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Free speech advocates join open letter to Elon Musk seeking support for victims muzzled by government

WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom client Lorie Smith, owner of 303 Creative, and ADF General Counsel Kristen Waggoner WHAT: Speaking at a press conference led by Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Doug Lamborn on Smith’s free speech lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court, 303 Creative v. Elenis WHEN: Thursday, June 9, beginning at 12 p.m. EDT WHERE: House Triangle, U.S. Capitol, Washington ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Other speakers confirmed to speak include U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and James Lankford and U.S. Reps. Vicki Hartzler and Debbie Lesko. To schedule an interview with Smith or Waggoner, contact ADF ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor regarding Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s signing Friday of HB 1063, a bill that clarifies that, under certain commonwealth statutes, the definition of “religion” includes not just belief but expression and action as well: “All Americans are guaranteed the right to free speech and the free exercise of religion. Government officials have a duty to protect and promote these freedoms. HB 1063 provides a necessary and helpful clarification in the law to help ensure Virginians won’t face ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch regarding a friend-of-the-court brief ADF attorneys filed Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Villarreal v. City of Laredo on behalf of Young America’s Foundation to protect free speech by eliminating government officials’ immunity from liability when they clearly violate a citizen’s First Amendment rights: “Government officials, from college administrators to police officers, must be held accountable for unconstitutional or illegal ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake regarding President Joe Biden’s executive order issued Wednesday that villainizes and grossly misrepresents religious Americans and others holding to commonsense American values and violates their constitutionally and legally protected freedoms: “Every American is protected under the Constitution to freely live and work according to their religious beliefs, and President Biden can’t remove those fundamental rights with a stroke of his pen. It is a gross overreach of his authority, for example ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Roger Brooks regarding the Waukesha County Circuit Court’s decision Wednesday to deny Kettle Moraine School District’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the school district by two sets of Wisconsin parents: “Parents’ rights to direct the upbringing, education, and mental health treatment of their children is one of the most basic constitutional rights every parent holds dear, yet we are seeing more and more school districts across the country not only ignoring parents’ concerns but actively working ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision Thursday in Lane v. Franks, which affirmed that the First Amendment protects the speech of public employees outside the workplace on matters of public concern: “No one should be fired or suffer other kinds of retaliation for speech outside the workplace, especially when that person is testifying truthfully in court, as Mr. Lane was. We see all too often that public universities and colleges place political litmus tests on employees. But as ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley regarding the city of Houston’s preliminary response Friday to an ADF motion to quash the city’s request for the sermons and communications of pastors in Woodfill v. Parker: “The city of Houston still doesn’t get it. It thinks that by changing nothing in its subpoenas other than to remove the word ‘sermons’ that it has solved the problem. That solves nothing. Even though the pastors are not parties in this lawsuit, the subpoenas still demand from them 17 different categories of information – ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb regarding a friend-of-the court brief ADF attorneys submitted on behalf of medical professionals and scientists arguing that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit should reverse the lower court decision in Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County: “School policies should help students and protect all students’ privacy, not disregard the privacy rights of many. But if gender identity advocates have their way, St. Johns’ schools will be forced to violate students’ privacy and cooperate ...

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom President, CEO, and General Counsel Michael Farris regarding a letter he e-mailed to Amazon Thursday regarding the company’s reliance on the Southern Poverty Law Center to remove ADF as a charitable organization in the AmazonSmile program: “To justify removing ADF from the AmazonSmile program, Amazon is hiding behind the Southern Poverty Law Center, a discredited fundraising group that fills its ever-increasing coffers by attacking veterans, Catholics, Muslims who oppose terrorism, and even nuns. SPLC is not a neutral watchdog ...