ADF to Congress: Laws protecting religious freedom must be safeguarded
ADF attorney to testify Friday before US House subcommittee
Attorney sound bite: Gregory S. Baylor
WHAT: Testimony on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 13 at 9:30 a.m. EST
WHERE: U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice; Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2141; 45 Independence Ave. SW; Washington; or watch live video feed
WASHINGTON – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory S. Baylor will testify Friday before the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice chaired by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). Baylor will speak on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and the increasing need to protect the two laws from any attempts to weaken them.“Americans must defend our God-given freedoms against those who would seek to take them away,” said Baylor. “That is why a broad spectrum of individuals and organizations labored to restore adequate legal protection for religious freedom by enacting RFRA. Congress must resist any attempts to weaken this law and all efforts to undermine this freedom.”
RFRA prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening a person’s free exercise of religion without a compelling justification. It passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Currently, 31 states have protections of religious exercise similar to RFRA.
RLUIPA protects religious freedom in the land use and prison contexts. It built on RFRA and became federal law in 2000.
- ADF testimony before U.S. House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice (2015-02-13)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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ABOUT Gregory S. Baylor
Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and senior counsel with the Center for Public Policy. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees. Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF.