Religion & Law

?Some gay couples balk at idea of marriage?

Posted on March 22, 2010
South Bend Tribune: "'There?s a whole segment of the (gay) community for whom the marriage equality bit seems way too heteronormative,' mimicking conventional heterosexual practices, said Suzanne Scott, director of women and gender studies at George Mason University...

WA attorney general will sue over health care bill

Posted on March 22, 2010
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna said Monday that he's joining a multistate challenge to the constitutionality of a health care overhaul bill passed by Congress."

Louisiana to file suit over health care legislation

Posted on March 22, 2010
WAFB.com: “Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says Louisiana will file a lawsuit challenging the national health care legislation passed by Congress Sunday.”

Trial in same-sex ?marriage? case is challenged

Posted on March 22, 2010
New York Times: "Opponents of same-sex marriage have long said the issue does not belong in the courts. Lately they have gone a step further . . . 'To think that somehow the rules of evidence can lead you to the right answer is just not right,' said Jordan W...

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NY: Court says state can annul same-sex ?marriages? from other states

Posted on March 22, 2010
"A midlevel state appeals court has ruled that even though New York doesn't have a civil union law, its courts do have the power to annul a same-sex union made in another state."

Lao officials visit expelled Christians, give assurances

Posted on March 22, 2010
Christian Post: "Officials in Laos? Saravan Province on Thursday visited 48 Christians expelled from Katin village and assured them that they had the legal right to embrace the faith of their choice, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF)...

Al Mohler: Can Christian organizations remain Christian in a ?tolerant? age?

Posted on March 22, 2010
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. writing at his blog: "A more fundamental question is whether Christian organizations can remain Christian in the light of such anti-discrimination codes and policies. The presenting issue in the current case has to do with the issue of homosexuality...

SC: Spartanburg Council prayer brings complaint

Posted on March 22, 2010
The Post and Courier: "A South Carolina councilman's prayer to Jesus and against abortion and same-sex marriage to open a county council meeting has drawn at least one complaint, a newspaper reported Sunday."

Missouri Southern to explore added protection for ?gays?

Posted on March 22, 2010
Associated Press: "A Missouri Southern State University committee is looking into adding protections for gays and lesbians to its nondiscrimination policy."

John Whitehead: ?The Right Not To Be Offended: The Supreme Court And Religion?

Posted on March 22, 2010
John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute writes at the Huffington Post: "The First Amendment right to free speech is on life support. And with its recent refusal to review the case of Nurre v. Whitehead, the Supreme Court may have pulled the plug."

Bricks Shatter Glass at NY Democratic Offices

Posted on March 22, 2010
NY Times: "Authorities are trying to find out who threw bricks through windows and doors at two Democratic Party offices in western New York before Sunday's health care vote . . . "

Executive Order: Ensuring Enforcement and Implementation of Abortion Restrictions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Posted on March 22, 2010
"Today, the President announced that he will be issuing an executive order after the passage of the health insurance reform law that will reaffirm its consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion . . ."

Planned Parenthood: Executive Order not as bad as Stupak Amendment

Posted on March 22, 2010
"What the president?s executive order did not do is include the complete and total ban on private health insurance coverage for abortion that Congressman Bart Stupak (D?MI) had insisted upon."

CT: Supreme Court Says Students Guaranteed ?Suitable? Education

Posted on March 22, 2010
Connecticut Law Tribune: "A divided state Supreme Court ruled Monday that all school children in the state are guaranteed not just a free public education, but a ?suitable? one that adequately prepares them for a career or college. The 4-3 decision could ultimately change the way public education is funded in the state...

Chinese Government Replies to Google

Posted on March 22, 2010
Gizmodo: "The Chinese government regulates the Internet according to laws and will improve its regulation step by step according to its own needs. It is a pure internal affair. Regrettably, Google's recent behaviors show that the company not just aims at expanding business in China, but is playing an active role in exporting culture, value and ideas...

Stupak Defends Decision for Executive Order on Abortion, Trusts Obama

Posted on March 22, 2010
LifeNews: "In comments to Fox News today, Congressman Bart Stupak admitted pro-abortion President Barack Obama could repeal the executive order he promised Stupak in exchange for a handful of pro-life Democrats supporting the health care bill that funds and promotes abortions...

Google tries to route users around Chinese censors

Posted on March 22, 2010
LA Times: "With negotiations at an impasse in the high-profile showdown that has escalated tensions between China and the United States, Google Inc. has begun to redirect users of its Chinese-language search engine to uncensored results on its Chinese-language service based in Hong Kong...

ADF, CLS focus attention on rights of conscience in health care battle

Posted on March 19, 2010
In a busy week of debate in Washington over health care reform, attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund are moving forward with efforts in four different lawsuits to ensure that conscience protections for health care workers are not ignored.

?Dutch lash out at gay link in Srebrenica massacre?

Posted on March 19, 2010
Reuters: "Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende attacked on Friday claims by a retired U.S. general that Dutch forces were overrun in Srebrenica in 1995 because of the presence of gay soldiers . . . In his remarks which also provoked angry reactions from unions and gay military groups, Sheehan blamed a post-Cold War effort by European nations to "socialize" their armed forces by, among other things, allowing openly gay soldiers to serve...

French MP wants legalized brothels

Posted on March 19, 2010
Times Online: "Chantal Brunel, who was appointed last month to head the national watchdog on sexual equality, is arguing that crime would be cut and sex workers would benefit from 'sexual services centres' similar to those run by most of France?s neighbours...

Australian loses official status as ?genderless?

Posted on March 19, 2010
Telegraph: "The New South Wales government this week said the official document had been withdrawn after legal advice suggested the registry did not have the power to issue such a certificate."

Approval of ?Gay Marriage? Is Greater Among College Freshmen Than Americans at Large

Posted on March 19, 2010
Chronicle of Higher Education: "College students who describe themselves as politically 'far right' arrive on campuses across the country supporting legal same-sex marriage significantly more than do conservative Republicans nationwide, according to new data released by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles...

UK: Police told not to ask for ?Christian? names

Posted on March 19, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Police in Kent have been banned from asking for a person?s 'Christian' name, in case it offends people from other faiths."

UK: Church left in ruins after youths set Bibles alight

Posted on March 19, 2010
The Christian Institute: "A 19th century Cambridgeshire church has been gutted following a massive fire, reportedly started when yobs set Bibles and prayer books alight. The news comes in the same week as it emerged youths disrupted a Roman Catholic church service, running to the front and intimidating the congregation...

Sexting bill passes Illinois Senate

Posted on March 19, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "Offenders would not face criminal charges, but would get juvenile court supervision that could result in counseling or community service. The bill doesn't address youths who send or receive racy photos if they don't distribute them."

Illinois Hospital Loses Tax-Exempt Status for Not Being Charitable Enough

Posted on March 19, 2010
Tres Baldas writes at the National Law Journal: "In a decision that could having a chilling effect on nonprofit hospitals, the Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a Catholic hospital wasn't charitable enough, so it took away the hospital's tax-exempt status...

Iran: Married for a Minute

Posted on March 19, 2010
Nadya Labi writes at Mother Jones: "Is Iran's mullah-backed system of temporary marriage a godsend for the sexually frustrated?or religious prostitution?"

Woman ordered to pay $9M to lover?s wife in affair case will appeal judgment by NC court

Posted on March 19, 2010
"A New York woman ordered to pay $9 million to her lover's wife in North Carolina says she plans to appeal the judgment."

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to Offer Remote Viewing of En Banc Hearings

Posted on March 19, 2010
Public Information Office of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: "The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will offer remote viewing of en banc court proceedings scheduled for March 23-25 at the James R. Browning U...

National debt up $2 trillion on Obama?s Watch

Posted on March 19, 2010
NCPA: "The latest posting from the Treasury Department shows the national debt has increased over $2 trillion since President Obama took office."

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