In Debate, Vice Presidential Candidates See New Scrutiny
On October 7, 2020, the two major party nominees for Vice President of the United States—Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)—squared off in their one and only televised debate. Conventional wisdom holds that running mates usually have a negligible impact upon presidential election results. However, some pundits have speculated that because…
NYFRF Releases Nonpartisan Voter Guide
On Tuesday, November 3, voters across the nation will cast their ballots for President of the United States. Here in New York, voters will also cast ballots for U.S. House of Representatives, New York State Senate, New York State Assembly, and various local offices. New Yorker’s Family Research Foundation, NYCF’s educational arm, is committed to…
NYCF’s October Prayer Needs
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms invites our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the State of New York to join us in prayer during the month of October. We pray: That the Lord will protect the State of New York from a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic; That the Lord would provide a cure…
Cuomo Administration Considers Mandating Flu Vaccines For Students
On September 10, 2020, New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker announced that the State may create a new policy requiring flu shots for students who attend school in person. According to WXXINews.org, “because the testing infrastructure for the flu is the same as what’s used to detect the coronavirus,” a spike in conventional flu…
Court Sides With Couples Over Cuomo’s Wedding Restrictions
On August 7, 2020, Judge Glenn Suddaby of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 50-person limit on non-essential gatherings was unconstitutional as applied to religious wedding ceremonies. According to the New York Post, two couples sued the Governor on the grounds that the 50-person limit…
Bostock Bears Bad Fruit
Since the 1970s, LGBT activists have attempted to pass a federal law that would treat sexual orientation as a protected civil rights category. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which passed the House of Representatives in 2007, would have made it unlawful for employers with 15 or more employees to discriminate based upon sexual orientation. More…
New Hope Wins at Second Circuit Court of Appeals
On July 21, 2020, Christian adoption provider New Hope Family Services won an important legal victory for religious freedom at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of New Hope Family Services v. Poole. Based in Syracuse, New York, New Hope Family Services has been in existence for over 50 years. The State…
NYCF Asks Cuomo To Recognize Church Reopening Rights
Last week, Albany Update commented on the recent federal district court decision in Soos v. Cuomo. In that case, a preliminary injunction was issued to prevent Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from unfairly limiting the plaintiffs’ religious gatherings. In response to the Soos decision, New…
Little Sisters See A Win For Life and Liberty
On July 8, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important decision relating to religious liberty and the sanctity of life. In Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, 591 U.S. _____ (2020), the Court decided a lawsuit involving the infamous Obamacare insurance mandate requiring employers to…
Faith-Based Schools Secure Ministerial Exception Protection
In a July 8, 2020 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the rights of faith-based schools to manage their own affairs without government interference. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, 591 U.S. _____ (2020), the Court heard two cases filed by former Catholic school teachers who claimed that their former…
Federal Judge Upholds Constitutional Challenge To Cuomo’s COVID-19 Religious Gathering Restrictions
(Please note that this commentary has been revised and updated as of July 2, 2020.) On June 26, 2020, a federal judge in the Northern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 restrictions on worship services against five plaintiffs. In Soos v. Cuomo, two Catholic priests…
In School Choice Decision, U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Parental Rights, Religious Liberty
Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States released its decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, 591 U.S. _____ (2020). In this case, the State of Montana created an education tax credit program. That program provides tax credits to persons who donate funds to organizations that give scholarships to students at nonpublic schools. The…
Federal Court Says Cuomo Wrong to Limit Worship Services
Reprinted from ThomasMoreSociety.org with permission New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is wrong to limit worship services yet condone mass protests, according to a federal judge. After telling Thomas More Society attorneys in a June 18 hearing that he was “troubled by” the government’s responses, Senior U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe issued a preliminary injunction on June 26, 2020, prohibiting…
Hoylman Outraged That Social Conservatives Have Representation In Albany
Following the announcement that State Sen. Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) had been named Senate Minority Leader, liberal voices wasted no time pressuring Leader Ortt to distance himself from social conservatives. On June 23, 2020, the Niagara Gazette reported that Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) had criticized Leader Ortt for having attended an event held by a…
Cuomo Limits Churches To Thirty-Three Percent in Phase Four
On June 24, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that five of New York’s 10 regions—Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, and the Southern Tier—were expected to enter Phase IV of the New York Forward re-opening plan on Friday, June 26. The Governor also announced that limits on non-essential gatherings…
Court Intervention Sought In Matter Of Religious Gathering Restrictions
On June 10, 2020, three Orthodox Jews and two Catholic priests sued Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in federal court. Filed by attorneys with the Thomas More Society, the plaintiffs’ complaint in Soos v. Cuomo contended that Gov. Cuomo, Attorney General James, and Mayor de…