October was another busy and productive month for the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC), all of which was made possible by your generous support.  Here are some of the highlights:
- On October 1, a federal magistrate judge issued a “report and recommendation,” recommending that AFLC’s civil rights lawsuit against several officials from theState University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo) for permitting an unruly mob of protestors to purposely disrupt a peaceful, pro-life demonstration on the university’s campus proceed to discovery.  In his report, the federal judge recommended denying the motion to dismiss filed by the SUNY-Buffalo officials, who argued that the lawsuit failed to state a constitutional violation.
- On October 2, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., denied the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request to stay litigation in AFLC’s challenge to the recently announced regulations enforcing the Obamacare contraceptive services mandate against religious organizations.  The DOJ requested a stay of litigation due to the lapse of appropriations as part of the partial government shutdown, but the judge ordered that the litigation must proceed.
- On October 4, Senior Counsel Robert Muise spoke at the Ave Maria University’s Founder’s Club meeting.  Muise gave a presentation titled, “Fighting for Faith and Freedom in America.”
- On October 7, AFLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against King County, Washington, for refusing to run an anti-terrorism advertisement that displayed photographs of global terrorists from the FBI’s most wanted list, claiming, among other things, that the advertisement was demeaning toward Muslims.  AFLC filed the lawsuit on behalf of the advertisement’s sponsors, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and its co-founders, Pamela Geller andRobert Spencer. On October 9, AFLC filed a motion asking the court to force the County to display the advertisement immediately, pending the outcome of the litigation.
- On October 17, Senior Counsel Robert Muise presented oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in AFLC’s defense of three students who are challenging the constitutionality of a California school district’s ban on wearing American flag shirts to school on “Cinco de Mayo.”  School officials claimed that they banned the students’ pro-American apparel out of concern that it would offend Mexican students on “their day.”
- On October 31, AFLC filed a lengthy brief in support of its motion for summary judgment and in opposition to the DOJ’s motion to dismiss in the Priests for Lifecase.  The government has until November 12 to file their final reply, which will complete the briefing in this important religious liberty case.  There may or may not be a hearing in November, but there will be a decision by the end of the year.
- And the list goes on . . . .
Thank you for all of your support, past and present. Â May God bless you, and may God continue to bless America!