Special to the
Opelika Observer
Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions released the following statement last Tuesday:
“The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is once again trying to intimidate people of faith, this time right here at Reeltown High School in Tallapoosa County. These people want to destroy our religious freedom and have tried to silence me for many years. Below are links to some of the FFRF attacks on me, none of which have been successful.”
The organization’s statement:
- listed Jeff Sessions as a “threat to church/state issues” along with presidential appointees Ben Carson and Nikki Haley in the January/February 2017 issue of Freethought Today.
-criticized Sessions for being a “vocal proponent” of religious liberty on Jan. 9, 2017.
-sent a letter on behalf of “70 reproductive health, rights and justice organizations” opposing the nomination of Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General on Jan. 6, 2017.
-claimed Sessions’ 20 principles to protect religious liberty were a “brazen attempt to pervasively privilege religion over the rights and liberties of all Americans” on Oct. 30, 2017.
-sent a letter to Sessions for “using the Bible to justify public policy changes” regarding immigration policies on June 19, 2018.
-stated that Sessions should “stop preaching and harming innocent children” regarding immigration policies on June 20, 2018.
-condemned the religious task force assembled by AG Jeff Sessions for “actively seeking, carefully, thoughtfully and lawfully, to accommodate people of faith” on July 31, 2018.
-attacked Sessions for his “haunting vision for religious liberty” and blaming “the crimes of their Christian nationalist supporters on the secular community” on Oct. 31, 2018.
“This is all part of a very fundamental battle that is raging in America, and it is a battle that is no small matter. Increasingly, the hard left in America is becoming militantly secular. Where they once sought tolerance, they now seek to silence the faithful, and to reject our country’s heritage.
“Shortly after he was elected, President Trump and I took decisive action in defending people of faith. We ordered the federal government to cease harassing faith-based organizations, we introduced 20 principles instructing the government to protect religious freedom (Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty, 10/6/2017), and we defended faith based organizations all over the country. For more information on my views on the importance of defending religious freedom, please see this speech,” Sessions added.
