Religion & Law

McCain dodges question on Viagra, contraceptives

Posted on July 10, 2008
The AP reports: “Republican John McCain prides himself on being a straight talker. But he resisted being dragged into a discussion Wednesday about insurance companies that cover Viagra but not birth control products.” Visit Site » Share This

HIV/AIDS Diagnoses Rise Among Homosexually Active Men

Posted on July 09, 2008
The NC Family Policy Council reports: he number of homosexually active men diagnosed with HIV/AIDS continues to increase nationwide, including in North Carolina, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...

Weak laws, energy wealth fuel rise in sex trade

Posted on July 09, 2008
Spero News reports: “In some trafficking cases, a reluctance to pursue traffickers is interpreted as evidence of government involvement.” Visit Site » Share This

Lesbian Congresswoman named to DNC platform drafting committee

Posted on July 09, 2008
GayPolitics.com reports: “Openly lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin has been named as one of 20 members of the Platform Drafting Committee members of the Democratic National Convention.” Visit Site » Share This

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Irish Anglican Primate: Homosexuality is natural and must be accepted by the church

Posted on July 09, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Homosexuality is ‘natural’ for homosexuals and must be accepted by the Church, the Anglican Primate of Ireland said this week.” Visit Site » Share This

Settlement ensures rights of Michigan church will be respected

Posted on July 09, 2008
The city planning commission had unlawfully prohibited the church from using a vacant car dealership as a house of worship but has now agreed to allow the congregation to use the building.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Necrophilia violates state law

Posted on July 09, 2008
The AP reports: In Wednesday’s 5-2 decision, the high court said Wisconsin law makes sex acts with dead people illegal because they are unable to give consent. The ruling reinstates the attempted sexual assault charges against twin brothers Nicholas and Alexander Grunke and Dustin Radke, all 22...

Code on embryo screening planned

Posted on July 09, 2008
The BBC reports: A code of practice to regulate the use of electronic chips to screen embryos is to be drawn up by the European Fertility Society’s ethics task force . . . Professor De Wert said: “One of my concerns is that people who are naive about genetics think that it is easy to pick the [...

New Pornography-Detection Tool Makes It Difficult for Sex Offenders and Teens to Hide Pornography

Posted on July 09, 2008
The PR Newswire reports: SurfRecon Inc. announced today the release of SurfRecon 2008, a new rapid-image-analysis tool that is available to law enforcement, parents, business owners, and schools for the first time. This highly-mobile and easy-to-use tool was originally created to enable members of law enforcement to quickly find, categorize, report-on, and delete pornographic content from [...

?Domestic partners law under legal fire in Oregon?

Posted on July 09, 2008
The AP reports: Oregon’s domestic partnership law came under legal fire again Tuesday, as opponents tried to persuade three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that elections officials had wrongly disqualified the issue from the November ballot ...

The Polygamist Next Door

Posted on July 09, 2008
". . . Suppose . . . these polygamists are your neighbors . . . Do we require the husband to divorce . . . ? Is it possible for this husband to continue providing for 22 children and 3 women outside of their current context?"

Dennis Prager: Why a Black Artist Replaced the National Anthem

Posted on July 09, 2008
Dennis Prager has this commentary on Townhall. He concludes: Final note: If you do not now fear for America’s future, please go on the Internet and watch the Denver city officials respectfully watch a woman substitute her own song for that of the National Anthem...

Divorce still damaging to children despite being more acceptable

Posted on July 09, 2008
"A study run over several decades has shown that children whose parents split up are more likely to end up without qualifications, claiming benefits and suffering depression."

Prosecutor alleges plot to impose Islamist rule in Turkey

Posted on July 09, 2008
The Christian Science Monitor reports: “. . . Turkey’s top prosecutor is arguing that the AKP and its 70 top members ? including the prime minister and president ? should be banned for aiming to impose Islamist rule . . .” Visit Site » Share This

Hungarian Constitutional Court strikes down ?hate speech? laws

Posted on July 09, 2008
The Budapest Times reports: “The court last Monday rejected two amendments to Hungary?s laws on inflammatory public discourse that would have made ?hate speech? a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison.” Hat tip: Religion Clause Blog...

Lawsuit alleges publishers? translation of ?homosexual? in Bible verse caused harm

Posted on July 09, 2008
The Religion Clause Blog links to several reports and indicates: “An unusual pair of federal lawsuits filed pro se by a Michigan man complain about the translation of a passage in I Corinthians in versions of the Bible from two publishers . . . he variously charges that inclusion of the term homosexual caused him, [...

Arkansas: Monday deadline for ban on unmarried adoption

Posted on July 09, 2008
Boxes and boxes of signatures will be delivered to the Secretary of State Monday as the Family Council's Action Committee tries to change the state adoption law.

Sir Thomas More?s Final Years: Silence, Silencing, and Constitutional Change

Posted on July 09, 2008
Through an examination of Sir Thomas More's final years, culminating with his trial on charges of treason, and with particular attention to the theme of silence, this article studies the profound constitutional amendment which attended the English Reformation.

AZ Governor: ?Gay marriage referendum unnecessary?

Posted on July 09, 2008
Though Napolitano said she believes in the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, she doesn't think that there is any reason to amend the Constitution at this point.

TX: Rio Grande Valley Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Child Pornography

Posted on July 09, 2008
A McAllen man facing child pornography charges entered a guilty plea Wednesday. In an appearance before the 139th District Court, Jack Arnold Heflin, 30, pleaded guilty to three counts of child pornography promotion and a single count of possession.

How the Recently-Concluded Supreme Court Term Bolstered Justice Kennedy?s Power, But Undermined John McCain?s Constitutional Credibility

Posted on July 09, 2008
Vikram Amar has this commentary on Findlaw. He writes: Justice Kennedy owns the current Court. He was in the majority of every major 5-4 ruling the high tribunal handed this year . . . A less-obvious loser this year was John McCain. Two of the biggest half dozen 5-4 rulings this year forcefully rejected his [...

AP: ?Calif. county refuses to ban gay marriage?

Posted on July 09, 2008
"Kern County supervisors refused to ban gay marriage, rebutting a conservative group that sought to make it the first California county to reject the statewide policy."

What Rights are Deeply Rooted in American History and Tradition?

Posted on July 09, 2008
. . . we thought it would be valuable to do a survey of exactly what rights were protected under state constitutions in 1868 when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.

The Winding Road from Form to Function: A Brief History of Contemporary Marriage

Posted on July 09, 2008
But what is the state of contemporary marriage, and what light can recent history shed on it? Since the 1950s, while some aspects of marriage have dramatically changed, others have stubbornly resisted alteration.

Separate and Still Unequal? Taxing California Registered Domestic Partners

Posted on July 09, 2008
This article analyzes whether the IRS has a cogent legal basis to discriminate and deny equal treatment to domestic partners.

The Future of Marriage

Posted on July 09, 2008
The future of marriage is bright, naysayers' claims to the contrary notwithstanding. The institution will remain of vital importance to society and to many individuals for the foreseeable future.

Allan E. Parker, Jr.: From the Wake of Gonzalez v. Carhart

Posted on July 09, 2008
. . . one of the most hidden things about the recent Supreme Court decision Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion, is that the Supreme Court listened to real women rather than the abortion industry.

From Pierce to Smith: The Oregon Connection and Supreme Court Religion Jurisprudence

Posted on July 09, 2008
As an Oregonian, as well as a Ninth Circuit judge privileged to have chambers in the Pioneer Courthouse in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon, I thought it fitting to reflect on the role of two landmark decisions on religion by the Supreme Court of the United States arising out of this state

The Propriety of Recoupment Orders as Remedies for Violations of the Establishment Clause

Posted on July 09, 2008
While the Supreme Court's recent decision in Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. marginally cabins the application of this remedy to legislatively appropriated funds, a very real potential for abuse remains.

Liberal Justices? Reliance on Legislative History: Principle, Strategy, and the Scalia Effect

Posted on July 09, 2008
This Article presents a strong case against the conventional wisdom that legislative history is a ?politicized? resource, invoked opportunistically by federal judges.

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