Religion & Law

Group at center of Lodi prayer debate involved in similar Calif. cases

Posted on September 14, 2009
The Record: "From the East Coast to the West, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has fired off letter after letter, with more in the works, disputing the legality of those invocations - and specifically their frequent appeals to Jesus Christ . . . 'I'm not surprised by what is an apparent nationwide strategy to wipe out public prayer by this radical organization, but it certainly does concern us,' said Mike Johnson, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund ...

Rep. Wilson: No second apology for `You lie? words

Posted on September 14, 2009
AP: "One apology is enough, a digging-in-his-heels Rep. Joe Wilson said Sunday, challenging Democratic leaders who want him to say on the House floor that he's sorry for yelling 'You lie!' during President Barack Obama's health care speech to Congress...

Obama: Mich. anti-abortion shooting ?deplorable?

Posted on September 14, 2009
AP: "President Barack Obama on Sunday condemned the killing of an anti-abortion activist in Michigan as activists and others gathered for vigil near the site where he was fatally shot."

?Straight spouses advocate same-sex marriage?

Posted on September 14, 2009
AP: "We are the unacknowledged victims of the victims of homophobia," said Amity Pierce Buxton, the founder of the Straight Spouse Network, a New Jersey-based support and advocacy group with 52 U.S. chapters. "When gays and lesbians feel they have to get married to be accepted and to have kids, that hurts not only gays and lesbians, but straight spouses and kids...

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New Islamic law in Indonesia?s Aceh province for sex crimes

Posted on September 14, 2009
The AP reports on the new law that covers adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality, and rape.

US attends UN rights council for first time

Posted on September 14, 2009
AP: "The United States attended its first formal meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, saying it will try to promote dialogue at a body it once avoided and heavily criticized."

Obama?s EEOC pick, Chai Feldblum: Sexual liberty wins in conflict with religious liberty

Posted on September 14, 2009
"According to the hunter for justice blog, Feldman will become the 'first openly gay Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.'"

NJ teens sue over ?God Bless America? ejection

Posted on September 14, 2009
Associated Press: "Three teenagers who say they were tossed from a New Jersey ballpark over their refusal to stand during the song 'God Bless America' are suing the minor league Newark Bears."

School Bans Bracelet Used in Sex Game

Posted on September 14, 2009
New York Times: "But, he said, other students had discovered through the Internet a game called 'snap,' in which the color of the bracelet denotes willingness in engage in a particular sexual activity. When a boy snaps the bracelet off a girl, that activity is ostensibly supposed to take place.

Bishop presents 33,000 signatures against abortion to Peruvian Congress

Posted on September 14, 2009
CNA: "Last Friday Bishop Jesus Moline Labarta presented 33,000 signatures from voters against abortion to the Peruvian Congress in an effort to promote the defense of life from conception to natural death as the Constitutional Tribunal debates the legality of the morning-after pill...

Canada: Peterborough Bishop Responds to Human Rights Complaint by Dismissed Homosexual Altar Server

Posted on September 14, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "The Bishop of Peterborough, Nicola De Angelis, . . . strongly redresses the OHRT's encroachment, asserting his authority as bishop of his diocese and the autonomy of the Church from state control over internal Church matters."

Michigan: Big spending predicted in battle over Kalamazoo ?gay rights? ordinance

Posted on September 14, 2009
Kalamazoo Gazette: "This Nov. 3, Kalamazoo's decision on providing specific discrimination protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals is expected to top the ticket. Observers predict it will mean big spending, big volunteer ranks, unusual political dynamics and involvement by state and national groups digging in on both sides of the gay-rights debate...

OK: Porn movie aired at Fort Smith Walmart

Posted on September 14, 2009
Sequoyah County Times: "A pornographic movie that was played in a Fort Smith, Ark., Walmart on six different television screens has two Muldrow men facing possible felony charges."

Indian Abortion Proponents ?Stumped? By Growing Dearth of Girls Due to Sex-Selection

Posted on September 14, 2009
LifeSiteNews: “India’s feminists and population control-pushing government are ’stumped’ by the dramatic drop of female births among the wealthier classes due to sex-selective abortions, reports the Globe and Mail’s Indian correspondent Stephanie Nolen...

Planned Parenthood sues over new Arizona abortion restrictions

Posted on September 14, 2009
BizJournals.com: "Planned Parenthood officials said the group is not challenging Arizona's late-term abortion law but filed its suit regarding laws affecting parental consent, the ban on nurses performing abortions and 24-hour waiting period."

Prop 8 Controversy Splits California Bar

Posted on September 14, 2009
Legal Blog Watch: "A year ago, I posted here about a group of law professors that decided to boycott the Association of American Law Schools' annual meeting at the San Diego Manchester Grand Hyatt as a protest of hotel owner Douglas Manchester's financial support of the Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriages...

Creationist Belief in Europe

Posted on September 14, 2009
Jonathan Adler has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy. It begins: "The theory of evolution may face greater resistance in the United States than most of Europe, but creationist belief is strong in European nations than many might think." The post has generated a slew of comments.

Sebelius Says Obama Will Change Bill to Ban Abortion Funding, Pro-Lifers Doubtful

Posted on September 14, 2009
LifeNews: "In a weekend interview, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said President Barack Obama wants a change in the language of the main House health care 'reform' bill to ensure it doesn't allow taxpayer-funded abortions. However, a pro-life group that has exposed the abortion funding is doubtful that will happen...

Pro-Life advocates condemn shooting of abortion protestor James Poullion

Posted on September 11, 2009
LifeNews: "Steven H. Aden, the senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, represented Pouillon several years ago to defend his free speech rights in a case where local police unjustly arrested him. 'Jim Pouillon was a courageous friend of both unborn children and the First Amendment right to speak up on their behalf, and he will be sorely missed,' Aden told LifeNews...

Michigan: Higgins public hearing on ?adult use? amendment to zoning ordinance

Posted on September 11, 2009
Roscommon Herald: "Township planning commission officials contend a proposed amendment to the township?s zoning ordinance, regarding adult regulated facilities, is a proactive move and not prompted by any potential adult-oriented business moving into the area...

Florida: ?Gay adoptive dad gets federal help to receive subsidy?

Posted on September 11, 2009
Miami Herald: "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administrators have written an e-mail backing the efforts of Wayne LaRue Smith, the first openly gay person in Florida to legally adopt in decades, who is seeking a federal subsidy given to Floridians who adopt a foster child...

Switzerland: Body Worlds plans cadaver show dedicated to sex

Posted on September 11, 2009
Reuters: "German anatomists plan a new show dedicated solely to dead bodies having sex as part of the Body Worlds exhibitions. Gunther von Hagens and his wife Angelina Whalley show corpses prepared using a technique invented by von Hagens called 'plastination ...

UK: Belfast church wins right to challenge ban on sodomy as abomination ad

Posted on September 11, 2009
BBC: "A Belfast church has won the right to legally challenge a decision to ban a newspaper advertisement which described sodomy as an abomination."

?Gay Marriage Rage?

Posted on September 11, 2009
"Is using democracy to fight for shared values somehow an act of war against our neighbors? 'Agree with me or you're a hater' is not the authentic voice of peace and tolerance."

Connecticut: Jewish RLUIPA suit challenges historic district zoning

Posted on September 11, 2009
Religion Clause Blog : " . . . a RLUIPA lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Connecticut on Wednesday by Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County and its rabbi, Joseph Eisenbach, challenging the refusal by the town of Litchfield to allow Chabad to restore and add onto a Victorian house on the edge of the town's Historic District...

Admissions Criteria of British Jewish School Bend After Court Decision

Posted on September 11, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "Yesterday's London Jewish Chronicle reports that for the first time London's Jewish Free School has admitted a student who was not considered Jewish under Orthodox religious law as interpreted by the Office of Britain's Chief Rabbi ...

Abortion funding next big showdown?

Posted on September 11, 2009
Politico: ?Abortion funding in health care right now is our main priority, a top priority,? said Ashley Horne of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. ?We are very deeply concerned, as are our constituents. We will do everything we can to ensure this bill either goes down or excludes abortion funding...

Cases of euthanasia jump in Belgium after new law

Posted on September 11, 2009
Google News (AP): "Cases of euthanasia in Belgium's Flanders region soared to nearly 2 percent of all deaths in 2007 after the country legalized the practice a few years earlier, a medical study has shown."

UK: Historic Christian cemetery bulldozed to make way for mosque

Posted on September 11, 2009
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/2009/09/07/genocide-how-islamic-colonisation-destroys-your-heritage/

Group seeks Fla. amendment giving rights to embryos

Posted on September 11, 2009
Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Abortion opponents want to put a proposal on next year's Florida ballot that would give human rights to embryos."

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