![]() and criminalization abroad.”ĪDF has repeatedly disputed the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “hate group” designation as “a lie” and criticized news organizations, including ABC News, who make reference to it. The progressive Southern Poverty Law Center added ADF in 2016 to its “designated hate group” list, which includes a number of right-wing evangelical organizations, for what SPLC calls its “anti-LGBT ideology.” The SPLC said ADF “works to develop ‘religious liberty’ legislation and case law that will allow the denial of good and services to LGBT people on the basis of religion” and “has supported the recriminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. In a recent appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Phillips defended his actions: “I don’t believe that Jesus would have made a cake, if he would have been the baker,” he said. Supreme Court recently agreed to review the Phillips case. Alan Sears, ADF’s longtime president, CEO and general counsel, cowrote a book in 2003 called "The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Liberty Today," in which he argued that the repeal of anti-sodomy laws would lead to a roll back of "laws against pedophilia, sex between close relatives, polygamy, bestiality and all other distortions and violations of God’s plan.”ĪDF lawyers have argued several cases before the Supreme Court and are currently representing Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who is challenging the state’s nondiscrimination protections after he was found in violation of the law for refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in 2012. Societal gains by LGBT people have long been in the group’s sights, however. Since then, ADF has established itself as a leading litigation and appellate advocacy group for Christian right causes, including opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, and social conservatives hail the group as champions of religious freedom. The Department of Justice did not indicate that it consulted any LGBT rights groups, however.ĪDF was founded in 1994 by a group of leading Christian evangelical leaders, including James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and Larry Burkett of Crown Financial Ministries. The Department of Justice did not respond to questions for this article but told reporters Sessions consulted more than a dozen different religious groups from across the political spectrum, including the ACLU Project on Religion and Belief, American Center for Law and Justice, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Joint Committee, Becket Law, Center for Islam and Religious Freedom, First Liberty, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Hindu American Foundation, Interfaith Alliance, LDS Church, Muslim Advocates, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Orthodox Union, Sikh Coalition, Southern Baptist Convention ERLC and U.S. ![]() ![]() “I commend the president for taking another step to honor his campaign promise to make religious liberty his ‘first priority’ by directing the Department of Justice to issue this guidance, which simply directs the federal government to adhere to its legal and constitutional obligation to respect existing religious freedom protections,” wrote Farris in a statement. In a call with reporters, ADF senior counsel Greg Baylor confirmed to ABC News that Sessions met with the group during a series of so-called “listening sessions” convened by the Attorney General, who says he was “seeking suggestions regarding the areas of federal protection for religious liberty most in need of clarification or guidance.”ĪDF CEO Michael Farris, who took over in January, also lauded President Donald Trump for fulfilling a campaign promise. — - Attorney General Jeff Sessions consulted Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy group that champions conservative Christian causes, ahead of issuing controversial guidance to government agencies and departments on Friday about how to interpret federal religious liberty protections.Īlliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a group whose stated mission is to “keep the doors open for the Gospel by advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family,” hailed Sessions’ announcement, while a number of leading LGBT advocacy groups condemned the move for effectively offering a religious exemption for sexual orientation discrimination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |