Religion & Law

?Court Favors Parents in Battle Over Special-Education Tuition?

Posted on June 24, 2009
How Appealing has this post compiling coverage on the U.S. Supreme Courts IDEA ruling earlier in the week. Related post: Supreme Court rules parents can seek reimbursement for private ed. under IDEA

Federal Court rules Al Qaeda terrorist held in Guantanamo must be released

Posted on June 24, 2009
SCOTUS Blog reports: "U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, ruling in the case of a Syrian national who had links to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan years ago, ruled that the prisoner could no longer be detained as an ?enemy combatant,? and the government must make efforts to release him ?forthwith...

Oklahoma Bar quietly promoting ?transgenderism?

Posted on June 24, 2009
The Oklahoma Bar has posted this enrollment form for the Bar Association Leadership Academy. See the Gender choices.

Arizona legislature passes pro-life bills, now before the gov.

Posted on June 24, 2009
Center for AZ Policy: ". . . the Arizona Senate passed three more pro-family bills, including two critical pro-life bills. Now, it?s time for you to spring into action! Contact Governor Brewer TODAY, thank her for being pro-life, and politely ask her to sign the two abortion bills...

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Sex Education ? Not the Governments Job

Posted on June 24, 2009
The Family Voice Blog of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia: "Sex education is not essential for kindergarteners or high-schoolers. It does not prepare them for function within society. But the negative of sex-education, listed quite intelligently in the comment above are certainly true for American schools; and our education rankings are proof...

India: Anti-conversion laws to be repealed by new govt

Posted on June 24, 2009
Christian Post: "Finally, there might be some good news for Christians in states where anti-conversion laws are in force. The newly elected government has agreed to repeal bills that have restricted the freedom of religion in India."

FPCWV: ?Cultural diversity? proposal undermines parents, rights of conscience

Posted on June 24, 2009
The Family Policy Council of West Virginia called on the Kanawha County Board of Education Tuesday to withdraw a proposed addition of ?sexual orientation? to its ?cultural diversity? policies.

NY Bar votes to redefine marriage

Posted on June 24, 2009
"Legalizing same-sex marriage is the only way to achieve full equality for gay and lesbian couples, the New York State Bar Association's policy-making body has concluded, abandoning a menu of legislative options it offered only four years ago."

South Bend Bus System Bans Future Ads Promoting Churches

Posted on June 24, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "Concerned about the breadth of that standard, the new rules instead prohibit ads promoting cigarettes, churches, politicians, guns or pornography."

Be Careful What You Wish For: Gays, Dueling High School T-Shirts, and the Perils of Suppression

Posted on June 24, 2009
Wake Forest Law Review: "The dueling school t-shirts expose basic tensions between competing constitutional ideals. One approach is a broadly inclusive belief in equality and dignity to be achieved, if necessary, through suppression of contrary political and religious messages...

A War of Words: How Fundamentalist Rhetoric Threatens Reproductive Autonomy

Posted on June 24, 2009
University of San Francisco Law Review: "The belief that an embryo is entitled to the same legal protection as a living child placed for adoption is impossible to reconcile with the treatment of the fetus in current abortion law; and if we accept that embryos are 'pre-born children waiting for a chance at life,' as Snowflakes suggests in its literature, this characterization will have far-reaching and damaging consequences in the context of abortion rights...

A Behavioral Approach to Human Rights

Posted on June 24, 2009
Harvard International Law Journal: "This Article is the first to investigate the far ranging implications of behavioralism,especially behavioral insights about social influence, for the international human rights regime. It explores design implications for three broad components of the regime: the content, adjudication, and implementation of human rights...

Eggs as Capital: Human Egg Procurement in the Fertility Industry and the Stem Cell Research Enterprise

Posted on June 24, 2009
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society: "Science is one arena of national status competition. In competition, both scientists and scientific know-how are deployed in the effort to achieve victory. The prize varies. The meanings attached to that prize shift over time and political space...

Utah ?sex-ed? curriculum may become more comprehensive

Posted on June 24, 2009
Davis County Clipper: "The Legislative Health and Human Services Interim Committee heard testimony last week on revising Utah?s law on sex education curriculum to include the ability to discuss birth control and contraceptive options without fear of reprimand...

Prostitution to be decriminalized in Taiwan

Posted on June 24, 2009
Taiwan News: "The government has tentatively decided to decriminalize prostitution in response to sex workers' appeals for better protection of their human rights, a senior official said Wednesday."

UN Treaty jeapordizes home schooling in UK

Posted on June 24, 2009
ParentalRights.org Press Release: "The Badman report uses Articles 12 and 29 of the UNCRC to justify registering the estimated 80,000 homeschooling families in Britain, forcing them to provide annual reports regarding their homeschool, granting government officials the right to enter the home and interview the children alone as well as reserving the choice of curriculum to the state...

Kentucky House Passes Gambling Bill but Senate likely to vote no

Posted on June 24, 2009
Casino Watch: "Now it appears, Governor Beshear is still trying to expand gambling in Ky. This time he is starting small and simply seeking to expand gambling at the racetracks. An online article explains that the bill has passed the house, but has almost no chance and making out of the senate ...

Chuck Colson: Can gov?t-run churches happen here?

Posted on June 24, 2009
Chuck Colson writing in The Christian Post: "In China, Christians have a choice: Join a government-approved church-which is constantly monitored by the authorities-or join an underground church. Thank heavens things like that don?t happen in the West, you may be thinking...

Third Same-Sex Marriage Initiative Circulates

Posted on June 24, 2009
News10: "Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced a third initiative to legalize gay marriage in California has been approved for petition signature-gathering circulation." The report includes the text of the petition.

Petition to repeal Prop. 8 given go ahead

Posted on June 24, 2009
KSRO.com: "Secretary of State Debra Bowen says they have 150 days to qualify an initiative to repeal Proposition 8, the voter-approved constitutional amendment that restricts marriage to one and and one woman."

4th Circuit upholds Va. partial-birth abortion ban

Posted on June 24, 2009
?No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless. Virginia has legitimately chosen to protect innocent life from a terrible procedure, and the court was right to uphold Virginia?s law.?

Maine Family Policy Council seeks allies in battle for marriage

Posted on June 24, 2009
Michael S. Heath, executive director of the Maine Family Policy Council, writing in the Bangor Daily News: "I have no doubt that the traditional definition of marriage will endure much longer than the granite used to build our own state capitol. But it will be up to the people of Maine to see that the petition drive is successful, and without their participation, this is far from a foregone conclusion...

Evolutionists study foes? ways at Creation Museum

Posted on June 24, 2009
AP: "In one of the largest gatherings of critics since the northern Kentucky museum opened two years ago, the scientists in the area for a conference took a field trip to get a glimpse of the marketing tactics used by the other side of the evolution debate...

Brutal Crackdown in Iran Targeting Key Opposition Figures, Activists, and Journalists

Posted on June 24, 2009
AlterNet: "Ahmadinejad seems determined to round up anyone who could play a key role in rallying public support for opposition demands."

Virginia: Page Eyes Regulation Of ?Adult Businesses?

Posted on June 24, 2009
Daily News Record: "Page County now has the authority to regulate adult businesses, and anyone interested in opening up such an establishment would have a hard time selling it to county residents and officials. The Board of Supervisors last week approved a zoning ordinance that defines 'adult businesses' and requires a special-use permit...

Pakistan: Tortured Christian Languishing on False Charges

Posted on June 24, 2009
Compass News Direct: "A 37-year-old Christian is languishing in a Sialkot jail after police broke his backbone because his father was preaching Christ, according to a local advocacy group."

Three bills backed by family advocates before La. legislature

Posted on June 24, 2009
CitizenLink reports on three bills before the Louisiana legislature backed by the Louisiana Family Forum. HB 340, the Louisiana Religious Freedom Constitutional Amendment Act HB 60 "would set standards regarding names on birth certificates. HB 517 "protect[s] medical workers' conscience rights...

Researchers blame children?s movies for perpetuating ?heteronormativity?

Posted on June 24, 2009
Kathleen Gilbert reports at LifeSiteNews: "Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films ? such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label 'heteronormativity...

9th Circuit invalidates Seattle street performer restrictions

Posted on June 24, 2009
Among other provisions, the new rules required street performers at the Seattle Center to obtain permits before performing; set out specified locations of or street performances and established a first-come, first-served rule for using the locations; allowed only passive solicitation of funds by street performers; and prohibited any communication, by street performers or anyone else, within thirty feet of visitors to the Seattle Center who are waiting in line, attending an event, or sitting in a spot available for eating or drinking.

Mary Harned Joins Americans United for Life, Set to Oppose Sotomayor Confirmation

Posted on June 23, 2009
Americans United for Life: "Former Chief Counsel on the Judiciary Committee staff of Senator Tom Coburn, Mary Harned has joined Americans United for Life (AUL) as Of Counsel to assist in spearheading America?s oldest national pro-life organization through its efforts to counter the confirmation of U...

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