MN gov signs unconstitutional counseling censorship law
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Greg Baylor regarding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s signing Thursday of HF 16, a bill that censors conversations between clients and counselors by dictating what goals can be pursued and what ideas can be discussed:
“The government has no business censoring conversations between patients and counselors. HF 16 jeopardizes constitutionally protected freedom of speech by allowing government officials to insert themselves into private, sensitive conversations between counselors and their clients. Counselors shouldn’t be used as tools to impose the government’s views on their clients, and the government has no right to block clients from receiving counseling that is consistent with their religious beliefs. ADF will continue to stand for the right of all Americans to speak freely and live according to those beliefs without government interference.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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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 for government affairs. 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.