Religion & Law

Scalia says he, Breyer and Kagan are friends

Posted on May 21, 2010
Associated Press: "Justice Antonin Scalia says Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has at least two friends on the high court: Scalia and Justice Stephen Breyer."

Expedia launches site for ?lesbian and gay travelers?

Posted on May 21, 2010
USA Today Hotel Check-In blog: "Expedia.com yesterday launched a new LGBT website that invites customers to 'get the skinny on gay travel.' Expedia notes on its site that it 'worked with the IGLTA (International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association) to identify "LGBT-welcoming" hotels worldwide," ranging from "family-friendly lodging to party-ready inns...

10th Circuit upholds drug charges; alleged religious beliefs found insincere

Posted on May 21, 2010
Religion Clause: "In United States v. Quaintance, (10th Cir., May 19, 2010), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an Arizona federal district court's refusal to dismiss the indictments of Danuel and Mary Quaintance for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana...

School prevails in requiring cap and gown over Lakota regalia for part of graduation

Posted on May 21, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Dreaming Bear v. Fleming, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48970 (D SD, May 18, 2010), a South Dakota federal district court refused a Lakota Sioux high school student's request for a preliminary injunction that would excuse him from his high school's requirement that he wear a cap and gown at graduation while receiving his diploma...

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Court protects Geithner from questioning in bailout Establishment Clause challenge

Posted on May 21, 2010
Religion Clause: "In Murray v. U.S. Department of Treasury, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48692 (ED MI, May 18, 2010), a Michigan federal magistrate judge refused to permit plaintiff to take the deposition of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and granted Geithner a protective order barring plaintiff from deposing him...

Replica cross in Mojave Desert comes down

Posted on May 21, 2010
"[Preserve spokeswoman Linda Slater] said the government remained under court order not to display a cross on the site. And since the replica isn't the original disputed cross, it had to come down."

David French debates Evan Wolfson on the Michael Medved Show: Same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on May 21, 2010
ADF attorney David French and same-sex "marriage" advocate Evan Wolfson appeared on the Michael Medved Show to debate same-sex "marriage." | MP3 29:26 mins

Benedict XVI: Modern culture risks forgetting Christian heritage

Posted on May 21, 2010
Vatican Information Service: "Modern culture, particularly in Europe, runs the risk of amnesia, of forgetting and thus abandoning the extraordinary heritage aroused and inspired by Christian faith, which is the essential framework of the culture of Europe, and not only of Europe...

Francis J. Beckwith: Interracial marriage and same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on May 21, 2010
Francis J. Beckwith writing at Public Discourse: "Anti-miscegenation laws . . . were attempts to eradicate the legal status of real marriages by injecting a condition?sameness of race?that had no precedent in common law. For in the common law, a necessary condition for a legitimate marriage was male-female complementarity, a condition on which race has no bearing ...

Kevin Theriot: Do churches really benefit communities?

Posted on May 21, 2010
ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: "Local governments cut off a vital part of their communities when they discourage churches from locating and growing in their neighborhoods. There is no way government can provide all the beneficial services religious organizations do ? especially in this day and age when government services are being cut...

David Hacker: A big win for college free speech in the 9th Circuit

Posted on May 21, 2010
ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / university (via the Christian Post?s Advancing Religious Liberty blog): Thursday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an important college free speech decision in a case that pits a college harassment policy against a professor?s racially insensitive comments...

Judge Weinstein takes on child pornography laws

Posted on May 21, 2010
New York Times: "In his 43-year career as a federal judge, Jack B. Weinstein has come to be identified by his efforts to combat what he calls 'the unnecessary cruelty of the law.' His most recent crusade is particularly striking because of the beneficiary: a man who has amassed a vast collection of child pornography ...

Kagan?s 2003 speech: A window onto her views on judging?

Posted on May 21, 2010
Wall Street Journal Law Blog: "The Senate Judiciary Committee has posted Kagan?s handwritten notes for the speech here. (Turn to page 83 for the first page of the notes) . . . The piece, in short, seems to suggest that in at least one key area, she would be an arbiter of judicial restraint, prone to giving considerable deference to acts of Congress...

Iowa elections could change abortion, marriage laws

Posted on May 21, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "If Republicans win the race for governor and take back control of the Legislature, they would begin the process of putting a measure before voters that would amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and they probably would approve new restrictions on abortion, House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said...

?The euro as we know it is dead?

Posted on May 21, 2010
Telegraph: "By any legitimate measure, Greece was unworthy of eurozone membership. That it achieved card-carrying status was down to the sleight-of-hand skills of its Brussels fixers and the acquiescence of central bank bean-counters. Now we know the truth, jet-hosing it with yet more debt makes no sense...

Texas board to finish social studies guidelines

Posted on May 21, 2010
Associated Press: "As the debate continued Friday, conservatives rejected language to modernize the classification of historic periods to B.C.E. and C.E. from the traditional B.C. and A.D. . . . Though they lost on the president's name, conservatives scored a string of victories late Thursday, including a requirement that public school students in Texas evaluate efforts by global organizations such as the United Nations to undermine U...

Top official says Feds may not process illegals referred from Arizona

Posted on May 21, 2010
FOX News: "A top Department of Homeland Security official reportedly said his agency will not necessarily process illegal immigrants referred to them by Arizona authorities. John Morton, assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, made the comment during a meeting on Wednesday with the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, the newspaper reports...

Greg Baylor: May Christian organizations have conduct standards? A development from the Great White North

Posted on May 21, 2010
ADF Attorney Greg Baylor writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "Late last week, the Ontario Divisional Court held that Christian Horizons violated a national Canadian law forbidding discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation ...

?Britain may reduce aid if gay men are not set free in Malawi?

Posted on May 21, 2010
Times Online: "Britain will review its aid to Malawi if the Government refuses to free two gay men who were sentenced to 14 years? hard labour this week. Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary, came under pressure yesterday to begin withdrawing £19 million of British 'budget support' for the Commonwealth country?s Government...

Hundreds of late-term abortions committed in Victoria, Australia

Posted on May 21, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "According to the most recent figures released in the annual report of the Australian Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity, 345 late-term abortions were committed in Victoria State in 2007."

Cameron wants strong EU role but will not yield powers

Posted on May 21, 2010
BBC: "David Cameron has told German leader Angela Merkel the UK will not agree to hand any further powers to Brussels. After talks in Berlin, the prime minister said there was 'no question' of him backing any treaty giving the EU more powers to shore up the eurozone...

French cabinet backs ban on full face coverings

Posted on May 21, 2010
BBC: "The French cabinet has approved a bill making it illegal to wear in public clothes designed to hide the face. The legislation amounts to a ban on the full-face Muslim veil. Women wearing the veil in public could be fined, and men judged to have forced them to do so could be imprisoned...

European Court of Human Rights moves forward with minaret ban appeals

Posted on May 21, 2010
Swiss Info: "The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has asked Switzerland to respond to appeals filed after the November vote to ban minarets. The government has until September 15 to present its side."

Uzbekistan police arrest Christians, take Bibles

Posted on May 21, 2010
CBN: "A government crackdown against evangelical Christians is still underway in the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan. The lockdown began in the capital city of Tashkent earlier in May when police and other agencies led a massive raid against the Church of Christ, one of the largest churches in the city...

Family structure and the economic mobility of children

Posted on May 21, 2010
"Family structure influences the economic ability of children. Divorce is particularly harmful for children's mobility."

Hindu nationalists in India plan ?religious cleansing?

Posted on May 21, 2010
CrossWalk: "Hindu nationalist organizations in Madhya Pradesh state have declared their intentions to rid Mandla district of all Christian influence by starting preparations for a large 'reconversion' event next year."

Rep. Gutierrez wants same-sex partner rights in immigration reform bill

Posted on May 21, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "Hopes that foreign-born partners of gay and lesbian Americans could follow the same path to citizenship as heterosexual spouses got a boost Thursday when U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Chicago said he would fight to include such a proposal in the campaign for comprehensive immigration reform...

Alaska Supreme Court hears arguments in parental notice case

Posted on May 21, 2010
Juneau Empire: "A lawyer for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest told the Alaska Supreme Court Thursday that an initiative requiring parental notification for girls under 18 seeking an abortion should be kept off the ballot."

ACLU: ?Senate Introduces Bill To Protect LGBT Students Against Discrimination?

Posted on May 20, 2010
ACLU: "Senator Al Franken (D-MN) introduced an important bill today that would offer remedies for discrimination ?based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity? in public elementary and secondary schools. The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) ...

?Moscow mayor bans gay pride march?

Posted on May 20, 2010
AFP: "Moscow city hall has banned a gay pride march planned for later this month, citing security reasons, organiser Nikolai Alexeyev said Thursday."

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