Religion & Law

ADF helps prevent shut-down of Wyo. Bible colleges

Posted on March 08, 2010
"A new law signed by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal Wednesday fixes a poorly written state statute and prevents the state from intrusively regulating or closing down Bible colleges."

Court to decide if vaccine makers can be sued

Posted on March 08, 2010
Reuters: "The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects."

Okla. conservatives debate divorce legislation

Posted on March 08, 2010
AP: "Touching on a sensitive issue among conservatives nationwide, the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Legislature is embroiled in a dispute over whether lawmakers should remain focused on the state's budget problems and other fiscal priorities or delve into family issues, especially the state's chronically high divorce rate...

Vatican appeals for Holy Land Christians

Posted on March 08, 2010
AP: "The Vatican has launched an appeal for support for Christians in the Holy Land, seeking to stem the exodus from the ancient community."

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California justice weighs in on judicial races

Posted on March 08, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "With businesses and trial lawyers pouring money into state judicial races around the nation, California Chief Justice Ronald George appointed a Commission for Impartial Courts in 2007 to study judicial elections in California and decide whether changes were needed to promote judicial independence and public confidence in the courts...

AZ: Bill to provide churches special protections

Posted on March 08, 2010
Yuma Sun: "Churches would get some special protections against local regulations under the terms of legislation approved Wednesday by the House. HB 2596 is designed to stop cities from blocking churches from locating in certain neighborhoods."

Nigeria massacre leaves more than 120 Christians dead

Posted on March 08, 2010
LA Times: "Reporting from Kano, Nigeria - The attacks came in the night, as the villagers slept. Hundreds of Muslim herdsmen armed with guns and machetes swooped down on three Christian villages outside Jos in central Nigeria, killing more than 120 people early Sunday, according to witnesses...

Last Catholic adoption agency in England and Wales threatened by ?gay equality? laws

Posted on March 08, 2010
EWTN (CNA): "Church leaders are defending the last remaining Catholic adoption agency in England and Wales against homosexual equality laws that will force it to close. They say children in the agency?s care will suffer, charging that the government is trying to force the agency to disregard Church teaching...

Swedish family continues fight for son

Posted on March 08, 2010
OneNewsNow: "A Swedish home-schooling couple is still trying to get their seven-year-old son back from state custody . . . The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been advising the Johansson family and exploring options to reunite them with their son Dominic who was taken because he was being home schooled...

Prayer discontinued at La Grange Town Council with federal ruling in N.C.

Posted on March 08, 2010
ENC Today: "The La Grange Town Council ceased praying before meetings this week following a recent ruling by a federal judge . . . The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) ? the public interest law firm that is leading Forsyth County?s defense ? is appealing the judgment to the U...

York, anti-abortion activists settle lawsuit

Posted on March 08, 2010
York Daily Record: "The Alliance Defense Fund, which had attorneys representing Snell and McTernan, said in news release Wednesday that they had reached a 'favorable settlement' with the city. 'We are pleased that the city has recognized the free speech rights of these peaceful and respectful pro-life counselors,' attorney Randall L...

Dobson?s impact on public policy organizations

Posted on March 08, 2010
Christianity Today Political Advocacy Tracker: "At a Focus on the Family chapel service to say farewell to retiring James Dobson, Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family Action recounted Dobson's impact on public policy organizations. Dobson helped found three national policy organizations (American Family Association, Alliance Defense Fund, and Family Research Council) and 37 state family policy councils...

The end of the road for Barack Obama?

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Telegraph: "Barack Obama seems unable to face up to America's problems, writes Simon Heffer in New York."

U.S. Supreme Court to rule on Westboro Baptist picketing at military funerals

Posted on March 08, 2010
"The Supreme Court, taking on the emotionally charged issue of picketing protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in wartime, agreed Monday to consider reinstating a $5 million damages verdict against a Kansas preacher and his anti-gay crusade."

Concerned Women for America files Supreme Court brief to protect privacy of petition signers

Posted on March 08, 2010
Earned Media: "Sharon F. Blakeney, an allied attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund and counsel for Concerned Women for America in filing their Amicus Brief, stated, 'If the names and personal information of the voters who signed the R-71 petition are released and published on the Internet, they will be subjected to torment and intimidation by homosexual activists from all corners of the globe...

VVD, GroenLinks want abortion, euthanasia, same-sex ?marriage? in Netherlands Antilles

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Daily Herald: "Euthanasia and abortion should become legal on the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba within one year. Conducting same-sex marriages should become possible on the islands in two years. This is stated in three amendments that the liberal democratic VVD party and the green left party GroenLinks will present during the handling of the WolBES, the general law that defines the "public entity" status of the BES islands, and six other related law proposals, in the Dutch Parliament's Second Chamber, today, Thursday...

Mike Adams: The University of Notre Shame

Posted on March 08, 2010
Mike Adams writes at Townhall: "But the prior restraint of the views of Professor Rice is not defensible. While not a technical violation of the First Amendment ? Notre Dame is a private school - it is an assault on both Catholicism and common sense. And it leaves many Catholics wondering whether there is any safe haven in this land that once placed religious liberty above political correctness...

Notre Dame Observer: Discussing homosexuality debate

Posted on March 08, 2010
Peter Wicks writes at the Notre Dame Observer: "Over the past year, a large number of columns and letters have been written on the subject of homosexuality. It is with some hesitation that I add to that number. However, I think I can safely say that my contribution to the discussion will be different in at least one respect because I'm not going to tell you what I think...

Annulments Based on Fraud: What is the ?Essence? of Marriage? Part Two in a Two-Part Series of Columns on Traditional and Modern Annulment

Posted on March 08, 2010
Joanna L. Grossman writes at Findlaw: "In Part One of this series, I discussed the traditional approach to defining fraud as a ground for annulment, which requires that the misrepresentation relate to the "essentials of the marriage" ? some aspect of marriage that is fundamentally important to any marriage, not just to the particular spouse seeking an annulment ...

Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution

Posted on March 08, 2010
Yahoo (AP): "Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want...

UK: Generation Y children are ?harder to teach?

Posted on March 08, 2010
Independent: "A culture of 'instant gratification' is making today's schoolchildren harder to teach, a headteachers' leader said yesterday."

Officials Step Up Enforcement of Rights Laws in Education

Posted on March 08, 2010
NY Times: "Seeking to step up enforcement of civil rights laws, the federal Department of Education says it will be sending letters in coming weeks to thousands of school districts and colleges, outlining their responsibilities on issues of fairness and equal opportunity...

Eric Massa: Democrats ousted me over health care

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Politico: Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) says the House ethics committee is investigating him for inappropriate comments he made to a male staffer on New Year's Eve ? and that he's the victim of a power play by Democratic leaders who want him out of Congress because he's a "no" vote on health care reform.

Senate hopefuls, veteran GOP leaders face Tea Party voters

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Hill: "For years, Rep. Roy Blunt and former Rep. Rob Portman touted their positions of influence in Republican leadership circles in Washington, D.C. But now both are running for Senate seats and discovering their Washington résumés to be something of a liability at a time when the Tea Party and disaffected fiscal conservatives have new political power...

Fighting over prayers in the name of Jesus

Posted on March 08, 2010
Charles Haynes writes at Northwestern.com: "Instead of futile (and expensive) efforts to re-impose 'in the name of Jesus,' Christians in Forsyth County who care about authentic prayer should urge the commissioners to start meetings with a moment of silence...

Law Review: Judicial Diversity on State Supreme Courts

Posted on March 08, 2010
Gregory L. Acquaviva and John D. Castiglione, Judicial Diversity on State Supreme Courts (2009). Seton Hall Law Review, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 1203-1261, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1564854 "In this Article, we present the findings of a comprehensive examination of the demographic and experiential characteristics of all judges on the courts of last resort of the fifty states...

Law Review: Biblical Literalism and Constitutional Originalism

Posted on March 08, 2010
Peter J. Smith and Robert W. Tuttle, Biblical Literalism and Constitutional Originalism (March 1, 2010). GWU Legal Studies Research Paper. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1561933 "It is not surprising that both critics of constitutional originalism and proponents of biblical literalism have noted a connection between the two interpretive approaches, as there are some obvious similarities...

Mexican Social Security Institute ponders expansion of same-sex ?marriage? benefits

Posted on March 08, 2010
Excelsior: "With the entry into force of the law last week allowing the adoption and marriage to same-sex couples, there were guarantees for them in the capital, but not across the country. This item will be reviewed by the legal [department] of the institute...

Civil weddings are now a majority in Spain

Posted on March 08, 2010
diariovasco.com: "Civil weddings held in 2009 [outnumbered] religious ones. Nothing like this [has ever happened] and only ten years ago it would have been impossible to predict [that it would] happen so quickly. In 1999, out of ten marriages, seven were held in churches...

Chuck Colson: ?Gay Marriage v. Religious Freedom?

Posted on March 08, 2010
Chuck Colson writes at the Christian Post: "Christians no longer have the luxury of sitting idly by while religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the institution of marriage come under more assault."

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