Religion & Law

Dem Congressman resigns amidst allegations of sexually harassing a male staffer

Posted on March 05, 2010
Politico: "Democratic Rep. Eric Massa will resign from Congress on Monday, only days after reports first surfaced that the freshman New York lawmaker was under investigation by the House ethics committee for allegedly sexually harassing a male staffer...

Dallas Housing Authority halts church services at complex for seniors

Posted on March 05, 2010
Dallas Morning News: "For 14 years, Lake Highlands United Methodist Church has brought Sunday morning worship to elderly residents of Audelia Manor, a public housing apartment complex in northeast Dallas. But now the Dallas Housing Authority has ordered the church to stop, arguing that the services violate church-state separation required by the U...

Liberty Institute: Free Market Foundation and Liberty Legal Institute Join Forces

Posted on March 05, 2010
Liberty Institute: "Free Market Foundation and Liberty Legal Institute are proud to announce the new face of freedom, Liberty Institute. Effective immediately, the two organizations are joining forces and combining resources to better protect freedoms and strengthen families...

Texas Church to Remain at Public Housing Unit

Posted on March 05, 2010
CBN: "Residents at a public housing complex in Dallas are headed back to church after almost losing the right to worship in their facility."

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Making Buckets of Adult Stem Cells

Posted on March 05, 2010
David Prentice writes at the FRC Blog: "Now scientists at Weill Cornell have shown that culturing adult stem cells with endothelial cells, the cells that compose the innermost linings of blood vessels, is the key to growing unlimited amounts of adult stem cells...

Okla. Schools Closer to Offering Bible Course

Posted on March 05, 2010
Christian Post: "The Oklahoma Senate on Thursday passed a bill that will allow public schools in the state to offer elective courses on the Bible beginning with the 2011-12 school year . . . "

Kansas weighs bill to tax churches

Posted on March 05, 2010
Catholic League: "A bill in the Kansas House of Representatives that was initially introduced to repeal the sales tax exemption of all non-profit organizations was recently amended to target only religious non-profits. The bill, which will be debated next week, would penalize the Catholic Church and organizations like Catholic Charities, as well as other religions and charitable groups ...

?Bans on Same-Sex Marriage May Affect Mental Health?

Posted on March 05, 2010
Yahoo News: "Gay, lesbian and bisexual people living in states with institutional discrimination -- such as bans on same-sex marriage -- are at increased risk of psychiatric disorders, says a new study . . . The study findings are published online and in the March print issue of the American Journal of Public Health ...

Detroit Warns of Bankruptcy Risk as City Prepares Bond Sale

Posted on March 05, 2010
Bloomberg: "Detroit, the largest U.S. city whose debt is rated below investment grade, warned investors of the risk of bankruptcy as it prepares to sell $250 million of bonds to help close its budget deficit."

?Episcopal Clergy Permitted to Wed Gay Couples in D.C.?

Posted on March 05, 2010
Christian Post: "Episcopal clergy in Washington, D.C. have been given the green light to preside at same-sex marriages. Bishop John Bryson Chane of the Diocese of Washington made the announcement Thursday, a day after gay and lesbian couples began applying for marriage licenses ...

Taxpayers rebel against bureaucratic tactics as Arizona rest stops closed

Posted on March 05, 2010
NY Times: "Some residents see something sinister in the closings. Betty L. Roberts, who lives in Sun City, west of Phoenix, said the topic was a hot one among her friends. 'I honestly think they are setting us up because they want to do a tax increase,' Ms...

FRC Calls on U.S. Senate to Reject Legislation Containing Federal Education Mandates: Far-reaching Bill Threatens Faith-Based Education

Posted on March 05, 2010
FRC: "On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4247, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act. The bill's purpose is to ensure that teachers do not use physical, mechanical or chemical means of restraint against students...

Virginia AG asks colleges to rescind sexual orientation policies

Posted on March 05, 2010
"Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has asked the state's public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation arguing in a letter sent to each school Thursday that their boards of visitors have no legal authority to adopt such statements...

Malaysian Catholics angered by Muslim Communion act

Posted on March 05, 2010
BBC News: "The Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia has criticised the authorities for not pressing charges against two Muslim journalists who took Holy Communion. The two apparently put communion wafers in their mouths and then spat them out."

MA: Strip club proposal resurfaces in Mendon

Posted on March 05, 2010
Milford Daily News: "The town has received another adult entertainment license application from Showtime Entertainment, which has made changes to its proposed strip club conform with the town's bylaws."

CO: ?Gay couple?s child denied re-enrollment at Catholic school?

Posted on March 05, 2010
9 News: "A preschool student at a Catholic school in Boulder will not be allowed to return next school year because of what is going on at home. The student's parents are two women and the Denver Archdiocese says their homosexual relationship violates the school's beliefs and policy...

Illinois: Senger?s sexting bill advances to House floor

Posted on March 05, 2010
Naperville Sun: "The legislation, HB 4583, seeks to change Illinois' juvenile code to prevent these children from registering as a sex offender. The legislation, which received a technical amendment during prior committee hearings altering the placement of the potential law within the state statutes, unanimously passed the House Juvenile Justice committee Wednesday...

Indianapolis, sexually oriented business at odds over zoning

Posted on March 05, 2010
The Indy Channel: "A live lingerie modeling studio is in danger of being shut down after it opened without the proper license, city officials said . . . Municipal codes stipulate that if the city doesn't act on a license request within 45 days the license is granted automatically...

Kerry asks FDA to lift ban on ?gay? men donating blood

Posted on March 05, 2010
Boston Globe: "Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts called today for the Food and Drug Administration to lift a 'discriminatory' ban on gay men donating blood. 'Not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban,' the Democratic senator said in a statement...

Mexico City applies same-sex ?marriage? law

Posted on March 05, 2010
UPI: "Mexico City judges and others are working to apply a new law that allows same-sex weddings. The law, which also allows same-sex couples to adopt children, took effect Thursday."

Victory For Minority Party In Holland Sows Concern

Posted on March 05, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Nearly complete returns posted by the NOS state broadcaster "indicate we are on our way to become one of the biggest, or even the biggest national party, and illustrate Dutch voters are ready for a new political voice," said Geert Wilders, the party's founder, in an interview ...

The war on baby girls: Gendercide

Posted on March 05, 2010
Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared?and the number is rising . . .

Germany: Schleswig-Holstein to treat registered partnerships of public sector employees as marriage

Posted on March 05, 2010
Schleswig-Holstein gov't site: "The state government [has submitted a bill regarding] Civil Service Law--[making] registered partnerships in Schleswig-Holstein [equivalent to] marriage. This [includes], for example, the family allowance and the [granting of a] survivor's pension...

More men than women say they?d be ?pleased? with an unplanned pregnancy: study

Posted on March 05, 2010
NY Daily News: "Women hit with an unplanned pregnancy could be in for a double shocker ? their partners may be happier about it than they are . . . The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed thousands of young men and women, ages 18-29, about their thoughts on pregnancy ...

Illinois Considers ?Presumed Consent? Organ Harvesting Bill

Posted on March 05, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "An Illinois senator is pushing legislation that would allow doctors to harvest organs from citizens who have not explicitly given consent for the procedure."

Microsoft: Sexual orientation now allowed on Xbox Live

Posted on March 05, 2010
TGDaily.com: "Microsoft has updated its rather extensive Xbox Live 'Code of Conduct' to allow the inclusion of race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles."

Lieberman bill would normalize open homosexual behavior in the military ahead of Pentagon study

Posted on March 05, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Instead of waiting for the results of a Pentagon study on the consequences of allowing openly gay servicemen, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut filed legislation on Wednesday to repeal the Congressional ban on open homosexuals in the armed forces...

UK Government?s Education Expert Blames Homeschooling for Death of Child

Posted on March 01, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Supporters of homeschooling, however, are calling criticisms of home education because of the case a ?red herring? to distract from the negligence of the local Birmingham social services . . . Birmingham social services, which is under heavy criticism after having admitted they were aware of the situation at the children?s home, has also blamed Britain?s laws allowing homeschooling, saying it had been difficult for social workers to gain access to the child and her five siblings ...

Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell, Don?t Push It: The Obama administration rides the brakes on legal challenge

Posted on March 01, 2010
"'There has been a lot of movement; toward repealing the law, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Freeborne acknowledged under questioning by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips, who is reviewing a constitutional challenge to the measure. Still, Freeborne saw that 'movement' as cause for delay, not capitulation...

CA: Fate of same-sex ?marriage? a step closer to being decided

Posted on March 01, 2010
NBC Bay Area: "The two sides in the case -- a pair of same-sex couples on one hand and the sponsors of California's Proposition 8 on the other -- filed their final briefs late Friday shortly before a midnight deadline."

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