Religion & Law

Liberty Counsel Helps Restore Prayer to Senior Center in Georgia

Posted on May 12, 2010
Liberty Counsel: "Liberty Counsel?s legal advice led to yesterday?s change of the controversial ban on senior citizens praying over their meal at the Ed Young Senior Citizens Center in Port Wentworth, GA . . . "

Cartel Papers Show Bribes to Mexican Authorities

Posted on May 12, 2010
NY Times: "The paperwork, recovered by the Mexican authorities from a suspected associate of the drug don, Joaquín Guzmán, show that he has a sophisticated counterintelligence operation and that he is a master at buying off top police officers and soldiers with his ample drug profits...

French parliament lays groundwork for veil ban

Posted on May 12, 2010
Google News (AP): "French lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday asserting that face-covering Muslim veils are contrary to the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity on which France is founded. The non-binding resolution, passed 434 to 0, lays the groundwork for a planned law forbidding face-covering veils in public, including in the streets ...

AZ: Gov. Brewer has signed 12 pro-family bills into law

Posted on May 12, 2010
Center for Arizona Policy: "The 2010 Legislative Session has come to an end with 12 [CAP-supported bills] receiving Governor Jan Brewer's signature. This marks CAP's most successful session in our 15-year history, throughout which we've led the way to see a total of 84 pro-family bills enacted into law!" Bills signed May 7th: SB 1306 (Human Egg Provider Protection Act) | SB 1307 (Ethical Treatment of Human Embryos Act) | HB 2238 (Child Prostitution) | Bills signed May 10th: HB 2664 (Scholarship Tax Credit Reform) | HB 2663 (Scholarship Tax Credit Conformity - Corporate Tax Credit) | SB 1309 (Parental Rights)

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Another European prosecution for insulting religion

Posted on May 12, 2010
The Volokh Conspiracy: "[Polish pop star Dorota Rabczewska, also known as] Doda is accused by the prosecutor?s office of the capital [Warsaw] of insulting the religious feelings of others, including by calling the authors of the Bible 'drunks and drug addicts...

Harvard Political Review: ?Is Godless Great??

Posted on May 12, 2010
Sarah Harland-Logan writing at Harvard Political Review: "Despite its many achievements, particularly in the last half-century, secularism remains a controversial subject in the American public sphere. Hunter Baker, a professor at Houston Baptist University and the author of The End of Secularism, told the HPR that secularists? goal of removing religion from the arena of political decision-making is problematic...

Two Spots Open for NRLC Summer Academy Program

Posted on May 12, 2010
NRLC: "Summer at the National Right to Life office offers a refreshing change of pace with the arrival of a number of college students to participate in the NRLC internship and Academy programs. Different than a normal internship, the National Right to Life Academy is an intensive summer training course for college students in the right to life movement and issues...

Abortion reporting bill passes Oklahoma Senate

Posted on May 12, 2010
NewsOK: "House Bill 3284 passed the Senate after nearly 45 minutes of debate in a vote of 32-11. An identical bill was passed last session and signed by Gov. Brad Henry but the state Supreme Court threw it out because it was part of a bill that violated the state?s requirement that legislation stick to one subject...

Pennsylvania Kids Deserve School Choice: Bad public schools hurt poor and rural children the most.

Posted on May 12, 2010
Anthony Hardy Williams writes at the Wall Street Journal full access via Google: "Under President Obama's new $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, states can compete for funds by creating programs that improve the quality of their schools. The idea of rewarding school reform initiatives is good, but one-time grants from the federal government will not improve our public education system by itself ...

Byron Babione on the Jody Hice Show: Update on the Arkansas Act 1 Adoption Initiative litigation

Posted on May 12, 2010
ADF attorney Byron Babione appeared on the Jody Hice Show to provide an update on the Arkansas Act 1 Adoption Initiative litigation. | MP3 5:43 mins | ADF Media information: Cole v. Arkansas Department of Human Services resource page

Joe Infranco does Radio: The Stolen Mojave Desert Memorial Cross

Posted on May 12, 2010
ADF attorney Joe Infranco appeared on radio yesterday to discuss the cross honoring fallen veterans in the Mojave Desert that has been stolen. | MP3 11:32 mins on the Vicki McKenna Show | MP3 10:26 mins on the Georgene Rice Show | MP3 5:48 mins on the Hugh Hewitt Show | MP3 13:15 mins on the Janet Mefferd Show | MP3 11:24 mins on AFR Focal Point with Bryan Fischer...

Kagan said she meant it: ?There is no federal constitutional right to same-sex ?marriage??

Posted on May 12, 2010
On page 3 of the the letter, Kagan also elaborates more on the role of foreign law, if any, in Constitutional interpretation.

Kagan Says ?Governmental Motive? is Proper Focus in First Amendment Cases, Backs Limits on Speech That Can ?Harm?

Posted on May 12, 2010
CNSNews: "Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said the high court should be focused on ferreting out improper governmental motives when deciding First Amendment cases, arguing that the government?s reasons for restricting free speech were what mattered most and not necessarily the effect of those restrictions on speech...

Obama sets focus on centrists as GOP seeks to hold line on Elena Kagan

Posted on May 12, 2010
The Hill: "McConnell?s positioning and Obama?s calls show the battle over Kagan is playing out along the same lines as the debate over healthcare and Wall Street legislation. Obama has set his sights on a few centrist Republicans he views as most likely to support Kagan, while McConnell is focused on holding his conference together...

ACLU says Pa. police cite hundreds for cursing

Posted on May 12, 2010
AP: "Free-speech lawsuits being filed Wednesday accuse Pennsylvania State Police of wrongly charging hundreds of people with disorderly conduct for swearing."

New York?s Highest Court Recognizes A Lesbian Co-Parent?s Rights, But Affirms an Unpopular Precedent: Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns

Posted on May 12, 2010
Findlaw: "While this ruling is ultimately supportive of lesbian co-parenting rights, it is narrowly drawn to recognize such rights only when the couple involved is part of a formal, recognized relationship such as a civil union or same-sex marriage. In so limiting the protection its ruling afforded, the court rejected an argument for broader recognition of so-called 'functional parents' ? those who participate in crucial aspects of parenting without the benefit of a formal status vis-à-vis the child's other parent or the child...

Washington State high court rules in favor of library filters

Posted on May 12, 2010
CitizenLink: "In a 6-3 decision, the Washington Supreme Court has said that public libraries do not have to disable Internet filters, just because an adult patron requests it . . . Former Justice Department official Patrick Trueman said restricting access to inappropriate online content is in the library's best interest...

Travis Barham: To pray or not to pray: Colleges are not high schools

Posted on May 12, 2010
ADF Attorney Travis C. Barham writing at speakupmovement.org/university: "Within the past few weeks, the topic of prayer?particularly public prayer?has appeared regularly in the headlines. Last Thursday was the National Day of Prayer, which the majority of Americans support, despite Judge Crabb?s ruling that this tradition, which dates back to 1775, now violates the Constitution...

Veterans group vows to rebuild Mojave Desert Cross

Posted on May 12, 2010
CNSNews: "The Veterans of Foreign Wars has vowed to rebuild a 7-foot high cross-shaped memorial to the nation?s veterans which was stolen by vandals over the weekend . . . When CNSNews.com asked whether [ADF Attorney Joe Infranco] considered it a hate crime, he said, 'I think the expression "hate crime" is overused, and it gives me concern in other context...

Erik Stanley: Christian preacher arrested for saying that homosexual behavior is a sin

Posted on May 12, 2010
ADF Attorney [Erik Stanley] writing at speakupmovement.org/church: "Dale McAlpine?s recent run-in with the British constabulary should disturb all of us. While it may not be against the law yet to speak Biblical Truth about issues in our society like homosexual behavior, we must recognize that Truth is under attack...

Health reform law reignites debate over health worker ?conscience? protections

Posted on May 12, 2010
Medical News Today: "[Matthew Bowman] of the Alliance Defense Fund said the law 'is thousands of pages of new government power, decision-making and funding.' He added, 'Any government power over health care can be exercised in a way that discriminates against pro-life health providers, especially when officials already support abortion and opposes enforcement of conscience laws...

NJ: Don?t kill the New Providence Christmas Walk

Posted on May 12, 2010
Letter to the Editor of the Independent Press from The Pastors and Elders, Presbyterian Church at New Providence: "We think it would be a shame to cancel the Christmas Walk as the Interfaith Council demands. We believe it is important to support our local businesses and to honor the heritage and traditions of the community ...

GOP favoring Tampa over Salt Lake City for 2012 convention, Phoenix ditched over immigration law

Posted on May 12, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune: "Phoenix's shot for the convention may have been doomed by the state's new controversial immigration law and also for fear that attendees to the convention would face temperatures topping 100-degrees in late August."

GOP wants Clinton-era papers on Kagan

Posted on May 12, 2010
LA Times: "Republicans hunting for clues about what kind of justice Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would be said Tuesday they want to see papers from her time serving in the Clinton administration . . . "

Kagan?s predecessor laid groundwork for her success at Harvard Law

Posted on May 12, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Ms. Kagan's six years as Harvard law dean form one of her most important credentials for the Supreme Court post, as President Barack Obama made clear when he nominated her Monday . . . But the case for Ms. Kagan as the primary healer on the once-divided campus is sometimes overstated...

Elena Kagan White House ?Interview? Riles Reporters

Posted on May 12, 2010
CBS: "While the White House seems to believe the American people deserve to hear from Kagan, it has not made her available to reporters. That prompted some consternation at today's White House briefing."

Elena Kagan White House ?Interview? Riles Reporters

Posted on May 12, 2010
CBS: "While the White House seems to believe the American people deserve to hear from Kagan, it has not made her available to reporters. That prompted some consternation at today's White House briefing."

GA: Avondale church shuttered over zoning violations

Posted on May 12, 2010
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Avondale Estates shut down a church that recently set up shop in the central DeKalb County city, but why depends on whom you ask. City officials said the Christ Liberty Family Center on Maple Street doesn?t have enough room for parking...

Investigators: Obama uses Connecticut Soc. Sec. Number

Posted on May 12, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "Two private investigators working independently are asking why President Obama is using a Social Security number set aside for applicants in Connecticut while there is no record he ever had a mailing address in the state."

?Gay rights central to Elena Kagan fight?

Posted on May 12, 2010
Politico: "Within hours of Obama?s announcement of Kagan as his nominee, the National Organization for Marriage sent . . . over 36,000 e-mails to committee members and senators, asking them to deny Kagan?s confirmation, according to Brian Brown, the executive director ...

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