Religion & Law

Friedrich Engels, saw three major obstacles to the socialist vision: ?private property, religion and this present form of marriage?

Posted on January 06, 2010
LifeSiteNews: ". . . Karl Marx?s co-author, Friedrich Engels, saw three major obstacles to the socialist vision: 'private property, religion and this present form of marriage.' Also central to socialist thought is a secular and materialist vision of the world that espouses relativism, sees everything politically, and locates genuine community in the state and not in families, churches or voluntary organizations ...

Restrictive home school legislation up for vote in NH

Posted on January 06, 2010
"Mike Donnelly, staff attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association, has described the measure as 'the most anti-home school legislation ever conceived' in New Hampshire."

?Abortion in Israel and the United States: A Lesson in Questioning Assumptions?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Sherri F. Colb writes at Findlaw: " . . . To draw this conclusion, however, would be to miss important distinctions between how Judaism and Christianity (Catholicism, in particular) conceptualize abortion, and how the U.S. and Israel each treat the practice of terminating pregnancies...

Job bias claims based on disability, religion rise

Posted on January 06, 2010
AP: "Charges of discrimination based on national origin rose by about 5 percent to 11,134 claims, while religious discrimination claims rose less than 1 percent, to 3,386 claims."

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Michael Medved: Custody Case Highlights Artificiality of Same Sex ?Marriage?

Posted on January 06, 2010
" . . . in what sense would a seven year old girl benefit from regular parental contact with an unrelated female now bitterly estranged from her mother? . . . "

?RI lawmakers back funeral rights for gays?

Posted on January 06, 2010
NashuaTelegraph.com: "House lawmakers have voted over the objections of a socially conservative governor to allow gay and unmarried couples the right to plan funerals for their partners." The legislation is headed to the Senate for a vote on the veto override.

Report recommends 2 more casinos in Delaware to compete with other states

Posted on January 06, 2010
AP: "A report prepared for Delaware's Sports and Video Library Commission says the state needs two more casinos to generate the tax revenue it could lose as neighboring states expand their gambling operations."

Republicans see courts as last line of defense vs. Democrats? agenda

Posted on January 06, 2010
The Hill: "Republicans and allied groups say they will spend millions to oppose healthcare reform and other Democratic initiatives in the courts, which they see as a last line of defense against President Barack Obama?s agenda."

ACLU condemns efforts to stop transfers from Guantanamo to Yemen

Posted on January 06, 2010
ACLU: ?While we appreciate that President Obama stated that he is still determined to close Guantánamo, the decision to halt all transfers of detainees to Yemen will prolong a shameful chapter in American history without making Americans any safer. Continuing to detain individuals who have been cleared for release simply because they come from a certain country is unwise, unjust and does absolutely nothing to improve our security...

?Gay-marriage foes slam plans to televise Prop 8 trial?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Washington Times: "Supporters of traditional marriage are outraged over a California judge's efforts to bring television cameras into court next week to cover a trial challenging Proposition 8, California's initiative against gay marriage."

ACLU: ?Administration Adds Gender Identity To Equal Employment Opportunity Policies?

Posted on January 06, 2010
ACLU: "Beginning in 2010, the Obama administration, through the Office of Personnel Management, has started to list gender identity among the classes protected by federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies. By including gender identity as a protected class, the federal government is stating its commitment to protecting transgender employees and has taken a significant step toward ending employment discrimination of LGBT people in the federal workforce...

US Supreme Court: NRA wants time at the podium

Posted on January 06, 2010
SCOTUS Blog: "The Court in the McDonald case will consider two main arguments for applying the individual right to possess guns to state and local laws: first, that gun rights should be protected at those levels by the 14th Amendment?s ?Privileges or Immunities? clause; and, second, the protection should come under the Amendment?s Due Process clause...

Church compensation survey now online

Posted on January 06, 2010
Baptist Press: "The 2010 SBC Church Compensation Survey, a joint effort of Baptist state conventions, LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources, is now online. All Southern Baptist church employees are encouraged to participate in the survey of pay and benefits of ministers and other staff, which can be accessed through April 30 at www...

Malaysian polygamy club draws criticism

Posted on January 06, 2010
New York Times: "The Ikhwan Polygamy Club is managed by Global Ikhwan, a company whose businesses include bread and noodle factories, a chicken-processing plant, pharmacies, cafes and supermarkets. Mr. Ikram is a director of the company. While polygamy is legal in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, the club has come under fire from the government and religious leaders, who suspect it may be an attempt to revive Al-Arqam, a defunct Islamic movement headed by Mrs...

?Ex-gay? mother disappears with daughter

Posted on January 06, 2010
MetroWeekly: "Conservative legal organizations such as Liberty Counsel and the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) have also been involved in a number of single-state lesbian custody cases, each time backing the biological mother or sole legal adoptive mother against the mother who has no formal legal rights to the child...

MI: ?Scalia Defends Gay, Abortion, Gun Rulings at First Baptist?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Jackson Free Press: "If the Supreme Court takes cues from foreign law, it cannot do so selectively, Scalia argued. He pointed to the Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which found state laws banning sodomy to be unconstitutional and in which he dissented...

Uzbek court overturns Baptist fines

Posted on January 06, 2010
Baptist Press: "A court in Uzbekistan has overturned massive fines levied against three Baptist Union leaders in late October but upheld their criminal convictions, which Uzbek Baptists claim were based on fabricated evidence . . . The charges of evading taxes and involving children in religious activity without their or their parents' consent were based on assemblies held at the union's Joy Baptist Children's Camp, which was directed by Pitirimov...

Indian Court Delays Start of Shariah-Compliant Investment Company

Posted on January 06, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Janata Party leader Dr. Subramanian Swamy's . . . complaint argues that government participation in compliance with Shariah amounts to the State Government favoring a particular religion in violation of Articles 14 and 25 of the Indian Constitution...

?N.J. Senate schedules vote on gay-marriage bill?

Posted on January 06, 2010
If the bill clears the Senate, Roberts said he will post it in the full Assembly "immediately" Monday without a committee hearing, a day before leadership changes in both houses . . .

American Library Association?s Not-So-Hidden ?Gay? Agenda

Posted on January 06, 2010
Culture and Media Institute: "With its Youth Media Awards, the ALA works to get pro-gay propaganda on library shelves."

Restitution for victims of child pornography

Posted on January 06, 2010
Paul Cassell writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Yesterday U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota issued an interesting order regarding a restitution application in a child pornography case. In his order, found here, Judge Schiltz chastises the government for failing to pursue restitution for child pornography cases in his district, even though Congress has made restitution mandatory in such cases...

Congress Tinkers with Withholding Tax Tables for 2010

Posted on January 06, 2010
BigGovernment.com: "After much investigating and several discussions with the IRS, it appears the Democrats have played a 'cash-flow trick' on working Americans and are taking more out of American?s paychecks across the board?all the while touting the Making Work Pay tax credit...

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Savages Obamacare says it is infected with ?bribes?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Politico: "California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger savaged congressional plans for health reform in his 2010 State of the State address on Wednesday, calling the legislation 'health care to nowhere' that's infected with 'bribes, deals and loopholes.'"

Houston soon to be home of abortion ?supercenter?

Posted on January 06, 2010
KETKNBC.com: "Planned Parenthood is renovating a former bank, turning it into a 78,000 square foot facility that will include a surgical wing equipped to provide late-term abortions."

Skeptics Questioning Value Of Law School

Posted on January 06, 2010
CityTownInfo.com: "Law.com reports that blogs questioning the value of law school are becoming more widespread on the Internet, including 'Exposing the Law School Scam,' 'Third Tier Reality,' and 'Esq. Never.' The blogs focus on law schools' high tuition and what is increasingly perceived as many people's unrealistic expectations about lawyers' salaries and lifestyles...

?UW Law School may assist in prayer case?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Wisconsin State Journal is reporting that The UW-Madison Law School could represent a couple convicted of reckless homicide for failing to obtain medical care for their 11-year-old daughter. The couple "thought their prayers would heal daughter Kara...

Unions, ACLU, Planned Parenthood etc. . . join to oppose Iowa marriage amendment

Posted on January 06, 2010
KCCI.com: "Officials with the group One Iowa said the broad coalition of more than 71 groups has a combined membership of 150,000 Iowans and includes labor, civil rights and faith groups."

South Carolina Candidate Oath Law Violates Free Association Rights, Argues ACLU

Posted on January 06, 2010
ACLU: "The law requires every candidate for office to sign an oath to abide by the results of a party's primary and if the candidate loses the party's primary, bars the candidate from petitioning or campaigning as a write-in candidate for the general election ballot for any office for which the party has a nominee...

?The Republican Who Might Bring Gay Marriage to Jersey?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Huffington Post: "Currently, there are five Democratic Senators voting no. That means at least three Republicans are needed to pass. Right now, there is only one -- which is still one more than the New York State Senate had. . . . Bill Baroni . . . one of the brightest Republican stars on the state horizon ...

Italian High Court Defends Crucifixes, National Sovereignty against European Human Rights Court

Posted on January 06, 2010
Roger Kiska, European legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said . . . the Cassation Court ruling is a signal that Italy may be prepared to break with the ECHR if the government loses the appeal . . .

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