Transcripts For CSPAN Public 20240703

Alliance defending freedom has spearheaded the fight for religious liberty, free speech, the sanctity of life, marriage, family, and parental rights. They have one many u. S. Supreme court cases including the overturn of roe v. Wade and burro versus hobby lobby. She joined the staff in 2000 12 and is now a key member of the in 2012 and is now a key member of the adf. She protects the freedoms of churches, schools and christian ministries. She has worked on many groundbreaking cases to protect the rights of women and girls to fear electric comp to fear competition. She has regularly commented in radio and print media as an adf commentator. She has been on the district of columbia, u. S. Supreme federal court, and numerous appellate courts. She earned her doctorate in 2010. She graduated first in her class. She has been married for a year and half. She is pregnant with her first child. She is due in the spring. She has been in d. C. For eight years and is heavily involved, especially in womens sports issues. Following todays talk, i hope you will join us for lunch. Please join me in welcoming christiana keeper. Christiana it is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon. Thank you so much for having the and spending time with us today. It is a pleasure to talk about religious liberty cases, especially a number of cases that intersect at the point of gender identity, which is becoming increasingly a conflict across our day and age. I want to reflect on the fact that religious liberty is our first freedom and for good reason. It is the foundation on which a thriving Pluralistic Society and all other civilizations rest. It is more than just the freedom to worship within the concept of your own home and within the halls of your church. It is to have your deeply religious convictions. No one should have to go against core beliefs to go to school, get a job, and participate in the public square. It is not just an american right but an inherent human right we all have by virtue of being created in the image of god and designed to be in a relationship with him. But in an increasingly postchristian and antichristian culture, some questioned whether religious liberty has any virtue. They dont realize it is the buffer that allows us to live peacefully and harmoniously with those who we disagree with rather than under a government imposed orthodoxy. It allows us to say that i disagree with you but i respect your right to hold them, even if i think you are crazy and do not disagree with them do not agree with them at all. I like to think of five quick benefits of religious freedom before the date into cases. It ensures everyone has the freedom to explore the inning of life, who we are, where we come from, what our purpose is, and how we should live as a result of the answers we find. It allows us to order our lives by what we find. To act upon our deepest convictions. Number two, religious freedom contributes to Economic Growth and a healthy society. According to a 2016 study, religion and religious organizations contribute 1. 2 trillion, with a t, dollars annually to the american economy. That is more than the revenue of apple, amazon, and google combined. There is an estimated 300 thousand religious congregations across the United States that operate schools, pregnancy centers, soup kitchens, drug addiction programs, homeless shelters, and adoption agencies. This is well over 70 million americans every year and they do this in a way that has a more everlasting impact and is cheaper than if the government were to do it itself. Religious freedom fosters political stability and strength is national security. History and Current Events show countries that diligently protect religious Liberty Experience less poverty, less war, less violence, and more political stability in countries that do not. Religious freedom empowers women and minority groups. Religious liberty increases the status of women and protections of vulnerable minorities that might otherwise oppressed and silenced. I think that is readily illustrated by afghanistan before the taliban and after. Look at the status of women and their current situation. Religious liberty undergirds our other Civil Liberties and is the Foundation Upon which our other Civil Liberties rest. It is a prerequisite for it. Religious freedom countries are more democratic and how more robust freedoms of speech, freedoms of press, and freedoms of assembly. I witnessed this when i traveled to a Southeast Asian country about 10 years ago to work with a persecuted church in a country with no religious freedom, no economic liberty, no freedom of press or speech, and there women were oppressed. It helps me visualize these effects of not protecting those freedoms. Alleges freedom has been called a canary in a coal mine. When it is under attack, you know other freedoms are under attack as well. Religious freedom is incredibly valuable and worth defending. For many of us, we are doing our daytoday lives and not thinking about the threats to religious ready unless they become personal to us, unless we encounter them in our daytoday lives. If the government passes more laws, it intrudes into more areas that used to be governed by private decisions. There are more and more opportunities for conflict between a person with religious freedom and government mandates and orthodoxy. That is readily illustrated in the area of gender identity today. It is a relatively new phenomenon. But it has had a remarkably fast impact on the current legal landscape across america. My goal today is to highlight a few of the lawsuits that Alliance Defending freedom is currently litigating in the area of religious liberty with the intersection of gender identity, and to talk about the categories of threats and pressure points we are currently seeing to our freedoms. Pressure point number one. It is the right of people to foster and adopt children. There are few religious practices that have distinguished christians for centuries like the practice of caring for children in need. But the ability of christians across america to actually foster and adopt children who need a forever home is being questioned, simply because they hold to a biblical and sexual ethic. Jessica is a widow and mother of five children in each in oregon. She tragically lost her husband in 2017 after a head on collision. It was her faith in god and local community that helped her to whether the tragedy and move forward. One day she was in the car driving to work. She is an ultrasound technician. She heard a Radio Program calling to care for widows and orphans and thought that was something she needed to do. She said she felt like the lord was calling her to do this. She began the process of adoption and was looking for a sibling pair who was nine years old or younger, younger than her youngest biological child. She quickly found out the state of oregon disapproves of her beliefs regarding marriage and human sexuality. According to state rules, anyone seeking to adopt must accept and support the Sexual Orientation and gender identity of any child the state might place in their home. That according to the state of oregon meant the parent must agree to use the childs pronouns, whatever they choose, take a child to pride parade, display lgbtq flags and paraffin area in their home, take them to interventions like with puberty blockers. Things that can permanently sterilize a young child. It also meant she cannot take the child to any religious services if it did not mean unquestioning affirmation of whatever the childs preferences might be. Jessica, of course, as an incredibly capable and loving mother of five children since she would be glad to accept any child for who they are but would not be able to say anything that conflicted with her convictions about marriage and sexuality. She was open to accepting an end fan and any childs age nine and younger. The state of oregon denied her application because of her religious views. Without a specific child in view, the state of oregon to plot gaze an ideological fitness test and declared she was incapable of helping any of the thousands of children in the oregon center. It tries to pair families with children that will be a good fit for each other. It does not require hindu or muslim things in their home. Generally the government will respect the religious and cultural value of the family and child placed in their care. Jessica was not considered capable were qualified to care for a child even from her own religious congregation. We have filed a federal lawsuit on her behalf to protect her religious freedom to adopt and access Adoption Services on the same basis as everyone else, and to ensure children in need have access to an incredibly loving homeland jessica wants to provide for them. The case is still in very early stages that these are becoming increasingly common across the u. S. Category number two. The right of people of faith to participate in the public square, including owning businesses without sacrificing their religious convictions. I hope all of you are familiar with Jack Phillips, a case in colorado, and his Supreme Court victory back in 2018. He declined a samesex wedding cake request and was asked to create a custom designed cake for a samesex ceremony that conflicted with his religious convictions to create. He explained that he would be happy to bake a custom birthday cake or anything else but not a wedding cake. I will sell you anything else in my shop but i cannot do this custom design work for this event because of the message. The couple filed a complaint and the state of colorado prosecuted . Up to the Supreme Court for living within his face. They called his beliefs despicable and thought they were analogous to nazis. Thankfully, the u. S. Supreme court recognized the impermissible religious hostility of the state of colorado towards jack and people like him. They recognize this violated the guarantee of freedom of religion and rolled in his favor with a resounding win. Unfortunately, attacks on him have not stopped. Before he even won his first Supreme Court case, an attorney asked for a custom cake. He specified he wanted it blew on the outside and pink on the inside. He explained that was to celebrate the attorneys gender transition from male to female. Jack respectfully inclined that request because he could not, in good conscience, create the artwork celebrating that message. The attorney took legal action against him not once but twice. This was a targeted attack. The latest lawsuit he is currently facing six monetary damages and attorneys fees from jack. If successful, it would bring about financial ruin for jack and his family. That is absurd and mindboggling. Jack serves everyone. He welcomes people of all backgrounds and face and will gladly serve people from all walks of life. But as a creative professional, which is typical across creative expressions, he cannot express every message requested of him and cannot celebrate every request. He does not create cakes celebrating halloween where violence or antiamerican messages or divorce. Were cakes that denigrate other people. He would not create any of those things and that is his right as a creative professional to make those choices and decisions. He does not deserve the cruelty of over a decade of litigation for trying to peacefully run his business in a way that is consistent with his faith. No american should endure that type of bullying or be banished from the marketplace. In january this year, Colorado Court of appeals ruled against him and said custom artwork is not protected speech. But the colorado Supreme Court this last week has agreed to hear his case. The case ought to be readily dealt with in light of the Supreme Courts recent decision and fabulous win. We will see. I want you to be aware there are numerous creative professional cases pending that need to be resolved. Did you know that you can be kicked out of a Farmers Market for what you believe . Random, right . That happened to the person on this slide. They have a popular business called Country Mills Farm. He and his wife are devout catholics and military veterans. For years, they have taken their produce 22 miles away to the east lansing, michigan Farmers Market where they are a rather popular vendor. They were asked via facebook whether or not they would use Country Mills Farm to host a samesex wedding. They respectfully responded that they would serve everyone and welcome everyone to their farm to pick apples during apple picking season, they would serve everyone at the Farmers Market, but we would have to decline the samesex wedding on our personal, family farm because it convicts it conflicts with our deep convictions. They were exiled from the Farmers Market because of what they believed and how they would operate their personal, family farm. This city went a step further and passed a constitutional policy to ban the family from ever coming back to their Farmers Market. The freedoms representing the family sued the city of east lansing in 2017. We went to trial and over two years later justice moves slowly sometimes the court handed out a decision that it was unconstitutional what the city did in discriminating against the family because of their religious convictions about marriage. In august, a court ruled the Farmers Market must allow them back. Quite excited about that win. Counselors are also at risk in this space. This is brian, a licensed marriage and family counselor in tacoma, washington 10. For over 20 years, he has helped adults, teenagers, and children identify and achieve the goals they set for themselves. Ones that are consistent with the clients own religious and moral convictions. Many of his clients are christians and come from a similar background. Under his guidance, a number of clients have achieved remarkable success in the goals they set. His counseling practice is currently under threat from a state law in washington that allows the government to censor private conversations between a counselor and a counselee. It prohibits any conversations between them that seek to help the client achieve comfort with their biological sex, even for clients who ask for this counseling and desire to achieve this outcome, to bring their hearts and conduct in line with the teachings of their faith. It is illegal. But if you have a client who would like to identify as the opposite sex and was to be flatly affirmed, that does not violate the law. The state of washington approved counselors in only one direction. The law forces brian to censor his own speech and violates his religious freedom, freedom of each, and rights of his counselee to seek what they desire. It threatens up to 5,000 per incident, suspension of practice, and loss of his license. Alliance defending freedom is representing brian. Recently the ninth circuit also rose against us based on five things. They threw out his challenges and said what you are doing is only conduct, not speech, and does not matter. So Alliance Defending freedom has filed a petition with the Supreme Court that should be conferenced today. We hope to hear later today or early next week whether the Supreme Court will take up his case. This is not happening in just the state of washington. All across america, we are seeing increasing government laws being passed that entropy even with private conversations between a counselor and their patient. Category number three, the rights of people of faith to hold jobs and be an oil and volunteer their time. This is dr. Andrew fox. Eight years ago, he created a program at the Austin Fire Department and lead a group of volunteer chapels to serve firefighters, their families, and victims, including those who identify as lgbt as volunteers with no pay. He welcomes and serves everyone and has worked with all people. He had a spotless record and zero complaints. One day, on his personal blog, he sure the fact that men competing in womens sports is unfair due to the biological differences between the sexes that are clear. This is a belief held by why than 70 of the American People across the country held by more than 70 of the American People across the country and is backed up by science and common sense. The Fire Department filed against dr. Andrew fox for holding this belief. It was brought up to peterson and they try to force him to apologize for what he said. He explained it was only to foster conversation and dialogue on this how the debated topic this hotly debated topic that is always in the news. He apologize if anyone was offended by what he said but would not recant what he said. The Fire Department fired him from his position. The city determines anyone who openly holds the belief men and women were different were not eligible for a job with the Fire Department. The city published him from holding a view contrary to his own that was expressed on his own time and own personal blog, and had nothing to do with whether he was capable of serving firefighters and fire victims. Americans should be free to speak freely about their beliefs without the fear of government retaliation. Alliance defending freedom is representing him in a lawsuit against the city of austin to protect his rights. That cases at the District Court in early stages. If any professional would understand the biological differences between these taxes, it might be health care between the sexes, it might be health care. Yet the state of michigan is forcing Health Care Providers ignore biological sex in favor of radical ideology. Christian Health Care Centers has provided highquality, primary health care for people of western michigan including those who cannot afford it. They are delighted to offer services for many who qualify. They treat the whole person and their design is to treat not just physical needs but emotional and spiritual as well. Their doctors and Health Care Providers take time to slow down and talk to patients. In addition to providing topnotch medical care. Michigan courts have recently reinterpreted michigans civil rights law to a Sexual Orientation and gender identity. This means christian Health Care Centers must provide cross programs cross hormones to a child who requests them, even if against their better medical judgment. They must address people with different pronouns even though as a health care professional, they know what youre biological sex is. They must even hire employees that disagree with their faithbased mission. These directly threatened their ability to provide faith and safe and highquality medical care to every person comes through their door. Alliance defending freedom is representing the Christian Health Care Alliance and filed a lawsuit with the District Attorney of michigan and the cases currently pending. The final category i want to mission mention is the right of people to obtain an education and communicate in schools and classrooms on the same basis as everyone else. This is maggie. She is as sweet as she appears in the pictures. She is a recent graduate of Southern Illinois universitys Art Therapy Program. She spent the last three years pursuing a masters degree in art therapy with the goal of one day being able to counsel children who experienced trauma. She posted materials to her social media and sent messages to fellas against, engaged in and class discussions everyone else did, on topics ranging from religion to politics to Critical Race Theory to black lives matter to covid, marxism and censorship, all things she and her classmates were engaging in dialogue together. Her beliefs were informed by her christian and conservative worldview and were often not in line with the predominant orthodoxy of the Art Therapy Program, faculty, and students. Under their antioppressive framework and calls for social justice, her speech was characterized as harmful. The director of the Art Therapy Program encouraged her fellow art students to report her harmful and hateful speech to them, university officials. School officials notified her that three students had taken out no contact orders against her and prohibited her from having any contact or indirect communication and her fellow art therapy students, effectively isolating her in her convictions. She was prevented from speaking to them at their class, jobs in shared buildings, and public spaces under threat. The university gave her no reason why, did not identify a single rule or policy she violated, and did not give her the opportunity to defend herself. Alliance defending freedom attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of maggie against the university. In july of this year, the school saw the writing on the wall and agreed to settle her case. These are not the only cases. There are cases pending that i am aware of with Christian Schools that have been kicked out of their state athletic associations because they will not put their female athletes in a dangerous situation of being forced to compete against a physically superior male who may physically enter that. Churches have been threatened under a number of these nondiscrimination laws with legal action if they operate in things consistent with their belief about marriage and human sexuality. I want to underscore the pressures on religious freedom in america continue to mount. If we want a future that includes a harmonious, Pluralistic Society, we need to defend religious liberty. Not just for ourselves but for those around us as well. Each of the brave clients you saw on screen today never expected or desired to be in litigation. None wanted to get involved. But litigation is one way of Holding Officials Accountable and pushing back against censorship and unjust laws. It is to help them continue operating with their faith and protect the liberty for those in their unity as well. I hope each one of us if called upon will have the kurds to do the same. Thank you so much. [applause] what a great summary. Thank you. It will never hear this on abc, cbs, or cnn. [laughter] it is so shocking and you have probably 100 more you can tell. Christiana this goes on and on. We have time for questions. Raise your hand. Lindsay has the mic. If you would give your name and affiliation. Hello. I am cheryl rhodes. Thank you for your wonderful talk. I am an actress and have been conducting an acting school so you can imagine what has been going on. I lost a client last week because i would not coach an inappropriate script. I am writing to make another call on this. I am working with dr. Ben carson on this animated series, starspangled adventures guest it starspangled adventures. It has been rough. I am just asking in your legal area how storytellers can help in this area. Because that is how the left have made their way through changing the culture. What i want to be able to do, because i am working with producers that are likeminded on freedom of religion we did a whole episode of people came here not for more land but for religious freedom. Of how we can help in anyway to be in this storytelling. It is not a question but an offering. Christiana i cannot tongue him how important Human Interest stories are. We need people who are excellent storytellers to get the information out there. There is a rose human cost to the violation of religious freedom and we need to tell the stories of our suffering and people who have the coverage to stand up not just for themselves but others. I love the phrase courage begets courage. As you see other people speaking out, you see people are more likely to speak out against government overreach. Just last week, i had a girl cry on my shoulder from a strong Christian Family. She said she was identifying as a boy now and she was told her Christian Family would hate her. I said, your family loves you, the teacher does not care about you. Thank you for what you are doing. Christiana absolutely. We are definitely litigating cases i did not have time to get through that include School Districts are changing children behind their parents back. Changing names at school and provide them with access to or above. You cannot get an aspirin without your parents permission but schools are pushing ideology on vulnerable children. It is so important that if you have children in schools that you know what is going on. I was wondering if you could talk about what 303 creative how this gives you hope . It seems like court has been very incrementalist, even with the rolling in jack with Jack Phillips. Why now do you think, if Jack Phillips case reaches the Supreme Court, it would do better now . Christiana you are familiar with the 303 credit creative. Laura from colorado, who is extremely talented, was eager to get into the wedding business and to do Wedding Website designs. But she is in colorado who has been prosecuting jack for a decade. At is smart to talk with a lawyer before you go down that path. As we mentioned, the Supreme Court gave a resounding victory that affirmed Creative Professionals have a right to choose not to create messages that can conflict with their faith. This has been a decade plus in the making. Laurie recognizes she stands on the shoulders of giants and trailblazers. People who were prosecuted for years and lost so much. You trailblazers in this space, trying to stand up for the freedoms of so many others. It was just here inducing to see what loris case should and will have a streamed data effect for so many professionals across the country, including jack. Which is why we are hopeful that in front that we are in front of the Supreme Courts again with Jack Phillips. The Supreme Court gave a clear directive that you cannot enforce creative to make messages that intrude with their faith. Can you hear me . Christiana yes. I am windy fortune and i have a legal question. Jacks case that he took all the way to the u. S. Supreme court, the legal premise set in that case did not protect him from the harassment in the legal cases he is going through now . I do not understand. It appears to me it is the same legal premise and he was victorious. Now he is having to those cases cannot be dismissed . That is my point based on the United States Supreme Court case. I dont understand. Christiana i dont think colorado has yet learned its lesson so it may take a couple shots from the Supreme Court. You are right that his case won in 2018. It was on the basis that colorado had shown such a religious hostility towards him. The State Government officials. Now, the way the next two cases began were an attorney who was very targeted and trying to lure jack into more litigation. The state of colorado continues to express impermissible hostility toward him. It is not as overt. They are getting smarter in how this is proceeding, but i think the 303 creative is the clear victory on the grounds of free speech and will be so valuable to Creative Professionals moving forward. Thank you. Madison, Young American federation. I have two questions. I need the counselor case, do you know if anyone has been prosecuted under that law . Christiana i do not think i know for sure. I am not deep enough in the weeds to have a good answer for that. My other question is about the fire chaplain. Did you consider bringing any claims on behalf of the to hear from certain logistical . Christiana in the fire chaplain case . I cannot speak to what we considered doing but i can say we did not. I do not know that i would say there is necessarily a right to have or hear a particular perspective in that way. It would not be actionable. I do not think you can sue the city of austin to make sure they have a fire chaplain of a particular space or perspective particular faith or perspective. What they did do is shut him down for something he said on his own time which was a violation of his religious freedom and freedom of speech. Good afternoon. My name is gina. I am curious about your personal thoughts and the stance of your organization on the fbi richmond memo. Christiana i am not a lawyer enough to provide you with any commentary. Sorry about that. That is outside my wheelhouse. I am very focused in my career on womens sports cases. That is where a lot of my focus is. Sorry about that. Anything else . My question is about the lawyers of these courageous people you mentioned. Anyone who has hired a lawyer for anything knows how unbelievably as of lawyers could be. They work very hard. Tell me about how some like jack, the cake maker, or others pay for their lawyers. Christiana thank you. It is Alliance Defending freedom s privilege to represent our clients for free. All the clients you saw up there do not pay a dime. We have very generous minister friends who make it possible for me to be an everyday and pay for the legal fees of our clients. I represented, in my 10 plus year career with adf, a number of charges and small congregations that could not afford legal counsel. Certainly, Small Business owners cannot afford to litigate a case all the way to the Supreme Court for a precedentsetting win that could be within millions of dollars of legal fees if achieved. It is a privilege to have the opportunity and have Everyday Americans be represented regardless of their financial ability to pay. It is a great honor. [laughter] you can go to our website at adflegal. Org to learn about partnering with us. Thank you. [applause] what a great talk. Thank you. Very informative. I knew about it but did not know how widespread it is. We want to give you our limited addition Clare Boothe Luce Center Coffee mug. This certainly applies to you. Christiana it is the courage of the ladder on which all other virtues are known. As i want to give you my book. With the baby coming along in the spring, it is called how to raise a conservative daughter, and it is about what we learned about how these young women turned out so wonderfully. Conservative, smart, courageous. It is all in here. Christiana thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming and thank you to cspan. These join us for lunch outside. Please join us for lunch outside. New announcer monday, what cspan series, in partnership with the library of congress. Books that shaped america will feature the narrative of the life of frederick douglass. It was the first of three autobiographies by frederick douglass. 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