Michael Farris:
Senator Brownback, as you know, religious freedom is increasingly under attack in the United States. How would you respond to this as president?
Senator Sam Brownback:
There is one specific and quick thing that we need to do and then long-term we need to appoint judges that believe in a robust expression of faith in the public square. The big thing that we can do is we need to repeal the law that provides attorney’s fees on Establishment Clause cases. Somehow, a law that was written for civil rights issues has been interpreted as providing legal fees, and the ACLU and other groups use this often to blackmail small communities, school districts, from putting out a nativity scene in the courthouse square or singing “Joy to the World” as a Christmas carol—and we need to fight against that. And they should not be blackmailed by a threat of attorney’s fees. This needs to be repealed-this attorney’s fees provision—so that each party pays for their own legal fees. And then long-term, as I stated earlier, the appointment of judges that believe in the free expression of religion in the public square, not a naked public square.
Mike:
Senator Sam Brownback, thank you so much for those responses.
