Suggested September Prayer Needs
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms invites our friends and supporters to lift the following prayers to the Lord during the month of September: That students, faculty, staff and administrators returning to classrooms across the state would be protected from the spread of COVID-19 or any variants thereof;That as America marks twenty years since 9/11/2001 we…
Hoylman And Borrello Offer Contrasting Approaches To COVID Vaccination
This commentary was update on September 3, 2021. As the state and the nation attempt to cope with the Delta variant of COVID-19, New York lawmakers—like the rest of us—hold widely divergent perspectives on how government might best combat the pandemic. Some lawmakers believe that the risks and dangers of COVID-19 justify a mandate-oriented approach…
Several Sectors Subject To COVID Vaccine Mandates
In recent days, a wide variety of new COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been put into place that affect unvaccinated New Yorkers in their professional and family lives. On Thursday, August 26, a board of the New York State Department of Health voted unanimously to approve a statewide vaccination mandate for health care workers. The emergency…
Universal Plan For School Re-Opening Anticipated
On August 24, 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul made a significant announcement that will affect school re-opening this fall for students, teachers, and other school personnel across New York. The Governor announced the release of “a new, comprehensive plan to help ensure a safe, productive return to schools this fall in the midst of rising COVID-19…
NYCLU Demands Pro-Life Hospitals Perform Abortions
For the past several decades, abortion advocates have centered their rhetoric on the concept of choice. “My body, my choice” has been a rallying cry for women who wish to keep abortion legal and available. This rhetoric has always been dishonest and misleading; not all women who obtain abortions feel like they have any other…
Schools Regain Local Control Over COVID Protocols
For some time, school officials, parents, and students have awaited word from the State of New York regarding what COVID-19 prevention measures will be required when schools re-open this fall. On August 5, 2021, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker announced that because there is no longer a declared state of emergency with regard…
Analysis Shows Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Help, Not Harm
Advocates of homosexual behavior often assert that efforts to resolve unwanted same-sex attraction are damaging to participants’ mental health and may lead to a suicide risk. However, a recent study may point to the opposite conclusion. Recently, Dr. Andre Van Mol commented on a 2020 study purporting to demonstrate that sexual orientation change efforts lead…
What Do Democratic Socialists Want?
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14) defeated then-Rep. Joe Crowley in a Democratic congressional primary in 2018, her victory sent shock waves through the political landscape. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s ability to topple a powerful and experienced member of Congress made members of both parties sit up and take notice, and her newfound status as a political celebrity…
Democratic Socialists Decry Status Quo; Different Path Proposed
At a recent virtual meeting, several relatively new members of the New York State Legislature expressed their displeasure with the status quo in Albany. According to the New York Post, these lawmakers took issue with “phony legislators” who pretend to support certain bills just to make themselves popular; they also criticized the secrecy that characterizes…
NYCF Asks Prayer For August Requests
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) invites our brothers and sisters in Christ to remember the following prayer requests during the month of August: We pray against any further outbreaks of COVID-19; We pray against efforts to force American taxpayers to subsidize elective abortions; We pray that the abortion, gay, and “transgender” movements would be…
Legislators’ Beef Isn’t With Chicken, But Biblical Beliefs
A decision to allow Chick-fil-A to operate at New York State Thruway service areas is under fire from a growing number of left-wing state lawmakers upset with the restaurant chain’s past support for traditional marriage and other Christian causes. According to WIVB.com, the New York State Thruway Authority is planning a $450 million upgrade of…
School Leaders Ask Governor To Release September Guidance
Leaders of Christian schools and other nonpublic schools are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to quickly release any pertinent COVID-19-related requirements and to inform them of those requirements sooner rather than later. In a recent open letter, various school leaders requested the Governor’s urgent attention to the matter of COVID-19-related guidance for primary and secondary schools.…
In Case of Christian Florist, Justices Fail To Protect Religious Liberty
On July 2, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the case of Arlene’s Flowers, Inc. v. Washington. In so doing, the Court dealt a crushing blow to the cause of religious liberty in the United States. As many Christian New Yorkers will recall, the Arlene’s Flowers case centers on Barronelle…
Supremes Say Donor Privacy Protected
On July 1, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision that protected the privacy of donors to charitable organizations. In Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta, the Court held that a California law requiring charities to disclose the identities of their major donors to the state was unconstitutional. According to WORLD,…
Photographer Wants Freedom To Focus On Weddings Of Her Choosing
Recently, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) has had the opportunity to file an amicus brief (also known as a friend-of-the-court brief) in an important religious liberty case here in New York. Emilee Carpenter Photography v. James is a case that has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New…
U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rules in Favor of Catholic Adoption Agency
Rochester, NY—Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia. The Court ruled unanimously against the City of Philadelphia, which had refused to refer foster children to Catholic Social Services due to the agency’s unwillingness to place children in same-sex households. Jason J. McGuire, Executive Director of New…