The Freedom From Religion Foundation is delighted to announce that it has received a $100,000-plus boost to its legal fund via donations in Vice President Mike Pence's name.
FFRF began its "Give dollars and cents to counteract Pence" campaign in early November and, as of March 31, has raised $104,829. FFRF is a state/church watchdog with more than 27,000 largely freethinking (atheist and agnostic) members.
"We warmly thank the 1,905 donors to date who have given from $1 to $5,000," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
FFRF's ongoing campaign urges:
"Send a message to Mike Pence and his boss: The only wall we need is between church and state. Your gift to FFRF's legal fund in Mike Pence's name will be subversive (and deductible for income tax purposes). We'll use your kind donation to fight the imposition of religion by our government under the guise of 'religious liberty.' We'll put your donation to work to shore up the fence Pence needs to honor: the wall of separation between state and church."
Pence has been sent a letter totaling the donations to date, with a list of the names of donors who gave permission to be named (which is not being made public here to honor privacy).
Pence is considered to be the man behind many of the nominations and announcements of the current administration to propitiate the Religious Right. He once famously declared, "I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order."
In their letter to Pence, Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor note:
"We believe that elected officials should consider themselves: First) Americans; Second) public officials cognizant they have taken an oath of office to uphold a godless Constitution; and Third) citizens who do not misuse the authority of their secular office to promote their personal viewpoints on religion."
As a member of Congress, the evangelical Christian Pence co-sponsored "personhood" legislation calling for constitutional rights from the moment of fertilization, which is based on the religious notion of "ensoulment." Pence was an early leader in efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, based on religious objections.
As Indiana governor, he created a huge backlash by signing a bill to allow religion-based discrimination against LGBTQ and was forced to moderate the law. Under his reign, Indiana became one of the most restrictive states toward abortion in the country.
In January, a week after taking the oath of office to uphold the nation's godless and secular Constitution, Pence became the highest-ranking official to appear in person at the annual anti-abortion rally seeking to repeal Roe v. Wade.
The campaign will continue as long as the threat by the current administration continues in Washington, D.C.
