Lydia Booth-silenced for her "Jesus Loves Me" mask

Dear friend,

What if I told you an American school district told a 3rd-grade girl that despite being told she had to wear a mask to school, she was told that she couldn't wear the mask she chose.

Why? Because it had the message "Jesus Loves Me" on it.

Sound hard to believe? We agree. That's why we were proud to represent Lydia Booth, a brave elementary student who wished to peacefully share her Christian views, but was silenced by administrators. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on Lydia's behalf, and after 2+ years of litigation, the school rescinded the policy that punished Lydia and settled the suit.

"No student should be singled out for peacefully expressing her religious beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. "Today's students will be tomorrow's legislators, judges, educators, and voters. That's why it's so important that public schools demonstrate the First Amendment values they are supposed to be teaching to students."

Thankfully, in Lydia's case, her right to free speech was restored, and the policy that would have muzzled the speech of many others was discarded. But she's not the only one who faces censorship and silencing from government officials. Alliance Defending Freedom has over 200 active cases right now, and we need your help to make sure our clients have a strong defense. We're looking for 120 people to join us with a first-time gift of $50 today-can you step up and be one of them? Bonus! Thanks to the generosity of a $1.5 million matching grant, we'll DOUBLE your gift today-your $50 becomes a $100 impact for freedom while matching funds last!

What does 'free speech' mean?

Sadly, far too many activists and government officials think that 'free speech' only applies to concepts and ideas they agree with. However, a main goal of the First Amendment's protection is to specifically defend even ideas the government disagrees with from government punishment.

Speech like Dr. Andrew Fox's. Dr. Fox was fired from his position as a volunteer fire chaplain with the Austin Fire Department in Texas. Why? Because they disagreed with a post on his personal blog. A post that discussed his personal thoughts on why men shouldn't be competing in women's sports.

We're also defending former grad student Maggie DeJong, who was silenced by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville-blindsided with three "no contact" orders that barred her from even having "indirect" communication with fellow art therapy students. What had she done? She had discussed current events with classmates and expressed her Christian perspective. The school had no right to violate her free speech.

And we're waiting for a decision in the case of artist Lorie Smith. Her case was just argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this past December, and we're expecting a decision in the next few months. Lorie is challenging a Colorado law that would require her to promote messages she doesn't agree with. No one should be forced to say things they don't believe. Not Lorie. Not any American.

As you can see, this is a big job! Defending free speech requires an alliance-and we need your help! Thanks to the generous support of a Ministry Friend, your gift will be matched-dollar for dollar-up to $1.5 million! We're looking for 120 first-time gifts today, and even a gift of $50 can make an impact for free speech. Will you make a generous gift right now?

You've seen it. The threats to freedom are ever-increasing. But we won't back down-we're walking INTO the wind. Free speech and our foundational freedoms are worth defending for the next generation.

For free speech,

Alliance Defending Freedom

P.S. Mississippi 3rd grader Lydia Booth was silenced by her school-for wearing a mask with "Jesus Loves Me" on it. We successfully defended her and the school discarded the unconstitutional policy. But she's far from the only one who needs our help. Will you become one of the 120 first time supporters we're hoping for today? Thanks to a generous matching grant, your gift today will be DOUBLED, up to $1.5 million, while funds last!