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CHAPTER PRESIDENT SPEAKS ON TOMMY STEVENSON’S “TOWN HALL”
CURRENT ACTION ISSUES
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PRESENTATIONS
** On October 15th, 2009: Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, spoke at Cumberland Law School, Samford University, sponsored by the Tuscaloosa Chapter. The title of his talk was “A Day Without Separation of Church and State.”
** On September 3rd, 2008: The Chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Republican Party, Mr. Barry Thompson, and the Chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Democratic party, Mr. James Smith, engaged in a discussion on the separation of Church and State.
This was an opportunity to hear the views of the two parties on the subject of separation, prior to the election in November.
** On November 7th, 2007: Gerald Allen, member of the Alabama State House of Representatives from the 62nd District (Tuscaloosa), exchanged views with the chapter and attending public on church-state separation issues. He is known for his controversial proposal to ban public funding for textbooks or library materials that could be viewed as promoting homosexuality.
Representative Allen received a B.S. Degree in Education from the University of Alabama, and was elected to the House in 1994. He is the owner of CASHCO Marketing and a Deacon for Gilgal Baptist Church. Mr. Allen is also a member of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and Civitan Club, and of the University of Alabama Alumni Association. He works as a booster for Holt High School, and is part of the PTA for Cottondale Elementary and Holt High School.
** On April 19th, 2007: Louis W. Perry, author of “Jefferson’s Scissors: Conflicts of Religion With Science and Democracy,” spoke on the University of Alabama campus, cosponsored by the Tuscaloosa Chapter and by the university’s Philosophy Club. Mr. Perry’s book emerged from a series of lectures at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), as well as discussion of possible resolutions with students of varying backgrounds over a three-year period.
Mr. Perry earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Alabama and an M.S. in physics from Texas Christian University. He worked on nuclear weapons, reactors, and electrical generators at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and as President of a consulting company. He has been a lecturer at UCSD the past six years.
** On October 4th, 2006: Doug Ray, Executive Editor of The Tuscaloosa News, spoke on journalism, the press, and the separation clause. Mr. Ray is responsible for the news operations of the newspaper: establishing policies on news coverage, leading development of new journalistic projects, hiring and developing a staff of about 45 journalists. He joined The Tuscaloosa News in May 2000. He has held previous editing roles in Tennessee newspapers, including The (Nashville) Tennessean, The (Clarksville) Leaf-Chronicle, and The (Franklin) Review-Appeal. He started his career at The Oak Ridger. Mr. Ray has held various leadership roles in press organizations and won awards for investigative reporting.
Mr. Ray grew up in Nashville, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1982 with a concentration in religious studies. Mr. Ray, his wife Julie, and their two children are members of First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, where he is an elder.
** On June 7th, 2006: Steve Glassroth, lead Plaintiff in Glassroth vs. Moore – the case that led to the removal of Roy Moore as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – spoke to the chapter and public. His talk was on “Lessons Learned in the Alabama Ten Commandments Case”.
Mr. Glassroth is a Montgomery-based attorney whose criminal trial work led to regular encounters with Judge Moore’s Ten Commandments monument at the state Judicial Building. His testimony, influential in its removal, included the statement that the monument had a visceral effect on him because it represented an official state policy on religion. In the aftermath of the case he expressed appreciation to the many Christians who supported him because they understood “the importance of keeping religion a private matter.”
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