Religion & Law

Ireland demands Catholic orders reveal finances

Posted on May 27, 2009
AP: "Irish leaders declared Wednesday that the secretive Catholic orders responsible for abusing children in workhouse-style schools must pay a greater share of compensation for victims and reveal the true scope of their assets."

Illinois House panel again votes to legalize civil unions

Posted on May 27, 2009
". . . an Illinois House committee advanced a measure that at would allow civil unions for same-sex couples in the state."

California?s top court upholds Prop. 8 ban on same-sex marriage

Posted on May 27, 2009
Christian Science Monitor: The California Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to uphold a statewide ballot initiative that limits marriage to heterosexual couples, while at the same time preserving 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place before the measure was passed last year ...

Prop 8 fight may head to U.S. Capitol

Posted on May 27, 2009
ABC Local (includes video): The next big battle over same-sex marriage in California may not be fought in the Bay Area or even the Golden State. Legal teams on both sides of the issue were preparing Wednesday morning to take the case to federal court, possibly even the U...

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YouTube Video: Protests following Cal. marriage ruling

Posted on May 27, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5swFCWoeA

Citizens suing county over non-sectarian prayer are asking a federal court to hear its arguments

Posted on May 27, 2009
Winston Salem-Journal: "Three county residents sued Forsyth County in March 2007, asserting that the county was violating the First Amendment by allowing clergy to make references to Jesus in prayers given before meetings of the county commissioners ...

Steeling oneself

Posted on May 27, 2009
Lansing City Pulse: "The reporter who covered a radical 'queer' action at a Delta Township church last November ? and found himself accused of being an accomplice ? is a devout Christian and a devout journalist . . . Representatives of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing Mouth Hope Church in its suit, would not comment on whether Harris would be subject to subpoena ...

?Rallying cry in San Francisco to overturn gay marriage ban?

Posted on May 27, 2009
AFP: "Gay marriage supporters faced off with police in San Francisco on Tuesday after the California Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex weddings. Decrying what they maintain is an unconstitutional denial of a civil right to members of the gay community, opponents of the ban vowed to continue their fight in the streets, courts and ballot box...

Marriage Defenders Pleased With Calif. Supreme Court Prop 8 Decision

Posted on May 27, 2009
Dakota Voice reprinted from Christian Post: Lauding the decision, Andrew Pugno, general counsel of ProtectMarriage.com, responded, ?We are very gratified that the California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8. This is the culmination of years of hard work to preserve marriage in California...

Louisiana Supreme Court rejects nurse?s lawsuit appeal on freedom of conscience

Posted on May 27, 2009
St. Tammany News: "The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by St. Tammany Parish Hospital in a lawsuit brought by one of its nurses. The nurse, Toni Lemly, sued the hospital in 2005 after it refused to grant a reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs...

Relentless attack on marriage continues, new Fed lawsuit challenges Proposition 8

Posted on May 27, 2009
Fox News LA: "Two attorneys who squared off in the legal battle that decided the 2000 presidential election will team up Wednesday to file a federal lawsuit claiming that the ban on same-sex marriage imposed by the passage of Proposition 8 violates the U...

Wis. Supreme Court to rule on marriage amendment

Posted on May 27, 2009
WKOWTV.com: "The Wisconsin Supreme Court is getting ready to hear arguments over the state's ban on gay marriage. People are already preparing for a legal battle . . . 'They had almost three years to learn about that amendment and understand it,' said Julaine Appling, of Wisconsin Family Council...

Texas school board preserves abstinence education

Posted on May 27, 2009
One News Now: Jonathan Saenz of the Free Market Foundation says . . . "What these legislators were attempting to do was drastically change the way sex education was taught in our state -- and it was a real attack on abstinence education," he contends...

Palestine: Muslims vandalize Christian graves

Posted on May 27, 2009
WorldNetDaily: "Palestinian Christians in a normally quiet village are reeling from a series of grave desecrations this week that they say are indicative of intimidation tactics from the town's growing Muslim population."

David French: In Defense of Liberty (University)

Posted on May 27, 2009
David French, Director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, writes at the Phi Beta Cons Blog on National Review: Liberty is different. The school could not be more explicit about its mission; from its doctrinal statement to its purpose, to its "Distinctives," Liberty positions itself as not just religiously conservative but politically conservative as well (heck, one of its "Distinctives" is an "absolute repudiation of 'political correctness'")...

Home Bible Study Requires a Permit in CA

Posted on May 27, 2009
One News Now: "Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary, who live in San Diego, got some friends together at their house for a Bible study. However, when the county of San Diego found out, the couple was told they needed to either stop the Bible study or purchase a permit because they had too many people in their home ...

Maggie Gallagher: Redefining Religious Liberty

Posted on May 27, 2009
Maggie Gallagher writes at National Review: "But a funny thing happened on the way to defeating Communism. Religion has emerged as the sole institution standing in the way of a powerful neo-statist liberalism, in which equality doctrines are used not as a shield but as a sword ? to legitimate state intrusion into once-private realms...

Why the White House Will Promote Sotomayor?s Religious Liberty Record

Posted on May 27, 2009
U.S. News and World Report: ". . . the White House is already spotlighting Sotomayor's record on religious liberty cases, where her rulings are likely to please religious conservatives."

Same-Sex ?Marriage? is Not Like Interracial Marriage

Posted on May 27, 2009
Peter Sprigg writes at the FRC Blog: ". . . the U. S. Supreme Court in Loving never described the issue in that case as an unrestricted 'right to marry the person they love.' Instead, it said that 'the freedom of choice to marry [cannot] be restricted by invidious racial discrimination...

Is marriage more than a merely religious institution? Kmiec vs. George

Posted on May 27, 2009
Robert George . . . said that Douglas Kmiec?s idea "would do away with the public role of marriage--and banish it to the religious 'ghetto.'"

Portland, Maine: Mall store?s sex toys prompt move for rules

Posted on May 27, 2009
Portland Press Herald: "A complaint about racy products at a store in the Maine Mall has City Hall reconsidering its definition of adult businesses and 'sexual devices.'"

Waterville, Maine: ?Adult? Entertainment targeted

Posted on May 27, 2009
The Morning Sentinel: "The downtown will have no porn shops, nudity, strip joints, escort services, massage parlors or other adult entertainment if the Planning Board has its way."

Key to Supreme Court Victory: Generate Fewer Questions

Posted on May 27, 2009
ABA Journal: "A new study of 2,000 oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court has found that the relative number of questions posed by the justices is a good predictor of which side will win."

Gingrich: Sotomayor ?racist,? should withdraw nomination

Posted on May 27, 2009
"Rush Limbaugh isn't the only one calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist. Newt Gingrich is, too ? and he's demanding that Obama's pick to the Supreme Court withdraw her nomination."

?Group says IRS should review Liberty University?s tax-exempt status?

Posted on May 27, 2009
APB: "Church-state watchdog group says the IRS should review Liberty University's tax-exempt status for its decision to revoke recognition of its Democratic Party student club . . . 'The Democratic Party platform is contrary to the mission of LU and to Christian doctrine (supports abortion, federal funding of abortion, advocates repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, promotes the 'LGBT' agenda, hate crimes, which include sexual orientation and gender identity, socialism, etc)...

?Year of the Bible? resolution roils Congress

Posted on May 27, 2009
ABP: "A battle over the Bible is brewing in the halls of Congress, and political blogs are buzzing about a Southern Baptist congressman's desire to designate 2010 as 'The National Year of the Bible.' Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), a medical doctor and member of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Athens, Ga...

Lambda Legal Statement on the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on May 27, 2009
Lambda Legal: "Finally, we are pleased that President Obama has named a woman of color ? the first Latina, and the third woman, who would serve on the high court?as his first U.S. Supreme Court nomination. While women, people of color, and self-identified gay people continue to be woefully underrepresented in the federal judiciary, Judge Sotomayor's nomination represents a step in the right direction...

Kansas: 12 face federal human trafficking charges

Posted on May 27, 2009
AP: "Federal prosecutors in Kansas City say 12 people and three companies face charges alleging they were involved in a scheme to lure illegal immigrants to the U.S. to work as "modern-day slaves" in 14 states."

?Poll: Majority of RI voters favor gay marriage law?

Posted on May 27, 2009
AP: "A Brown University poll released Wednesday shows 60 percent of registered voters in the state said they would support a law allowing gay couples to marry."

S&P launches Canadian index defined by Islamic law

Posted on May 27, 2009
AP: "Standard & Poor's is launching a Canadian stock index to give investors who follow Islamic law a guide to the country's equity market."

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