News from the Week Aug. 22 - Aug. 26, 2022
Friend:
The shadow network. You heard us talk about it in the midst of our Supreme Court battles last term: the shadow network of religious extremist groups and their political allies who are behind so many attacks on church-state separation. They’ve had a billion-dollar war chest that funds their efforts to roll back abortion rights, LGBTQ equality, public education, progress toward racial justice and so many other rights and freedoms we hold dear.
Well, one of the most obscure organizations in that shadow network just received a $1.6 billion donation. One donation. The New York Times this week reported that a little-known conservative benefactor donated more than one-and-a-half-billion dollars to a murky, newish, dark-money group run by Leonard Leo—the architect of the Federalist Society’s strategy to create the current ultra-conservative bloc of Supreme Court justices. Leo is the man Justice Clarence Thomas referred to as “the No. 3 most powerful person in the world.” Read this article here: [link removed]
Details are scant on the mission of Leo’s “Marble Freedom Trust,” but the Times noted that groups affiliated with Leo in the past two years have spent money on fights to restrict abortion access, confirm conservative judges to the federal courts and erect hurdles to voting access. Leo-linked groups spent $540 million packing the Supreme Court between 2014 and 2020. This latest donation to Leo’s crusade is thought to be the biggest single donation to a political nonprofit—ever.
This news drives home the challenge before us. Americans United is planning a campaign to launch a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. For too long, Americans have taken for granted this foundational principle that is the keystone to protecting freedom and equality for all of us.
And much as Leo did at the Federalist Society, WE need to build toward the future—equipping the leaders who will drive AU and our allies’ work forward. That’s why we are dedicated to youth outreach and leadership efforts like the new Legal Academy, our Youth Organizing Fellowship program and next year’s Summit for Religious Freedom.
Learn more about AU's Legal Academy: [link removed]
Learn more about AU's Youth Organizing Fellowship: [link removed]
Learn more about next year's Summit for Religious Freedom: [link removed]
To highlight our commitment to our mission, this summer we launched the Next Generation Fund—an initiative focused on building a new generation of lawyers, advocates and policymakers who will fight to advance and protect the separation of church and state for years to come. Through a gracious matching gift from Barbara Meislin, any gift to this campaign from now to the end of the year will be matched up to $250,000. To read more about these initiatives and to support the Next Generation Fund, click here: [link removed]
Our fight won’t be easy. Or fast. Or cheap. But it isn't a fight we can afford to shy away from. And to win, we will need you by our side—supporting us, sharing our message and helping us grow the AU network. AU will never stop fighting for everyone’s right to live as themselves and believe, or not, as they choose—just as we’ve done for the past 75 years.
With hope and determination,
Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO
DONATE » [link removed]
An Austin Volunteer Fire Department Chaplain Is Suing Over His Dismissal. The Answer Is To Abolish Department Chaplains.
Alliance Defending Freedom’s latest faux victim is a former volunteer fire department chaplain who was let go after he blogged anti-trans comments. Let’s put aside the question of whether someone can be “fired” from a volunteer position. The more compelling question is why does the Austin Fire Department have chaplains to begin with?
READ MORE » [link removed]
Trump-Era Policies That Undermine Religious Freedom Still Exist. Americans United Is Targeting Them.
While the federal regulatory and rulemaking process may seem arcane, it’s an important way to influence policy and advance church-state separation. Recently, AU weighed in on two sets of regulations that federal agencies are currently working to update, including the rules in nearly every federally funded social service program and in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
READ MORE » [link removed]
Kansas Residents Voted To Protect Abortion Rights By A Lopsided Margin. Conspiracy Theorists Demanded A Recount Anyway.
When Kansans voted to retain language in their state constitution that protects abortion access, the outcome wasn’t close—59% of voters affirmed abortion rights. But some conspiracy theorists are asking for a recount anyway.
READ MORE » [link removed]
A Texas School District Is ‘Reviewing’ Banned Books—Including The Bible:
A Fort Worth-area school district decided to pull any book that has been challenged within the past year from classrooms and school libraries for “review,” including a graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary, all versions of the Bible and numerous books with LGBTQ+ themes or characters.
READ MORE » [link removed]
Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
Find additional details and a full list of events at [link removed]
Sept. 17, 7 p.m. ET (Virtual): “An American Muslim Perspective on Religion, Politics, Patriotism and Patriarchy,” featuring Ameena Mirza Qazi, the co-director of the Peace and Justice Law Center and former deputy executive director and staff attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter. Presented by AU’s Orange County, Calif., Chapter. Sign up here: [link removed]
Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET (Virtual): “Voter Suppression: Christian Nationalism's Attempts to Control Who Votes,” featuring AU VP of Strategic Communications Andrew L. Seidel and journalist Sarah Posner. Presented by AU’s Greater Houston Chapter. Sign up here: [link removed]
Like Us On Facebook: [link removed]
Follow Us On Twitter: [link removed]
Follow us On Instagram: [link removed]
DONATE » [link removed]
Copyright © 2022
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
1310 L Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC xxxxxx
www.au.org
unsubscribe: [link removed]
Update your information: [link removed]
Privacy policy: www.au.org/about/privacy-policy
Donate: [link removed]
