Religion & Law

Draft K-12 Common Core State Standards Available for Comment

Posted on March 12, 2010
EducationNews.org: "The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today released the first official public draft of the K-12 standards as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative ...

Ninth Circuit: Pledge of Allegiance constitutional

Posted on March 12, 2010
Becket Fund: In a stunning reversal of its 2002 rejection of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today ruled, in a 193-page opinion, that the words 'one nation under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance do not violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution...

GOP backs ?don?t ask? advocate

Posted on March 12, 2010
Washington Times: "House Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Rep. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, said they worried that a 'new litmus test' was created in the wake of the Air Force's decision to retract the long-standing invitation to Mr. Perkins - a former Marine and an ordained minister - to speak at a prayer luncheon because his views were 'incompatible' with those of military personnel who answer to Mr...

California Board Still Wants Teacher to Remove ?God? Banners

Posted on March 12, 2010
Citizen Link: "U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled that the San Diego, Calif., teacher's constitutional rights were violated. Johnson's signs had been hanging in his classroom for more than 25 years . . . ."

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State Department?s 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Released

Posted on March 12, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "The U.S. State Department yesterday released its 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, covering conditions in 194 countries around the world . . . "

Texas State Board Rejects Teaching About Establishment Clause

Posted on March 12, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In a surprise decision yesterday, the Board defeated by a 10-5 party line vote a proposal by Democratic member Mavis Knight that government classes teach about the Establishment Clause . . . "

No .xxx yet: Internet agency delays porn decision

Posted on March 12, 2010
AP: "A global Internet oversight agency has deferred a decision for at least 70 days on whether to create the '.xxx' domain name as an online red-light district."

?A nasty attempt to coerce Danish newspapers into apologizing for the cartoons of Mohammed?

Posted on March 12, 2010
Christopher Hitchens writes at Slate: "I have just finished reading one of the most astoundingly stupid and nasty documents ever to have landed on my desk. It consists of a letter from a law firm in Saudi Arabia, run by a man named Ahmed Zaki Yamani, to a group of newspapers in Scandinavia...

Abortion provision stays in health bill: House Leaders will try to ?peel off? Stupak pro-life allies

Posted on March 12, 2010
". . . House leaders will try to 'peel off' some of the members allied with Rep. Stupak. " If the bill passes with the abortion provisions, one can only imagine how that will escalate the culture war in the long term.

The will to fix Senate rules (Sen. Tom Udall)

Posted on March 12, 2010
Sen Tom Udall (D-NM) writes at the Hill: "Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution states, 'Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings...' And at the beginning of the 112th Congress I will call on the Senate to exercise its constitutional responsibility to adopt its rules of procedure by a simple majority vote...

Homeschooling to be criminalized in Sweden

Posted on March 12, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The government of Sweden is taking a hard line against homeschoolers, proposing a bill that will only allow home education under 'extraordinary circumstances,' reports the Home School Legal Defense Association. The bill is expected to pass in the Swedish parliament, following a review by the Supreme Administrative Court, and will allow for homeschooling families to face criminal charges ...

VA: Some skip Islamic prayer in House

Posted on March 12, 2010
Christian Post: "By the invitation of a Virginia lawmaker, a controversial Muslim cleric delivered the opening prayer on Thursday at the start of the House of Delegates' session. About a dozen delegates did not attend the prayer of Johari Abdul-Malik...

MA: ?Jail for dissing gays pulled after publicity?

Posted on March 12, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "A measure in the Massachusetts statehouse to allow jail time for criticism of homosexuality has been pulled abruptly after a conservative group publicized the move by lawmakers . . . WND reported during the run-up to the 2009 "hate crimes" plan that opponents were alarmed by the potential of prosecutions for Christian pastors and others who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality...

Texas approves curriculum revised by conservatives

Posted on March 12, 2010
New York Times: "After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday voted to approve a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the role of Christianity in American history and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light...

Academic Freedom File interview with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse

Posted on March 12, 2010
ADF Attorney David Hacker writing at the Academic Freedom File: "A few weeks ago, Heather Hacker and I sat down with Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, President of the Ruth Institute, to talk about campus censorship. The podcast is now online and can be found here...

Gallup: ?Generational differences on abortion narrow?

Posted on March 12, 2010
Gallup: "Gallup analysis of U.S. public opinion trends on abortion shows that generational differences in support for broadly legal abortion have diminished over the past decade. In the mid-1970s, when Gallup started polling on the issue, adults aged 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were the most supportive of legal abortion under any circumstances, and those 65 and older the least, with 50- to 64-year-olds falling in between...

Dems seek agreement, quick vote on health care

Posted on March 12, 2010
Associated Press: "Under White House pressure to act swiftly, House and Senate Democratic leaders reached for agreement Friday on President Barack Obama's health care bill, sweetened suddenly by fresh billions for student aid and a sense that breakthroughs are at hand...

Attorney General failed to give legal briefs to Senate

Posted on March 12, 2010
Reuters: "Attorney General Eric Holder failed to tell the Senate about seven legal briefs he signed when lawmakers considered his nomination to his current job, according to a letter released on Friday."

PA: West Shore to pay $16K in legal fees in pro-life T-shirt case

Posted on March 12, 2010
York Dispatch: "The district has agreed to pay the family $16,140 to cover legal fees. The family has been represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based attorney organization defending the right of people to live out their faith."

Teacher in Belgium wins right to wear veil in class

Posted on March 12, 2010
The Times of India: "A Muslim mathematics teacher in a municipal school in Belgium won her legal battle to wear a veil in class on Thursday when an appeals court overturned a lower court decision."

Indiana council nixes problematic ordinance

Posted on March 12, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Fort Wayne City Council members rejected a proposed ordinance which would have granted special behavior-based protections to people with gender identity disorders. The city already has non-discrimination ordinances for sexual orientation on the books, but the proposal would have expanded that protection...

No same-sex ?marriages? in Fiji

Posted on March 12, 2010
FBC: "The Acting DPP, Aca Rayawa has clarified that the new Crimes Decree does not allow for gay marriages in the country. Rayawa made the statement after Communication Fiji Limited?s Viti FM station ran a talk back show last week stating that the new Crimes Decree had approved gay marriages...

Another city outlaws home Bible studies

Posted on March 12, 2010
Christian Web News: "Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed an appeal Wednesday with the Arizona town of Gilbert?s zoning Board of Adjustment to overturn a decision banning churches from meeting, holding Bible studies, or having any other activities in private homes ...

?Gay rights and pro-life: Two divergent movements?

Posted on March 12, 2010
Michael Gerson writing in The Washington Post: "Just 20 years ago, opposition to abortion and opposition to homosexual rights seemed to overlap entirely. They appeared to be expressions of the same traditionalist moral framework, destined to succeed or fail together as twin pillars of the culture war...

Court of a peal: Driven bats by the belfry

Posted on March 12, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Churches in Phoenix can once again ring their bells without fear of criminal prosecution thanks to a ruling last week by U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Bolton, who found the city's noise ordinance to be an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of religion...

Salon Commentary: ?Banning race-based abortions is wrong?

Posted on March 12, 2010
Tracy Clark-Flory writes at Salon: "Last week, I wrote about how the Endangered Species Project, which is backed in part by Georgia Right to Life, alleges a "black genocide" at the hands of Planned Parenthood and uses African-American babies as anti-abortion propaganda...

MA Senate OK?s bill to curtail bullying

Posted on March 12, 2010
Boston Globe: "But some advocates for students, while happy to see a bill passed, raised concerns that senators watered down the bill to save school districts money. The Senate softened language that required that all school staff receive training on how to identify and respond to bullying ...

China says Google free to leave or stay+

Posted on March 12, 2010
AP: "In that case [if Google stays], however, it would have to comply with Chinese regulations requiring censorship of search results for sensitive material or 'bear the consequences' for not doing so, the minister warned. 'It would be irresponsible and unfriendly for Google to insist on doing something that goes against China's laws and regulations,' he added...

CO: ?Gay-rights luncheon draws Republicans to table?

Posted on March 12, 2010
Denver Post: "Want proof that the times they are a-changin'? A lawmaker who once worked for former U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave attended a gay-rights luncheon Thursday. . . "

U.S. Census Bureau Changes Its Interpretation of DOMA To Allow Same-Sex Couples to Self-Identify as ?Married?

Posted on March 12, 2010
"The U.S. Census Bureau has changed its interpretation of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to allow it to tabulate same-sex couples who self-identify their union as a marriage, even though DOMA prohibits legal recognition of same-sex unions as marriages...

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