Founder Mathew D. Staver | Tax ID no. 59-2986294 | |
Founded December 26, 1989; 27 years ago (1989-12-26) Services Pro bono assistance and representation |
Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that promotes litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew D. Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who are attorneys and married to each other. The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed Liberty Counsel as a hate group, a designation which has been disputed by the group.
Contents
Positions and responses
Liberty Counsel advocates "stand[ing] in solidarity with Israel". Liberty Counsel agreed with the military policy banning homosexual activity within the armed forces. Liberty Counsel defends employment discrimination against gay workers and opposes the addition of sexual orientation, gender identity, or similar provisions to hate crimes legislation. Liberty Counsel also opposes same-sex marriage, civil unions, and adoption by gay people.
Liberty Counsel has been listed as an anti-gay group and, in October 2015, as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Liberty Counsel has challenged that designation and the Associated Press' reporting of that designation.
Activities
Liberty Counsel represented a pastor who was arrested for protesting at a demonstration against abortion.
Liberty Counsel defended students in Duval County, Florida, who wanted to deliver a graduation message that may include religious statements.
Liberty Counsel represented Dixie County, Florida, in a case involving the Ten Commandments against the American Civil Liberties Union.
Liberty Counsel offered to help Arkansas defend the law restricting abortion.
Franklin Graham was a guest speaker at Liberty Counsel's "The Awakening 2015" event in Orlando.
In 2000, Liberty Counsel threatened legal action against a public library in Jacksonville, Florida. Liberty Counsel complained after being contacted by parents who complained about "Hogwarts' Certificate of Accomplishment" to students who attended a party featuring readings from Harry Potter books. Staver said that "Witchcraft is a religion, and the certificate of witchcraft endorsed a particular religion in violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause."
The group has hosted college students for trips to Israel.
In December 2005, Liberty Counsel issued a press release accusing an elementary school in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, of changing the lyrics of Christmas songs to make them more secular, and said that it would sue the school district "if the district does not immediately remedy the situation." The school was putting on the play "The Little Tree's Christmas Gift", written by Dwight Elrich, a former church choir director. The Dodgeville school district attempted to seek a retraction and an apology from Liberty Counsel, as well as reimbursement of $20,000 spent in personnel, security, and attorney fees to fight the accusation. Liberty Counsel's Staver refused, asserting, "There is nothing to apologize for or retract."
In July 2016, Liberty Counsel has lobbied the Romanian Constitutional Court for a referendum on defining marriage as "the union between one man and one woman". Groups linked to the Orthodox Church and united under the umbrella Coaliția pentru familie (Coalition for Family) collected 3 million signatures to seek the constitutional amendment.
Programs
Liberty Counsel offers pro-bono litigation on topics that is within its mission. Liberty Counsel provides information and research to affect legislation and public policy at the local, state, and national level. Liberty Counsel operates the Liberty Center for Law and Policy which monitors and drafts proposed legislation.
Cases
Affiliates
Liberty Counsel has ties with Liberty University Law School, which was founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell with the assistance of Liberty Counsel's Founder.
Related Organizations
Liberty Counsel has interlocking boards with several related organizations.