Religion & Law

GA: Fulton wins 11th Circuit ruling in effort to ban alcohol at strip clubs

Posted on February 16, 2010
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Tuesday said Fulton County had presented ample evidence to justify an ordinance banning the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol at adult entertainment establishments."

Moral issues strong in Ohio elections

Posted on February 16, 2010
Zanesville Times Recorder: "Treatment of the tiniest political miscalculation by the leader of the Ohio House last week showed wedge issues are as powerful as ever this election year. The decision by Democratic Speaker Armond Budish to deny recognition on the legislative floor to a teen who had won a National Right to Life oratory contest snowballed from a routine show of leadership muscle to a cable news-sized gaffe within a matter of days...

Oklahoma: ?IM GAY? Ruled a License Plate No-No, So Oklahoma Student Sues

Posted on February 16, 2010
Wall Street Journal Blog: "The Oklahoma Tax Commission, the organization that reviews and approves applications for personalized license plates in the Sooner State, has reportedly allowed the following to appear on the state?s plates: STR8FAN and STR8SXI...

Egypt?s Christians in peril

Posted on February 16, 2010
Front Page Magazine: "In light of the most recent attacks in Nag Hammadi and the extrajudicial arrests and detainments of Coptic young people that followed, it is time for pressure on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to take action on Egypt?s human rights abuses...

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Save the boys: How China is emasculating its young men

Posted on February 16, 2010
CNNgo.com: ". . . a new book, 'Save the Boys,' that has one simple warning for Chinese society: our boys are becoming more girly. A combination of popular culture and an education system that inhibits masculine development is to blame, it adds. "

Illinois: ?Gay-rights activists protest at Holy Name Cathedral?

Posted on February 16, 2010
"Attending Mass at Holy Name Cathedral was supposed to be one of the final Valentine's Day weekend treats for Cindy White and her husband, who had traveled to Chicago from Hampshire, Ill., to celebrate the romantic holiday. Instead, the couple found themselves wading through nearly 100 men and women who had gathered outside the cathedral Sunday morning to protest the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage and other stances that they see as unjust to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people...

Judge: Student?s online rants are protected speech

Posted on February 16, 2010
Miami Herald: "A student who set up a Facebook page to complain about her teacher - and was later suspended - had every right to do so under the First Amendment, a federal magistrate has ruled."

Freedom from Religion Foundation files suit to end tax break for ministers

Posted on February 16, 2010
Tennessean.com: "The Wisconsin-based http://www.ffrf.org/">Freedom from Religion Foundation says the housing exemption gives churches an unfair advantage because they can compensate their leaders with tax-free housing. Other nonprofits, such as the foundation, can't do that...

UK Evangelical Alliance says young Christians plan to vote

Posted on February 15, 2010
Christian Post: "Its optimism is based on the findings of a survey of 18- to 24-year-olds at last summer?s Momentum event by youth ministry Soul Survivor, where 81 percent said they planned to vote, more than double the percentage of people in the same age bracket who voted in the last general election...

?How did Mexico become a gay marriage pioneer??

Posted on February 15, 2010
Spero News: "On March 4, Mexico City will became the first capital city in Latin America to have legal same-sex marriages and adoptions . . . The plot becomes clearer when we review some recent cultural changes, which have found an amazing momentum thanks to the arrival to the power of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolución Democrática, PRD), a party with clearly Marxist roots...

Chicago: ?Gay-rights activists protest at Holy Name Cathedral?

Posted on February 15, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "Attending Mass at Holy Name Cathedral was supposed to be one of the final Valentine's Day weekend treats for Cindy White and her husband, who had traveled to Chicago from Hampshire, Ill., to celebrate the romantic holiday. Instead, the couple found themselves wading through nearly 100 men and women who had gathered outside the cathedral Sunday morning to protest the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage and other stances that they see as unjust to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people...

Iowa: Four Democrats join push for vote on ?gay marriage?

Posted on February 15, 2010
Iowa Independent: "Four Democratic state senators -- Dennis Black of Grinnell, Keith Kreiman of Bloomfield, Rich Olive of Story City and Joe Seng of Davenport -- broke with their party and signed on to a Republican petition to force a vote on same-sex marriage...

Could new Ukraine president restrict religious freedom?

Posted on February 15, 2010
CBN: "Ukraine elected a new president this week and evangelical Christians are concerned that the winner will restrict religious freedom."

Proposal expands right of conscience to all health care workers

Posted on February 15, 2010
Idaho Reporter: "The Idaho Senate is considering expanding the right of conscience for health care professionals to include pharmacists, nurses, and other workers. The law currently only applies to doctors and hospitals."

Pro-abortion Sen. Evan Bayh to retire

Posted on February 15, 2010
LifeNews: "Senator Evan Bayh, an abortion advocate from Indiana, will announced today that he will retire from the Senate. His departure is seen by political observers as making it much easier for one of the pro-life Republicans seeking his seat to win it and, ultimately, potentially shifting more Senate seats to pro-lifers...

NH House: Wednesday vote on ?gay marriage? repeal measures

Posted on February 15, 2010
"The House also will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman."

USCIRF wants US to raise religious freedom questions in UN

Posted on February 15, 2010
Religion Clause: "The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last Friday wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (full text of letter) urging that U.S. representatives to the United Nations raise religious freedom issues at this month's Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review session...

Row brews over Moroccan alcohol law

Posted on February 15, 2010
AFP: "A row is brewing in Morocco over the sensitive issue of selling alcohol to Moroccan Muslims, which is banned by a law that is broken openly every day."

UK: Conservatives debate influence of party?s evangelical Christians

Posted on February 15, 2010
Financial Times: "As Conservatives grasp the real possibility of victory this year, some are asking what degree of power a few evangelical Christians ? only 3 per cent of the party members, according to one poll ? will wield. The answer will determine the shape and sturdiness of any Conservative government...

Personhood Colorado announces successful signature campaign

Posted on February 15, 2010
Christian Newswire: "Personhood Colorado submitted signatures to the Secretary of State's office today for the Colorado Personhood Amendment. The signatures submitted totaled 79,817, although only 76,047 were required. All signatures are pending validation by the Colorado Secretary of State's office...

2010 census will include question about same-sex ?marriages,? relationships

Posted on February 15, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "Same-sex couples will have two ways to characterize their relationships on the 2010 census: They can choose 'husband or wife' or 'unmarried partners.' The census will publicly report those responses and recognize demographic differences, such as their ethnicities, where they live, and whether they're raising children, between the two groups...

Why the ?don?t ask, don?t tell? policy is doomed

Posted on February 15, 2010
David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey writing in The Washington Post: "[The equal protection standard] would not be the end of the court's inquiry when 'don't ask, don't tell' is challenged, since it is the court's assessment of Congress's conclusions that must in the end govern...

Ten Commandments display will get high court review

Posted on February 15, 2010
"The Supreme Court is scheduled to consider the petition at its conference on Feb. 19."

Ireland: Over two-thirds of GPs favor contraception for teens

Posted on February 15, 2010
Irish Medical Times: "Over two-thirds of GPs believe that some form of legislation should be introduced to allow teenagers to consent to or refuse medical treatment, including the 'morning-after' pill."

EU leaders mulling extra budget steps for Greece

Posted on February 15, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "European Union finance ministers, reluctant to offer Greece immediate financial support, are debating additional steps Greece could take to tame its budget deficit . . . The EU leaders' declaration on Thursday called for countries that use the euro to take 'determined and coordinated action, if needed, to safeguard stability in the euro area...

2011 Bbdget increases funding for Planned Parenthood

Posted on February 15, 2010
CitizenLink: "President Obama's proposed budget for 2011 includes more than $327 million for Title X, the program that funds Planned Parenthood. That's a $10 million increase."

Climategate academic admits he ?lost track? of vital data

Posted on February 15, 2010
Telegraph: "Prof Jones stepped down as director of the University of East Anglia?s climate change unit in December after leaked emails appeared to show academics were manipulating data to bolster claims that global warming is caused by humans. Now the academic has admitted he may have lost track of some of the data used to produce the famous 'hockey stick' graph, which uses climate readings from worldwide weather stations to show a sharp rise in global temperatures...

Iowa: Rivals debate same-sex ?marriage? vote

Posted on February 15, 2010
Quad-City Times: "Danny Carroll of Grinnell, Iowa, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center, said forces working to block an effort to bring a constitutional amendment on the marriage issue before voters are doing so because they're 'pretty sure they'll lose...

Illinois: Sex-party room to stay at adult bookstore

Posted on February 15, 2010
UPI: "Undercover officers said their investigation found no illegal behavior in a sex-party room of a pornography bookstore in Melrose Park, Ill. . . . Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico said he would prefer the book store and party room went elsewhere, but there is nothing that can be done about it...

Don?t ask when: Repeal of military policy won?t be soon

Posted on February 15, 2010
"A repeal is probably years away."

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