Religion & Law

Effort begins to standardize sexting penalty

Posted on April 01, 2009
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports: "A New York lawyer and an Ohio couple, whose daughter committed suicide after a sexting incident, seek a federal law to set penalties for teens who send racy photographs via cell phones. Attorney Parry Aftab, joined by Albert and Cynthia Logan of Cincinnati, say there's too much variance in how sexting cases are handled from state to state...

New Colo. law cracks down on prostitution and trafficking

Posted on April 01, 2009
KOAA (NBC) reports: "A new state law to help crack down on prostitution and human trafficking is now in effect. All massage therapists have to be registered with the state, and lawmakers hope it helps stop some of the things News First Investigates caught on camera in October 2007...

Arkansas attorney general certifies casino proposal

Posted on April 01, 2009
The Shreveport Times reports: "Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has approved wording of the proposed constitutional amendment by Texas businessman Michael Wasserman, owner of Arkansas Hotels and Entertainment Inc. It would give Wasserman's company exclusive rights to operate casinos in Boone, Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson, Miller, Pulaski and Sebastian counties...

UC Davis To Screen Porn Film On Campus

Posted on April 01, 2009
CBS reports: "A hardcore pornography movie will be screened at a local college campus, and the school says they don't have a problem with it."

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Virginia gov. elaborates on allowing ?Choose Life? license plates

Posted on April 01, 2009
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports: "Addressing the license plate issue, the governor reiterated his position that because Virginia allows specialty plates that bear social and political messages, the courts would not support denying a plate to any group if it meets the minimum requirements and is approved by the General Assembly...

Feds seek to reverse Ted Stevens? conviction

Posted on April 01, 2009
AP: "The Justice Department asked a judge Wednesday to toss out the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens after finding a fresh instance of prosecutorial misconduct in the case . . . Part of that inquiry will examine why notes from a witness interview were withheld from Stevens' defense team ...

US Will Seek Seat on UN Human Rights Council

Posted on April 01, 2009
The Religion Clause Blog reports: "The Bush administration refused to seek a seat, believing that there were insufficient safeguards to prevent countries with human rights violations from becoming members. . . . Anti-Defamation League expressed concern about the U...

Senate legislation would federalize cybersecurity and authorize shut down of private computer networks

Posted on April 01, 2009
Washington Post: "Key lawmakers are pushing to dramatically escalate U.S. defenses against cyberattacks, crafting proposals that would empower the government to set and enforce security standards for private industry for the first time . . . Addressing what intelligence officials describe as a gaping vulnerability, the legislation also calls for the appointment of a White House cybersecurity 'czar' with unprecedented authority to shut down computer networks, including private ones, if a cyberattack is underway, the officials said...

Vt. House committee OKs same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Baptist Press: "Politicians should never impose a system that knowingly deprives a child of a mom and a dad," Nimocks said in a statement. "All non-partisan research and plain common sense tells us that children need a mom and dad, so the issue is bigger than a 'personal relationship...

Overzealous campaign disclosure laws can stifle debate and endanger private citizens

Posted on April 01, 2009
Jurist reports: "Erik Stanley [Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund]: "The Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission case is pending for decision before the US Supreme Court, and the case raises some serious constitutional questions. ADF filed a friend-of-the-court brief focusing on one specific - and highly important - portion of the case...

Democratic Senators Tell Obama Not to Rescind Abortion Protections for Doctors

Posted on April 01, 2009
LifeNews reports: "Three pro-life medical associations banded together to fight the lawsuit. Attorneys with the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund filed motions to intervene in that and two other lawsuits filed by top pro-abortion groups to overturn the Provider Conscience Clause...

Federal legislation introduced to stop race-, gender-based abortion

Posted on April 01, 2009
CitizenLink reports: "Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., reintroduced the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act today, which would ban sex- and race-selective abortions. Steven H. Aden, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, commended Franks for his leadership...

Churches being targeted by tax collectors

Posted on April 01, 2009
OneNewsNow reports: "There were some vacant pieces of property that the church was using for things like picnics or outdoor events or hiking or youth retreats, and the county seemed to be taking the position that just because you don't put buildings on the property, it's not a valid church use [and] we're going to take it off the tax rolls," [Joe Infranco] explains.

State Court of Appeals to Hear Two Same-Sex Marriage Cases

Posted on April 01, 2009
Jeremy W. Peters reports in the New York Times: "Lower courts have already sided with two government entities that revised their policies to honor the marriages, but those decisions were appealed by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian group that is waging multiple legal battles in New York to stop state and local entities from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples who were wed in places, like Massachusetts and Canada, where the ceremony is legal...

The Myth of the Contraceptive Compromise

Posted on April 01, 2009
First Things: "The plain fact is that more and more contraception over the years has not meant fewer and fewer abortions. Ironically, there is evidence to suggest the effect may be just the opposite."

?A test case on same-sex fairness?

Posted on April 01, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial: "Shirley Tan is a 43-year old Pacifica homemaker and mother of twin seventh-grade boys. Tan also wears an ankle bracelet assigned by immigration agents after a dawn raid on her home two months ago. Barring a legal miracle, she faces likely deportation to the Philippines on Friday...

Queerty: ?If eHarmony Must Allow Gay Dating, Should Gay Sites Have To Welcome Straights??

Posted on April 01, 2009
Warning: objectionable content on the site Queerty holds itself out as “Free of an agenda. Except that gay one.”  It reports: Sorry eHarmony: Just because you launched a same-sex match site doesn’t mean you’re out of legal trouble...

Kansas: Homeschoolers Win By-Right Admission to State Colleges

Posted on April 01, 2009
HSLDA: "Though homeschoolers score four grade levels above others on standardized tests, Kansas homeschoolers have always been second-class citizens when it comes to admission to their own state colleges?until now. House Bill 2197, signed by the governor on March 27, gives homeschoolers by-right admission to Kansas state colleges if they score 21 or higher on the ACT college admissions test...

5th Circuit hears Texas case over animal sacrifices

Posted on April 01, 2009
AP: "A Santeria priest who sued a Texas city for denying him permission to sacrifice a goat as part of a religious ceremony asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to let him resume the ritual in his home."

Tax Funding For Baptist University Violates Kentucky Constitution, Says Americans United

Posted on April 01, 2009
Americans United for Separation of Church and State: "The Supreme Court of Kentucky should strike down a $10 million state appropriation for a university affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State...

Richard Land: ?The Danger of the State as a Substitute for Conscience?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Richard Land of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission writes at the Christian Post: "In a country as religious as America, if faith-based values are excluded from public policy, a significant number?if not the majority?of Americans will be blocked from bringing their convictions to public life...

A House vote soon on human cloning?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Baptist Press: "Proponents of embryonic stem cell research may soon try to push through the U.S. House of Representatives a bill to approve federal funds for experiments on human embryos -- including cloned ones -- while falsely claiming that human cloning is being banned, according to a warning from a leading pro-life organization...

FRC Defends Tony Dungy?s Selection To Obama?s Faith-Based Council

Posted on April 01, 2009
FRC: "Opponents of traditional marriage are seeking to disqualify Coach Dungy simply for believing that marriage is the union of one man and one woman which is a view shared by more than 80 percent of American Evangelicals. Their desire to exclude Tony Dungy from the Faith Council, based upon his religious convictions, provides further evidence of an effort to silence the Church...

Americans United Issues Statement On Tony Dungy Appointment To Obama Faith Council

Posted on April 01, 2009
Americans U. for Separation of Church and State has issued this press release that begins: "Americans United for Separation of Church and State today expressed disappointment at the Obama administration?s decision to ask former football coach Tony Dungy to serve on the president?s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships ...

Kansas: County modifies sexually oriented businesses resolution

Posted on April 01, 2009
El Dorado Times: "The Butler County Commissioners voted to approve a resolution modifying and amending resolution 98-79 . . .The new resolution stipulates alcoholic beverages cannot be consumed on the premises of an adult entertainment business and a business owner must apply for a permit to be able to have adult entertainment activities at his or her establishment...

MI: Porn execs eyeing Ypsilanti for new Studio space

Posted on April 01, 2009
YPSI News: "Ypsilanti has been a hotbed for movie shoots and star watching from the burgeoning film industry in Michigan. Things are about to get hotter. But don?t call it porn, they want to be called the Adult Movie industry."

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America board takes up how to vote on ?gay clergy?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "The first battle lines for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) latest proposal on gay ministers were drawn Tuesday when the Church Council rejected a motion to require a two-thirds vote on the question . . . "

Sweden becomes 5th European country to redefine marriage

Posted on April 01, 2009
"Parliament on Wednesday adopted a new law that gives same-sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals."

School Communication with Parents: Constitutional Implications?

Posted on April 01, 2009
Maryland Bar Journal: "The myriad notices and fliers coming to parents may alternatively be viewed as helpful, innocuous or even annoying, if they become voluminous. But do they have constitutional implications? They do when the school system begins to pick and choose between the communications that it will distribute and those it won't...

?Retired military officers: keep ban on gays?

Posted on April 01, 2009
"More than 1,000 retired military officers . . . said passage of that bill 'would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force...

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