Religion & Law

Some 20 million Christians to protest Pakistan blasphemy laws

Posted on August 11, 2009
AsiaNews.it: "Activists, minority lawmakers and religious leaders are united in peaceful protest against the country?s blasphemy laws. This is their response to fundamentalist attacks and their way to get the Pakistan government to repeal the laws. Amnesty International backs the fight for minority rights in Pakistan...

Italian High Court Finds No Difference Between Traditional Family, Cohabiting Couple

Posted on August 11, 2009
Catholic Culture: "Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, has come to the defense of the traditional family after Italy?s highest court ruled that there is ?no substantial legal difference between a family founded on marriage and a family resulting from a cohabiting couple,? according to a Catholic News Service report...

?Amercan Pie?: When divorced parents can?t agree

Posted on August 11, 2009
Eugene Volokh has this post at the Volokh Conspiracy discussing a recent Delaware Family Court ruling involving divorced parents who can't agree what kinds of movies their 14 year old son should be allowed to watch. Volokh argues: "As I've suggested before, it seems to me that courts ought not make such child custody decisions based on the parents' exercise of their First Amendment rights, which include letting their children watch or read various materials...

Erik Stanley on Salem Radio Network: Pulpit Freedom Sunday Sept. 27, 2009

Posted on August 11, 2009
ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Salem Radio Network with Phil Fleischman to discuss the 2009 ADF Pulpit Initiative. The MP3 runs just under 8 minutes. Learn more: ADF Pulpit Initiative Visit Site »

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Walgreen stays in Delaware?s Medicaid program

Posted on August 11, 2009
Reuters: "Walgreen threatened to walk away from the state's Medicaid prescription program if changes were not made, but twice delayed its departure as discussions continued."

Wallis: Not Pushing a Health Plan, Just a Moral Position

Posted on August 11, 2009
Christian Post: "'This isn?t a political issue, it is a deeply theological issue, a biblical issue, and a moral issue,' said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners. 'So we are not going to at any time during the debate weigh in on the particulars of policy questions?[We?ll] leave the plumbing to the politicians...

Fla. residents take stand against ACLU

Posted on August 11, 2009
Fox10tv.com: "Residents of one Northwest Florida town are pulling together to take a stand against the ACLU. Robert Smith helped organize a defense fund for three Santa Rosa County school employees, after they were charged with defying a federal judge's order against prayer in schools...

?Why Gays Can Trust Obama?

Posted on August 11, 2009
U.S. News and World Report: "In a conversation with U.S. News, Solmonese explains why he still trusts Obama, why he believes 'don't ask, don't tell' will be reversed next year, and why he doesn't buy the president's stated opposition to gay marriage."

Fla. ?Gay-Straight Alliance allowed to meet at Yulee High?

Posted on August 11, 2009
Jacksonville.com: "Two Yulee High School students were 'grateful' Monday when they learned that a federal judge ruled that the Gay-Straight Alliance can meet on campus and have the same privileges as other student groups."

Oklahoma: ?Plaintiffs file complaint against gay marriage ban?

Posted on August 11, 2009
The Journal Record: "Four Oklahoma women have filed a new complaint challenging federal and state laws banning gay marriage."

?State reverses policy that made it harder to get ID reflecting gender change?

Posted on August 11, 2009
Seattle Times: "In January, over objections of the transgender community, the state Department of Licensing made it tougher to change gender information on driver's licenses, citing goals of fighting terrorism and reducing identity theft. Last week it abruptly changed course, not just reverting to the original policy ? but making it easier than before...

Oral arguments made in Oklahoma abortion lawsuit, ruling next week

Posted on August 11, 2009
Tulsa World: "Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki L. Robertson expects to rule next week on whether a controversial abortion law passed in 2008 will withstand a legal challenge . . ."

Prop. 8 foes to decide whether to fight in 2010

Posted on August 11, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle: "This is a big week for same-sex marriage advocates, as a clearer picture will emerge about whether they're going to put the issue before voters again in November 2010 or wait until 2012. Or beyond."

?In God We Trust? RIDICULED to death

Posted on August 10, 2009
"It is nothing new that such reference has become taboo in the so-called 'mainstream' media?but we ought to pay special attention to the role that ridicule plays as a public relations tactic."

World Congress of Families V: Day One: Morning Session

Posted on August 10, 2009
Christian Newswire: "World Congress of Families V opened on August 10, 2009 at 10:30 AM at the RAI Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The theme of the opening session was 'Modern Families, Traditional Values.'"

Military planning for possible H1N1 outbreak

Posted on August 10, 2009
CNN: "The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials."

Orlando Considers Restricting Where Adult Businesses Can Open

Posted on August 10, 2009
CFNews13.com: "City Council is set to take up a plan to try and prevent adult businesses from moving into certain areas of the city."

CLS-ADF suit brings funding, choice of leadeship to Boise State student groups

Posted on August 10, 2009
ecause of a lawsuit filed by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom and the Christian Legal Society?s Center for Law & Religious Freedom, Boise State University has revamped a critical policy affecting religious student groups.

Catholic Organizations? Support for Health Care Reform Follows the Money Trail

Posted on August 10, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "A clash between Catholic pro-life groups and major Catholic organizations on whether Congress should enact immediate health care reform has drastically muddled the Catholic response to the debate raging on Capitol Hill. But as one Catholic editor has noted, the conflicting messages on whether to push health care reform could be traced to at least one organization's monetary interest in such reform...

Quebec Abortuaries Set to Close, Can?t Meet Basic Safety Standards of New Bill

Posted on August 10, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "Montreal's Alternative abortuary has announced that it will be closing its doors on September 30th due to a new Quebec government bill that has required minimal safety standards for abortion centres."

A Comprehensive Primer on Stem Cells

Posted on August 10, 2009
National Catholic Bioethics Center: "A stem cell is any cell that exists in a relatively immature state, and is able to divide to produce one cell that replaces itself and one that will go on to become a more specialized cell type. Because stem cells replace themselves every time they divide, they are considered self-renewing, or 'immortal...

New Michigan Stats Disprove Notion of High Numbers of Insurance-Paid Abortions

Posted on August 10, 2009
LifeNews: "Part of the current debate on health care and abortion revolves around a phony argument from pro-abortion groups that most insurance plans pay for abortions. If that is true, then there is little change by having Congress either force insurance providers to cover abortions or having abortion in a national plan ...

The Pedagogical Goals of Law School Classes

Posted on August 10, 2009
Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: Here are some materials I put together for my first-semester torts students, aimed at explaining some things that students often find mystifying and frustrating about law school (such as, why aren't we just learning the rules?)...

Nashville attorney Jane Branstetter Stranch nominated to the 6th Circuit

Posted on August 10, 2009
Tennessean.com: "Nashville attorney Jane Branstetter Stranch has been nominated by President Barack Obama to become a federal judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals . . . She has taught labor law at Belmont University and served on the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee...

M.D. Penn. Judge Vanaskie nominated to 3rd Circuit

Posted on August 10, 2009
The Scranton Times-Tribune: "President Barack Obama on Friday nominated a longtime Scranton federal judge to sit on an appeals court one step below the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Thomas Vanaskie, 55, is a scholar athlete from Shamokin who once considered a career as professional football player before going to law school...

MA: Planning Board recommends against strip club zone

Posted on August 10, 2009
Herald News: "The Planning Board has recommended that amendments to establish an adult entertainment district and a smaller 'local business' district within the Fall River Industrial Park be denied."

Embattled S.F. strip club alleges shakedowns

Posted on August 10, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle: "The owner of a North Beach strip club that the city is trying to shut down for code violations says he's being targeted for refusing to pay off police and other San Francisco officials, according to court documents."

Case of prayer at Greece meetings heads to court

Posted on August 10, 2009
Democrat and Chronicle: "Joel Oster, ADF senior litigation counsel, said the case boils down to 'the plaintiffs wanting the town to become the prayer police and tell people to whom and how they should pray.'"

?Gay marriage lawyers say no to help from S.F.?

Posted on August 10, 2009
Washington Post (AP): '"Campaign has failed to offer any argument that differs from those raised by' the parties already officially fighting the lawsuit, Boies and Olson wrote. The lawyers said all of the organization's concerns are being addressed by lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund, which the judge has allowed to intervene to argue against the lawsuit...

Parties in Prop. 8 suit reject more plaintiffs

Posted on August 10, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle: "The two couples represented by attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies not that the gay rights organizations seeking to intervene in the case share their clients' basic positions. But adding parties would just delay matters, they argue - an opinion shared by the Alliance Defense Fund...

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