Religion & Law

Pro-Lifers: UW system skirts the law

Posted on April 21, 2010
Milwaukee Magazine News Buzz: "'Our University of Wisconsin state agencies should not be a training ground for abortionists,' says Virginia Zignego, spokeswoman for [Pro-Life Wisconsin]. It?s getting legal assistance from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a national legal group that opposes abortion and gay marriage...

Judge: To silence Phoenix church bells is unconstitutional

Posted on April 21, 2010
Evangelical Examiner: "Alliance Defense Fund attorneys report that on Monday, they secured a favorable decision on behalf of Phoenix churches, with the court ruling that the city of Phoenix cannot enforce its noise ordinance to prohibit sound generated in the course of religious expression ...

Pro-Life Wisconsin presses its UW case

Posted on April 21, 2010
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Right On Blog: "Pro-Life Wisconsin is pushing the issue, reports the Badger Herald: The group, along with its outside legal help, the public-interest law firm Alliance Defense Fund, last week wrote to Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, requesting he look into the legality of UW?s arrangement...

Irish doctor under fire for limiting fertility practice to married couples

Posted on April 21, 2010
Catholic Culture: "An Irish doctor is facing possible disciplinary action because he declined to provide fertility treatment for an unmarried couple."

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Russia Bans Scientology Writings on Basis of Extremism

Posted on April 21, 2010
TheOtherRussia.org: "The Prosecutor General of Russia announced today that it has declared the works of Scientology founder and fantasy writer L. Ron Hubbard as extremist, hence banning their distribution . . . 'Specialists in the fields of psychiatry, psychology and sociology concluded that the materials presented for analysis are not acceptable to distribute, as they undermine the traditional spiritual basis of the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation ...

If the military normalizes homosexual behavior, what would change?

Posted on April 21, 2010
Stars and Stripes focuses on the issue here by looking at benefits, bunks, jobs, worship, and training. Greg Scott of the Alliance Defense Fund is quoted: "Much of the military's sensitivity training is conducted by chaplains . . . and a chaplain who believes that homosexual behavior is harmful and sinful can hardly train people to accept it...

Muslim Action Day: Rally Scheduled Thursday At State Capitol

Posted on April 21, 2010
Huffington Post: "They are the catalytic generation," said Eboo Patel, the executive director of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core and member of a White House faith-based advisory board. 'The earlier generations built the private institutions: mosques, schools, places to get married, have funerals...

Muslim group issues ?warning? to ?South Park? show

Posted on April 21, 2010
Reuters: "A U.S. Muslim group has issued a dire Internet 'warning' to creators of the satirical animated TV show 'South Park' over a depiction of the Prophet Mohammad in a bear outfit."

Texas students see religious bias with ?year of Our Lord?

Posted on April 21, 2010
Washington Times: "Students at a Texas college are demanding that their diplomas not be dated 'in the year of Our Lord,' prompting school officials to consider removing that phrase while leaving what others consider another obvious reference to Christendom ? the school's name, Trinity University ...

KY: Charter schools gaining momentum

Posted on April 21, 2010
Kentucky.com: "A potential compromise that would allow charter schools in Kentucky is gaining momentum in the Capitol and could even help resolve an impasse over the state budget . . . " Hat tip: Bluegrass Institute

Former Pro-Abortion Liberal Now Leads Conservative Pro-Family Values In Arizona

Posted on April 21, 2010
i-Newswire: "Many who know Cathi Herrod only as the fast-talking head of Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) know only one side of the story. They know Herrod as she is today: strong, outspoken, and fiercely conservative. What many don?t know is her previous life as a liberal pro-abortion feminist ...

Liberty Institute Argues Dallas? ?Same-Sex Divorce? Case: Says Granting ?Same-Sex Divorce? Violates Texas? Constitution and DOMA

Posted on April 21, 2010
PR Newswire: "Today, Liberty Institute, representing State Rep. Warren Chisum and former State Sen. Todd Staples, argued alongside the Texas Attorney General's office in Dallas' 'same sex divorce' case before the Dallas Court of Appeals. Liberty Institute challenged the legality of District Judge Tena Callahan's decision to grant a divorce to a homosexual couple, citing that such action is unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution, which does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions...

Louisiana Family Forum forces shelving of textbook selection bill

Posted on April 21, 2010
The Times-Picayune: "Rep. Charles 'Bubba' Chaney, D-Rayville, thought he had an innocuous bill when he arrived at the House Education Committee this morning. The Louisiana Family Forum and social conservatives had another idea, effectively forcing Chaney to abandon a proposal to change the process for choosing textbooks for Louisiana schools...

Obama considering another 7th Circuit judge for Supreme Court

Posted on April 21, 2010
The Blog of LegalTimes: "A White House official confirmed today that Judge Ann Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is among about 10 people under consideration for the Supreme Court."

UK: Conservative party to send ?gay? MP to quell Polish ?extremists?

Posted on April 21, 2010
Guardian: "David Cameron is to dispatch the most senior gay member of his frontbench team to Poland to encourage the Tories' rightwing allies in the European parliament to abandon their homophobic views. In a move designed to defuse criticism in tonight's leaders' television debate that the Tories have allied themselves with extremists in the EU, Cameron has revealed that the shadow environment secretary, Nick Herbert, will attend a gay rights march in Warsaw in July...

Lawmakers defend Day of Prayer after court ruling

Posted on April 21, 2010
Boston Globe (AP): "Some members of Congress are condemning a federal judge's ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional."

Tennessee?s House chamber becomes house of worship

Posted on April 21, 2010
Tennessean.com: "The House of Representatives chamber at the state Capitol was transformed from a seat of secular power to a house of worship. Instead of elected officials, more than 70 preachers ? black and white, Baptist and Presbyterian, Nazarene and Pentecostal ? sat at legislators' desks...

Archbishop Chaput responds to criticisms of JFK speech

Posted on April 21, 2010
CNA: "Following criticism of his recent JFK speech by an Italian scholar, Archbishop Charles Chaput responded today, addressing each argument raised against his lecture. The prelate said that although he was grateful for the Italian professor's comments, 'he and I clearly differ' not only on the implication's of JFK's 1960 speech, but also on the role of religion in American public life and the 'proper understanding' of separation of Church and state ...

DeMint Irks GOP, Backs Conservatives in Key Races

Posted on April 21, 2010
NewsMax: "Republican Sen. Jim DeMint is raising eyebrows within his own party by publicly announcing his support for conservative candidates the GOP has not officially endorsed."

Senate Confirms Schroeder to DOJ Policy Post

Posted on April 21, 2010
Blog of the Legal Times: "Schroeder won confirmation on a 72-24 vote to be assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy. The office helps the White House to vet and win confirmation of nominees for district and circuit court vacancies...

Obama Considering Another 7th Circuit Judge for Supreme Court

Posted on April 21, 2010
Blog of the Legal Times: "A White House official confirmed today that Judge Ann Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is among about 10 people under consideration for the Supreme Court."

Arizona Wants Obama Birth Proof for Run

Posted on April 21, 2010
Newsmax: "The Arizona House has voted up a measure that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he wants to be on the state's ballot when he runs for reelection, according to a report by KPHO.com."

NJ voters reject 59 percent of school budgets

Posted on April 21, 2010
AP: "Urged on by first-year Republican Gov. Chris Christie as he tries to cut spending at all levels of government, voters rejected 59 percent of school budget proposals in local elections on Tuesday, sending them to municipal governing bodies for cuts...

Australia: Govt rejects formal human rights charter

Posted on April 21, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald: "Australia will remain one of the few nations without a national charter of rights after the government decided not to adopt the key recommendation of its consultative committee . . . Gay rights groups are also disappointed they won't have the opportunity to test the case for same-sex marriage in the High Court...

Massa to face investigation from House ethics panel

Posted on April 21, 2010
The Hill: "The House ethics committee has launched a formal investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) . . . "

Pornography and the Muslim World

Posted on April 20, 2010
Carson Halloway writes at Public Discourse: "Promoting a sexually permissive pop-culture in the Muslim world gets the true foundations of ordered liberty wrong. In defining our ideals by rejecting our enemy?s, we go from one extreme to another, and miss the virtuous mean...

Air Force, In Reversal, Will Discharge Lesbian Officer

Posted on April 20, 2010
"Chaurasiya had denied she was trying to leave the Air Force, and instead was trying to confront what she believed was the injustice of the military policy."

Amazon files lawsuit to block North Carolina?s data request

Posted on April 20, 2010
Reuters: "Online retailer Amazon.com has filed a lawsuit in a federal court to block the North Carolina state government's demand it disclose all transaction details, including names and addresses, involving state residents, court documents show . . ...

Vacationing a human right, EU chief says

Posted on April 20, 2010
Ottawa Citizen: "The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips."

IN: School Pushes For Dismissal Of ACLU Prayer Challenge

Posted on April 20, 2010
IndyChannel.com: "Eric Workman, 18, a top-ranked senior at Greenwood High School, and the American Civil Liberties Unionof Indiana have asked a federal judge to stop a student-led prayer that the senior class voted to approve, claiming the prayer and class vote unconstitutionally subjects students to religious practice...

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