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ANN ARBOR, MI – Ignoring enormous community opposition, the Gainesville, Florida City Council earlier this year enacted an ordinance that granted special privileges to men who perceive themselves as women to use women’s bathrooms in any school, business or public facility.

As a result, a coalition of citizens and businesses, in Gainesville, formed “Citizens for Good Public Policy,” for the purpose of enacting a Charter Amendment that would prevent the addition of such bizarre special categories to the City’s civil rights ordinance.

The group gathered 8,800 signatures, several thousand more than the 5,581 needed to place the Charter Amendment proposal on the March 2009 ballot. The supervisor of elections for Gainesville has until September 14, 2008 to certify the signatures. If passed by the voters, the Charter Amendment will invalidate the City Council’s recently enacted “gender identity” category, which most citizens agree creates awkward and potentially harmful situations.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan has been acting as legal counsel for Citizens for Good Public Policy. It has also been assisting leaders of other Florida Christian groups including David Caton of the “Florida Family Association” and Dennis Baxley of the “Christian Coalition of Florida.”

The Charter Amendment would provide uniformity with established state and federal discrimination laws and eliminate the undue burden that special categories place on the activities and financial resources of citizens, businesses and taxpayers in Gainesville, Florida.

Cain Davis, the head of “Citizens For Good Public Policy” commented about gathering well over the requisite number of signatures, “The high number of petitions signed by the citizens of Gainesville serves as an indicator of the power held by citizens over elected officials who choose to push a far-left national agenda.” (Watch their video here.)

Community leaders also plan to run a slate of candidates during this election to have the city council reflect their values more than the current regime.

Dennis Baxley, Executive Director of the Christian Coalition of Florida commented, “The ‘Citizens for Good Public Policy’ have lead an outstanding effort and have shown that extremists with special rights agendas can be stopped, even in a liberal university town. Their successful petition drive demonstrates that government still belongs to the people who want liberty and justice for all, not special rights for special groups.”

The Thomas More Law Center will continue to act as legal council for “Citizens For Good Public Policy” throughout the signature verification process, the election, and after to help ensure the will of the people is not subverted by legal maneuvering of the current biased city council, or other radical groups bent on undermining the good people of Gainesville, Florida.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center today announced that it will act as legal counsel for a coalition of citizens, businesses, and religions in Hamtramck, Michigan seeking to overturn an ordinance enacted by the City Counsel in June, which gives special privileges to homosexuals and so-called “transgendered” individuals. The citizen’s group is called, “Hamtramck Citizens Opposing `Special Rights’ Discrimination.”

The challenged ordinance makes it legal for men who perceive themselves as women to use women’s bathrooms in any school, business or public facility. In classic Orwellian doublespeak, the ordinance defines such behavior as “Natural Rights of Hamtramck Residents.”

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center stated, “Radical homosexual activists have taken over city councils like Hamtramck all across the nation. These ordinances end up being used to bully and prosecute Christians who faithfully practice their religion.”

Continued Thompson, Hamtramck’s draconian provisions for investigation, prosecution and civil actions with treble damages, with attorney’s fees, to force acceptance of this bizarre behavior would make any Communist regime envious.”

At a rally and press conference held in front of the Hamtramck City Hall on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 a group of citizens and their leaders announced that over a thousand signatures were gathered, more than twice the amount needed to place the initiative on the ballot to overturn the ordinance. Accordingly, voters will decide in the November 2008 general ballot whether this anti-religious ordinance remains on the books. One of the proponents of the ordinance, Councilwomen Katrina Stakpoole, called the gathering of religious a “hate rally.”

Contrary to the deceptive title of the ordinance and assurances of the city council and their lawyer, this ordinance was specifically enacted to give special privileges to homosexuals and so-called “transgendered.” The State of Michigan and the County government already cover, through various Civil Rights Acts, every other group identified in the ordinance besides the homosexuals and so-called “transgendered.” In effect, this ordinance will help these two groups discriminate against faithful Christians and others that find the acts of homosexuals and so-called “transgenders” antithetical to their faith, their right to practice their faith, and their free speech rights to pronounce their objections to these deviant lifestyle choices.

Some of the more disturbing aspects of the ordinance include:

· Excessive entanglement by the city in internal aspects of religious organizations

· Men being allowed to use women’s restroom facilities and other facilities specifically designated for women. To even question a man on the propriety of them using the women’s facilities—whether dressed as a women or not—could be grounds for a discrimination complaint, $500 fine for each day this occurs, and a civil lawsuit.

· Men dressed as women teaching your grade school children

· Civil litigation to force businesses, schools, and even religions to conform and accept these deviant lifestyle choices

 

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

ANN ARBOR, MI – Federal District Court Judge Larry Alan Burns, ruled yesterday that the giant cross atop Mount Soledad, the center piece of a national veterans’ memorial and subject of a 20 year legal battle, can stay as it is where it is.

Judge Burns wrote: “The Court finds the memorial at Mt. Soledad, including its Latin cross, communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death and sacrifice.” Judge Burns, in his ruling, specifically cited the brief supporting the Mt. Soledad Cross filed by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Click here to read ruling).

The Law Center’s friend of the court brief was filed on behalf of the families of Marine Majors Michael D. Martino and Gerald Bloomfield, III, both of whom were killed in combat in Iraq on November 2, 2005 when their attack helicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Their memories are now preserved by plaques located under the Mt. Soledad Cross, which were dedicated in their honor by their Marine Squadron. (Click here to see brief.)

The Law Center filed its brief on behalf of Sybil and Robert Martino—parents of Major Martino—and Julie Bloomfield—spouse of Major Bloomfield. The brief contains several moving photographs of family members at the grave site at Arlington National Cemetery and at the Mt. Soledad Memorial.

Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “This is a wonderful victory, not only for the families of Majors Martino and Bloomfield who can have some comfort knowing that the memories of their loved ones are preserved under the Cross, but for all Americans who care about our young men and women who have sacrificed their lives in defense of our country. Sadly, I fully expect the ACLU attorneys to appeal this decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. So this fight is not over.”

In May 2006, Major Martino and Major Bloomfield’s unit, which had recently returned from Iraq, sponsored a plaque dedication ceremony at the memorial to commemorate the fallen Marines’ heroic service and to provide a place to honor them. Over three hundred Marines stood in line for over three hours to meet the Marines’ families and to pay respect for their fallen comrades.

The Law Center stepped in and defended the Cross just weeks before it was to be taken down pursuant to an agreement between the City of San Diego and a self-proclaimed atheist who was seeking to remove it. From that point on, the Law Center, with assistance from its West Coast Regional Director, Charles LiMandri, has played a significant role in defending the Cross.

The Law Center initially prevailed in petitioning Justice Anthony Kennedy to enjoin the City of San Diego from tearing the Cross down during and until our appeals were complete. The Law Center also launched a highly successful petition drive asking the President to save the Cross. Ultimately the Law Center prevailed in both the state and federal courts by successfully petitioning the federal government to transfer the cross from city to federal property, thereby rendering a district court’s order to remove the cross moot.

However, the ACLU soon thereafter filed a new lawsuit, this time against the federal government, claiming the transfer was improper and that the display of the memorial cross as part of this veterans’ memorial violated the so-called “wall of separation of church and state.” Federal government lawyers are defending the cross in this new lawsuit. However, the Law Center is supporting their efforts by adding a new perspective to the legal arguments supporting the cross-the importance of the cross to the surviving family members.

Over 2,000 plaques honoring individuals or groups of veterans are displayed at the memorial. Some of the plaques contain Stars of David, honoring Jewish veterans. There is also a large American flag flying at the base of the memorial. In a letter to the private association that maintains the memorial, President Bush stated, “Mount Soledad becomes a place to reflect on our past, be inspired by true patriots, and offer war veterans our heartfelt gratitude for the freedom we all enjoy today.”

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

ANN ARBOR, MI — Today, July 31st at 10:00AM EST, a New Jersey Federal Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to a public school district’s policy totally banning Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during year-end celebrations in its schools.

The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan filed the federal lawsuit on the grounds that the school district’s ban on religious music conveys a government-sponsored message of disapproval and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “The New Jersey school district’s anti-religious policy is yet another example of the militant hostility that many public schools have towards Christians and Christmas.”

Robert Muise, the Thomas More Law Center attorney who will argue the case commented, “The Constitution prohibits school districts from adopting policies that disfavor religion.  Contrary to popular myth, our Constitution does not require complete separation of church and state; it affirmatively mandates accommodation, not merely tolerance of all religions, and forbids hostility toward any.  The school district’s policy is plainly unconstitutional.

The case was filed by the Law Center and the American Catholic Lawyers Association, on behalf of Michael Stratechuk, who sued on his own and on behalf of his two school-age children on the grounds that the policy deprives the Stratechuk children of the right to receive information and ideas, an inherent corollary of their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and academic freedom.

On September 30, 2005, the district court dismissed the Law Center’s complaint, claiming that the Law Center failed to state a claim under the United States Constitution.  The Law Center appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Circuit Court reversed the district court, vacating the lower court’s decision and remanding the case for further proceedings.

In its opinion, the Third Circuit held that “[b]ecause a categorical ban on exclusively religious music, enacted with the express purpose of sending a message of disapproval of religion, appears to state a claim under the First Amendment . . . , we conclude that the complaint . . . survive[s the] motion to dismiss.”  The Third Circuit also awarded the Law Center its costs for having to bring the appeal.

The New Jersey School District policy at issue in this case was previously featured in a book, The War On Christmas, by Fox News anchor, John Gibson.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities.  It does not charge for its services.  The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization.  You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.