Alliance Defending Freedom

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an American conservative Christian nonprofit organization founded by more than 30 Christian ministries, as a response to the American Civil Liberties Union, to defend "family values." ADF's major focus is strategizing and coordinating with hundreds of lawyers and right-wing groups to defend what they define as "Christian legal issues." Formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, the group was established in January 31, 1994 and is currently based in Scottsdale, Arizona. People for the American Way notes that ADF's founding groups "are influential members of the Right, they are pro-life and anti-gay and their ultimate goal is to see the law and government of the US enshrined with conservative Christian principles."

News and Controversies

Politicizing the Courts in Tennessee

ADF is a supporter of the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) and its advocacy arm, Family Action of Tennessee in their efforts to politicize state courts in favor of a radical right-wing agenda. The FACT National Associations page lists ADF as a partner, stating it is one of their "key national associations or national allies for us as we seek to defend the biblical definition of marriage and family, life, and religious liberty."

FACT has tried to reshape Tennessee state courts by removing judges it dislikes through retention election campaigns. In 2006, FACT was part of a coalition of right-wing groups trying defeat four state Supreme Court justices who had affirmed a right to abortion in Planned Parenthood of Middle Tennessee v. Sundquist. The coalition surveyed dozens of appellate judges on specific political positions including abortion rights and other issues. Most judges refused to answer but FACT still distributed 300,000 information packets about the justices to voters. Despite those efforts, the justices all won their retention elections.

The group attempted to sway elections through a voter survey again in 2014 but failed to receive significant responses from judicial candidates. However, FACT was part of a successful campaign to abolish merit selection of judges, giving the governor power to appoints Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges, subject to review by the state legislature.

In December 2017, FACT's leader, David Fowler, urged judges in Tennessee to rule that the state must refrain from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the legislature brings state law into accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. "It's time state judges begin to restore the rule of law that the United States Supreme Court subverted in Obergefell … and the states quit pretending we have laws we don't have," Fowler said.

Participation in State-Funded Federalist Society Event

The Alliance Defending Freedom participated in the "Inaugural Wisconsin Chapters Conference" hosted by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy in Madison, Wisconsin on May 4, 2018. The Federalist Society is a right-wing legal association which has been helping Republican presidents and politicians pack the courts. The event received state funding from the Office of State Courts and participation by judges bestowed mandatory continuing legal education credits. 15 Wisconsin judges protested the event, writing to the organizers "would the Office of State Courts financially underwrite the event and incentivize judicial attendance with credits towards the judges' mandatory continuing legal education?"

At the event, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel delivered the keynote speech. Schimel kicked off his presentation by reminding the audience that "it is an election year." He then cataloged his accomplishments in a campaign-like speech. Schimel concluded by recognizing his "friend from the Alliance Defending Freedom" in the room and stating that his time spent at the ADF's conference last year was "some of the best time I ever spent."

One Wisconsin Now Files Complaint Against Schimel for ADF Conference Appearance

Wisconsin Attorney General Schimel appeared at the Alliance Defending Freedom's 2017 conference at a luxury resort in California. Although Schimel defended his appearance at the Federalist Society's Inagural Wisconsin Chapters Conference, One Wisconsin Now filed a request under state open records law demanding disclosure of his statements. In return for his participation, Schimel recieved a $4,100 appearance fee as well as accmodation while appearing in his official capacity. One Wisconsin Now Director Scott Ross stated "Brad Schimel appeared in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin at a conference hosted by an anti-LGBTQ hate group. We deserve to know what he said in exchange for the luxury resort accommodations and appearance fee they gave to him."

SPLC Classification as a Hate Group

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) classified ADF as a hate group because it "has supported the recriminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. and criminalization abroad; has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; has linked homosexuality to pedophilia and claims that a "homosexual agenda" will destroy Christianity and society. ADF also works to develop "religious liberty" legislation and case law that will allow the denial of goods and services to LGBT people on the basis of religion."

The SPLC profile on ADF includes numerous quotes from its leadership which exemplify their radical right-wing agenda and views:

• "The endgame of the homosexual legal agenda is unfettered sexual liberty and the silencing of all dissent." —ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley at the Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage conference, 2014
• "The government should promote and encourage strong families. When school officials have to choose between protecting children in those families or furthering the homosexual agenda, the choice is obvious: protecting our children comes first." —Austin Nimocks, then-ADF senior counsel opposing a "Welcoming Schools" curriculum, 2008
• "In the end, those who profess to be 'gay' or 'lesbian,' or who have otherwise slipped in and out of homosexual behavior, including 'cruising' for anonymous partners, are people who succumb to a dangerous temptation." —Austin Nimocks, then-ADF senior counsel, writing at TownHall.com, 2007

The SPLC describes the ADF's obsession with the "homosexual agenda", stating it is a conspiracy theory which sees the LGBT community as "a nefarious scheme to destroy Christianity and, eventually, civilization through LGBT people's efforts to secure equality under the law." The profile catalogues a variety of books, white papers and court briefs which attached the supposed homosexual agenda, including, the 2003 book, The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today, by former ADF president and CEO, Alan Sears.

The SPLC profile also describes the common ADF tactic of disgusing their hateful arguments under the cloak of "religious liberty." This tactic has been ramped up since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in the United States in June 2015. The ADF has been pushing Religion Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs) and lawsuits that couch discrimination against LGBT people as a "right" and call Christians a persecuted minority.

ADF Dropped from AmazonSmile

Following SPLC's profile on ADF as a hate group, Amazon dropped the organization from AmazonSmile, a program that allows users to choose a nonprofit foundation to receive a small percentage of their Amazon purchases. ADF had participated in the program since it began in 2013.

In response, ADF Attorney Kristen Waggoner appeared on Fox News which allowed her to characterize the ADF as a religious freedom organization without discussing the evidence contained in the SPLC's profile. Waggoner stated "Amazon needs to realize it's marginalizing not just those of the Christian faith, but those of the Jewish, Islamic faiths who share similar beliefs. We stand for the fundamental freedoms of all Americans, even those we disagree with and those from all walks of life." ADF General Counsel Michael Farris also accused Amazon of "hiding behind the Southern Poverty Law Center." A blog post on the ADF website also called SPLC a "propaganda machine" and stated "If it's tolerance Amazon is looking for, that's not the way to get it."

Major Lawsuits

ADF litigates to support its right-wing agenda, either as lead counsel or through submission of amicus curiae briefs. ADF divides its casework into three major categories: "Sanctity of Life," "Marriage & Family," and "Religious Freedom."

Lawrence v. Texas

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in Lawrence v. Texas which invalidated anti-sodomy laws across the country and upheld the legal right to engage in adult same-sex sexual activity. ADF supported upholding the anti-sodomy laws through submission of an amicus brief. In the brief, ADF attorney Glen Lavy wrote "The issue under rational-basis review is not whether Texas should be concerned about opposite-sex sodomy, but whether it is reasonable to believe that same-sex sodomy is a distinct public health problem. It clearly is." ADF called the ruling "devastating," but has continued its work supporting the criminalization of gay sex abroad, including in Jamaica, Belize, and India.

Obergfell v. Hodges

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergfell v. Hodges that marriage is a fundamental right that is guaranteed equally to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ADF partnered with the Attorney General of Alabama to author an amicus brief in opposition to the right to marriage for all. The brief read, "If the traditional definition of marriage is not a rational basis for legislative action, it is hard to imagine what is. Put another way, if rational-basis review invalidates traditional marriage, it seems likely that few other laws would be safe from the federal courts."

After the decision, ADF attorney Jim Campbell wrote that the Supreme Court "took" freedom from the people of America to define marriage. In his blog post, Campbell failed to closely examine the majority opinion's reasoning, opting to post long quotes from Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent.

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. At issue is the right of a cake maker to refuse baking a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, based on First Amendment claims of free speech and free exercise of religion. After cake maker Jack Phillips refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple, the couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. At that point, ADF and affiliated attorneys began representation of Phillips. In July 2016, ADF attorneys and allied attorneys petitioned the United States Supreme Court. In addition to pushing the argument that refusing to serve a persecuted group such as homosexual couples, ADF and allied attorneys are promoting the argument that baking a cake is constitutionally protected artistic expression.

ADF also has connections to the amicus brief filed by Congressional Republicans in support of the discriminatory position against same-sex rights. U.S. Representative Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) helped author the brief along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah). Johnson is a former ADF staff attorney who had previously participated in numerous cases against marriage equality.

On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop in a 7-2 decision. The ruling does not broadly empower merchants to deny service based on sexual orientation but rather narrowly addresses the question of whether the Colorado Civil Rights Commission demonstrated hostility toward Phillips's religious views in ruling against him.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

University Campus Speech

ADF has campaigned against universities attempting to regulate speech on campus to stop harassment and promote civility through "speech codes." The group has challenged such policies in Iowa and North Carolina and claims their action led to changes in policy. ADF supports the use of model bills to change policy for every state in the country to remove speech codes and any other efforts to regulate speech which they see as a threat to students and campus groups which support their agenda.

In particular, ADF supports the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) model bill. An ADF blogpost reads, "the American Legislative Exchange Council's new 'FORUM Act' would address all three of these threats to student free speech: ending speech codes, speech zones, and violations of students' freedom of association. The legislation would also allow students to pursue legal action in state or federal court when their rights are violated." In an ALEC blog post on the need for the FORUM Act, Shelby Emmett, the Director for the ALEC Center to Protect Free Speech, says she looked to ADF as a source of inspiration for the model bill.

In a video posted by the Palmetto Family Council, the South Carolina family values group working in association with Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, ADF's Travis Barham and ALEC's Shelby Emmett appear in a video with South Carolina State Rep. Garry Smith to discuss a bill on promoting "free speech" on university campuses.

Ties to Koch Brothers

Casey Mattox

The Charles Koch Institute hired Casey Mattox as a senior fellow focusing on toleration and free speech. Mattox previously worked with ADF as senior counsel and director of the Center for Academic Freedom. His casework at ADF focused on speech issues on university campuses.

History

The Alliance Defending Freedom, then known as the Alliance Defense Fund, was founded on January 31, 1994. The organization was launched at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Washington, D.C. with Alan Sears as president. ADF immediately began involvement in Supreme Court cases concerning religion's role in law and society. To date, ADF claims to have played a role in "53 victories" at the Supreme Court.

ADF was intended to be a response to the progressive legal groups that had won important victories at all levels of the courts in the previous decades, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the American Civil Liberties Union. Regarding the impetus for ADF's establishment, Jeff Hunt, director of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University, which has hired Alliance for Defending Freedom lawyers on Obamacare mandates, stated "having a place where conservative attorneys are trained up and equipped to fight on equal footing in the judiciary has been important. I think this will be a paradigm shift. I think when people go back and look at the judiciary in America … You've had an equaling of the playing ground."

In 1997 ADF created a Legal Academy to training Christian attorneys in their version of constitutional law to enable pro bono/dedicated service. ADF continued investing in legal education by creating the Blackstone Legal Fellowship in 2000. This fellowship "prepares Christian law students for careers marked by integrity, excellence, and leadership." The program includes a three-week training program followed by a six-week legal internship.

In 2008, ADF launched their "ministry publication," Faith & Justice (formerly known as Truth & Triumph). In 2012, the group officially adopted the name Alliance Defending Freedom to "more effectively communicate our mission, strengthen our efforts, and attract like-minded Allied Ministry Friends."

Prior to the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergfell v. Hodges, ADF achieved a reputation as the largest and most dangerous anti-LGBT advocacy group in the nation according to many equality advocacy groups. In 2014, the Human Rights Campaign wrote, "ADF is the nation's largest anti-LGBT legal advocacy group in the nation, raising over $178 million over the past 5 years, with an annual budget of over $45 million and rapidly expanding."

As of June 2018, ADF claims to have accomplished:

• 3,200+ Allied Attorneys
• 300+ Allied Organizations
• 1M+ Pro Bono Hours
• $209M+ In Pro Bono Hours
• 2,000+ Attorneys Trained
• $47M+ In Case Funding
• Victories in 80% of cases
• Involvement in hundreds of international legal cases

Funding

• DonorsTrust and Donor's Capital Fund: $337,250 (2016-2017)
• Murdoch Charitable Trust: $500,000 (2016-2017)
• National Christian Charitable Foundation, which operates one of the largest donor-advised funds in the nation, with grantmaking fast approaching $1 billion a year, is a major funder of ADF.
• Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, established by Amway Founder and father-in-law of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, are major donors to "family values groups," including ADF.

Core Financials

2017

• Total Revenue: $56,439,303
• Total Expenses: $56,266,817
• Net Assets: $35,354,206

2016

• Total Revenue: $59,157,683
• Total Expenses: $63,832,634
• Net Assets: $35,181,720

Personnel

Leadership

As of June 2018:

• Michael P. Farris, President, CEO, and General Counsel
• Alan Sears, Founder

Board of Directors

As of June 2018:

• Terry Schlossberg, Board Chairman
• Tom Minnery, Board Vice Chairman
• Mark Maddoux, Board Secretary
• Alfonso Aguilar, Board Member
• Marjorie Dannenfelser, Board Member
• Seth Morgan, Board Member
• Charles W. Pickering, Sr., Board Member
• John Rogers, Board Member
• Ruth Ross, Board Member
• Chapman Cox, Chairman Emeritus

Attorneys

As of June 2018:

• Blake Meadows, Legal Counsel
• Bradley Abramson, Senior Counsel
• Brett Harvey, Senior Counsel, Vice President of Grants & Funding
• Caleb Dalton, Legal Counsel
• Christen Price, Legal Counsel
• Christiana Holcomb, Legal Counsel
• David A. Cortman, Senior Counsel, Vice President of U.S. Litigation
• Denise Burke, Senior Counsel
• Denise Harle, Legal Counsel
• Douglas H. Napier, Senior Vice President of Alliance Relations
• Elissa Graves, Legal Counsel
• Erik W. Stanley, Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Christian Ministries
• Gary McCaleb, Senior Counsel
• Glen Lavy, Corporate Counsel
• Gregory S. Baylor, Senior Counsel, Director of Center for Religious Schools
• Jake Warner, Legal Counsel
• James Gottry, Director of Marketing, Legal Counsel
• Jeana Hallock, Legal Counsel
• Jeremiah Galus, Legal Counsel
• Jeremy Tedesco, Senior Counsel, Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Administration
• Jim Campbell, Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Cultural Engagement & Scholarship
• Jonathan Scruggs, Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Conscience Initiatives
• Jordan Lorence, Senior Counsel
• Joseph Infranco, Senior Counsel, Vice President of the Alliance Coordination Team
• Kate Anderson, Legal Counsel
• Kellie Fiedorek, Legal Counsel
• Ken Connelly, Legal Counsel
• Kevin Theriot, Senior Counsel, Vice President of Center for Life
• Kristen K. Waggoner, Senior Vice President of U.S. Legal Division, General Counsel – Arizona
• Kyle McCutcheon, Legal Counsel, Church Alliance
• Matt Sharp, Senior Counsel
• Nathaniel Bruno, Senior Counsel for Allied Legal Affairs
• Ray Kaselonis, Senior Counsel, Church Alliance
• Roger G. Brooks, Senior Counsel
• Rory Gray, Senior Counsel
• Ryan Tucker, Senior Counsel
• Samuel Green, Legal Counsel
• Timothy D. Chandler, Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Alliance Advancement
• Travis Barham, Legal Counsel
• Tyson Langhofer, Senior Counsel, Director of the Center for Academic Freedom
• Zack Pruitt, Legal Counsel

Contact Information

Alliance Defending Freedom
15100 N. 90th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Toll-free: 800-835-5233
Local: 480-444-0020
Fax: 480-444-0025
Website: https://www.adflegal.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllianceDefends
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllianceDefendingFreedom/

Articles and Resources

IRS Form 990 Filings

2016

Financial Reports

2016 & 2017

Related PR Watch Articles

• David Armiak, 15 Judges Object to State Funds for Federalist Society Conference Where WI AG Brad Schimel Plugged Campaign, Praised Hate Group, PRWatch.org, May 11, 2018.

External Resources

• Rachel Janik, Supreme Court's narrow ruling in lawsuit brought by anti-LGBT hate group could have long-term repercussions, Southern Poverty Law Center, June 8, 2018.
• Southern Poverty Law Center, Alliance Defending Freedom, accessed June 10, 2018.
• Samantha Michaels, We Tracked Down the Lawyers Behind the Recent Wave of Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills, Mother Jones, April 25, 2016.
• Sarah Posner, The Christian Legal Army Behind 'Masterpiece Cakeshop', The Nation, November 28, 2017.
• Stephen Peters, 10 Shocking Facts About the Alliance Defending Freedom, Human Rights Campaign, October 15, 2014.