Religion & Law

USCIRF Issues 2009 Report On Religious Freedom Concerns In Various Countries

Posted on May 01, 2009
The Religion Clause Blog: "The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today issued its 2009 Annual Report. The 274-page document issued under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act recommends that the President designate 13 countries as 'countries of particular concern'-- those where violations of religious freedom are the greatest...

ADF: U.S. Senate should not pass ?hate crimes? bill

Posted on May 01, 2009
If it becomes law, ADF attorneys say the bill could severely impede Americans? constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression while creating additional legal protections for those engaged in homosexual behavior that are not available to everyone else.

Human-trafficker gets 13 years behind bars

Posted on May 01, 2009
One News Now: Trueman believes Mondragon should have received the maximum penalty. "Unfortunately, he was only sentenced to 13 years in prison," he points out. "My judgment is that a man who has done this sort of a monstrous crime ought to get life in prison...

The Same-Sex Marriage Movement and the Dangers of Denunciation

Posted on May 01, 2009
Carson Halloway writes at Public Discourse: "One of the most troubling aspects of the same-sex marriage movement is the rhetorical strategy it so frequently employs: denunciation of its opponents. The most vocal and prominent advocates of same-sex marriage seem to prefer condemning those who disagree as bigots to refuting the arguments for preserving marriage as a union between a man and a woman...

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Forcing the Poor to Stop Having Children

Posted on May 01, 2009
Daniel Patrick Maloney has this article at Public Discourse. "Nancy Pelosi?s widely reported comments on family planning were simply a restatement of a view shared by both political parties. This article is the first installment of a three-part series on the racist origin and eugenecist structure of U...

A look at potential Obama nominees to high court

Posted on May 01, 2009
AP: "Court watchers think President Barack Obama will choose a woman for his first nomination to the Supreme Court, where only one of nine seats is currently held by a female - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

Liberal-leaning Justice Souter to retire

Posted on May 01, 2009
"Justice David Souter is planning to retire after nearly two decades on the Supreme Court, but his departure is unlikely to change its conservative-liberal split."

Obama?s outcome based jurisprudence

Posted on May 01, 2009
Hans von Spakovsky writing at The Foundry (Heritage Foundation): "Americans want an umpire on the Court who applies the rules of the Constitution and our laws in an objective, nonpartial manner; President Obama apparently wants an umpire who bends or makes up the rules to favor his team...

?Souter gets big retirement bucks for frugal life?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Associated Press: "Federal judges can retire on full salary - $213,900 for justices this year - at David Souter's age and experience."

ADF: Court puts hold on flawed policy in ?In God We Trust? school censorship case

Posted on May 01, 2009
"A federal court Friday suspended a policy used by Wilson County Schools officials to censor 'In God We Trust' and other phrases referencing God and prayer on posters in the hallways of Lakeview Elementary School."

Court opening may animate liberal causes

Posted on May 01, 2009
Associated Press: "But the process to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter could pump new oxygen into national debates over abortion, immigration, minority rights, limits to privacy and other matters that often animate large grassroots organizations, which have been comparatively quiet in recent months...

Alaska Air Force man faces court martial over attempted forced abortion

Posted on May 01, 2009
LifeNews: "An air force man has faced a court martial this week in connection with charges that he attempted to cause his wife to have an abortion. Airman 1st Class Scott Boie of Milton, Wisconsin, who is stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, tried to cause his wife to have an abortion using an ulcer drug...

Carol Ann Duffy ?first openly gay laureate? of UK

Posted on May 01, 2009
Associated Press: "Britain on Friday awarded the role of national poet laureate to Carol Ann Duffy ? the first woman to hold a post that has been filled by William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes . . . A witty and popular writer whose work is widely taught in British schools, Duffy is also the first openly gay laureate...

?House approves gay hate crimes bill?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Baptist Press: "'So-called 'hate crime' laws serve only one purpose: The criminalization of citizens based on whatever thoughts, beliefs and emotions they have that are not considered to be politically correct,' ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said in a written statement...

California Supreme Court Sides with Christian School

Posted on May 01, 2009
CitizenLink: "'Christian schools should be able to make admission and discipline decisions consistent with their religious beliefs,' Timothy J. Tracey, litigation counsel with the CLS Center for Law & Religious Freedom, said after the January decision...

Rhode Island House panel votes to criminalize indoor prostitution

Posted on May 01, 2009
Associated Press: "A House committee has approved a bill to make indoor prostitution illegal in Rhode Island."

?Gay marriage and the ?bandwagon effect??

Posted on May 01, 2009
Dale Carpenter writes at The Volokh Conspiracy: "Nothing is inevitable, and the attitudes of young people can change as they age. Iowa will be especially interesting to watch . . . Call it an avalanche or a bandwagon or whatever you like, the political and legal momentum is unmistakable...

Religious broadcasters to Congress: No Performance Rights Act

Posted on May 01, 2009
Radio & Records: "In a two-page letter sent to members of Congress this morning (May 1), four leading religious broadcasters warned that their industry could be deeply affected by new fees and warned that significant jobs cuts might be necessary to keep their businesses afloat...

U.S. Panel: Religious freedom ebbing in Russia, Turkey

Posted on May 01, 2009
Hartford Courant (AP): "A congressionally backed panel said today that religious freedoms were deteriorating in Russia, Turkey and four other nations that were added to a watch list of countries where people's rights to worship as they please or not to worship at all are at risk...

Religious group allegedly luring kids outside of schools

Posted on May 01, 2009
KKTV: "A letter sent home with Colorado Springs School District 11 middle school students Thursday, warning of a so-called church group soliciting kids outside schools, is being sent home with elementary students Friday."

ACLU fights for Muslim women?s right to testify in veils

Posted on May 01, 2009
Detroit Free Press: "The American Civil Liberties Union and a group of domestic violence and religious organizations Thursday asked the Michigan Supreme Court to change a proposed rule that would bar Muslim women wearing veils from testifying in court...

Mike Johnson: Family breakdown is cause for alarm

Posted on May 01, 2009
Shreveport Times: "What shall we do? The answers seem obvious: vigorously defend the institutions of traditional marriage and the family; encourage marriage strengthening initiatives and premarital education; and support innovative faith-based programs, and the often heroic, countercultural efforts of churches and pro-family organizations...

?GOP recasts brand, sans wedge issues?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Politico : "The National Council for a New America launched with an open letter that?s notable for what it leaves out: The issues that a large segment of the party?s base are most passionate about. The letter, signed by 14 congressional Republican leaders, makes no mention of same-sex marriage, immigration ? legal or otherwise ? or abortion...

Maine Senate approves marriage redefinition bill; refuses to allow the people to vote

Posted on April 30, 2009
". . . an amendment to require a statewide referendum on the matter was rejected, 22-13. Then the Senate registered its support for the original measure again, this time by 21-14."

ACLU suing North Coventry

Posted on April 30, 2009
The Mercury: "On Wednesday, the ACLU filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania, charges the township violated the rights of Shenkel United Church of Christ in refusing to let it allow the homeless from the area to stay overnight for one month in the church as part of the Ministries on Main Street program...

?Gay couples keep Iowa?s border counties busy?

Posted on April 30, 2009
AP: "Dozens of out-of-state same-sex couples have flocked to Iowa since it legalized gay marriage."

Washington Post: Confirm Dawn Johnsen

Posted on April 30, 2009
The Washington Post has this editorial calling for the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen to head the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel.

Forced abortions shake up China wombs-for-rent industry

Posted on April 30, 2009
"I was crying 'I don't want to do this'," said a young woman called Xiao Hong, who was pregnant with four-month-old twins. 'But they still dragged me in and injected my belly with a needle,' the 20-year-old told Reuters of her ordeal which happened in late February...

Texas House could vote soon on bill to lower penalties for infanticide

Posted on April 30, 2009
LifeNews: "HB 3318 would reduce the crime of infanticide from capital murder to a state jail felony and the measure could receive a vote soon in the Texas House of Representatives."

S.Korea lifts ban on stem cell research

Posted on April 30, 2009
AFP: "South Korea on Wednesday conditionally lifted a ban on stem cell research using human eggs, three years after outlawing the practice because a scientist was found to have faked his work."

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