IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

On Friday afternoon, President Trump declared that churches and other houses of worship were “essential” and that state governors should also classify them as such. While several states had already moved to reopen churches prior to the President’s announcement, other states have been more tentative, and the President’s announcement could not have been timelier.

In Rhode Island, Governor Gina Raimondo has allowed churches to reopen, but only at 25% of their normal capacity. There, we have asked Governor Raimondo to deem churches “essential” and allow them to operate at 40-50% capacity.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy has not included churches at all in his reopening plan, even after 100 pastors asked him to include them. Together with a lawyer and local pastor,  Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey has helped lead a coalition of pastors in writing one more letter to the Governor asking him to add churches to his plan, or face a lawsuit because of his violation of New Jerseyans’ religious freedom. In both New Jersey and Rhode Island, these calls have been for safe and responsible opening in accordance with recommended health guidelines.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, this Sunday – after the President’s announcement – a church in Chicago met in their building, only to have the police knock on their door in attempt to stop their in-person service from continuing.

In light of situations like these, we are thankful for President Trump standing up for religious freedom by identifying churches as “essential” and asking governors to do the same. In case you missed it, here’s the full story from Friday. Please join us in sending President Trump a thank you note for standing up for our right to gather in faith!

See our message from last Friday below and take a moment to send a note of thanks to the President.

May 22, 2020

Dear Friends,

When COVID-19 first became evident in America, churches across the country did something unheard of in a country built on a rich and strong foundation of religious freedom—they closed their doors.

Now we all know that God’s work isn’t constrained to the four walls of a church. His people have been very much at work during the pandemic through prayer, meeting people’s most basic needs, providing donations of much needed supplies, and more. But, America’s churches chose not to meet in worship—in most cases entirely voluntarily—in order to join the effort to stop COVID-19.

But then we all started to notice something deeply troubling. The churches’ doors were closed, despite strong constitutional protections for religious freedom. Yet, Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry marched on. You know the story—Planned Parenthood defied state orders to shut down, pushed their agenda of “virtual abortions” with less safety measures for women, and even asked for donations of masks and hand sanitizer.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer. The Church largely voluntarily halted their First Amendment rights to assemble and worship together in an effort to save lives. Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry stopped at nothing to take lives, even robbing healthcare workers of valuable resources to do it.

Thankfully, throughout the pandemic, President Trump and his Administration have been clear: No taxpayer dollars can go toward the abortion industry.

Now just this afternoon, President Trump stepped in on behalf of America’s churches, ordering that churches be declared “essential.”

At an unannounced briefing he stated:  “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out churches … it’s not right. So I am correcting this injustice and am calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow churches and places of worship to open right now.”

President Trump throughout the pandemic has underscored his commitment to religious freedom by ensuring that churches and faith-based nonprofits were not excluded from the COVID relief programs. Now, declaring that churches are essential, President Trump is committed to settling the issue—churches should certainly not be treated less than for-profit companies who do not have the same religious freedom protections.

Will you join us in thanking President Trump for recognizing that the Body of Christ, through its churches, is essential?

Thankfully,

Autumn Leva
Vice President of Strategy

When COVID-19 first became evident in America, churches across the country did something unheard of in a country built on a rich and strong foundation of religious freedom—they closed their doors.

Now we all know that God’s work isn’t constrained to the four walls of a church. His people have been very much at work during the pandemic through prayer, meeting people’s most basic needs, providing donations of much needed supplies, and more. But, America’s churches chose not to meet in worship—in most cases entirely voluntarily—in order to join the effort to stop COVID-19.

But then we all started to notice something deeply troubling. The churches’ doors were closed, despite strong constitutional protections for religious freedom. Yet, Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry marched on. You know the story—Planned Parenthood defied state orders to shut down, pushed their agenda of “virtual abortions” with less safety measures for women, and even asked for donations of masks and hand sanitizer.

The contrast couldn’t be clearer. The Church largely voluntarily halted their First Amendment rights to assemble and worship together in an effort to save lives. Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry stopped at nothing to take lives, even robbing healthcare workers of valuable resources to do it.

Thankfully, throughout the pandemic, President Trump and his Administration have been clear: No taxpayer dollars can go toward the abortion industry.

Now just this afternoon, President Trump stepped in on behalf of America’s churches, ordering that churches be declared “essential.”

At an unannounced briefing he stated:  “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out churches … it’s not right. So I am correcting this injustice and am calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow churches and places of worship to open right now.”

President Trump throughout the pandemic has underscored his commitment to religious freedom by ensuring that churches and faith-based nonprofits were not excluded from the COVID relief programs. Now, declaring that churches are essential, President Trump is committed to settling the issue—churches should certainly not be treated less than for-profit companies who do not have the same religious freedom protections.

Will you join us in thanking President Trump for recognizing that the Body of Christ, through its churches, is essential?

Thankfully,

Autumn Leva
Vice President of Strategy

On Thursday, Democrats in Congress are pushing a measure that urges a repeal of the Trump Administration’s policy on transgender service in the military.

When President Trump announced that he was rolling back the Obama policy of fully opening the military to people who identify as transgender, Family Policy Alliance praised the move for these reasons:

H. Res. 124 seeks to reverse this policy and should be rejected when it comes to a vote on Thursday.

Please take a moment and send a note to your member of Congress, asking them to vote NO on H. Res. 124.

Thank you for speaking up!

The Family Policy Alliance Team


Senator Joe Manchin (bottom right) stood and applauded when President Trump
called for all life to be cherished.

A Picture Is Worth 60 Million Lives… and Counting

In last evening’s State of the Union address, President Trump made a special point to call out Governors Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and Ralph Northam (D-VA) for their very recent advocacy of late-term abortion—up to the moment of delivery. In Northam’s case, he openly supported infanticide—that’s right, Northam is advocating that a child can be born and withheld care until the mother decides whether her baby should live or die!

President Trump made the point that “all lives should be cherished,” calling on Congress to “pass legislation that limits abortion to under 20 weeks,” the time at which a preborn baby can feel pain. Cheers from prolife lawmakers filled the room—thrilled that a sitting president would call for strong prolife legislation.

But, in an act of defiance, liberals sat on their hands revealing that abortion is their holy grail and that they will do anything to keep it—thereby trouncing on 60 million Americans lost to abortion and God knows how many more!

Will you help our country Cherish Life?

How about taking 60 seconds to:

And, if you have an extra 30 seconds, please take a moment to thank Senator Joe Manchin (202-224-3954) from West Virginia for his stand. He is a Democrat Senator who notably stood and applauded when the President called for all life to be cherished. Family Policy Alliance stands for marriage, religious freedom and especially life… not parties.

Will you be counted in Cherishing Life?

Standing for a nation where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished,

Paul Weber
President & CEO

The Obama Administration decided to permit individuals who identify as transgender to serve in the military—without weighing the cost to taxpayers for ongoing medical care, impact to military readiness, and the affect on privacy or fairness in the troops.

But in July 2017, President Trump announced a change in this policy. You joined with us to send thousands of thank-you notes to the President for making this critical change.

Trump’s Department of Defense committed to extensively studying the impact that individuals identifying as transgender would have on the military. In February 2018, they released a comprehensive report, concluding that transgender military service would cause harm to:

  1. Military readiness due to the extensive medical care required by transitioning individuals;
  2. Privacy and fairness for the troops, particularly female servicemembers; and
  3. Taxpayers due to the medical costs for serving transitioning Service members is nearly 300% percentthe medical costs of an individual without these concerns.

The thorough report supported President Trump’s conclusion to not allow transitioning individuals to serve in the armed forces. The Department of Defense wrote that 71% of Americans are disqualified from service and “transgender persons with gender dysphoria are no less valued members of our Nation than all other categories of persons who are disqualified from military service.”

Of course, President Trump’s and his Department of Defense’s decision has been challenged in multiple lawsuits. But in encouraging breaking news today, the Supreme Court ruled that the President’s policy to not permit transitioning individuals to serve in the military could go into effect while the cases proceed through the courts.

The two newest justices, Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh, joined Justices Roberts, Alito, and Thomas in allowing the Trump decision to go into effect.

We are thankful to you in the many different ways you’ve joined in encouraging the President and the Department of Defense to stand strong on this issue. You have made a difference!

But, there are many ways Obama-type transgender policies are still causing harm to children in schools, state laws and regulations, women’s privacy and safety, religious freedom, and even women’s shelters. Learn more here. Please continue to partner with Family Policy Alliance and our state allies as we work to restore common sense and safety in states and local communities across the country!

Count your blessings name them one by one. I’m sure you’ve heard that familiar hymn from the late 1800’s:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

We are taking those words to heart this Thanksgiving season, and we invite you to join us.

2 Conservative justices who have records for upholding the rule of law are now sitting on the Supreme Court! We are thankful for all you did in encouraging your Senators to confirm Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh, and we thank God for His mercy in placing them on our highest Court.

2 more prolife, conservative Senators in the U.S. Senate! After the November 6 election, the Senate had a net gain of two seats to make it a more prolife, conservative body. Thank you for how you voted, and we especially thank you for giving to make the work to reach prolife, pro-family voters in North Dakota possible! Your support reached key North Dakota voters over 200,000 times to defeat Heidi Heitkamp, a supporter of late-term abortions, and elect Kevin Cramer—the new pro-family, prolife Senator!

2 new major religious freedom laws. This year, both Kansas and Oklahoma passed laws protecting religious freedom for faith-based adoption agencies. These laws ensure that the faith-based agencies can continue to serve the children and birthmoms in their states according to their faith—without fear that their state governments could force them to close down. The nation’s leading LGBTQ activist group called these laws their “biggest defeat of the year.”

1 big California miracle. As we know, what happens in California doesn’t stay in California. This year, lawmakers in the liberal state were working to pass an ominous bill that would classify many communications of Biblical sexuality as a form of illegal “consumer fraud.” But, stunningly, on the last day of legislative session, the bill was pulled from consideration. God’s great mercy, the leadership of our ally California Family Council, and the outpouring of opposition from California believers – many of whom had never gotten involved in public policy issues before – was overwhelming and made the victory possible. Californians sent 40,000 messages to lawmakers opposing the bill through Family Policy Alliance’s action center alone!

52 Christian Statesmen have been trained through our sister Foundation’s Statesmen Academy and will be serving in Congress or state legislatures across the country in January 2019! These Christian men and women have been trained in the legislative art of patience and persistence, unwavering principles, and passionate, respectful advocacy. In other words, they are lawmakers who will stand on principle and advocate effectively for your values—and you helped get them the training to make this possible! Family Policy Foundation is gearing up to train another 30 more of these Christian leaders called to serve in public office in our highly selective program in 2019!

5 Administrations under President Trump’s leadership have worked to end Obama-era rules that define “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity”—leading to harmful policies especially for women and children, confusion in the law, and even threats to religious freedom. President Trump’s Departments of Education and Justice ended the “transgender mandate” on schools. The Department of Defense concluded that the military transgender mandate threatened military readiness and was too costly. The Federal Bureau of Prisons wisely returned to first considering a prisoner’s biological sex—not gender identity—when housing a prisoner. And the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been working to protect religious freedom and conscience rights for healthcare professionals since President Trump took office. Now HHS is also encouraging every federal Administrative department to be clear that “sex” in federal law and regulations means “biological sex” and not “gender identity” so that there is consistency in the law. This is a lot to be thankful for!

All of YOU! We are so grateful for each one of you—for how you’ve given generously to support our ministry, taken time to contact lawmakers, spread the word about important issues and elections, prayed for your country and state, showed up to vote, and at times even helped your church be more involved.

We pray God’s hand of blessing on you and your family. And please know that my team and I pray and give thanks for you each week.

We know you join us in feeling the burden for our country—and at times it can indeed feel like too much to bear. There are certainly many problems in our country today—many lawmakers who do not fear or even acknowledge God, many ungodly laws, real pain and tragedy—especially in the family, and millions of lives lost to abortion.

But we hope that you will join us this week as we thank God for these blessings we count for our country—and the impact they will have on families for years to come.

With Thanksgiving,

Paul Weber,
President & CEO

The pick is in …  and the battle over Judge Brett Kavanaugh will begin!

Actually, it began a couple of weeks ago. The progressives’ howling started the moment Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement.

Why is that?

Because, any person nominated by President Trump won’t suffice for those on the Left.

Here’s why:

For decades now, liberal groups like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, with the support of liberal legislators, recognized that they could not get the national laws they wanted by Constitutional means – that is, through the votes of legislators held accountable by their local electorate.

So instead, they created lawsuits and targeted legal venues and judges sympathetic to their cause. After all, turning a few judges – who are appointed for life and untouchable by voters – is a much easier way to advance a radical agenda. Liberal legislators appreciate this as they can advance the lie that the court has the final say and that they, therefore, are bound by the court.

This devious strategy has led to the Left’s Holy Grail of activist Supreme Court opinions: Roe v. Wade – which nationalized abortion on demand and has thus far led to the death of over 60 million unborn children – and Obergefell v. Hodges, which has undermined the dignity of marriage between one man and one woman and spawned additional court cases attacking the religious liberty of Christians.

These two pillars – and especially Roe – are why the left is unhinged today! It’s why you are hearing the media shout that another conservative judge on the court will surely lead to Roe being overturned. Yet, it’s not that simple.

Should Roe ultimately be overturned by the Court, it won’t be because of conservative judicial activism. That, too, is unconstitutional, and we shouldn’t stand for it. It won’t be because the culture is changing in favor of life, even though it is. It won’t be just because it was a bad opinion, though in fact it was a wrong opinion delivered by an activist court.

No, Roe will be overturned someday because men and women know we are a nation with a Constitution that should be followed. It will be because states pass good laws that rein in the hideous practice of abortion. It will be because a majority of sitting judges know their role – which is to interpret, not legislate. It will be because people like you – who affirm life from conception – elect leaders who best represent your values and are willing to vote for them rather than hide behind courts.

Judge Kavanaugh has the education, experience, temperament and record that qualifies him squarely for the role as a Supreme Court Justice. Most importantly, he has stated: “The judge’s job is to interpret the law, not to make the law or make policy. So, read the words of the statute as written. Read the text of the Constitution as written, mindful of history and tradition. Don’t make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the Constitution. Don’t shy away from enforcing constitutional rights that are in the text of the Constitution.” He rightly understands the limits the Constitution places on judges.

This is why Judge Kavanaugh – and all of the judges nominated by President Trump – lacks the one qualification liberals require for a Supreme Court Justice: a willingness to legislate from the bench. In other words – a willingness to do their job for them so they are not exposed to their own electorate.

Vulnerable liberal Senators up for election this November – such as Heidi Heitkamp from North Dakota, Joe Manchin from West Virginia, John Tester from Montana, Joe Donnelly from Indiana, and Claire McCaskill from Missouri – are very nervous today.  Why? Because they now have to vote up or down for Judge Kavanaugh – a judge they know won’t carry the water for them and a judge their electorate now supports.

That’s why elections matter. That’s why you and millions like you came out for Donald Trump in 2016!

That’s why Family Policy Alliance works tirelessly with our allies across the nation to elect Statesmen – men and women willing to stand for our shared values and do the job the Constitution requires, regardless of the personal consequences.

That’s why we are asking you to contact your two U.S. senators today and urge them to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  It only takes seconds on our Action Center.

Politics is painful at times…

And in these times of division, scandal and seamy exploits by our leaders paraded on television in the form of journalism—it can be particularly painful for our families and for our nation. Never has there been a time where this has been more apparent than with the Trump Presidency.

Christians who voted for Donald Trump knew exactly what we were getting… a morally flawed candidate who made promises that largely aligned with our values.

Christians who didn’t vote, or voted against Donald Trump, knew exactly what we were risking… a morally flawed candidate in Hillary Clinton who made promises that absolutely violated our values.

That was our choice—neither one ideal. Yet prayerful Christians came thoughtfully to either choice with a clear conscience.

As a ministry working in the public square on behalf of the family, we often find ourselves advocating for the pro-family policies we support, advanced by a leader whose behavior we do not.

This is why we cheer when President Trump promises to end tax payer funding for abortion (we’re still waiting Mr. President), nominates Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and advocates for more like him, appoints Cabinet members that affirm Christian values and implements fiscal policy that helps strengthen the family.

But we groan in frustration with his tweets, his school-yard bullying and reject his deplorable behavior with and toward women. Oh, how we pray—and we do pray—that He would come to faith and that the many faithful men and women around him would successfully guide him toward Christlike behavior.

The critical midterm elections—in which Family Policy Alliance and our state allies across the nation are actively engaged—will be a referendum on the President’s ability to deliver results thus far, weighed against his current & past character flaws.

At the same time, Family Policy Alliance, is actively searching for, training and working to elect the next generation of Statesmen—men and women dedicated to carrying their faith to the public square and standing for the values that will benefit us all—even for those who oppose them.

Our unique form of government is not perfect. Neither is any candidate. But we will always strive to advance the values that are. Won’t you join us?

To support our efforts to keep or bring in new elected leaders to public office who will represent your values—and be driven by principle, not politics—please consider a non-tax-deductible gift to Family Policy Alliance’s efforts in the critical midterm 2018 election.

Support Electing pro-family leaders

Standing for the family of believers,

Paul Weber
President and CEO

By Stephanie Curry, Esq., policy manager for Family Policy Alliance

This past August, President Trump issued a memorandum giving the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security (the “Departments”) the opportunity to extensively study the impact of allowing transgender individuals into the military.

Now the Departments have completed their extensive studies, after assembling a Panel of Experts and pouring through mountains of data. Their findings, which were submitted to the White House, are not surprising.

Medical History Causes Substantial Risk

The Departments concluded that there are “substantial risks associated with allowing the accession and retention of individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria and require, or have already undertaken, a course of treatment to change their gender.” The military explored the extensive treatment related to gender transitions such as cross-sex hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery. Since these treatments have not been shown to cure or even reduce the mental health problems associated with gender dysphoria, the Departments were concerned persons with gender dysphoria, even if being “treated,” could not be mentally or physically “ready” to serve.

The medical findings alone show how gender transitions cause insurmountable obstacles to military “readiness”. The Departments cite the Endocrine Society guidelines, where 91.5% of transitioning persons are taking cross-sex hormones, which requires continuous medical monitoring—monitoring that could not take place on deployment or on a mission.

In addition, the recovery time from sex reassignment surgery is 3-6 months (assuming no complications) and requires a strict hormone regime at least a year prior to surgery. In many cases, a transitioning individual could be non-deployable for two to two-and-a-half years! The Departments’ Panel of Experts concluded that this exposes all troops to harm because of a transitioning individual’s inability to perform combat required skills while deployed, in which instance that individual would be sent home. Yet, sending individuals home renders a unit more vulnerable because it now must operate with less manpower. The Department noted “it is imperative that the force be manned with Service members capable of meeting all mission demands. . . including the ability to deploy rapidly, without impediment or encumbrance.”

Privacy and Unfairness

The Departments’ report found many other reasons for not accepting transitioning individuals, such as violations of privacy (e.g. allowing men who self-identify as women into female showers, which raised complaints) and fundamental unfairness in physical requirements and competition. Perceived unfairness affects unit cohesion, good order and discipline. For example, a situation in which a male (who identifies as female) is held to female standards, is unfair not only for biological males who see another male receiving exceptions, but also for biological females who are forced to compete against a male. The report stressed that vigorous physical competition is “central to military life and indispensable to the training and preparation of warriors.”

Medical Costs

Finally, the Departments’ report cited the medical costs for serving transitioning Service members is nearly 300% percent the medical costs of an individual without these concerns. The military expects the costs to rise as more and more members request medical support for their transitions and noted 77% of transitioning individuals in the military have requested transition-related surgery.

The Departments’ Conclusion

The Departments concluded “the clear sex-differentiated lines with respect to physical fitness; berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities; and uniform and grooming standards, which have served all branches of Service well to date, risks unnecessarily adding to the challenges faced by leaders at all levels” and fundamentally interfering with the mission of the Armed Forces. Therefore, the findings recommended those individuals who are transitioning or will want to transition should not be eligible to serve in the Armed Forces.

The Trump Administration Memo

In light of these extensive findings, the Trump Administration issued a new memo on March 23rd that allows the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland security to implement any appropriate policies that support their findings. These policies would allow individuals who have already transitioned to remain in the military, only under certain conditions, such as having been admitted into the military under the Obama directive. Yet, unlike the former Obama directive, it does not require the military to accept new recruits who are transitioning genders or have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Why This Matters

The reason this is important for all Americans is because the military defends our nation. We have the right to expect a certain level of physical and psychological health from all military members. It is not discrimination to deny entrance into the military because of medical standards that apply to everyone based upon their biological sex. The military must be free to maintain its stringent entrance requirements because that is how it best protects our nation. The Department of Defense wrote 71% of Americans are disqualified from service and “transgender persons with gender dysphoria are no less valued members of our Nation than all other categories of persons who are disqualified from military service.”

By John Paulton, Mobilization Manager

In the last week, thousands of Americans have responded to Family Policy Alliance’s call to urge President Trump to submit a new nominee for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Chai Feldblum

As you may recall from our earlier alert, the president nominated Chai Feldblum to another term on the EEOC. Feldblum, a law professor and LGBT activist who was originally nominated by President Obama, is best known for her extreme hostility to religious freedom.  Acknowledging the conflict between religious liberty and sexual liberty, Feldblum has said that “I’m having a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win.”

In response to that alert, nearly 10,000 emails have been sent to President Trump and Vice President Pence, urging that a new nominee be put forward.  If you made your voice heard, thank you!

President Trump, who generally has a good record in support of religious freedom, is using the Feldblum nomination as part of a deal to get two other EEOC nominees through Democrat roadblocks in the Senate.

However, senators who might otherwise recognize political difficulties and accept such a deal are speaking up about the problems of re-installing a champion of leftist causes like Feldblum.

“If Feldblum were a typical Democrat,” U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote in The Daily Signal, “it might make sense to let her nomination proceed through the Senate along with her two Republican colleagues. But Feldblum is no typical Democrat. Her radical views on marriage and the appropriate use of government power place her far outside even the liberal mainstream.”

Feldblum’s current term at the EEOC doesn’t end until July 1, so there is still time to urge the president to submit a new nomination.  You can send a message to the White House in just seconds at our Action Center.

Thank you for making your voice heard for religious freedom!

The Family Policy Alliance Team