Alliance Defending Freedom – What is It?

At first glance, an “Alliance Defending Freedom” may seem pretty benign, maybe even helpful. After all, doesn’t everybody believe in the basic human rights of freedom and liberty? Sadly, Alliance Defending Freedom claims to stand for things like religious freedom and religious liberty, but only for conservative Christians. Worse, like other anti LGBTQ+ hate groups, ADF International has ramped up its efforts and ADF attorneys are busily trying to further the organizations hateful agendas. That’s discouraging, but knowledge is power. This Wiki page will give you the information you need to better understand the Alliance Defending Freedom, and learn the role you can play in countering the efforts of this and other extremist organizations

Terminology

As you read about Alliance Defending Freedom here or research this organization on your own, you may encounter the following words and phrases. These definitions should give you a foundation of knowledge required to understand just what we in the queer community are facing.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF International)

Alliance Defending Freedom (FKA Alliance Defense Fund) is a US-based legal advocacy organization offering legal support to groups and individuals with an underlying goal of promoting the values of conservative, Christian nationalism. ADF works to influence public policy, law, and public sentiment in favor of right wing interests through legal challenges to queer rights, reproductive rights, and the separation of church and state.

Religious Freedom / Religious Liberty

These rights guaranteed under the US Contitution for every person within the United States. Alliance Defending Freedom frequently invokes these terms in its arguments that individuals, businesses, and institutions are invoking God-given rights when they refuse to comply with laws or policies against discrimination based on religious beliefs.

ADF Attorneys / ADF Lawyers

ADF employs the services of Christian attorneys who provide legal counsel, submit amicus briefs, file law suits, and litigate cases in the US, including in front of the supreme court. These attorneys also provide legal support for international legal challenges.

Supreme Court Case

This is a case that has risen to the highest court in the United States. Cases that are heard by the Supreme Court involve legal challenges to lower court decisions related to the US Constitution. ADF and other right wing extremist organizations have participated in Supreme Court cases relating to same sex marriage, abortion, public accommodations, and the First Amendment. In some cases, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of expanding religious exemptions. In other instances, Aliance Defending Freedom lost.

Legal Challenges

In the context of Alliance Defending Freedom, these are court actions that are often initiated to roll back protections for transgender students, LGBTQ people, access to reproductive healthcare, and other rights enjoyed by people who aren’t members of groups the ADF seeks to protect.

Gender Identity

A person’s internal understanding of their own gender. ADF argues, along with similar groups, that law should be based on biological reality – a misunderstanding or manipulation of scientific understanding used to argue against allowing transgender athletes to play sports, access to restrooms, and instructional materials in public schools.

Transgender Students / Transgender Athletes

Groups that are particularly notable as they are frequently targeted in ADF legislation and advocacy such as efforts to eliminate school accomodations and ban gender inclusive athletic participation.

Same Sex Marriage

Marital unions between conenting LGBTQ+ adults. ADF has historically opposed the legalization of same sex marriage and has offered services to those using religious liberty claims to undermind equal access.

Homosexual Agenda

A rhetorical and pejorative phrased used in Alliance Defending Freedom communications and propaganda. The term is used to frame LGBTQ+ people and their advocates as a principal threat against religious freedom or the moral fabric of society. Homosexual agenda is often invoked to fear and anger that extending basic rights to the queer community is effectively forcing other groups to give up their freedoms and liberties.

Parental Authority/Parental Rights

Terms used by the ADF to oppose inclusive or affirming policies in schools and access to healthcare. The ADF argues that parental rights should override the rights of students and school authorities – especially in public schools. Notably Alliance Defending Freedom does not appear to support parental rights when it comes to parents of queer children.

Blackstone Legal Fellowship

This is an ADF training program for Christian law students that promotes conservative legal positions and produces Christian attorneys who are prepared to offer legal services with the goal of achieving legal outcomes that align with anti-LGBTQ+, right wing, Christian views. Fellowship members have prayed for God’s wrath on judges who do not rule in favor of the organization’s goals.

ADF International

The global arm of the ADF that pleas cases in front of the United Nations, European Court of Human Rights, Inter-American Court, and other regions.

Human Rights

A collection of rights recognized by various governments, agencies, and institutions as being inherent to all living human beings regardless or religion, race, disability status, socio-economic condition, location, gender, or ethnicity. Groups like ADF often invoke the concept of these rights selectively – advocating for them when it comes to religious freedom while opposing these rights when LGBTQ+ people seek equal protection and access.

First Amendment

The US constitutional amendment that guarantees freedom of press, religious freedom, right to assembly, free speech, and free expression. It is used as a basis for many of the ADF’s legal arguments.

Alan Sears

Alan Sears is the founder of ADF who later turned reins of the organization over to Michael Farris, and eventually Kristen Waggoner (current ADF President). He has ties to other far-right conservative advocates including infamous child-abuse promoter James Dobson and 34x convicted felon Donald Trump. Sears also served on the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography during the Reagan administration.

Craig Osten

Craig Osten led fundraising and other efforts for Alliance Defending Freedom that allowed the organization to become one of the most influential groups as well as fund general counsel activity in support of ADF’s goals.

History

Alliance Defending Freedom was founded in 1994 as the Alliance Defense Fund. It was created by a network of leaders in conservative Christianity who believed that courts were eroding “God-give” moral and legal principles. It was created to coordinate a comprehensive legal strategy among nationalist Christian advocacy groups to use the judiciary to achieve legal outcomes that aligned with the groups rhetorical goals. From its inception it has used litigation instead of elections to ensure the social dominance of religious conservatives.

Alliance Defending Freedom leans heavily into an expansive yet limited interpretation of religious liberty. They frequently take on cases that have them arguing for the religious freedoms of conservative Christians, but fail to apply the concept to people of other faiths or those without any faith. Additionally, they often describe religious liberty as a God-given right that should take precedence over civil rights protections for other groups. This has influenced ADF’s involvement in cases involving parental rights, education policy, human life, and the legal rights of LGBTQ+ people.

Although the ADF did not participate in early cases relating to sexual privacy, the decisions recognizing that consenting adults have the right to engage in private sexual acts changed the legal landscape that ADF navigates. After courts began recognizing and affirming protections for sexual relations between adults of the same sex Alliance Defending Freedom moved from focusing on criminalization to seeking exemptions that allowed individuals and organizations to be exempt from recognizing same sex relationships or queer identities. To do this, ADF often acknowledges the legality of homosexual relationships and acts while framing opposition to civil rights protections as constitutionally protected speech.

ADF has successfully expanded its influence by engaging in strategic litigation. The organization has sued states, cities, and school districts. It has appeared before the Supreme Court multiple times as counsel of amicus. In some cases, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the ADF to strengthen religious exemption claims. However, there have been many cases the ADF lost either in front of the Supreme Court or a federal judge. The ADF often selectively focuses its efforts where they are most likely to succeed. For exammple, supporting the Mississippi law restricting LGBTQ+ rights and supporting conservative officials in South Carolina. This demonstrates how ADF uses national scale litigation along with efforts to influence local policies.

Throught its Blackstone Legal Fellowship, Alliance Defending Freedom has created a law school to far right legal advocacy pipeline. The Blackstone Legal Fellowship actively recruits right wing conservatives in law school or who have recently graduated, and trains them to blend conservative Christian theology with selectively strict interpretations of the constitution. In addition to joining ADF, graduates of this program also go on to to clerk for judges and work in state attorneys’ offices. This has allowed the influence of the ADF to expand to institutions that should be protecting the rights of all – not just those who embrace fundamentalist, Christian ideology.

Branding And Symbols

Alliance Defending Freedom has carefully curated a brand identity to align with its goal of appearing as an organization that is in favor of liberty, freedom, and patriotism, all while working to erode the fundamental rights of anyone who is not a far right Christian nationalist. It uses a combination of visuals and carefully chosen language on its website, social media pages, and marketing materials.

Logo and Visual Identity

ADF’s logo is a stylized A with a red slash. The red and bue colors don’t just evoke patriotism but also authority. Even the Trajan style font closely mirrors typography used legal, military, and government organizations.

Catchphrases and Messaging

ADF peppers its communications with phrases like “Religious Freedom for All”, “Defending Freedom”, “Protecting Children”, “Honoring God’s Plan”, and references to religious liberty as a God given right. These phrases are deliberately vague and evocative. They allow the ADF to align itself with universally popular ideals, such as the right to freely live as one chooses while obscuring that it is working towards legal outcomes that deny those rights to LGBTQ+ people and others.

Patriotism, Christianity, and Family Imagery

Like many conservative organizations, ADF uses imagery that references Christianity, patriotism, and traditional family units in its marketing materials. A glance at its website, landing pages, and social media presence reveals American flags, courthouses, churches, the US Constitution, and nuclear families. These symbols create a connection between the political and legal positions of ADF and national identity, morality, and stability. This is no accident. The idea is to frame any opposition of the ADF’s attacks on LGBTQ+ people as anti-American, immoral, and anti-faith.

Cases Criticism And Controversies

Alliance Defending Freedom has been involved a many high-profile legal battles. These have shaped national debates over religious liberty, civil rights, and anti-discrimination law. The organization’s supporters argue that it exists to protect the rights of people to freely live according to their religious convictions. Critics contend that its legal strategy often seeks out exemptions that allow people to discriminate against marginalized communities, especially those who are gender-diverse or in same sex relationships.

ADF has taken several cases to the Supreme Court directly or through collaborations with similarly focused litigants. There have been many instances in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of protecting religious objectors. One of the most well-known examples involved a dispute over whether a business owner could refuse services related to same-sex weddings if that contradicted with their religious beliefs. The ADF and other organizations framed this as a compelled speech issue while the opposition argued that these rulings weakened civil rights protections.

ADF has faced strong criticism against its litigation strategy. Beyond the supreme court, ADF continues to be involved in an array of lawsuits against states, municipalities, school districts, and organizations over anti-discrimination laws and policies. In several instances, courts have found that no enforcement action had taken case prior to filing the lawsuit. This has led to accusations that the ADF engages in preemptive or strategic litigation to set legal precedent rather than as a response to tangible harm being done.

Outside of the courtroom, ADF is widely criticized by civil rights and watchdog groups for its stances on LGBTQ+ issues. It has a long history of opposing marriage equality and protections for LGBTQ+ people in healthcare, education, housing, and employment. Critics highlight that ADF’s claims that homosexual behavior and relationships do not deserve the same kinds of legal protections as heterosexual behavior and relationships are simply ways to use the concept of religious freedom to justify discrimination.

ADF is also controversial internationally. For example, ADF sued or advocated against marriage equality. Further, the organization has supported efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights in other countries. Opponents argue that these tactics endanger the lives of citizens in places with few legal protections and inhumane penalties for violating the law.

Impact on LGBTQ+ Communities

Alliance defending freedom is a hate group that has had a negative impact on queer folks and other marginalized groups in the United States, European Union, and beyond. While purporting to advocate for individual rights and religious freedom today, this organization seeks to strip marginalized communities of their rights – including the right to simply exist. Because of this organization’s cruel agenda the groups it targets often live in fear of legal outcomes that are absolutely devastating. Even when ADF attorneys are defeated in court, there is a physical, emotional, and financial toll that creates ongoing trauma.

How to Respond to ADF Actions

How you respond to actions from this Kristen Waggoner-led organization depends on the role you play in these.

You Are Directly Targeted by ADF Attorneys

If ADF attorneys or other legal counsel are involved in a case affecting you, it is crticial to seek legal support immediately. ADF lawyers use their training via programs like Blackstone Legal Fellowship to create and execute legal strategies to get the outcomes they desire. This includes coordinating with a broader network of legal experts in the public and private sectors. ADF employs general counsel, paralegals, specialists, and others to use legal action to sabotagoe LGBTQ+ people’s efforts to live freely.

ADF lawsuits frequently rely on claims about parental rights, gender identity, or a supposed fundamental right – often using the concept of God-given rights to convince courts that the personal freedoms of their clients are at stake. Or, they argue that harm is being done to society in cases related to access to public accomodations, transgender students, and restrictions on consenting LGBTQ+ adults.

While it is stressful to be a target as an individual or member of the group, know that ADF does not always win. There are organizations such as GLAAD, The Southern Poverty Law Center, One Colorado, and Democracy Forward that have fought hard against ADF’s agenda and false claims. Also, Supreme Court rulings such as the landmark Lawrence v. Texas decision striking down the criminalization of same sex sodomy and opposite sex sodomy between consenting adults.

Someone You Know Has Been Targeted

When someone you know is targeted by Alliance Defending Freedom, they will need practical support. That includes helping them source affirming legal counsel, documenting false claims, and coordinating financial assistance if possible. People involved will also need emotional support as their basic human rights are challenged.

The ADF often leverages conservative media outlets like Fox News that will allow them to evoke narratives about “homosexual behavior”, “the homosexual agenda”, “deviant sexual acts”, and “protection” of women and children unchallenged. Public narratives may also reference concepts such as biological reality and human life as a way to create a larger cultural impact and manipulate public perception. Being informed helps to counter misinformation and create an overall strategy that offers both legal defense and use of media to challenge these false narratives.

You Want to Assist Communities The ADF Has Victimized

You don’t have to wait until you, other LGBTQ+ people, or affirming institutions are affected by Alliance Defending Freedom. You can take action by strengthening ongoing efforts towards equality and freedom. This can include donating to legal defense foods, supporting community-based organizations, and amplifying voices that offer accudrate information about freedom, rights, and the dangers of hate groups.

Also, understand that ADF operates internationally by offering legal advocacy in places like Mexico City while also collaborating with sympathetic politicians, donors, and media figures. It’s important to recognize this broader ecosystem to understand just how influential groups informing policy can coordinate across legal networks, legislative bodies, and the media to achieve desired outcomes.

Proactive and sustained collective action that is rooted in facts, legal precedent, and solidarity are all needed to launch effective responses to an organization that often takes advantage of a lack of public understanding.