July, 30 2018, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rob Boston or Liz Hayes, (202) 466-3234, www.au.org, communications@au.org
Justice Department's 'Religious Liberty Summit' Offends The True Meaning Of Religious Freedom, Says Americans United
The U.S. Justice Department hosted a so-called "Religious Liberty Summit" today, an event Americans United for Separation of Church and State blasted as one-sided and inaccurate.
WASHINGTON
The U.S. Justice Department hosted a so-called "Religious Liberty Summit" today, an event Americans United for Separation of Church and State blasted as one-sided and inaccurate.
"Today's event by the Justice Department offends the true meaning of religious freedom," said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. "The event was clearly designed to advance the Trump administration's twisted and dangerous view of religious freedom, one that uses religion to discriminate and harm others. This event exposed the administration's real agenda: to preserve the power of Christian fundamentalists."
During the event, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of a "Religious Liberty Task Force" that will work to implement the guidance he unveiled last year that serves as a blueprint for using religion to discriminate, especially against women and LGBTQ people.
Laser noted that the summit was one-sided and stacked with speakers such as the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, which cited religion to justify refusing to make a cake for a same-sex couple, and a leader in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops who advocated for taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care providers to be able to use religion to justify discrimination.
The speakers complained about the state of religious freedom in America today, but nothing was heard from the people who have been denied services or health care because of someone else's religion.
Americans United noted that the Trump administration has consistently misused religious freedom, interpreting that principle to authorize discrimination in doctor's offices and hospitals, workplaces, businesses where people shop and in the government-funded services many Americans rely on.
"Far from seeking to safeguard religious freedom, Trump, Sessions and their allies are hard at work trying to destroy that precious right by favoring the religious views of a select few at the expense of religious freedom for all Americans," said Laser. "They seek religious freedom for some, not for all."
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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"The locations of the attacks provided by the Civil Defense appear to be just outside an Israeli-designated safe zone," the news agency noted. "The Israeli military said the episode was under review but that 'there is no indication that a strike was carried out by the IDF' inside the safe zone, using an acronym for the Israeli forces. It did not offer details on the episode or say what the intended targets might have been."
The AP shared firsthand accounts from survivors of the Al-Mawasi attack, as did Al Jazeera:
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The International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and the occupied territories announced on social media Friday that "the ICRC office—which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents—was damaged by nearby shelling in Gaza" that the group said "caused a mass casualty influx" at its hospital, which received 22 of those killed and 45 of the people injured.
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South Africa is leading a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as three Hamas leaders.
"They've done it again," U.S.-based policy analyst Omar Baddar said of Israel Friday. "Nearly every day for the past 260 days, Israel has committed another massacre against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Fathers, mothers, siblings, children, their bodies burnt or torn apart, while our government gives more weapons for these atrocities."
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Environmentalists campaigned against the project last year but quieted down after the Biden administration paused all liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to non-Fair Trade Agreement countries in January.
The planned terminal, owned by Venture Global and often called CP2, has been noticeably absent from FERC meeting agendas since last July, when the agency published the environmental impact statement. Venture and other corporate interests have pressured the agency to move the project, which is located near the Gulf of Mexico in western Louisiana, up on the agenda—and finally gotten their wish.
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FERC announced it will vote on the CP2 LNG export facility next week. While the current LNG export pause is still a hurdle for the facility, Venture Global could start construction if they get FERC's approval. https://t.co/p7C25drePj
— Sara Sneath (@SaraSneath) June 21, 2024
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