Religion & Law

UK: ??How to deal with religious employees?, by gay lobby?

Posted on June 18, 2009
The Christian Institute: "The Government?s equality watchdog has funded a top gay lobby group to advise employers on dealing with the ?clash? between sexual orientation and religious liberty rights. Stonewall?s 38-page guide, Sexual Orientation and Religion: How to manage relations in the workplace, was produced with funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)...

Indian women increasingly acting as surrogates for British couples

Posted on June 18, 2009
Baptist Press: "An Indian surrogate is giving birth to a baby for a British couple every two days in one Mumbai doctor's practice, according to the London Evening Standard. The report demonstrates the growing popularity of a phenomenon in which Indian women are carrying babies conceived by in vitro fertilization performed with the sperm and eggs of British couples...

Study: ?Gay parents ? gay children??

Posted on June 18, 2009
Kelly Boggs writes at Baptist Press: According to Hansen, "Studies thus far find between 8% and 21% of homosexually parented children ultimately identify as non-heterosexual." The most reliable studies indicate that approximately 2 percent of the population is non-heterosexual...

?Gay activists impatient with Obama and Congress?

Posted on June 18, 2009
AP: "Frustrated gay-rights leaders want President Barack Obama to be far more forceful in supporting their political goals, but they also fault the Democratic-led Congress and vow to step up lobbying efforts in hopes of seeing campaign promises fulfilled...

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?Pyrrhic victories for gay marriage?? Voter anger boiling under the surface

Posted on June 18, 2009
Mark Hemingway writes at National Review: "What?s happening in New Hampshire is a sign that Republicans everywhere should be using same-sex marriage as a campaign issue, says Brown. Of the recent states that have legalized same-sex marriage ? Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire ? none has done so through democratic means, and the actions of the courts and legislatures run against public opinion...

Tangle remains over Detroit strip clubs

Posted on June 18, 2009
Detroit Free Press: "A year after draft amendments to ordinances regulating the city's 31 strip clubs were brought before Detroit's City Council, the council and city officials remain tangled over ordinance language. The challenge: how to avoid further lawsuits -- current ones involve the city not allowing liquor licenses to transfer from club to club -- while addressing community quality-of-life concerns...

NY: ?LIC club sues city to keep its topless rights?

Posted on June 18, 2009
The Real Deal: "A large strip club at the base of the Queensboro Bridge in Queens Plaza is fighting the city's efforts to force it out of its valuable location in Long Island City, a decade after zoning laws pushed it out of another location two miles away, according to a lawsuit filed Monday...

The globalization of sex

Posted on June 18, 2009
CBC News: "The Dominicans in Buenos Aires's Prostitute Plaza are just one example of a global sex trade that has only grown bigger and more complex over the last 20 years, says Canadian sociologist Richard Poulin, from the University of Ottawa. As borders have come down, human traffickers have expanded their networks...

Mercury News: ?Census study of gay married couples finds similarities to husband-and-wife couples?

Posted on June 18, 2009
Mercury News: "In the midst of the nation's widening debate over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, the U.S. Census Bureau has quietly completed a statistical portrait of U.S. lesbian and gay couples who describe themselves as married...

Obama position on DOMA called ?nonsense?

Posted on June 18, 2009
Baptist Press: Byron Babione, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal group which opposes "gay marriage," called Obama's statement on DOMA "a nonsense statement. "DOMA actually protects the right of states to determine social policy with respect to marriage," Babione told Baptist Press...

Revelations in Boston Archdiocese Caritas Scandal Board Members Support Pro-Abortion Politicians

Posted on June 18, 2009
Christian Newswire: "On June 17, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts revealed that five of the nine members of scandal-ridden Caritas Christi's Board of Governors are major contributors to pro-abortion politicians . . . 'The Archdiocese of Boston has another scandal on its hands...

School Choice Advocates Stand With Families to Promote Parental Choice in Education

Posted on June 18, 2009
Alliance for School Choice: "School choice advocates today questioned the National Education Association (NEA) for their aggressive stance against D.C. school vouchers, arguing that the organization is misinforming Members of Congress about the success of the program...

Unrecognized College Group Extends ?Olive Leaf? to Liberty U

Posted on June 18, 2009
Christian Post: "Liberty University and the student-run club that it 'unrecognized' last month are still working together to find a way for the latter to be fully recognized by the former while also shooting down false reports that have come out over the past several weeks ...

Fla. school district singles out church VBS fliers for censorship

Posted on June 18, 2009
lliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit in federal court Tuesday after the Collier County School Board rejected a church?s attempt to participate in a flier distribution program open to other community groups. The board refused to allow Cypress Wood Presbyterian Church to advertise its upcoming Vacation Bible School because of the religious nature of the event even though the school district has allowed fliers from other religious and non-religious community groups.

Wave of protests follow Anchorage ?anti-discrimination? ordinance

Posted on June 18, 2009
Warning this report repeats vulgar language used in the protests. Anchorage Press: Those opposed to the proposed addition of sexual orientation to the city?s anti-discrimination ordinance wore red shirts, and their signs read things like ?truth is not hate? and ?when the ?Gay Agenda? destroys Civil Liberties everyone loses!!!? Meanwhile the pro-64 crowd (the ordinance is AO No...

?John Ensign, Defender of Marriage?Except His Own?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Bonnie Erbe writes at US News and World Report: "The list of hypocrites who campaign against gay marriage is much shorter, but growing rapidly enough to ponder the question, who is doing the institution of marriage more harm: gays and lesbians who want in, or married heterosexual politicians who ignore their marital vows...

Turban-wearing transit workers demand MTA drop mandated logo on headwear

Posted on June 17, 2009
NY Daily News: "It was a compromise that was supposed to allow for religious headwear. The MTA would let uniformed workers wear turbans or Muslim head scarves, so long as they were blue and featured the MTA logo. But a group of activists and elected officials maintain that's discriminatory...

?Same-sex couples win change in US passport rules?

Posted on June 17, 2009
"The Obama administration has changed course and will now allow same-sex couples to use their spouse?s surname when they apply for passports with the US State Department, a gay activist group said today in Boston."

Nearly half of Chinese under 25 visit porn websites

Posted on June 17, 2009
Xinhua reports: "Nearly half of Chinese aged below 25 visit pornographic websites, exposing them to online crimes, an expert on youth study said in Beijing Wednesday."

PBS to Begin Phasing Out Religious Programming From Airwaves

Posted on June 17, 2009
Fox News: "PBS board members have decided to enforce a rule barring religious broadcasts in a move that spells the beginning of the end for most spiritual shows like Catholic Masses and Mormon devotionals on public television."

Gambling opponents rally against video slots in Kentucky

Posted on June 17, 2009
Associated Press: "Opponents of a plan to legalize video slot machines at Kentucky's horse racing tracks packed the Capitol on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to reject the plan in anticipation of a possible vote later this week."

ADF appeals DC board?s faulty decision to deny vote on same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics on behalf of Bishop Harry R. Jackson and other D.C. voters, challenging its vote Monday to deny the people a say on the city council?s decision to recognize same-sex ?marriages? from other jurisdictions...

PBS religion ban carries a stench

Posted on June 17, 2009
Catholic League: "It never takes much to push secular buttons, but caving in to the voices of intolerance is shameful. That the religious gag rule is taking place in the age of Obama is not something that has escaped our notice. The stench is unmistakable...

Ensign quits Senate GOP leadership post

Posted on June 17, 2009
AP: "Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada has stepped down from his leadership post one day after admitting he carried on a extra-marital affair with a woman who was on his campaign staff."

The Perils of the Fight Against Cognitive Illiberalism

Posted on June 17, 2009
Harvard Law Review: "Cognitive illiberalism bothers the authors not only because it might produce erroneous judicial conclusions of the type they think occurred in Scott but because, as they put it, it 'needlessly magnifies cultural conflict over and discontent with the law...

Mich. court gives judges say in witnesses? dress

Posted on June 17, 2009
Associated Press: "The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday voted to give judges authority over how witnesses dress in court after a Muslim woman refused to remove her veil while testifying in a small claims case."

A primer on bioethics

Posted on June 17, 2009
William E. May writing at the Culture of Life Foundation: "Although the name is new, the reality is that for centuries there has been an ethical/moral discipline known as ?medical ethics,? with a rich tradition in the Catholic Church and also in medieval Jewish and Islamic cultures...

U.S. to extend its job benefits to same-sex partners

Posted on June 17, 2009
"But administration officials said the timing of the announcement was intended to help contain the growing furor among gay rights groups. Several gay donors withdrew their sponsorship of a Democratic National Committee fund-raising event next week . ...

Say what? To allow a vote would be discriminatory?

Posted on June 17, 2009
OneNewsNow: "'The people of [the District of Columbia] certainly have the right to retain the traditional definition of marriage,' says the [Brian Raum], 'but the board has decided to squelch that right -- and we will be filing an appeal with the DC Superior Court on behalf of the proponents of the referendum...

Louisiana: ?Religion amendment meddling?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Barbara Forrest in a letter to the editor of the Louisiana Advocate: "Readers should know that Michelle Ghetti, the Southern University law professor who is promoting HB340, also helped the LFF promote the creationist Louisiana Science Education Act in 2008...

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