Saying ‘no’ to government censorship
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The government didn’t like what this therapist had to say—you helped protect his freedom
Dear John,
Sometimes it may seem like you only hear serious stories from us about attacks on your religious freedom. But today is different.
Today, we have great news to share—a victory for freedom that you made possible.
The story begins in 2018, when the New York City government passed a law that determined what types of conversations therapists can have with their patients.
The news came as a shock to Dr. Dovid Schwartz.
Dr. Schwartz has been a licensed psychotherapist for more than 50 years. He has served thousands of patients during that time with great success.
But New York City’s law threatened to change all that.
Put simply, the law made it illegal for Dr. Schwartz to help patients address unwanted same-sex attractions or confusion over gender identity in a manner consistent with his faith—and theirs.
Dr. Schwartz is a member of the Lubavitcher Orthodox Jewish Community in Brooklyn. Most of his patients share his Jewish faith.
Dr. Schwartz walks his patients through all kinds of struggles, from addiction to anger to family issues. Most of them are looking for help to live more consistently with the teachings of their Orthodox Jewish faith. By simply having a conversation with his patients—and offering some suggestions—Dr. Schwartz has helped a number of them pursue and achieve their personal goals.
But because of the New York City law, if any of these individuals came to Dr. Schwartz asking him to help them move away from same-sex attraction or feel more comfortable with their biological sex, he would have had to either turn them away or face fines up to $10,000—per patient!
The law was blatantly unconstitutional. It violated Dr. Schwartz’s freedom of speech and threatened the religious freedom of his patients who were seeking to live consistently with their religious beliefs.
Dr. Schwartz knew he could not stand by and tell his patients that he couldn’t help them, or that there was no hope. So he reached out to Alliance Defending Freedom.
Because of your faithful gifts to help fund important cases like this, we were able to help Dr. Schwartz challenge this unconstitutional law in court.
And in an amazing turn of events, Dr. Schwartz’s lawsuit triggered the New York City council to repeal the law. What a win for freedom!
All Americans deserve the right to private conversations free from government control. New York City legislators made it clear that they only repealed the law because of Dr. Schwartz’s lawsuit. They wouldn’t have done it if Dr. Schwartz hadn’t taken a stand.
John, without God’s blessing and your generosity, this victory would not have been possible.
We are so grateful for your faithful prayers and support to help Dr. Schwartz get the strong legal representation he needed, free of charge. Because of you, he was able to protect his patients and stand up to a government that was grossly overstepping its authority.
After all, the government should exist to protect freedom, not take it away.
But across the United States, opponents of religious freedom are doubling down on efforts to attack religious freedom and punish those who dare to live out their faith.
That’s why your gift to stand up to protect religious freedom is urgently needed now.
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There are people out there like Dr. Schwartz who are bravely standing for their faith. But without the generosity of people like you, many of your brothers and sisters would have nowhere to turn when their religious freedom is threatened.
But praise God that because of you, they have hope. They have allies who will stand with them and fight with them.
And when we stand together, we can win. We do win.
Since 2011, you’ve helped secure nine victories at the United States Supreme Court. And together, we’re winning nearly 80 percent of all cases!
But there’s more work to be done.
Thankfully, God continues to use people like you to provide the resources we need to fight back.
With every case you fund, every victory you help achieve, and every client you lift up in prayer, you empower more of your brothers and sisters to stand boldly for faith and freedom.
Not just to fight back—but to win.
Already, a generous family has answered the call and provided a $2 million challenge grant to defend people of faith. They want to inspire you to further the impact for freedom and provide the resources needed to defend those whose religious freedom is in jeopardy.
Will you rise to the challenge with your best gift today?
Thank you for giving generously.
DONATE NOW
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