Religion & Law

Wisconsin domestic partnerships begin, as does legal challenge

Posted on August 05, 2009
Everyday Christian: "With the help of the conservative legal advocacy organization Alliance Defense Fund, Wisconsin Family Action has filed a petition at the state Supreme Court to have the laws struck down."

The ENDA vote: 13 votes needed?

Posted on August 05, 2009
The Bilerico Project: "A vote on ENDA, HR 3017, is rapidly approaching in September sometime, and where are we? According to my calculations over at the Facebook Inclusive ENDA House spreadsheet, we're at 205 confirmed votes, and we need 218."

Sotomayor in context: Unprecedented input from interest groups

Posted on August 05, 2009
Ninth Justice (National Journal): "More than 200 interest groups have submitted testimony in support of Sonia Sotomayor -- eclipsing the next-most-praised Supreme Court nominees 10 times over. Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas had previously shared the record, with 21 interest groups in support of each judge during their nomination...

ACLU joins opposition to Chesapeake council prayers

Posted on August 05, 2009
Virginian-Pilot: . . . said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, in a statement. ?It is unfortunate that at a time when local governments are struggling to deal with the economic crisis that groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation waste the time of elected officials with baseless threats...

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American Psychological Association ?repudiates gay-to-straight therapy?

Posted on August 05, 2009
"The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments."

Matt Bowman on the Steve Malzberg Show: Your religious convictions or your job

Posted on August 05, 2009
ADF attorney Matt Boman appeared on the Steve Malzberg Show to discuss the case of a Brooklyn nurse, Cathy Cenzon-DeCarl, forced to choose between her religious convictions and her job when her employee forced her to participate in an abortion. The MP3 runs just over 9 minutes...

Teachers Unions Back Judge Sotomayor

Posted on August 05, 2009
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2009/08/teachers_unions_endorse_judge.html

Tonight in Lodi: Stand Up for Jesus Rally

Posted on August 05, 2009
Christian Newswire: "200+ Christians will rally in Lodi this evening, calling for the constitutional religious freedom to pray in Jesus' name at city council meetings. Since May, the City of Lodi has instructed local pastors who give invocations before city government meetings that they cannot pray in Jesus' name ...

Proportion of ?Pro-Life? Americans Up This Year

Posted on August 05, 2009
Christian Post: "Conducted in mid-July, the survey found 47 percent of Americans called themselves 'pro-life,' compared to 46 percent who identified themselves as 'pro-choice.' These latest figures reflect a loss for the pro-life camp when compared to a similar Gallup survey in May when 51 percent of Americans said they are pro-life and 42 percent said they are pro-choice...

Pakistan Parliament Observed 2 Minutes of Silence for Martyred Christians

Posted on August 05, 2009
Voice of the Martyrs Persecution Blog: "Assist News Service is reporting that the Pakistan Parliament was gracious enough to observe two minutes of silence for the Christians who were martyred recently in Gojra."

?Health Care Reform Must be Abortion-Free,? says Supreme Knight

Posted on August 05, 2009
Christian Newswire: "'A health care system designed to save lives on the one hand must not become a vehicle for taking lives through abortion and euthanasia,' Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in his annual report at the organization's 127th annual convention here today...

Ron Paul son Rand joins Ky. GOP race for Senate

Posted on August 05, 2009
AP: "Rand Paul, the son of 2008 presidential candidate Ron Paul, ended months of speculation Wednesday by saying he will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by fellow Republican Jim Bunning."

National Day of Prayer Summit: Oct. 16-18

Posted on August 04, 2009
The National Day of Prayer will be holding a summit on Oct. 16-18, 2009. More information is available here.

?Porn pervasive in workplace?

Posted on August 04, 2009
TG Daily: "Sharon Nelson, president of Sensei Enterprises, a Virginia-based computer forensics company said that 26 percent of companies surveyed in the first half of 2009 have fired employees for violating e-mail policies. More than 26 percent have sacked employees for violation of Internet policies...

India: ?OTC EC and abortion pills cause menstrual problems?

Posted on August 04, 2009
Times of India: "Gynecologists are handling a sharp spike in such cases of menstrual complications among young adult women who are arbitrarily and repeatedly using OTC EC pills and abortion pills (for foetuses upto 45 days old)."

The folly of ?hate crime? laws

Posted on August 04, 2009
Richard Cohen writing at Real Clear Politics: "The real purpose of hate-crime laws is to reassure politically significant groups -- blacks, Hispanics, Jews, gays, etc. -- that someone cares about them and takes their fears seriously. That's nice. It does not change the fact, though, that what's being punished is thought or speech...

Same-Sex ?Marriage? Data to be Released

Posted on August 04, 2009
Washington Post: "The Census Bureau plans to release raw data from the 2010 Census about the number of same-sex marriages in the United States, according to new guidelines issued Monday."

Israeli Gays Say Orthodox Created Culture That Led To Shooting Last Week

Posted on August 04, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "The gay community charges that anti-gay incitement by Orthodox Jewish rabbis and politicians created an atmosphere conducive to the shooting."

Medical abortion drugs set for Cambodian registration

Posted on August 04, 2009
The Phnom Penh Post: "In a bid to make safe abortions more accessible, the Department of Drugs and Food is set to register the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, said John Naponick, who works with the government as director of the Reduction in Maternal Mortality Project...

Neb. abortion provider plans Kansas clinic

Posted on August 04, 2009
Associated Press: "A Nebraska abortion provider says he still plans to open his own late-term abortion practice in Kansas in the wake of Dr. George Tiller's shooting death."

Federal Magistrate Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To Marijuana Laws

Posted on August 04, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "In Hutchinson v. State of Maine, (D ME, July 20, 2009), a Maine federal magistrate judge recommended rejecting a free exercise challenge to Maine's prohibition on the cultivation of marijuana."

IRS Proposes Rules To Clarify Who May Authorize Church Audit

Posted on August 04, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "BNA Daily Report for Executives [subscription required] reports that the Internal Revenue Service, in proposed regulations that will be published in tomorrow's Federal Register, is attempting to clarify which high level Treasury official has authority to make a determination under IRC Sec...

Oregon: Silverton?s ?transgender? mayor officially reprimanded for cross dressing in front of kids

Posted on August 04, 2009
KATU.com: "Mayor Stu Rasmussen admits he wore an open-back bathing suit, mini skirt and high heels when he went to speak before a group of kids for a Silverton-based non-profit group. "

?Feingold lobbied to push DOMA repeal?

Posted on August 04, 2009
Washington Blade: "Allison Herwitt, HRC's legislative director, told the Blade on Friday that her organization has been communicating with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to introduce DOMA repeal legislation that would complement a similar bill expected in the House...

3rd Circuit Upholds 10-Year Internet Ban in Child Porn Case

Posted on August 04, 2009
Shannon P. Duffy at the Legal Intelligencer (Law.com): "A man who was indicted as the leader of a child pornography ring in Delaware has lost an appeal that challenged both his 20-year prison term and a ban on using the Internet for another decade after he is released ...

Oregon Study: ?Save the Planet: Have fewer kids?

Posted on August 04, 2009
Live Science at Yahoo News: "A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives - things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs ...

?American Babies Are Ruining Everything: The truth is more brains will likely mean cleaner energy technologies.?

Posted on August 04, 2009
William McGurn writes at the Wall Street Journal: "More and more, we are hearing from people who might best be described as anti-birthers. Their claims have nothing to do with long- versus short-form Hawaiian birth certificates. Instead, they advance a simple proposition: that the birth of each additional American child is a kind of calamity for the environment...

Hadley Arkes: Conscience and the law in New York

Posted on August 04, 2009
The Catholic Thing: "The federal laws to protect the conscience of doctors and nurses spring from an ethic that is not widely shared in New York. To use some older language, the political class that 'forms the regime' in New York ? the people who hold office, public and private, and who move in the climate of opinion in the city and state ? just will not put up with these claims of the nurse...

NYU Law School: No Conservative Christians Need Apply

Posted on August 04, 2009
Catholic League: "Dr. Thio Li-ann, professor at the National University of Singapore, was invited to teach at New York University Law School this fall. After it was discovered that the Christian professor, while serving as a Singaporean lawmaker in 2007, opposed a repeal of the law proscribing homosexual acts, NYU students and alumni organized to protest her appointment...

?Same-Sex Marriage and the Civil-Rights Movement: A Problematic Analogy?

Posted on August 04, 2009
"Those who see the movement for same-sex marriage as today?s civil-rights struggle are abusing historical reason and our national institutions."

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