Twice this week the Trump-Pence Administration signaled that it will continue to pander to a narrow group of fundamentalist Christians who want to redefine religious freedom as a sword that can be wielded against transgender people.
Less than two weeks after the Senate narrowly confirmed church-state separation opponent Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senate Republicans today will try to advance to the federal bench another Trump nominee with a hostile record on religious freedom.
A state judge in Oregon who was disciplined for, among other things, refusing to perform weddings for same-sex couples won’t have his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Religious freedom gives Americans the right to believe, or not, as they choose, but it does not give anyone the right to use their religious beliefs to discriminate against kids and families.
Does it make sense for Americans United to invest, as we have, in trying to defeat the nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court when the chances of victory have seemed remote? AU President and CEO Rachel Laser's answer: An emphatic yes.
Recent statements by Brett Kavanaugh are under scrutiny, but it’s important to remember that he was less than truthful during his initial hearing - like his role in President Bush's faith-based initiative.
Despite compelling, credible testimony yesterday from Professor Christine Blasey Ford who spoke at length that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, the Senate Judiciary Committee today in a party-line vote agreed to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate for review.
During the Values Voter Summit (VVS) over the weekend, leaders and followers of the Religious Right made clear they plan to continue their attempts to weaponize religious freedom as a means to justify discrimination, particularly against LGBTQ people and women.
The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh again yesterday, but we learned even more about his views on church-state separation from the “committee confidential” documents that Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) forced the committee to release yesterday morning.
Because of harmful impact that Judge Kavanaugh would have on the health and well-being of so many people, Alicia is calling on the Senate to block the confirmation of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Senate confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh start today—even though thousands of requested documents from Kavanaugh’s time working in the George W. Bush White House have not yet been released or reviewed by the Senate or the public.
One of the issues that the Supreme Court will decide in next few years is whether religion can be used to undermine civil rights protections, especially those that protect LGBTQ people and women. What do we know about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s record on this issue? When he worked for President George W. Bush, he volunteered to be the point person on the “faith-based initiative”—a key component of which was allowing taxpayer-funded organizations that provide social services to use religion to justify employment discrimination.
One of the biggest concerns about President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is how he could shift the balance of power on the court on matters involving reproductive rights. Given his hostile record on church-state separation and of allowing religious freedom to be misused as justification for discrimination, it’s a valid concern—and many women are stepping forward to explain why they oppose Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
The owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, the baker who violated Colorado nondiscrimination laws when he refused on to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, is in the national spotlight again. This time, he’s suing the state of Colorado alleging religious discrimination after it came to light that he has refused to bake a cake for a transgender woman.
If you care about healthcare access and reproductive rights, then you should be concerned about Brett Kavanaugh as President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. His record indicates he’s hostile toward church-state separation and could allow religious beliefs to justify discrimination.
If you care about LGBTQ rights, then you should be concerned about Brett Kavanaugh as the U.S. Supreme Court pick. His record shows that he believes religious beliefs can be used to justify discrimination.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a “Religious Liberty Task Force” to enforce the Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance he issued last fall that would allow religion to be used to discriminate.
Ignoring the best interest of children, a few House Republicans have proposed allowing federally funded adoption and foster care agencies to use religion to discriminate against prospective parents and children in need. Americans United joined hundreds of civil rights and child welfare organizations this week in urging members of Congress to reject this cruel proposal.
House Republicans amended a spending bill to include language that would allow adoption and foster care agencies that receive federal funding to discriminate against qualified prospective parents and children in need based on the agency’s religious beliefs. The result: Kids could be denied stable, loving homes with prospective parents who are LGBTQ, single, previously divorced or even the “wrong religion.”
President Donald Trump announced last night that Brett Kavanaugh is his nominee to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice. The president has shown that he has little respect for the separation of church and state, so it is no surprise that he has chosen a nominee who rejects this fundamental value as well
Today’s Washington Post includes a profile of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), referring to the organization as a “powerhouse.” You may know the ADF as the group that takes on cases of businesses who want the legal right to use religion to discriminate.
Americans United filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging multiple actions by the Trump-Pence administration—including back-room deals with the University of Notre Dame—that would deny countless women access to contraception.
The US Supreme Court today sent back for more review Arlene’s Flowers v. Washington, one of several cases circling the court system involving a business that wants to use religious beliefs to justify discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Religious freedom is a fundamental value, but it does not permit government-funded providers to discriminate against the children and families they are supposed to serve.
The US Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop opinion is having an immediate and wide-ranging impact. The Arizona Court of Appeals cited the Masterpiece opinion when it ruled against Brush & Nib Studio, one of several businesses around the country that, like Masterpiece, is trying to use religious beliefs to justify discrimination.
June marks Pride Month, a month dedicated to celebrating the strides made toward LGBTQ equality and the many LGBTQ activists who fought to achieve them. This Pride Month and every month, Americans United is proud to stand with our LGBTQ neighbors and oppose discrimination in the name of religion.
Every legislative session, AU tracks hundreds of state bills that, if passed, would undermine religious freedom in nearly every state. We often see trends arise across states. Lawmakers in different states introduce similar bills, and sometimes even the same exact bills with the same exact language. And we can usually figure out why that happens: conservative lobbying groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and state Focus on the Family affiliates often shop model bills around to state legislators, who then introduce these model bills in their states. The lobbying groups also share strategies with legislators to help pass their bills. The result: Similar harmful bills appear and pass in many different states in a nationwide onslaught.
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The decision is a bit of an odd duck. The court repeatedly reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to combating discrimination against LGBTQ people in businesses open to the public. Yet the court holds in favor of a bakery that refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding.
