Religion & Law

ADF Allied Attorney John Anthony Simmons on 93.9 KDPQ with Georgene Rice: NH Homeschool remedy doesn?t suit the problem

Posted on September 04, 2009
ADF Allied attorney John Anthony Simmons appeared on 93.9 KPDQ FM with Georgene Rice to discuss the case of a New Hampshire homeschooler ordered to attend public school. The MP3 runs just under 11 minutes. ADF Media information page: NH court orders home-schooled child into government-run school

Dublin admits ?Yes? to Lisbon Treaty will be difficult

Posted on September 04, 2009
Euronews: "Ireland?s Foreign Minister today admitted his government faces a tough task getting the EU?s Lisbon Treaty ratified next month."

Canadian Court Rejects Challenge To Quebec?s New Religious Survey Courses

Posted on September 03, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "In the Canadian province of Quebec, a trial court judge has rejected a challenge by Christian parents to the mandatory new course in grades 1 through 11 in Quebec schools that teaches about a broad range of world religions."

Roman Catholic Cardinal Defends Presiding Over Kennedy?s Funeral

Posted on September 03, 2009
CNSNews: "The Archdiocese of Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley has defended his decision to preside over the funeral Mass for Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose support for abortion rights clashed with Catholic teachings." Cardinal Sean's Blog: On Senator Kennedy?s Funeral (see also the comments)

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Religious Peyote Exemption Does Not Invalidate Federal Drug Laws

Posted on September 03, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "In United States v. Valazquez, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77946 (WD OK, Aug. 31, 2009), a defendant facing federal drug charges argued that the federal controlled substances laws are unconstitutional because of the exemption they grant to the Native American Church for the use of peyote...

Illinois: Traditional values group sues Holiday Inn

Posted on September 03, 2009
OneNewsNow: "A pro-family group is suing an Illinois hotel for discrimination. Americans for Truth About Homosexuality had scheduled an annual event two years ago at Holiday Inn in Naperville, Illinois. But when the hotel learned that demonstrators could be present, it cancelled the event...

Montana AG approves pro-life initiative language

Posted on September 03, 2009
KXMB (AP): "Constitutional Initiative 102 defines a 'person' as beginning of a human being's biological development. A similar proposal fell short in 2008 of getting the required number of signatures for the ballot."

Vermont teen gets jail in ?sexting? case

Posted on September 03, 2009
WPTZ: "former South Burlington high school student accused in a highly publicized teen 'sexting' case was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation in Chittenden County District Court Thursday."

Brazilian Cardinal: Church-state separation becoming repression

Posted on September 03, 2009
ZENIT: "The separation of Church and state should not mean the repression of religious ideas and public manifestations, says the archbishop of São Paolo. Cardinal Odilo Scherer affirmed this in an articles in the archdiocesan newspaper in which he responds to an initiative proposed July 31 to remove religious symbols from public buildings in the city...

Berlin UNFPA conference calls for more ?reproductive rights? advocacy

Posted on September 03, 2009
C-FAM: "This week in Berlin, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the German government are hosting a meeting that brings together 400 'reproductive rights' activists from across the globe to discuss strategies to push 'sexual and reproductive health and rights' ? including abortion ? at the local, national and international level...

Church bells have a friend in Alliance Defense Fund

Posted on September 03, 2009
Seeing Red AZ: "Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Phoenix on behalf of three churches, alleging that a noise ordinance prohibiting the ringing of their bells is unconstitutional."

The ?divided house? in New Hampshire home school ruling

Posted on September 03, 2009
Joseph Bottum, writing at First Things: "A divorced couple?s irreconcilable differences make what seems a very bad occasion for legal decisions with serious First Amendment implications . . . The Alliance Defense Fund has more information on the case, but consider just the court?s disposition, on its own terms: Without any expert testimony as to whether the status quo was causing 'actual harm' to the child?the standard, applicable criterion for deciding in favor of change in such cases?Judge Sadler decided that the daughter?s best interests were served by removing her from an academically sound home-schooling regimen with the mother and placing her in the public-school setting preferred by the father...

Idaho: ?Religious text? issue stalls school?s opening

Posted on September 03, 2009
OneNewsNow: "Nampa Classical Academy is set to open its doors for the first time in a few days; however, the school's curriculum has been rejected by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission . . . 'Well, it's interesting. Originally the focus was on prohibiting the use of the Bible, but then the defendants opened that up to exclude what they considered to be all religious documents and texts from the public school curriculum and from the classroom itself, which not only includes the teachers, but it also includes the students,' [David] Cortman explains...

Texas A&M University recognizes club as uniquely Christian

Posted on September 03, 2009
OneNewsNow: "Texas A&M University in Lubbock, Texas, has worked out an anti-discrimination policy that discriminated against a Christian campus group . . . 'This decision by Texas A&M respects the constitutional rights of the group and makes it clear that Texas A&M has sent a message that they're not going to discriminate against this group ...

Lawsuit challenges state ban on Bible

Posted on September 03, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "'The Bible shouldn't be singled out for censorship in public schools, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that it is entirely constitutional for it to be studied objectively as an educational resource," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman...

Lawsuit seeks to keep Bible in Idaho charter school

Posted on September 03, 2009
CitizenLink: "The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy, in defense of their use of the Bible as part of its curriculum."

Montana Supreme Court holds hearing on case to allow assisted suicide

Posted on September 03, 2009
LifeNews: "The Montana Supreme Court held a hearing today on a case that could make the state the third to allow assisted suicide . . . So far, the court has received 19 amicus briefs, including one from attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-life group who filed their brief in April ...

August 2009 Marriage Law Digest Online

Posted on September 03, 2009
The August 2009 Marriage Law Digest, edited by Bill Duncan of the Marriage Law Foundation, is now available online at http://www.marriagedebate.com. This month's topics include: BOSEMAN V. JARELL, No. COA08-957, North Carolina Court of Appeals, August 18, 2009 (second parent adoption)...

Focus on the Family Sends Letter to Congress Opposing ENDA

Posted on September 03, 2009
Citizen Link: "This is going to be a minefield of lawsuits by people who are suddenly feeling that they are discriminated against."

Ted Kennedy Praised by Cardinals, Martino Steps Down

Posted on September 03, 2009
Deal Hudson writes at InsideCatholic.com: "With two cardinals praising the pro-abort Kennedy and Bishop Martino of Scranton stepping down, millions of Catholics must be shaking their heads, just as I am this morning."

Congressman warns of dictatorship- freedom at risk

Posted on September 03, 2009
Athens Banner Herald: "S. Rep. Paul Broun is again raising the specter of Democrats turning the United States into a totalitarian state . . . He told a meeting of the Morgan County Republicans on Wednesday night that Obama already has or will have the three things he needs to make himself a dictator: a national police force, gun control and control over the press...

TIME: Was an Anti-Abortion Bishop Too Outspoken?

Posted on September 03, 2009
TIME: "Martino's abrupt resignation, along with the fact that he was not reassigned to another position within the church, has some church insiders suggesting that the highly unusual move was far from voluntary ? and quite possibly the work of a Vatican that has been decidedly less openly critical of the Obama Administration...

Virginia: McDonnell expands lead in polling despite thesis attack

Posted on September 03, 2009
Family Foundation of Virginia: "The polling was done after McDonnell?s thesis controversy and, in what may be the most important number in the poll, 49 percent say the 'issue' is not important." Governor?s Race Erupts Over McDonnell?s Past Views

Documentary Follows Post-Abortive Women

Posted on September 03, 2009
Citizen Link: "Feminists for Life of America (FFL) has a new series of videos on its Web site called Exposing Coercion: Pregnant Women Stand Up. "

Abortion Stigma Affects Doctors? Training And Choices

Posted on September 03, 2009
Washington Post: "A report in the journal Contraception last year found that 66 percent of physicians performing second-trimester abortions are more than 50 years old."

Court orders Christian child into government education

Posted on September 03, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "A 10-year-old homeschool girl described as 'well liked, social and interactive with her peers, academically promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level' has been told by a New Hampshire court official to attend a government school because she was too 'vigorous' in defense of her Christian faith ...

New Hampshire court orders home-schooled girl into public school

Posted on September 03, 2009
Christian Examiner: "The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has asked a New Hampshire court to reconsider its decision to order a 10-year-old homeschooled girl into public school . . . 'The New Hampshire Supreme Court itself has specifically declared, "Home education is an enduring American tradition and right,"' said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson...

Another Pro-Life day of students solidarity draws attention to abortion

Posted on September 03, 2009
LifeNews: "Students in all 50 states and from nations across the world are eagerly awaiting the next Pro-Life Day of Student Solidarity. Sponsored by the pro-life youth organization Stand True, the ironic day gives students a chance to tape their mouths shut to speak up for unborn children who can't speak for themselves ...

New Zealand: ?Judge: Time to let gay couples adopt?

Posted on September 03, 2009
New Zealand Herald: "The acting head judge of the Family Court has called for gay and lesbian couples to be given rights to adopt children, just as a private member's bill on the issue goes into the ballot for Parliament's order paper today."

Angry parents suing California schools over mandatory ?gay-friendly? classes

Posted on September 03, 2009
"A lawsuit in California that was filed last month by angry parents who object to a gay-friendly curriculum they say is being foisted on kindergartners could well become a test case for schools around the country."

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