Members of Congress Stand With ACLJ

In the days ahead, the ACLJ will be filing amicus briefs in two critical cases that are important to you and your family.  In both instances, we will be representing Members of Congress. 

The two issues:  defending the National Day of Prayer before a federal appeals court and challenging the troubling healthcare law by supporting a lawsuit filed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In the first case, we represent more than 60 Members of the both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate in defending the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer.  This case originated in the Western District of Wisconsin when the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed suit claiming that the statute establishing the National Day of Prayer violates the Establishment Clause.  We filed an amicus brief with the federal district court on behalf of 31 Members of Congress led by Rep. Randy Forbes (VA).  Unfortunately, Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in favor of the FFRF, declaring the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.

The case is now on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  We will file an amicus brief soon - asking the appeals court to overturn the federal district court ruling. We will be joined in our brief by more than 60 Members of Congress both Republican and Democrat. 

Our arguments are clear:  the lower court decision is flawed and should be reversed.
 
This is a critically important case to preserve the long and storied tradition of our nation recognizing a day to pray for blessing and favor.  The practice is perfectly consistent with the Establishment Clause, and in fact, James Madison, the author of the Establishment Clause, issued four similar proclamations of prayer.

In the second case, we will be filing an amicus brief representing more than 20 members of Congress in supporting the Commonwealth of Virginias challenge to the recently enactment government takeover of healthcare. 

As you may know, there are two state-initiated lawsuits challenging the new healthcare law.  We will be filing in both cases, but this challenge in Virginia is especially compelling because of the Virginia statute that exempts Virginians from the healthcare bill. 

Our brief will defend Virginias position and protect the rights of individual citizens to make their own decisions about their healthcare.  These decisions should be made between families and their doctors, not the federal government.

This case in Virginia will be the first major showdown on the issue and may very well set the stage concerning the constitutionality of the healthcare law.

The ACLJ continues to move forward in preparing its own lawsuit challenging the healthcare law.

We will keep you posted on all developments involving the National Day of Prayer appeal and the challenges to the government-run healthcare law.