Religion & Law

Newark archbishop not happy with college course on same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on May 03, 2010
Catholic News Service: "Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said a course on same-sex marriage to be offered in the fall at Seton Hall University 'troubles me greatly.'"

Tories pledge to consider allowing civil partnerships to be called marriages

Posted on May 03, 2010
Daily Mail: "A Conservative government would 'consider' changing the law to allow gay civil partnerships to be renamed marriages, the party revealed today. The promise came in a 'contract for equalities', unveiled by shadow women's minister Theresa May, which said the Conservatives were 'committed to a fairer deal for gay people across Britain'...

?Serious legal hurdles for gay divorce?

Posted on May 03, 2010
CNN: "It's only been two months since the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage, but local attorney Lawrence Jacobs is already cautioning his clients: Marriage may be allowed, but divorce will be much harder to do. While the District and five states have legalized same-sex marriage and consequently allow divorces, granting same-sex divorce elsewhere is often murky...

?Diverse Obama picks changing face of federal judiciary?

Posted on May 03, 2010
"Lost in the gathering debate over President Barack Obama's next Supreme Court pick, a profound shift in the federal judiciary is taking place below the high court."

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KY: Dobson pulls Grayson endorsement, backs Rand Paul

Posted on May 03, 2010
The Hill: "'Senior members of the GOP told me Dr. Paul is pro-choice and that he opposes many conservative perspectives, so I endorsed his opponent,' Dobson said. 'But now I've received further information from OB/GYNs in Kentucky whom I trust, and from interviewing the candidate himself...

Matt Bowman on Reality Check Live: NY nurse forced to assist in abortion files 2nd suit

Posted on May 03, 2010
ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on Reality Check Live to discuss the Cenzon-DeCarlo case involving a nurse forced to participate in an abortion. | The MP3 runs approximately 15 minutes. | ADF press release: NY nurse forced to participate in abortion files additional suit against Mt...

Women Who Have Abortions Four Times More Likely to Abuse Drugs, Alcohol

Posted on May 03, 2010
LifeNews: "Natalie Mota, a PhD student in the U of M's clinical psychology department, co-wrote the study with authors Margaret Burnett and Jitender Sareen. The study appeared in the April issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry and it showed women having abortions were 3...

Did DHS pressure teen to get abortion?

Posted on May 03, 2010
"A DEPARTMENT OF Human Services caseworker pressured a pregnant Mayfair teenager to undergo a late-term abortion by threatening to take away either her toddler or her unborn baby if she had the child, according to the teen's foster mother."

Mike Johnson on the Zeb Bell Show: National Day of Prayer Litigation

Posted on May 03, 2010
ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the National Day of Prayer litigation. | The MP3 runs just under 17 minutes. | Related ADF resources.

Greg Baylor: The New York Times gets Hastings wrong

Posted on May 03, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at speakupmovement.org/university: "In a house editorial, the New York Times urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against Christian Legal Society and for Hastings College of the Law in CLS v. Martinez. What follows is a response, submitted to but not published by The Times...

Tim Chandler: A look at Justice Stevens? impact on our first liberty

Posted on May 03, 2010
ADF Attorney Tim Chandler writing at speakupmovement.org/university: "[A]bove all else, [Stevens] will be remembered as the intellectual leader of the Court?s liberal wing. And in that role, he was consistently a staunch advocate for erecting a 'high and impregnable wall between church and state' and has issued numerous opinions that have diminished our religious freedoms...

?Go and pray to God on Thursday?

Posted on May 03, 2010
Fayette County News: "The day after Judge Crabb's ruling the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers, fired off letters to mayors telling them the ruling has no bearing on prayer day activities. 'Public officials should be able to participate in public prayer activities just as America's founders did, and a recent federal judge's ruling does not prevent cities from lawfully observing the National Day of Prayer,' the letter said...

Michigan bill would protect religious freedoms

Posted on May 03, 2010
OneNewsNow: "The Michigan legislature is working on a measure in the state higher education budget that would require state-funded universities to report steps they're making to protect religious freedom on campus . . . In early April 2009, [Julea] Ward brought a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University through the Alliance Defense Fund, claiming a violation of her constitutional rights...

ACLU sacrifices children?s best interest

Posted on May 03, 2010
OneNewsNow: "An appeal is planned to the highest court in Arkansas after a judge there decided to strike down a state law passed by voters to protect children who are adopted or placed into foster care . . . 'They're looking to strike down a law that does nothing but protect children,' [Byron Babione] contends...

Chinese Rights Lawyer Disappears Again

Posted on May 03, 2010
NY Times: "Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human rights lawyer whose 13-month disappearance at the hands of Chinese security agents stirred an international outcry until he resurfaced in March, has again vanished, his friends said Friday."

Do charter schools really cause segregation?

Posted on May 03, 2010
Bluegrass Policy Blog: "There?s a smokescreen of allegations that charter schools are leading to school re-segregation. , a University of Arkansas team takes a look at one specific example of the shaky research behind such claims in a new article in the Summer 2010 edition of Education Next, 'A Closer Look at Charter Schools and Segregation...

Does prayer matter?

Posted on May 03, 2010
In The Gainesville Sun, Rick Allen asks whether prayer matters. He begins with a recent LifeWay Research study which found that 72% of Millenials (18- to 29-year-olds) are "more spiritual than religious." That is "tomorrow's challenge," Allen writes; today's is whether prayer is more properly public or private: "A judge in Wisconsin last month ruled the law requiring the president to proclaim a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional ...

Nurse sues hospital over forced abortion assist

Posted on May 03, 2010
NY Daily News: "'They knew her objections on the day she was hired,' said lawyer [Matt Bowman] of the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian organization that filed suit in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Cenzon-DeCarlo's behalf." | ADF News Release

US Supreme Court: Mohave Cross may stand on public land

Posted on May 03, 2010
Portland Church & State Examiner: "Conservative Christian groups are claiming a broad-spectrum victory in this case. Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel [Joseph Infranco] comments: 'A passive monument acknowledging our nation's religious heritage cannot be interpreted as an establishment of religion...

Justices deciding whether Christians deserve bull?s-eye

Posted on May 03, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that could allow the names and addresses of opponents of a measure granting benefits of marriage to same-sex partners to be posted on the Internet, where radical homosexuals could target them with verbal assault ? or much worse ...

ADF attorneys available to media following hearing over DC marriage initiative

Posted on May 03, 2010
ADF, Stand4MarriageDC appealed decision denying DC voters a say on definition of marriage

High court turns down Delaware over sports betting

Posted on May 03, 2010
AP: "The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from Delaware to expand its sports betting lottery beyond professional football."

Terms ?mother and father? removed from birth certificate due to homosexual lobby pressure

Posted on May 03, 2010
CCFON: "Two homosexual activists posed proudly in front of cameras as the first same-sex parents in Britain to jointly sign a birth certificate."

?US may stop using UN veto on resolutions targeting Israel?

Posted on May 03, 2010
Jerusalem Post: "In an attempt to launch indirect proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the US has given private assurances that it would consider not using its veto power against UN Security Council condemnations of any significant new settlement activity, the Guardian reported...

Presidential Proclamation ? National Day of Prayer

Posted on May 03, 2010
WhiteHouse.gov: The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release April 30, 2010 Presidential Proclamation–National Day of Prayer A PROCLAMATION Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer...

Weinstein Reveals Vendetta in Demanding Removal of ?Cross?

Posted on May 03, 2010
God and Country: "Michael Weinstein is truly the gift that keeps on giving. His latest attempt at infamy is to say that a red cross appearing on a military hospital?s emblem."

IN: Court Enjoins Planned Student Prayer At High School Graduation

Posted on May 03, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "On Friday, an Indiana federal district court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the planned student-led prayer at suburban Indianapolis' Greenwood High School's upcoming graduation. The school conducts a student ballot at an assembly in which students vote on whether to have a fellow student deliver a non-denominational prayer at graduation ...

Mennonite Service Agency Added To List of Conscientious Objector Alternatives

Posted on May 03, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Last month, the Selective Service System added one additional alternative for conscientious objectors if the draft should ever be reinstated."

Federal Judiciary Shows Little Progress on Minority Clerks

Posted on May 03, 2010
National Law Journal (Law.com): "Study shows nonwhites make up less than 14 percent of law clerks in federal courts"

Attorneys agree to block on Oklahoma abortion law

Posted on May 03, 2010
AP: "Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has agreed to a court order requested by abortion providers to temporarily block enforcement of a new state law, which requires women to get an ultrasound and hear a detailed description of the fetus."

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