by Jorge Gomez • 5 min read
With the New Year well underway, we have tremendous expectations of how God will work through First Liberty in 2024.
The last few weeks have been filled with victories for religious liberty. In December alone, we were happy to announce multiple wins with huge impact. Those include three wins for houses of worship in Texas and California. We also won a big case in New York ending 30 years of discrimination against Jewish communities.
Also in the Empire State, we secured a win in federal appeals court for His Tabernacle Family Church. The Court rejected a law that attempted to make houses of worship gun-free zones, while allowing businesses to use firearms to defend themselves.
2023 ended on a very positive note. Now, looking ahead, we’re in a position to build on this momentum. We have many new battles that we’re fighting, plus important cases that have been working their way through the courts.
New Cases:
- Pastor Chris Avell of Dad’s Place: Defending an Ohio pastor who’s facing criminal charges for opening his church 24/7 to serve his community.
- WallBuilders: Fighting for a religious and educational organization whose ads were rejected from being displayed on Washington D.C.’s public buses.
- Somali-American Moms: Representing several Muslim families in the suburbs of Minneapolis requesting to opt out their kids from reading books that discuss sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Rabbi Naftaly Hertzel: Stopping antisemitism in Boca Raton, Florida, where a homeowner’s association won’t allow a Rabbi and his wife to use their property for religious gatherings.
Major Ongoing Cases:
- California Charter Schools: California won’t allow three families to choose a religious education. Federal lawsuit filed to stop California’s religious discrimination.
- Heather Rooks: Federal lawsuit filed after she was told she can’t quote the Bible.
- Valerie Kloosterman: Fired by Michigan Health for seeking a religious accommodation from using biology-obscuring pronouns and referring patients for “gender reassignment” drugs.
- Robyn Strader: Fired from CVS MinuteClinic because of her beliefs about when life begins.
- Johnson Varkey: Fired from St. Philip’s College in San Antonio for teaching basic biology that sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes.
- Lacey Smith: Fired by Alaska Airlines for expressing her religious views and respectfully asking questions about the company’s support for the so-called Equality Act.
Federal Cases Awaiting Rulings:
We’ve argued several cases in federal and state courts. Please continue praying for the judges as they write their rulings:
- Fire Chief Ron Hittle: After serving as a firefighter for over 20 years, our client was wrongfully fired because he went to a leadership conference that was held at a church. We argued for Chief Hittle in federal appeals court last March.
- Cambridge Christian School: Two private Christian schools were told they could not pray over the loudspeaker before the kickoff at their state championship football game. We argued this case in federal appeals court last June.
- Judge Dianne Hensley: Judge Hensley found a way to reconcile her religious convictions after she received many requests for same-sex weddings. Despite her efforts, she’s been punished for ensuring that anyone who wants to get married can get married. We argued this case at the Texas Supreme Court in October.
The stakes for our First Freedom are higher than ever. Decisions in each of these will affect houses of worship, religious schools, coaches, teachers and public employees. They’ll affect military service members. They’ll affect workers. They’ll impact everyday Americans—including YOU.
The battle for our First Freedom is far from over. We need your continued support and prayers. God is opening new doors and giving us opportunities to impact the future of our country. Can we count on your continued support in 2024 to keep winning big for religious freedom?
