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A Message from Becket's President & CEO
July 3, 2023
Dear Friends,
Every Fourth of July, we commemorate America’s founding declaration—that God gave us our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that no just government can take them away. On that firm foundation, we have built the freest, most prosperous and most generous nation on earth.
Of course we are still a work in progress. And while it is sometimes tempting to dwell on our nation’s problems and what we need to improve, the Fourth of July is a time for celebrating the freedoms that make America great.
Our commitment to religious liberty was an early and essential part of the American story. Early on, Americans learned how to live with religious differences, and how to welcome the contributions of people of all faiths to our society. We learned that government should not punish people for their faith, and should not exclude them from public life because of their religious convictions. By leaving each citizen free to worship God, we unleashed the power of a great nation.
And just as religious liberty is key to our past, it is also the key to our future. Because whatever problems we face, religious liberty will help us solve them. Religious liberty allows us to bring our convictions to a public square that sorely needs them. Religious liberty inspires people of faith to stand against the tide of social media and the dominant culture. Religious liberty teaches us all how to live together in peace despite our differences, loving our neighbors rather than turning everything into political warfare.
I’m proud that over the past decade religious liberty has been on a historic winning streak at the Supreme Court. And I’m proud of the role the Becket Fund has played in that winning streak—with 12 wins and no losses. Religious liberty is winning for America, and that is something we all should celebrate.
This Fourth of July, I would ask you to consider joining the fight and honoring America by
donating<[link removed]> to the Becket Fund’s work to defend our first freedom. We can only protect religious liberty because of faithful contributions from our donors, and we are grateful for that support.
Thank you and God bless America,
Mark L. Rienzi
Becket's Hottest Cases
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Mahmoud v. McKnight<[link removed]>
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has introduced LGBTQ+ books into
its curriculum, including for elementary students. The books cover topics and themes
including homosexuality, transgenderism, intersex, non-binary, drag queens, pronouns,
“leather,” and pro-LGBTQ+ ministers, with storybook characters as young as five years
old transitioning genders. Parents were originally told there would be an opt-out option,
but MCPS backtracked, prohibiting parental opt outs and announcing that parents will
not be informed of LGBTQ+ curriculum going forward.
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Bella Health + Wellness v. Weiser<[link removed]>
Bella Health + Wellness is a nonprofit Catholic health care clinic committed to
providing life-affirming care. Bella offers and advertises progesterone—a commonly
prescribed, naturally occurring hormone—to pregnant women who have taken the
abortion pill but changed their minds—a treatment known as “abortion pill reversal.”
In April, Colorado passed a law that makes it “unprofessional conduct” “subject to
discipline” for medical professionals to attempt to reverse the effects of the abortion pill.
The law also prohibits advertisements for abortion pill reversal.
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Apache Stronghold v. United States<[link removed]>
Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit coalition of Native peoples and allies, is challenging the
impending transfer and destruction of Oak Flat, an ancient Apache sacred site. If the
government transfers Oak Flat to foreign-owned Resolution Copper for mining, the
land will be turned into a nearly two-mile wide crater. Becket is arguing that the transfer
would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it imposes a substantial
burden on the Apaches’ religious practices by rendering them impossible.
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YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University<[link removed]>
A group of current and former LGBTQ students sued Yeshiva University under the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to try to force it to officially recognize their club, YU Pride Alliance. But the NYCHRL, a public accommodations law, expressly exempts religious organizations like Yeshiva University. Even if it didn’t, the First Amendment protects religious universities from being forced to accommodate activities that violate their religious beliefs.
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FCA v. San Jose Unified School District<[link removed]>
A chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the San Jose Unified School District was targeted for asking its leaders to embrace its faith, aggressively bullied and intimidated by school officials and fellow students, and ultimately kicked out at the same time that the school welcomed in a chapter of The Satanic Temple Club.
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Vitagliano v. County of Westchester<[link removed]>
Inspired by her Catholic faith, Debra Vitagliano wanted to engage in sidewalk counseling outside an abortion clinic in Westchester County, NY to help dissuade pregnant women from having abortions, and even took courses on counseling women at risk of abortion. But before she could put her training to practice, Westchester passed a law that prohibits sidewalk counseling outside abortion clinics.
HEllo
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Mark L. Rienzi
President & CEO
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