Religion & Law

Nearly Half of Child Porn Viewers Getting Break on Prison Time

Posted on January 20, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "We decided to look into the matter, resulting in this WSJ piece about how a handful of judges were starting to rebel against imposing long sentences that recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. As long as these individuals didn?t actually molest children, the judges said, their punishment shouldn?t be greater than some child molesters and other violent criminals...

Surrogate twins won?t get German visas

Posted on January 20, 2010
Indian Express: "The surrogate twins [born in India] of a German couple continue to be in no-man?s land . . . Subramanium told the apex court that the German embassy had said its laws were firm that surrogacy was a punishable offence, leaving little room for the children to be granted visas as German citizens.

Mont. Won?t Apply for Federal School Funding

Posted on January 20, 2010
Education Week: "Juneau said that to qualify for the federal money, Montana would have to weaken local control of schools, change how it evaluates teachers in ways that could violate labor contracts and possibly agree to transfer teachers from one district to another...

Freedom Of Religion Statement Issued

Posted on January 20, 2010
NC Family Policy Council: Religious freedom is 'a fundamental, inalienable right for all people, religious and nonreligious' that is protected by the United States Constitution and other legal provisions, according to a joint statement issued last week by a diverse group of conservative and liberal experts from the nation?s religious and legal communities...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Prop. 8 trial Day 7: Live coverage from the courtroom

Posted on January 20, 2010
Howard Mintz provides this report at Mercury News. Excerpt: "Ryan Kendall, a plaintiffs witness, has finished his testimony on undergoing "conversion therapy" as a teenager, testifying that he was forced to attend the sessions for nearly two years by his parents, who were outraged he was gay...

Australian Quakers back same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on January 20, 2010
Ekklesia: "Australian Quakers have agreed to lobby their government for a change in the law so that same-sex couples can marry on an equal basis to mixed-sex couples. The news follows a similar decision by British Quakers last year."

NYT: ?Children Speak for Same-Sex Marriage?

Posted on January 20, 2010
NY Times: "While opponents of same-sex marriage worry that schools will teach that gay and straight relationships are equal, many supporters focus on a different, but still child-centered, issue: What about the children now being raised in families headed by gay men and lesbians? How does the lack of marriage benefits for their parents affect them? ...

ADF Update on Prop 8 Trial: Day 6

Posted on January 20, 2010
ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks writing at The Christian Post: "Yet, as I?m listening to all of the testimony, I keep asking myself this question: why are we having this debate here? Moreover, should we even be having this debate at all? After all, California has had this debate twice already, with both instances ending in the voters deciding that marriage shall remain what it always has been: one man one woman...

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker faces hate speech trial

Posted on January 20, 2010
Breitbart (AP): "Around 200 supporters of Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders demonstrated outside an Amsterdam court Wednesday at the start of his criminal trial for allegedly inciting hate against the Netherlands' Muslim minority."

IOC recommends gender-test centers

Posted on January 20, 2010
Breitbart (AP): "The International Olympic Committee is recommending the establishment of special medical centers to deal with cases of athletes with ambiguous sexual characteristics."

8 Arrested in Firebombing of Malaysian Churches

Posted on January 20, 2010
NY Times: "Eight men were arrested on Wednesday in Malaysia in connection with the firebombing of a Pentecostal church last month, one in a series of attacks that has targeted a dozen Christian churches, the police said."

Brown Win Bad News for Obama Nominees

Posted on January 20, 2010
Committee for Justice: "While most of the buzz about the impact of Scott Brown?s election to the Senate has centered on President Obama?s legislative agenda ? particularly health care and cap and trade ? the impact on his judicial and executive branch nominees, whose fates are completely dependent on the Senate, will be at least as great...

Runaway Christian Convert to Remain Free of Parents, Judge Rules

Posted on January 20, 2010
FoxNews: "The agreement Tuesday says that 17-year-old Rifqa Bary will stay in a foster home under state custody in Columbus until she turns 18 in August. After that, she'll be an adult and free to live where she chooses."

President Obama Needs to Appoint Religious Freedom Ambassador

Posted on January 20, 2010
Christian Newswire: "It has been one year since President Obama was inaugurated, yet he still has not appointed an Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom."

State Department Allows Muslim Scholars to Return to U.S.

Posted on January 20, 2010
FoxNews: "The State Department has cleared the way for the return to the United States of two prominent Muslim scholars once accused of having ties to terrorism, a spokesman said Wednesday."

Lambda Legal sues Office of Personnel Management for same sex benefits

Posted on January 20, 2010
"Lambda Legal today filed suit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuit requests an order directing the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to obey prior rulings by Ninth Circuit U...

Cindy McCain poses for NOH8 ?marriage equality? campaign

Posted on January 20, 2010
Advocate: "The NOH8 Campaign on Wednesday announced that Cindy McCain, the wife of former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, has posed to demonstrate her support of marriage equality."

Focus on the Family buys Super Bowl ad

Posted on January 20, 2010
CNN: "Focus on the Family, a Christian non-profit group, said it will air its first Super Bowl spot during the upcoming game. The 30-second ad will feature Tim Tebow, a former quarterback with the University of Florida's Gators and 2007 winner of the Heisman Trophy, along with his mother Pam ...

Obama to Nationalize Student Lending with Pending Budget Bill

Posted on January 20, 2010
CNSNews: "A bill currently before the Senate would empower the Obama administration to nationalize the student lending industry, eliminating the federally subsidized private loans millions of university students rely on to finance their educations."

Doug Napier on AFR Focal Point: Proposition 8 trial day 6 update and 96-year-old targeted

Posted on January 20, 2010
ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on AFR Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to provide the update. The MP3 runs just under 13 minutes.

The Supreme Court?s Cult of Celebrity

Posted on January 19, 2010
Volokh Conspiracy: "The 1987 confirmation fight over Robert Bork gave political salience to the dispute between originalism and living constitutionalism as interpretive methods. Within the academy, that dispute continues, with endless nuances, qualifications, and elaborate theoretical frameworks on both sides...

Lone Republican to Back House Health Care Bill Opposes Pro-Abortion Senate Bill

Posted on January 19, 2010
LifeNews: "Rep. Anh 'Joseph' Cao of Louisiana could support the House bill because it banned abortion funding but he opposes the Senate version because it forces tax-funded abortions."

Skelton opposes repeal of ?Don?t ask, don?t tell?

Posted on January 19, 2010
The Hill: "The leading House Democrat on military policy said Friday that he opposes repealing the law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Seventeen years ago, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) played a major role in crafting the controversial law known as 'Don't ask, don't tell...

Turkey blocking 3,700 websites

Posted on January 19, 2010
The Independent: "Europe's main security and human rights watchdog said yesterday that Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for 'arbitrary and political reasons' and urged reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression."

Campaign finance ruling likely imminent

Posted on January 19, 2010
SCOTUS Blog: "As we have previously noted, the Court will issue opinions tomorrow. The next opinion day is Monday, January 25. After that, the Court is not scheduled to issue opinions until Tuesday, February 23."

Nigeria religious riots ?kill scores? in Jos

Posted on January 19, 2010
BBC: "At least 149 people have been killed during two days of violence between Christian and Muslim gangs in the Nigerian city of Jos, officials say."

What Internet? China region cut off 6 months now

Posted on January 19, 2010
AP: "The visitors are Internet refugees from China's western Xinjiang region, whose 20 million people been without links to the outside world since the government blocked virtually online access, text messages and international phone calls after ethnic riots in July...

House Members Say Senate?s Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Won?t Get Support

Posted on January 19, 2010
LifeNews: "'Certainly the dynamic will change depending on what happens in Massachusetts,' Pelosi told reporters yesterday. 'Just the question of how we would proceed. But it doesn't mean we won't have a health care bill.'"

UK: Church to vote on greater rights for partners of ?gay? clergy

Posted on January 19, 2010
Virtue Online: "The Church of England is poised to give greater recognition to homosexual clergy in relationships, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal."

China?s ?gay? rights revolution

Posted on January 19, 2010
The Guardian: "Despite periodic state crackdowns, increasing education and debate are bringing China's gay community out of the shadows."

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.