ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE
June 24, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
ADF advises officials in Ohio, Wisconsin regarding constitutionality of invocations
GREENFIELD, Ohio, and MADISON, Wis. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys sent letters to public officials in two states Friday, advising leaders of both bodies regarding the constitutionality of allowing public meetings to open with prayer. Both the Greenfield City Council and the Wisconsin State Assembly have received legal threats from anti-religious organizations.

“A prayer before public meetings is one of our oldest and most cherished American traditions, and it is sad that some radical secularist groups are trying to eliminate the practice,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “The First Amendment allows public officials, and not the ACLU and its allies, to decide what is appropriate for acknowledging our nation’s religious history and heritage.”

Greenfield officials received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union threatening legal action if their opening invocations are not censored or prohibited, while Wisconsin officials received a similar demand from the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

In 2007, ADF launched a nationwide effort to advise public bodies of their constitutional right to open meetings with an invocation, mailing thousands of informational letters to local governments (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4195). Since then, ADF attorneys have received numerous requests for assistance from state legislatures and many county and city governments.

Copies of the model prayer policies sent to the Greenfield City Council and to the Wisconsin State Assembly are available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/GreenfieldPolicy.pdf and at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/WisconsinPolicy.pdf. The accompanying legal memos sent to Greenfield City Council Chairman Harvey Everhart and Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Michael Huebsch may be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HuebschLetter.pdf and at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/EverhartLetter.pdf.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.

www.telladf.org