2017 Victories: Christian Judicial Nominees Overcome Vile Attacks in the Senate

This is the latest installment in a year-end series looking back at a few of the numerous victories by the ACLJ in 2017.

This year, in response to the Left's reprehensible religious inquisition of Christian judges, the ACLJ took direct action to defend them against the Senate’s overt discriminatory attacks.

At the center of the latest Senate confirmation-of-federal-judges storm was the President’s nominee to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Professor Amy Barrett. Exceptionally qualified and having clerked for the late Justice Scalia, leftist Senators questioned her fitness to serve because of her "religious beliefs." Senator Durbin released a volley of anti-Christian rhetoric toward President Trump's judiciary nominee for living out her Christian faith while Senator Feinstein viciously attacked, "The dogma lives loudly within you."

The Constitution is clear: "no religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office.” Thus, being a Christian should NEVER disqualify one from being a judge. The anti-Christian bigotry unleashed by the U.S. Senate toward Professor Barrett was not only chilling, it was unconstitutional. The ACLJ – not willing to let the most disturbing display of anti-Christian bigotry ever witnessed in the Senate go down without a fight – aggressively battled to ensure that Professor Barrett, and judicial nominees liker her, was confirmed.

More than 185,000 of you signed our petition to “Stop Senate Bigotry Against Christian Judges.” The Senate heard your voices, and in a clear rebuke of this unconstitutional anti-Christian bigotry, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Professor Barrett. As a result of this important vote, she is now Judge Barrett of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a related victory, the Senate heard our demand for action and reform and is ending the abuse of an archaic curtsey that has been misused by the left to block conservative federal judicial nominees from ever getting a vote, or even a hearing. Referred to as the Senate “blue slip,” this informal Senate “courtesy” – not found in the Constitution – allows home state Senators to weigh in during the confirmation process on their opinion of the nominee from their state. Over time, this courtesy was given greater deference to the extent that one Senator could veto the entire democratic process. The ability for one Senator to wield veto power is no more.

We’ve taken direct action to defend Christian judges, and with your support, we will continue to fight anti-Christian bigotry wherever it may rear its ugly head in our government.

To help the ACLJ continue to have the resources we need to make these victories possible and continue these fights, please consider making a Tax-Deductible donation to the ACLJ through our year-end Matching Challenge. Your gift will be DOUBLED dollar-for-dollar through the end of the year.

You can read more in the ACLJ’s 2017 Victories series here.

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