Victory in Wisconsin Charitable Campaign Suit
A federal district court has found that Wisconsin officials violated the Constitution by excluding religious charities from a state employee charitable campaign.
Like the federal government and many states, Wisconsin facilitates charitable contributions by its employees. To participate in the campaign, a charity must pledge not to "discriminate" on the basis of religion (among other things) in choosing staff and board members. The state does not exempt religious organizations from this rule and, accordingly, denied the applications of Christian Legal Society and other members of the Association of Faith-Based Organizations (AFBO).
On March 31, 2006, attorneys with Christian Legal Society's Center for Law & Religious Freedom filed a federal civil rights action against Wisconsin officials. On September 29, the district court granted AFBO's motion for summary judgment, forbidding the state from applying the religion non-discrimination rule to religious charities seeking access to the campaign.
The decision is an important step forward in the Center's ongoing effort to establish that the Constitution forbids government from imposing religion and sexual orientation non-discrimination rules to religious organizations.
Joining the Center in representing AFBO in this case were Ben Bull and Gary McCaleb of the Alliance Defense Fund and Wisconsin attorney Mike Dean. ADF also provided partial funding of the Center's work.
The Center for Law and Religious Freedom is the advocacy ministry of the Christian Legal Society, which is the professional association founded in 1961 of Christian attorneys, judges, law professors, law students, and friends throughout the United States.
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