Happy Friday and welcome to our Weekend Edition show. Joining Kerby around the table today is Debbie Georgatos and First Liberty’s Chief of Staff, Chelsey Youman. Together they will look at the top stories in the news this week and give you their point of view. You may join the conversation by calling 800-351-1212.
She joined First Liberty Institute after working for a law firm in private practice, where she successfully litigated corporate fraud matters, complex commercial litigation, and consumer rights issues in both federal and state jurisdictions.
Youman received her Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University, where she was a Dean’s Scholarship Recipient. She was also a member of the Board of Advocates, where she successfully argued in off-campus mock trial competitions, and was a member of the Aggie Law Society and SMU Christian Legal Society. During law school, she clerked for the Consumer Protection Division in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and Liberty Institute.
The State of Iowa published a brochure defining churches as places of public accommodation and claiming that the state has the power to control what the church teaches regarding matters of gender and sexuality, as well as regulating how the church operates their facilities. On behalf of Cornerstone World Outreach Church, First Liberty Institute sent a demand to the State of Iowa, contending that the government is violating both the sanctity of the church and federal law.
Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel - described as a "weird loner" who "became depressed" when his wife left him - was a French passport holder who lived in the Riviera city and was regularly in trouble with the law.
The 31-year-old delivery driver's wife is this afternoon in police custody as officers question her about his alleged Islamist links. Bouhlel was reportedly not on a terrorist watch list and investigators are seeking to establish his motives - and are also looking for possible accomplices.
In 2015, Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka started their own art studio in Phoenix that specializes in hand-painted lettering and calligraphy for weddings and other events. The two met at a Bible study and discovered their shared love of beauty, which led the artistic duo to open Brush & Nib. Soon thereafter, Koski and Duka became aware of a city ordinance that not only requires them to create artwork for same-sex marriages if requested by a customer, but also bars them from verbally expressing their religious beliefs pertaining to marriage.