About the American Public Policy Alliance
Board of Directors
- Stephen M. Gelé
- Michelle R. Ghetti
- Randy Simmons
Mission
The American Public Policy Alliance (APPA), a non-partisan 501c4 advocacy organization dedicated to protecting U.S. constitutional rights, safeguarding U.S. sovereignty and promoting government transparency and accountability, is working with legislators nationwide on policies and initiatives.
Along with allied organizations, APPA is working to defend free speech, preserve and promote civil and human rights, maintain the integrity and supremacy of our US and state constitutions, and aid and promote public
safety.
One of the greatest threats to American values and liberties today comes from abroad, including foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines which have been infiltrating our court system at the municipal, state and federal levels. This phenomenon is known as “transnationalism” and includes the use of international law and foreign law in court opinions when those conflict with both Constitutional liberties and protections, and state public policy. Examples include “conflict-of-law” issues with foreign law, including many countries that have Shariah-centric legal systems, as well as countries with significantly different laws concerning child custody. APPA focuses on countering this infiltration of anti-Constitutional laws across a broad variety of initiatives.
In only three years, APPA’s American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) legislation has already successfully been signed into law in Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona and Kansas, and is currently working its way through the legislative process in several additional states. New bills can take several attempts to achieve success; the positive reception by legislators and public to American Laws for American Courts in such a short timeframe is testimony to the concern across America about preserving our civil rights from discriminatory foreign laws.
Among its other efforts, APPA has completed extensive legislative work, including testimony and research, to preserve the free speech rights of Americans by promoting and supporting legislative initiatives in New York, California, Florida, Utah, Tennessee and Louisiana to combat the practice of “libel tourism” through “Rachel’s Law,” which was created as a direct result of a frivolous lawsuit filed by Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Mahfouz against “Funding Evil” author Rachel Ehrenfeld. The Saudi-dominated Organization of the Islamic Conference has aided the suppression of free speech through legal action and the promotion of resolutions in the UN prohibiting “defamation of religion,” a direct outgrowth of the foreign Shariah legal doctrine of prohibiting speech that insults Islam.
Rachel’s Law on the state level inspired Congress to act in 2010 with the SPEECH Act to protect Americans from libel tourism and ensure freedom of the press and free expression.
APPA has also promoted governmental transparency with legislation to require disclosure of foreign gifts to public colleges and universities. This initiative was started as a result of the appearance of foreign doctrines and ideologies on our college campuses, particularly from oil-rich, Islamic nations that have sought to influence faculty and curricula through monetary gifts ranging from $10-$20 million. APPA was instrumental in legislation passed in Utah and Louisiana, in an expanded version of the existing law in the state of New York, to require disclosure of such gifts from foreign entities.
In the area of public safety and security, APPA has supported state level legislation to empower state and local law enforcement to protect citizens against terrorism, including legislation defining terrorism as a state crime and providing for punishment and sentencing guidelines as well as legislation in Tennessee modeled after federal anti-material support for terrorism statutes.
