Senate Hearings on Public Expression of Religion Act Set For Wednessday

Senate Hearings on Public Expression of Religion Act Set For Wednessday

When the ACLU wins a case against the Boy Scouts, the public display of the Ten Commandments, veterans memorials, and other symbols of American history and heritage guess who pays them? You do! However, there is current legislation going before the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, as well as a companion bill going before the House that is designed to put a stop to this.

Former ACLU attorney, Rees Lloyd, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing, is stepping up to the plate.Record Gazette:

Rees Lloyd, Banning-based attorney and Commander of American Legion District 21 (Riverside County), has been selected to testify on behalf of The American Legion before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution in support of passage of Senate Bill 3696, Veterans Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals and Other Public Expressions of Religion Act of 2006 (“PERA).

S 3696 (PERA), sponsored by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan), a companion bill to H.R. 2979 (PERA), sponsored by Rep. Hostetter (R-Ind.), would amend all relevant federal laws to eliminate the authority of judges to award taxpayer-paid attorney fees to the ACLU, or anyone else, in lawsuits under the Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment against veterans memorials, the Boy Scouts, or the public display of the Ten Commandments of other symbols of America’s history with a religious aspect.

The following is from an email sent out by Mr. Rees Lloyd:

While most Americans remain unaware of it, the ACLU has been reaping millions of dollars in taxpayer-paid profits in lawsuits against veterans memorials, the Boy Scouts, or against the public display of the Ten Commandments or other symbol of our American heritage with a religious aspect.

For but three examples, the ACLU received some $950,000 in attorney fees in a settlement with the City of San Diego in the ACLU’s lawsuit to drive the Boy Scouts out of Balboa Park. In the famous Judge Roy Moore Ten Commandments Case, the ACLU, and cohort so-called “public interest” law firms, received $500,000. In the recent “Intelligent Design” case against the Dover school board, the ACLU received $2,000,000 in attorneys by order of a judge — although the law firm which represented the ACLU informed the court and public that it had acted pro bono and waived any attorney fees. Thus, it was pure profit to the ACLU.

Further, the ACLU has used the threat of imposition of taxpayer-paid attorney fees to extort local elected bodies, city or county councils, school boards, into surrender to the ACLU’s demands to secularly cleanse the public sphere of any evidence of our American religious heritage.

Moreover, the threat of imposition of orders to pay ACLU’s attorney fees in such cases has caused third parties, like The American Legion and other non-profit organizations, to suffer a chilling effect on their First Amendment rights to participate in such lawsuits to protect veterans’ memorials.

S. 3696 (PERA), and H.R. 2679 (PERA), would put an end to that abuse of benevolently intended laws by the ACLU, or anyone else following the ACLU’s precedents, for instance, Islamist terrorists or their sympathizers in our midst.

This reform of the law should be supported by all Americans across all party, ideological, philosophical, or religious lines.

Simply put, the ACLU’s profiteering at taxpayer-expense by exploitation of benevolently intended civil rights laws intended to benefit poor people is a disgrace.

The ACLU have turned the intention of this Act, just like they do the Constitution, on its head. A huge portion of Establishment Clause cases are settled outside of court because of threatening and intimidation from the ACLU. Most of these small schools and towns can not afford to defend themselves from the well funded ACLU and give in to their demands and threatening letters. They know they can not afford to lose. If they do they will be paying for the ACLU’s attorney fees which in many cases reach the millions. Despite all of this some people are trying to claim, like the ACLU, that this law would prevent people who were actually injured by an arm of the state forcing religious views on people such as a school forcing children to pray from being able to afford to defend themselves.

Rees Lloyd dismisses this claim in a selected excerpt from a preview I recieved of his speech this Wednessday:

PERA is narrowly drawn to impact only on Establishment Clause cases, and no other civil rights claims. Arguments have been raised that this, somehow, creates an Equal Protection violation. It is respectfully suggested that this is an argument without merit; the law makes distinctions in myriad
instances, including as to what kind of civil wrongs can result in attorney fee transfers by court orders.

Further, Establishment Clause cases are the only claims of which I am aware that are allowed to proceed without any showing that the plaintiff has suffered any economic, physical, or mental damage, or been deprived of the exercise of any right, but is merely offended at the sight of a symbol which has a religious aspect. In all other categories of claims of which I am aware, mere “taking offense” is not even cognizable for a claim or cause or action. Thus, the distinction made in PERA is a rational one, and preserves attorney fee transfers in cases in which an actual economic, physical, or mental injury, or deprivation of right, other than mere offense, is suffered.

Concisely stated: The American Legion believes that passage of the S. 3696, PERA, is essential for the protection of civil rights for all Americans and not limited to special interests, and for the preservation of the purpose and integrity of the attorney fee provisions of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S. Code Section 1988, the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), and all other Federal statutes which were benevolently intended to benefit the poor and advance civil rights, but are now resulting in the opposite; are resulting in unintended financial enrichment; and are trammeling and throttling the exercise of First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, to petition for redress of grievances to the judicial and legislative branches.

PERA is aimed at cases involving the “offended observer” with “eggshell sensitivities” not cases where actual injury has occured. This should probably be made more clear if the legislation is to pass.

Not only does the ACLU use this provision to fund their agenda of secular cleansing and threaten small schools and towns, they also use it as a tool of punishment for those that resist their agenda. They have accumulated literally millions of taxpayer funded attorney fees when in fact they have no actual attorney fees.

Rees will also reveal this truth in Wednessday’s speech:

As a former ACLU attorney, I know to a certainty that the ACLU’s litigation is carried out by staff attorneys, or by pro bono attorneys who are in fact precluded from receiving fees under the ACLU’s own policies. Notwithstanding, the ACLU regularly seeks, and receives, attorney fees in Establishment Clause cases at market rate, usually $350 an hour in California. Although the courts know that ACLU clients in fact incur no attorney fee obligation, and that ACLU incurs no fee obligation to volunteer cooperating attorneys, as far as is known, no judge has simply said “no” to ACLU attorney fee requests, even though there is no evidence that any attorney fees were incurred. Thus, benevolently intended fee provisions are being used as a bludgeon against public entities to surrender to ACLU’s demands, and being used to obtain profits in the millions.

Take a look at this long list where the ACLU were payed by you for the secularization of our nation. Are you happy to be paying for this? The passing of this legislation can put a stop to it. If someone moves into town and decides he doesn’t like the memorial cross on the hill, he can sue, but his lawyers won’t get rich if they win. This is what the ACLU has done — they work “pro bono,” but not really. Their clients are not normally indigent, have not suffered any injury and don’t pay any attorneys fees anyway in these cases! It’s all pure gravy for the ACLU and does nothing to advance liberty. Besides, if the ACLU is doing this for some higher principle, attorneys’ fees should be nothing but a peripheral afterthought. They use the threat of huge legal fees to intimidate defenseless towns, not to vindicate rights.

Stop The ACLU stands with the American Legion in supporting the passage of the “Public Expression of Religion Act”. Lets put things back on a fair playing field and stop paying for the ACLU’s agenda. Do your part!