Pacific Justice Institute
The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is an anti-LGBT conservative legal defense organization and based in California, United States, founded by attorney Brad Dacus. The organization describes itself as focusing on representation relating to "...religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties." It was declared an anti-LGBT hate group in 2014 by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to the group's long history of anti-LGBT rhetoric through its founder. Structure and Finances. PJI is a tax-exempt non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status under the IRS code, meaning contributions are tax deductible. It is  headquartered in Sacramento and has four other office locations in California, in the cities of Santa Ana, Oakland, Riverside, and San Diego. It was founded in 1997 by its current president, Brad W. Dacus, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. Positions and Activities. PJI has been involved in legislation, has filed amicus curiae briefs in legal cases and testified in state and federal legislatures. PJI supported Proposition 8, a 2008 California ballot initiative that defined marriage as one man and one woman. The ballot initiative was overturned by the "Hollingsworth v. Perry" decision in 2013. PJI  opposed the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate provision. PJI unsuccessfully opposed SB 1172, a 2012 California law that banned conversion therapy for children under 18. PJI opposed the School Success and Opportunity Act, a 2013 California law which allows transgender public school students to use restrooms and play on sports teams that fit their gender identity. In 2013, Media Matters for America described the Pacific Justice Institute as the "LGBT Misinformer of The Year", because it had publicized a press release containing false claims against a transgender student that were based only on the complaints of an angry parent , as part of its campaign against the law. Media Matters stated that PJI "came pretty close to conceding" the story was not true. In 2014, PJI filed suit over whether a referendum against the law qualified for the November 2014 ballot. PJI helped a neighborhood group successfully oppose the operating permit for a medical marijuana dispensary, in the only neighborhood in San Francisco without a local dispensary. PJI represented a church that objected to a nightclub with "adult entertainment" locating next door. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PJI challenged public health restrictions on Church gatherings. PJI represented a student who was  suspended for distributing religious literature on public school grounds. PJI represented people who had large Bible studies gatherings in a private home without a permit. In 2019, PJI advocated against a California sex education law that required public schools to teach comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education (while allowing parents to opt their children out). In 2020, PJI filed a lawsuit against Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on behalf of two churches over the reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Inslee relaxed the attendance restrictions after a federal appeals court sided with a church in a lawsuit in  Nevada.