How Do You Get Policy Change In Washington?: Persistence, Persistence, Persistence
When President George W. Bush took office, his administration set about to change the rules for how the federal government funds faith-based organizations to perform social services, like running soup kitchens, job training programs and homeless shelters. He established the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which worked with agencies across the federal government to weaken the longstanding church-state protections that had applied to these programs. Unfortunately for religious freedom, the effort was successful and almost every social service program funded by the government was subject to these new, lax rules.
Alabama Judges Believe They Can Deny Same-Sex Couples Marriage Licenses Because Of One Word In Segregation-Era Law
It's Not Just Kim: Kentucky Boasts Two Other Recalcitrant County Clerks
Kim Davis has taken up a lot of our collective bandwidth since the Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality. A Davis-free day is a small ray of sunshine in what has been an otherwise unending gloom. Unfortunately, we're not able to give you a totally Kimless blog post, but we promise that this one will only be Davis-adjacent.
Contemptuous Clerks: In Kentucky, Local Officials Are Breaking The Law Rather Than Allow Same-Sex Couples To Marry
This article was featured in the October 2015 edition of Americans United's Church & State magazine.
Change Is Not Coming: Pope Francis’ Meeting With Kim Davis Signals That ‘Culture Wars’ Are Still Raging
Pope Francis secretly met with Kim Davis last Thursday in Washington D.C., according to The New York Times.
Shocker: Pope Francis Supports Government Officials Who Refuse To Issue Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples For Religious Reasons
Warped Weekend: Extreme Comments From The Values Voter Summit
The “Values Voter Summit” (VVS), an annual Religious Right gathering in Washington, D.C., took place over the weekend. The rhetoric at the confab, which is now in its 10th year, is pretty consistent: speakers preach Christian “persecution,” Islamophobia, homophobia, dissatisfaction with the federal government and religious revivalism to whip about 3,000 attendees into a frenzy.
This Just In: Sun Still Rises In The East, Scalia Still Mad About Marriage Equality Decision
Americans United's Greg Lipper Debates Religious Liberty With Becket Fund's Kristina Arriaga
Have a spare 45 minutes and an interest in the intersection between religious liberty and LGBT issues? Our own Senior Litigation Counsel Greg Lipper debated Kristina Arriaga of the the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty about this very subject on the National Constitution Center's We The People podcast.
Kim Davis: Marriage Licenses For Same-Sex Couples Not "Valid In God's Eyes"
To EACH Their Own: Americans United's Legislative Team Comments on The EACH Act
Deputy Clerk Alleges Kim Davis Interfered With Marriage Licenses Against Court Order
You might have heard the name Brian Mason in conjunction with the Great Kim Davis Debacle of Rowan County, Kentucky. One of Davis' deputy clerks, Mason spoke to the press during his boss's imprisonment, announcing to the country that he would continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples regardless of the county clerk's opinion on the matter. Since then, he's done just that, ignoring the raging political battle going on outside his office doors. Unfortunately for Davis, some changes she has made to the marriage license forms has inspired Mason to speak out again.
RFRA Jumps The Shark: The 8th Circuit Strikes Down the Contraception Accommodation (Part 1)
This article by Americans United's Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper originally appeared on Harvard Law's Bill of Health blog.
Federal Court Shuts Down Kim Davis Once Again While Others Take Up Her Flag
Bad Decision: Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Non-Profit Religious Accommodation For Contraception Coverage
In a baffling decision, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to strike down the ACA contraception accommodations for religious non-profits in the case of Dordt College v. Burwell.