Religion & Law

U. North Texas College of Law prepares to open in 2011

Posted on August 10, 2009
Ft. Worth Business Press: "In the fall of 2011, anyone interested in attending law school in the Metroplex will have a new option: The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law."

Governors oppose DoD emergency powers

Posted on August 10, 2009
The Hill: "A bipartisan pair of governors is opposing a new Defense Department proposal to handle natural and terrorism-related disasters, contending that a murky chain of command could lead to more problems than solutions."

Picking a Law School? There?s an App for That

Posted on August 10, 2009
Legal Blog Watch: "Choosing among law schools just got a little bit more convenient for any potential law student with an iPhone. There is now an iPhone application that ranks the 100 best law schools in the United States and provides capsule profiles of each of the ranked schools...

Germany: Bavaria withdraws high court case against same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on August 10, 2009
The Local: "Sources within the state government, led by the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), told the paper that the state government had withdrawn their case, thus bringing the country a step closer to recognising gay marriage."

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The Alliance Defense Fund battles for religious freedom and free speech on US campuses

Posted on August 10, 2009
Charlotte Christianity Examiner: "When a persecuted Christian student speaks up and says 'Enough is enough.' the ADF has stepped in many times in the past to help them out. At this point they have been enormously successful in standing up for and restoring Christian?s rights...

Bosnia: Islamic Leaders Oppose Radicalism

Posted on August 07, 2009
BalkanInsight.com: "The leader of Bosnia?s Islamic Community, Mustafa Ceric, and Kosovo Mufti Naim Ternava have called on Muslims not to succumb to radicalism."

?How gay is Minnesota??

Posted on August 07, 2009
Minneapolis Star Tribune: "According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area ranks 8th in terms of LGBT people per capita and Minneapolis is fourth among major cities for percent of LGBT people in the population...

11th Circuit: Immigration board failed to consider ?religious persecution? evidence in denying Iranian asylum

Posted on August 07, 2009
"Although substantial evidence supports the decision of the Board that Kazemzadeh failed to prove a well-founded fear of persecution based on his political opinion, the Board failed to give reasoned consideration to Kazemzadeh?s evidence of a well-founded fear of persecution based on his religion...

?Unjust and ineffective?? America?s sex offender registries exploding

Posted on August 07, 2009
The Economist: "Because so many offences require registration, the number of registered sex offenders in America has exploded. As of December last year, there were 674,000 of them, according to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. If they were all crammed into a single state, it would be more populous than Wyoming, Vermont or North Dakota...

Obama nominations for 3rd and 6th Circuit

Posted on August 07, 2009
ABA Journal: "President Obama has nominated a lawyer known for her ERISA expertise and a federal judge from Pennsylvania for spots on two federal appeals courts."

Iraq mulls website ban, fuels censorship fears

Posted on August 07, 2009
Reuters: "Iraq is considering blocking websites deemed pornographic or that incite violence or crime, triggering fears of a return to Saddam Hussein-style state censorship and government propaganda . . . "

Pro-Mousavi Iranians chant ?death to the dictator?

Posted on August 07, 2009
Reuters: "Hundreds of supporters of Iranian opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi chanted 'death to the dictator' in Tehran on Thursday, a witness said, a day after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as president."

New ENDA bill ?turns private sin into a public right?

Posted on August 07, 2009
One News Now: "A conservative Christian leader says a Senate bill that would ban job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity 'turns private sin into a public right.'"

NY court: US govt can withhold Spitzer documents

Posted on August 07, 2009
AP: "The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals found Friday that The New York Times had not shown it has a First Amendment right to the material." In Re: Application of the N.Y. Times Co. to Unseal Wiretap & Search Warrant Materials, Nos. 09-0854-cv (L), 09-1164 (con) (2nd Cir...

Idaho settles with ?transgenders? who castrated themselves

Posted on August 07, 2009
"The Idaho Department of Correction has settled lawsuits with two transgender inmates who castrated themselves after they were denied feminizing hormone therapy."

?Polish woman fined for gay abuse?

Posted on August 07, 2009
BBC News: "A judge in north-west Poland ruled the 44-year-old woman had infringed Ryszard Giersz's dignity by repeatedly verbally abusing him in public."

NYCLU Files Court Papers Supporting Paterson?s Appointment of Lieutenant Governor

Posted on August 07, 2009
ACLU: "The New York Civil Liberties Union today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Appellate Division, Second Department supporting Governor David A. Paterson? s recent appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor."

PA: Strip club controversy continues to dominate Middle Smithfield Township

Posted on August 07, 2009
Pocono Record: "'Pole dancing is an exercise. It's a therapy.' Middle Smithfield Supervisor Bob Spano briefly tried to sell the benefits of strip clubs with that argument at Thursday's board of supervisors meeting."

Irish Government Pressing Hard for Yes Vote on Lisbon while Other EU States Hesitate

Posted on August 07, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "The Irish government's broadcasting regulator has told 'No' campaigners on the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum that there will be no equal time for both sides of the debate."

Malaysia mulls plans to filter internet porn

Posted on August 07, 2009
Forbes (AP): "Malaysia may set up an Internet filter to censor pornography, a Cabinet minister said Friday, raising concerns among human rights and opposition groups that it may also be used to block dissent."

Louisiana: Marriage commission members take dim view of same-sex adoption

Posted on August 07, 2009
The Times-Picayune: "'If anything, they (state marriage and adoption laws) should be strengthened,' Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe, a member of Gov. Bobby Jindal's 29-member Commission on Marriage and the Family, said. 'Marriage is between one man and one woman, and we need to do all we can to support that...

Montana: CHIP will not pay for birth control

Posted on August 07, 2009
Missoulian: "Montana is one of only five states that forbids the Children's Health Insurance Program from paying for birth-control products - and, as part of the budget deal struck by lawmakers over the weekend, that ban will remain intact. Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, this month inserted language into a pair of budget bills to allow CHIP to start paying for contraception for teenage children covered by the government insurance program...

Vietnamese gov?t blocking Catholic websites

Posted on August 07, 2009
Catholic World News: "Catholic internet sites that have given prominent coverage to a Vietnamese government campaign against the Catholic Church-- including CWN-- are being blocked by government censors."

Top court may hear Haskell Co. lawsuit on Ten Commandments monument

Posted on August 07, 2009
The Oklahoman (Tulsa World): "Kevin Theriot of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the commissioners, said he will ask the high court to hear the case within 90 days."

Hawaii Bill would force Obama to reveal birth documents

Posted on August 07, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "Hawaii state Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat, has confirmed plans to introduce legislation through which the state's lawmakers would force the public disclosure of all President Obama's birth documents held by the Hawaii Department of Health, including President Obama?s long-form original birth certificate...

?Manitoba?s NDP Government Puts Paying For Sex-Change Surgery on the Back Burner, For Now?

Posted on August 07, 2009
LifeSiteNews: " . . . Alberta recently announced it would no longer cover 'sex-reassignment' surgery as a cost-cutting measure, while Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and B.C. have partial or full coverage for the procedures."

Florida: Sen. Martinez to resign by end of the month

Posted on August 07, 2009
The Hill: "Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) is resigning his Senate seat by the end of August, a year and a half before his term expires in January 2011, two Senate GOP sources said Friday morning . . . Crist is expected to appoint a caretaker to hold the seat until next year?s election...

ADF chief counsel to speak at World Congress of Families in Amsterdam

Posted on August 07, 2009
"Alliance Defense Fund Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull will be available for media interviews during his participation Wednesday in an international gathering of pro-family advocates, leaders, scholars, and parliamentarians Aug. 10-12 in Amsterdam. The Alliance Defense Fund is a partnership level member of the biennial event, named World Congress of Families V, whose participants have undergone threats and intimidation in the days leading up to the event...

Appeal sought in Oklahoma Ten Commandments monument case

Posted on August 07, 2009
The Joplin Globe (AP): "Kevin Theriot of the Alliance Defense Fund says he will ask the high court to hear the case within 90 days."

White House ?fishes? for trouble

Posted on August 07, 2009
CitizenLink: "'We have an administration in America taking a page out of a playbook that was written by the Khrushchev types in the 1950s,' [McCaleb] said. 'Why is the government asking neighbor to report on neighbor like the Russians asked their children to report on their parents?'"

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