Statement on the killing of George Floyd and protests across the USA
At the 1st Amendment Partnership, we are horrified by the tragic killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We vigorously support the First Amendment rights of all Americans to speak out against the unjust killings and the many related patterns of injustice that the protests speak to.
All of the faith communities we work with believe that faith and justice are inextricably linked. First Amendment rights also rise and fall together. Right now, a great many of the protesters and marchers are not just exercising their right to free speech, they are motivated by their faith and exercising the freedom of religion to help propel the nation toward action against racism and police brutality.
We are inspired to see so many making their voices heard in the fight for equality and justice and stand in solidarity with those working for justice for all people.
Reasonable people of goodwill can and do disagree about what the right policy solutions are, but we commit to work alongside our faith partners so that they can bring their faith-filled judgment and voices to address the full spectrum of racial inequality issues plaguing our country.
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Statements from some of our partners:
The AND Campaign
https://andcampaign.org/statementonracializedviolence
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
http://www.usccb.org/news/2020/20-84.cfm
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
https://www.facebook.com/russell.m.nelson/posts/3015443371856412
https://medium.com/@Ch_JesusChrist/locking-arms-for-racial-harmony-in-america-2f62180abf37
Salvation Army
https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/story/statement-from-the-salvation-army-george-floyd
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)
https://saldef.org/saldef-condemns-murder-of-george-floyd-calls-for-solidarity-and-investigation-of-officers/
Seventh-day Adventist Church
https://www.nadadventist.org/news/nad-issues-response-recent-deaths-and-racial-turmoil-us
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)
https://www.cccu.org/news-updates/response-killing-george-floyd/
National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
https://www.nae.net/nae-addresses-racial-turmoil-calls-for-action/
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To Share Your Story:
Visit our program Faith Counts at https://faithcounts.com/your-story/
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About 1AP:
The 1st Amendment Partnership (1AP) was established in 2014 and is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting religious freedom for Americans of all faiths. Based in Washington, DC, our focus is in state legislatures, the Congress, and on public education about religion’s value to the common good. 1AP grew out of the American Religious Freedom Program, an initiative begun in 2011 at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 1AP works alongside and receives funding from a diverse array of religious organizations and foundations, and complies with all federal and state laws concerning donor disclosure.
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