Religion & Law

Rehnquist Papers on ?Roe v. Wade? Will Be Made Public Soon

Posted on October 23, 2008
Tony Mauro reports on the Legal Times:  The family of the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist has decided to donate his extensive papers from 33 years on the Supreme Court and before to the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University, Rehnquist’s alma mater...

?Societal Revulsion at Child-Pornography Consumers Has Led to Stiff Prison Sentences ? and Caused Some Judges to Rebel?

Posted on October 23, 2008
Amir Efrati has this commentary in the Wall Street Journal. He begins: “Are people who download and view child pornography — but aren’t themselves molesters — as much of a threat to society as rapists or murderers? The question, being raised by federal judges in response to tough sentences meted out to consumers of child pornography, [...

Kentucky Law School Will Shutter Its Doors by the End of the Year

Posted on October 23, 2008
The National Law Journal reports: “A problem-plagued Kentucky law school has announced that it will close at the end of the year.  The Barkley School of Law – formerly known as the American Justice School of Law – is withdrawing its application with the state for a license to operate in 2009...

House GOP leader asks Bush to cut off ACORN funds

Posted on October 23, 2008
The AP reports: “House Republican leader John Boehner on Wednesday urged President Bush to block all federal funds to a grass-roots community group that has been accused of voter registration fraud.” Visit Site » Share This

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If McCain Wins, A Constitutional Dispute May Follow: Why Arizona?s Process to Pick a Senator to Temporarily Fill McCain?s Seat Is Unconstitutional

Posted on October 23, 2008
Vickram David Amar has this post on Findlaw:  No matter who prevails, there will be a vacancy in the Senate until an election for a successor can be held, and the relevant state’s governor will be the one who chooses the temporary Senator. Should Senator Obama become President, the Democratic Governor in Illinois (Rod Blagojevich) would [...

ADF: Shippensburg U. agrees to drop unconstitutional ?speech codes?

Posted on October 23, 2008
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have settled a lawsuit with officials at Shippensburg University, bringing an end to the school?s unconstitutional ?speech codes.?

UK: ?Relationship lessons from age 5?

Posted on October 23, 2008
The BBC reports: “Lessons about personal, social and health matters including sex and relationships will be compulsory in all England’s schools from ages five to 16.” Visit Site » Share This

Islamic group calls on NM GOP to repudiate remarks that Obama is a ?Muslim Socialist?

Posted on October 23, 2008
The Almagordo Daily News reports: “ALBUQUERQUE The chairwoman of an Otero County Republican women’s group on Tuesday defended a letter to the editor in which she wrote, ”I believe Muslims are our enemies.” Marcia Stirman, a 56-year-old interior decorator, also called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ”a Muslim socialist...

Schools, libraries see hundreds of requests to ban books

Posted on October 23, 2008
USA Today reports: “. . . Every year, public libraries and schools across the country collectively field hundreds of requests from parents, public officials and activists pressing for the removal of books they deem inappropriate. That includes literary classics, human sexuality manuals and, occasionally, even the dictionary, according to the American Library Association ...

Wisconsin: ?Green Bay committee votes to keep displays holiday nonreligious?

Posted on October 23, 2008
The GreenBay Press Gazette reports: “In a 5-1 vote, the Green Bay City Council’s Advisory Committee decided to keep holiday displays secular or nonreligious on city-owned property to avoid last year’s controversy after a council member displayed a nativity scene on Green Bay City Hall ...

Hometown battles effective against smut pushers

Posted on October 23, 2008
One News Now reports:  Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says pornography is a major problem in America and in other countries, but he notes that taking pornographers to court has been a rare occurrence. ”We’ve had difficulty getting the U...

Oh, the polls!

Posted on October 22, 2008
Dead heat or Reagan like landslide?

UK: Plans to liberalise abortion laws fail

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Christian Institute reports:  Attempts at a sweeping liberalisation of Britain?s abortion laws have failed to reach a vote in the House of Commons. Tonight?s debate marked the last chance for pro-abortion MPs to widen the laws using the current embryos Bill, but they did not succeed...

?Coming Out Day? Coming This Week to California Elementary Schools

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Pacific Justice Institute has issued a press release reporting:   Parents at a K-8 charter school in Hayward were shocked to learn this week the extent to which their school is promoting gay and lesbian ideals to their daughter in kindergarten.  The parents were shocked to see a poster announcing that “Coming Out Day” will be [...

Stateline: ?Gay marriage on the ballot in 4 states?

Posted on October 22, 2008
Stateline.org carries this report that beings: “In the wake of Connecticut?s Oct. 10 high court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, voters in three states will decide in November whether to roll back or prevent a similar ruling by defining marriage in their state constitutions as a union between a man and a woman...

Pittsburgh: Officials Worry Over Site Of Proposed Strip Club

Posted on October 22, 2008
KDKA.com reports on controversy that is brewing over the placement of a proposed strip club with an alcohol license near a facility for recovering alcoholics. Visit Site » Share This

Michigan: Charges considered in high school freshman?s nude cell phone photo case

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Detroit Free Press reports: “The suspension this week of 10 Pinckney Community High School students the school says distributed a nude cell phone picture of a freshman could be just the beginning of disciplinary action in the case, both by the school and local courts...

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.: ?What?s at stake in the ?gay marriage? debate? (part 2)?

Posted on October 22, 2008
Baptist Press carries this commentary by Albert Mohler, who writes: . . . Even when legalized civil unions and domestic partnerships are thrown into the mix, the countries that consider same-sex unions and heterosexual marriages to be equal before the law represent a small percentage of the world’s nations...

Fla. marriage amendment must get super-majority of votes to pass

Posted on October 22, 2008
Michael Foust reports in the Baptist Press: “. . .  a new law approved by voters in 2006 requires all constitutional amendments to get a super-majority of 60 percent of the votes in order to pass. If the proposal — known as Amendment 2 — gets only 59 percent, it fails...

New Jersey Quality Inn, Clarion Hotels Give Women Discounts for Abortions

Posted on October 22, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: ”Women heading to New Jersey for abortions are getting discounts at two brand name hotels and pro-life advocates are working to expose the practice. An abortion business in Cherry Hill that does abortions up to six months into pregnancy worked out the discounts with two local hotels...

?Gay NYPD Lt. accused of sexual harrassment; he claims ?jock itch??

Posted on October 22, 2008
The NY Daily News reports:  A gay NYPD lieutenant has been found guilty of sexually harassing two male sergeants and creating a lewd, hostile work environment, the Daily News has learned . . .  The sergeants said Crowe, a 23-year NYPD veteran, simulated masturbating and wiggled his tongue at them in a sexually suggestive manner in the 12th-floor office [...

Wyoming: Sweetwater County adopts sex shop regs

Posted on October 22, 2008
The Jackson Hole Star Tribune reports:  Motorists along Interstate 80 in southwest Wyoming will have a harder time finding the adult arcade near Red Desert after the business’ familiar school bus sign is removed later this week. With little fanfare, no public input and a few chuckles, Sweetwater County Commissioners approved the county’s new sexually oriented business [...

Guns, abortion and the Supreme Court: Scalia opinion criticized as activism

Posted on October 22, 2008
The LA Time reports:  As noted by the New York Times, two eminent conservative judges, Richard Posner and J. Harvie Wilkinson III, recently have written to denounce the reasoning in Scalia’s controversial opinion and to accuse him of engaging not only in sloppy historical research — Posner calls it proof that the court can succumb to [...

Nebraska: Sexual business ordinance passes after debate

Posted on October 22, 2008
The North Platte Bulletin reports:  The controversial sexually oriented business ordinance finally passed on its third and final reading after nearly 75 minutes of debate . . .    The ordinance strictly regulates where adult oriented businesses can be located and includes adult arcades, bookstores or novelty stores, cabarets, motels, theaters, escort agencies, nude modeling and sexual encounter [...

Parental Notification Initiative Leads 52% to 33% Among Likely CA Voters

Posted on October 22, 2008
The PR Newswire: “The initiative holds a 19 percentage point lead among likely voters, 52% to 33%. The survey was conducted for the Knights of Columbus by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion between September 28 and October 5, 2008.” Visit Site » Share This

Abortion Practitioner George Tiller?s PAC Faces $15,000 in Campaign Fines

Posted on October 22, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “The political action committee operates by Kansas-based late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller could face fines as much as $15,000. That’s because officials with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission say Tiller’s PAC has been obscuring the identity of donors in reports the group filed...

UK: Anger over block on abortion debate

Posted on October 22, 2008
Reuters reports:  Campaigners on both sides of the abortion debate have criticised the government for blocking a rare chance to change key legislation on the issue. They said minsters had used a procedural tactic to prevent MPs debating amendments to current abortion law when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill returns to the Commons on Wednesday ...

Can Interdistrict Choice Boost Student Achievement? The Case of Connecticut?s Interdistrict Magnet School Program.

Posted on October 22, 2008
The National Center for the Study of Privitization in Education, Teacher’s College, Columbia University has posted a new report: 167. Can Interdistrict Choice Boost Student Achievement? The Case of Connecticut?s Interdistrict Magnet School Program...

WRAP Up Porn and Throw It Out

Posted on October 22, 2008
hus, the annual White Ribbons Against Pornography (WRAP) campaign was launched ? with dozens of organizations, including Concerned Women for America ? urging supporters to wear and/or display a white ribbon indicating their opposition to pornography during WRAP week, October 26 ? November 2.

Are clergy ignoring election time threats from Americans United for Separation of Church and State?

Posted on October 22, 2008
"Our letter was intended to help clergy who may have been confused by ill advice from groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund that urged pastors to violate tax law and endorse candidates from the pulpit last month. It certainly was not meant to 'threaten and coerce,' but rather to clear up any misinformation ...

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