April was another incredibly busy month for the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC).  Indeed, during this month, AFLC filed two new and important federal civil rights lawsuits defending religious freedom and the freedom of speech.As always, we are pleased to report to you each month AFLC’s significant activities and accomplishments, all of which are made possible by your generous support.
- On April 3, AFLC filed a lengthy memorandum of law in opposition to a Buffalo-area school district’s motion to dismiss AFLC’s federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Joelle Silver, a Christian public school teacher who was forced by school officials to censor her personal speech and remove all religious content from her classroom under threat of being fired.  Read more about this case here.
- On April 4, AFLC filed a “Friend of the Court” brief in the United States Supreme Court, urging the Court to review and reverse a Colorado Appellate Court decision which banned the public display of “gruesome” abortion images because they might offend children.  AFLC’s brief was filed on behalf of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. (CBR), a nonprofit, social reform organization that makes extensive use of graphic images of abortion to promote its pro-life policy initiatives.  Read more about AFLC’s brief here.
- On April 8, AFLC filed a notice of appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in response to the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board’s (TTAB) affirmance of the denial of the “Stop Islamisation of America” or “SIOA” trademark application, which was sought by anti-sharia advocates Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.  The trademark application was denied because officials deemed it disparaging to Muslims by linking them to terrorism.  Read more about this case here.
- On April 17, AFLC filed a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, seeking all information tying the radically-Left Southern Poverty Law Center – which negatively profiles AFLC and Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi and other conservatives on its website – to DHS’s efforts to target “rightwing extremists.”  Read more about this case here.
- On April 19, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed into law the American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) legislation, which prohibits the application of foreign law – including, but not limited to sharia – when it would violate fundamental constitutional rights such as due process and equal protection.  The Oklahoma law, like those signed into law in Kansas, Arizona, Tennessee, and Louisiana, and which is pending in dozens of other states, was modeled after legislation drafted by AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi.  Read more about this public policy victory here.
- On April 23, AFLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and its Chief of Police for prohibiting a pro-life advocate from displaying a “Free Ultrasound” sign in his vehicle, which he legally parks on the public street outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Ann Arbor.  AFLC is arguing that the City’s restriction on pro-life speech is unconstitutional. Read more about this case here.
- On April 30, AFLC filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s HHS “contraception” mandate.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Johnson Welded Products, Inc. (“JWP”), a family owned and operated company in Ohio, and its President and principal owner, Ms. Lilli Johnson, a Catholic, who opposes the HHS mandate based on her sincerely-held religious beliefs. Read more about this case here.
- And the list goes on . . . .
Thank you again for all of your support, past and future. Â May God bless you, and May God continue to bless America.