The assaults on religious freedom and church-state separation by the Trump/Pence administration have fired up a base of already passionate Americans United supporters, and they are ready to fight back. This past weekend, I joined AU’s Field team, chapter leaders and supporters from North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee for a two-day training on grassroots organizing.
Vice President Mike Pence will be in Colorado Springs this Friday speaking at an event to mark the 40th anniversary of Focus on the Family (FOF), the fundamentalist Christian family ministry and Religious Right group founded by Dr. James C. Dobson, a child psychologist.
On Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation by laying down their lives to protect our freedoms.
One of those freedoms is the right to worship, or not, as you see fit. It’s ironic, therefore, that increasingly we are seeing examples of sectarian symbols, mainly crosses, being pressed into service as one-size-fits-all memorials for deceased veterans.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has signed what’s being considered a compromise bill to roll back the anti-transgender HB2 “bathroom bill” that sparked controversy nationwide.
The new bill passed the state Senate 32-16 and the House 70-48, and was signed by Cooper on March 30. The compromise, which Cooper said was “the best deal that we could get,” disappointed many pro-LGBTQ rights groups because it does not completely repeal HB2.
Yesterday, reports emerged that President Donald Trump was reviewing the draft of another alarming executive order, one that would roll back existing protections barring discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union, but it has a lot going for it. Its beaches on the Atlantic Ocean draw tourists, and Providence, the largest city and capital, struck me as a pretty vibrant place the one time I visited.
Rhode Island also has a fascinating history, which tourism and marketing officials in the state are wisely using to their advantage.
Yesterday, AU’s Communications Director Rob Boston wrote a blog post about the Religious Right-empowered issues the United States may face if the Trump administration implements some of its campaign’s talking points, and Legislative Director Maggie Garrett discussed the results of some ballot referenda.
In September, a federal appeals court ruled that it is legal for members of the Rowan County, N.C., Board of Commissioners to open its meetings with a public prayer led by a board member.
Rowan County’s not a heavily urban area. It has a population of about 138,000. Not surprisingly, most of the prayers – about 97 percent – have been Christian in nature.
A federal appeals court in September upheld a North Carolina county’s controversial policy on government-sponsored prayer.
In Rowan County, N.C., members of the county board of commissioners open their meetings by leading the board and assembled members of the public in prayer.
Last week, AU Legislative Director Maggie Garrett and I traveled throughout North Carolina to talk with faith leaders about the need to keep faith communities out of partisan politics as well as religious freedom legislation at both the state and federal levels.
We made stops in Greenville, Durham, Charlotte and Asheville. The people of North Carolina, particularly the AU chapter leaders and leaders with the North Carolina Council of Churches with whom we partnered, are incredibly gracious and hospitable. North Carolina is certainly a beautiful state. I loved our time there.
