Mr. Shackelford is a constitutional scholar who has argued before the United States Supreme Court, testified before the U.S. House and Senate on constitutional issues, and has won three state landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases in the past few years alone. He was recently named one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the past quarter-century by Texas Lawyer, and is the recipient of the prestigious William Bentley Ball Award for Life and Religious Freedom Defense for his leadership and pioneering work protecting religious freedom.

Lathan Watts is Director of Community Relations for First Liberty Institute, responsible for all efforts to increase First Liberty Institute’s profile in local and national markets. His focus is on expanding public awareness of First Liberty’s mission, legal matters, and educational projects by coordinating communication with community leaders, influencers, policy makers, and the public at large.

Prior to joining First Liberty Institute, Watts served in various campaign and official staff positions for U.S. Congressman Jeb Hensarling, U.S. Senator John Cornyn, and Texas Governor Rick Perry. His executive leadership roles in non-profit organizations specializing in political affairs and community outreach contributed to the election of numerous members of the U.S. Congress, multiple state legislators, and governors. His work in and around the political process served him well in the four years he spent as a City Councilman in Lewisville, TX.

Watts received his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi where he served two terms in the student senate one as President Pro Tempore. He received his Bachelor of Arts in History from Harding University, where he was a member of multiple honor societies and the University Concert Choir.

Dan Gainor is the Vice President of Business and Culture for the MRC and has been with the organization for more than 10 years. He heads up both our MRC Business and MRC Culture departments, including our popular Soros Project. He is a veteran editor with more than three decades of experience in print and online media. Gainor has appeared on Fox News, the Fox Business Network, CNN, CNN HN, CBS, NBC, CNBC, EWTN, The Blaze, Newsmax TV and has a regular spot on the One America News Network.

Gainor often writes for The Fox Forum and his work has appeared throughout the conservative movement and traditional press. He has been published in a wide variety of publications, including: Investor’s Business Daily, The Washington Times,USAToday.com, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Orange County Register, The New York Post, The Baltimore Examiner, Canada’s National Post's Financial Post & FP Investing, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Blaze magazine, Townhall magazine, Citizen magazine, American Spectator and Human Events.

Gainor has made thousands of local or national radio shows including: the Phil Valentine Show, POTUS on XM Satellite Radio, the Thom Hartmann Show, the Lars Larson Show, the Jim Bohannon Show, Mancow, American Family Radio and Battleline with Alan Nathan.

Prior to joining the MRC, Gainor served as an editor at several newspapers includingThe Washington Times and The Baltimore News American. Mr. Gainor also has extensive experience in online publishing – holding the position of managing editor for CQ.com, the Web site of Congressional Quarterly, and executive editor for ChangeWave, then-published by Phillips International. He worked in financial publishing launching new services for ChangeWave and Agora Inc. Gainor holds an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and a master’s in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore. As an undergraduate, he majored in Political Science and History at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Gainor lives in Maryland and volunteers as a media and issues speaker with the Close-Up Foundation.

By: Mike DeBonis - washingtonpost.com - October 11, 2018 Endangered Senate Democrats won their freedom to campaign for next month’s midterm elections Thursday and, in exchange, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell got something he highly values ...

By: Jeremy Dys - wsj.com - October 11, 2018 Three federal judges decide a century-old monument violates the Constitution. Three federal judges decide a century-old monument violates the Constitution. By Jeremy Dys As a lowly ...

By: Emma R. - voiceofeurope.com - October 11, 2018 It is now reported that a large cross monument on the Greek Orthodox Christian island has been levelled to the ground. This after a group claiming ...

By: Michael Goodwin - nypost.com - October 9, 2018 Two events from the last two days stand out. The first came Monday night with President Trump’s forceful yet compassionate speech at the swearing in of ...

By: Corinne Weaver - newsbusters.org - October 10, 2018 Is the world’s largest search engine really free? And, if not, are its users? An 85-page document leaked to Breitbart argued that in order to prevent ...

By: Daniel Davis - dailysignal.com - October 05, 2018 In the history of the pro-life movement, a handful of flashpoints stand out. Moments that draw our attention to the horrors of abortion and the issues ...