Americans United’s Religious Right opponents love to make false accusations against us. One of their frequent claims is that we seek to sanitize the public square by removing all traces of religion. Read more
Some of the good citizens of DeLand, Fla., aren’t very happy with Americans United right now.
Recently, AU attorneys wrote to officials in the town of about 27,000 after we received a complaint about the city seal, which features a prominent cross. The story ended up in the media and has stirred up some of the community’s residents. AU has been on the receiving end of their wrath. Read more
For years, anti-public school interest groups that favor privatization schemes have smacked their lips and salivated as they’ve contemplated the demise of public education.
But a funny thing happened: The people who actually rely on public education – America’s parents – aren’t buying it. Read more
Government officials have an obligation to represent all of us, no matter what their personal religious beliefs may be.
Occasionally some officials lose sight of this fact. It happened in Vero Beach, Fla., recently with near-disastrous results for Mayor Craig Fletcher.
During a meeting of the city council, members of the Humanists of the Treasure Coast asked that the council officially recognize Humanist Recognition Week. Such requests are pretty routine and are normally granted without much fanfare. Read more
By the end of the month, the courthouse in Bradford County, Fla., will be home to a large granite bench covered with quotes from famous skeptics and atheists.
How did this happen? Is Bradford County some sort of hotbed of atheism? Read more
As many of you know, the U.S. Supreme Court decided last week that it will hear an appeal of an Americans United case challenging Christian prayers before meetings of the Greece, N.Y., Town Board. Read more
A six-year battle in federal court over the fate of a Ten Commandments monument at a Florida courthouse has come to an end.
Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice M. Paul granted a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union to voluntarily dismiss the ACLU of Florida v. Dixie County case because its plaintiff was no longer planning to move to Dixie County. Thus the plaintiff had no legal standing to challenge the six-ton granite monument, the Ocala Star-Banner reported. Read more
Americans United chapters in Florida have asked lawmakers to reject legislation intended to marginalize Muslims.
SB 58 appears on paper to merely forbid Florida’s courts from enforcing foreign laws. In reality, however, critics say it is an attempt to validate claims that Americans are in danger of falling under the domination of Islamic shariah law. Read more
The Republican Party is meeting in Tampa this week to formally nominate Mitt Romney as its presidential candidate. The convention was supposed to get under way today, but there’s a big problem: Tropical Storm Isaac. Florida officials have declared a state of emergency as the storm, which is expected to be a Category 2 hurricane by the time it makes landfall, bears down on the Gulf Coast.
This had led several people to ask: Why is Pat Robertson sitting on his hands? Read more
