Religion & Law

Netherlands: ?Labour calls for clarity on gay teacher ban at Christian schools?

Posted on May 11, 2010
DutchNews.nl: "The scrapping of a legal provision allowing religious schools to refuse to employ homosexual teachers should be part of discussions on forming a new government, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday."

Oklahoma Governor signs elective Bible course bill

Posted on May 11, 2010
Tulsa World: "Gov. Brad Henry has signed a measure allowing schools to offer elective courses on the Bible, his office said Tuesday. [House Bill 2321], by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, and Sen. Tom Ivester, D-Elk City, becomes effective Nov. 1."

China Appeals to Religious Groups for Post-Quake Help

Posted on May 11, 2010
Christian Post: "The officially atheist Chinese government on Monday requested religious groups and people of faith to help with the rebuilding efforts in a northwest province devastated by a massive earthquake."

Maldives: Religious unity regulations contain ?ambiguities, policy issues?, says press secretary

Posted on May 11, 2010
Minivan News: "The new regulations under the Religious Unity Act of 1994 drafted by the Islamic Ministry contain 'ambiguities' and provisions that could be in conflict with the government?s stated policies, said the President?s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

French parliament lays groundwork for veil ban

Posted on May 11, 2010
Forbes (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...

Gordon Brown resigns as UK prime minister

Posted on May 11, 2010
BBC: "Mr Brown has officially tendered his resignation to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and recommended Conservative leader David Cameron succeed him." | Full resignation statement

Kagan helped shield Saudis from 9/11 lawsuits

Posted on May 11, 2010
Raw Story: "Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama's latest nominee to the Supreme Court, helped protect the Saudi royal family from lawsuits that sought to hold al Qaeda financiers responsible in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks . . . Specter, who has since become a Democrat, was unusually blunt...

US Exposure to EU Bailout: $50 Billion and Counting

Posted on May 11, 2010
MSNBC: "But one rule-of-thumb formula puts potential US exposure at $54 billion should the entire IMF loan fund be tapped. And that doesn't count the added exposure created by the Federal Reserve's decision over the weekend to participate in currency swaps to provide liquidity to jittery European banks ...

S. Michael Craven: Losing Our Sense of Duty

Posted on May 11, 2010
S. Michael Craven writes the Christian Post: "What concerns me most is that the idea of self-sacrificial duty - not just in military service but also in any meaningful way - is disappearing in our culture."

Differences between ?red? and ?blue? family structures really are driven by abortion

Posted on May 11, 2010
"Rhode Island?s teen pregnancy rate is identical to West Virginia?s, but West Virginia?s teen birth rate is 33 percent higher."

ACLU: Federal Court Finds Freezing Of Charity?s Assets Unconstitutional

Posted on May 11, 2010
ACLU: "A federal court ruled late Monday that the U.S. Treasury Department's freezing of a charity's assets was unconstitutional and that in order to comply with the Constitution, Congress must fix the law to require a warrant be obtained based upon probable cause before taking such action...

Obama picks Elena Kagan as Supreme Court Nominee

Posted on May 10, 2010
"President Obama plans to nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be the 112th justice of the Supreme Court, a source said late Sunday night."

Kagan admired lawyers and judges at least since 8th grade

Posted on May 10, 2010
AP:  "There were a lot of smart girls at Hunter College High School, but only one of them posed for the yearbook in a judge's robes, quoted a Supreme Court justice and is remembered for playing a tough attorney in an eighth-grade trial . . . In our yearbook, each girl got to choose a quote to run with her picture...

Wikimedia dumps porn following FoxNews probe

Posted on May 10, 2010
Silicon Republic: "Wikimedia, the parent company of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, is executing the immediate deletion from all of its websites of what Jimmy Wales is calling 'pornographic imagery' following a story by FoxNews.com where the US news site alerted several donaters to the Wikimedia Foundation of this content...

CT: Legislature passes new sexting law

Posted on May 10, 2010
Republican American: "The bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and the state Senate last week. It was introduced by Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, R-Naugatuck . . . [House Bill 5533]: An Act Concerning Sexting, creates a lesser punishment for minors between 13 and 18 who may knowingly possess and transmit any nude or semi-nude images through electronic communication...

?Soft-core porn still hot stuff on cable TV?

Posted on May 10, 2010
LA Times: "There's one sector of the entertainment industry that has not been roiled by the Internet, the economy or ever-changing consumer tastes. Say hello to Hollywood's most stable business: Soft-core pornography."

Canada: Court to rule if marriage commissioners have right to refuse same-sex ceremonies

Posted on May 10, 2010
National Post: "On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Regina will consider whether marriage commissioners are within their Charter rights to refuse to conduct ceremonies that offend their religious beliefs. While some other provinces have allowed for exemptions since same-sex marriage became legal, this will be the first time that a court will evaluate if that refusal meets the standards of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so it could have ramifications for the rest of the country...

?Disgust? at ?Porn? Authority cop?s cushy deal

Posted on May 10, 2010
New York Post: "A disgraced ex-Port Authority police lieutenant busted for theft and having porn on his computer has won an appeal that entitles him to a 'posttraumatic stress' disability pension likely worth $150,000 a year -- tax-free, sources said...

Ed Whelan: Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan

Posted on May 10, 2010
Ed Whelan reviewswrites at the National Review Bench Memos Blog: "I have plenty of respect for Kagan?s intellect and ability, and she deserves considerable credit for her tenure as dean of Harvard law school, including for her generous treatment of conservatives, which has earned her considerable goodwill...

NOM: ?A vote for Elana Kagan is a vote to impose gay marriage on all 50 states?

Posted on May 10, 2010
Today, the National Organization for Marriage distributed an email that includes this: ". . . A vote for Elana Kagan is a vote to impose gay marriage on all 50 states . . . "

Ross Douthat: Red family, Blue family and Abortion

Posted on May 10, 2010
Ross Douthat writing in the New York Times: "Liberals sometimes argue that their preferred approach to family life reduces the need for abortion. In reality, it may depend on abortion to succeed. The teen pregnancy rate in blue Connecticut, for instance, is roughly identical to the teen pregnancy rate in red Montana...

?UK policy on gay and lesbian asylum seekers challenged in supreme court?

Posted on May 10, 2010
Guardian: "Laws which mean gay and lesbian asylum seekers can be returned to countries where they face persecution will be challenged tomorrow in the UK's highest court. The supreme court is to start a three-day hearing of two separate cases brought by gay men ? one from Cameroon and the other from Iran ? who are appealing against previous court decisions that they should not be granted asylum in the UK...

?Gay activists applaud Kagan ? tepidly?

Posted on May 10, 2010
365Gay.com: "Gay legal activists are applauding President Obama?s second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court: Solicitor General Elena Kagan. But it could hardly be described as a standing ovation . . . Kagan clerked for one of the Supreme Court?s staunchest liberals, Thurgood Marshall, and was a research assistant for one of the greatest legal defenders of gay civil rights, Laurence Tribe ...

Maggie Gallagher: ?A Vote for Kagan Is a Vote for Gay Marriage?

Posted on May 10, 2010
Maggie Gallagher writes at National Review, The Corner: "There has been an effort to obfuscate Kagan?s position on gay marriage using statements she made when nominated to be solicitor general, but these efforts are all either sad or laughable."

Kagan and Obama Go Way Back: U. of Chicago in the 90s

Posted on May 10, 2010
NBC Chicago: "Kagan joined the staff there in 1991 and won tenure in 1995. Obama was a part-time lecturer there between 1992 and 2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate, but according to reports she tried to convice him to pursue a tenure track."

NJ: School ban on ?gay anthology? challenged by free speech organisations

Posted on May 10, 2010
Guardian: "American free speech organisations are fighting a decision by a New Jersey school to remove a critically acclaimed anthology of writing about teenage homosexuality from library shelves after parents described it as vulgar and obscene. Revolutionary Voices, a collection of stories, poems and artwork by young homosexuals, was banned at Rancocas Valley Regional High School last week following a campaign by the local chapter of Glenn Beck's conservative [9...

Elena Kagan: ?Come out, come out, wherever you are! . . . White House has painted her into a closet?

Posted on May 10, 2010
Michael Connelly writes at the Examiner: "Elena Kagan: Come out, come out, wherever you are! If Elena Kagan is gay, she needs to say so immediately and pridefully. If she does, she will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court . . . The reason that she needs to go public with her sexuality is because the White House has painted her into a corner, in her closet ...

Left says it is a slur to call Kagan a lesbian: Is she or isn?t she? Let?s ask her

Posted on May 10, 2010
At the Rightly Concerned Blog, Bryan Fischer has these posts on the Kagan nomination: Left says it's a slur to call Kagan a lesbian and Is she or isn't she? Let's ask her

Andrew Sullivan: Her Sexual Orientation Above All

Posted on May 10, 2010
Andrew Sullivan writes at the Atlantic Monthly: "The days are past when this could be brushed under the rug. Let's have an honest debate, can we? The way to counter prejudice is through truth - not avoidance. For the right to oppose Kagan merely because she is gay - if she is - would be one more step toward their self-destruction...

Elena Kagan, Goldman Sachs Adviser

Posted on May 10, 2010
Ed Whelan writes at National Review Bench Memos: "USA Today reports that Solicitor General, and Supreme Court contender, Elena Kagan ?was a member of the Research Advisory Council of the Goldman Sachs Global Markets Institute? from 2005 through 2008 (when she was dean of Harvard Law School)...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.