americanatheists

American Atheists, Inc.             For more information, please contact:

http://www.atheists.org             Ed Buckner, President (770) 803-5353 or (908) 499-9200

http://www.americanatheist.org Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director  (859) 384-7000

                                                            Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333

American Atheists: Our Legal Philosophy

For Immediate Release

(Cranford, NJ). American Atheists have been engaged in important, effective legal and nonpartisan political actions throughout our history, and that will certainly continue. As President Ed Buckner notes, “Our National Legal Director, Edwin Kagin, serves in that capacity without pay or retainer--and has thus earned the gratitude of all American Atheists and others who care about religious liberty. We are hereby releasing an excellent summary of our legal philosophy, written by Mr. Kagin, on our website for all those who urge us to engage in—or to avoid—legal fights.” As Kagin notes in his essay, lawsuits are only one kind of weapon in the arsenal of those of us who fight on behalf of religious liberty—but used wisely, lawsuits can accomplish much.

Kagin wrote, among other things, that “It is the philosophy of American Atheists to win cases and to create favorable law.” And “There are plenty of civil liberties abuses against Atheists around these days. Far more than we can handle. Many abuses are better addressed by protests, letter writing, political action, interviews, debates, oratory and by using all of the free speech options still left to us….”

Lawsuits cost money, of course, and American Atheists, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, will happily accept contributions, large or small, from anyone wishing to enlarge our ability to file--and win--appropriate suits. Any contributions designated as for the Legal Defense Fund will be used for that purpose and, like any other contributions to American Atheists, are tax deductible.

National Spokesperson David Silverman noted that “Mr. Kagin’s clear exposition can be found on our website, www.atheists.org, under ‘Law: Legal Support: American Atheists Legal Philosophy.’”

Kagin, Buckner, and Silverman are all available for interviews with the media.

Happy 2009CE to all.

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AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

   American Atheists, Inc. P. O. Box 5733 Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733

Tel: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402