By Posted on Posted in Legislation

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.

 

 

By Posted on Posted in Event, Litigation, News

The St. Louis Chapter held its Annual Meeting virtually on April 27, 2023.  We were updated by our guest speakers. Michelle Henry (left), is the lead AU attorney in the lawsuits in Missouri and Kentucky challenging abortion bans on the basis that they violate church-state provisions in the state constitutions. Alex Luchenitser (right), Interim AU Legal Director, reported the status of other AU suits and amicus briefs.

We hope you were able to join us on the 27th!   If you are on our mailing list, you should have already received a message about this, which was to include the Zoom link. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in that process, and we are not able to provide it.

By Posted on Posted in Event

Rob Boston, Editor of Church and State and AU Senior Advisor appeared in a hybrid presentation at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, 12 Millstone Campus Drive in Maryland Heights, on March 13, 2023. Our own  Chapter President, Cynthia Holmes also participated.  Details are in the poster below:

Of course, it’s too late to click on “RSVP HERE”.

By Posted on Posted in Event, News

On Thursday, January 19, AU and the National Women’s Law Center sued the state of Missouri for infringing religious freedom by banning abortions. St. Louis Chapter Board members joined AU President and CEO Rachel Laser and thirteen clergy from six different religious denominations in filing “Rev Blackmon v State of Missouri” in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, asking that the court enjoin enforcement of Missouri’s comprehensive ban on abortions. If you are a member of AU, you should have already received an email about this historic action. More information about the basis of the suit and what you can do are available on the AU Website. The 83 page text of the suit can be found here. It requests a permanent injunction against enforcement of the abortion ban, and declaration that the law violates the constitution of Missouri.

By Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

Church/state lawyer Andrew Seidel has a new book out, “American Crusade: How The Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom”. Mr. Seidel explains in detail, with deep understanding and numerous examples, the dangerous perversion of the First Amendment that SCOTUS has promulgated.  The thesis of the book is identical to the AU viewpoint, and will give you all the talking points you will need for your next cocktail party arguments.

I learned about the book because of the “Opening Arguments” podcast, an enthusiasm that I recently learned that I share with AU President Rachel Laser. The 11/1 episode that includes an interview with Mr. Seidel is linked here.

By Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

The picnic was at Deer Creek Park (also known as Rocket Park) – North Pavilion, in Maplewood. We provided sandwiches, beverages, and dessert to a good crowd.

Mr. Wolff was on the faculty at St. Louis University for 23 years before he was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, where he served from 1998 to 2011, and Chief Justice from 2005 to 2007. After his stint on the Supreme Court, he returned to SLU and was Dean of the Law School until 2017., and still has an Emeritus appointment. He has spoken to us before, and is always an engaging speaker.

 

By Posted on Posted in News

Another of our Board members, Ed Wright, also wrote to the Post-Dispatch Editor about the recent Supreme Court decision about school-sponsored prayer:

“Regarding the letter ‘Supreme court fumbled football coach’s prayer ruling’ (July 4): When I read about the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing a public high school football coach to pray at the 50 yard line after games, I wondered if the six conservative justices had completely forgotten their days in middle and high school when the goal of students each day is to avoid being embarrassed, humiliated, singled out or bullied.

What the court has now allowed is nothing more than bullying – Christian bullying. It is clear from testimony by students and professional football players that the pressure to follow along with the coach was not subtle at all. this not a case of a coach’s free speech or religious rights but of inappropriate coercion by a public school authority figure.

We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostic, atheists, humanists, etc. We are strong because of our diversity and our support of diversity. However, this ruling is one more frightening step by the Supreme Court in its campaign on behalf of Christian nationalism.”

Ed Wright
Brentwood