Protecting Pastors

Weve dispatched ACLJ Senior Counsel Vince McCarthy to California on a very important constitutional issue.  As Im sure you are aware, right now a federal court trial is going on regarding Californias Proposition 8.  The citizens of California passed Proposition 8 last year in order to define marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.  This Proposition was passed according to popular vote and California law.  A challenge has been raised against the constitutionality of Proposition 8, and that action is currently pending in federal court.

One of my major concerns on this whole issue has been the utilization of courts to intimidate the voices of pastors into silence.  The idea that pastors cannot address contemporary cultural issues from a biblical worldview is repugnant to everything the Constitution stands for.  Our Founders would be horrified to see pastors being subpoenaed to appear in federal court to defend their positions and to give information regarding their associations, their sermons, and even their sermon notes.  This is precisely what is transpiring in the U.S. District Court in California.

A team of ACLJ lawyers led by Vince McCarthy are representing these pastors who have been subpoenaed to appear in this trial.  We have filed motions to quash the subpoenas, as well as motions for protective orders.  We filed a motion for protective orders to protect the pastors ability to preach according to the dictates of their conscience and consistent with their biblical worldview.  We cannot sit idle allowing pastors to be intimidated into silence and feel threatened by the judiciary.

The hearing is scheduled for this Friday in the U.S. District Court.  Our team is already in place in California and has been preparing for the arguments, as well as preparing the necessary briefs.  If we are not successful in obtaining the protective order and a motion to quash the subpoenas, we will immediately file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and to the Supreme Court of the United States if necessary.

As Ive said, the hearings are scheduled for this Friday and we will keep everyone updated.  Rest assured, our ACLJ team is working tirelessly to protect these pastors and their constitutional rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association.