I wanted to take a few moments to update you regarding a number of special projects that I am working on. Last Friday I was in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia concerning an important case involving protecting the integrity of Christian worship services. Those who oppose the Gospel message often will go to great lengths to try to disrupt services. Weve seen this in the context of the protests at military funerals and weve also seen it at actual church worship services. Were in federal court defending the integrity of Christian worship services. Those who would like to disrupt worship services hide under the protection of the First Amendment; but the First Amendment does not allow individuals to disrupt worship services or funerals. It does not give individuals the ability to protest at any time, at any place, and in any manner no matter how disruptive. I expect a resolution of this particular case in the next ten days and will keep everybody posted.
Today I am flying to Washington, DC, as the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation. To see a copy of our amicus brief, simply click here. This particular case is a challenge by an aggressive organization known as the Freedom From Religion Foundation. This group goes so far as to publish warning stickers that they encourage to be placed on Bibles in hotel rooms. They take an extreme view of separation of church and state and have challenged the Presidents Faith-Based Office. This is an important Supreme Court case, and I will be bringing a video email update from the Supreme Court of the United States to our members and friends around the country. If you are not receiving our email updates, please click here and sign up for the latest updates (click "Go" by Email Address in top right corner) so we can add you to our growing email list.
Also later this week, we will have the first hearings on the Lobbying Reform Legislation. Im meeting with Congressman Trent Franks (AZ) and others to prepare for hearings that are anticipated to begin on Thursday. A prohibition on grassroots lobbying would actually mandate that churches, organizations like Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the American Center for Law & Justice not be allowed to petition the government for redress of a grievance. Thus, if the Congress was moving legislation forward on partial-birth abortion, we would not be allowed to communicate without registering as lobbyists. This restriction is, in our view, not only unconstitutional but is also unwise. The first set of hearing will begin on Thursday, and we will keep you posted. Our Government Affairs office is working on this, and as mentioned, I will be meeting with members of the House as this issue is debated.
Next week, we will be focusing in on the issue of Planned Parenthood funding. Jordan Sekulow, our Deputy Director of Government Affairs, has received word that Planned Parenthood is actually asking for additional revenue. Currently, they receive $265 million a year. Apparently, thats not enough so theyre requesting more.
On March 11, I will be traveling with a group of our most senior attorneys to Israel, where we are working on a very important project at the highest government levels. We believe that our work in Israel and the Middle East is part of our overall mission to ensure that freedom and liberty are deemed to be God-given, inalienable rights. We are taking a group of ACLJ friends and supports to Israel from June 21st through July 1st. This is going to be an incredible trip! Not only are we going to the key biblical sites, but also meeting with government officials, military leaders and others to get first-hand experience of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. For information about this trip, please click here.
As you can see, March is going to be a very busy month for us at the American Center for Law & Justice as well as for our European affiliates. Please keep us in your prayers.
