church “wrong as a matter of law and history.” He would overturn the Lemon Test, which codifies legal precedent against government support of religion.
- Kavanaugh wrote a brief to the Supreme Court in favor of providing religious students with a government megaphone to impose prayer on other students at school events. Kavanaugh used alarming language to deride state/church advocates.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law.
Even if your senators have indicated their plans to support or oppose Kavanaugh, it’s vital that you still contact them today. Your actions are never wasted – Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them. Please don’t stay silent. The stakes could not be higher.
Click on the action button below to go to our fast, automated system. If you first want more details, read here.
More »
Tell your R.I. senator to ditch bigoted government bible study
Rhode Island State Senator Harold Metts has partnered with Capitol Ministries to run a bible study in Providence. Capitol Ministries is well known for pushing a radical religious agenda on the Trump administration through White House bible studies. Please take action today to tell your senator to keep the Rhode Island state government secular.
Capitol Ministries is a Christian nationalist organization whose founder and president, Ralph Drollinger, teaches homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic bible studies to politicians across the country. Drollinger believes women with children shouldn’t be lawmakers. He believes same-sex marriage is “voided by God.” He “doesn’t tell lawmakers how to vote,” he just gives them a blueprint, and says, “you’ve got to be pretty stupid not to follow the blueprint.”
Drollinger and his White House bible study was likely behind, and vocally supported, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ citation of Romans 13 to justify the administration’s family separation policy. This same biblical passage has been used for centuries to justify otherwise indefensible laws, including slavery.
If you don’t want similar influence in the Rhode Island State House, please contact Senator Metts to ask him to discontinue his troubling partnership with this bigoted evangelical ministry.
CONTACT
Phone: (401) 272-0112
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TALKING POINTS
Please feel free to copy and paste or customize the talking points provided below.You may also wish to write a letter to the editor or use social media to express your concerns.
As your constituent, I’m writing to urge you to end your disturbing partnership with Capitol Ministries and its president, Ralph Drollinger.
Capitol Ministries is a disgraceful and dangerous organization that has become well known for teaching homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic bible studies to politicians across the country, including the White House. They are the driving force behind Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ biblical justification for family separation, to give just one example.
Rhode Island lawmaking should be a secular process. There is no need for a bible study or ministry that is dedicated to pushing a religious agenda onto lawmakers and the people of Rhode Island, especially one with such a despicable record. Lawmakers are, of course, free to study whatever religion they wish on their own time, but not on taxpayers’ time and dime.
Rhode Island is better than this. Please withdraw your support of this hateful group’s ministry in Providence, and publicly disavow Capitol Ministries and Ralph Drollinger.
More »Tell Senator Manchin to oppose Kavanaugh!
As Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings draw closer, and news this week of Michael Cohen’s guilty plea calls Kavanaugh’s legitimacy as a nominee further into question, we need your voice to be heard in opposition to his nomination.
Please help save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please contact Senator Manchin to ask him to oppose the nomination of Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
Your actions are never wasted. Pressure is mounting on Senator Manchin to support Kavanaugh’s confirmation and Senate offices DO pay attention when their constituents make their voices heard. Even if you recently called or wrote to Senator Manchin about this, he needs to hear from you again. Circumstances have changed. Please don’t stay silent at this critical moment.
More »Tell your lawmakers to hold child sexual abusers accountable!
Following the recent grand jury report detailing heartbreaking details of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church, pressure is mounting for state lawmakers to take action to stop this rampant, systemic abuse.
Predictably, the church and its sympathizers are pushing back and some Pennsylvania legislators are wavering. Bishops are pressuring lawmakers to maintain the status quo, rather than taking action to give victims justice and protect future Pennsylvania children from such abuse. In particular, Senator and Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Senate District 34, appears to be a potential roadblock on this issue.
Please don’t let the Catholic Church continue its cover up. On Wednesday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m. in the Town of Bellefonte, protesters will gather to demand that Senator Corman place the interest of child victims ahead of the interests of pedophile priests and church bank accounts. Please consider joining this protest to show your support and to encourage Senator Corman to do the right thing.
Please also take a moment to email and call Senator Corman to tell him that you expect him to support legislation to protect Pennsylvania children from the Catholic Church, rather than protecting sexual abusers from law enforcement.
CONTACT INFO
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Harrisburg office: (717)787-1377
TALKING POINTS
Please feel free to copy and paste or customize the talking points provided below.
As a Pennsylvania voter, I am dismayed and outraged over the findings of the grand jury report about crimes committed against children by Catholic Church officials. Regardless of political affiliation or beliefs, Pennsylvanians certainly agree that this type of reprehensible abuse, and the Catholic Church’s systematic efforts to cover it up, are unforgivable and must stop.
As majority leader, you’re in a position to help these survivors of child sexual abuse. I know you’re under pressure by church lobbyists to instead protect the church and clergy sex abusers. I urge you to do the right thing, the only moral response: Hold the church, and serial sexual predators accountable.
The whole world is watching. This is your chance to show that you will stand up to protect victims of child sexual abuse rather than shield their abusers. Please support all efforts to extend or better yet eliminate the statute of limitations on these crimes. Do everything in your power to ensure that state laws will not stand between child sex victims and justice.
More »Tell Senator Donnelly to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator Donnelly to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator Donnelly is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator Donnelly’s office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
More »Tell Senator Heitkamp to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator Heitkamp to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator Heitkamp is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator Heitkamp’s office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
More »Tell Senator McCaskill to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator McCaskill to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator McCaskill is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Riight for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator McCaskill’s office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
More »Tell Senator Tester to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator Tester to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator Tester is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator Tester's office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
More »Tell Senator Murkowski to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator Murkowski to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator Murkowski is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator Murkowski’s office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
More »Tell Senator Jones to save SCOTUS!
We need your help to save the wall of separation between state and church, our secular government and our godless Constitution. Please tell Senator Jones to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With your help, we’ve defeated other zealous Trump nominees. Senator Jones is under pressure to vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The nomination of Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy threatens our secular republic. Kennedy was the nominal swing vote on the court, and while often disappointing, he held firm on abortion and LGBTQ rights, and even wrote a strong decision against religion in public schools. Confirmation of Kavanaugh would shift the Supreme Court to the Religious Right for more than a generation and would forever change the landscape of First Amendment law. Every landmark case protecting the rights of nonreligious Americans is at risk.
With sustained effort by all of us, we can save the fabric of our secular republic from unraveling. Your actions are never wasted — Senate offices DO feel the heat when constituents put pressure on them, and Senator Jones' office is currently receiving heavy pressure from the other side on this crucial issue. Please don’t stay silent at this pivotal moment.
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