The Alliance Defending Freedom is a religious legal defense organization in the United States that advocates for conservative Christian positions on various social and political issues. The ADF typically litigates cases related to its traditional Christian situations that often involve First Amendment Rights. The ADF has been criticized for using legal strategies that some perceive as unconstitutional and often target LGBT people.
Alliance Defending Freedom was founded in 1994. Its primary mission is to protect religious freedom by defending “people, companies, schools and churches against government overreaching,” as stated in a press release announcing the organization’s formation.
According to an article in “The Nation”, the Alliance Defending Freedom helps establish a “national network of more than 1,500 local chapters and 12 state affiliates.”[3] The ADF runs a legal defense program for both pro-choice and pro-life activists. According to the group’s 2010 tax return, it had expenses of $72 million.
The ADF was a defendant in several of the controversial “Bathroom Wars” lawsuits, which challenged laws prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people. According to an article in “The Nation”, the ADF “played an instrumental role” in these lawsuits.[3] The ADF is one of three conservative Christian groups defending a Louisiana law restricting abortion access. In 2009, the group supported a lawsuit filed by individuals challenging California’s Proposition 8, which repealed marriage equality legislation passed earlier that year by voters.
Alliance Defending Freedom initiated litigation against the government of Mexico to challenge restrictions on religious freedom and alleged violations of religious freedom and free speech. The ADF challenged the practices of a local school district that required its teachers to participate in Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) activities. The ADF also has been involved in legalizing science creation in public schools.
In 2011, the organization began featuring a new core message: “Christian Sexuality and Marriage.” In May 2011, Pamela G. Andrews, then Senior Counsel for Culture and Family at the ADF, wrote an article for Psychology Today’s website entitled “Religious Liberty and Our Sexuality,” in which she characterized opposition to LGBT rights as part of a “spiritual battle. See this page for additional information.
More about ADF on https://ballotpedia.org/Alliance_Defending_Freedom