NYCF Releases 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda
The mission of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) is to influence legislation and legislators for the Lord Jesus Christ. Legislatively, we work at the state level to protect human life, promote strong families, preserve religious liberty, and proclaim justice and mercy. In each odd-numbered year, NYCF releases a legislative agenda and distributes it to…
So-Called Equality Amendment Moves Toward Second Passage
Last week, the so-called Equality Amendment advanced toward floor votes in both the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. What this means is that the Democratic leadership in the New York State Legislature is making its extremist pro-abortion, pro-LGBT agenda a top priority at the very beginning of this year’s legislative…
U.S. Supreme Court Keeps Gun Control Law in Effect—For Now
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States allows most aspects of New York’s recent gun control law to remain in effect while the constitutionality of the law is considered in federal courts. In July 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) into law. The CCIA is of…
Biden Signs [Dis]Respect For Marriage Into Law
I Corinthians 13: 4, 6: “Charity…rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” For Christian Americans, 2022 has been a roller coaster. Christians experienced a wonderful victory for the cause of life when the Supreme Court overturned the indefensible Roe v. Wade decision in June. More recently, however, we experienced a devastating loss in…
High Court Hears Christian Web Designer’s Case
On December 5, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis. In this key religious liberty case, the high court will decide whether a Colorado law that bans discrimination based upon sexual orientation can compel a Christian web designer to create websites for same-sex “weddings” in spite…
Disappointing House Vote Sends [Dis]Respect To President Biden’s Desk
ALBANY, NY – On December 8, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives re-passed the so-called Respect for Marriage Act by a vote of 258-169*. The House passed a prior version of the same bill on July 20, 2022, but voted on the bill again after the Senate made changes to it. President Joe Biden supports…
Senate Folds On Marriage; House Vote Expected Next
On November 29, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the so-called Respect for Marriage Act by a 61-36 vote. The Respect for Marriage Act—which could be more accurately described as the Disrespect for Marriage Act—would require that same-sex “marriage” be recognized throughout the nation even if the Supreme Court were to someday overturn the Supreme Court…
Congress Weighs Religious Liberty Concerns In Marriage Bill
As noted by Albany Update several days ago, the U.S. Senate held a procedural vote to advance the misleadingly-named Respect for Marriage Act on November 16, 2022. The bill advanced by a vote of 62 to 37, with 12 Senate Republicans joining two independents and all 48 Democrats in supporting the bill. If passed, the…
[Dis]Respect For Marriage Clears Critical Senate Vote
This article was updated on November 22, 2022. On November 16, 2022, under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the U.S. Senate voted 62-37 to advance the so-called Respect for Marriage Act. A dozen Senate Republicans joined all 48 Senate Democrats and two Democrat-affiliated independents in supporting this misguided and destructive legislation, enabling the bill…
Churches See More Success In Second Amendment Cases
Since New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) was passed in July 2022, multiple federal lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs who claim that the law violates the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment. The CCIA is dangerous for churches because it contains language prohibiting anyone other than law enforcement officers and…
Churches File Suit Challenging State Gun Law
ALBANY, NY—Today, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and 25 churches, from 20 different counties, filed a federal lawsuit claiming that a New York gun control law passed in July 2022 violates the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Rev. Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, made the following remarks:…
New York Ranks Last In Religious Liberty
When compared against other states, where do you think the state of New York ranks in terms of respect for religious freedom? If you guessed that New York ranks dead last, you’d be right. The Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy has created a website called ReligiousLibertyInTheStates.com. That website ranks each of the 50 states…
Schumer Delays ‘Respect For Marriage’ Vote
On September 15, 2022, The New York Times and Politico.com reported that U.S. Senate leadership had put off its plans to vote on the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” (RMA) (H.R.8404-Nadler). If passed, the RMA would keep same-sex “marriage” legal even if the Supreme Court were to overturn its 2015 decision that found same-sex “marriage”…
Charles Finney School Draws Criticism For Biblical Stance
A Christian school in the Finger Lakes region has attracted unfavorable media attention for adhering to Biblical moral principles regarding sexuality. According to 13WHAM.com, the Charles Finney School in Penfield, New York has changed its student handbook to state that students can be expelled from the school if they adopt LGBT identities or promote homosexuality…
State Ed Approves Process for Overseeing Private Schools
On September 13, 2022, the New York State Board of Regents approved a new set of regulations affecting nonpublic schools. The new regulations lay out a process by which the state will determine whether nonpublic schools are providing an education that—as required by law—is “substantially equivalent” to the education provided by public schools in their…
District Court Says Faith-Based Provider Can Keep Serving Families
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) is pleased to report that New Hope Family Services has won a key victory in its years-long legal battle to remain open and to operate in accordance with Christian principles. Albany Update has commented on New Hope’s situation many times over the past several years. Readers may recall that…