Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel
3/22/2011
Liberty Counsel has just received great news from
Santa Rosa County, Florida! A federal court has
halted the School District there and the ACLU from
violating the constitutional rights of school
employees, who certainly DO NOT lose their
constitutional rights as a precondition to receiving
a government paycheck! Please read my important
message about this pivotal case below - Mat.
Conservatives,
Federal District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers just granted
in part a Preliminary Injunction (PI) in favor of 24
Liberty Counsel clients and granted our request to hear
their remaining complaints!
As I have been sharing for several months, we have
gone on the offense against the ACLU and their
shameful attempts to CRIMINALIZE common expressions
of the Christian faith. Their strategy in Santa
Rosa County was a prototype of a tactic they would
like to deploy throughout the nation - but citizens
like you and me refused to allow this outrage!
Judge Rodgers' injunction has dealt a major blow against the
ACLU-crafted Consent Decree that illegally infringed on
religious expression and was being enforced by the Santa
Rosa County School Board in Northwest Florida.
The Consent Decree itself is outrageous and blatantly
unconstitutional. It literally attempted to make the
practice of Christianity a criminal offense! As you
no doubt remember, the ACLU attempted to use it to
punish and even jail local school administrators and
staff for merely praying over a meal!
As you may also recall, after vindicating the school
employees who were charged with criminal contempt for
praying over a meal, Liberty Counsel filed suit to
invalidate the unconstitutional Consent Decree. The
School District then joined hands with the ACLU in
defending the Consent Decree, and both asked the Court
to dismiss Liberty Counsel's lawsuit.
Judge Rodgers refused to dismiss the case, and instead
stopped the school and the ACLU in their tracks! A trial
on the merits will now occur in mid-summer.
This is a tremendous victory, even though we have
yet to go to trial. Think what this will mean to
employees and students alike during the upcoming
2011 graduation season!
Due in large part to our many friends' financial and
prayer support, I am thrilled that the Liberty Counsel
litigation team has been able to continue successfully
defending religious freedom in this case! Thank God,
we were able to persuade the federal court to STOP the
ACLU's and the School District's bullying.
++On another front: More good news!
Because of Liberty Counsel's intervention in a rural
Virginia school district, the Floyd County High School
administration reversed an earlier decision to ban
students from displaying the Ten Commandments on the
face of their lockers.
Students originally posted the Ten Commandments on their
lockers as a sign of solidarity with the students at
nearby Giles County High School, where the district
forbade Ten Commandments displays after threat of a
lawsuit.
Upon hearing of this misguided action, Liberty
Counsel sent a letter to the Floyd County High
School administration, requesting immediate
reversal of their censorship of religious material
posted by students. We gave school officials two
weeks to reverse course or face a federal lawsuit!
As a result, Floyd County High School officials
DID change their policy and will now allow students
to display the Ten Commandments on their personal
lockers without threat or intimidation.
I applaud the Floyd County school officials for doing
the right thing, but I'm especially proud of the
students who recognized that their rights had been violated.
In spite of the ACLU's efforts to criminalize religious
expression and spreading disinformation to school
administrators, there is a crucial difference between
"government speech" endorsing religion and "student speech"
endorsing religion!
While a school could prohibit ALL stickers on student
lockers, school officials cannot selectively
discriminate against religious viewpoints, while
allowing other secular viewpoints to be posted.
Correcting misinformation and false perceptions is just
one of the ways my team helps protect citizens' religious
liberties and freedom of speech.
++The good news in Florida and the victory in Virginia are
typical of Liberty Counsel's impact on our culture.
Liberty Counsel is now fully engaged in
confronting three major attacks on the rights of every
American, including yours and your loved ones'.
We are challenging the disastrous provisions and
unconstitutional mandates of ObamaCare... stopping pro-
homosexual activists from overwhelming the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA)... and stopping the ACLU from
"criminalizing" Christianity.
Liberty Counsel MUST be able to answer the call on these and
other fronts as they arise!
Liberty Counsel does not charge clients, like those
in Santa Rosa County, Florida, or Floyd County,
Virginia, for legal assistance in areas like
religious liberty, the sanctity of human life,
and the family.
Your financial support will help keep our legal team engaged
in stopping the ACLU from criminalizing Christianity,
defeating ObamaCare, defending DOMA, and in good shape
to meet the many other challenges 2011 will bring! Please
consider a special gift to Liberty Counsel to meet this
critical need by going here:
http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=38863&CID=330&RID=27185727
March 23rd is the unhappy anniversary of ObamaCare being
signed into law. It has been a tumultuous year in fighting
the implementation of this disaster, to say the least.
Right now my team and I are now just weeks away
from a major showdown with Attorney General Eric
Holder's Department of Justice (DOJ) at the Fourth
Circuit Court of Appeals over the constitutionality
of the personal "mandates" contained in ObamaCare.
Our May presentation is critical because it lays the groundwork
for what will likely be the final argument before the
United States Supreme Court. And it is imperative that my
team successfully anticipates the Department of Justice's
counter offensive.
That's why our lawsuit against ObamaCare is so
vitally important to EVERY citizen of the United
States. That's also why your support of our lawsuit
is so crucial.
++Liberty Counsel defending DOMA.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the outrageous announcement by
the Obama Administration that they refuse to defend the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), pro-homosexual activists
are pushing forward as many legal actions as possible,
as quickly as possible!
Already, a large portion of Liberty Counsel's
litigation docket is composed of cases related
to pro-homosexual efforts to redefine marriage.
I will not back down from the mission I know God
has called Liberty Counsel to undertake - to stand
in resolute defense of liberty, life, and family!
And that most certainly includes fighting for the
sanctity of marriage!
Right now, we are battling cases and public policy in the
courts, legislatures, and many other public forums across
our nation. We are truly at the epicenter of the battle
for the soul of America!
Our caseload and budget are now stretched far beyond
what I could have envisioned this early in the year.
Will you prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible gift
right now so our team can continue to fight against the
rise of Big Government, radical pro-homosexual forces,
anti-faith initiatives, the attacks of the ACLU, and the
activities of other radical legal groups?
Click here to support Liberty Counsel's efforts to restore
the culture by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity
of human life, and the family:
http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=38864&CID=330&RID=27185727
PLEASE consider undergirding our upcoming hearing at the
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals concerning our lawsuit
against ObamaCare... our trial against the ACLU and its
detestable attack on religious freedom in Northwest Florida...
and our many fights with pro-homosexual radicals in defense
of marriage. And please reflect upon the fact that all of
these battles will have enormous national implications,
including in YOUR community!
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I pray
you can step forward to help right now, even if you have
done so before...even recently. Our heritage of liberty
in America is literally at stake!
THANK YOU in advance and may God abundantly bless you!
Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel
P.S. Our caseload is growing and our resources are
understandably stretched. If you can financially help
Liberty Counsel right now, I would be deeply grateful!
Once again, go here to donate:
http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=38865&CID=330&RID=27185727
No comments:
Post a Comment