Post by:
Rebecca Dattilo
Hi there! My name is Rebecca
Dattilo and I am a 2L law student at Regent University. I am originally from
Colorado Springs, but made the move out to Virginia to attend Regent. I felt
called by the Lord to attend law school and specifically felt drawn Regent Law,
as the school’s heart for seeking justice for the oppressed and pursing mercy
matched my own heart’s passions. One of the “pulls” that brought me to Regent
Law was in fact, the incredible work conducted by the Center for Global
Justice. This is now my second year working with the Center for Global Justice as
a student staff member and my second year to be working on a legal project
based out of India.
This
semester, I have been assigned to a team to work on a project for Alliance
Defending Freedom- India. Our assignment is to gather legal provisions
regarding hate speech and blasphemy law in Asian countries, which will then be
presented as a memo to ADF. This particular project is near and dear to my
heart as this past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to intern with
Alliance Defending Freedom at the India branch in New Delhi. I greatly valued
the time I was able to spend with the litigators of ADF Delhi as they advocated
for the rights of the religious minorities in India. As I conduct legal
research on hate speech and blasphemy laws in India and the rest of Asia, I
keep referring to moments, clients, and conversations with the litigation team
that occurred during my internship. I find myself asking, would this statute,
penal code, or past Supreme Court of India decision be useful to cases
involving persecuted Christian pastors or church members? As I think of the persecuted religious minorities of
India, and worldwide, I look to this passage for encouragement and hope: Isaiah
30:18-19 “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will
rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are
all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep
no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he
will answer you.”
The Lord, the God of
Justice, is utilizing ADF-India to protect those who are crying out for help
and to show them compassion. I am humbled to be working on a research project
for ADF that can be used to further advocate for the marginalized and that can
help to build legal arguments to serve as a means of giving a voice to the
voiceless.
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