Religion & Law

?Day without a gay? protest fizzles

Posted on December 11, 2008
Designed to be a protest against the Nov. 4 passage of Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, the day's events drew only scattered support in the Bay Area, the heart of the gay rights movement, and also criticism.

Pan-Europe Libertas Party launched to fight ?anti-democratic? EU

Posted on December 11, 2008
The new Libertas Party, which aims to run candidates in all 27 European Union states for the European Parliament elections in June 2009, says it wants to democratise the European institutions, with an elected commission and a president.

Chicago Schools Administrator: Homosexual High School Is ?Necessary?

Posted on December 11, 2008
A proposed homosexual-friendly Chicago public high school is ?necessary? for the well-being of students, a Chicago Public Schools administrator told CNSNews.com Wednesday.

Population Research Institute defends its opposition to the UNFPA

Posted on December 11, 2008
Following the Huffington Post?s recent attack on the Population Research Institute (PRI) for opposing policies of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), PRI challenged its critics to examine its evidence linking the organization with coercive population control programs in China.

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Heller, Originalism, and the Revival of the Privileges or Immunities Clause

Posted on December 11, 2008
What few commentators have realized is that the next wave of Second Amendment litigation, involving challenges to state gun control laws, will raise an even more interesting question about how the provisions of the Bill of Rights are ?incorporated? against the States, and provide an even greater test of conservative originalism.

Visalia, CA: City buses can display ads for sex shops, but not churches

Posted on December 11, 2008
Although the city ads policy allows for adult businesses, it prohibits ads for churches -- even those churches that help underwrite transit service. The policy is at odds with the policies of other Valley transit agencies.

?Economic boycott? over Proposition 8

Posted on December 10, 2008
Simoneaux and Weitzel are among the gay men and women in Houston and across the country taking part in today's "Day Without a Gay" economic boycott. Outraged by the recent passage of California's Proposition 8 to overturn state rules allowing same-sex couples to marry, they and their supporters want everyone to be clear on where they stand.

Obama to address Islam

Posted on December 10, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama says he will try to "reboot America's image" among the world's Muslims and will follow tradition by using his entire name ? Barack Hussein Obama ? in his swearing-in ceremony...

Eugene Volokh: May Public University Deny Funding and Access to Groups That Discriminate Based on Religion?

Posted on December 10, 2008
My view...is that the government need not subsidize the student groups' right of expressive association, just as it need not subsidize abortion rights, private schooling rights, the right to lobby the government, and the like.

U.S. stalls signing U.N. ?sexual orientation? rights statement

Posted on December 10, 2008
International gay rights groups expressed concern that the U.S. had not yet signed a proposed statement this week calling on the United Nations and countries throughout the world to condemn discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Mexican Supreme Court Debates Transsexual?s Right to Privacy

Posted on December 10, 2008
When transsexuals or transgender persons in the Mexican capital have their birth certificates altered to reflect their change in identity, is it legal to include a notation on the new document indicating that Ms Y used to be Mr X?

Michigan man arrested for child porn

Posted on December 10, 2008
Lambton OPP report a Michigan trucker has been arrested for possession of child pornography. Members of the OPP Child Sexual Exploitation Section (Project P), Point Edward OPP and the Canada Border Services Agency made the arrest Tuesday following a traffic stop at the border.

Iowa to permit state employees to donate to faith-based charities

Posted on December 10, 2008
After a lawsuit by attorneys with the Christian Legal Society and Alliance Defense Fund, the Iowa Department of Administration has agreed to allow state employees to contribute to faith-based charities through its voluntary state employee charitable donation program.

Oral Arguments Heard In Missouri Baptist Dispute

Posted on December 10, 2008
Both sides in the legal dispute between the Missouri Baptist Convention and a breakaway agency faced tough questions at a recent hearing before an appellate panel.

Jamaica: ?Primary school children not too young to learn about sex?

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed its support for the teaching of children about sex and HIV/AIDS before age 12, and dismissed suggestions that providing youngsters with such information would lead them to experiment with sex.

Italian TV edits ?Brokeback Mountain,? faces protests

Posted on December 10, 2008
At least that was the version of Ang Lee's gay cowboy Oscar-winner that was broadcast by channel Rai Due: two love scenes between the male protagonists had been excised, cuts which provoked furious accusations from gay-rights groups of censorship driven by creeping homophobia in Italy.

FCC harshly criticized in House report

Posted on December 10, 2008
This September, the House Energy and Commerce Committee concluded its investigation into the FCC's alleged abuses of its "regulatory procedures and practices," telling the public that it would return with a final report. Yesterday, the Committee returned with a vengeance...

?British TV Will Show American Dying by Assisted Suicide?

Posted on December 10, 2008
London - A British television channel plans to show a film about an American man who commits assisted suicide at a Swiss clinic, reigniting debate over an issue that strongly divides opinion in Britain. Opponents called the broadcast a ratings-grabbing stunt.

ADF-allied attorneys prepared to challenge Luxembourg assisted suicide law if passed

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Alliance Defense Fund is mobilizing efforts to judicially challenge a Luxembourg assisted suicide law if passed by the country?s parliament. ADF-allied attorneys are willing to offer pro bono legal assistance to physicians willing to bring suit regarding the constitutionality of the law in the wake of efforts to strip the grand duke of his ability to enact or veto legislation in that country.

Europe: Protection of religious freedom is common task for churches

Posted on December 10, 2008
From a Christian perspective ?human rights? are those rights which serve to protect the dignity given to all human beings by God, regardless of their religion or world-view.

UK: Christian campaigners lose hybrid embryo challenge

Posted on December 10, 2008
Christian campaigners have lost their High Court bid to overturn licences allowing two universities to create animal-human embryos for research purposes.

Ads Countering Humanists To Appear On D.C. Busses

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog reports: Now former Capitol Hill staffer Jo Ellen Murphy has raised nearly $9000 for counter-ads that will begin running on buses next week. They will show the Sistine Chapel’s image of God’s finger reaching out to Adam, with the added words: “Why Believe? Because I created you and I love you, [...

?Adoption Rights for Gays and Lesbians in Florida: A Trial Court Rules That the State?s Longstanding Ban Must End?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Findlaw has posted this commentary by Joanna Grossman that begins: The only statute in the nation that bans gays and lesbians from adopting children has just been ruled invalid by a Florida state court judge. The thoughtful, well-reasoned ruling came from Judge Cindy Lederman, and the case was In re Adoption of Doe...

?Lambda Legal Applauds Finding by New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission That Civil Union Protections Are Inferior to Marriage?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Lambda Legal has issued this press release that indicates: . . . “The NJ-CURC’s conclusion is a welcome advance for the civil rights of same-sex couples. We were proud to testify before the commission and we thank them for their serious review and deliberation...

ADF Alliance Alert Tag Displays Problem

Posted on December 10, 2008
The system that services this site has been upgraded, but we have encountered some problems with the tag displays.  We are working to resolve that as quickly as possible and apologize for the inconvenience.  Until the problem is fixed when you click a tag, instead of displaying the list of posts associated with that tag [...

Iowa: ?Expand the arc of human rights?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Rekha Basu has this commentary in the Des Moines Register arguing in favor of marriage redefinition. ADF attorney Doug Napier is quoted along with Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center. KCCI.com carres this report: Justices Hear Historic Same-Sex Marriage Case...

GPS, hidden cameras watching over Baby Jesus

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: When Baby Jesus disappeared last year from a Nativity scene on the lawn of the Wellington, Fla., community center, village officials didn’t follow a star to locate him. A GPS device mounted inside the life-size ceramic figurine led sheriff’s deputies to a nearby apartment, where it was found face down on the carpet...

Louisiana: City Council tries to keep sex shops in check

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Monroe City Council introduced two ordinances at its meeting Tuesday night to define and regulate sexually oriented businesses.

Supreme Court declines to take Handley Elementary School religion case

Posted on December 10, 2008
The Saginaw News reports: The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in a case involving a former Handley Elementary School fifth-grader who tried to sell candy canes with a religious message. The high court Monday denied the petition that Scottsdale, Ariz...

Abortion Foes Open a New Front

Posted on December 10, 2008
Stephanie Simon writes on the Wall Street Journal: Abortion opponents are pressing state and local governments to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, arguing that the nonprofit group has plenty of cash and shouldn’t be granted scarce public funds at a time of economic crisis...

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