The 2025 Summit for Religious Freedom was in Washington DC, April 5-7. Four members of our Board attended, enjoying and learning from presentations, videos, and discussions with fellow AUers and political figures in Washington. The last day of the event was largely consumed by visits by with our Senators and Congresspersons, informing them our views on church/state issues. April 4 also coincidentally overlapped with a protest march at the Washington Monument, in which many of our conference attendees participated. The photo above was taken before the crowd of over 45,000 had really assembled.

Click on the underscored bill number to see the details and status. Contact your legislator or the bill sponsor to register your opposition or support.  Full texts are available from the links. General Assembly adjourns 5/16.

SB594 (HB34 Billington) Jamie Burger [R] Ten Commandments. Requires posting of the Ten Commandments in every public or charter school classroom in Missouri. Hearing held 3/25, S Education Committee. Opposition to this bill, featuring comments by our Board member Rev. Bart Tichenor and other opposition speakers that were organized by Bart and Board member Rev. Brian Kaylor was featured on the front-page story in the March 26 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Email the Senate Education Committee and the President Pro Tem. Executive session on 4/2 postponed.

SB681 Jill Carter [R] Pregnancy Center Diversion. Allows taxpayers to satisfy 100% of their income tax obligation up to $50K per year by donations to “pregnancy resource centers”, organizations that oppose abortion. Referred to S Economic and Workforce Development Committee.

HB75 (SB739 Schnelting) Cathy Loy [R] The “Missouri Religious Freedom Protection Act”.  Exempts religious meetings from closure due to pandemics, for example. Voted “Do Pass” 10-4 in the HCS Committee.  Hearing held 3/4. Sent to General Laws Committee.

HB77 Cathy Loy ]R] “The Missouri Parental Choice Tax Credit”. This another voucher proposal, which would allow parents to take a tax credit for expenses involved in the education of a student in private schools. HCS reported Do Pass (H) – AYES: 10 NOES: 5

HJR54 Melanie Stinnett [R] Negates the constitutional right to abortion, except for rape or incest, and has 12-week limit. Referred to House Children and Families Committee. This may be the vehicle under which the repeal would be enacted, combining and subsuming HJR’s 9, 14, 30, 31, 47, 59,63, 73,  and 97, HBs 163, 194, 195, 429, 581, 919, 1119, 1246, 1304, 1367, 1474, 1581, and SJRs 5, 8, 9, 17, 23, 25, 29, 33, 41, 52, and 55.

SJR5 Rick Brattin [R] This is a proposed constitutional amendment that would supersede the “right to abortion” amendment that was passed in 2024. Referred to Senate Family, Seniors, and Health Committee. No action since February 6.

HB195 Brian Seitz [R] and HB119 Holly Jones [R] “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act”. Referred to House Rules – Legislative Committee. Reported “Do Pass”, Vote 6-3. Senate second read and referred to S Families, Seniors, and Health. House  roll callin list for third reading: Y 109, N 32, NV 9, Abs 12

SB119 Mike Moon [R] Outlaws “chemical abortion” by making possession of relevant chemicals illegal and their use a felony. Referred Family, Seniors, and Health Committee. No action since 1/23.

SB118 Mike Moon [R] combined with  SB49 Rusty Black [R] Authorizes “volunteer” chaplains in public schools.  We testified against these bills in the Senate Education Committee hearing. Bill Combined w/(SCS SBs 49 & 118). Moribund lately. No House bill filed.

SB195 Rick Brattin [R] and SB 53  Richard West [R]Authorizes 100% deduction for expenses in educating a student in a nonpublic school. SCS Voted Do Pass (w/ SCS/SBs 195 & 53) Education Committee. Substantial impact on the state budget is noted, and 28-3 witnesses in opposition at House Emerging Issues hearing. This is dangerous and potentially budget-breaking bill.

SJR8 Mike Moon [R] Confers personhood on fetuses, from conception. This would become a constitutional amendment. Referred to Families, Seniors, and Health Committee. Voted “Do Pass” 3/5

SB77 Adam Schnelting [R] The title of this bill implies that it is about “concealed carry” of firearms on public transit, but includes ambiguous language about the situation in churches.  Reported “Do Pass” by House Rules-Administrative Committee.  Still on Informal Bills for Perfection. HB328 Tim Taylor [R] is the House version of this proposal, and could be the vehicle that crosses the finish line. It also has the provision about guns in churches.

Abortion The voter-approved constitutional amendment that passed in November 2024 is the target for about a dozen Republican bills that would repeal it; three of them are linked above. The House bill to be voted (4/14-18) would allow abortion in medical emergencies and when fetal anomalies are detected, as well as in rape or incest cases in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. It would also clear the way for the prohibition of other abortions through court action. After the expected House action, it would have to be approved by the GOP-controlled Senate in order for the proposal to appear as a constitutional amendment on the ballot later this year or next.

More to come.

Contacts for Missouri legislators can be found at Missouri.gov.

Inside the movement to redirect billions of taxpayer dollars to private religious schools.

This is investigative reporting by Alec MacGillis in the New Yorker Magazine of January 20, 2025.  Focusing on Ohio, but as a template for similar efforts in other states, this article should be read by every person concerned about the diversion of public funds to private religious education.  The article appears beginning on page 40 0f the January 20, 2025 issue.  The online version is behind a pay wall, but you may be able to read it from the co-publisher, ProPublica.

The meeting that was to be at The Heights, was postponed to Saturday evening April 27, 7:00-9:00 pm.  It featured an update on our lawsuit against the state of Missouri by Denise Lieberman, AU’s local attorney for the case, and comments by some of the plaintiffs.    We had a report on the status of bills in the Missouri legislature that impinge on church/state separation.

The business meeting included an update on our finances, plans for the annual picnic and other activities, and the election of new Board members.

A persuasive op-ed appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on July 24, 2023. Its authors are L. Lewis Wall and Douglas Brown, Emeritus Professors in the Washington University School of Medicine. They describe the ways in which the “personhood” claim relative to abortion riights violates the religious liberties of citizens. All of this is relevant to our suit against the state of Missouri. Read (or listen to) the whole essay here.

 

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch republished on June 5, 2023, an editorial from the Kansas City Star that urged Governor Mike Parson not to sign a bill (SB 34) passed in the most recent legislative session. It would allow public schools to offer elective courses on the Bible.  We have testified against this bill every time it has been proposed over the last few years, and managed to kill it until 2023.  We don’t trust the Christian right nor the legislature to define appropriate boundaries for these courses, which will often be taught in public schools in which a vocal if diminishing Christian majority often dominates. Other religious texts are not included

Click on the underscored bill number to see the text. Contact your legislator or the bill sponsor to register your opposition or support.

HB 136 (Brad Hudson [R]) Prohibits public institutions from discriminating against religious student organizations. [Such organizations often limit leadership to members of “their” religion, in contravention to the institutional rules about discrimination.] Senate General Laws Committee Hearing 4/26 was cancelled.

Josh Hurlbert (R) has a slew of bills to expand the Mo Empowerment Scholarship program, which provides vouchers to the parents of private school students. HB 242 and HB 572 (Sander (R) expand the program to any elementary or secondary student in the state, and requires that all students receive a grant equal to the state adequacy target. HB 243 expands the program to Boone, Cass, Franklin, Greene, Jasper, and Platte counties. (Same as HB 875) Second reading 1/5. HB 244 defines all enrolled students as “qualified” for scholarships. Second reading 1/5. HB 245 allows parents receiving the “scholarships” to forgo the grant for a year,  without having losing eligibility or having to requalify. These are Dead – reported “do not pass” by House Rules Committee, and not on calendar. Dead

HB 293 Alex Riley [R] Establishes the so-called Religious Freedom Protection Act. Hearing held 1/25. 6 testifying in support, 4 in opposition, including our Brian Kaylor. Dead. Reported “Do pass” by House Rules Committee, but no action in the Senate.

HB 398 (Keri Ingle [D]) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in the placement of foster children. This is one we can support, but it went nowhere in this legislature. Dead – not assigned to a committee.

HB 484 (Ben Baker [R]) and SB 34 ) Enables public schools to offer elective courses in “the Hebrew Scriptures” and the New Testament. We testified against this two years ago, and it was introduced again last year, too. Sunday School an additional five days per week. The Senate version of this is SB 34. (Karla May [D] 4/18 . Was delivered for the Governor’s signature

HB 485 (Ben Baker [R]) Allows firearms in churches and other places of worship with a concealed carry permit. This actually prevents places of worship from excluding guns.  4/17 reported Do Pass (7-3) by Rules Committee – not on Calendar. Amended onto  HB 282 , which allows open carry almost everywhere. Was not sent to the Governor, despite having votes in House and Senate.

HB 632 (Dirk Deaton [R]) Establishment of the “Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Religious Liberty Advocate” for the purpose of strengthening and expanding the role of faith-based organizations in providing social services, information about state grants and other state partnerships, and promoting the fundamental human right to religious liberty. Dead – not assigned to Committee

HB 768 (Herman Morse [R]) Private schools that meet “state requirements” (which ones?) for public school districts can receive public funding. Dead – not assigned to Committee.

Contacts for Missouri legislators can be found at Missouri.gov.

 

 

Our Annual Meeting was held at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2019 at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road, 63117.  We had a panel of experts on the Missouri Legislature, including Missouri State Representative Deb Lavender of Kirkwood, Karen Aroesty, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, and James Croft, Outreach Director of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, discussing “Destroying the Wall”, the attacks on church/state separation in the current session. It was be moderated by our President, Cynthia Holmes.