News from the Week Jan. 30- Feb. 3, 2023
Friend:
It’s really nice to pause at the end of each week and reflect on what AU and our supporters accomplished. Sometimes we reach a big milestone – like filing our lawsuit challenging Missouri’s abortions bans last month. And sometimes it’s under-the-radar efforts to move the needle on a particular issue.
But whatever happens in any given week, I’m always amazed at the breadth and depth of the experience and knowledge of AU’s team when it comes to church-state separation and all of the many issues that connect with it. This past week is a perfect example:
— On Monday, we applauded the Biden administration for proposing critical changes to the Trump-era birth control rules that had allowed employers and universities to cite religious or moral beliefs to deny birth control access to workers and students ([link removed]). We’ve been fighting these rules in court since they were proposed five years ago, and they’re one of several Trump-era policies we’ve been successful in urging the Biden administration to roll back.
— Also on Monday, we filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a federal case involving yet another wedding services business, this time a photography business in Kentucky that wants to misuse religious freedom as a license to discriminate against LGBTQ customers ([link removed]). Our brief, joined by 15 religious and civil-rights organizations, explains that anti-discrimination laws protect religious freedom for everyone and focuses on religious minorities and the nonreligious.
— The next morning we sent a meticulously detailed legal memo to Oklahoma officials urging them to disregard bad advice from a lame-duck attorney general who wrongly opined that the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board should allow public charter schools to indoctrinate their students in religion ([link removed]). Public schools are not and should not be Sunday Schools! We explained that the former AG’s opinion is a radical departure from well-established law. We’ll be monitoring this situation closely, as the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City applied earlier this week to run a virtual public charter school.
And that doesn’t even include the recent appellate brief we filed ([link removed]) in our client Shelly Fitzgerald’s civil-rights case in Indiana, our work to fight private school vouchers ([link removed]) and other dangerous bills in states across the country, monitoring Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast ([link removed]), and ramping up preparations for our inaugural Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) on April 22-24 (please register now to join us in Washington, D.C., or virtually: [link removed])
I’m so proud of all that our team accomplishes every day to defend the separation of church and state. And I’m beyond grateful to have your support as we work toward a country that realizes freedom without favor and equality without exception.
With hope and determination,
Rachel K. Laser
President and CEO
DONATE » [link removed]
In The Future, Let’s Skip This Breakfast.
Everything the National Prayer Breakfast represents is contrary to our country’s founding promise of the separation of church and state.
READ MORE>> [link removed]
Join Us For Lobby Day At AU’s Summit For Religious Freedom This April!
Lobby Day will give participants a chance to have face-to-face conversations on Capitol Hill with congressional staff to talk about the importance of church-state separation.
READ MORE>> [link removed]
Wake Up, Parents! Christian Nationalists Are Trying To Take Away Your Child’s Right To Read At School.
Several states have passed laws restricting certain types of material in school libraries or giving parents the power to review – and veto – titles. The result is fewer books on the shelves.
READ MORE>> [link removed]
Contraception, Religious Exemptions And The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing.
The Christian Nationalist agenda seeks to use our court system to dismantle civil liberties and warp religious freedom for all into religious privilege for a select few.
READ MORE>> [link removed]
Get Involved—Check Out AU’s Upcoming Events:
Find additional details and a full list of events at [link removed]
Feb. 12, 11 a.m. ET (Virtual & In Person): “Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails? The Real Life Consequences of the End of the Establishment Clause,” featuring AU VP of Outreach & Engagement Brian Silva. Sponsored by the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, N.J. Sign up here: [link removed]
Feb. 18, 7 p.m. ET (Virtual): University of California at Irvine Law School Dean Austen Parrish will talk about the law school and legal education. Sponsored by AU's Orange County, Calif., Chapter. Sign up here: [link removed]
April 22 - April 24 (Virtual & In Person): The Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF) is a collaborative conference that will unify supporters, activists, organizers, policy and legal experts, academics, political and religious leaders, and committed people of faith and of no religion to fight for religious freedom. Sign up here: [link removed]
DONATE » [link removed]
Like Us On Facebook: [link removed]
Follow Us On Twitter: [link removed]
Follow us On Instagram: [link removed]
Follow us On TikTok: [link removed]
Copyright © 2023
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]
