Religion & Law

Voters to Face Controversial Moral Issues on State Ballots

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Christian Post reports: “On Nov. 4, voters will have to bring their religious and ethical convictions to the polls as they grapple with a number moral issues on state ballots. Americans will consider 153 proposals on ballots in 36 states, but moral issues ? ranging from same-sex marriage to assisted suicide ? are among the [...

?Obama used in mailer for gay marriage ban?

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Mercury News reports: “The sponsors of a ballot initiative that would make same-sex marriage illegal in California are using quotes by Barack Obama to drum up support for Proposition 8, even though Obama opposes the measure.” Visit Site » Share This

Steve Young?s wife lines up against Mormon church on Prop. 8

Posted on November 03, 2008
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:  . . . While it’s Barb Young’s name that appears on the checks, she made it clear in a statement issued today through Equality California that the contributions are a family affair. “We believe ALL families matter and we do not believe in discrimination, therefore, our family will vote against Prop...

Washington I-1000: A price on your head

Posted on November 03, 2008
Margaret Datiles of Americans U. for Life has this post in the Washington Times. She writes:  Oregon soon may not be the only state saving money by denying coverage for lifesaving medications and encouraging suicide. The State of Washington is considering a ballot initiative that would allow the same dollar-saving opportunities for health-care insurance companies...

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In S.D., Abortion Debate Rages (Again)

Posted on November 03, 2008
CBS reports:  Abortion] is being used for birth control and South Dakotans do not like that,” Unruh said. They haven’t been willing to ban it outright. Two years ago, when the state tried to outlaw nearly all abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest, 56 percent voted against it...

Christmas is axed in Oxford

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Guardian reports: “Council leaders in Oxford have decided to ban the word Christmas from this year’s festive celebrations to make them more ‘inclusive’. But the decision to rename the series of events the ‘Winter Light Festival’ has been criticised by religious leaders and locals said it was ‘ludicrous’...

NM: ?Anti-abortion rally draws hundreds: San Juan County residents march near Planned Parenthood in Farmington?

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Daily Times reports:  Hundreds of people attended an anti-abortion rally Sunday afternoon in front of a clinic connected to other clinics that provide abortions. Organizers counted about 375 people who marched at Planned Parenthood in Farmington as part of world-wide protest coordinated by the nonprofit “40 Days for Life...

Cardinal Defends ?Nazi? Comments on Bill Permitting Research on Human Embryos

Posted on November 03, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: “A Scottish Catholic prelate defended his comments from criticism late last week after legislators reacted against being compared with Nazis for their support for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill. Keith Cardinal O’Brien, the archbishop of Edinburgh had issued an open letter to MPs, deploring their action in supporting the bill’s “grotesque”, “horrifying” [...

?Gay marriage votes may show changing U.S.?

Posted on November 03, 2008
Reuters has this report that begins: Gay couples are not hiding any more and that has made all the difference, said health care administrator Linda Merkens before Tuesday’s vote in California that will decide the legality of same-sex marriage there...

ACLU Blog: ?My Hijab, My Right?

Posted on November 03, 2008
This post appears on the ACLU Blog. It contends: “The forcible removal of a woman?s hijab should be just as unacceptable as the compulsory removal of a woman?s shirt and bra.” Visit Site » Share This

San Bernardino County Agrees To Allow Religious Head Scarves In County Jails

Posted on November 03, 2008
The ACLU has issued this press release that reports: San Bernardino County agreed today to institute policies that accommodate the First Amendment right to wear religious head scarves in jail. The agreement was reached after the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California sued San Bernardino County in U...

Michigan Measure Proposition 2 for Embryo Destruction Holds Lead in Poll

Posted on November 03, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “A ballot measure in Michigan that would allow the destruction of days-old human beings for research enjoys a small lead according to a new poll. A telephone poll for the Detroit Free Press and WDIV-TV 51 percent backing the embryonic research measure while 40 percent stand opposed...

?Gay-marriage backers make the political personal?

Posted on November 03, 2008
The AP carries this report that begins: “As California voters prepare to decide Tuesday whether to eliminate the marriage rights same-sex couples won five months ago, gays and their allies have been encouraged to tell co-workers and neighbors why legalizing the unions matters to them...

National Review discusses ballot initatives

Posted on November 03, 2008
National Review has posted this editorial: Upsides, Down the Ballot. It discusses ballot initiatives in various states. Visit Site » Share This

New Zealand: ?Fewer parents smacking?

Posted on November 03, 2008
Press.co.nz reports: “‘Anti-smacking’ legislation is making parents reluctant to strike their children, the first results of a major study into child discipline show.” Visit Site » Share This

TN: Bible park tax plan raises church-state concerns

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Tennessean reports: All along, developers have said a multimillion-dollar Bible-themed park proposed for Middle Tennessee will focus on the book’s history, not its message. But as the project nears fruition and Wilson County leaders consider millions in tax incentives to land Bible Park USA, some fear the financing plan amounts to an unconstitutional marriage of religion [...

The Forgotten Founding Document

Posted on November 03, 2008
On the difficult moral issues confronting the judiciary today, a long overlooked bit of guidance is provided in the Declaration of Independence, natural law.

?Sex Toy Sales Now Completely Legal In Fifth Circuit?

Posted on November 03, 2008
This decision effectively denies the Supreme Court the opportunity to resolve the split between the 5th and 11th Circuits over the application of Lawrence v. Texas 539 U.S. 558 (2003).

More than a Mere Contract: Marriage as Contract and Covenant in Law and Theology

Posted on November 03, 2008
In 1841, the American jurist Joseph Story noted that marriage is something more than a mere contract. Justice Story's writings embody an American common law refrain, namely that marriage is at once a contract and something more. This Article details the historical roots of that common law tradition.

Decades after Utah took FLDS kids, family waits for an apology

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Salt Lake Tribune reports: “More than 50 years ago, Vera Black refused to renounce her religious belief in polygamy - giving in only after Utah prepared to place seven of her children with adoptive families. Now, those children have asked the state to apologize to their mother...

Wearing Thin: Restrictions on Islamic Headscarves and Other Religious Symbols

Posted on November 03, 2008
This paper critically examines three key recent cases of superior courts concerning restrictions on religious symbols...

Originalism: Lessons from Things That Go Without Saying

Posted on November 03, 2008
Originalists are sometimes divided into textualists and intentionalists, with the former insisting that subjective states of mind cannot be allowed to override the Constitution's words. But words do not define themselves, singly, or in phrases, or in documents, so even self-styled textualists necessarily face an abundance of choices.

Guarding the Threshold of Birth

Posted on November 03, 2008
Thus, on one day, a mother merely terminates her pregnancy by obtaining an abortion; on the next, she takes a life by killing her child. Immersed in the grey areas between abortion and infanticide, manslaughter and murder, the examples above compel each person to draw legal, ethical, and moral lines.

Campaign comes to churches on final Sunday

Posted on November 03, 2008
The AP reports: “On the final Sunday before Election Day, volunteers for both presidential candidates fanned out to churches in competitive states, congregations bused worshippers to polls to vote early and a battle of wills erupted in church parking lots over the distribution of political literature...

Voters gear up for Measure 10 in South Dakota

Posted on November 03, 2008
OneNewsNow.com reports: A South Dakota ballot campaign is designed to stop government officials from using tax dollars for lobbying or political campaigns that go against Christian faith and values. Attorney Stephen Wesolick, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, has played a major role in getting the measure on the South Dakota ballot ...

Democrats Issue 2008 PRIDE Proclamation

Posted on November 03, 2008
The Democratic party has issued this “PRIDE Proclamation”: “Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today joined Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank and Wisconsin Democratic Representative Tammy Baldwin in issuing the following Proclamation marking PRIDE Month ...

Alito speaks on the Phillies and decision to leave the cert. pool

Posted on November 03, 2008
Tony Mauro has this report on Law.com discussing his recent interview with Justice Alito.  He writes: . . . Moving to Supreme Court-related subjects, Alito was asked about his decision last summer to jump out of the “cert pool,” the pooling arrangement whereby law clerks summarize incoming certiorari petitions not just for their own justice but [...

Catholic Bishop Finn speaks strongly against pro-abortion politicians and voters on the Mike Gallagher Show

Posted on November 03, 2008
Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas-St. Joseph appeared on the Mike Gallagher show and spoke out very strongly against pro-abortion politicians and voters who support them. Audio of the interview is here. This audio recording also appears on YouTube: Chris Stigall with Bishop Finn on Obama & Catholic Voting Share This

Louisiana Family Forum puts ?the fear of God? into Bourbon street strip clubs

Posted on November 03, 2008
NewOrleansCityBusiness.com reports on efforts in the state legislature to regulate strip clubs. It includes this: . . . The ?they? Martiny refers to is the Louisiana Family Forum, a religious lobbying group whose growing influence has put the fear of God into the topless clubs along Bourbon Street...

ADF: Defends Missouri law requiring Planned Parenthood to obey same standards as other medical clinics

Posted on November 03, 2008
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4733 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY November 3, 2008 ? FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS:  (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media after hearing on abortion clinic standards ADF attorneys defending state law that requires Planned Parenthood to obey same safety standards as other medical clinics WHO: ADF Senior Legal Counsel Steven H...

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