Religion & Law

Lawyer to challenge Notre Dame protest arrests

Posted on June 05, 2009
WTHR-13 reports: "The American Center for Law and Justice hired attorney Tom Dixon to represent those arrested during anti-abortion protests leading up to and during Obama's commencement speech last month. Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes was among about 40 who appeared before a St...

39 members of Congress send letter to PBS over policy on ?sectarian content?

Posted on June 05, 2009
CitizenLink: "Thirty-nine members of Congress have sent a letter to PBS Chairman John Porter expressing concern about a proposal that would strip affiliation from any station that carries 'sectarian' content, such as local religious services. The board plans to vote on the issue June 16...

NH ?marriage? law jeopardizes religious liberty

Posted on June 05, 2009
CitizenLink: "'While the debate over the lack of religious-liberty protections revealed the dangers to the First Amendment rights of citizens, the language added to the bill is pitifully ineffective,' [Bruce Hausknecht of Focus on the Family Action] said...

Liberty U seeks IRS probe of church-state watchdog

Posted on June 05, 2009
Eric Young reports in the Christian Post: "Americans United for Separation of Church and State is getting a dose of their own medicine through a complaint filed against the group over their 'partisan activity.' Christian legal group Liberty Counsel filed the complaint to the IRS on behalf of Liberty University this week after AU asked the government agency to review the tax-exempt status of the Lynchburg, Va...

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?Hate crimes? law passed unanimously in Scotland

Posted on June 05, 2009
Press Association: "Victims of crime who are targeted because of their sexual orientation or disability have been given greater legal status."

This Porn?s for You: Budweiser?s Racy Web Ad

Posted on June 05, 2009
Belinda Luscombe writing at Time: "The ad, which quietly appeared in February as part of a viral campaign, has attracted little notice thus far, but because it comes from a highly respected American brand, it seems to mark some kind of cultural tipping point, where pornography has soaked so far into the fabric of mainstream culture that it's no longer seen as a stain...

MA: Pro-family groups watch tight state budget

Posted on June 05, 2009
Catholic Free Press: "In a victory for parental rights and religious freedom, all money earmarked for homosexual programs in public schools has been eliminated in the fiscal 2010 state budget to date. But pro-family advocates warn that several line items remain vulnerable ...

Sen. DeMint threatens to filibuster ?hate crimes? legislation

Posted on June 05, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., today confirmed he will fight the 'hate crimes' legislation pending in the U.S. Senate and, if necessary, will launch a filibuster against the plan that critics have dubbed the 'Pedophile Protection Act.'"

WV: Court says married moms and dads not necessary for adoption

Posted on June 05, 2009
"Nor were we able to locate any legislatively assigned preference for adoption into a traditional home or any statutory definition of a traditional home for adoption purposes."

UK: ?Parents complain over primary school assembly on gay issues?

Posted on June 05, 2009
"Children as young as four were among the pupils told about same sex relationships as part of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia."

UN Population Fund gives awards to Nicaraguan pro-abortion NGO, ?reproductive rights? advocate

Posted on June 05, 2009
Samantha Singson reports at LifeSite: "This week, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted its annual population award ceremony at the United Nations (UN) to honor an individual and an organization for 'outstanding contribution' in the population field, including family planning and 'reproductive rights' advocacy...

NC: 700 charges stem from one local strip club

Posted on June 05, 2009
WFMY News: "The 703 charges include 228 violations of the county's ordinance regulating a sexually-oriented business; 349 alcohol violations; 23 drug-related counts; 43 violations related to ABC licensing."

Vermont ?sexting? cases to be diverted to juvenile court

Posted on June 05, 2009
Fox News 44 reports: "On July 1, a law takes effect that gives prosecutors the discretion to divert sexting cases to juvenile courts."

AK: Anchorage sexual orientation ordinance risks religious liberty

Posted on June 05, 2009
Attorney Kevin Clarkson comments on a proposed sexual orientation ordinance in Anchorage, Alaska: "But unfortunately, the proposed ordinance does a lot more than to simply try to protect homosexuals from discrimination. And it makes only an empty gesture toward exempting religious organizations, and absolutely no effort at all to exempt religiously motivated individuals...

Pro-life groups alarmed by 7th Circuit nominee

Posted on June 05, 2009
Catholic Culture reports: "The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to approve Judge Lee Hamilton, a fomer vice president for litigation of the American Civil Liberties Union, for a position on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Hamilton?s nomination now faces a full vote by the Senate, along with the possibility of a filibuster...

Kentucky Gov. adds expanded gambling to legislative session

Posted on June 05, 2009
Gregory A. Hall reports in the Courier-Journal: "Gov. Steve Beshear added expanded gambling yesterday to the agenda of a legislative special session this month, acknowledging that he may be risking his political career by putting the issue before legislators without knowing whether it will pass...

Ark. group to monitor Supreme Court nomination hearings

Posted on June 05, 2009
Associated Press: "A group of Arkansans describing themselves as a 'center-right' coalition says they will monitor the confirmation hearings of President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court 'to ensure that Arkansans understand the judicial philosophy' of U...

House Education and Labor Committee hearing on charter schools

Posted on June 05, 2009
Education and Labor press release: "Congress should find a way to replicate and support the successes of outstanding charter schools as it works to improve our public schools, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today."

PA: Kittanning High School students find way to pray

Posted on June 05, 2009
Leader Times: "Kittanning juniors Molly Cavanaugh and Alyson King said they organized the 6 p.m. prayer service, led by the pastor of a North Buffalo church, in the school parking lot yesterday because some of the seniors were upset the prayer had been eliminated from the ceremony...

Fox developing arranged marriage reality show

Posted on June 05, 2009
The Live Feed: "In A. Smith & Co.?s 'I Married a Stranger,' a woman frustrated by the dating scene agrees to marry a man she?s never met. While she prepares for a blind wedding, friends and family are shown selecting a spouse from a pool of six eligible suitors offered by producers...

Globalization?s ugly side: sex slavery

Posted on June 05, 2009
John Boudreau reports in the Mercury News: "A half-million young women are trafficked each year around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. In Vietnam, the government recently reported that last year there were 6,684 victims of trafficking, with 2,579 returned to their homes...

Four recommendations for compromise on abortion

Posted on June 05, 2009
At Slate, William Saletan suggests that the four areas of possible common ground on abortion are abortion reduction, contraception, rejection of extremism, and "financial pluralism."

11th Circuit gets new chief judge

Posted on June 05, 2009
Associated Press: "Judge Joel F. Dubina took over Monday from J.L. Edmondson, chief judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for seven years. The 61-year-old Dubina was a U.S. District Court judge in Montgomery, Ala., when appointed to the appeals court in 1990 by President George H...

Homosexual bishop rejoices in NH?s gay marriage vote

Posted on June 05, 2009
Associated Press: "It was tough enough to get New Hampshire's lawmakers and governor to approve gay marriage, but Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson says there's an even tougher job ahead: getting churches to fully embrace gay marriage and gay people."

?Gay youths coming out of the closet and onto the Web?

Posted on June 05, 2009
Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah reports in the Chicago Tribune: "Experts say that while an older generation of gays and lesbians struggled with making public their sexual orientation -- often remaining in the closet well into their adult lives -- the Internet has made it easier for a younger generation to take that step...

New statistics show U.S. Catholics increase in numbers

Posted on June 05, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "The 2009 Official Catholic Directory has released new statistics on the Catholic population. The directory shows that there are 68.1 million Catholics in the United States, an increase of about one million from the previous year which maintains Catholics as 22 percent of the U...

Spanish media reports gov?t considering suppression of religious symbols

Posted on June 05, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Publico, a newspaper closely allied with Spain's ruling Socialist party, reported this week that the government is studying the idea of suppressing religious symbols in military barracks, hospitals, jails and public schools, as well as during State funerals or inauguration ceremonies for public officials...

Kansas: Abilene sex shop fights billboard law

Posted on June 05, 2009
Jeannine Koranda reports in The Wichita Eagle: "A state law that would prevent an Abilene adult entertainment store from advertising via billboards along I-70 violates free speech rights, the business's lawyers argued Thursday in U.S. 10th District Court...

Maryland AG: Religious garb open to security searches

Posted on June 05, 2009
Laura Smitherman reports in the Baltimore Sun: "Muslim women and others who wear face coverings for religious purposes can be required to remove the garb to enter courthouses, Maryland's attorney general has determined in a legal opinion, raising concerns among civil liberties advocates about how the practice will be carried out...

Scotland: Church minister loses unfair dismissal claim

Posted on June 05, 2009
Highland News: "A Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland minister has had his unfair dismissal claim thrown out by an employment tribunal because he is not an employee of the Church . . . An Inverness tribunal ruled Mr MacDonald's obligations as a minister were to the people of his congregation and not the Free Presbyterian Church and rejected his claim...

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