A new proposed law pending in the U.S. House will allow the District of Columbia and public charter schools in Washington, D.C. to violate constitutional and free rights of students, parents and the public without consequence.

The D.C. Council passed the act to give legal immunity to the District and public charter schools even if they intentionally violate the free rights of students, parents or the public. Now this act is before the House, which can approve or deny the District’s outrageous request.

This new rule would give anti-life, anti-parent secularists a free pass to silence the free speech of students, parents and the public. The act is so radical even the ACLU is opposing it.

Our staff has been meeting with members of the U.S. House. I need your help to block this new D.C. act.

We have a very short window.

Send an urgent message to the U.S. House and Senate. If this is allowed to slip through, it would protect gross violations of constitutional rights and erase ANY path to bring perpetrators to justice! Rush urgent faxes to Congress against the “Corrections Oversight Improvement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2022.” —Mat

This new D.C. act will allow the DISTRICT and PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS to intentionally silence free speech, crush religious freedom and trample parental rights. The District of Columbia should not be above the law. This is a very dangerous precedent.

The District of Columbia Council already passed the act. To stop it from becoming law, Congress must disapprove it. Congress has only two weeks to pass a “disapproval motion” to reject the “Corrections Oversight Improvement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2022.”

And two weeks is a very rushed time frame to get through BOTH chambers.

Your faxes supplement our in-person meetings with the members of Congress and are very effective tools of communication. Fax now to block this dangerous new rule.

To understand exactly what is happening, we need to go back more than seven years to November 2015. The Two Rivers Public Charter School in D.C. sued Liberty Counsel client Larry Cirignano, who only ONE TIME peacefully held a sign on a public sidewalk near the school and the adjacent Planned Parenthood abortion clinic that was under construction.

Two Rivers Public Charter School welcomed the abortion clinic situated in between its elementary and middle schools. And the school did not want the public to know what was coming, so they sued Larry to silence him. The lawsuit was frivolous.

We countered on behalf of Larry under the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, which protects against frivolous lawsuits intended to silence free speech. Two Rivers could have dismissed the case, but the leadership is so fixated on abortion they continued to press the case. We ultimately won 3-0 on appeal in July 2022. But this win took seven years due to a lengthy delay in the D.C. Court of Appeals.

When Liberty Counsel moved to recover the cost of attorney's fees under the Anti-SLAPP Act, Two Rivers made outlandish arguments as to why it shouldn’t have to pay for its legal vendetta against a private citizen.

Finally, in January — just after the trial court rejected Two Rivers' exemption argument — the D.C. Council amended the Anti-SLAPP Act to retroactively exempt the District government, but this time with new language, exempting “the District government, including District public charter schools.”

If this new proposed act becomes law, students, parents and private citizens can be sued by the District and the public charter schools, and will be forced to give up their rights. The District and the public charter schools can intentionally violate the law without any consequences.

We cannot allow this rule to stand.

Our presence on Capitol Hill is critical as we work with members of Congress and monitor these threats.

There are two disapproval resolutions already scheduled for next week. We need to get Congress to pass a disapproval resolution against the “Corrections Oversight Improvement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2022” as a third action against D.C.

LC Action is fighting this act along with other battles — the national debt ceiling, the Born Alive Act, Vaccine Passport requirements and more.

But we can only stand in the gap because of your support. Each month, we rely on the support of people like you to continue fighting these battles. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter of LC Action or sending a one-time gift today. 

Mat Staver, Chairman
Liberty Counsel Action

P.S. You can also sign a petition against this bill.

Sources:

Lee, Glen. “Government of the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer.” November 20, 2022. App.cfo.dc.gov/services/fiscal_impact/pdf/spring09/New%20Folder/FIS%20Corrections%20Oversight%20Improvement%20Omnibus.pdf.

“Letter to the D.C. Council Regarding the Anti-SLAPP Amendment Act.” ACLU of DC, December 5, 2022. Acludc.org/en/legislation/letter-dc-council-regarding-anti-slapp-amendment-act.  

“Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselor Will Appeal for Attorney’s Fees,” Liberty Counsel, September 13, 2022. LC.org/newsroom/details/091322-prolife-sidewalk-counselor-will-appeal-for-attorneys-fees.