Religion & Law

PA: Judge halts topless dancing

Posted on January 05, 2010
Bucks County Courier Times: "Bucks County Judge Robert Mellon on Monday ordered bar owner Bruce Young to put a stop to all adult entertainment at his bar in Warwick. The judge decided that Young's hurried attempt to add topless dancers at Just Sports bar before Warwick officials could amend their zoning ordinance to prohibit the practice was not enough to establish a non-conforming use...

U.S. Pastors Encouraged to Join Nat?l Marriage Week Effort

Posted on January 05, 2010
Christian Post: "'National Marriage Week USA,' which will be observed the week leading up to Valentine?s Day, is a collaborative effort to encourage churches and many diverse groups to strengthen individual marriages, reduce the divorce rate, and build a stronger marriage culture, which organizers say in turn helps curtail poverty and benefits children ...

?The People?s Veto: Why gay marriage failed in Maine?

Posted on January 04, 2010
. . . A Tipping Point . . . the case of Don Mendell.

PhotoDNA, a new child-pornography tracking technology

Posted on January 04, 2010
The Dartmouth: "PhotoDNA, a new child-pornography tracking technology developed in part by Dartmouth computer science professor Hany Farid, may soon enable Internet service providers to better curb the availability of online images depicting child pornography...

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

?Houston Mayor Calls Swearing-in a Gay Milestone?

Posted on January 04, 2010
ABC: "Houston Mayor Annise Parker says her swearing-in as the first openly gay head of the nation's fourth-largest city marks a milestone for the gay community but that it's just 'one step toward a tomorrow of greater justice.'"

Malaysians flock online over God?s name

Posted on January 04, 2010
"Malaysians are flocking online to debate a contentious court ruling that allows local Roman Catholics to use the word Allah as a translation for God."

UK: Labour performs U-turn on love and marriage ahead of election

Posted on January 04, 2010
Times: "In a shift in strategy ahead of the general election, the government is abandoning its long-standing ambivalence towards wedlock, conceding that children fare better if their parents are together. A green paper to be published in January will outline new measures to shore up 'stable parental relationships''"

13 state AGs threaten suit over health care deal

Posted on January 04, 2010
"Republican attorneys general in 13 states say congressional leaders must remove Nebraska's political deal from the federal health care reform bill or face legal action, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press Wednesday."

New York archdiocese sued for excluding unvaccinated pre-schooler

Posted on January 04, 2010
Catholic Culture: "The couple say that their daughter has been denied entrance into an archdiocesan pre-school program because she has not received all required vaccinations."

First Up For High Court In 2010: Campaign Finance

Posted on January 04, 2010
NPR (includes audio): "When the Supreme Court reconvenes in January, the first big case it is expected to decide could redefine the role of corporations in financing federal campaigns. The decision is expected to reflect the will of the conservative justices, who remain in the driver's seat on the high court...

Unwed couples in Foreign Service seek same benefits as same-sex couples

Posted on January 04, 2010
"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton won praise in June after pushing to extend many federal benefits traditionally provided to diplomats' spouses to gay and lesbian partners. Since then, unmarried heterosexual couples have been lining up to ask for benefits too...

President Obama names ?transgender? appointee to Commerce Department

Posted on January 04, 2010
Jake Tapper, writing at ABC News: "President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. In a statement, Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors, said that 'as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others...

Courts Operating Soundly, Chief Justice Says in Year-End Report

Posted on January 04, 2010
Law.com (The National Law Journal): "In his year-end report on the state of the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. refrained from repeating the call for pay raises for federal judges that he has issued in recent years."

Calif. Judge Said to Be on Short List for Federal Circuit

Posted on January 04, 2010
Law.com (The Recorder): "San Jose, Calif.-based U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel is on the White House short list for the open spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to a person briefed on the matter. The opening came when Judge Alvin 'Tony' Schall announced in August that he would take senior status...

Teresa S. Collett: Abortion and the Image of God

Posted on January 04, 2010
Teresa S. Collett writing at the University of St. Thomas Law School's Law Social Justice blog: "Abortion is justified on the basis that the child will be born handicapped, or was conceived through an act of violence, or will be poor and must struggle for survival from the very beginning ...

Malaysian Court Says Catholic Paper Can Use Term ?Allah?

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "A High Court judge in Malaysia has vindicated the free exercise rights of a Catholic newspaper, The Herald, in an oral opinion handed down today."

Connecticut School Will Move Graduation Away From Cathedral

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog:  "The move came after Americans United and the ACLU threatened to sue the Enfield school system which also uses the Cathedral, and made preliminary inquiries of South Windsor."

Staging a show trial on same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on January 04, 2010
"Walker?s New Year?s Eve surprise is a critical step in his evident ongoing effort to turn the lawsuit into a high-profile, culture-transforming, history-making, Scopes-style show trial of Proposition 8?s sponsors . . . "

Jordan Lorence on the Michael Medved Show: Elane Photography

Posted on January 04, 2010
ADF attorney Jordan Lorence appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss the Elane photography litigation involving a small company in New Mexico that refused to photograph a same sex "wedding ceremony." The MP3 runs about 34 minutes. ADF Media Information Page: ADF to appeal court decision against NM photographer

Danish Cartoonist Who Drew Muhammad Caricature Is Attacked In His Home

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In Aaarhus, Denmark yesterday, a 28-year old Somali man broke into the house of cartoonist Kurt Westegaard armed with an axe and a knife, shouting that he wanted to kill the 74-year old Westegaard."

Atheist Group Challenges Ireland?s New Blasphemy Law

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Ireland's new blasphemy law came into force yesterday. It prohibits intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of any religion by publishing or uttering grossly abusive insults to matters held sacred by the religion...

Proposed Monument To Secular Government Raises Opposition

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Edward W.?Taylor Jr., of the Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, is objecting to the decision by the Allegany County(MD) Board of Commissioners to allow a monument honoring the U.S. Constitution to be placed on the county court house lawn ...

Virgina Muslim Prison Chaplains Want More State Support

Posted on January 04, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Today's Lynchburg (VA) News & Advance reports that the all-volunteer Muslim Chaplain Service, which for the first time was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the state, wants more state funding so it can hire more imams to serve prisoners...

NC: Randleman student?s free speech rights restored

Posted on January 04, 2010
Christian Action League: "According to an Alliance Defense Fund report, on Oct. 20 student Brianna Cardwell wore a T-shirt featuring the word 'abortion' crossed out and spent time between classes passing out fliers explaining her pro-life views. 'Pro-life students shouldn?t be punished for expressing their beliefs,' ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman wrote in a press release regarding his organization?s Nov...

IMAPP: Marriage Law Digest Online

Posted on January 04, 2010
he December 2009 Marriage Law Digest, edited by Bill Duncan of the Marriage Law Foundation, is now available online at http://www.marriagedebate.com.

Advocacy groups launch ?Religious Freedom Sunday?

Posted on January 04, 2010
LA Church & State Examiner: "Gateways to Better Education and the Alliance Defense Fund are calling for Religious Freedom Sunday to be a national event in which churches honor the educators within their congregations and inform their members about the freedom of religious expression for students from kindergarten through 12th grade have at school...

Ben Nelson?s Purgatory: The Nebraska senator?s health-care vote has killed him politically

Posted on January 04, 2010
John Fund writes at the Wall Street Journal: "A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that if he were running for re-election today, Mr. Nelson would lose to Nebraska's GOP Governor David Heineman by a stunning 61% to 30%. Only three years ago, Mr. Nelson won his current term with a solid 64% of the vote...

?Key lesson of preserving unions means respect, dignity and equality, too?

Posted on January 04, 2010
Letter to the Editor in the Albany Times-Union: "Raum and his organization, the Alliance Defense Fund, may believe that preserving marriage requires restricting it, but I would argue that the opposite is true. As stated by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, 'civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self-definition...

Christian Mother Fails to Transfer Daughter to Former Lesbian Partner by Deadline

Posted on January 04, 2010
"A Christian woman in Virginia who was ordered to turn over her daughter to her former lesbian partner in Vermont did not do so by the set deadline, a lawyer for the second woman reported."

Montana Supreme Court rules ?assisted suicide? legal

Posted on January 04, 2010
ChattahBox: "The Montana case has drawn wide national attention, with advocates for physician-assisted suicide weighing in on the side of Baxter and his doctors lining up against conservative groups like the Alliance Defense Fund and the Family Research Council sided with Montana?s attorney general against physician-aided suicide...

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