Interfaith Amicus Brief Filed at U.S. Supreme Court

The Southwest Conference UCC is one of 39 supporting respondents in an interfaith amicus brief that was filed this past Monday, September 18 by Morrison & Foerster LLP at the U.S. Supreme Court to express our opposition to the Executive Order banning entrance to our country by the nationals of six predominantly Muslim nations and all refugees.

“We are proud to represent a remarkable group of organizations that span multiple faiths and denominations, all united to speak with one voice opposing the travel ban’s religious discrimination, as well as condemning slamming the door to refugees in violation of moral and religious imperatives to assist those in need," said Marc Hearron of Morrison & Foerster on Tuesday, to Law360.

Jennifer Brown, Senior Pro Bono Counsel for Morrison & Foerster, shared the amicus brief with us; you may read it HERE. She wrote, “This effort brought together a broad array of voices from many religious perspectives to make a powerful and united statement of opposition to the policies implemented by the Executive Order.”

Amici curiae are:

Alliance of Baptists

American Baptist Churches USA

American Jewish World Service

Avodah

Church of the Brethren

Church World Service

Disciples Home Missions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Faith in Public Life

Franciscan Action Network

Franciscans for Justice

Friends Committee on National Legislation

General Synod of the United Church of Christ

Interfaith Alliance

Interfaith Worker Justice

Islamic Relief USA

Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity

Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

National Council of Churches

National Council of Jewish Women

National Justice for Our Neighbors

Reverend J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities

School Sisters of Saint Francis, United States Province

Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa

Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, St. Francis Province

Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S.-Ontario Province

Sojourners

Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ

Tanenbaum

T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

Unitarian Universalist Association

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

UNITED SIKHS

 

From the amicus brief:

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE

Amici are a diverse group of thirty-nine faith-based and interfaith religious associations, congregations, and organizations pursuing their respective faiths alongside each other and standing for the right of all believers to practice their religions, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Amici have a wide array of beliefs and come from different faith traditions, yet they unite here to speak with one voice to urge the Court to affirm the courts of appeals’ judgments and to hold that Executive Order 13,780 violates the Constitution.

Amici have a strong interest in this case because the Order harms them and their right to practice their faiths. Although the Order is ostensibly a nationality-based ban, it is focused by design on citizens of majority-Muslim nations. Amici therefore see it for what it is: anti-Muslim discrimination. Such government-imposed discrimination has real harms. By targeting members of a particular faith, it promotes dangerous stereotypes and fosters baseless fear. 

Discrimination against members of one faith harms people of other faiths as well. All religious people in this Nation depend on the right to practice their faith free from discrimination. When religious-based discrimination is permitted—especially when propagated at the highest levels of government—the free-exercise right of members of all faiths is chilled.

Read the entire amicus brief HERE.