Friend:

If the combination of the dark days of winter with the continuing pandemic is getting you down, you are not alone! I hope this email, filled with good news that you helped make happen, will bring some much-needed cheer.

I’ll start with two executive orders that President Biden signed this week which showcase that under the Biden-Harris administration, the “state” and the “church” are re-assuming an appropriate distance.

On Monday, we welcomed President Biden’s repeal of Trump’s cruel and unwise ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military. Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Council had even boasted that this policy was their idea. Then on Thursday, President Biden ended the global gag rule, which had barred U.S. funding for foreign organizations that provide health care overseas if they perform abortions or even offer information about them.

Back stateside, in Brevard County, Florida, religious freedom took another important step forward. On Tuesday, David Williamson, a director and co-founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community, offered what is believed to be the first-ever secular invocation to open a meeting of Brevard’s Board of County Commissioners.

David was the lead plaintiff in AU’s lawsuit that we and our allies successfully settled last year when the commissioners in Brevard County agreed to stop discriminating against people who don’t belong to mainstream, monotheistic religions in selecting speakers to deliver invocations.

I’m proud of AU’s work to protect the rights of nontheists and those who practice minority faiths. As AU Associate Vice President and Associate Legal Director Alex Luchenitser, who has brought his tremendous talents to AU for twenty years now, said: “Elected officials across the country should follow the wise example Brevard County has now set by ensuring that no one is denied an opportunity to solemnize governmental meetings because of their beliefs about religion.”

How about that, friend – three pieces of good news; three steps forward for religious freedom; three more reasons to feel proud of our continued work to protect the separation of religion and government. Do you have any good news to share with me? After such a rocky start to 2021, I’d love to hear from you about anything that went right for you or your loved ones recently.

Thank you so much for being with us always – in good times and bad.

With hope and determination,