Religion & Law

Government to back crackdown on lap dancing clubs in Scotland

Posted on May 11, 2010
Daily Record: "Plans for a crackdown on lap dancing clubs will be backed by the Scottish Government, the Justice Secretary said today . . . The committee is considering proposals by SNP MSP Sandra White to tighten licensing rules for lap dancing venues, which could see them being banned...

EU Council conclusions on the EU role in Global Health

Posted on May 11, 2010
ReliefWeb: "6. This support shall ensure that the main components of health systems - health workforce, access to medicines, infrastructure and logistics, financing and management - are effective enough to deliver universal coverage of basic quality care, through a holistic and rights based approach...

Polygamy in France: Are multiple marriages slavery?

Posted on May 11, 2010
". . . there are an estimated 200,000 people, including children, living in 16,000-20,000 polygamous families in France . . . "

Cross in Mojave Desert honoring American war dead stolen

Posted on May 11, 2010
"Thieves have stolen a cross in the Mojave Desert that honored American war dead, less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the religious symbol to remain on federal land . . . "

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Cross in Mojave Desert honoring American war dead stolen

Posted on May 11, 2010
"Thieves have stolen a cross in the Mojave Desert that honored American war dead, less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the religious symbol to remain on federal land . . . "

Swedish artist attacked during free-speech lecture

Posted on May 11, 2010
AP: "A Swedish artist who received death threats for depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog says he was assaulted while giving a lecture at a university."

SC AG Asked to Make Good on Campaign Promise on Released Time Religious Instruction

Posted on May 11, 2010
Becket Fund: "Today, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sent a letter to South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, asking him to fulfill campaign promises to defend South Carolina citizens? religious liberties against hyper-secular special interest groups...

MN: With Obamacare Cash Comes New Abortion Supercenter for Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 11, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) has announced that they are constructing a new clinic and administrative headquarters in St. Paul . . . The 46,000 square foot, three-story, LEED certified 'green' structure is expected to open in 2011...

Greg Baylor: Conflict at Hope College over human sexuality

Posted on May 11, 2010
ADF Attorney Greg Baylor writing at speakupmovement.org/university: "According to the press account, Hope distinguishes between same-sex sexual conduct and same-sex attraction. Persons who experience the latter are to afforded 'fair and kind treatment'; persons who engage in the former (and in other forms of extramarital sexual conduct) are urged to repent...

Dale Schowengerdt: Silencing religious leaders

Posted on May 11, 2010
ADF Attorney Dale Schowengerdt writing at speakupmovement.org/church: "The Left wants silence, not dialogue. That quickly became obvious to me as I sat as part of the team defending Prop 8 in California this past January. I was amazed at how often the plaintiffs? lawyers brought up the Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist statements on marriage and homosexual conduct...

Alarm bells sounding over Kagan?s agenda

Posted on May 11, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "'Any justice nominated to the Supreme Court should apply the Constitution faithfully and according to the intent of the founders who drafted it. As Thomas Jefferson said, the judiciary becomes a "despotic branch" if judges decide for themselves what is and is not constitutional,' said Senior Counsel [Gary McCaleb], of the Alliance Defense Fund ...

New health-care law raises concerns about respecting providers? consciences

Posted on May 11, 2010
Washington Post: "'The act is thousands of pages of new government power, decision-making and funding,' said [Matthew S. Bowman] of the Alliance Defense Fund, which represents workers who object on religious grounds to being required to provide some forms of health care...

Jonathan Saenz: Liberal politics reign over Texas social studies

Posted on May 11, 2010
Jonanathan Saenz of the Liberty Legal Institute writes at the Star-Telegram: "The debate over Texas social studies is out of control again . . . Why? It's all about politics. The board is made up of 10 Republicans and five Democrats who are elected by Texas voters...

Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Attacked Pro-Life Advocates in 1980 Essay

Posted on May 11, 2010
LifeNews: "She called them 'avengers of ?innocent life? who were 'beneficiaries of a general turn to the right and a profound disorganization on the left.'

Memo Misread: Elena Kagan Did Not Tell Clinton to Back Partial-Birth Abortion Ban

Posted on May 11, 2010
LifeNews: "To hear mainstream media outlets like the Associated Press and Washington Post tell the story, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan once urged President Bill Clinton to back a ban on partial-birth or late-term abortions. The take from the stories is that Kagan's rock solid pro-abortion views aren't that strong...

Largest Planned Parenthood Facility Opens Today In Houston

Posted on May 11, 2010
Mystateline.com: "The seven-floor, 78-thousand-square-foot complex has been called an abortion 'Super Center' by pro-lifers. For Planned Parenthood, the stairstep-shaped building will be the main headquarters for 35 counties in Texas and Louisiana."

Abortion clinic bill approved by Louisiana House gives state official authority to suspend operations

Posted on May 11, 2010
Times-Picayune: "A bill that would give the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals the authority to immediately suspend the operations of abortion clinics that do not comply with federal or state standards sailed out of the House on Monday on an 89-0 vote...

Abortion questionnaire bill passes Okla. House goes to Senate

Posted on May 11, 2010
Tulsa World: "House Bill 3284 requires a lengthy questionnaire be completed by doctors performing abortions and women receiving them."

CA: Dems sue to block election for Maldonado seat

Posted on May 11, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "Democrats seething about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to call a special election next month for the state Senate seat vacated by Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado - a move that they believe increases Republicans' chances of keeping the seat - have gone to federal court to block the vote...

Three couples sue to challenge Minn. Defense of Marriage Act

Posted on May 11, 2010
"Three same-sex couples who have tried, and failed, to get marriage licenses in Hennepin County are suing to overturn the state's ban on such marriages."

Court Rejects Muslim Police Officer?s Demand for Accommodation of His Religious Practice of Wearing a Full Beard

Posted on May 11, 2010
Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: "The case is Wallace v. City of Philadelphia, (E.D. Pa. Apr. 26). The court?s reasoning: 1. Because the police department didn?t allow anyone to wear a full beard, it had no obligation under the Free Exercise Clause to carve out an exemption for religious objectors ...

Oklahoma Senate sends abortion reporting law to Governor?s desk

Posted on May 11, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The deluge of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma has continued after the state Senate on Tuesday voted to pass a controversial abortion reporting law, and sent it on to the governor?s desk. The Senate voted 32-11 to approve House Bill 3284, known as the 'Statistical Abortion Reporting Act,' which had already been approved by the House in an overwhelming 88-8 vote...

Australia: ?Unfit? mothers may risk losing unborn babies

Posted on May 11, 2010
IBT Health: "The Department for Child Protection - under the new radical government policy - will 'seize' babies from 'unfit' mothers before they are even born. The new policy works by forcing mothers-to-be who are 20-weeks-or-more pregnant to give urine samples, to show they are free from drugs, and also provide proof they have permanent place of residence...

Hadley Arkes: ?Illegal Aliens and Rights: Remembering the Reasons?

Posted on May 11, 2010
Hadley Arkes writes at the Catholic Thing: "Now if the argument is made these days that illegal aliens in America have a right to become citizens, it should be clear that this right cannot be one that comes to them through citizenship, because clearly they are not citizens...

Peter Sprigg: ENDA sanity?

Posted on May 11, 2010
Peter Sprigg writes at the Washington Times: "The House of Representatives may act soon on a bill to marginalize and stigmatize Americans who disapprove of homosexual conduct. H.R. 3017, known as ENDA, seeks to give homosexuals (and the government) the right to sue employers, based on the theory that being gay is like being black (even though homosexuality is a matter of conduct, not race), female (even though homosexuals were never denied the right to vote), or religious (even though sexual preferences are not in the Constitution) ...

OK: Miami turns to prayer group to ?dissipate? severe weather

Posted on May 11, 2010
Tulsa World: "On Monday, when it appeared that Mother Nature would unleash nasty weather, city officials in Miami turned to a heavenly ally. They called on the city's Emergency 911 prayer group for divine intervention . . . "

David Hacker: Wearing pro-life t-shirts in the classroom a non-issue

Posted on May 11, 2010
ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at speakupmovement.org/university: "In the May 7th edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, the ProfHacker section (no relation) asks for input on how to handle students ?who display offensive/insensitive slogans on their clothes...

Thieves take Mojave Desert cross

Posted on May 11, 2010
Washington Times: "Two weeks after the Supreme Court said it could stay, the Mojave Cross war memorial has been ripped out of and stolen from its rocky embankment in the California desert . . . 'What our opponents can't accomplish through the courts, they'll accomplish through criminal vandalism,' said [Joe Infranco], senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed a brief on behalf of the memorial...

Several states stay off charter-school bandwagon

Posted on May 11, 2010
Associated Press: "Several other states [besides Idaho] also put strict limits on the number of new charter schools. Another 11 states don't allow charters at all, even though the federal government has created a $4.35 billion competition to encourage charters and other educational innovations...

UK: Pagan police granted time off for festivals

Posted on May 11, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Pagan police officers can now demand holiday to celebrate Pagan festivals, after the Home Office gave its official backing to a Pagan police support group yesterday."

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