Religion & Law

?Marriage nears the finish line?

Posted on January 12, 2010
Metro Weekly: "The passage of the marriage equality bill by D.C. City Council on December 15 and signing of the bill by Mayor Adrian Fenty later that week may have been, as longtime District LGBT equality advocate Bob Summersgill said, 'the easy step' in reaching D...

Jordan Lorence to provide daily Prop 8 update for Hugh Hewitt Show

Posted on January 12, 2010
Radio Business Report: "Each day, attorney Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund (which is serving as co-counsel for defendants in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, will exit the San Francisco courtroom to update Hewitt?s listeners on the lawsuit?filed by pro-Gay Marriage forces seeking to overturn the will of California voters by striking down a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman...

Politicizing the law at the Justice Department

Posted on January 12, 2010
Hans A. von Spakovsky writing at National Review Online: "Eric Holder?s Justice Department has exiled Christopher Coates to South Carolina. Coates, you may recall, is a career attorney at Justice, the chief of the Civil Rights Division?s (CRD) Voting Section...

?Impassioned pleas dominate opening of California?s same-sex marriage trial?

Posted on January 12, 2010
truthout: "In an apparent victory for the plaintiffs, however, Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, will be the defending party in name only. Both he and his Attorney General Jerry Brown have declined to offer counsel for the defense, allowing Cooper, a private lawyer from Washington, along with a team from the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, to argue in their stead...

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100 Polish Scientists Condemn In Vitro Fertilization

Posted on January 11, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "A group of Polish scientists have issued a document demanding that the government legislate a statutory ban on artificial (in vitro) fertilization procedures."

Austin R. Nimocks on CBN News Video: Efforts to air the Prop. 8 Trial on TV

Posted on January 11, 2010
ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks appears in this CBN News video (just over 3 minutes) along with Brian Brown of the National Organization of Marriage to discuss efforts to air the Proposition 8 trial on TV.

Doug Napier on AFA Radio: The Prop. 8 Trial

Posted on January 11, 2010
ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on AFA Radio’s Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss mounting losses for same sex “marriage” advocates. The broadcast includes discussion of the Proposition 8 trial. The MP3 runs just over 11 minutes...

Skewed China birth rate to leave 24 mln men single

Posted on January 11, 2010
Yahoo News (AFP): "More than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without spouses in 2020, state media reported on Monday, citing a study that blamed sex-specific abortions as a major factor."

Liveblogs and Reports on the Prop 8 Trial

Posted on January 11, 2010
Same-sex "marriage" advocate Teddy Partridge live-blogs Perry v. Schwarzenegger at Firedoglake. Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV The Courage Campaign Institute also has a live-blog beginning here.

TIME: ?Europe?s Gay Leaders: Out at The Top?

Posted on January 11, 2010
" . . . ICELAND APPOINTS WORLD'S FIRST GAY LEADER . . . Eleven openly gay men and women now serve in the British Parliament, including two in the Cabinet . . . joining a gay élite . . . "

BBC at the forefront of the new atheism and driving religion to the margins, says radio presenter

Posted on January 11, 2010
CCFON: "A BBC radio presenter, who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981, says that the corporation is driving religion to the margins . . . He said that the BBC is now 'at the forefront of the new atheism.'"

Sarah Palin ?thrilled? to take Fox News job

Posted on January 11, 2010
AP: "Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate , will take her conservative message to Fox News as a regular commentator, the cable channel announced Monday."

?Rendell: gay marriage not likely in PA?

Posted on January 11, 2010
WHYY.org: "Governor Rendell said 'don't hold your breath.' He says Pennsylvania is essentially a 'rural state,' and that he doesn't think same sex marriage goes with the mores of the majority of commonwealth residents."

Protest outside federal marriage trial in SF

Posted on January 11, 2010
Boston Globe (AP): "About 100 people are demonstrating outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco as the trial for California's gay marriage ban begins . . . Most of the demonstrators are gay marriage supporters . . . "

Protestant church burned in Algeria

Posted on January 11, 2010
Boston Globe (AP): "Islamists looted and burned a Protestant church in Algeria, the congregation's leader said Monday, suggesting they were inspired by a recent wave of religious intolerance in the Arab and Muslim world."

Supreme Court rejects appeal in child pornography case

Posted on January 11, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "The Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal to overturn a conviction for producing child pornography. The defendant argued that the images ? of children's faces morphed on adults ? did not involve sexual activity by minors and so were protected by the First Amendment...

Insurance companies have financial interest to choose abortions over births?

Posted on January 11, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "A local Planned Parenthood official has bluntly admitted why health insurance companies are increasingly comfortable with covering abortions: because the choice to kill an unborn child is cheaper than giving birth . . . a typical abortion in a physician's office costing $397, while a vaginal delivery costs $5,992, and a caeserean section is $8,558 ...

Croatian socialist wins presidential election

Posted on January 11, 2010
EurActiv: "Opposition Social Democrat Ivo Josipovic convincingly won the presidential election yesterday (10 January), promising to help the government's efforts to complete European Union membership talks and join the bloc in 2012."

Jennifer Lopez Down on In Vitro ? So Why is IVF Contrary to Pro-Life Values

Posted on January 11, 2010
LifeSiteNews reports that the media is in an uproar after Jennifer Lopez expressed opposition to in vitro fertilization and it goes on to explain: "Here, therefore, in a nutshell, is the reason why the Catholic Church, the pro-life movement and even people of vaguely 'traditional' moral beliefs like Mrs...

Kan. judge allows defendant in Tiller killing to argue he acted to save babies

Posted on January 11, 2010
". . . [the] judge decided to let Roeder argue he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he believed the May 31 slaying would save unborn children . . . "

Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth Prompts Concern He May Flinch on Abortion Funding

Posted on January 11, 2010
LifeNews: "Everyone on Capitol Hill, from top Republicans to leading pro-life groups, knows the block of pro-life Democrats in the House could topple the health care bill if it funds abortions. But, new comments from Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth prompt concerns he may go along with the Senate's abortion 'compromise...

Malaysia: 6 Muslim NGOs offer to help protect churches

Posted on January 11, 2010
The Star: "Six Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGO) have offered their help to prevent any further attacks on churches. Their efforts would begin in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor but could expand to other states as well with the help of more Muslim NGOs...

Austin R. Nimocks and Lambda Legal attorney on Southern Cal. Public Radio to discuss the Prop. 8 trial

Posted on January 11, 2010
ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks appeared on Southern Cal. Public Radio to discuss the California Proposition 8 trial along with Lambda Legal attorney, Jennifer C. Pizer. The MP3 runs just over 16 minutes.

Obama TSA Nominee Erroll Southers Calls Pro-Life Advocates Terrorists in Video

Posted on January 11, 2010
LifeNews: "President Barack Obama's nominee to head the agency charged with keeping American travelers safe from terrorism thinks pro-life advocates are terrorists."

American Right to Life questions Ron Paul?s pro-life credentials

Posted on January 11, 2010
Earned Media: "American Right To Life Action, the political 527 group which claims responsibility for derailing Mitt Romney's presidential hopes in 2008 in Iowa and South Carolina, is now targeting U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) . . . 'Ron Paul is pro-choice, state by state,' says the report...

Network effects: Liberals and conservatives in the academy

Posted on January 11, 2010
Professor Stephen M. Bainbridge writing at his blog: "The real culprit is the law school hiring process . . . In most cases, a candidate's best chance of surviving the winnowing process is for someone on the committee to become the candidate's champion...

Austin Ruse: A rare United Nations victory

Posted on January 11, 2010
Austin Ruse writing at The Catholic Thing: "In what has become an ongoing skirmish over homosexual rights, the United Nations General Assembly two weeks ago narrowly rejected a reference to a controversial re-writing of a foundational human rights treaty ...

UK: Catholic ban on women priests ?illegal under Harriet Harman equality bill?

Posted on January 11, 2010
Telegraph: "A new report by the leading charity ? backed by a legal opinion from a leading QC ? says the Bill will make it impossible for all churches and faith-based charities to insist that their senior staff lead private lives in accordance with their religious beliefs...

Surrogacy threatens family, sanctity of life, and the dignity of women as NJ case demonstrates

Posted on January 11, 2010
"This evil is only in its infancy and can be defeated, not only in court but also through legislation (which, I understand, is being drafted)."

Utah: ?Legislature may let SLC?s gay-rights measures stand?

Posted on January 11, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune: "Salt Lake City's landmark protections for gay and transgender residents appear likely to take effect after surviving the last hurdle: the Legislature. But most legislative leaders say it's doubtful those provisions against discrimination in housing and employment will be expanded statewide during the 2010 session -- despite a historic endorsement from the LDS Church...

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