David French

French was born on January 24, 1969, in Opelika, Alabama. His parents were students at nearby Auburn University.{{cite podcast|url=https://www.holypost.com/holy-post-podcast/episode/3954c22b/episode-414-religious-power-vs-religious-liberty-with-david-french|title=Episode 414: Religious Power vs. Religious Liberty with David French|website=Holy Post Podcast|date=July 22, 2020|access-date=July 22, 2020|last=French|first=David}} He grew up in Georgetown, Kentucky.{{cite web |title=Life as an open book |url=https://www.lipscomb.edu/now/life-open-book |website=Lipscomb University |language=en}}

French graduated from Lipscomb University in 1991 with a B.A., summa cum laude.{{cite web|url=http://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/david-a-french-40507-fb.aspx|title=David French Mediation Attorney – Child Custody Mediation Attorney in Kentucky|publisher=Mediation|access-date=June 1, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lipscomb.edu/news/lipscomb-conversations-program-discusses-threats-national-community-oct-4|title=Lipscomb Conversations program discusses threats to national community Oct. 4 ||website=www.lipscomb.edu|date=September 30, 2005 }} He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1994 with a Juris Doctor, cum laude.{{cite web |date=November 9, 2006 |title=ADF files lawsuit to stop ongoing attacks on religious groups at the University of Wisconsin |url=http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/1805?search=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713101838/http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/1805?search=1 |archive-date=July 13, 2019 |access-date=August 24, 2019 |work=Alliance Defending Freedom}}{{Cite web|url=https://world.wng.org/2018/07/a_patriot_s_perspective|title=A patriot's perspective - WORLD|first=Marvin|last=Olasky|website=world.wng.org}}

French has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom,{{cite news|last1=Morrow|first1=Brendan|title=David French: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|url=http://heavy.com/news/2016/05/who-is-david-french-wife-family-children-kids-national-review-third-party-candidate-bill-kristol/|access-date=May 31, 2016|publisher=Heavy|date=May 31, 2016}} has lectured at Cornell Law School, and spent much of his career working on religious rights issues.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/david-french-sohrab-ahmari-and-the-battle-for-the-future-of-conservatism|title=David French, Sohrab Ahmari, and the Battle for the Future of Conservatism|last=Wallace-Wells|first=Benjamin|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 12, 2019|access-date=September 12, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X}} He served as president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), now known as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/who-is-david-french-explained|title=Who Is David French, the Third-Party Conservative Who Might Be Running for President?|first=Jack|last=Moore|website=GQ|date=June 1, 2016}} French retired from FIRE in 2005, citing plans to serve in the United States Army Reserve as a judge-advocate general officer.{{cite web|title=A Personal Message from FIRE President David French|url=https://www.thefire.org/a-personal-message-from-fire-president-david-french/|access-date=June 1, 2016|date=November 11, 2005}}{{Cite news |title=A Q & A with evangelical writer David French on Christian nationalism |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/david-french-christian-nationalism/2021/02/05/734865a8-6723-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html |access-date=August 16, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}} He left the legal practice in 2015, and became a staff writer for National Review from 2015 to 2019,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/farewell/|title=Farewell|last=French|first=David|work=National Review|date=October 18, 2019}}{{Cite web |date=January 3, 2023 |title=David French Joins The Times as an Opinion Columnist |url=https://www.nytco.com/press/david-french-joins-the-times-as-an-opinion-columnist/ |access-date=March 18, 2023 |website=The New York Times Company |language=en-US}} and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/445994/neal-gorsuch-nomination-left-distorts-originalism-smear-scotus-nominee |author=David French |date=March 22, 2017 |access-date=March 24, 2017|quote=Having failed to undermine Gorsuch’s nomination on substantive grounds, liberals are now using a straw-man argument instead |work=National Review |title=The Left Distorts Originalism to Attack Judge Gorsuch}}

French has authored several books, including the non-fiction Divided We Fall (2020).{{Cite news |last=Kirchick |first=James |date=September 22, 2020 |title=The Divisions That Are Destroying the Country |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/books/review/divided-we-fall-david-french.html |access-date=March 18, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Oregonian/OregonLive |first=Douglas Perry {{!}} The |date=September 8, 2020 |title=Conservative intellectual David French fears secession but makes a strong case for it: 'Divided We Fall' review |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2020/09/conservative-intellectual-david-french-fears-secession-but-makes-a-strong-case-for-it-divided-we-fall-review.html |access-date=March 18, 2023 |website=oregonlive |language=en}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Lathan |first1=Angele |title=Lipscomb University taps conservative columnist David French as visiting professor |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2023/08/31/david-french-new-york-times-lipscomb-university-visiting-professor-free-speech-constitution/70728520007/ |access-date=September 21, 2023 |work=The Tennessean |publisher=Gannett |date=August 31, 2023}}

French became a New York Times columnist in January 2023.{{Cite web |last1=Mastrangelo |first1=Dominick |title=Conservative writer David French joining New York Times |work=The Hill |date=January 3, 2023 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/3796371-conservative-writer-david-french-joining-new-york-times/ |language=en-US |access-date=January 4, 2023 }}

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."[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] The statement was criticized by pro-LGBTQ Christians and LGBTQ rights activists,{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Hattie |date=September 1, 2017 |title=Nashville statement on sexuality prompts response from LGBT-supporting Christians |work=Church Times |url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/8-september/news/world/nashville-statement-on-sexuality-prompts-response-from-lgbt-supporting-christians |url-status=live |access-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-url=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 |archive-date=September 2, 2017}}{{cite web |date=August 31, 2017 |title=Evangelicals and the Nashville Statement: What is the point? |url=https://www.christiantoday.com/article/evangelicals.and.the.nashville.statement.what.is.the.point/112827.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901200707/https://www.christiantoday.com/article/evangelicals.and.the.nashville.statement.what.is.the.point/112827.htm |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |access-date=September 2, 2017 |website=Christian Today}} as well as by several conservative religious figures.{{cite news |last1=Beaty |first1=Katelyn |date=August 31, 2017 |title=Why even conservative evangelicals are unhappy with the anti-LGBT Nashville Statement |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/08/31/why-even-conservative-evangelicals-are-unhappy-with-the-anti-lgbt-nashville-statement/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-url=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/ |archive-date=September 2, 2017}}{{Cite news |last=Keating |first=Joshua |date=September 25, 2020 |title=David French's New Book Arguing That the U.S. Will Break Apart Is Too Optimistic |language=en-US |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/david-french-divided-we-fall-review-secession-hmm.html |access-date=March 18, 2023 |issn=1091-2339}}

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:{{Cite web |last=French |first=David |date=November 21, 2022 |title=Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again |url=https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-law-and-marriage-again/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |website=The Dispatch |language=en-US}}

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.

French is a former major in the United States Army Reserve{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/05/26/614640359/national-review-writer-and-former-service-member-on-defining-patriotism|title='National Review' Writer And Former Service Member On Defining Patriotism|website=NPR.org|date=May 26, 2018}} and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. French was deployed to Iraq in 2007 during the Iraq War, serving in Diyala Governorate as squadron judge-advocate.{{cite news|last1=Stanley|first1=Paul|title=Nancy French Talks About Career as Mom, Wife and Bestselling Author|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/nancy-french-talks-about-career-as-mom-wife-and-best-selling-author-55713/|access-date=July 9, 2015|work=Christian Post|date=September 16, 2011}} He was awarded a Bronze Star.

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.{{cite news|last1=Bennett|first1=James|title=David French came 'really close' to running for president|url=http://columbiadailyherald.com/news/local-news/david-french-came-really-close-running-president|access-date=June 20, 2016|work=The Daily Herald|date=June 18, 2016}}

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.{{cite web|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/10/26/499440089/harassed-on-twitter-people-need-to-know-the-reality-of-what-its-like-out-there|title=Harassed On Twitter: 'People Need To Know The Reality Of What It's Like Out There'|date=October 26, 2016}}

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."{{Cite web |title=Against David French-ism {{!}} Sohrab Ahmari |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/05/against-david-french-ism |access-date=August 16, 2022 |website=First Things |date=May 29, 2019 |language=en}} 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 views.{{cite news |last1=Ahmari |first1=Sohrab |title=Against David French-ism |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/05/against-david-french-ism |access-date=June 30, 2019 |work=First Things |date=May 29, 2019}}{{Cite web |last=Coaston |first=Jane |date=June 5, 2019 |title=David French vs. Sohrab Ahmari and the battle dividing conservatives, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/2019/6/5/18637391/david-french-sohrab-ahmari-conservatism-libertarians-divide |access-date=August 16, 2022 |website=Vox |language=en}}

French is married to author Nancy French.{{cite news|last1=Halperin|first1=Mark|last2=Heilemann|first2=John|title=Kristol Eyes Conservative Lawyer David French for Independent Presidential Run|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-05-31/kristol-eyes-conservative-lawyer-for-independent-presidential-run|access-date=May 31, 2016|publisher=Bloomberg Politics|date=May 31, 2016}} He and his family live in Franklin, Tennessee.{{cite magazine |last1=French |first1=David |date=June 8, 2021 |title=How Can We Escape the COVID-19 Vaccine Culture Wars? |magazine=Time |url=https://time.com/6071909/covid-19-vaccine-culture-war/ |access-date=September 13, 2022}} They have three children, including a daughter adopted from Ethiopia.{{cite news|last1=Easley|first1=Jonathan|title=Who is David French?|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/281946-kristols-third-party-pick-was-evangelical-organizer-for-romney/|access-date=June 5, 2016|work=The Hill|date=June 5, 2016}}

French was until 2024 a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. Due to conflicts with his church and its members over political issues, and after personal attacks against him and his family, they switched to another church in Nashville.{{cite news|first=David|last=French|title=The Day My Old Church Canceled Me Was a Very Sad Day|work=New York Times|date= June 9, 2024|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/09/opinion/presbyterian-church-evangelical-canceled.html|accessdate=September 9, 2024}}

• {{cite book|title=A Season for Justice: Defending the Rights of the Christian Church, Home, and School|publisher=Broadman & Holman|date=2002|isbn=0-8054-2491-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/seasonforjustice0000fren}}{{cite news|title=Tuesday, Nov. 10: National Review's David French Lecture|url=http://www.jlmc.iastate.edu/event/2015-11-10/tuesday-nov-10-national-reviews-david-french-lecture|access-date=May 31, 2016|publisher=Iowa State University|date=November 10, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• {{cite book|title=Home and Away: A Story of Family in a Time of War|publisher=Center Street|date=2011|isbn=978-1-931722-90-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/homeawaystoryoff0000fren}} With Nancy French.{{cite news|last1=McDevitt|first1=Caitlin|title=Meet Bristol Palin's ghostwriter|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2011/07/meet-bristol-palins-ghostwriter-037383|access-date=May 31, 2016|publisher=Politico|date=July 12, 2011}}
• {{cite book|title=The Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore|publisher = Howard Books|date=2014|isbn =978-1-5011-0513-5}} With Jay Sekulow, Jordan Sekulow, and Robert Ash.{{cite web|title=Rise of ISIS|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/06/21/rise-of-isis/2444877/isbn/9781501105159/|work=USA Today|date=June 21, 2013|access-date=May 31, 2016}}
• {{Cite book|title=Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1250201973}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.nationalreview.com/author/david-french David French at National Review]
• [https://ballotpedia.org/David_A._French David French at Ballotpedia]

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