A Kentucky bill needs to be stopped! House Bill 547 has passed through both legislative chambers and is waiting on the desk of Gov. Andy Beshear. Please take a moment to urge him to veto this bill and keep religion out of public schools.
HB 547 would prohibit school districts from punishing employees for pushing personal religious views on children and co-workers. This bill is a clear attempt to indoctrinate children into religious beliefs and practices while they’re a captive audience. Students deserve a freedom of consciousness that includes a secular public school system. Tell Gov. Beshear that this bill goes too far!
The bill could be signed into law very soon, so please don’t hesitate to take action. We’ve included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
(Note: You must live in this state to take part in this action alert.)
More »Two devastating regulations founded in religious dogma will have sweeping effects on the trans community in America should they pass! HR 724 and HR 5 are being considered by federal representatives. Please reach out and urge your reps to oppose these two horrible bills!
HR 734 would ban trans girls throughout the country from being able to participate in sports that align with their gender identity. This ban does not take into account the positive outcomes that student sports can have on children, including both mental and physical benefits. This is just one of many religiously motivated trans sports bans, with the sole intention of fearmongering and demonizing a marginalized group. These bills masquerade as “protecting children,” but the true intention is to isolate trans youth.
Additionally, HR 5 would gut student access to LGBTQ+ materials. The federal government would require local school boards to expose themselves to heavy censorship and book banning on topics that overzealous parents deem to be inappropriate to students. This is another poorly masked attack on trans youth, as these motions have been primarily targeting materials that offer support and information. These two bills are a joint effort aimed at striping away rights from the trans community, and they must be stopped.
It is vital to act quickly to prevent these bills from passing! We’ve included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Washington legislators will be hearing an important bill! The Washington House Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning Committee will be hearing Senate Bill 5280 tomorrow, Tuesday, March 21, so please urge the committee to support it!
SB 5280 has already passed the Senate and is gaining momentum as it heads to the House. This bill will require clergy members to report the abuse of a child when it becomes known to them. As more and more cases come to light revealing instances of abuse, it is long past due to mandate that clergy members report suspected child abuse. Tell your lawmakers to take a stand!
This bill will be heard tomorrow, so please act now! You may contact the committee by using the “take action” button below, or you may submit your own comments directly to the committee as a whole by clicking here. For best results, please remember to be polite and succinct.
(Note: You must live in this state to take part in this action alert.)
More »An important bill in Colorado needs your support! The House Committee on Health and Insurance will be hearing House Bill 23-1218 on Friday, March 17. Please take a moment to urge the committee to support this bill to promote transparency in healthcare for Coloradans!
HB 23-1218 will require healthcare providers to make publicly available procedures or services that are not offered in their facility for nonmedical reasons. This will give patients the ability to make a more informed decision when choosing their health care provider. Across the country, Catholic hospitals are overtaking secular facilities and instilling their beliefs into their practices. These beliefs have caused pain and suffering to so many patients who thought they were receiving the care that they deserved, but were ultimately denied due to the provider’s religious beliefs.. If medical providers are going to continue to discriminate on the basis of religion, Coloradans deserve to know the care they will or will not receive before it’s too late!
This bill will be heard tomorrow, so please don’t wait to act! We’ve included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
(Note: You must live in this state to take part in this action alert.)
More »Nebraska lawmakers are moving forward to make progress on abortion rights! The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will be hearing Legislative Resolution 19 tomorrow, Thursday, March 16. Please take a moment to urge the committee to approve this legislation.
LR 19CA is a proposed constitutional amendment to protect every Nebraska citizen’s right to reproductive freedom. This is a major step to protect not only abortion rights, but also reproductive care, with zero penalties! This resolution, if passed by the Legislature and approved by the voters, will prevent any future religiously motivated anti-abortion bills from threatening these rights. This great amendment will keep Nebraska's law out of Nebraskans’ reproductive decisions, so please help get it passed!
LR 19CA will be heard tomorrow, so take action now! We’ve included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
(Note: You must live in this state to take part in this action alert.)
More »New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently spoke at an interfaith prayer breakfast, and his remarks were shockingly ignorant and hostile to the constitutional separation between state and church. Please take a moment to contact Mayor Adams and tell him that you, as a New Yorker, want him to rethink his position on this crucial issue.
Adams stated that when he puts policies in place he does so “with a God-like approach to them.” He continued by proclaiming that “the mayor of New York is a servant of God.” He even threw in a long-debunked Christian nationalist talking point: “when we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools.”
FFRF wrote to Mayor Adams earlier this week to educate him on this issue. As an elected official, Adams should be proud that the United States was first among nations to separate religion from government. The Constitution's only references to religion are exclusionary, such as barring any religious test for public office. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause separates church from state at the federal level, extended to state citizens by the 14th Amendment.
We also pointed out that lower religiosity has been shown to correlate with higher societal well-being, both within the United States and globally. The notion that inserting state-sponsored religion into public education would help to address school shootings is totally unsupported by evidence.
Please click the "Take Action" button to be directed to the mayor's contact form, where you can contact Mayor Adams directly, or call the mayor's office at 212-788-3000. We have included talking points below, which you may customize as you see fit.
Suggested talking points:
Dear Mayor Adams,
As a New Yorker, I was disappointed to see your recent comments about our constitutional separation between state and church. I urge you to educate yourself on the importance of this foundational principle, which was seen as essential to the framers and is just as important today.
In fact, our secular government is under serious threat from Christian nationalists who are attempting to gaslight Americans on our own history, claiming that the United States is a Christian nation and denying the existence of state/church separation. These same Christian nationalists also love to make the unfounded claim that school violence stems from the removal of state-sponsored prayers from public schools. When you repeat these false claims, you are empowering these dangerous fanatics by giving their debunked claims an air of legitimacy.
You were elected to serve We The People, not to use your government position to advance your personal religious beliefs or your personal god. Please reflect on the importance of this fundamentally American principle and correct your recent misstatements as soon as possible. Thank you.
More »Arkansas lawmakers are launching a devastating assault on trans rights! Senate Bill 270 is scheduled to be heard on Monday, March 6, so please act now. Urge the Arkansas Senate Judiciary Committee to stand with the trans community by stopping this hateful bill.
SB 270 would criminalize trans individuals as sex offenders for merely entering a changing room when minors are present. This is a blatant attack on the trans community for using the restroom that matches their gender identity! The trans community is under national attack from Christian nationalist lawmakers who believe a false narrative that trans adults are sexual predators. Don’t let Arkansas succumb to religious hate laws like this!
Again, this bill is scheduled to be heard on Monday, so please don’t wait to urge the committee to vote against it! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you can customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
(Note: You must live in this state in order to participate in this action alert.)
More »A state Religious Freedom Restoration Act is headed to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s desk. HB 3042 was pushed through both chambers after a month of inaction. Please take a moment and urge Gov. Justice to veto this bill to prevent it from becoming law!
HB 3042 would allow churches or religious individuals to challenge any government action that they claim violates their religious exercise. This gives religious individuals an advantage over secular residents by creating a blanket “religious exemption” for laws. Don’t let West Virginia law give religious residents an excuse to break the law!
This bill sped through both chambers and could be signed into law very soon, so please don’t wait to urge Gov. Justice to veto it! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you can customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
(Note: You must live in this state in order to participate in this action alert.)
More »An unconstitutional piece of legislation is moving fast in Arizona! HB 2523 has passed the House, and is now headed to the Senate. Please take a moment and urge your senator to vote against this unconstitutional bill.
HB 2523 would require students in Arizona to say the Pledge of Allegiance daily, in addition to observing a moment of silence. This revokes students’ freedom of choice, and would force them to say “one nation under God” on a daily basis. HB 2523 disregards any other beliefs or nonbeliefs and violates longstanding Supreme Court precedent allowing students to freely opt out of reciting the pledge (this bill would require written parental permission to opt out). Don’t let the Legislature indoctrinate Arizona students!
Urge your senator to vote against HB 2523 today! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which can be customized as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »A dangerous bill could be signed into law in Tennessee today! Please urge Gov. Bill Lee to veto SB 1 and protect minors from dogmatic identity control!
This bill will forbid health care providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors, including offering assistance in changing their name, or helping them socially transition. Lawmakers crafted it around fabricated scenarios based on outdated religious thinking, such as children receiving care without their parents’ consent or regretting their decisions. The bill will inflict needless harm upon trans children if Lee signs it into law, preventing doctors from acting on their education and training to do what they know is in their patients’ best interest. Don’t let Tennessee children be the target for religious hate!
This is the last chance to stop this bill, so please don’t wait to act! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which can be customized as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Indiana lawmakers are launching an attack on trans children! The upcoming SB 480 is going to be heard tomorrow, Feb. 22, so it’s vital to act quickly. Urge the Indiana Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services to reject this bill, and protect minors from outdated religious thinking!
SB 480 would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors in Indiana. The bill operates on fictional scenarios that gender-affirming care is being offered to every minor at every appointment, and that transgender individuals “regret” transitioning. Bills like this come as part of a wave of religiously motivated anti-LGBTQ-plus hatred that will have devastating consequences for the youth of Indiana. Don’t let politicians tell doctors how to do their jobs!
This bill will be heard Feb. 22, so please act now! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which can be customized as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Missouri lawmakers are stopping at nothing to further restrict abortion rights for all residents! The Missouri Senate Health and Welfare Committee will hear three pieces of legislation tomorrow, Feb. 22, that will further limit abortion access in the state. Please act quickly to prevent these motions from being approved!
SB 160 is a gross overreach by legislators! This bill states that no federal law, order or regulation can prohibit the state of Missouri from restricting funds to assist with abortion access in any capacity. This bill would also create strict financial limitations on health care facilities that have a mere association or affiliation with a facility that performs abortions.
Additionally, Missouri is working to amend the state Constitution to further restrict abortion access. SJR 8 and SJR 19 will each be voted on by the Legislature and sent to voters for approval. SJR 8 proposes to prohibit state funds being used for any clinic, physician’s office or any other place or facility in which abortions are performed or induced or any affiliate or associate of such an entity. SJR 19 would ensure that no part of the Constitution would protect abortion rights. It is not enough that the Legislature wants to pass laws to further restrict abortion; it now wants to enshrine such dangerous practices in the state Constitution. Both of these devastating amendments would bring Missouri closer to becoming an anti-abortion-based theocracy, and they need to be stopped now!
All three of these motions will be heard on Feb. 22, so it’s vital to act today! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »West Virginia lawmakers are working to indoctrinate public schoolchildren! The upcoming SB 619 would attempt to radically change the way public schools teach the theory of evolution. This dangerous bill will be heard tomorrow, so please act quickly!
SB 619 would allow public school teachers to teach “intelligent design,” a euphemism for religious creationism. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have consistently held that creationism in public schools is unconstitutional religious instruction. With strong recent efforts to roll back the case law on the separation between state and church, West Virginians must show their vocal opposition to this bill!
SB 619 is moving fast, so please contact the West Virginia Senate Committee on Education today and tell them to reject it! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Lawmakers are looking to send your tax dollars to religious institutions! Bill SB 305 would expand an existing voucher program that siphons funds for public schools into private institutions. The bill is stalled for now, but other state lawmakers are still pushing to expand the voucher program. Contact your Indiana state officials today and tell them not to support this bill, or anything like it!
SB 305 would expand the eligibility of voucher programs to include all student residents of Indiana. In order to do this, valuable taxpayer dollars normally used for public education will be diverted to fund private religious schools. Lawmakers are operating under the guise of offering “school choice” to students, despite studies showing that these programs have no benefit for public school students, especially considering many voucher recipients normally do not attend public schools in the first place. This waste of Indiana tax dollars to fund religious indoctrination has to be stopped!
Other states have rushed voucher expansion through the legislature quickly in order to avoid public scrutiny, so please contact your state officials and urge them to oppose these efforts! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Religious institutions are coming for your tax dollars! The upcoming Florida bill SB 202 is threatening to expand an existing voucher program to siphon even more money to private schools. Please urge the Florida Senate Committee on Education to reject this bill!
This high priority bill would expand a currently existing voucher program from less than $1.5 billion a year to $4 billion. The dramatic jump is justified to “accommodate any student resident of Florida.” Lawmakers hide the intention of promoting private Christian schools under the guise of student choice, despite studies showing that there is no benefit of these programs for public school students, especially since most voucher recipients never attended public schools in the first place. This is a waste of Florida tax dollars to pay for religious indoctrination, and it needs to be stopped!
SB 202 will be heard very soon, so please contact the Senate committee today! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Please take a moment to urge the Maryland Senate Education, Energy, and Environment Committee to support SB 341 on Feb. 22! This is a crucial bill in a post-Dobbs America, so please act now!
This bill will create comprehensive reproductive services at Maryland public universities, including abortion services, 24-hour access to contraception, and reproductive education. This is a great step for promoting science-based reproductive rights to students, allowing them to take control of their own bodily autonomy instead of forcing unwanted pregnancies onto unprepared individuals.
This important bill comes to a vote soon, so please act now! You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to voice your opinion as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »New Hampshire legislators are hearing bills that will decide reproductive rights across the state! The House Judiciary Committee will be considering several bills this week, both in support of and against reproductive rights. Act today to urge the committee to support the right to choose!
House Bills 562, 591 and 346 would strictly criminalize abortion. These bills include the fear-mongering frequently seen in religiously funded crisis pregnancy centers. Additionally, they would create stricter definitions on what is considered a “living” fetus. These specious arguments are fueled in religious anti-abortion rhetoric that exist solely to create restrictions based on religious extremist discomfort!
House Bills 224, 88 and 271, and the proposed constitutional amendment CACR 2, all support individuals’ bodily autonomy, including removing abortion bans and reducing penalties against physicians who provide abortions. These four bills would help to protect abortion care in New Hampshire for both in- and out-of-state patients, allowing for safe abortions and protections from legal challengers.
Please take a moment to urge the New Hampshire Judiciary Committee to support reproductive rights and reject unnecessary restrictions! We have included suggested language through the “Take Action” button, which you may customize as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Your public tax dollars could soon be rerouted to fund Catholic education!
The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in Oklahoma has confirmed that the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa hope to establish a Catholic charter school. This means that, if the board approves, public funds will be used for the creation of a Catholic school with a strictly Catholic curriculum.
Please take a moment to contact the board and ask it to reject the church’s outrageous request to open a Catholic charter school!
Through an open records request, FFRF has learned that this Catholic charter school would intend to follow all laws, rules and regulations required by the state only as long as they do not conflict with Catholic law. In other words, Catholic entities in Oklahoma are not hiding that this will be a Catholic school in all respects, and they want to ignore any laws that they don’t care to follow.
At 2 p.m. this coming Tuesday, Feb. 14, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board will meet to consider this application. Meetings in recent months have been canceled because the board has not had enough members to conduct a meeting. Now, just before this issue is to be taken up by the board, the final member required to hold a meeting has been appointed. This is certainly no coincidence; all signs point to the state of Oklahoma attempting to sneak this through.
This is why we need your help! Please contact the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board to demand that it reject this application. Public funds must not go toward funding religious education. You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to suit your opinion as you see fit. You may also call the board at (405) 522-3240. If you are able to attend the meeting on Feb. 14, you can show your support for public, secular education and share your thoughts in person.
More »A North Carolina bill needs to be stopped!
S 49 has been modeled after Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill and is threatening to restrict education in North Carolina. Please take a moment to urge your state representative to vote against this bill!
S 49 will prohibit publicly funded elementary schools from discussing in grades K-4 the existence of transgender people. Additionally, teachers would be required to inform parents if their child requests to use a different name or pronouns, regardless of age. This bill comes amid an escalating religiously founded fear campaign aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, and will threaten marginalized communities all across North Carolina!
Please take a moment to contact your representative and ask for a vote against this harmful bill! We have included suggested language through the Take Action link, which you may customize as you see fit.
More »An upcoming bill in Michigan needs your support! Senate Bill 4 will be heard by the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety tomorrow. This is an important step for Michigan to support the LGBTQ+ community!
SB4 will expand employment protections across Michigan for the LGBTQ+ community by including sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. By increasing these protections, employment opportunities will be solely based on qualifications, and job candidates can no longer be discriminated against due to irrelevant external factors. This is a necessary step to create equality in Michigan, and to fight against religiously based discrimination!
This important bill will be heard tomorrow morning, Thursday, Feb. 9, so please act now! You can either use the prompt provided, or customize it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Legislators are threatening unnecessary restrictions in Montana! House Bill 359, which would prohibit minors from attending drag shows, will be heard very soon by the Montana House Judiciary Committee.
HB 359 would label businesses that host drag performances as “sexually oriented businesses.” In doing so, minors would be prohibited from attending these performances. This would greatly impact shows like the very popular Drag Story Hour. This bill would needlessly restrict drag performances under the fabricated notion that they’re “sexually explicit” and harmful for children. These performances have no history of containing material inappropriate for younger audiences, but legislators are working to demonize any individual who runs counter to outdated stereotypes of “traditionally accepted standards” of gender.
This bill is coming to a vote very soon, so please urge the Montana House Judiciary Committee to reject it! You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to suit your opinion as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Missouri lawmakers are using our schools to launch a religiously based attack on the LGBTQ+ community! Senate Bill 134 is a more extreme version of the previously seen “Don’t Say Gay'' bill in Florida. Missouri lawmakers are working to silence the LGBTQ+ community, so please act now!
SB 134 will forbid any discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation by school staff. Since these discussions will be limited to licensed mental health providers (with prior parental permission needed), school faculty will be threatened with termination for merely living their authentic lives or discussing relevant social issues. Legislators in Missouri want students to believe that the only way to be accepted is to conform to heteronormative stereotypes restricting personal expression. This is just the latest religious extremist attack against a vulnerable community, and it has no place in Missouri!
This bill is moving rapidly through the Missouri Legislature, so please act quickly to help stop it! You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to voice your opinion as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Urge the Kansas House Committee on Taxation to vote “no” on House Bill 2135. This is the latest attack on reproductive health care and an attempt to push a religiously motivated, harmful anti-abortion agenda.
This bill proposes tax credits to phony “crisis pregnancy centers” that exist to dissuade individuals from having abortions through deceptive means, usually pushing religious doctrine on unsuspecting clients attracted by offers of free ultrasounds and other such lures. This tax break will give these centers greater ability to spread throughout Kansas, and will leave abortion centers that provide legitimate information and care in the dust.
Act quickly to urge Kansas lawmakers to vote no on this bill! Share your concerns with the committee by using either the prompt provided, or by customizing it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
More »Montana lawmakers are using religion to threaten your safety! House Bill 303 has just passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. This bill will have sweeping consequences for health care in Montana. Please take a moment to urge your senator to vote against this bill!
HB 303 will allow medical professionals to refuse to offer potentially life-saving services based on their religious beliefs. Historically, this practice has caused members of the LGBTQ+ community to go without treatment after car accidents, leading to their deaths. The bill also grants exemptions for health insurance companies to stop covering medications and procedures, such as abortions and gender affirming care, based on personal beliefs. This bill completely disregards everything that medical professionals and insurance providers should stand for!
Please contact your senator right away to emphasize that this bill does not belong in Montana! You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to voice your opinion as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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A new bill is threatening secular rights in Montana. Senate Bill 243, which would permit discrimination by real estate professionals, will be heard tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee.
SB 243 would allow for real estate professionals to deny services to potential clients if they believe it violates their “free exercise of religion.” Simply stated, the bill would make this completely legal for a real estate agent or other real estate professional to outwardly discriminate. What’s more, the bill would make it impossible for clients who’ve been denied to take legal action against the individual. This horrible bill will make it even harder for potential homeowners, or home sellers, to operate in an already fragile market, and serves no purpose than to discriminate against people for not sharing religious views. This bill is unnecessary and provides a license to hate in the name of religion. It does not belong in Montana!
This bill will have its first hearing tomorrow so please act now! You may either use the prompt provided or customize it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Nebraska is fighting for equality! Legislative Bill 670 to protect employment rights for the LGBTQ+ will be heard next Monday, February 13. It’s imperative to codify these protections into law, so please act now!
LB 670 will prohibit employers from discriminating against candidates on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. These protections will apply to any employer regardless of the size. This is an important step to take to protect qualified candidates throughout Nebraska from losing opportunities based on irrelevant factors.
This great bill will be heard very soon, so please urge the Committee of Senate Business Labor to support it today! You may use either the prompt provided or personalize it to voice your opinion. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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An extreme anti-science bill is going to be heard in a Montana legislative committee on Monday! Senate Bill 235 would greatly curb what could be taught in science classrooms throughout the state.
This bill, which is clearly an attempt to rid science classrooms of evidence-based scientific theories, seeks to limit what can be taught in classrooms based on a gross misunderstanding of “scientific facts.” The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) dispels common misconceptions about scientific “theories”: that theories are merely guesses. Instead, it states, theories never become facts in science. Actually, theories explain facts. The NCSE further explains that because science is always advancing, scientific knowledge is always advancing and thus is subject to change. We must not discontinue scientific curiosity in Montana public schools.
SB 235 is a dangerous bill that is an attempt to chip away at the education system at the expense of Montana’s youth. Tell the Education and Cultural Resources Committee to vote no on this anti-science bill. SB 235 is not welcome in Montana!
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Missouri lawmakers are attempting to bring Christianity to public schools! Senate Bill 34 would give public schools the option to offer courses teaching the bible, including the Old Testament, to students.
SB 34 will be heard on Tuesday, Feb. 7, by the Missouri Senate Committee of Education and Workforce Development, so please act quickly to keep churches out of schools! Under this bill public school classes will be able to focus on the contents, history, literary structure and societal influences of religious texts over time. While seemingly innocuous, this clear indoctrination attempt will force taxpayer dollars to go toward endorsing Christianity, and threatens the very nature of state/church separation.
These classes would begin almost immediately after the bills passage, so please don’t delay in making your voice heard! You may either use the prompt provided, or may customize it to suit your opinion. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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An important bill will be considered in Vermont this week! Please take a moment to urge the House Judiciary Committee to vote “yes” on the upcoming bill HB 89.
This is a bill that would protect health care workers from legal challenges for providing reproductive care and gender affirming care to out-of-state citizens. As a religious extremist Supreme Court continues to strip away rights of Americans, people are finding themselves having to rely on out-of-state providers, such as Vermont abortion centers, to receive necessary care. Unfortunately, this has opened the door for Vermont providers to be attacked by challengers from states with stricter abortion policies. By protecting these valuable experts, Vermont will become a safe haven for reproductive and gender-affirming care and practices.
The bill will be heard soon, so please act now! You can reach out to the Judiciary Committee using either the prompt provided below, or by customizing it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Please reach out today to members of your Miami Beach City Commission and urge them to reject a resolution to fund the maintenance of a Miami Beach eruv line. (An eruv is a symbolic piece of string or wire attached to structures, used as a boundary by Orthodox Jews to expand where they can go on the Sabbath.)
Tomorrow, Wed., Feb. 1, at 8:30 a.m., the Miami Beach City Commission will hold a vote to approve a $72,000 grant to the Miami Beach Eruv Council for maintenance of an eruv line. This grant to a religious organization for the maintenance of a purely religious structure would be funded by all taxpayers, yet benefits a fraction of members of a specific religion. This is an inappropriate use of public funds.
Contact the Miami Beach City Commissioners to share your concerns, using the supplied prompt or by customizing to your liking. For best results, please be succinct and polite. (If you live in Miami Beach, please identify yourself as a Miami Beach resident.)
Read FFRF’s press release.
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Please take a moment to help protect trans youth in Tennessee by urging the Senate Health & Welfare Committee to reject the upcoming bill SB 1.
This is a dangerous bill that forbids health care providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors, including offering assistance in changing their name, or helping them socially transition. The bill is crafted around fabricated scenarios based on outdated religious thinking, such as children receiving care without their parents’ consent or regretting their decisions. This bill will inflict needless harm upon LGBTQ children if it passes by forbidding doctors from acting on their education and training to what they know is in their patients’ best interest.
This bill has a hearing on Feb. 1, so please contact the committee urgently. You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Members of the Nebraska Legislature are trying to curb reproductive rights even further! LB 626 is a dangerous bill that would restrict abortion access once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Please take a moment to urge the Nebraska Legislative Committee on Health and Human Services to vote “no” on LB 626.
Currently, Nebraska’s abortion ban arbitrarily goes into effect at 20 weeks. Now, they want to restrict access even further. This bill would generally limit abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy, when the signs of a heartbeat are most often first detected. Many women are unaware that they are pregnant this early, dooming them to carry a potentially unwanted pregnancy. In a post-Roe America, this is another clear attack against women’s reproductive rights by religiously motivated anti-abortion groups putting the life of the fetus before the life of the woman.
This bill will be heard on Feb. 1, so please act soon to urge the committee to reject its passage! You may either use the prompt provided or customize it to how you see fit. You may also leave comments for the committee by clicking here. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Please take a moment to contact the Virginia Senate Committee on Education and Health before a hearing tomorrow, Jan. 26, that will feature bills containing abortion restrictions, dubious voucher programs and a good bill on dying with dignity.
Abortion bills that will be considered include SB 1284, SB 1385, SB 1483 and SR 87. These bills would all create harsher penalties and restrictions on abortion providers and women needing abortions, stripping away bodily autonomy from Virginian women.
Voucher bills include SB 823, SB 1191 and SB 1290, all of which are an effort to divert funds from public schools over to private schools. The vast majority of these private schools are Christian, and these voucher programs would force taxpayers to fund religious indoctrination as a result.
The Death with Dignity bill, SB 930, would allow adults with a terminal illness to request a more peaceful death, rather than suffering for a drawn out period of time. Similar bills have passed elsewhere in the country without problems, and the only organized opposition to such bills today comes from religion.
A list and description of the many bills to be considered tomorrow is available here.
These bills would greatly shape the future of Virginia’s laws, so please take a moment to voice your opinion to the committee. You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it to how you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Two vital bills are moving fast through the Minnesota Legislature! Those bills, titled the “Protect Reproductive Options Act" (House File 1/Senate File 1), are pushing fast toward a final vote in each chamber.
Please take a moment to urge your state senator and representative to vote “yes” on the Protect Reproductive Options Act when it arrives in front of them for a vote! These are crucial bills that would keep the state from stripping away fundamental rights of Minnesotans in a post-Dobbs America by affording pregnant individuals the autonomy to make their own reproductive decisions, including the ability to obtain abortion care, without government interference.
Please urge your legislators to vote “yes” to safeguard reproductive freedoms for all Minnesotans. You may either use the template provided, or you may wish to personalize the pre-drafted email to your liking. For best results, be succinct and polite.
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Your public tax dollars are on the chopping block! The Iowa Legislature will soon vote on the “Students First Act” (House File 68/Senate File 94), which would seek to create a school voucher program using public funds. Please take a moment and urge your legislators to vote “no” on these bills.
Under the guise of “school choice,” taxpayer dollars have long been funneled to religious institutions. This proposed program is no different. These bills seek to fund private education — often religious education — with taxpayer dollars. In short, voucher programs run counter to the free education system that America was founded on by forcing taxpayers to fund private religious institutions. This prevents proper funding for public schools and creates a system of social inequity.
Please urge your legislators to vote against this set of bills, either by using the provided prompt or by personalizing it to your liking. For best results, be succinct and polite.
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Please take a moment to ask the West Virginia Senate Education Committee to vote “no” on SB 251.
This is a bill that would require public schools to display the national motto “In God We Trust.” FFRF has previously challenged the motto from appearing on currency and in public schools due to the inherent religious nature. The motto is a clear attempt to prime children into believing America is a theocratic nation. While politicians continue to insist there is no religious intent behind the motto, a captive audience won’t be able to tell the difference.
This harmful bill is coming to a vote on Tuesday, Jan. 24, so please take action today. You may either use the prompt provided, or customize it as you see fit. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Senate Joint Resolution 8202 is scheduled for its first public hearing in the Washington Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 24! This vital piece of legislation seeks to allow the voters to enshrine reproductive health rights in the state Constitution. Please take a moment to urge your state senator to support this resolution!.
The U.S. Supreme Court jeopardized the health and well-being of millions of Americans when it stripped reproductive freedoms in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. SJR 8202 allows the residents of Washington to right the court’s wrong and put the power to make the most intimate medical decisions back into the right hands — the patient’s!
Justices on the federal Supreme Court have proven that they are unwilling to allow women to make their own decisions when it comes to their reproductive health, making the issue essential at the state level. Please take a moment to use our automated system to contact the chair of the Senate Committee on Health & Long Term Care to move the bill favorably out of committee!
You may contact the committee chair by using the “take action” button below, or you may submit your own comments directly to the committee as a whole by clicking here. For best results, please remember to be polite and succinct.
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House File 16 is facing a crucial test as it goes before the House Health Finance and Policy Committee. Please take a moment to contact the Chair of the committee urging the favorable passage of Minnesota HF 16 in order to preserve LGBTQ rights.
This important bill would prohibit mental health professionals from practicing conversion therapy on minors and vulnerable adults in any form. This will safeguard the LGBTQ community from harmful, religiously motivated pseudoscience in Minnesota.
During the first committee hearing, HF 16 met opposition from those espousing anecdotal, pseudoscience rhetoric and those invoking religious dogma. In fact, toward the end of the hearing, one member who supported HF 16 aptly pointed out that “the conversation today ends up being about science versus religion.” Please let your voices be heard to make sure members of the committee know that we must stand with science!
This bill will be heard in committee on Tuesday, January 24! Please take a moment to urge the Chair of the committee to favorably refer the bill to its next destination so we can get closer to passing this vital legislation. For best results, be succinct and polite.
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Please take a moment to tell a Virginia Senate subcommittee to vote no on SB 1284, SB 1385 and SR 87, three concerning anti-abortion bills with a hearing on Friday.
These bills will give women’s bodily autonomy to the government to prevent them from getting abortions of their own free will in Virginia. Abortion providers will be strictly penalized for performing an abortion unless the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life. One of the bills also declares that life starts at conception, a firmly religious stance that puts the life of the fetus ahead of the woman’s own life.
These dangerous bills have their first hearing tomorrow, which is the best place to stop them, so please take a moment to tell the senators to reject them. You may either use the provided prompt or personalize it to your liking. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Please take a moment to urge the New York Senate Health Committee to vote “yes” on S.348B, a bill that would enact a reproductive freedom and equity grant program throughout the state. This is a vital step in a post-Roe v. Wade America to expand access to abortion care and protect women’s rights.
The new program would provide funding to abortion centers and non-profit organizations dedicated to abortion care.
Please take a moment to share your thoughts with the Senate Health Committee, either by using the template provided or supplying your own wording. For best results, be succinct and polite.
The Health Committee will consider this bill early next week, so please take action today.
Read more here.
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A dangerous bill is about to go before the North Dakota House Judiciary Committee! House Bill 1136 would extend privileges to religious entities that promote favoritism. Please tell the committee to vote “no” on ND H.B. 1136, which would reckless expand religious privileges!
The bill would forbid local governmental bodies from creating restrictions that supposedly put a “significant burden” on religious practices in North Dakota. This burden is an arbitrary and dangerous standard. Under this legislation, religious organizations could continue to operate regardless of risk (such as a pandemic), while secular businesses would be shut down if deemed in the best interest of the general public.
Please take a moment to share your thoughts with the House Judiciary Committee using either the template provided or by providing your own wording. For best results, please be succinct and polite.
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Please take a moment to urge the New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee to vote “no” on NH H.B.63, a bill that would recklessly expand religious privileges across the state.
This bill would forbid local governmental bodies from creating zoning regulations that would put a “significant burden” on religious practices of residents in your state. This allows religious residents to effectively opt out of zoning laws they don’t like by creating a religious exemption — a right that secular individuals would not have.
Voice your concerns with the House Judiciary Committee and tell them to say “no” to this bill, either by using the provided template or supplying your own wording. For best results, be succinct and polite.
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This Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R.26, the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act. This bill would further restrict abortion care in the U.S. by threatening healthcare providers involved in rare late abortion procedures with criminal prosecution.
The proposed bill uses language that suggests abortion frequently results in a live birth, when in fact such a situation is extremely unlikely. The scenario is a fabrication for political purposes by religiously-motivated anti-abortionists. The bill could also force providers to cruelly prolong the life of an extremely premature infant after birth, such as one briefly surviving a miscarriage, when it is clear to all that it has no chance for survival. This medical intrusion could strip mourning parents of the chance to hold the dying infant.
Only 1.4 percent of all abortions take place at 21 weeks or beyond. “The bill maligns and vilifies providers and patients to push a false narrative about abortion later in pregnancy,” says Dr. Kristyn Brandi, a board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health.
It is important to protest this legislation, as its House supporters plan to build on it to pass a federal ban on abortion. Your member of Congress needs to hear that you support abortion rights and want them to stay out of medical decisions.
Please take a moment to share your thoughts with your representative, either by using the template provided or by personalizing the email to your liking. For best results, be succinct and polite.
Read more here.
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Please contact Gov. Katie Hobbs to thank her for making her first executive order a ban on discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals applying for state government jobs. Artificial barriers such as sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status can no longer be part of discussions involving hiring, firing and pay for government jobs or state-funded contracts.
A faith-based conservative lobbying group has wrongly argued that this executive order discriminates against faith-based organizations. These organizations will now have to adopt reasonable anti-discrimination policies, including expanding employment options for minority groups that are historically discriminated against by faith-based organizations.
Please let your new governor know you appreciate her efforts to protect ALL citizens of Arizona!
Read more here.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently and unjustifiably vetoed S.7313A, the non-religious recovery bill. The bill would have required courts to inform individuals who object to faith-based substance abuse treatment programs of secular, evidence-based alternatives.
She suggested that it would place a burden on judges. This is a misunderstanding of the bill and an example of a problem that doesn’t exist currently. While there are secular programs available, many people do not know they exist. This bill would have given more information to individuals who should have the right to treatment without having religion forced on them.
Please take a moment to share your thoughts with Hochul, either by using the template provided or by personalizing the email to your liking. For best results, be succinct and polite.
Read more here.
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Please take a moment to urge your member of Congress not to attend or sponsor the annual National Prayer Breakfast occurring on Feb. 2. The event has long operated under the false pretense of being a "bipartisan" and ecumenical social breakfast. Unfortunately, the prayer breakfast's private organizer deliberately makes event appear to be an official governmental function, and has an unsavory history of promoting religious bigotry and extremism.
The event is organized by the secretive Fellowship Foundation, which has had troubling relationships with dictators and has exported anti-LGBTQ policies. Its primary financial backer has been the notorious evangelist Franklin Graham, who views the breakfast as an opportunity for business leaders to “buy access” to politicians.
Increasingly, members of Congress are boycotting the politicized event. Ask your representative not to lend their support to this theocratic shindig.
Read more about FFRF’s opposition to the National Prayer Breakfast.
Please reach out to your member of Congress and ask them not to attend or fund the breakfast.
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A House committee just unanimously approved House Bill 6720 to authorize the Thomas Paine Memorial Association to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia. Since it may potentially go to a floor vote at any time, please contact your member of Congress today to support the bill!
The bill would allow a Thomas Paine memorial to be built in Washington, D.C. This is a bipartisan bill that would pay respects to the “forgotten Founder” that continues to advance in in the Congress. Please take a brief moment to contact your representative urging support for the bill.
Paine’s writings in Common Sense and Crisis made the case for American independence and sparked the American Revolution. Freethinkers revere him as the author of The Age of Reason and freedom lovers everywhere hold him in awe for proclaiming “the world is my country” and for working to advance freedom, equality and democracy.
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Earlier this year, the New York legislature passed S7313a, a bill that expands treatment options for New Yorkers in the criminal justice system. If signed, this legislation would ensure that all individuals who are mandated to attend recovery support programs are provided with secular options. However, Gov. Hochul has not yet signed this bill into law. Please take a moment to contact the governor and urge her to sign the bill into law today.
Currently, individuals with criminal justice involvement account for 47 percent of all treatment admissions to New York State’s Office of Addiction Services and Support. However, the only support groups available for many participants are based on the traditional and faith-based 12-step model. Too often, individuals in the court system are denied access to nonreligious recovery options that are consistent with their values and personal beliefs.
Please urge Gov. Hochul to sign this important bill and give treatment options to people regardless of their faith or lack thereof.
If you have not previously signed up for action alerts using FFRF’s new system, which debuted Feb. 3, 2022, there is a one-time requirement to fill in your name, email and address. Then our system will remember you and connect you to the correct governmental offices. (If you move addresses, please update this information accordingly.)
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Please take a moment to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support three bills aimed at reforming the federal judicial system. Recent events have struck yet another blow to the integrity of the U.S. Supreme Court, with the court’s ultraextremist majority revealed to be improperly meeting with litigants, praying and allegedly leaking details of their upcoming judgments.
This week, FFRF wrote a second letter to Chief Justice John Roberts asking for an official investigation. Justices are not bound by any ethical standards, unlike lower court judges, and the high court has been packed by Christian nationalists. Meanwhile, lower federal courts are massively overworked and have also been packed with ideologues.
Three federal bills would address these issues. Please take a moment to contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support these bills. Use our automated system today, before the legislators go home for the holidays.
More »Tell Gov. Stitt that claiming Oklahoma for Jesus is not OK
Please voice your concerns regarding a recent prayer Gov. Kevin Stitt made after winning reelection. Stitt stated in a public prayer that “we just claim Oklahoma for you. Every square inch, we claim it for you in the name of Jesus.”
FFRF has written a letter to Stitt voicing concerns with this prayer. In the letter, Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Anne Laurie Gaylor remind Stitt that the country was founded with a secular Constitution that protects citizens from state-enforced religion. They also call attention to the fact that by claiming Oklahoma for Jesus, Stitt is alienating secular and non-Christian citizens in Oklahoma and reducing them to second-class status.
Tell Stitt that he does not have the right to claim Oklahoma in the name of his personal religion, and to abide by the secular Constitution that he swore an oath to uphold.
Read FFRF’s letter to Gov. Stitt here.
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