 Independence Law Center on the Boyertown petition at the Supreme Court, students privacy in general: "We have a lot of these situations coming to us." Randall Wenger, Chief Counsel for the Independence Law Center, is the featured guest on this week's Spotlight program with Greg Barton (WDAC). Much of the conversation centered on the importance of the Boyertown student privacy case: "We're asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case. They get about 7,000 petitions that come in a year and they may grant 100-150 cases. So the odds are very small....There are a lot of schools who are looking to this case to try to figure out what to do in their own school. [S]chool boards really don't know what to do. And they have students who want to use the opposite sex facility because they identify with the opposite sex...And they have a lot of parents who are saying no, we don't think the school board should be doing this because we care about the privacy of our daughters and the privacy of our sons in locker rooms and bathrooms. We have a lot of these situations coming to us here at the Independence Law Center. They are very concerning. And yet these school boards and school solicitors are in a position where they really need the Supreme Court to be able to say that privacy is protected." Click here to listen to the full interview. Randall also shares about the victory in Mechanicsburg for students in a Bible Club. The review of the Boyertown student privacy lawsuit by the U.S Supreme Court had been rescheduled for Friday, March 1st, but the court again chose to reschedule consideration of the case. While it's a little unusual to be relisted twice before the conference date, we anticipate it will be relisted for the next conference on March 15. Even then, we may see the Court reconference it one or two times before we get a decision on whether it is granted or denied. Thank you for your prayers this week for this case and on behalf of Alexis Lightcap and the Boyertown Six. We will let you know more as soon as additional details become available. ———————— Tuesday, March 5: Town Hall with Gary Sutton, Michael Geer On Tuesday, March 5, from 6am-9am join WSBA's Gary Sutton and guests, including PFI President & CEO Michael Geer, for a LIVE Town Hall at the York Fairgrounds that will also be broadcasted on the WSBA Morning News. Admission is FREE and open to the public. Gary will be broadcasting from the Verandah Room/Banquet Hall at the York Expo Center beginning at 6am. Gary and his guest panel will be answering your questions and concerns, live on the radio. Maple Donuts will be on site serving donuts for all attendees. Michael Geer will be on during the 7:00AM hour, discussing the topic: "Social Issues and Social Change, Positive and Negative, Affecting Main Street America Today." Click here for more details. ———————— PA Manufacturers Association on Recreational Marijuana: "Fewer people will be employable." David Taylor, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, recently wrote an open letter to Lt. Governor John Fetterman expressing concerns over the legalization of recreational marijuana: "We should all want people who are without the dignity of work to be able to achieve employment. By making recreational marijuana use more widespread, fewer people will be employable and all of Pennsylvania will suffer for it." We thank David Taylor and PA Manufacturers' Association for sharing this letter. There are many concerns over the prospect of the legalization and commercialization of marijuana. As Dr. Kevin Sabet puts it, "commercialization backers rarely discuss the costs associated with widespread use of the drug on health care, mental health services, law enforcement, businesses and consumers." ————————  Law Center on WWI cross case: "Has the potential to fix a huge problem." Attorneys from the Independence Law Center were at the U.S. Supreme Court to listen to the arguments in an important case. In American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court will weigh in on whether a state's maintenance of a 93-year-old World War I memorial that includes a 40-foot cross—known as the Peace Cross—is an "establishment of religion." "A cross commemorating the sacrifice of these soldiers, using a symbol representing…you guessed it, sacrifice, does not establish a religion of Christianity in Bladensburg. But this case does not just have the potential to save this cross, but has the potential to fix a huge problem in establishment clause jurisprudence which has led to far too many lawsuits attacking any religious symbol simply because someone is "offended."" - Jeremy Samek, Senior Counsel - Independence Law Center "The Humanist attorney argued that the cross itself makes non-Christians feel inferior. The town argued that the secular purpose (war memorial) prevents it from establishing religion. Based on the arguments, I think Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh, Roberts and maybe Kagan will agree." - Curtis Schube, Legal Counsel - Independence Law Center For more on this case, click here. ———————— Upcoming Events LIVE Townhall with Gary Sutton Tuesday, March 5, 2019
6:00AM - 9:00AM at the York Fairgrounds and broadcasted on the WSBA Morning News. Details. Pre-Screening Events - Unplanned Movie Thursday, March 28, 2019
Stay tuned for more details and location information for these pre-screenings: mail@pafamily.org or 717-545-0600. Should Pennsylvania go "Full-On Colorado"? Friday, April 5, 2019
Part of the PA Leadership Conference (Camp Hill, PA). Hear from experts on the implications of recreational marijuana legalization (9AM - 11AM session). To register for the PA Leadership Conference, click here. City on the Hill Youth Leadership and Worldview Conference July 21-27, 2019
For High School students. To apply or for more information, visit pafamily.org/coth. PA Family Institute's Friends of the Family banquet in Hershey, PA Friday, September 27, 2019 |
