Religion & Law

The cost of growing up on porn

Posted on March 08, 2010
Pamela Paul, author of Pornified, writing at the Washington Post: "An entire generation is being kept in the dark about pornography's effects because previous generations can't grapple with the new reality. Whether by approaching me (at the risk of peer scorn) after I've spoken at a university or via anonymous e-mails, young people continue to pass along an unpopular message: Growing up on porn is terrible...

Rebecca Hagelin: Web 2.0 runs wild

Posted on March 08, 2010
Rebecca Hagelin writing in the Washington Times: "Your child no longer has to be 'bound' at a desk in front of a computer screen to have the world ? and everyone in it ? at his or her fingertips. Every day, children who visit interactive sites interact with strangers...

NH: Voters head to town meetings on same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on March 08, 2010
Union Leader: "Voters will weigh in on same-sex marriage and local spending at polls or town meetings across the state tomorrow."

ACLU Likens Obama to Bush in Ad Slamming Possible Reversal on KSM Trial

Posted on March 08, 2010
FoxNews: "The possibility that President Obama could send the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks to a military tribunal has earned him the highest insult from the left -- that he's another George W. Bush."

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Does abstinence-only sex education work? The debate heats up

Posted on March 08, 2010
Religion Link: "Do sex education programs that emphasize abstinence really work? The issue is on the boil thanks to rising teen pregnancy rates and the high profile of Sarah Palin?s daughter Bristol, herself an unwed teenage mother. Now a pair of new studies reveals a complex answer to a flashpoint debate in the culture wars...

Church of Ireland seeks refusal clause in civil union law

Posted on March 08, 2010
The Post: "A delegation from the Church of Ireland is to meet Department of Justice officials tomorrow to press for a ?freedom of conscience? clause in the Civil Partnership Bill. The Bill, which is before the Oireachtas, provides for legal recognition for civil unions, including between homosexuals...

Scotland: Lib Dems back marriage redefinition

Posted on March 08, 2010
UKPA: "Liberal Democrats have backed a call for same-sex couples to be given the right to marry."

Duncan will pressure schools to enforce civil rights laws

Posted on March 08, 2010
Washington Post: "Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to announce Monday that his agency is ramping up enforcement of civil rights laws in schools and colleges, a move that seeks to draw a contrast with the policies of his Republican predecessors."

SSM and employee benefits

Posted on March 08, 2010
Rob Vischer has this post at the Mirror of Justice Blog: "Thanks to Fr. Araujo (and others) for responding to my post asking how the extension of benefits to same-sex spouses legitimizes same-sex marriage."

Losing control of the US debt machine

Posted on March 08, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "That leaves a net negative position of more than $11 trillion. By the way, this is projected to get a lot worse, fast. The feds are expected to increase their debts by about $3 trillion more over the next 2 years. Federal spending is out of control?the feds have lost control of their own budget, let alone the economy...

Appeal filed to free Abortion Consent Act from Ariz. court order, abortionists drop federal suit

Posted on March 08, 2010
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Center for Arizona Policy have appealed an Arizona judge?s order to halt new state laws protecting the health and safety of women while a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood moves forward in state court.

Tens of Thousands Protest Abortion Law in Spain

Posted on March 08, 2010
Christian Post: "Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of multiple cities in Spain on Sunday to protest a new law that would allow abortion on demand."

Switzerland battles sexual promiscuity by distributing condoms to children

Posted on March 08, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "In response to an alarming increase in sexual promiscuity among children ages 10 ? 14, the Swiss government has decided to begin distributing 'extra-small' condoms."

Europe rights commissioner cautions against burqa ban

Posted on March 08, 2010
JURIST: "The top rights official at the Council of Europe on Monday rejected the notion of banning Muslim burqa and niqab garments."

Gender selection: In India, abortion of girls on the rise

Posted on March 08, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "Gender selection via abortion appears to be on the rise in India ? and more common among the wealthy. India's upper classes tend to have fewer children and more access to ultrasounds that reveal their babies? sex. The gender imbalance means fewer women available to be wives...

Charles Rice: Sexual Orientation and the Catholic Church

Posted on March 08, 2010
Ignatius Insight has posted the article by Notre Dame Constitutional Law Professor Charles Rice which was refused for publication in the Notre Dame Observer. The exchange between Prof. Rice and the Editor of the Observer is published here.

Unless Abortion Funding Is Removed, There?s No Way Health Care Will Pass

Posted on March 08, 2010
Penny Young Nance of CWA writes at FoxNews: "How exactly would creating the largest expansion of federally-funded abortion in this country since 'Roe v. Wade' lower health care costs for all Americans and give them better access to health care?"

Michigan: ?A test of same-sex custody rights: Nonbiological parent fighting for children?

Posted on March 08, 2010
Citizen-Times.com: "After their breakup in 2008, Harmon says, Davis cut off Harmon's contact with the children, prompting Harmon to sue in Wayne County Circuit Court in a long-shot bid to win joint custody. It's a battle she is prepared to take to the Michigan Supreme Court in an effort to secure joint custody rights for nonbiological, unmarried partners, gay or straight ...

Philippines: Condom debate brought to bishops? doorstep

Posted on March 08, 2010
Inquirer.net: "They came bearing condoms. Members of a workers group Monday brought the condom debate to the doorstep of Catholic bishops, in a bid to convince the prelates that prophylactics protect the health of women."

Debate Heats Up Over 9th Circuit Nominee

Posted on March 08, 2010
Blog of the Legal Times: "It was clear even before he was nominated that Goodwin Liu would stir up activists as few other Obama judicial nominees have. Since he was named on Feb. 24, supporters and opponents both have jumped into vigorous debate over what Liu's jurisprudence would look like if he were confirmed to the U...

Kan. Senate panel reviewing proposal to allow child porn victims to sue producers, users

Posted on March 08, 2010
"The bill allows victims to sue for at least $150,000 in damages until they turn 21 or up to three years after a criminal case ends."

Virginia: ?ACLU Tells State Colleges to Protect Gays and Lesbians Despite AG?s Stand against Non-Discrimination Policies?

Posted on March 08, 2010
ACLU: "The ACLU of Virginia is sending letters to all public university presidents warning them against taking any action that would permit discrimination against gay and lesbian employees or students. According to the ACLU, gays and lesbians are protected against governmental discrimination by the U...

CA: Former lesbian partners settle custody dispute

Posted on March 05, 2010
Santa Cruz Sentinel: "The one-time lesbian parents of twin boys have settled a paternity dispute that allows the women to maintain joint custody, The National Center for Lesbian Rights announced Friday."

UK: Muslim women who refused to take full-body scan barred from int?l flight

Posted on March 05, 2010
Daily Mail: "Two Muslim women have become the first passengers to refuse to subject themselves to controversial 'naked' full body airport scans, it emerged today. The pair - who security officials insist were selected at random - opted to miss their flight to Pakistan and forfeit tickets worth £400 each rather than be screened...

Pakistan: Christian couple touches Quran with dirty hands, gets 25 years in prison

Posted on March 05, 2010
Asia News: "A court in Kasur district, Punjab, convicted a Christian couple, Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi, to 25 years in prison. According to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), judge Ajmal Hussein convicted the couple for touching the Qur?an without washing their hands...

UK: Church group?s concern at mosque ?division and discord?

Posted on March 05, 2010
Get Surrey: "Churches in Camberley have denounced the plans to build a large traditional mosque in the town. This week the Churches Together group said it felt the domed mosque, which will have 100ft minarets, would be making a powerful cultural and political statement...

UK: Equality Minister could kill off ?gay marriages in church? plan

Posted on March 05, 2010
Telegraph: "The Equality Minister will decide with Cabinet colleagues whether to allow the controversial amendment to her flagship anti-discrimination bill to stand when it reaches the Commons next week. If the move to allow civil partnerships to take place on religious premises becomes law, having been agreed to by peers, it will raise 'a number of problems' for faith groups, priests, registrars and civil marriages for men and women...

?Catholic? King of Spain Signs Abortion Bill into Law

Posted on March 05, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, has signed a bill into law legalizing abortion on demand for the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy."

Largest casino in Ala. reopens; judge blocks raid

Posted on March 05, 2010
AP: "Alabama's largest casino reopened Friday, shortly after a judge ruled that the governor's anti-gambling task force could not raid the gambling hall or seize any of its 6,400 electronic bingo machines."

Dutch Catholics protest parish compromise with ?gay activists?

Posted on March 05, 2010
Catholic Culture: "Dutch Catholics are organizing a petition drive in support of a parish priest who refused to distribute Communion to homosexual activists, and criticizing the bishop who apparently pressured the priest to compromise his position . ...

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