Religion & Law

Kagan Submits Answers to Senate Questionnaire

Posted on May 18, 2010
Blog of the Legal Times: "Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's answers to a background questionnaire have arrived on Capitol Hill. Click here to download a copy."

Merkel cites Christian roots as Berlin resumes Muslim dialogue

Posted on May 18, 2010
Reuters: "Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Germany?s Ecumenical Church Congress (Kirchentag) in Munich that Christianity is a main foundation of the country?s values system. This is not a surprising statement in Germany, especially for the leader of a party called the Christian Democratic Union...

Indonesia will never be an Islamic state, says President

Posted on May 18, 2010
Jakarta Globe: "In some of his strongest comments against terrorists yet, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday called on all Indonesians to join the government in combating terrorism and their plans to establish an Islamic state governed by Shariah law...

CA: Same-sex divorce bill passes California Assembly

Posted on May 18, 2010
SF Public Press: "Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, introduced the Separation Equality Act, AB 2700, sponsored by Equality California and the Conference of California Bar Associations. The bill consolidates the two processes and fees into one for divorcing same-sex spouses and domestic partners...

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MN suit highlights need for stronger marriage protections in WV

Posted on May 18, 2010
FPC of West Virginia | Engage Family Blog: "It is more than obvious that stronger marriage protections are needed. Constitutional amendments voice the will of the people as they exercise their freedom to self-governance. In West Virginia I can only reiterate what Family Policy Council president Jeremy Dys has said time and again, 'There is no legitimate reason not to let the people of West Virginia vote to define marriage...

House says no to teaching comprehensive sex education in Louisiana public schools

Posted on May 18, 2010
The Times-Picayune: "By a vote of 23-67, the House opted to keep current law that makes sex education optional for each school district and concentrates the lessons on abstinence." | HB 529

AZ abortion law may mean city policy changes

Posted on May 18, 2010
Arizona Republic: "For years, some Arizona cities have offered an insurance package to its employees that covered elective abortions. Now, with a new state law set to go into effect July 29, they will have to change their policies." | SB 1305

School reinstates prayer after receiving letter of clarification on 1st amendment

Posted on May 18, 2010
Evangelical Examiner: "A simple letter explaining that there is no separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution has convinced Arizona?s Mohave Community College agreed Tuesday--after receiving a letter from the Alliance Defense Fund--not to eliminate the opening and closing prayers from its nursing program?s pinning ceremony this year...

Teenage Jehovah?s Witness ?died after refusing blood?

Posted on May 18, 2010
BBC: "A teenage Jehovah's Witness crushed by a car as it crashed into a West Midlands shop is thought to have died after refusing a blood transfusion . . . Joshua is believed to have told doctors at Selly Oak Hospital not to give him a blood transfusion on religious grounds...

FL: School board again considers Good Friday classes

Posted on May 18, 2010
The Tampa Tribune: "Hillsborough County school board members will vote again today on whether to make Good Friday a day off for students next year."

Waxing State, Waning Family: The Radical Agenda of the American Law Institute

Posted on May 18, 2010
"Of the elites advocating invasive legal interventions, none is more exclusive than the American Law Institute . . . In fact, they propose radical changes that go to the root of the law?s understanding of the family."

Oklahoma Christian prison project remains on hold

Posted on May 18, 2010
Durant Daily Democrat: "A private firm proposing a prison in Wakita with all born-again Christian staff and programming does not yet have the commitments for prisoners it needs to begin construction . . . The concept of an all-Christian private prison has drawn the attention of a Washington, D...

Canada: Quebec?s ban on burqas in government may not be a ban at all

Posted on May 18, 2010
CJAD: "Some legal experts say the province's new bill on women with full religious face coverings will not actually ban them from government services. The Liberals are in the middle of passing a new law that they said would force any woman with a niqab or burka to show her face...

Elena Kagan Was Loved, Feared At Harvard

Posted on May 18, 2010
NPR: The cheerful, charming Kagan so beloved by the students was not always in evidence elsewhere. Secretaries and faculty members alike have stories of Kagan screaming at people, slamming doors and chewing out subordinates in public -- a trait that she is said to have carried with her to her next job as solicitor general...

?Colorado gets fourth openly gay state legislator?

Posted on May 18, 2010
GayPolitics.com: "The openly lesbian candidate, an ordained minister and former Denver school board member, was appointed Saturday by a vacancy committee to complete the term of Paula Sandoval, who resigned to serve on the Denver City Council."

WA: Everett bikini barista pleads guilty

Posted on May 18, 2010
Seattle Times: "A Bikini barista who had faced a prostitution charge pleaded guilty Monday in Everett Municipal Court to working without an adult entertainment license and was sentenced to 20 days in jail." | For more information see this ADF Alliance Alert compound tag: http://www...

On the Media: The debate over Elena Kagan?s sexuality

Posted on May 18, 2010
LA Times: "Sullivan, writing for theAtlantic.com, argues it would 'be bizarre to argue that a justice's sexual orientation will not in some way affect his or her judgment' on issues likely to come before the court, presumably such as same-sex marriage...

Kagan Memo on Partial-Birth Abortion Shows She?d be Hostile to Pro-Life Laws

Posted on May 18, 2010
Life News: "Further analysis of the controversial memo Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan wrote for ex-President Bill Clinton on the subject of partial-birth abortion provides new concerns for pro-life advocates. It shows she regarded the ban on the abortion procedure as unconstitutional...

Gallup: Americans? outlook for U.S. morality remains bleak

Posted on May 18, 2010
Gallup: "Americans are three times more likely to describe the current state of moral values in the United States as 'poor' than as 'excellent' or 'good.' Americans' assessment of U.S. morality has never been positive, but the current ratings rank among the worst Gallup has measured over the past nine years...

IL: Religion at center of another Chicago custody battle

Posted on May 18, 2010
NBC Chicago: "Laura Derbigney of Chicago has found herself in the middle of a custody battle between her Catholic husband and his Jewish ex-wife over how their 7-year-old son is cared for during paternal visits. A court order restricts Laura Derbigney and her husband, Nelson, from driving the boy in a car, allowing him to use electronics or to be fed pork and other foods as outlined in Orthodox Judaism...

?Malawi gay couple convicted of indecency, unnatural acts?

Posted on May 18, 2010
CNN: "A court in Malawi has found a gay couple guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts, according to witnesses who heard the verdict Tuesday. Sentencing will take place May 20. The two young men face up to 14 years of hard labor."

Jan LaRue: A Rookie Supreme

Posted on May 18, 2010
Jan LaRue writes at the American Thinker: Compare the qualifications for becoming an MLB ump with Kagan's qualifications for the Court . . .

Canada: ?School district restricts some anti-homophobia week events?

Posted on May 18, 2010
Williams Lake Tribune: "The president of the Williams Lake Gay Straight Alliance says she?ll risk suspension later this week in protest of School District 27 canceling an anti-homophobia event planned for this week at Columneetza Secondary School."

Jordan Lorence with Guest Host David French on Reality Check Live: The Nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on May 18, 2010
ADF attorney Jordan Lorence appeared with ADF attorney David French, who served as the guest host of Reality Check Live.  They discuss the U.S. Supreme Court and the nomination of Elena Kagan. | MP3 43:51 mins | Posts related to the Kagan nomination through ADF Alliance Alert compound tag: Topic: Nominations + Court: US Supreme

?Episcopalians Formally Ordain Second Gay Bishop?

Posted on May 18, 2010
All Headline News: "The Episcopal church formally ordained its second gay bishop over the weekend, a move expected to exacerbate deep divisions within the worldwide Anglican church."

Wesley J. Smith: Presumptuous consent

Posted on May 18, 2010
Wesley J. Smith writing at First Things | On the Square: "'Presumed consent,' as this approach is known, is already the law in several countries, and studies are mixed as to whether they meaningfully increase the organ supply. But even if such laws have added to the number of transplantable organs in countries like Spain and France, as seems to be the case, we are not (yet) Europe...

George Weigel: Defending religious freedom in full

Posted on May 18, 2010
George Weigel writing at National Review Online: "[T]he gravest question for our public culture is the question of whether what Father [John Courtney] Murray called the 'American consensus' ? that ensemble of 'ethical and political principles drawn from the tradition of natural law' ? still holds ...

Dems put faith in religious right to help boost party agenda

Posted on May 18, 2010
The Hill: "Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) have turned to evangelical Christians in a last-ditch effort to move immigration reform and climate change legislation. Democrats are making a direct appeal to the GOP base by turning to evangelical Christian and other religious leaders, and there?s some evidence that the talks could be fruitful ...

Justices Issue Major Eighth Amendment Ruling on Juvenile Sentencing

Posted on May 17, 2010
The National Law Journal: "In the juvenile sentencing case, Graham v. Florida (pdf), Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for a 6-3 majority that such a sentence categorically violates the Eighth Amendment bar against cruel and unusual punishments. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr...

6th Circuit Denies Motions To File Amicus Briefs In Ministerial Exception Rehearing Bid

Posted on May 17, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In March, the 6th Circuit in EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School held that parochial school teachers who teach primarily secular subjects are covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act. (See prior posting...

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