Editor

501(c)(4) Status Granted by IRS

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The American Religious Liberty Institute has been granted 501(c)(4) status by the Internal Revenue Service. This process has been an amazing journey clearly guided by the Lord.

We remember back to 2013, when it was revealed that the IRS had targeted selected political groups applying for tax exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This scandal led to many others and ultimately to the filing of impeachment charges against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.

To this day certain organizations are still fighting through court over this process. The American Religious Liberty Institute was questioned and our application was granted with the assistance of the Taxpayer Advocate.

We are indeed blessed.

Thank you all for your prayers and support as we continue this important work to protect our religious freedoms.

Bill Aggregation Module is Released

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The American Religious Liberty Institute is pleased to announce that our bill aggregation module has been released to production.

The results are amazing and staggering.  Over 14,000 federal bills and over 820,000 state bills are now contained within our system.  The vast quantity is simply amazing.

A team of volunteers is helping to sift through these bills to identify those that should be highlighted.  Once chosen, our system will update the status of the bill daily so we may track it through the legislative process.

Initially, bills will all be placed in watch lists.  The intent will be to pull bills over to an action list for people to “Take Action” on, when the bill is at the opportune point.

While the sifting process is underway, development on our response module, the capability to actually tell your elected representative your thoughts, is being built.

Would you like to volunteer to review legislation? If so, please use the Contact Us link found on our website and let us know.

Please subscribe to our mailing list so you can keep up to date with our progress and always keep the American Religious Liberty Institute in your prayers.

Wyoming judge censured for refusing to preside over same-sex marriages

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CHEYENNE, Wyo. –  A small-town judge who says her religious beliefs prevent her from presiding over same-sex marriages was publicly censured by the Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday.

But while the court said her conduct undermines the integrity of the judicial system, it does not warrant removal from the bench. In a 3-2 decision, Justice Kate Fox wrote that Judge Ruth Neely violated judicial conduct code but removing Neely would “unnecessarily circumscribe protected expression.”

In Neely’s case, the dissenting justices argued that Neely didn’t violate any judicial conduct code. “Wyoming law does not require any judge or magistrate to perform any particular marriage, and couples seeking to be married have no right to insist on a particular official as the officiant of their wedding,” Justice Keith Kautz wrote in the dissent that was joined by Justice Michael K. Davis.

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The Christians fleeing their homes after ISIS attacks in Egypt

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Ismailia, Egypt (CNN)”Are you a Christian?”

These were the last words 45-year-old Medhat Saad Hakim heard before he was shot in the head on his doorstep last month.

The gunmen dragged Hakim’s screaming mother outside the house before going back inside and shooting his father dead. The attackers then looted the house before torching it. His mother, Nabila Halim, survived the attack.

Medhat Saad and Saad Hakim are the sixth and seventh Christians killed in the North Sinai town of Al-Arish in just over a month — all targeted by Al Wilayat Sinai, a local affiliate of ISIS waging a low-level insurgency on the peninsula.

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