Religion & Law

Va. Episcopalians narrowly vote not to recognize same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on February 22, 2010
Washington Times: "The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia hedged on recognizing same-sex unions Saturday, instead voting to form a committee to set standards for church-sanctioned blessings of such unions once they are approved by the entire 2-million-member Episcopal Church...

Opposition grows to India ?gay sex? ruling

Posted on February 22, 2010
AFP: "A landmark court ruling that decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults in the Indian capital Delhi is facing fresh opposition with new groups joining religious leaders, a lawyer said Sunday."

Pakistani Christian beaten for refusing to convert to Islam

Posted on February 22, 2010
Compass Direct News: "The four older Muslim brothers of a 26-year-old Christian beat him unconscious here earlier this month because he refused their enticements to convert to Islam, the victim told Compass."

Maine ethics panel to take up National Organization for Marriage donor list controversy

Posted on February 22, 2010
Bangor Daily News: "U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby in Portland overruled NOM?s objections to having to turn over donor lists and correspondence between NOM and Stand for Marriage Maine regarding the campaign to repeal Maine?s gay marriage law...

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MI: Group tells commission about opposition to Planned Parenthood

Posted on February 22, 2010
Sturgis Journal: "Five residents attended Tuesday?s meeting of the St. Joseph County Commissioners to voice their opposition to Planned Parenthood . . . 'Many in our county and in Branch and Hillsdale counties were alarmed to learn a number of weeks ago of the presence of Planned Parenthood as an outsource for family planning through the tri-county health department,' [Jim Goethals, president of St...

Nearly Half of WV Senate Sponsors Marriage Protection Amendment

Posted on February 22, 2010
Family Policy Council of West Virginia: "If approved, the resolution, SJR 14, would allow West Virginians to settle the legal definition of marriage at a special election in 2010. It proposes a simple 19-word definition of marriage: 'Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in West Virginia...

Hindu prayer opened Nevada?s capital Carson City

Posted on February 19, 2010
OneIndia: "Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman, delivered invocation from Sanskrit scriptures before Carson City Board of Supervisors on February 18. After Sanskrit delivery, he then read the English translation of the prayer."

?Poll: No political risk in ?don?t ask? repeal?

Posted on February 19, 2010
Politico: "'While the substantive debate has been resolved, the only real chance for Congress to actually get repeal in the next three years is for [President Barack] Obama to put repeal into the must-pass 2011 Authorization bill,' said Nathaniel Frank, a senior researcher at the Palm Center, who is pressing for immediate action rather than delaying for a year while the Pentagon studies the logistical issues involved in ending the ban...

Demand for Bible outstripping supply in China

Posted on February 19, 2010
"The Bible Society has reported a growing demand for copies of the Bible in China where an estimated 500,000 people converted to Christianity in 2009 alone . . . "

Faith-Based Office Not Just about Money, Says Director

Posted on February 19, 2010
Christian Post: "While trying to dismiss the image of a federal fund distributor passed down from the Bush administration, the current office is seeking to portray itself as a community organizer of sorts. DuBois says the office?s vision is to connect faith-based and neighborhood organizations to tackle specific community problems...

Minister confirms abortion not part of Harper?s Maternal Health Initiative

Posted on February 19, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Canada will not include abortion and contraception in its maternal and child health care initiative, confirmed International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda, who oversees Canada's international development program."

Kentucky: Bible bill clears Senate committee

Posted on February 19, 2010
Lexington Herald Leader: "One state senator cast a vote of 'amen' Thursday when the Senate Education Committee unanimously approved a bill to give public schools guidelines for teaching the Bible as an elective social studies course."

Same-sex ?marriage? hearing at Minnesota Capitol

Posted on February 19, 2010
Minnesota Independent: "Three measures will be discussed: a bill to make marriage gender neutral (the Marriage and Family Protection Act), a bill to establish civil unions, and a bill to allow for the recognition of same-sex marriage performed outside Minnesota...

Obama keeps reporters away from Dalai Lama event

Posted on February 19, 2010
MyWay (AP):"For all of its talk about transparency, the White House shut out the press Thursday when President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama."

Coakley Asks For Ruling Without Trial On DOMA Challenge

Posted on February 19, 2010
WBUR.org: "In court papers filed Thursday, Coakley asked the judge for a summary judgment (PDF), which would rule the law unconstitutional without holding a full trial."

Abortion Practitioner Keeps License Despite Violating Court Order, Medical Board

Posted on February 19, 2010
LifeNews: "Southern California abortion practitioner Andrew Rutland faced a court hearing yesterday, but a judge allowed him to keep his medical license despite violating a court order and the state medical board."

No Fault of Their Own ? Divorce Proceedings

Posted on February 19, 2010
Ruth Bettelheim writes at the NY Times: "Given that reducing family conflict is good for children, the best way to protect them during divorce would be to minimize the acrimony of the proceedings. No-fault divorce, now practiced in every state except New York, has been one step toward this goal...

A new envoy to the United Nations of Islam

Posted on February 19, 2010
Mark Durie writing at First Things, On The Square: "It would be inconceivable for nations with Christian majorities to band together to form an intergovernmental organization devoted to advancing Christianity and the global interests of the Christian Church...

Lautenberg diagnosed with cancer

Posted on February 19, 2010
The Hill: "Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, his office announced Friday."

Mothers in Combat Boots

Posted on February 19, 2010
"This is a practice so morally questionable, and in virtue of that fact so fraught with policy difficulties, that both its persistence and its apparent lack of controversy fairly beg for explanation. It is past time to ask the question: Why?"

Alan Sears on Focus on the Family Broadcast: The Alliance Defense Fund

Posted on February 19, 2010
ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears appeared on Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson and John Fuller to discuss the work of the Alliance Defense Fund. First MP3 (28 mins. approx.) Second MP3 (28 mins. approx.)

CLS v. Martinez: A debate at SMU Law

Posted on February 19, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at the Academic Freedom File: "Earlier this week, I participated in a debate regarding Christian Legal Society v. Martinez at Southern Methodist University?s Dedman School of Law in Dallas . . . In my prepared remarks, I shared my belief that Hastings? disagreement with CLS?s counter-cultural positions on religious doctrine and sexual morality was at least in part behind the school?s treatment of the CLS chapter...

Cert. filed in Arizona tuition case, challenging standing

Posted on February 19, 2010
Religion Clause: "A petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court (full text) was filed yesterday in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn . . . Alliance Defense Fund announced the filing of the cert. petition."

States, Congress wrestle with judicial bias rules

Posted on February 19, 2010
Findlaw (AP): "Along with lifetime tenure and broad legal authority, federal judges decide for themselves whether they should step down from a case because of biases that might influence the outcome. Some in the legal community and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now examining whether to take that power away ...

Law student charged with contempt for exposing daughter to Christianity

Posted on February 19, 2010
ABA Journal: "A Chicago law student who took his 3-year-old daughter to Holy Name Cathedral as a television news crew recorded the event has been arraigned on charges of violating a court order. The unusual order, issued in a bitter custody battle, barred 35-year-old Joseph Reyes from exposing his daughter to any religion other than Judaism, ABC News reports...

?Holding on to discrimination? at CPAC

Posted on February 19, 2010
Metro Weekly: "A not insignificant focus of [CPAC} centered around the impact of a change in policy on military chaplains, in part because of the attention drawn to the issue in a 5-page letter sent by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) to the president and Secretary Gates on Wednesday...

Consequences of proposed ?LBGT law? for military

Posted on February 19, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Elaine Donnelly is president of the Center for Military Readiness, which has been leading the charge against repealing the law. On Thursday she was joined by a number of other conservative organizations -- including Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, The Center for Security Policy, and Alliance Defense Fund -- in voicing strong opposition to repealing the law ...

Repeal of ?don?t ask, don?t tell? could affect military chaplains? religious freedom

Posted on February 19, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said that if the military is forced to promote homosexual behavior there will be 'open conflict between the virtues taught by chaplains and the moral message delivered by the military ...

Obama accused of establishing religion for soldiers

Posted on February 19, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "A team of top-drawer civil and religious rights lawyers is accusing President Obama of establishing a religion for the U.S. military through his demand to promote open homosexuality in the ranks . . . The letter was signed by Gary McCaleb, senior vice president and senior counsel; Jordan Lorence, senior vice president and senior counsel; Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel; and Kevin Theriot; senior counsel ...

Louisiana must issue birth certificate to men who adopted baby boy, federal court rules

Posted on February 19, 2010
"A federal appeals court Thursday ordered the state to issue a birth certificate to two men who adopted a Louisiana-born baby boy in 2006 only to have the registrar of vital statistics refuse to give them the document because they were unmarried."

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