Religion & Law

DC vouchers gutted in so-called ?stimulus?

Posted on February 25, 2009
Dan Lips & Robert C. Enlow write at National Review: “Any doubts about congressional leaders? priorities on education were erased Monday with the release of the new $450 billion omnibus bill. It includes a provision to eliminate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which is currently helping low-income children attend private schools in the nation?s capital...

Aurora, CO city council votes to give domestic partner benefits to unmarried couples

Posted on February 25, 2009
Chris Johnson reports at the HRC Back Story Blog: “On Monday,  the Aurora, Colorado city council voted 7-3 to provide the domestic partners of both gay and straight unmarried city employees with health and insurance benefits . . .” Visit Site » Share This

Pennsylvania: Allentown man to face court in strip club stabbing

Posted on February 25, 2009
Morning Call: “A 32-year old man who allegedly stabbed a man in the neck at a Coopersburg strip club will face Lehigh County Court on attempted homicide charges, a district judge ruled this morning . . . “ Visit Site » Share This

Indiana Democrats Resist Ending Tax-Funding of Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz

Posted on February 25, 2009
LifeNews: “An Indiana pro-life organization says the Democrats who control the state House of Representatives purposefully blocked an effort to stop taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood . . . [...]

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Southern Baptist and Catholic memberships decline

Posted on February 25, 2009
Christian Post: “The Southern Baptist Convention and the Roman Catholic Church ? the two largest Christian communions in the country ? have joined the ranks of mainline denominations in reporting membership losses, the latest church yearbook shows ...

Judge refuses to throw out Kansas abortion case

Posted on February 25, 2009
AP: “A judge has refused to toss out the criminal case against a doctor accused of violating Kansas’ late-term abortion law. Sedgwick County Judge Clark Owens on Wednesday denied a defense request to dismiss charges against Dr. George Tiller of Wichita ...

Texas Study Claims School Districts ?Rob? Students of Sex Ed

Posted on February 25, 2009
Christian Post: “More than 94 percent of school districts teach only abstinence programs while 2 percent ignored the topic altogether, according to the study. Only 4 percent of school districts taught a more comprehensive approach to sex education ...

Arizona House committee endorses pro-life bill

Posted on February 25, 2009
The House Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday endorsed the Republican-sponsored bill on a 5-0 vote, with Democratic opponents boycotting the hearing and not voting on the measure.

China: Couples seek same-sex ?marriage? in Beijing

Posted on February 25, 2009
On Valentine's Day, activists took to the streets, posing in same-sex wedding photos to advertise their cause in a country that, until 2001, classified homosexuality as a mental illness.

Short list for retiring South Dakota justice?s replacement

Posted on February 25, 2009
Discussion started a while ago in legal circles and coffee groups about who will succeed retiring Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Sabers. The time now has arrived, though, to fill the seat on the bench since Gov. Mike Rounds has presented a list of nine names from which he is expected to choose.

?Can evangelicals be part of a pro-abortion consensus??

Posted on February 25, 2009
With the election of a president who is deeply religious and also strongly pro-choice, supporters of reproductive rights have a chance once again to reach out to potential allies in evangelical communities.

The misunderstood philosophy of abstinence education

Posted on February 25, 2009
The liberal caricature of abstinence education is of school marms rapping the knuckles of teens and telling them?day after day?not to have sex. In fact, a review of curricula for abstinence education programs shows surprisingly little about sex?and a lot about building self-esteem, understanding risky behavior, finding responsible partners, and growing a family.

Sen. Byrd: Obama in power grab

Posted on February 25, 2009
Politico: “Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama?s appointment of White House ‘czars’ to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch...

Oklahoma House passes sovereignty bill, sets path for other states

Posted on February 25, 2009
Oklahoma's House of Representatives is the first legislative body to pass a state sovereignty resolution this year under the terms of the Tenth Amendment.

?Sexting? is no laughing matter

Posted on February 24, 2009
Today’s Georgia Family Council Bulletin includes this report: A troubling new trend is sweeping middle schools and high schools across the country. Using a practice referred to as “sexting,” students are sending and receiving nude or partially-nude photos via cell phones as a joke or way of flirting with one another...

St. Petersburg evangelist Bill Keller pushes back at the IRS

Posted on February 24, 2009
Keller's struggle with the IRS is emblematic of the frustration preachers around the country feel as they try to help their congregations navigate moral issues during elections . . .

NM: Heat Continues Over Domestic Partnership Bill

Posted on February 24, 2009
KOAT.com: Sen. William Sharer, (R) Farmington said, “The bill we have before us, senate bill 12, is just gay marriage in disguise, and a poor disguise at that.” . . . Austin Nimocks with the Alliance Defense Fund said, “We have seen this as a national organization in other states like California and Connecticut where similar bills [...

Liberals Use Supreme Court Gun Case to Bolster Other Rights

Posted on February 24, 2009
Tony Mauro writes at the Legal Times: The Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in D.C. v. Heller was a constitutional earthquake, breathing life into the Second Amendment as a guarantee of an individual right to bear arms. But the aftershock of that decision is beginning to transform the constitutional landscape well beyond gun rights, in ways that have [...

Will Supreme Court hear Super Bowl ?striptease? case?

Posted on February 24, 2009
Allie Martin writes at One News Now:  “Last summer, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission against CBS for airing the so-called ‘wardrobe malfunction’ during the 2004 Super Bowl...

What parents need to know about porn and their kids

Posted on February 24, 2009
Marcia Segelstein writes at One News Now: “Most people probably don’t picture kids when they think about who’s viewing pornography.  But according to statistics cited by the non-profit advocacy organization Enough Is Enough, the largest group of viewers of Internet pornography is children between the ages of 12 and 17...

Virginia: ?Porn dealer giving up court fight: Krial says Staunton video store not worth legal hassles?

Posted on February 24, 2009
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A Real Compromise on the Same-Sex Marriage Debate: An Invitation to Rauch and Blankenhorn

Posted on February 24, 2009
. . . unions recognized by the federal government would be available to any two adults who commit to sharing domestic responsibilities, whether or not their relationship is sexual. Available only to people otherwise ineligible to marry each other . . .

Arizona: House panel addresses religious discrimination

Posted on February 24, 2009
AZDailySun.com: A House panel voted Monday to spell out in state law that schools and teachers can’t discriminate against students based on their religious beliefs, whether in what they wear or what they write . . . Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, said nothing in the legislation expands on any student’s rights or [...

Economy lifting college prospects of the well-heeled

Posted on February 24, 2009
Peter Schworm writes at the Boston Globe: For students applying to college, it’s a very good year to have strong grades and deep pockets. Especially the latter. As colleges and universities provide more financial aid to families hit by the recession, they are also more likely to give wealthier students preference in admissions and scholarships to help [...

Harvard?s International Legal Studies program gets $6M gift

Posted on February 24, 2009
National Law Journal: “Harvard Law School’s International Legal Studies (ILS) announced a new $6 million alumni gift that it will use for student financial aid, student and faculty research and academic programs . . . “ Visit Site » Share This

NY Times: ?Gay Marriage Needs a Vote?

Posted on February 24, 2009
NY Times Editorial: “Same-sex couples deserve full equality under the law, and that includes the right to marry. For the last decade or so, members of the Rhode Island State Legislature have regularly proposed bills to allow same-sex couples to marry only to see the issue die in committee without coming to a vote ...

ACLU seeks removal of 1934 monument to honor veterans

Posted on February 24, 2009
WorldNetDaily: The future of a monument erected in the remote Mojave National Preserve in California in 1934 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars to honor those who defend the United States in military actions will be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court...

ACLU: ?Marriage Equality Offers Economic Advantages New Report Shows $60 Million Revenue for Maine?

Posted on February 24, 2009
ACLU press release: Extending marriage rights to same-sex couples offers significant economic benefits to Maine businesses and the state of Maine, according to a new report issued today by the Williams Institute School of Law at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)...

Indiana: Police break up erotic dancing at local nightclub

Posted on February 24, 2009
The Middletown Journal: Police here arrested five women early this morning, Feb. 24, at a local nightclub, and issued a summons on a former candidate for Butler County commission. The Hamilton Police Department’s vice unit conducted an undercover operation late last night at V’s Nightclub, 1483 Millville Ave...

Cal. court backs Christian school in lesbians? suit

Posted on February 24, 2009
The NC Register: A California court decision that looks like a ?sure win? for religious freedom may in fact be only the first skirmish in a bigger battle. When a Lutheran high school expelled two 16-year-old girls on the grounds they had a lesbian relationship, the girls filed a lawsuit claiming, among other things, sexual orientation [...

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