Assemblyman Gary Schaer is a democratic member of the New Jersey General Assembly. In 2018, he sponsored legislation seeking to ensure that children up for adoption are placed with families who share their faith.

Emilie Kao is director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation. She specializes in legal conflicts related to religious freedom.

Leslie Cooper serves as deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT & HIV Project. Over the last two decades, she’s worked on many cases related to the rights of LGBT adoptive parents.

Melissa D. Carter is executive director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University School of Law. 

Dave LaRock is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2018, he sponsored HB1180, which would have repealed a prohibition on carrying dangerous weapons, such as guns and knives, into houses of worship.

Elizabeth Sherman is an assistant professor of American politics at American University in Washington, D.C. She recently wrote an analysis of John McCain’s legacy, exploring his views on the relationship between religion and politics, for The Conversation.

Gary Bauer is president of American Values, a conservative advocacy organization, and a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He regularly comments on what’s happening in the White House and, in 2000, ran against John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. 

Marlys Popma was John McCain’s national coordinator for evangelical and social conservative outreach during his 2008 campaign. She previously served as president of the Iowa Republican Party and currently sits on one of the state’s judicial nominating commissions, helping to vet judicial appointments. Popma is also the senior campaign director for CampaignHQ, a conservative call […]