David French Explained

David French
Birth Name:David Austin French
Birth Date:24 January 1969
Birth Place:Opelika, Alabama, U.S.
Education:Lipscomb University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
Party:Republican (before 2018)
Independent (2018–present)
Spouse:Nancy Anderson
Module:
Embed:yes
Branch:United States Army
Serviceyears:2007–2014
Rank:Major
Unit:Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles:Iraq War
Awards:Bronze Star Medal[1]

David Austin French (born January 24, 1969) is an American political commentator and former attorney who has argued high-profile religious liberty cases. He was formerly a fellow at the National Review Institute and a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019. French is a former senior editor of The Dispatch, a visiting professor of public policy at Lipscomb University, and a columnist for The New York Times.

Early life and education

French was born in Opelika, Alabama. His parents were students at nearby Auburn University.[2]

French graduated summa cum laude from Lipscomb University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3] [4] He then went on to Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude in 1994 with a Juris Doctor degree.[5] [6]

Career

French has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom,[7] has lectured at Cornell Law School, and spent much of his career working on religious rights issues.[8] He served as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).[9] French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the United States Army Reserve as a judge-advocate general officer.[10] [11] He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019,[12] [13] and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.[14]

French has authored several books, including the non-fiction Divided We Fall (2020).[15] [16]

French is a former senior editor of The Dispatch, and occasionally a contributing writer for The Atlantic. French is a distinguished visiting professor of public policy at Lipscomb University, his alma mater.[17]

French became a New York Times columnist in January 2023.[18]

LGBT issues

In August 2017, French was one of several co-authors of the Nashville Statement, which affirmed "that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness."[19] The statement was criticized by pro-LGBT Christians and LGBT rights activists,[20] [21] as well as by several conservative religious figures.[22] [23]

In November 2022, French announced that he had "changed his mind" on the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, although stating he was still morally opposed to the matter. He wrote that his "reasoning tracked my lifelong civil libertarian beliefs" and that:[24]

Millions of Americans have formed families and live their lives in deep reliance on Obergefell being good law. It would be profoundly disruptive and unjust to rip out the legal superstructure around which they've ordered their lives.

Military service

French is a former major in the United States Army Reserve[25] and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[9] French was deployed to Iraq in 2007 during the Iraq War, serving in Diyala Governorate as squadron judge-advocate.[26] He was awarded a Bronze Star.[25]

Potential 2016 U.S. presidential campaign

French briefly considered entering the 2016 U.S. presidential race, citing his strong moral objections to U.S. Republican Party presumptive nominee Donald Trump. He ultimately decided that he had neither the name recognition nor the financial support to mount a viable campaign.[27]

Attacks by the alt-right

In 2016 French, his wife, and his family were the subject of online attacks when he criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and the alt-right. French was bombarded with hateful tweets, including an image of his daughter in a gas chamber.[28]

Dispute with Sohrab Ahmari

A dispute between French and conservative New York Post editor Sohrab Ahmari broke out in the summer of 2019 as a result of the publication of Ahmari's polemical First Things article entitled "Against David French-ism."[29] The dispute centered on their differing opinions on how conservatives should approach cultural and political debate and issues, with Ahmari arguing for a more ideologically firm approach against French's libertarian views.[30] [31]

Personal life

French is an evangelical Christian.[8] He is married to author Nancy French.[32] French and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee.[33] They have three children, including a daughter adopted from Ethiopia.[34]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corbett . Erin . Who Is David French? Bill Kristol Has Suggested a Third-Party Candidate to Run against Trump . 31 May 2016 . Bustle . May 31, 2016.
  2. Episode 414: Religious Power vs. Religious Liberty with David French. Holy Post Podcast. 22 July 2020. 22 July 2020. French. David.
  3. Web site: David French Mediation Attorney – Child Custody Mediation Attorney in Kentucky. Mediation. 1 June 2016.
  4. Web site: Lipscomb Conversations program discusses threats to national community Oct. 4 |. www.lipscomb.edu. 30 September 2005 .
  5. Web site: November 9, 2006 . ADF files lawsuit to stop ongoing attacks on religious groups at the University of Wisconsin . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190713101838/http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/1805?search=1 . July 13, 2019 . August 24, 2019 . Alliance Defending Freedom.
  6. Web site: A patriot's perspective - WORLD. Marvin. Olasky. world.wng.org.
  7. News: Morrow. Brendan. David French: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. May 31, 2016. Heavy. May 31, 2016.
  8. News: David French, Sohrab Ahmari, and the Battle for the Future of Conservatism. Wallace-Wells. Benjamin. The New Yorker. 2019-09-12. 2019-09-12. en. 0028-792X.
  9. Web site: Who Is David French, the Third-Party Conservative Who Might Be Running for President?. Jack. Moore. GQ. June 1, 2016.
  10. Web site: A Personal Message from FIRE President David French. June 1, 2016. November 11, 2005.
  11. News: A Q & A with evangelical writer David French on Christian nationalism . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-08-16 . 0190-8286.
  12. Web site: Farewell. French. David. National Review. October 18, 2019.
  13. Web site: 2023-01-03 . David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist . 2023-03-18 . The New York Times Company . en-US.
  14. News: The Left Distorts Originalism to Attack Judge Gorsuch. David French . March 22, 2017 . March 24, 2017. Having failed to undermine Gorsuch’s nomination on substantive grounds, liberals are now using a straw-man argument instead . .
  15. News: Kirchick . James . 2020-09-22 . The Divisions That Are Destroying the Country . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-03-18 . 0362-4331.
  16. Web site: Oregonian/OregonLive . Douglas Perry The . 2020-09-08 . Conservative intellectual David French fears secession but makes a strong case for it: 'Divided We Fall' review . 2023-03-18 . oregonlive . en.
  17. News: Lathan . Angele . Lipscomb University taps conservative columnist David French as visiting professor . 21 September 2023 . The Tennessean . Gannett . August 31, 2023.
  18. Web site: Mastrangelo . Dominick . Conservative writer David French joining New York Times . The Hill . 2023-01-03 . en-US . 2023-01-04 . mdy-all .
  19. https://www.hrc.org/news/hundreds-of-christian-leaders-denounce-the-nashville-statement-in-an-open-l "Hundreds of Christian leaders denounce the Nashville Statement in an open letter," Human Rights Campaign, August 31, 2017
  20. News: Williams . Hattie . 1 September 2017 . Nashville statement on sexuality prompts response from LGBT-supporting Christians . Church Times . live . 2 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170902232306/https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/8-september/news/world/nashville-statement-on-sexuality-prompts-response-from-lgbt-supporting-christians . 2 September 2017.
  21. Web site: 31 August 2017 . Evangelicals and the Nashville Statement: What is the point? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170901200707/https://www.christiantoday.com/article/evangelicals.and.the.nashville.statement.what.is.the.point/112827.htm . 1 September 2017 . 2 September 2017 . Christian Today.
  22. News: Beaty . Katelyn . 31 August 2017 . Why even conservative evangelicals are unhappy with the anti-LGBT Nashville Statement . The Washington Post . live . 2 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170902225046/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/08/31/why-even-conservative-evangelicals-are-unhappy-with-the-anti-lgbt-nashville-statement/ . 2 September 2017.
  23. News: Keating . Joshua . 2020-09-25 . David French's New Book Arguing That the U.S. Will Break Apart Is Too Optimistic . en-US . Slate . 2023-03-18 . 1091-2339.
  24. Web site: French . David . November 21, 2022 . Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again . 2022-11-21 . The Dispatch . en-US.
  25. Web site: 'National Review' Writer And Former Service Member On Defining Patriotism. NPR.org. May 26, 2018.
  26. News: Stanley. Paul. Nancy French Talks About Career as Mom, Wife and Bestselling Author. July 9, 2015. Christian Post. September 16, 2011.
  27. News: Bennett. James. David French came 'really close' to running for president. 20 June 2016. The Daily Herald. June 18, 2016.
  28. Web site: NPR. Harassed On Twitter: 'People Need To Know The Reality Of What It's Like Out There'. October 26, 2016.
  29. Web site: Against David French-ism Sohrab Ahmari . 2022-08-16 . First Things . 29 May 2019 . en.
  30. News: Ahmari . Sohrab . Against David French-ism . June 30, 2019 . First Things . May 29, 2019.
  31. Web site: Coaston . Jane . 2019-06-05 . David French vs. Sohrab Ahmari and the battle dividing conservatives, explained . 2022-08-16 . Vox . en.
  32. News: Halperin. Mark. Heilemann. John. Kristol Eyes Conservative Lawyer David French for Independent Presidential Run. May 31, 2016. Bloomberg Politics. May 31, 2016.
  33. French . David . June 8, 2021 . How Can We Escape the COVID-19 Vaccine Culture Wars? . Time . September 13, 2022.
  34. News: Easley. Jonathan. Who is David French?. June 5, 2016. The Hill. June 5, 2016.
  35. News: Tuesday, Nov. 10: National Review's David French Lecture. May 31, 2016. Iowa State University. November 10, 2015.
  36. News: McDevitt. Caitlin. Meet Bristol Palin's ghostwriter. May 31, 2016. Politico. July 12, 2011.
  37. Web site: Rise of ISIS. USA Today. June 21, 2013. May 31, 2016.

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