Religion & Law

Court to Rule on Right to Privacy for Referendum Petition Signers

Posted on January 18, 2010
NY Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the First Amendment requires that the names of people who sign ballot-initiative petitions be kept secret . . . The new case arose from an effort to overturn a Washington State domestic partnership law known as the 'everything but marriage' act ...

President Proclaims Today ?Religious Freedom Day?

Posted on January 18, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Today is Religious Freedom Day marking the anniversary of Virginia?s 1786 Statute for Religious Freedom. Yesterday President Obama issued a Proclamation (full text) officially designating the observance."

5,000 displaced after violence in northern Nigeria

Posted on January 18, 2010
AP: "Angry Muslim youths set a church filled with worshippers ablaze in northern Nigeria, starting a riot that killed at least 10 people and wounded 69 others in the latest religious violence in the region, officials said Monday."

Pope Seeks Civil Recognition of Catholic Church In Turkey

Posted on January 18, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Ekklesia yesterday reported on Pope Benedict XVI's remarks (full text) earlier this month on receiving Turkey's new ambassador to the Holy See."

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NY Times: ?Same-Sex Marriage Case, Day 5: Children?

Posted on January 18, 2010
NY Times: "For 90 minutes after a midday recess, David Thompson, the defense lawyer, continued his painstaking questioning of Dr. Michael Lamb, citing a plethora of studies to undermine the University of Cambridge psychologist?s position that children with same-sex parents suffer no adverse impacts when compared to children reared by heterosexual couples...

NY Appeals Court Says Breakaway Church Property Belongs to Prebyterian Church USA

Posted on January 18, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In Presbytery of Hudson River of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) v Trustees of First Presbyterian Church & Congregation of Ridgeberry, (NY App. Div., Jan. 12, 2010), a New York state appellate court, reversing the trial court, held that property of a break-away congregation is held in trust by the Presbytery for the Presbyterian Church (USA)...

Witness: ?Gay marriage made her feel like family?

Posted on January 18, 2010
Associated Press: "Brian Raum, a defense lawyer representing sponsors of Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage ballot measure approved in 2008, objected to Zia being called to the witness stand. He argued that her individual experience was irrelevant to the trial's constitutional questions...

?Prop. 8 trial: Cambridge Professor says gays raise well-adjusted kids?

Posted on January 18, 2010
LA Weekly: "At the Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco on Friday, Cambridge University psychology professor Michael Lamb told the court that gay and lesbian couples raise 'well-adjusted' children . . . And while such pro-gay marriage outfits as Courage Campaign and American Foundation for Equal Rights have been regularly blogging about the trial, The Christian Post has been posting updates from the Alliance Defense Fund on its Web site...

Will democracy prevail in Prop. 8 trial?

Posted on January 18, 2010
OneNewsNow: "'Plaintiff has paraded [its] list of so-called "experts" onto the stand to give opinions from everything ranging from the stigma that people engaged in homosexual behavior have experienced, to an economist who argues that we should adopt same-sex "marriage" because it's good for tourism,' reports Douglas Napier of the Alliance Defense Fund, who is monitoring the trial...

Right to vote on ?marriage? up in the air

Posted on January 18, 2010
OneNewsNow: "West Virginia voters are still being denied the opportunity to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to protect marriage . . . 'The legislature held a hearing this past summer,' [Jeremy Dys] shares. 'I had the privilege of testifying alongside a member of the Alliance Defense Fund...

Lake Local students on a mission for God

Posted on January 18, 2010
Canton Repository: "Since August, Lake Local school officials have wrestled with the phrase 'belief in God,' which has been in the district?s value statement for years. The Freedom From Religion Foundation contends that using the phrase violates the First Amendment of the Constitution ...

?Supreme Court to decide Wash. gay rights ballot measure?

Posted on January 18, 2010
On Top Magazine: "Protect Marriage Washington, the sponsor of Referendum 71, is being represented by the Christian-based legal group Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). The ADF earlier set up a Referendum 71 webpage to collect data from people who ?have been threatened or suffered retaliation after signing an R-71 petition? or were prevented from signing a petition...

ADF update on Prop 8 trial: Day 5

Posted on January 18, 2010
ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing at The Christian Post: "The testimony Friday demonstrated why this case should not be in federal court and should rather be left to debate in the public square. The day was dominated by testimony from Michael Lamb, a professor of developmental psychology from the University of Cambridge in England...

Judge: D.C. citizens can?t vote on marriage

Posted on January 18, 2010
Baptist Press: "'The people of D.C. have a right to vote on the definition of marriage, and the D.C. Charter guarantees that right,' ADF attorney Timothy J. Tracey said in a statement. 'We will continue to fight for the people's right to participate in a legitimate democratic process in the district...

?Tweeting the gay marriage trial, day 4?

Posted on January 18, 2010
Sphere: "And the case continued to be broadcast and debated on Twitter, where gay rights organizations, conservative interest groups and scores of ordinary tweeters expressed impassioned views about same-sex marriage. Here are the most interesting Tweets from the latest chapter in the closely watched trial ...

Varying Approaches to Internet Safety

Posted on January 18, 2010
Education News: "This paper summarizes the discussion with senior officials from Ministries of Education, national information and communication (ICT) policy bodies, or national school networking organizations from Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, the USA and Australia regarding Internet Safety...

Hawaii: Thousands rally against same-sex civil unions bill

Posted on January 18, 2010
"Thousands of people filled the state Capitol yesterday with prayer and song, a celebration of traditional values laced with an explicit warning to state lawmakers to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman."

Mike howls at school fools: Charter plan a ?wolf in sheep?s clothing?

Posted on January 18, 2010
NY Post: "A furious Mayor Bloomberg yesterday blasted a charter-school overhaul plan proposed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, calling it a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' that would victimize children and cost taxpayers as much as $700 million in federal aid...

ADF CA marriage trial update: MLK Day, no court but some thoughts

Posted on January 18, 2010
ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence: "There is no hearing today in the Perry case because the federal court is closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. This break in the action gives us an opportunity to describe what life is like behind the scenes at the California marriage amendment trial...

Ohio: Akron woman robbed in strip club parking lot

Posted on January 18, 2010
Ohio.com: "Police located Kenneth Johnson of Inman Street in the 1000 block of Nadia Court after receiving a call that a 58-year-old woman was being robbed in the parking lot of the Platinum Horse Cabaret, 1027 E. Waterloo Road."

Alan Sears and Jordan Lorence on Point of View Radio: Marriage on trial

Posted on January 18, 2010
ADF President and General Counsel Alan Sears and ADF Sr. Vice President Jordan Lorence appeared on Point of View Radio with Penna Dexter to discuss the California marriage trial. The MP3 runs just over 16 minutes. Book by Alan E. Sears at Amazon: In Justice

Two Christians critically wounded at wedding in Pakistan

Posted on January 18, 2010
Compass Direct News: "Two Pakistani Christians who were shot at a wedding on Dec. 26 for refusing to convert to Islam are still receiving treatment at a hospital intensive care unit, but doctors are hopeful that they will recover."

Utah: Medicaid to pay for birth control?

Posted on January 18, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune: Trying to curb unintended pregnancies, a coalition of groups wants the state's Medicaid program to offer expanded family planning services to some of the poorest women in the state . . . 'If we can prevent the number of unintended pregnancies in Utah, we prevent the number of children living in poverty,' said Melissa Bird, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Council...

?Anti-abortion marches in Maine, NH?

Posted on January 18, 2010
AP: "The anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion prompted weekend demonstrations in northern New England capitals."

Thousands protest abortion in Little Rock

Posted on January 18, 2010
CWArkansas.com: "Thousands of Arkansans march through the streets of downtown Little Rock Sunday to rally against abortion in the 32nd annual Arkansas March for Life. Pro-life advocates are protesting the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion ...

Guam: Legislation would banish strip clubs

Posted on January 18, 2010
Guampdn.com: "A measure that would banish strip clubs and other adult entertainment businesses from Tumon's Hotel Row was introduced by Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz yesterday."

ABC: ?U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret ?Jesus? Bible Codes?

Posted on January 18, 2010
ABC: "The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U...

Novel Justice Department interpretation seeks to expand Title IX gender discrimination

Posted on January 18, 2010
". . . Justice Department lawyers have moved to intervene . . . on behalf of a gay high school student who was beaten up for being effeminate. The case marks a novel interpretation of the Title IX statute . . . "

Law Review: Legal Epidemics, Constitutional Doctrine, and the Defense of Marriage Act

Posted on January 18, 2010
Jackie Gardina, The Tipping Point: Legal Epidemics, Constitutional Doctrine, and the Defense of Marriage Act (November 11, 2009). Vermont Law Review, Vol. 34, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1503989 "Using Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point as a jumping off point, this brief article discuss whether the Supreme Court has reached a tipping point with regards to equal marriage and its benefits...

Canada high court declines to hear pro-life activist?s tax appeal

Posted on January 18, 2010
Jurist: "The Supreme Court of Canada [official website] on Thursday declined [order] to hear an appeal brought by an anti-abortion advocate who refused to pay taxes on the basis that the money could be used to fund abortion. David Little was convicted in 2007 of tax evasion for failing to file tax returns for 2000, 2001, and 2002...

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