Religion & Law

PFAW: ?Obama Wins Mandate on the Courts?

Posted on November 05, 2008
People for the American Way has issued this press release that begins: Looking at yesterday?s results, it?s incontrovertible that the election delivered a sweeping mandate for President-elect Obama to appoint federal judges who are committed to core constitutional values: justice, equality, and opportunity for all...

?Conservative? Michigan Chief Justice loses reelection bid

Posted on November 05, 2008
The Detroit Free Press reports: “Diane Hathaway sprung a stunning upset Tuesday of Clifford Taylor, the conservative chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court who was the target of a scathing advertising campaign from Democrats.” Visit Site » Share This

California?s Prop. 8 Passes; Will ?Legal Chaos? Ensue?

Posted on November 05, 2008
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports: Voters in California seem to have spoken clearly: under the state?s constitution, marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman. One result that?s far from clear, however: what happens to all those same-sex couples who rushed to wed prior to the election? ...

Rod Dreher on the CA marriage amendment: using the courts ?invited this backlash?

Posted on November 05, 2008
Most importantly, this result shows the strategic risk of trying to carry out a social revolution via the courts, without consulting the people.

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Protecting Minors from Online Pornography without Violating the First Amendment

Posted on November 05, 2008
In view of Congress' failed efforts to prevent children from viewing pornography and other indecent and harmful materials on the Internet, this article proposes that Congress pass a law which requires all new personal computers to come equipped with blocking and filtering software that requires the activating user to make an affirmative choice, during the computer's initial setup, regarding the computer's filter settings for each account on the computer.

Mixed signals on Michigan?s stem cell ballot proposition

Posted on November 05, 2008
The amendment, called Proposal 2 on the ballot, was approved Tuesday by a margin of 53 to 47 percent with 98 percent of the state's precincts reporting.

Pro-Lifers attribute Washington assisted suicide loss to lack of funding

Posted on November 05, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: Campaigners against the Initiative said late in the campaign that although they had gained support, a critical lack of funding was likely to dash their hopes of protecting vulnerable patients in the state. In the end, money appears to have won the day, as the Yes on I-1000 campaign was able to purchase key [...

Exit Polls Data Help Explain Votes on State Assisted Suicide, Abortion Measures

Posted on November 05, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “Voters in five states dealt with more pro-life issues than those at stake in the presidential election as they considered votes on abortion, assisted suicide and bioethics issues. Exit polling data in those states help explain why voters made the decisions they did on the ballot measures ...

Life Didn?t Lose ? the GOP Did

Posted on November 05, 2008
The National Catholic Register reports: “The abortion lobby will be quick to claim that the American people wrote a blank check last night for on-demand abortion. That?s just not so. While the Democratic Party won the White House as well as decisive control over both houses of Congress, exit polls found that economic issues were [...

?The Most Pro-Abortion President in History: Barack Hussein Obama to Become 44th US President?

Posted on November 05, 2008
"If you don't know when human rights begin, then you're in no position to govern a country that was founded on the principle of human rights," said Fr. Pavone.

Obama, Democratic-Run U.S. Senate Poised to Reshape Judiciary

Posted on November 05, 2008
Bloomberg reports: . . . Having taken control of two branches of the U.S. government, President-elect Barack Obama and the Democrats are now poised to reshape the third . . . Wheeler estimates that, with normal turnover, the 15 vacancies and the likelihood of an expanded judiciary, Democratic appointees will fill 112 seats, or 58 percent, by [...

Three legal challenges to Prop 8 already filed or promised

Posted on November 05, 2008
"The San Francisco City Attorney's office says he plans to challenge the validity of a ballot measure that would change the state constitution to ban gay marriage."

Wisconsin: Green Bay City Hall Nativity displays challenge appealed to 7th Cir.

Posted on November 05, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog reports: “The Green Bay (WI) Press-Gazette today reports that an appeal has been filed with the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. v. City of Green Bay. FFRF appeals after losing its challenge to nativity displays in city hall...

South Dakota Voters Defeat Second Ballot Measure to Ban Most Abortions

Posted on November 05, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “For a second time, the voters of South Dakota defeated a state ballot measure that would have banned most abortions after defeating a similar measure two years [...]

Doug Kmiec and Denver Archbishop Chaput correspond

Posted on November 05, 2008
Doug Kmiec and Archbishop Chaput correspond at Public Discourse.

Neb. voters approve ban on affirmative action

Posted on November 05, 2008
The AP Reports: “Nebraska voters have approved a ban on government-sponsored affirmative action. The constitutional amendment approved Tuesday bars bar state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin...

ADF: Marriage amendment victories demonstrate voters don?t want activist courts

Posted on November 05, 2008
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4738 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND STATEMENT November 5, 2008 ? FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF: Marriage amendment victories demonstrate voters don?t want activist courts Constitutional amendments on marriage prevail in Arizona, California, Florida SCOTTSDALE, Ariz...

Incumbents hold seats on Texas Board of Education; social conservatives maintain majority

Posted on November 05, 2008
Star-Telegram.com reports: “Preliminary results showed three area incumbents being re-elected and conservatives maintaining a 10-to-5 majority on the State Board of Education, which creates the state?s curriculum, approves textbooks and determines passing scores for the state-mandated assessment program...

Colorado: ?Third gay elected to Congress?

Posted on November 05, 2008
365Gay.com reports: “Colorado Democrat Jared Polis will become the third openly gay member of Congress when he is sworn in in January. Polis, a 33-year-old entrepreneur who made millions creating Internet-based businesses, beat Republican Scott Starin to represent the 2nd District , which includes his hometown of Boulder...

Proposition 8, Cal. marriage amendment passes with 99.5% precincts reporting

Posted on November 05, 2008
With 99.5% of precincts reporting, the Cal. Secretary of State indicates the spread is as follows: Yes - 5,358,796 (52.5%) No - 4,866,831 (47.5%)

Is There a Right to Polygamy and Incest? Should a Liberal State Replace ?Marriage? with ?Registered Domestic Partnerships??

Posted on November 05, 2008
I believe that the most justifiable policy on liberal grounds is not the institution of "marriage" increasingly open to new constituent relationships but rather a status of "registered domestic partnership" which fulfills the social and moral aims behind subsidizing the family but is entirely neutral not only to the gender or even to the numbers of the partners, but also to the affective and emotional content of domestic life and the purposes behind contracting domestic partnerships.

The Defense of Marriage Act as an Efficacious Expression of Public Policy: Towards a Resolution of Miller v. Jenkins and the Emerging Conflict Between States over Same-Sex Parenting

Posted on November 05, 2008
This Note finds its impetus in the particular struggle over child visitation rights between Lisa Miller-Jenkins and Janet Miller-Jenkins. Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins (?Miller v. Jenkins?) involves the interaction of Vermont, Virginia, and federal law...

State ballots feature hot-button social issues

Posted on November 04, 2008
The AP reports: “Some of the nation’s most divisive social issues - gay marriage, abortion and affirmative action - went before voters Tuesday as 36 states passed judgment on ballot measures as well as candidates.” Visit Site » Share This

Justices Weigh Teachers? Union Deduction Case

Posted on November 04, 2008
The School Law Blog reports: The U.S. Supreme Court today took up a teachers’ union case that even several justices said left them befuddled. At issue in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Assocation (Case No. 07-869) is an Idaho law that prohibits school districts and other local governments from using their payroll systems to let workers deduct amounts [...

Colorado: Council to consider strip club appeal

Posted on November 04, 2008
The Grand Junction Sentinel reports: The City Council on Wednesday will consider an appeal of the Planning Commission?s rejection of a conditional-use permit for a strip club in northwest Grand Junction. Planning commissioners on Aug. 12 refused to grant the permit to businessman Kevin Eardley, who has proposed building a two-story, 9,879-square-foot topless bar at 2258 Colex [...

Ronald Reagan: Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation

Posted on November 04, 2008
CNS carries this reprint of an essay that originally ran in the spring of 1983 in the quarterly journal Human Life Review. It is by Ronald Reagan. Visit Site » Share This

ACLU: ?Florida?s Healthcare Professionals Say NO to Amendment 2?

Posted on November 04, 2008
The ACLU has issued this press release that begins: Sixty leading Florida health care professionals today issued a statement urging Floridians to vote “No” on proposed Amendment 2. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Committee to Protect Employee Health Benefits are working with a growing list of healthcare professionals from around [...

Alberta Human Rights Commission: ?Kill the Christian? Lyrics OK, but Criticize Homosexuality? No Way

Posted on November 04, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: The Alberta Human Rights Commission (HRC) has come under scrutiny again for what critics are calling a brazen double standard in its treatment of “hate” and discrimination. Blogger, lawyer and democratic activist Ezra Levant has revealed that Alberta Human Rights Commissioner Lori Andreachuk, who in a ruling earlier this year ordered a Christian pastor to [...

2008 Ballot Proposition Coverage and Election Results

Posted on November 04, 2008
Several states have ballot propositions addressing issues within ADF's mission.

California: Activists in the Classroom

Posted on November 04, 2008
Earlier this autumn, the California Teachers Association donated one million dollars to No on 8 . . . the union sends the message that it doesn't care about keeping classrooms free from political controversy.

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