Religion & Law

Court reminds Ithaca police: Noise ordinance silencing Christian speech still unconstitutional

Posted on February 13, 2009
. . . city police officers told Jim Deferio that he couldn?t share his faith at Ithaca Commons, even after showing the officers a court order prohibiting them from enforcing an unconstitutional ?noise? ordinance.

Democratic Senator Predicts None of His Colleagues ?Will Have the Chance? to Read Final ?Stimulus? Bill Before Vote

Posted on February 13, 2009
CNSNews: “Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) predicted on Thursday that none of his Senate colleagues would ’have the chance’ to read the entire final version of the $790-billion stimulus bill before the bill comes up for a final vote in Congress ...

UK: ?Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13?

Posted on February 13, 2009
The Sun reports: Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne. He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant...

Atheist signs to go in Madison, Wisconsin buses

Posted on February 13, 2009
Religion Clause Blog reports on the latest ad campaign by the Freedom from Religion Foundation to promote atheism in Wisconsin buses: “For example, the sign featuring a portrait of Darrow reads: ‘I don’t believe in God because I don’t believe in Mother Goose...

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Report On Hate Movements In Times of Economic Crisis Is Released

Posted on February 13, 2009
The Religion Clause Blog: The Simon Wiesenthal Center yesterday announced the release of a new report titled Hatred In Hard Times– And How to Combat It: Lessons From History For the 21st Century. Visit Site » Share This

Nine Pro-life youth jailed in Birmingham following arrests on public sidewalk

Posted on February 13, 2009
Nine college-age members of the Survivors Campus Life Tour were arrested on a public sidewalk at Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama, while distributing literature to students at the campus today.

An Effort to Upgrade a Court Archive System to Free and Easy

Posted on February 13, 2009
Americans have grown accustomed to finding just about anything they want online fast, and free. . . . Pacer, the government-run Public Access to Court Electronic Records . . . Cumbersome, arcane and not free, it is everything that Google is not.

Octuplets doctor has another patient expecting quadruplets

Posted on February 13, 2009
LA Times: “The patient, who is in her late 40s, wanted one baby. Dr. Michael Kamrava transferred at least seven embryos to her. She is now hospitalized without insurance.” Visit Site » Share This

Former Solicitor General Warns: Don?t Be Quick to Switch Course

Posted on February 13, 2009
Fulton County Daily Report: Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement on Thursday warned those who follow in his footsteps to take caution before reversing the government’s course in cases that were at the U.S. Supreme Court before the new president took office ...

Pa. Judges Plead Guilty in Cash-for-Kids Corruption Scandal

Posted on February 13, 2009
The Legal Intelligencer: In a proceeding devoid of drama, two Luzerne County, Pa., judges told a federal court judge Thursday they were guilty of accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks from the owner and builder of two juvenile detention centers ...

Porn Attorney: #2 at Justice Department?

Posted on February 13, 2009
Mike McManus writes at Virtue Online: If David Ogden is confirmed as Deputy Attorney General, do not expect any rigorous enforcement of laws against child pornography, obscenity, partial birth abortion - or in favor of parental notification of minors seeking abortion...

States Take Up Pro-Life Legislation

Posted on February 13, 2009
Citizen Link reports on the pro-life bills pending in Arizona, Arkansas and Kansas defend human life. Visit Site » Share This

Freedom is still the Best Policy

Posted on February 13, 2009
Mart Laar writes in the Wall Street Journal: . . . We may hope that, even as we see several bad signs of neo-interventionist attitude, all the mistakes of the 1930s will not be repeated. But it is clear that the tide has turned again. Capitalism has been declared dead, Marx is honored, and the invisible [...

Peggy Noonan: Is ?Octomom? America?s Future?

Posted on February 13, 2009
Peggy Noonan has this gloomy commentary in the Wall Street Journal. She writes: . . . It’s Sully and Suleman, the pilot and “Octomom,” the two great stories that are twinned with the era. Sully, the airline captain who saved 155 lives by landing that plane just right?level wings, nose up, tail down, plant that baby, [...

UK: GPs to get bonuses for giving teenagers contraceptive implants and jabs without informing parents

Posted on February 13, 2009
The Daily Mail: GPs will be paid bonuses for persuading teenagers to have long-lasting contraceptive implants and jabs without their parents’ knowledge, it has emerged. From next year, doctors are to receive the payments for encouraging young women to use long-acting methods of contraception rather than taking the Pill each day ...

Past governors unite for shop?s Pledge of Allegiance tradition

Posted on February 13, 2009
Baltimore Sun: “Delly owner Ted Levitt said he started leading patrons in the pledge every morning after discovering his children didn’t recite it in elementary school because officials feared the ‘one nation, under God’ line could offend or exclude some children...

Same sex ?marriage? supporters vow to file second complaint over Mormon church?s role in Prop. 8

Posted on February 13, 2009
LA Times: “. . . Opponents of the measure, which banned gay marriage in California, said today that they plan to file a second complaint with the state alleging the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints deliberately did not disclose its financial contributions to the Yes on 8 campaign ...

Same sex couples protest at marriage bureaus across US

Posted on February 13, 2009
AP: “Same-sex couples seeking to wed showed up at marriage license counters nationwide Thursday to highlight a right they don’t have in 48 states, part of an annual protest that took on renewed urgency given recent election setbacks . . . “ Visit Site » Share This

Janice Shaw Crouse: The Nightmarish Possibility of David Ogden at DOJ

Posted on February 13, 2009
Janice Shaw Crouse writes at Townhall: “It would be difficult to find a person less desirable to be second in command at the nation?s top law enforcement agency, the person who would enforce the child pornography and obscenity laws. Throughout his 20-year legal career, David Ogden has argued for the rights of the pornographers over [...

Christian students face ?increasing hostility?

Posted on February 13, 2009
One News Now: “A New York school district faces a federal lawsuit over banning a student-led Bible club. School busThe Lindenhurst Union Free School District has barred the club and continues to do so in spite of legal information provided by Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel David Cortman ...

TX: Former assistant band director indicted on child porn charges

Posted on February 13, 2009
The former assistant band director for PSJA Memorial High School has been indicted on child pornography charges.

Legal equality does not mean requiring universal acceptance of homosexuality

Posted on February 13, 2009
To the average social conservative, these developments represent a campaign to force "the gay agenda" on people who are morally opposed to homosexuality. To the average gay rights activist, they represent a just struggle for equal treatment under the law...

Louisiana: Judge dismisses suit to have strip club shut down

Posted on February 13, 2009
The lawsuit was trying to close down Silhouettes Adult Cabaret, the old Escapades, on Airline Highway in Prairieville.

CT: Cities, Towns eye tough rules for adult businesses

Posted on February 13, 2009
Berlin is one of at least 21 municipalities across Connecticut that already restrict ? or are pushing to further restrict ? sexually oriented businesses. "There's been a lot of new studies of these businesses since 2006, when we last revised our ordinance, so the changes we made reflect the new information," Mayor Adam Salina said of the updated ordinance, which the town council approved unanimously.

Alcohol, sex ads get prime TV time

Posted on February 13, 2009
As the recession takes its toll on firms that rely on advertising, TV stations aren't the only companies running ads once considered inappropriate.

Commercial sexual trafficking of minors widespread in American cities

Posted on February 13, 2009
Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is widespread in U.S. cities and constitutes "America's dirty little secret," said survivor Theresa Flores during NBC's The Today Show this morning.

Rick Santorum on the targeting of Islam?s critics

Posted on February 13, 2009
All of these incidents are calculated to intimidate critics of Islam in Europe and across the West. The message in the European Union is clear: Politicians, religious figures, and even private citizens with religiously and politically incorrect opinions will be subject not only to Muslim protest, but to criminal prosecution and violent retribution.

Indonesian Democratic Party vows to seek annulment of porn law

Posted on February 13, 2009
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) has promised to have the controversial pornography law annulled should it win the upcoming elections.

Michael J. New on abortion policy: Welfare and parental involvement laws

Posted on February 13, 2009
A thorough reading of the academic literature finds relatively little evidence that welfare policy has an impact on the incidence of abortion. However, there are a number of studies in peer reviewed journals which analyze different datasets, and utilize different statistical methods, which conclude that pro-life laws, particularly public funding restrictions and parental involvement laws, have an impact.

India Supreme Court to review abortion law

Posted on February 13, 2009
The 38-year-old abortion law was on Friday challenged in the Supreme Court which sought a response from the government for continuing with a provision prohibiting termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there was a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.

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