Americans United for Separation of Church and State, joined by 12 religious and civil-rights organizations, late yesterday urged a federal appeals court to affirm a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s new rules that would allow employers and universities to cite religious or moral objections as justification to deny employees and students insurance coverage for contraceptives.
An Important Win For Gavin Grimm – And Transgender Rights – In Virginia
The Do No Harm Act Protects Religious Freedom And Equal Protection Under Law
Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) today introduced the Do No Harm Act in the U.S. Senate. The bill honors two core American values: religious freedom and equal protection of the law. And it couldn’t be more important right now.
Americans United Welcomes Introduction Of Do No Harm Act In U.S. Senate
An Oregon Public School Is Accused Of Discriminating Against LGBTQ Kids And Forcing A Student To Read The Bible
Oregon’s Department of Education (ODE) is investigating disturbing reports of potential violations of religious freedom and LGBTQ rights at a public high school. For us at Americans United, the implication that North Bend High School staff may have been using their personal religious beliefs to determine how they treat LGBTQ students is particularly alarming.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin Has Signed Two Bills That Undermine Religious Freedom
On Friday evening, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed two bills that undermine religious freedom: SB 1140, which allows state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents, and HB 2177, which authorizes every government building and public school to display the Ten Commandments.
Americans United Denounces Oklahoma Gov. Fallin’s Signing Of SB 1140, A Discriminatory Adoption Bill
Oklahoma Gov. Fallin Should Listen to Faith Leaders And Advocates Who Say: Put Kids First
Oklahoma’s state legislature recently passed a bill, SB 1140, that would allow state-funded child-placing agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents. This bill allows foster care and adoption agencies to refuse to perform, assist or participate in any child placement in the name of religion. So that means religious child placement agencies could turn away prospective parents who want to provide kids with a loving, stable home because they’re a same-sex couple, interfaith, previously divorced, or the “wrong religion.”
New Poll Shows Americans Believe That Public Businesses Should Be Open To All
According to a new Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey, the majority of Americans oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people in the name of religion, and more Americans are welcoming of marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
The Fight To Preserve Religious Freedom For All
In the Last Moments Of Their Legislative Sessions, Kansas And Oklahoma Put Religious Discrimination Ahead Of Kids
State legislatures in both Kansas and Oklahoma passed bills last Thursday (Senate Bill 284 in Kansas and Senate Bill 1140 in Oklahoma) that would allow state-funded child-placing agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents.
Trump’s New ‘Religious Freedom’ Order Actually Undermines That Principle
In honor of the National Day of Prayer, President Donald Trump, with his Evangelical Advisory Board by his side, held a ceremony in the Rose Garden and signed an “Executive Order on the Establishment of a White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.” Under the guise of religious freedom, this executive order further entrenches the administration’s policies to allow religion to discriminate.
Kansas' Child-Welfare System Is In Crisis, But Legislators Are Making It Even Harder For Kids To Find Homes
In Kansas, dozens of foster children are spending their nights not in warm beds in safe homes, but on couches and cots in child welfare offices run by state contractors. These children need loving foster and adoptive families to provide the care they need. Yet, in spite of this crisis, Kansas legislators are trying to make it harder for these children to find families who can give them warm, safe beds.
Have You Or A Loved One Ever Been Discriminated Against Because Of Someone Else’s Religion? We Want To Hear Your Story.
Someone Else’s Religion Should Have No Power To Make You Invisible
Religious Right groups have worked hard to make the owner of the Colorado bakery that turned away Craig and Mullins into a victim of persecution and a hero. He is neither. He’s simply a person who wants to take an entire segment of our population and treat them poorly because of his narrow interpretation of a religious book.
Oklahoma Adoption Agencies Should Focus On Children And Reject Discrimination
Tomorrow, an Oklahoma House committee will take up Senate Bill 1140, a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care entities to deny kids good homes in the name of religion.
Notre Dame’s Latest Decision Denies Students Their Right To Contraception
One Of More Than 200,000 Stories Explaining Why The Trump Administration Must Put Patients First
Time Is Running Out: Tell Trump Administration A Patient’s Health Should Always Come First
If you think that healthcare providers should always put patients first and that providers’ religious beliefs should never dictate patient care, we need you to tell the Trump administration today.
50th Anniversary Of Supreme Court Decision Reminds Us That Religious Freedom Is About Fairness
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises, a landmark case in which the US Supreme Court held that a restaurant owner did not have a religious right to turn away black customers.