Religion & Law

Christian attorneys defend public prayer

Posted on August 10, 2009
OneNewsNow: "Public prayer is constitutional and customary within many governing agencies, according to Joel Oster, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). 'The town of Chesapeake, Virginia, has allowed prayer before it begins its town council sessions -- and that practice is now under attack by the Freedom From Religion Foundation,' he notes...

Religion and public schools: An important civics lesson this fall

Posted on August 10, 2009
OneNewsNow: "However, this fall, public school students, teachers, and parents will get a civics lesson on free speech, thanks to the Free to Speak Campaign, a project of Gateways to Better Education (GTBE) and the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)."

Exodus Applauds Study Showing Change to be Possible & Sustainable

Posted on August 10, 2009
Exodus International: "Psychologists Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse announced the newest results of a study showing that sexual orientation change is not only possible, but sustainable at a symposium today at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Toronto...

Paper Profiles Principal Facing Contempt Charges Over Prayer

Posted on August 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "Today's Pensacola (FL) News Journal carries a fascinating lengthy profile of Frank Lay, long-time principal of Santa Rosa County (FL) Pace High School who faces criminal contempt charges for defying a temporary injunction against prayer and religious activity at his school...

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Tough times in the porn industry

Posted on August 10, 2009
LA Times: "Industry insiders estimate that since 2007, revenue for most adult production and distribution companies has declined 30% to 50% and the number of new films made has fallen sharply . . . 'It's the free stuff that's killing us, and that's not going away,' said Dion Jurasso, owner of porn production company Combat Zone, which has seen its business fall about 50% in the last three years...

Jewish Group Slams Ban on Counseling Homosexuals Straight

Posted on August 10, 2009
IsraelNationalNews.com: "An international Jewish nonprofit organization has come out swinging against an edict by the American Psychological Association, warning its membership not to counsel homosexuals toward trying to 'go straight.' The American Psychological Association (APA) adopted the ban last week against counseling homosexual clients toward changing their sexual orientation...

Natural law and conservatism

Posted on August 10, 2009
Fred Hutchinson writes at Renew America: "Natural law is a vital part of the conservative intellectual heritage. Among the five ancient kinds of conservatism, natural law is the second oldest. Natural law ideas were vital to the American founding fathers...

?In God We Trust? Proposal Withdrawn By City Commission In Florida

Posted on August 10, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "The Orlando Sentinel reported last week that the proposed ordinance was withdrawn after comments by its proponent, Commissioner Art Otero, caused the city to be ridiculed."

Saucy ads in Florida paper lead to arrests

Posted on August 10, 2009
SunJournal.com: "For years, the back pages of the Orlando Weekly were filled with ads for naughty nurses, sultry coeds and girls with come-hither names like 'Rush' and 'Roxie.' But the saucy escort-service advertising came to a halt last month."

?Wait for sex and marriage? Evangelicals conflicted?

Posted on August 10, 2009
"The conversation is spreading. . . to the broader evangelical community . . . "

Our Unconstitutional Census

Posted on August 10, 2009
John S. Baker and Elliott Stonecipher write at the Wall Street Journal: "To accomplish these vital constitutional purposes, the enumeration should count only citizens and persons who are legal, permanent residents. But it won?t. Instead, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to count all persons physically present in the country?including large numbers who are here illegally...

Sotomayor Sworn In As 111th Justice

Posted on August 10, 2009
"The 55-year-old native of the Bronx, the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court, was sworn in at noon today before a nationwide television audience by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., with her mother Celina holding the Bible."

Same-Sex Marriage Opponent Fights $12,000 in Court Costs

Posted on August 10, 2009
But [Campaign for Cal. Families] now says it was never a true party to the marriage cases and shouldn't have to pay the $12,000 in court costs ordered by S.F. Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer for those pre-Proposition 8 battles . . .

Oklahoma judge to hear abortion arguments

Posted on August 10, 2009
Tulsa World: "An Oklahoma County judge will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a legal challenge to a 2008 state law that requires a woman to undergo an ultrasound an hour before an abortion."

Russia: ?Religious group wants gay clubs out of sight?

Posted on August 10, 2009
Moscow Times: "A nationwide Christian association has called on authorities to move gay clubs away from residential areas, schools, and cultural, sports and medical facilities."

Abortion opponents blast Kansas program cut

Posted on August 10, 2009
Wichita Eagle: "Catholic bishops and other abortion opponents are criticizing the governor and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for stripping funding from a program that provides state money to groups that offer alternatives to abortion...

Australia: Abortion pill to be more widely available

Posted on August 10, 2009
ABC: "The medical abortion drug RU486, or mifepristone, will now be more widely available in Australia."

FRC: 6 facts proving abortion is in the health care legislation

Posted on August 10, 2009
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, writes in the FRC's Washington Update: "Our campaign to expose the abortion implications in health care 'reform' has been so influential that one organization called us 'the single greatest threat to the passage of health care reform...

Senate Confirms Outspoken Christian as NIH Head

Posted on August 10, 2009
Christian Post: "The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed prominent geneticist Francis S. Collins as the new director of the National Institutes of Health . . . He has spoken at countless universities and churches across the nation about the compatibility between science and religion, including the consistency between the Bible?s creation story and evolution...

10th Circuit Affirms Reversal of Asylum Claim by Gay Brasilian Man

Posted on August 10, 2009
Leonard Link: "In a unanimous three-judge panel ruling issued on July 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has affirmed a decision by a single member of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to reverse a grant of asylum by an Immigration Judge to a gay Brazilian man who was apprehended attempting to enter the U...

Collins and Snowe ?silent? on Maine Marriage Initiative

Posted on August 10, 2009
Sovo.com: "Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, told the Blade on Thursday during a brief exchange on Capitol Hill that she's not taking a side on the 'people's veto.' . . . The position of the other Republican Maine senator, Olympia Snowe, is not publicly known...

Muslim population in EU expected to swell

Posted on August 10, 2009
Christian Institute: "They say increasing levels of immigration from Muslim countries and low birth rates among Europeans could bring the EU?s Muslim population up to 20 per cent by 2050. In 2008, just five per cent of the EU population was Muslim."

NY: Suspected sex ring enslaving undocumented women raided

Posted on August 10, 2009
Newsday: "More than 100 federal agents and police fanned out in Suffolk County, starting Monday morning shortly after midnight, in raids aimed at smashing a ring that allegedly enslaved women, forcing them to serve as sex workers in bars that catered to undocumented immigrants, according to court documents and sources...

?Virginia Jail Ends Censorship Of Religious Material After ACLU Letter?

Posted on August 10, 2009
ACLU: "In response to a letter sent last month by the American Civil Liberties Union, a Virginia jail has agreed to change its policies regarding prison mail to ensure that biblical passages and other religious material sent to prisoners are no longer censored...

Israel: Hareidi Man Arrested for ?Tired of Gays? T-Shirt

Posted on August 10, 2009
Israel National News: "Police arrested a hareidi man, Aryeh Yerushalmi, for wearing a T-shirt that said 'Homos, We are Tired of You' to a rally by homosexuals at Tel Aviv?s main square Saturday night. It is not known what law Yerushalmi is suspected of breaking...

Twins created to treat sick brother

Posted on August 10, 2009
" . . . The IVF resulted in five embryos and the two that were a match for Connor were implanted."

ACLU to Lancaster Politicians: Stop Your Christian Prayers at Public Meetings

Posted on August 10, 2009
LAIST.com: "It's not that the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California wants Lancaster officials to stop praying all together at the beginning of meetings, but to stop singling out that Jesus guy."

RI: Tim Hortons backs out of ?anti-gay? marriage event

Posted on August 10, 2009
CBC.ca: "The August 16 event, organized by the National Organization for Marriage, is billed as a 'Celebrate Marriage & Family Day.' Held in suburban Providence, the rally is to include speeches, a cookout and a ceremony in which married couples are invited to renew their vows ...

House Votes Name Change: Law Library of Congress to Become the National Law Library

Posted on August 10, 2009
Law Librarian Blog: "The House has voted overwhelmingly in favor on a bill that would rename the Law Library of Congress as the National Law Library . . . The bill is the William Orton Law Library Improvement and Modernization Act, H.R. 2728."

Erik Stanley on The Word 100.7 FM with Janet Mefferd: Hate Crimes Legislation

Posted on August 10, 2009
ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on The Word 100.7 FM with Janet Mefferd to discuss pending "Hate Crimes" legislation. The MP3 runs just under 18 minutes.

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