Religion & Law

Internet awash in teen porn

Posted on March 01, 2010
North County Times: "If you place any stock in the veracity of Yahoo search engine statistics, you will discover that close to 50 new Web sites featuring 'teen porn' are born on Yahoo every minute of every day, at least for the past month. While this research is strictly unscientific, it speaks to a phenomenon that clearly places people into two distinct camps: those who know that America is awash in teen porn, and those who are firmly in denial...

Netherlands ?gay? protest over Catholic communion snub

Posted on March 01, 2010
BBC News: "Hundreds of Dutch activists have walked out of a Mass in protest at a Roman Catholic policy of denying communion to practising homosexuals."

Kansas City Attorney Chris Angles Explains Teen Sexting and the Law

Posted on March 01, 2010
PRNewswire: "Parents of teens in the Kansas City metro area need to understand that in Missouri, sexting can result in felony charges, including exploitation of a child and creating, possession and distribution of child pornography."

Oklahoma House panel passes on religious exemption bill

Posted on March 01, 2010
Tulsa World (AP):"A state House panel has taken no action on a bill to prohibit facial recognition and digital fingerprinting technology on the driver's licenses of Oklahomans who have religious objections."

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Greg Baylor: Canadian Christ-centered universities under attack

Posted on March 01, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at the Academic Freedom File: "The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has wrongly declared that Trinity Western University (TWU) violates academic freedom because of its Christ-centered character...

TN: Religious activities at school prompt lawsuit

Posted on March 01, 2010
News Channel Five: "The ACLU is suing the [Cheatham County School Board] because of religious activities they say happened inside schools."

High Court Passes on Ten Commandments Case

Posted on March 01, 2010
Fox News: "The Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear a case over the ordered removal of a Ten Commandments monument on a county courthouse lawn."

Report Finds College Students Fail Basic Civics Test

Posted on March 01, 2010
The New American: ". . . So, while our nation?s most elite colleges are not imbuing our children with a knowledge of our history and our government, the study makes it clear that those universities are becoming round the clock factories churning out poorly instructed liberals with little civic knowledge and even less faith and less devotion to principles of liberty than those Americans who didn?t go to college...

Kohn to leave Fed in June; gives Obama opening

Posted on March 01, 2010
AP: "Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn's decision to step down at the end of June gives President Barack Obama a chance to put a bigger imprint on the central bank . . . His departure will open up a third seat on the seven-member Federal Reserve board in Washington...

Five Ways to Write Like John Roberts

Posted on March 01, 2010
How Appealing links to this post by Ross Guberman of Legal Writing Pro.

Tony Perkins, disinvited

Posted on March 01, 2010
Helen Rittelmeyer writing at National Review Online: "When a respected national figure like Tony Perkins starts seeing prayer-luncheon engagements canceled over a position rooted in Christian orthodoxy, it?s time to make sure our religious liberty is still in the last place we left it...

State takes custody of 7-year-old over homeschooling

Posted on March 01, 2010
Education News: "The Home School Legal Defense Association and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been advising Christer and Annie Johansson on the 'state-napping' of their son, Dominic, 7, from an airliner as the family was preparing to move to India last year...

?Anti-LGBT activists attend R.I. summit?

Posted on March 01, 2010
edge Boston: "Representatives from several anti-LGBT organizations gathered in Rhode Island on Saturday, Feb. 27, for a conference billed as the New England Family, Life and Marriage Summit . . . Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, made similar statements...

Dissident Lutherans forming new denomination

Posted on March 01, 2010
One News Now: "A new Lutheran denomination is being formed for congregations opposed to the homosexual-friendly policy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America."

NC: Minister?s son inherited his father?s fighting style

Posted on March 01, 2010
Winston-Salem Journal: "Plyler had said he wanted a guarantee from Corts' partnership that it would pay the winner's legal fees if the county's Alliance Defense Fund lawyer loses the skirmish with the ACLU. Corts steadfastly said he couldn't give a blanket guarantee, but did raise almost $300,500 by Monday for the prayer fight...

Obama government contracting plan favors unionism

Posted on March 01, 2010
One News Now: "A union watchdog group believes an Obama administration plan for government contracting would be harmful to small businesses and lead to further compulsory unionism."

NC: Firm offered to take prayer appeal for free

Posted on March 01, 2010
Winston-Salem Journal: "Local attorneys in the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton offered to take over the county's defense of its prayer suit for free, just days before last week's vote by the Forsyth County Board of Commissions to appeal the case to the 4th U...

Sweden: State takes custody of 7-year-old over homeschooling

Posted on March 01, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "The Home School Legal Defense Association and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been advising Christer and Annie Johansson on the 'state-napping' of their son, Dominic, 7, from an airliner as the family was preparing to move to India last year' ...

Can The President Expel Non-Disruptive People From A Public Event Based on Their Viewpoint? A Tenth Circuit Case Gets It Wrong

Posted on March 01, 2010
Vikram David Amar and Alan Brownstein write at Findlaw: "In this column, we critique a recent and potentially important case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that, to our minds, completely misapplies basic free speech theory and doctrine...

Canada: No Compromise Found For Hutterite Drivers? Licenses

Posted on March 01, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Last July, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a requirement imposed by the province of Alberta that all drivers' licences contain a photo of the license holder. Hutterites had objected to the requirement on religious grounds. . ...

New quarter-million-dollar city contract for D.C. Catholic archdiocese

Posted on March 01, 2010
Washington Post: "Time is almost up for the Washington Catholic Archdiocese to figure out how the church will balance the new city measure legalizing same-sex marriage and the church's desire to keep its many social service partnerships with the city while not recognizing such couples as married...

Indian Court Strikes Down Longer Divorce Waiting Period for Christians

Posted on March 01, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In India last week, Kerala's High Court struck down as unconstitutional a provision that requires Christians to wait at least two years after they are first married to file for divorce."

NC: Ruling against prayer appealed

Posted on March 01, 2010
OneNewsNow: "'The federal district court here got it wrong and declared that you can never have a sectarian reference effectively in a public prayer or a prayer before a legislative session, and that's just clearly wrong,' [ADF Attorney Mike Johnson] contends...

School boots Christian club, keeps Gay-Straight Alliance club

Posted on March 01, 2010
WITN: "The Alliance Defense Fund filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Half Hollow Hills High School East on Long Island. ADF says the four year-old Christian club Ichthus was cancelled, while other clubs like a gay-straight alliance, Amnesty International, a fashion club, a future lawyers of America, and a Constitution club are all allowed to continue...

Focus founder says future of U.S. social policy a mixed bag

Posted on March 01, 2010
CitizenLink: "Through the vision and leadership of Dr. Dobson, 40 law and policy organizations have been founded over the years, including 37 state-based family policy councils, as well as the national organizations Family Reseach Council, American Family Association and the Alliance Defense Fund...

Victims of Radical Islam: Christianity?s Modern-Day Martyrs

Posted on March 01, 2010
Spiegel Online: "The rise of Islamic extremism is putting increasing pressure on Christians in Muslim countries, who are the victims of murder, violence and discrimination. Christians are now considered the most persecuted religious group around the world...

Harvard may end 40-year ROTC ban if homosexual behavior is normalized

Posted on March 01, 2010
EducationNews.org: "The ban?s future appears to hinge on whether President Obama and Congress abolish the military?s ?don?t ask/don?t tell? policy toward gays serving in the armed services. If the controversial policy?s days are numbered, then so is the ROTC ban at Harvard - or so the theory goes ...

Rhode Island: Teacher unions challenged in unprecedented face-off

Posted on March 01, 2010
Providence Journal: "Eight months ago, Deborah A. Gist began her first staff meeting at the state Department of Education with a call to arms: 'Are you ready to change the world?' . . . It was her order that prompted a rare statement of support from U...

School Choice Yearbook 2009-10 Available Now!

Posted on March 01, 2010
The Alliance for School Choice has issued its 2009-10 School Choice Yearbook. It is described as follows: The Yearbook is filled with everything you need to know about the modern school choice movement, with a specific focus on events and activities in 2009 and 2010...

The Massachusetts ?Model? Moves to Price Controls

Posted on March 01, 2010
NCPA Policy Digest: "Natural experiments are rare in politics, but few are as instructive as the prototype for ObamaCare that Massachusetts set in motion in 2006. The bills for 'universal coverage' are now coming due, and it appears the state political class is prepared to do lasting damage to one of America's top-flight health care systems, says the Wall Street Journal...

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