REGISTER | SIGN IN DONATE MENU Our Issues Skip to: Legal Office of Public Policy Get Involved United Nations The Center for Inquiry is the only organization working to advance reason, science, secularism, and humanist values in public policy, and oppose the influence of religion, dogma, pseudoscience, and superstition. As a leading advocate in these areas, we have assembled a wide network of experts who can address the public policy issues related to our agenda. We bring that network and expertise, and the energy and passion of our grassroots supporters, to have an impact on policy at the state, national, and international levels. Evidence, facts, and the scientific method are being challenged in the United States today as never before, and the secular foundations of government are being uprooted in favor of religious privilege. While a number of organizations lobby and work to defend science politically, only one organization works to defend reason in all important areas of human endeavor: the Center for Inquiry. Homeopathy The ultimate medical con, where billions of dollars each year is fleeced from an unsuspecting public; CFI is battling the countries biggest retailers to protect consumers from this scam. Learn more > Vaccines Vaccination is among the greatest medical advances in history; CFI campaigns for broader uptake, and against the lies and pseudoscience that lead to vaccine hesitancy. Naturopathy Naturopaths aren’t real doctors, they deal out pseudoscientific nonsense; CFI works to make sure states don’t give them undue credibility and support. Secular Celebrants Few states allow celebrants to perform weddings unless they claim to be religious; CFI has won the right for truly secular celebrants in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, and is looking to expand that nationwide. Learn more > School Vouchers Every dollar given to religious schools is a dollar for indoctrination, and a dollar taken from where it is needed, the secular public school system; CFI is fighting to prevent your tax dollars going to church schools. Equality for Nonbelievers People shouldn’t be deprived of their rights because they don’t believe in a god; CFI is working across the world and in the United Nations to defend equal legal protections for the nonreligious. Legal Department The Legal Department furthers the Center for Inquiry’s mission through investigation, litigation, by filing amicus briefs in cases involving First Amendment rights, reproductive freedom, assistance in dying, consumer protection, and other issues of importance to the Center and its supporters. Where appropriate, the Center or its affiliates will file their own lawsuit. CFI is putting a particular focus on consumer protection lawsuits. Billions of dollars every year are fraudulently extracted from unwitting consumers across the country to line the pockets of those who peddle snake oil and pseudoscientific nonsense. CFI legal department stands ready to file suit against sellers of homeopathy, psychics, naturopaths, and faith healers where their claims run contrary to the basic laws of science, and their flimflammery fleeces the general public. CFI seeks to use the legal system to establish precedent that can then create fundamental change in society. Winning secular celebrant cases creates momentum to pressure other states to permit secular celebrants. Winning consumer protection lawsuits against retail behemoths like Walmart and CVS not only forces those companies to change their policies across the nation, or face multiple suits from the plaintiffs’ bar, it also sends a message to every other retailer that they must change too. Winning the right for mature minors to be vaccinated in one state will quickly lead to all mature minors in the United States having that option. Staff Nicholas J. Little Legal Director Aaron Green Staff Counsel Contact Us E-mail: legal@centerforinquiry.org Postal Address Center for Inquiry 1012 14th. NW, Suite 205 Washington, DC 20005 Telephone: (202) 734-6494 ext. 203 Fax: (202) 733-5292 Refer a Case If you have experienced discrimination because you are nonreligious or you believe that your constitutional rights are in jeopardy, or if you have suffered harm or been deceived by pseudoscience at any level, please contact us here. Be aware that submission of this information to the Legal Department does not guarantee that we can assist you. Contact a private attorney promptly as well as asking us. CFI does not undertake representation of individuals involved in employment disputes. Fields marked with an * are required Name * Email * Subject * Message * Lawsuits Lawsuit CFI v. CVS Lawsuit CFI v. Walmart Updates CFI Advocates for Better COVID-19 Policy from State Governments September 10, 2021 News Azhar Majeed CFI’s Office of Public Policy (OPP) has been working hard to ensure that our nation’s leaders at the state level are following public health guidance on their COVID-19 policies. We support the Biden administration’s approach to this critical matter, including this week’s announcement of a vaccine mandate for federal employees and contractors, as well as … Florida Officials Must Stop Chiropractors Giving Bogus Medical Exemptions to School Mask Mandates September 2, 2021 News Paul Fidalgo Chiropractors are not medical doctors. Why, then, is a chiropractic clinic in Venice, Florida, allowed to dole out medical exemptions without examinations to a public school mask mandate designed to protect children from COVID-19? WFLA News reported that the Twin Palms Chiropractic Health Center is providing medical exemption forms to allow school children to avoid … Gov. Lee: Don’t Sacrifice Students’ Health by Undermining School Mask Mandates August 27, 2021 News Paul Fidalgo Life-saving vaccination efforts in Tennessee are already being undermined by state officials, as exemplified by the ouster of chief immunization official Dr. Michelle Fiscus over her work to promote COVID-19 vaccinations for students old enough to receive them. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee took another step in the wrong direction last week when he signed an executive order … Amicus Briefs Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right, Secular Groups Tell SCOTUS in Case of Muslim American Persecution January 13, 2020 Press Releases Paul Fidalgo Muslim Americans persecuted by law enforcement deserve justice, the Center for Inquiry told the Supreme Court in a joint amicus brief, but warned that providing financial restitution through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is misguided, dangerous, and unconstitutional. Today the Center for Inquiry (CFI) and American Atheists (AA) filed a jointly written amicus brief with … CFI Tells Supreme Court: Church Facilities Must Not Be Funded By Taxpayer Dollars July 6, 2016 Press Releases Paul Fidalgo The Center for Inquiry yesterday joined with our friends and allies to submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Pauley. Prominent Scientists Urge Supreme Court: Reject Pseudoscientific Testimony for Texas Abortion Case January 5, 2016 Press Releases Paul Fidalgo Steven Pinker, Eugenie Scott, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, and more than 40 other eminent scientists and public intellectuals are backing the Center for Inquiry in a brief to the Supreme Court criticizing the state of Texas’s onerous restrictions on abortion providers. CFI’s brief argues that t Office of Public Policy Azhar Majeed Director of Government Affairs amajeed@centerforinquiry.org (202) 734-6494 The Center for Inquiry’s Office of Public Policy serves as liaison to our nation’s government, to see that every available means is used to defend and promote science, reason, and secular values. We work with lawmakers to effect legislative responses to attacks on science and reason. We submit white papers, solicited from our network of fellows and scientists. We provide rapid response via public statements and action alerts directed at public policy. We bring experts to testify in legislative hearings. We also delve into upcoming legislation, undertake appropriate research on bills that relate to our agenda, and coordinate press, legal, and scholarly responses to legislation. Take Action Get updated via email whenever there’s important legislation or news related to our community. SUBSCRIBE NOW Texas: Tell Gov. Abbott that his latest executive order will cost lives October 14, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION U.S. Senate Must Vote Against ‘Religious Education Week’ Resolution October 7, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION Arizona: Tell Gov. Ducey to Take COVID-19 Seriously, Roll Back School Voucher Program September 21, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION Michigan: Tell Lawmakers to Reject Anti-Vax Bill, Let Employers Require COVID-19 Vaccinations September 2, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION Texas: Push back against Governor Abbott’s executive order on COVID-19 protocols August 17, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION Florida: Stop Governor DeSantis’s ban on school mask mandates putting children in danger August 13, 2021 Azhar Majeed TAKE ACTION SEE ALL ACTION ALERTS United Nations The Center for Inquiry is an active non-governmental organization (NGO) at the United Nations, and has held special consultative status under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2005. CFI has a presence at both the UN headquarters in New York City, and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. CFI’s mission to the UN works to protect and advance universal human rights from a secular, science-based perspective, focusing mainly on three interrelated areas of human rights: freedom of religion, belief, and expression; women’s rights; and LGBT equality. Updates Threats to the Nonreligious in Libya: CFI at the U.N. Human Rights Council March 18, 2021 The Rights of Nonbelievers and Iran’s Abuses: CFI at the UN Human Rights Council March 9, 2020 Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws in Qatar and Brunei: CFI at the UN Human Rights Council September 24, 2019 CFI’s UN Advocate Takes on Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Record July 9, 2019 CFI at the 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council April 2, 2019 CFI Welcomes New UN Advocate: Andreas Kyriacou February 20, 2019 Joint Statement on Mauritania: Death Penalty for Blasphemy and Journalist’s Imprisonment June 29, 2018 CFI Hosts Visit of UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to Washington, D.C. April 6, 2017 Center for Inquiry Spotlights Freedom of Conscience at 34th Session of UN Human Rights Council March 27, 2017 Center for Inquiry Active at 32nd Session of UN Human Rights Council June 30, 2016 Related Links Our Issues Office of Public Policy Position Papers United Nations Quick Links CFI Main About Us Branch Locations Our Blogs Videos Press Releases News Contact Us Donate Update Donor or Member Info Site Map Privacy Policy FOLLOW US Center for Inquiry – Headquarters PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226 (716) 636-4869 Center for Inquiry – Executive Office 1012 14th Street, NW, Suite 205 Washington, DC 20005 Terms · Privacy Statement Center for Inquiry, Inc © 2021 · All Rights Reserved. Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 22-2306795