Religion & Law

Lawyer for censored Christians: Beware of ?hate crimes?

Posted on June 17, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "'Christian groups shouldn't be prohibited from expressing their beliefs at public locations,' said attorney Rick Nelson, who is allied with the Alliance Defense Fund."

?PepsiCo faces boycott for gay rights support?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Jonathan Berr reports at Media World: "Nonetheless, PepsiCo CEO Indra K. Nooyi has not taken AFA's advice to 'remain neutral' in the culture wars. The number two soft drink company sponsors gay pride parades and bought advertisements in Out, a magazine aimed at gays, which features sexually provocative photographs...

Russia: Lesbian couple sues for ?marriage?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Anna Malpas reports in the Moscow Times: "Two lesbians who were refused the right to marry at a Moscow registry office in May pressed ahead with their fight this week, filing an official complaint with the Tverskoi District Court."

President to sign memorandum regarding ?federal benefits and non-discrimination?

Posted on June 17, 2009
"The President will sign the memorandum and deliver remarks in the Oval Office today at 5:45PM EDT."

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Recession keeps family lawyers busy

Posted on June 17, 2009
Tresa Baldas reports in the National Law Journal: "Lawyers who specialize in divorce and and custody disputes say they have witnessed a flood of activity in family courts in recent months."

Study: 60% of Australians favor same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on June 17, 2009
AAP reports: "The poll, conducted for the lobby group Australian Marriage Equality, found strong support for same-sex marriage, including among Coalition voters. Of the 1100 respondents, 60 per cent were in favour of same-sex marriage."

Full 4th Circuit refuses to rehear obscenity case

Posted on June 17, 2009
AP: "A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider the obscenity convictions of a Richmond man who discussed his fantasies about child sexual conduct in e-mails." U.S. v. Whorley, No. 06-4288 (4th Cir. Jun 15, 2009)

NJ: ?Maplewood pushing state to legalize same-sex marriages?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Richard Khavkine reports in the Star-Ledger: "In what is thought to be a first among New Jersey municipalities, the Maplewood Township Committee is expected to adopt a resolution Tuesday evening calling on state legislators to sanction same-sex marriage...

?Lithuania passes ban on information on homosexuality?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Reuters: "Lithuania's parliament gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill that a local human rights organisation said could ban the discussion of homosexuality in schools."

FL: Strip club proposal in North Bay Village sparks debate

Posted on June 17, 2009
Joseph Pagliery reports in the Miami Herald: "The city was dragged into federal court in April by a company that hopes to replace Barchetta Ristorante Italiano with a strip club, a move that caused city commissioners great concern."

CDC Report: Active homosexual men at greater risk for HIV

Posted on June 17, 2009
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet (via the North Carolina Family Policy Council): "More than half (54%) of all cases of HIV infection or AIDS among young people aged 13?24 during 2003?2006 were from male-to-male sexual contact. Thirty-four percent were from heterosexual contact...

KY: Democrats tout slots bill as way to rebuild schools

Posted on June 17, 2009
Beth Musgrave and Jack Brammer report in the Herald-Leader: "Democratic House leaders are considering a plan to finance school construction projects with revenue generated by slot machines at racetracks, a move opponents described as a thinly veiled attempt to win support from otherwise reluctant lawmakers...

ACLU: ?Terrorism finance laws undermine Ohio Muslims? religious freedom?

Posted on June 17, 2009
ACLU press release: "U.S. terrorism finance laws and policies unfairly prevent Muslims in Ohio and around the nation from practicing their religion through charitable giving and undermine America?s diplomatic efforts in Muslim countries, according to an American Civil Liberties Union report out late last night...

ACLU: ?Hospital discriminated against gay couple?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Associated Press: "Civil rights groups are urging a hospital in central California to change its policies after employees briefly barred a lesbian from visiting her partner, who went into seizure at a gay marriage march."

?Mixed emotions on Calif gay marriage anniversary?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Associated Press: "Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits filed on behalf of gay couples seek to put the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court, including one by famed attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson, who opposed each other in the famed election challenge in Bush v...

D.C. voters lose say in same-sex ?marriage? debate

Posted on June 17, 2009
CitizenLink: "Bishop Harry Jackson, chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, and the Alliance Defense Fund plan to file an appeal of the decision in Superior Court."

A Comparative Analysis of Fathers? Rights in Infant Adoptions

Posted on June 17, 2009
Duquesne Law Review: "One of the most public and aggressive fights in the United States occurred not in a boxing ring or on Capitol Hill, but in an Illinois courtroom. At stake was custody of Baby Richard. On one side of the dispute was a sympathetic, suburban, adoptive couple...

?Responsibility for Life: How Abortion Serves Women?s Interests in Motherhood?

Posted on June 17, 2009
Journal of Law and Policy: "This Article argues that the movement's failure to emphasize that abortion serves women's interest in, and respect for, motherhood divides it from its constituents and creates the vulnerability that the anti-abortion movement now exploits, contributing to the reduction of constitutional protections for abortion...

Gonzales v. Carhart and the Hazards of Muddled Scrutiny

Posted on June 17, 2009
Journal of Law and Policy: "Yet, for all the differences in tone and focus, it appears that Carhart ultimately does not so much reject Lawrence as highlight an implicit weakness in its approach to protecting privacy rights. Carhart, after all, ultimately upholds the ban on ?partial-birth abortions? not by denying that abortion is a constitutional right, but by finding the state's imposition on that right to be reasonable...

The ?Partial-Birth Abortion? Ban: Health Care in the Shadow of Criminal Liability

Posted on June 17, 2009
Journal of Law and Policy: "What was not so good about Roe was the Court's almost exclusive focus on physician discretion. Don't get me wrong: I love physician discretion. But the Roe Court focused on physician discretion almost to the exclusion of the woman's decision-making power, and Roe therefore doesn't reflect the extent to which the ability to make the decision is central to women's lives...

Western states want reins on federal power

Posted on June 17, 2009
Mark Z. Barabak writes at the LA Times: "Frustrated by the expanded power of Washington, a growing number of state lawmakers are defying the federal government and passing legislation aimed at rolling back the reach of Congress and President Obama. While many measures are symbolic ones declaring the sovereignty of states, some Westerners are taking more dramatic steps...

UK: Tory conference adds new ?gay pride? event

Posted on June 17, 2009
The Christian Institute reports: "The Conservative Party has included a ?gay pride? social event for the first time in this year?s conference schedule."

State Department releases Trafficking in Persons Report 2009

Posted on June 17, 2009
The full text of the report is available here. For more visit the U.S. Department of State website.

Montana: Planned Parenthood files discrimination complaint in over CHIP

Posted on June 17, 2009
John S. Adams reports in the Great Falls Tribune: "Planned Parenthood of Montana filed a complaint Monday with the Montana Human Rights Bureau over a provision in the state Children's Health Insurance Program that prohibits coverage of prescription birth control...

Report: Some Catholic universities promote pro-abortion internships

Posted on June 17, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "At least ten Catholic colleges and universities are promoting student internships with organizations whose missions or actions are directly opposed to Catholic morals, the Cardinal Newman Society charges. Some internships are with organizations that promote abortion or homosexual issues and include possible work in abortion 'clinic defense...

Albany Judge tosses out Dems? case, refuses to rule on control of state Senate

Posted on June 17, 2009
NY Daily News: "Control of the state Senate was left in limbo Tuesday afternoon after a judge refused to rule on the legality of a GOP leadership coup."

Massachusetts: Four Arrested in Strip Club Parking Lot with 53 Bags of Crack Cocaine

Posted on June 17, 2009
ABC40: "Four men who claimed to have lived at a nearby homeless shelter were arrested at the Fifth Alarm strip club on Worthington Street Monday night after police found them allegedly sitting in a stolen minivan with a large amount of crack cocaine, marijuana and BB guns...

Florida: Man shot, wounded at Pinellas Park strip club parking lot

Posted on June 17, 2009
St. Petersburg Times: "Authorities are searching for a man they say shot another man in the parking lot of a strip club early this morning."

Two Parents = Fewer Run-ins with Police

Posted on June 17, 2009
The FRC Blog: "In the latest Mapping America, the General Social Surveys show that adults who lived with both biological parents as adolescents are less likely ever to be picked up or charged by police."

?The Gay Prom You Would Not Want Your Child Attending!?

Posted on June 17, 2009
?This movement has an obsession with kids, and there are no boundaries. It?s worse than anybody thought.?

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