A Time to Speak

FAITH September 2018

JUSTICE Vo l u m e X I , I s s u e 3

One Woman Finds A Major Legal Challenge Just Beyond The Bathroom Door

A Time To Speak

Shoring Up Protections For International Human Rights PAGE 5

The Implications Of Two ADF Supreme Court Wins PAGE 7

Governor Bobby Jindal: Why Challenges To Religious Freedom Are Christians’ Great Opportunity PAGE 21

Alliance Defending Freedom

CONTENTS

COVER STORY 9 A Time To Speak One Woman Finds A Major Legal Challenge Just Beyond The Bathroom Door

COLUMNS

Alliance Defending Freedom CEO Mike Farris speaks with reporters following oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, December 5, 2017.

3 News & Quick Takes

Case Updates From Around The World

5 Special Feature

Shoring Up Protections For International Human Rights

7 Opinion

John Bursch On The Implications Of Two ADF Supreme Court Wins

17 Alliance Profile Tom Benno

19 My View

How Faith-Based Adoption Changed My Life

21 Q&A with Governor Bobby Jindal

Why Today’s Challenges To Religious Liberty Are A Great Opportunity For Believers

Facebook.com/AllianceDefendingFreedom Twitter: @ADF_Magazine Instagram.com/AllianceDefendingFreedom YouTube.com/AllianceDefends Questions or comments on this issue?

Email Editor@ADFlegal.org.

15100 N. 90th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

ADFlegal.org

| 800-835-5233

Referral to websites not produced by Alliance Defending Freedom is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement.

September 2018 Vol. XI, Issue 3 Editor Chris Potts

Senior Writer Chris Potts

Art Director/Photography Bruce Ellefson

Contributors John Bursch Michael Farris T.J. Magee Charles Snow

Minutes With Michael

A Generation Stumbling Over The Truth

By Michael Farris

S

ummer started great for me: the remarkable blessing of two Supreme Court victories—Masterpiece and NIFLA (see p. 7), the birth of our 22nd grandchild, the wedding of our ninth child, Joe. And my favorite team, the Washington Capitals, finally won the Stanley Cup. There was bad news, too. In late May, Ireland voted—in a landslide— to repeal a constitutional amendment that gave equal rights to a mother and the baby in her womb, and that banned abortion where the mom’s life was not at stake. Two sad aspects of that vote caught my eye.

One showed that, just 35 years ago, when the constitutional amendment banning abortion was approved, 80-90 percent of the Irish people attended weekly church. Today, that figure is down to 20-30 percent. Even more unsettling was a survey indicating that a huge majority of Irish young people voted for abortion—83 percent of those 25-34 years of age, 87 percent of those 18-25 years of age.

Those statistics say a lot about two generations. The younger one holds very different beliefs about church and life than its elders. And the older failed to effectively communicate its values.

T WATCH: You’ll find more coverage of Mike Farris’ day at the Supreme Court at ADFlegal.org/fj­- Farris

hings in the U.S. may not be all that different. George Barna recently found that only nine percent of teens who claim to be born-again Christians believe absolute values of right and wrong are unchanging.

So, it’s little wonder young people across our country are buying into the propaganda of the abortionists and the LGBT agenda.

Somehow, as their elders—as people of faith—we’re not communicating our values. Worse, we’re not planting the enduring truth of God in those whose souls we value above all others: our own children and grandchildren. Not only are we not raising up faithful witnesses to the Gospel—more and more, we’re not even raising up fellow believers.

T

wo groups are primarily responsible for communicating God’s truth to the next generation—pastors and parents. That’s why ADF works to defend the rights of pastors to teach the whole counsel of the Word of God—and the right of families to make decisions for their children.

Parents and pastors both need to ask themselves if they’ve relied too much on support from schools and media that do not reflect the truths of God. And ask, too, if we’re really helping our children understand that God’s Word is the Truth … and not just because we say so.

Truth, justice, and freedom travel together. It’s my prayer that, more and more, we’ll faithfully and actively commit to ensuring that our own families thoughtfully embrace all three.

2

News & Quick Takes O n June 26, the U.S.

Supreme Court issued a ruling that underscored the deep constitutional problems of a California law that would have requiring pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry. ADF attorneys represented a care center network and two pregnancy centers in the case.

Denver

O n June 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2

in favor of Colorado cake artist Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The ruling was a critical win for rights of conscience, condemning the state’s decision to unjustly punish Phillips for living and working in a way consistent with his religious beliefs about marriage.

“Faith-based child welfare providers . . . are often the most effective at placing vulnerable and special needs children,” says ADF Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek. “When states respect a diversity of opinions and providers, everyone—including birth parents, families, and especially children—will benefit.”

… the Commission’s consideration of Phillips’ case was neither tolerant nor respectful of his religious beliefs.

‘‘

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that “the record here demonstrates that the Commission’s consideration of Phillips’ case was neither tolerant nor respectful of his religious beliefs.”

After the decision, a small group of protesters gathered outside Phillips’ Lakewood, Colorado shop to protest the decision. He baked them cookies.

3

In early May, both the Kansas and

Oklahoma legislatures passed legislation protecting faith-based adoption and foster care providers – ensuring their continuing freedom to serve children in the foster care system without fear of government discrimination:

California

In May, ADF attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against a Fresno State University professor who instructed students from his class to join him in defacing and erasing a pro-life group’s sidewalk chalk messages. While erasing the messages, the professor claimed, “College campuses are not free speech areas.” Watch a video of this incident: ADFlegal.org, search keywords "Fresno State."

Kansas and Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

A federal district court

issued an order on May 15 permanently preventing the federal government from enforcing the Obamacare abortion-pill mandate against four Christian universities in Oklahoma (all represented by Alliance Defending Freedom: Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University The order also declared the mandate in violation of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Other federal district courts issued similar orders recently for Christian universities in Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and California.

Warsaw

Attorneys for ADF International filed an intervention in April with the

Constitutional Tribunal of Poland, challenging a Polish abortion law that allows for the killing of the child in the womb if the baby is thought to have a disability.

ADF International contends that these abortions discriminate against people with disabilities—violating Poland’s obligations under international law as well as its own constitution.

Washington, D.C.

“If legislation mirrors society, then at present, Poland’s abortion laws mirror a society on the way to eradicating disability, not by humane medical research and innovation, but by taking the lives of children in the womb,” says Alice Neffe, Legal Counsel for ADF International.

“Disability should not become a death sentence. Every human life is valuable.”

ADF International joined U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback, and EU Special Envoy Ján Figel’ in May for a policy briefing addressing the steady rise in religious persecution all over the world.

“No person or group should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs,” says Balakrishnan Baskaran, Legal Consultant to ADF International in India. “The rise of anticonversion laws worldwide testifies to a growing crisis in religious freedom.”

One of the papers presented at this policy briefing was written by UN Counsel for ADF International Meghan Grizzle Fischer. In the run up to the briefing, Grizzle Fischer said that “United Nations entities tasked with promoting human rights have failed in their responsibility to protect religious minorities and must redirect their focus to the protection of core human rights.”

O n May 18, President Donald Trump announced that

his administration would reinstate regulations that separate abortion from the Title X funding program— a move that will close a loophole allowing taxpayer dollars to flow to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

“The Protect Life Rule won’t cut funding for health care clinics by one penny,” says ADF Senior Vice President Kristen Waggoner. But “Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars shouldn’t be used to support abortion.”

Disability should not become a death sentence.

‘‘

ADF International Legal Counsel Alice Neffe

Brussels

“I n the Western world, we seem to have forgotten the fundamental link between freedom of speech and all other freedoms in society,” Sophia Kuby, Director of EU Advocacy for ADF International, told a major gathering in Brussels in May. “Do away with free speech and you do away with a free society.”

The high-level panel of political leaders, civil rights attorneys, and communicators she addressed had been convened by ADF International and influential, Brusselsbased media outlet Euractiv to discuss the growing threat posed by so-called “hate speech laws” in many European countries.

Kuby warned the group of the dangers of “a ‘you-can’tsay-that’ culture that silences debate and has a chilling effect on society. Censorship is always a step in the wrong direction. In a free society, ideas should be fought with ideas, not criminal penalties.”

4

Special Feature

Shoring Up The Protections For International Human Rights

By Charles Snow

I

t would be a more peaceful world, indeed, if just writing and affirming a great statement like, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” were enough to make it so.

Sad to say, events across the U.S. and around the world testify to the fact that a great declaration of freedom is not, in itself, a dependable assurance of civil liberties.

In 1945, delegates from throughout the postwar world gathered in San Francisco to initiate the United Nations. Arguably the most important thing to come of that gathering, besides the institution itself, was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year marks seven decades since the document’s adoption.

Generally agreed to be the foundation of international human rights law, the UDHR contains powerful statements that were revolutionary for many parts of that still war-shattered world, and continue to be revolutionary in many parts of the globe today.

The Declaration recognizes the right to life, the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. It refers to marriage within the context of men and women, recognizes the family as the “natural and fundamental group unit of society,” and declares that parents have a “prior right” to choose the kind of education that should be given to their children.

“These are the fundamental human rights ADF International works to defend around the world today,” says Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International. “Sadly, however, in the 70 years since the UDHR, the willingness of governments and their leaders to live out the words they signed their names to has been patchy at best.”

F

or instance: imagine you’re a parent, with a child or two at school and a child or two still at home.

Word comes that a government child-welfare agency has just visited your children’s school and taken them away. Then, a banging on the door: they’ve come to take your other children, too. Not because your youngsters have been abused, or neglected … but simply because you are raising them in accordance with your personal religious beliefs.

That happened to Marius and Ruth Bodnariu of Norway, whose five young children were yanked out of their care without any warning or notice. A powerful, well-funded government agency known as Barnevernet removed the children because authorities in the family’s community felt the children were being “indoctrinated” into their parents’ faith convictions.

Thankfully—amid intense pressure from the international community—Barnevernet eventually returned the children to their home. But parents like Marius and Ruth should not have to live in fear simply for raising their children in accordance with their

ADF International [is urging] the United Nations to recommit to the vision its members so clearly articulated in the Declaration 70 years ago.

‘‘

5

sincerely held religious beliefs. Article 26 of the UDHR recognizes that as a fundamental human right—one parents enjoy before other family members, the local community, and, most importantly, the state.

Marius and Ruth are human, right?

R

uben is only six, and the only member of his family who can see—his mother and father have been blind since birth. Already, he’s seen quite a bit.

His family lives in the Indian state of Madyha Pradesh, where the ground is as dry as the air. Hardship is a fact of life for Ruben and his family.

It got much harder a few months ago, as they were holding a worship meeting at their church.

An angry mob stormed the church, assaulting the worshippers. The pastor—Ruben’s father—was dragged to the police station, along with Ruben and his mother.

There, they were stripped and beaten repeatedly, then kept in jail for three days and nights before being released on bail.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. A growing group of fanatics want to purge India of all non-Hindu religions. India faces some of the fiercest restrictions on religious freedom in the world.

According to the UDHR, Ruben and his family should have the freedom to practice their Christian faith “in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.”

After all, they’re human, right?

S

even decades after its creation, the UDHR still stands as an unprecedented global recognition of the universality of human rights. “In an age in which those rights continue to be consistently ignored, abused, and distorted,” Coleman says, “the UDHR is not only relevant, but crucial.”

To re-focus world attention on these issues, ADF International has launched a multi-faceted media campaign called “I’m Human, Right?” A key element of that campaign is The Geneva Statement on Human Rights, a statement written by ADF International to urge the United Nations to recommit to the vision its members so clearly articulated in the Declaration 70 years ago. Essential to this is a reaffirmation of the fundamental understanding that human rights are based on the inherent dignity of each and every person.

ADF International hopes to enlist thousands of people to sign its statement by the end of November.

In December, the “I’m Human, Right?” campaign will culminate with the presentation of these signatures at a special United Nations event as a powerful reminder to the delegates there that people the world over are watching, and that everyone’s human rights must be protected.

ADF International will present the “I’m Human, Right?” campaign at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in December.

VISIT: www.ImHumanRight.org to add your voice by signing The Geneva Statement on Human Rights.

WATCH: Learn how ADF International is working to protect and promote human rights the world over at ADFlegal.org/fj-Rights.

6

Opinion

Why This Year’s ADF Supreme Court Wins Are So Crucial For U.S. Christians

By John J. Bursch

T

he month of June brought welcome news of two favorable U.S. Supreme Court opinions vindicating two ADF clients, Jack Phillips and the National Institute of

Family and Life Advocates, or NIFLA. A master cake designer and devout Christian, Jack owns and operates Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, where he graciously serves all customers. But when a same-sex couple asked him to create a custom wedding cake to celebrate their marriage, he politely declined, citing his deep religious convictions. The couple filed a charge against him with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which punished Jack and his shop.

In a 7-2 opinion, the Supreme Court said the Commission violated Jack’s religious liberty and showed hostility toward religion when they disparaged Jack’s faith as despicable and opined that religious beliefs are not welcome in the public square.

The Court further determined that the Commission treated religious believers unequally by taking no action against other bakers who declined to create cakes with messages opposing same-sex marriage.

The Masterpiece win is a significant step toward protecting all people of faith as they live out their beliefs in the public square. As the Court explained, the Constitution requires government to be tolerant toward religion and calls into question situations where there is “even slight suspicion that proposals for state intervention stem from animosity to religion or distrust of its practices.”

This ruling does not mean that businesses can refuse to serve someone simply because of their sexual orientation; that would be contrary to the law … and Christianity itself. But it undeniably supports creative professionals who decline to participate in a same-sex celebration because of their religious beliefs about marriage.

LEARN MORE

Visit ADFlegal.org to see how Alliance Defending Freedom is protecting religious liberty nationwide and around the world.

N

IFLA—whose attorneys protect more than 1,400 pro-life pregnancy centers around the country—was forced to challenge a California law that required (1) medically-licensed pregnancy centers to inform clients where they could obtain a

7

The ruling also ensures that pro-life organizations can continue to speak the truth about abortion without a hostile government getting in between the speakers and their clients.

‘‘

John J. Bursch

government-funded abortion, and (2) unlicensed centers to add a disclaimer in all advertising, explaining that the centers do not provide medical services. The first requirement forces pregnancy centers to be spokespersons for abortion; the second compels these centers to dissuade their own potential clients and effectively prohibits the centers from advertising.

In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court found both portions of the law to be constitutionally problematic. The ruling said that this regulation of licensed centers excessively burdened them with unwanted speech. And the regulation of unlicensed centers addressed an imaginary problem and wrongfully forced centers to speak the government’s message. Justice Anthony Kennedy added a concurrence, noting that the law appeared to intentionally discriminate against pro-life views.

This ruling reaffirms what most Americans already believe: that the government cannot compel citizens to speak its messages. The ruling also ensures that pro-life organizations can continue to speak the truth about abortion without a hostile government getting in between the speakers and their clients. At the same time, the ruling preserves disclosure requirements by abortion providers, since medical procedures always require informed consent.

T

hese two Supreme Court victories help guarantee all Americans the right to speak and to act in accord with their conscience, even when the government disagrees. The results should not be surprising, yet—because of the anti-religious hostility that increasingly pervades our culture—they are. Indeed, despite the win in NIFLA, it’s troubling to note that four justices went on record as believing it was okay for government to force pro-life centers to encourage abortions.

That number alone shows how important the battles over vacant seats on the Supreme Court really are.

John J. Bursch is Vice President of Appellate Advocacy at Alliance Defending Freedom.

8

9

Cover Story

A Time To Speak One Woman Finds A Major Legal Challenge Just Beyond The Bathroom Door

By Chris Potts

A

lexis Lightcap is one of those lively teens whose energy just naturally overflows … especially when she’s stuck in a study hall class that seems to be going on forever. One particular early spring morning, halfway through her junior year of high school, she chose to channel her restlessness into a quick trip upstairs to grab a book from her second-floor locker.

Coming back down—and, like most teens, in no great hurry to get back to class—she elected to swing by the bathroom. Pushing open the door, she instinctively glanced up at the full-length mirror just inside, which offers a fairly panoramic view of the facilities. The first thing she saw was a boy, standing at one of the sinks, washing his hands.

After the inevitable double-take—“Am I in the right bathroom?”—her first thought was straight to the point: “I need to leave.” She darted to her classroom and told her teacher what she’d seen. It was a new situation for the teacher, too.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “Let’s just take this to the office.”

To the office they took it. The woman behind the front desk looked up blandly as the teacher introduced Alexis and said, “She has something to tell you.”

“What’s going on?” the secretary asked, in a tone that suggested nothing going on would surprise her very much.

“There’s a male in the girls’ bathroom,” Alexis said.

Silence. Finally, after a moment of waiting, apparently, for Alexis to elaborate, the secretary said, “Okay. Well … do you want to meet with someone?” Alexis did. “Well, your grade-level principal is in a meeting right now.” That seemed to be all the help the secretary had to offer.

“You know what? I’ll just come back later,” Alexis said.

A few hours later, she found herself in the office of the administrator assigned to handle her agegroup’s problems. “So, what’s going on?” he asked, in the same tone as the secretary.

“Well,” Alexis said, “there was a man in the bathroom.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened?”

10

I completely lost my voice — I just wasn’t who I was supposed to be.

‘‘

Alexis Lightcap

I’m doing this for the greater good … for all of those people who don’t feel like they have a voice.

‘‘

Alexis Lightcap

Alexis told him. The administrator took out a yellow Post-It note and began jotting on it.

“Well,” he said, “there’s a policy here at Boyertown High School that if you identify with the opposite sex, you’re allowed to use the bathroom for the sex you identify with.”

This was news to Alexis. She was sure it would be news to her parents, too.

“When did—what’s going on?”

“We’re in a process of communicating that,” he replied, standing up. “Okay—I’ll get back to you.”

And that was the last Alexis ever heard from him.

It’s also how Alexis came to learn the most challenging lesson of her later high school years: how to avoid using the bathroom during school hours.

L

earning how to work around difficult rules and lessthan-helpful administrators was a lesson Alexis mastered early on, as do many children caught in the fostercare system. She was eight years old when officials came and removed her and her two-year-old sister from their mother. By the time she was 10, Alexis knew they would never go back to her.

“That moment, when you know the person who birthed you, who you knew for eight years, that you’ll

11

never be with her again—that’s sad,” she says. “Your whole world changes.

“Growing up in the foster care system, I was … just another person. I didn’t interact with anyone. I completely lost my voice—I just wasn’t who I was supposed to be.

I was going through the motions, never enjoying life.”

In the system, Alexis says, “you were basically put under a light. You weren’t allowed to just go to other people’s houses, or ‘sleep over.’ You don’t have the same name as the people you’re staying with. When they went on vacations, they wouldn’t take me and my sister. It gets very confusing.

“What other people thought of as ‘little things’ were a big deal in my life. Everything I did was monitored by some people who really didn’t know me. A lady would come out and visit, but she really didn’t know what was going on in that household … because, if she did, she wouldn’t have let us stay there.”

“As much as I believe foster care systems try to help people and get kids out of negative situations, in the end, I was put into another negative situation. They tried to

WATCH: See Alexis tell her story in her own words at ADFlegal.org/fj-Alexis

Compassion … doesn’t mean we compromise the privacy of every other student in the school.

‘‘

ADF Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb

place us in a good home, but … we were just one of those families that it didn’t work out positively for.”

T

hen, along came the Lightcaps.

“When I first met Lex, she was eight years old, and it was in church,” Stephanie Lightcap remembers. “It was her first day there, and she had a grumpy face. I said, ‘Hello, nice to meet you.’ And she turned around and smiled and shook my hand—and then she went back to being grumpy again. I just loved her.”

Stephanie and her husband, Ryan, have a biological daughter, but had been praying about adopting more children for years. Their little girl soon became friends with Alexis’ little sister at church. Birthday parties and play dates kept bringing the Lightcaps into contact with Alexis and her sister, and when they learned that the girls’ current foster family would not be able to adopt them, they quickly applied for the privilege.

After six months as the girls’ newest foster family, the Lightcaps officially adopted Alexis and her sister eight years ago through a faithbased adoption agency. “It was a wonderful experience,” Stephanie says.

“The social workers—everybody. It was an incredibly fast process. People said, ‘It’s going to take a long time.’ But God had other plans. He worked everything out.”

For Alexis, the whole world changed.

“The biggest feeling was relief,” she says. “Just thankfulness: I’m where I belong. These people are who I’m supposed to be with. I had a family. It might seem like such a simple thing, but before, I didn’t. I wasn’t part of a family. I was part of a system.

“Imagine,” she says, “becoming part of something that you know is forever—like marriage. Me and my sister were like, ‘Yeah! We have a new name!’ Family is such a thrown-around word, but it’s really a powerful thing … because, at the end of the day, that’s all I’ve got.”

Well, not quite. Becoming a Lightcap also shed another Light on Alexis’ life.

“My spiritual journey has been greatly impacted by my adoption story,” she says. “Think of where I came from. I’ve flown to Disney World, I’ve been all over the country, I’ve been to Guatemala … I would never have gotten these experiences if it wasn’t for God getting me out of that situation, breaking me and molding me and then creating me into something new.

Alexis cooks at home with her sister.

12

My parents taught me, ‘Your voice matters … and you need to speak up for yourself.’

‘‘

Alexis Lightcap Alexis at home with her family.

“When I got my new name, I became someone new. And since then, my life hasn’t been the same. ‘Love God with all your heart.’ It’s like a new life begins.”

If you let fear get the better of you, because of what other people say or don’t say, what justice is being served?

‘‘

Ryan Lightcap

13

I

n time, that new life brought Alexis and her family to Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The high school there was itself an education for Alexis—she found herself one of the few blacks on a nearly-all-white campus. And, at times, on the blunt, painful, receiving end of racism.

“I haven’t felt a part of the school,” she says. “I’ve felt separated because of the color of my skin. I’ve had unbelievable comments made to me that you would never imagine people actually saying. If you let it get to you, it could break you.

“There are great people there—some of my best friends—but there are very hateful people, too.

Not that Alexis is one to pout and chew on her wounds. “She is a bubbly girl,” Stephanie says. “She knows the Lord, and she follows Him. She’s very strong in her faith. She makes things interesting, and she’s just fun to be around.”

She was also taught not to bow to other people’s antagonisms. If you let other people determine your attitude, her dad told her, “You’re no better than the rest of them. Always treat them better than they’re treating you. Love people as God has loved you—you’ll get far in life.”

And, “put yourself in other people’s shoes,” her mom said. Alexis says she tries to do so. “You have to say, ‘What are they going through?

What’s their history? I have a past, so obviously, others have a past, too.

You have to look at things a little differently.”

But her parents also passed along one other crucial lesson, Alexis says.

“My parents taught me, ‘Your voice matters.’ In the foster system, I completely lost my voice. I lost who I was. But slowly, consistently, she

says, her parents drilled home the message. ‘You can be heard, and you will be heard.

You have a say in this world, whether anyone likes it or not.

And you need to speak up for yourself.’

“And since then, I haven’t stopped talking,” she laughs.

As days passed after the bathroom incident, with no word of explanation, support, or apology from officials at her school, Alexis began to realize that a time had come for her to speak up, in a way she never had before.

S

And two, she realized she could bring something to the lawsuit the male plaintiff couldn’t: the voice of a young black woman, who could express the particular vulnerabilities that come with both of those identities.

“I know a lot of girls at my school who have the same views as me,” she says, “but they’re not as outgoing as me. They don’t want to be out there. But as much as I don’t want to be out there, I felt like it was my calling— something I needed to do.

I’m doing this for the greater good … for all of those people who don’t feel like they have a voice.”

So certain was she of her calling that Alexis decided to go one step further than the other plaintiffs (four other boys and girls also joined the lawsuit): she chose to reveal her actual name, in lieu of a pseudonym. Everyone at her school would know the stand she had taken.

But as her day in court drew near—and the anLightcap nouncement of her name— Alexis had her doubts.

“I’m terrified,” she told her dad. And she remembers his reply.

“If you let fear get the better of you, because of what other people say or don’t say, what justice is being served?

You’ll be back to your voice not being heard again. You need to speak up.”

One day last spring, in a federal courthouse, she did.

he soon learned that she wasn’t the only one who’d been startled and embarrassed by the unannounced new policy. Others reported similar experiences, and one boy protested when, changing clothes in the locker room, he looked up to see a girl in a similar half-dressed state.

None of the other teens’ complaints had been taken any more seriously than Alexis’ had, and now the young man had determined to file a Alexis lawsuit. His lawyers—Alliance Defending Freedom staff attorneys and ADF allied attorneys at Pennsylvania’s Independence Law Center—invited Alexis to join the litigation. About the same time, her father heard something on the radio about the Independence Law Center, and told Alexis they might be of help to her.

“We can call if you like,” he told her. “But only if you want to. If you don’t want to get involved, you don’t have to. This is all your choice … your voice. If you want it to be er case was decided almost before it could be preheard, you can let them hear it.” sented. A three-judge panel representing the U.S. Two things clenched that decision for Alexis. One, afCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit retired for less ter talking to ADF allied attorneys (who introduced her to than half an hour (an unusually short time) before rulADF lawyers who would serve as co-counsel), “I knew I had ing unanimously for a school that changed its privacy people fighting for me, who were actually listening to my policies without ever telling students or their parents.

Steve Tennes voice, wanting to take action, get involved, and help me Alexis was left shocked and teary-eyed, less by the deciout. ADF is amazing.” sion than the tone of the judges.

As much as I don’t want to be out there, I felt like it was my calling – something I needed to do.

‘‘

H

14

A lot of people out there don’t like the message Lex communicates.

But this is a road that she’s chosen to take.

‘‘

ADF Legal Counsel Christiana Holcomb

15

“Very disappointing,” she said. “They made me feel—again—like my voice was not heard.”

Her attorneys are now considering the best route to appeal her case.

“Every individual has a right to bodily privacy,” says Christiana Holcomb, ADF Legal Counsel, who is one of those representing Alexis.

“The right to protect and shield the most intimate parts of our bodies from the view of the opposite sex. Our bodies are different. That’s the reason we as a society have established separate locker rooms, showers, and restrooms for guys and for girls.

“Young people in their teen years are growing into their bodies.

They’re figuring out who they are; they’re extremely vulnerable and insecure in many respects. They should be allowed to go through those things and to experience those things in privacy.

“Unfortunately,” Holcomb says, “school administrators across the land are casting off common sense and exposing young students to members of the opposite sex in these intimate private facilities.” That many do so with the best of intentions doesn’t lessen the damage, she says.

For some young people, Holcomb points out, these situations are simply awkward or embarrassing; for others, they trigger vivid memories of past physical or sexual abuse.

“These policies are tailored to a small segment, at the expense of the broader student population,” Holcomb says. “So, while we have the deepest compassion for those who are struggling with really personal issues of their own sexual identity, that doesn’t mean we compromise the privacy of every other student in the school as a result.

“Schools can craft policies that cater to the needs of every student,” Holcomb says, “ensuring that their privacy and dignity and safety are respected and protected. Every student matters—and that’s what Alliance Defending Freedom is advocating for in this case.”

S

omewhat to her astonishment, Alexis did not become the pariah of her school in the last weeks of her senior year. A flood of social media contacts offered support and appreciation for her stand, and many of her fellow students, church members, and even teachers took her aside to tell her they were proud of her courage in stepping forward.

“I’ve gotten to know Alexis pretty well through this,” Holcomb says, “and she’s just an incredible young woman. She’s full of depth and character, and willing to take risks for other people, not just herself.” That’s important, Holcomb says, because the challenges aren’t over.

“A lot of people out there don’t like the message Lex communicates. She knows that by putting her name out there, this is going to be a very difficult experience. But this is a road that she’s chosen to take.

She has counted the cost.”

“I’m speaking up for those who can’t,” Alexis says, “even if they don’t know I’m speaking up for them. If I didn’t do it, I feel like I would be letting a lot of people down. I can’t have that burden on my shoulders. That’s a bigger burden than speaking up.”

I’m speaking up for those who can’t, even if they don’t know I’m speaking up for them.

‘‘

Alexis Lightcap

16

Alliance Profile

Tom Benno

By Charles Snow

B

efore Tom Benno wrestled with the challenges of the law, he wrestled with … wrestlers.

Growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, his heroes were the great pro wrestlers of his day. In high school, he went to the mat for the wrestling team. After college, he grappled with the hard realities of work in the Treasury Department, where he found laws were selectively enforced under the then-administration, and “an anti-Christian bias” poisoned his workaday atmosphere.

Then came a clear sense of God calling Tom to go to law school—a place he did not want to go. “I did everything possible not to get accepted,” he says, but in the end, came to grips with his destiny. He graduated Tom Benno from John Marshall Law School and started working on personal injury cases. That soon led him into practicing criminal law.

But it was his successful blocking of a middleschool principal’s effort to direct sixth graders to read a pornographic book that prompted a fellow church member to point Tom toward Alliance Defending Freedom. Soon after, Tom attended an ADF Legal Academy training session, where he quickly became impressed by the ministry’s commitment to truth and approach to litigation.

17

Embracing that commitment and that approach gave him new confidence for his interactions with opponents. For one thing, Tom found himself more prepared to step forward and debate opposing attorneys who supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

As an Allied Attorney with ADF, he’s defended (among others) a street preacher, a pregnancy care center, a church, and the Illinois Family Institute—all in addition to other cases he’s handled as a free service to his community.

I

ronically, community service also spurred Tom to return—after 30 years—to the joy of his youth: wrestling. After a year of training, he climbed into the ring again, using his spare time away from his stillthriving law practice to entertain crowds of wrestling fans. He is part of a local association that seeks to keep the rough-and-tumble world of character wrestling a source of family-friendly entertainment. More than that—to his surprise—it’s opened up a new way for Tom to share his faith in Christ.

His fellow wrestlers marvel that a man in his early 60s can still handle himself in the ring, and their interest has sparked conversations that have let him lead some to the Lord. Kids aren’t the only ones interested in watching; judges—even some who’ve disagreed with him in the courtroom—have actually come to see him wrestle. That, too, has led to some Gospel conversations.

“Once you get older, you realize that the opportunities are right in front of you,” Tom says, marveling at how the Lord has used his varied interests. “This is all Jesus. God has let me do this.”

June was a busy month for religious freedom at the Supreme Court.

June 4, 2018 Jack Phillips wins.

The Court says the government can’t act with “hostility” toward people of faith.

June 25, 2018 Barronelle Stutzman gets a new day in court.

The Court says Barronelle’s case must continue in light of the ruling in Jack’s case.

June 26, 2018 Free speech protected.

The Court rules that NIFLA pro-life pregnancy centers cannot be forced to promote messages they disagree with.

Learn how these cases and others are having a lasting impact for your freedom.

ADFLegal.org/FJ-SCOTUS

My View

How Faith-Based Adoption Changed My Life

By T.J. Magee

S

urvival.

The daycare administrator, Harriett For the first six years of my life, survivMoseley, started helping us. We were so dirty ing was everything. Surviving being neglected. and unkept, she’d actually have to clean Surviving being alone. Surviving so I could help us and give us a change of clothes when we my three younger siblings survive, too. came in. She began encouraging my dad to I was born into a seriously dysfunctional get grounded in church, find ways to support family in Jacksonville, Florida. My birth parhimself, stick to a healthier path. But every ents, heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol, netime he did, my mom would reappear and glected to care for my younger siblings and me. shatter his newfound stability.

My dad worked overtime as a carpenter; my mom found her own ways to earn money for hen I was four, she showed up to conmore drugs. She only came home now and then ceive my baby sister, Janie. A Christian to see my dad for one reason: to get pregnant. man named Wayne Hamilton, whom my dad She loved bewas working for, did all ing pregnant. After he could to help both I was born, she left my parents, and when me with my father Janie was born—and my and Grandma Jane, mom left again—he and who lived down the his wife, Christina, volstreet. A few months unteered to take care of later, she came home her. Dad agreed. and got pregnant My brothers and I with my brother, Steremained in our dad’s phen. Five months custody, spending many T. J . M a g e e after he was born, days alone in our house she came home and without adult superviconceived my youngest brother, David. By then, sion. Before long, we found ourselves in the fosI was barely old enough to walk, let alone take ter care system, living with strangers and separesponsibility for my brothers. But someone rated from each other for the first time. had to be the mom, so I took the job.

After a few months, Harriett Moseley The one place where my brothers and found us. She and her husband offered to I could truly just be children was a local take all three of us into their home and be our Christian daycare, where my dad took us a few guardians. The Moseleys received no monthly days a week. There, we found rest from the government paycheck for doing this. They just constant chaos and destruction of our home. freely gave of their time, love, and resources.

And there, God began prompting other people They took care of us. Trained us. Taught to get involved in our lives. us about Jesus. Got rid of the living room

W

Sometimes, I think the moment we say, ‘No way!’ is the moment God replies, ‘Oh, yes!’

‘‘

19

T.J. Magee

WATCH: See more of T.J.’s story at ADFlegal.org/fj-Magee

couches to make room for my brothers’ bunkbeds; turned their office into a room for me.

what to expect, especially since we were dealing with both Florida and Delaware law.

On April 13, 2004, my brothers and I became Magees and started our new life.

M

I

eanwhile, up in Delaware, a young married couple, Mark and Angel Magee, were looking into adoption. Mark was a pastor; Angel, a teacher. They had a four-year-old son, Micah. They let their families know of their interest in adoption, and Mark’s sister, Meri—who attended the same church as the Moseleys—told them about my brothers and me.

“THREE!?! NO WAY!” Mark said, when he heard about us. (Sometimes, I think the moment we say, “No way!” is the moment God replies, “Oh, yes!”)

Over the next year, God led them to adopt us.

The process was very messy. My brothers and I were wards of the state, and my birth parents fought to keep their parental rights. But thankfully, Bethany Christian Services, a faith-based adoption agency, came alongside Mark and Angel to guide them through the turbulent process.

Bethany provided them with invaluable support, helping prepare them for the challenges of bringing my brothers and I into their home with classes and support groups prior to the adoption. They counseled them on how to address the emotional wounds that we carried as children and on how to walk with us and shepherd us through the healing process.

When legal services were needed to help finalize the transfer of parental responsibility to Mark and Angel, Bethany Christian Services provided guidance on

t took a lot of counseling, love, and incredible patience to get us past all of that painful history. And Bethany was there through it all. Their counselors stopped by regularly to check on us and ensure that our transition to our new home was going smoothly.

Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t, but through the years, the Bethany workers were always just a phone call away, providing a crucial word of encouragement or advice on how to cope with kids facing attachment disorder. I learned—from my own experience, and from seeing all that Bethany did to help us —how much support adopting families need, and what a life-changing difference they can make.

That’s the main reason I’ve begun a ministry called “I Am Wanted”—to tell my story, promote adoption, fight abortion, raise money for adopting families, and offer support to adoptive families who need help dealing with their children’s dysfunction.

And I’m happy now to be working with Alliance Defending Freedom to promote faith-based adoption services, and the need to protect their freedom to operate in ways consistent with their faith (see p. 3).

These faith-based services are often especially effective at placing vulnerable and special needs children.

I want everyone I meet to know that no situation is too messed up. No person is ever too far gone. You are loved. You are wanted. And the God who made the universe loves you.

20

Q&A

Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Challenges To Religious Liberty Offer Believers A Great Opportunity

By Chris Potts

Bobby Jindal began making his impact on American politics at a remarkably young age. By the time he was elected to his first term as governor of Louisiana in 2008, he’d already served as Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, president of the University of Louisiana system, principal adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and two terms as a U.S. Congressman. And he was still just 36 years old.

Born to Indian immigrants, Governor Jindal was the nation’s first Indian-American governor and only its second Indian-American congressman. He is a Rhodes scholar, recognized in particular for his expertise on health care and education. He was a Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency during the 2016 campaign.

Governor Jindal grew up in a Hindu family, but converted to Christianity in high school and was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. He is married and the father of three children.

F&J: How did your own religious conversion influence your views on religious freedom?

BJ: What an amazing blessing, to live in a country where I, as a teenager, could choose for myself the most fundamental beliefs about how I was going to live my life. To live in a society where you’re free to make those decisions for yourself, and there’s no government authority interfering. We should never take that for granted.

Historically, we’ve understood that diversity in our country’s not something we should simply tolerate, but something that gives us our strength. That’s beginning to change. The vast majority of Americans still identify themselves as believers, but you’re seeing an increasing number of secular elites [who are] less likely to know, to interact with, to understand people of faith. With that lack of understanding comes a lack of tolerance.

21

For Christians, that gives us a great challenge but also a great opportunity. We’re called to be peacemakers in society … to respond with patience and humility; not hatred, but love. We should patiently explain our beliefs to others, and explain why these are so fundamental to us.

We also need to make the case that, whether they agree with us or not, [all Americans] should absolutely fight for … our rights of religious liberty, understanding that religious liberty is the foundation behind freedom of speech and freedom of association. That is becoming increasingly important.

F&J: How hard is it to be a person of faith in the kind of work you do?

BJ: Young people ask my advice about whether to run for office or get involved in politics. Most will tell you, “I’m willing to make financial sacrifices, to work hard,

Governor Bobby Jindal

We should patiently explain our beliefs to others, and explain why these are so fundamental to us.

‘‘

Bobby Jindal to spend time away from my family—let me tell you all the things I’m willing to do to win an election.” And I tell them, “That’s great, but I want to know what you are willing to do to lose an election. What principles, what beliefs, are you willing to lose an election over?” Most people don’t think about it that way.

Once you get into politics, you’re pulled in so many directions—voters, volunteers, donors, political opponents, political friends. If you’re not confident in who you are, what you believe, what’s really important ahead of time, it’s very dangerous to get into a situation where you’re being tempted in so many different directions. You’ve got to have your spiritual formation—your prayer partners, people who hold you accountable—whether you’re in politics or not.

Bobby Jindal

Winning’s not the only thing. You have to look at life from an eternal perspective. And if you remember that, it actually simplifies a lot of dilemmas in politics.

F&J: Do you think Christians in America really recognize the growing threat to religious freedom?

BJ: There’s a temptation for Christians to fall into this “victim” mentality, the “woe is us” mentality. That’s dangerous. We have to remind ourselves that the tomb is empty—Jesus isn’t on that cross any more. That’s incredibly liberating: God has not only died for us, He’s risen for us. We worship an all-powerful God. There’s hard work to be done. But we should go about it with a joyous heart.

We need a spiritual revival. It’s not just about winning elections. Sometimes—and I say this as somebody who’s heavily involved in politics—we put too much of our faith in elected leaders or political parties. We believe that if we just elect the right person, appoint the right judge, pass one more good law, all of our problems will be solved. That’s a very shortsighted perspective.

This is more than just about winning an election or writing one law or winning one court case. This is about the need for spiritual revival in our country.

22

“I have great confidence in ADF as they tirelessly defend and promote religious freedom in our country and around the world. My estate plan includes a gift to support the future of ADF and to leave a godly heritage to the next generation.”

— Jerry B.

Pass on a legacy of freedom.

Please contact the ADF Foundation at 844-233-6692 or LegacyGiving@ADFlegal.org to discuss your legacy giving.