Federal Court Upholds Free Speech For Faculty
A recent federal court case represents a step in the right direction on free speech for faculty at public universities. On March 26, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio was free to refrain from addressing a “transgender” student using that student’s preferred pronoun. According…
Arkansas Adopts Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act
On April 6, 2021, the State of Arkansas made history, becoming the first state in the nation to ban the performance of gender transition procedures upon minors. The Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act (H.B.1570-Lundstrum) makes it illegal to perform any “medical or surgical service” on a minor that would “alter or remove physical or…
Gov. Kristi Noem Does ‘South Dakota Shuffle’, Fails To Save Girls’ Sports
Something strange has happened in South Dakota. As that state’s Women’s Fairness in Sports bill—a bill to proect women and girls from the intrusion of biological males identifying as “transgender” into women’s and girls’ sports—moved toward passage, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) stated that she was excited about the bill and planned to sign…
Caregiving Visitors Bill Signed
On March 29, 2021, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Bill S.614-B-May/A.1052-B-Bronson into law. Bill S.614-B-May/A.1052-B-Bronson requires nursing homes to allow residents to designate up to two personal caregiving visitors. The new law allows these designated personal caregiving visitors to visit nursing home residents, even during public health emergencies. These visitors are required to follow the same…
Congressional Votes Raise Concerns For Social Conservatives
On February 25, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the disastrous and misleadingly-named Equality Act. Last week, the House demonstrated that it isn’t finished passing bad bills. On March 17, 2021, the House reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and passed a resolution to remove the ratification deadline for the proposed Equal Rights…
NYCF Hosts “Legislative Day 2021: A Digital Day of Action”
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF), New York’s statewide evangelical Christian advocacy organization, holds its first-ever Digital Day of Action today. NYCF Executive Director Jason J. McGuire made the following comments: “For decades, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms has held its annual Legislative Day in Albany on the third Tuesday in March. This year, COVID-19 and social…
Parents Should Decide When To Talk To Kids About Sex Ed
As part of our Digital Day of Action, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) is highlighting one piece of proposed state legislation from each of the four policy areas in which we work: Protecting human life, promoting strong families, preserving religious liberty, and proclaiming justice and mercy. As we work to promote strong families, NYCF…
Senator Paul Questions Puberty Blockers For Prepubescents
On February 25, 2021, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took a brave and honest stand for parental rights and for the protection of young people with gender dysphoria (defined as distress caused by the feeling that one’s gender identity differs from one’s biological sex) from dangerous medical interventions. Sen. Paul spoke out about gender issues during…
Bethany Christian Services Compromises Christian Principles
In May 2019, the Michigan office of Bethany Christian Services (BCS)—the nation’s largest Protestant adoption and foster care agency, with offices in 32 states—agreed to begin placing children in homes headed by same-sex couples. BCS did not take this step of its own accord; the State of Michigan made a policy change that would, if…
‘Equality Act’ Passes House of Representatives, Moves to U.S. Senate
Rochester, NY—The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, the so-called Equality Act, today by a vote of 224-206 (unofficial). The Equality Act would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill would give biological males access to female-only spaces (including women’s shelters) across the nation, would create unfair conditions for female…
Clearing Up Congressional Confusion Concerning The ‘Equality Act’
The so-called Equality Act is expected to receive a floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, February 25, 2021. The Equality Act is a deeply misleading piece of legislation. On its surface, the bill looks like an anti-discrimination measure; it would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as anti-discrimination categories under federal…
National Coalition Launches ‘Promise To America’s Children’
A coalition of national-level and state-level organizations recently unveiled an important new initiative called the Promise to America’s Children. The Promise to America’s Children is a national movement encouraging lawmakers and parents to commit themselves to supporting laws that protect children’s health, children’s safety, and children’s relationships with their parents. The Promise to America’s Children…
Rent-A-Womb Regulations Now In Effect
In 2020, following years of opposition from New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and others, the State of New York legalized paid surrogacy. The law (Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2020) was passed during the state budget process, and it went into effect on February 15, 2021. It is now legal in New York for…
Allied Organizations Unveil “Promise To America’s Children”
A coalition of national-level and state-level organizations, including ours, recently unveiled an important new initiative called the Promise to America’s Children. The Promise to America’s Children is “a national movement of parents and lawmakers to oppose legislation that harms children, like the Equality Act, and to create and support laws that will protect children’s health,…
Biden Signs SOGI Order
Among a myriad of Executive Orders, Proclamations, and other directives issued by President Joe Biden during his first two days in office is an order establishing civil rights-level legal protections on the basis of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI). The Executive Order, which was not unexpected, directs the leaders of each agency under the authority…
President Biden’s Priorities
Corrected February 4, 2021 Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021. President Biden’s actions thus far, together with his stated plans for his first 100 days in office, provide a clear picture of his priorities for the nation. It appears that those priorities involve dismantling many…