| Founded | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4) non-profit |
| Focus | Christian conservative political advocacy |
| Location | |
Area served | New York |
Key people | Jason J. McGuire (Executive Director) |
| Website | NYFamilyAction.org |
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms (NYCF) is a non-profit Christian conservative political advocacy group in the state of New York. In March 2024, the organization became known as New York Families Action.
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms was founded in 1983. NYCF's educational arm, New Yorker's Family Research Foundation, was formed in 1990. [1] NYCF is a conservative [2] [3] [4] statewide advocacy organization of evangelical Christians. [5]
NYCF was active in opposition to same-sex marriage in New York, which was legalized by the Marriage Equality Act in 2011. After the Act was passed, NYCF set up a "Courage Fund" to "assist courageous municipal clerks and other people of conscience in New York State who oppose same-sex 'marriage' from harassment, denial of rightful promotion, or unfair termination for invoking New York State law protecting their sincerely-held religious beliefs". [6] After Barker town clerk Laura Fotusky resigned rather than be forced to sign same-sex marriage licenses, NYCF pledged to match the $25,000 salary she gave up in resigning. [6] On July 25, 2011, NYCF filed a lawsuit seeking to enjoin the enforcement of the Marriage Equality Act; the suit alleged violations of the law in the process by which the bill was passed. [7] On November 18, 2011, Acting Supreme Court Justice Robert B. Wiggins allowed the plaintiffs' claims under the Open Meetings Law, but dismissed other portions of the case. [8] On July 6, 2012, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division ruled unanimously that no violation of the Open Meetings Law had occurred and dismissed the suit. [9] The New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, declined to hear an appeal. [10]
In March 2015, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum spoke at a NYCF lobby day in Albany. [11] [12]
NYCF opposed the passage of a 2019 abortion rights law known as the Reproductive Health Act, [13] [14] [15] lobbying against the legislation for 12 years. [16] The organization is also notable for its opposition to the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act [17] [18] [19] and to assisted suicide. [20] [21]
In March 2024, the organization became known as New York Families Action. [22]
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) through impact litigation, societal education, and public policy work.
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The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious liberties and practices within public schools and in government, outlaw abortion, and oppose LGBTQ rights. ADF is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, with branch offices in several locations including Washington, D.C., and New York. Its international subsidiary, Alliance Defending Freedom International, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, operates in over 100 countries.
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The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposition 8, a state prohibition of same-sex marriage. The group has opposed civil union legislation and gay adoption, and has fought against allowing transgender individuals to use bathrooms that accord with their gender identity. Brian S. Brown has served as the group's president since 2010.
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Roberta Ann Kaplan, also known as Robbie Kaplan, is an American lawyer focusing on commercial litigation and public interest matters. Kaplan successfully argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of LGBT rights activist Edith Windsor, in United States v. Windsor, a landmark decision that invalidated a section of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages. She was a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before starting her own firm in 2017. In 2018, she co-founded the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.
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This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2019.
This is a list of notable events in LGBTQ rights that took place in the 2010s.
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