Religion & Law

NH Supreme Court: Roman Catholic Church Used Only for Storage Is Not Tax Exempt

Posted on May 11, 2007
The Boston Globe carries the story here.  The opinion, Appeal of City of Nashua, No. 2006-631 (NH May 11, 2007) holds that there is no religious purpose where a church building is used only for storage. Thus, the church is not tax exempt under the NH statute (RSA 72:23) which provides in relevant part: The following real estate and personal property shall, unless otherwise provided by statute, be exempt from taxation: ...

Suing Schools and Media Double Standards

Posted on May 11, 2007
Why didn't we hear this kind of outcry from the "mainstream media" earlier when the ACLU was busy filing lawsuits that fostered the current climate of religious hostility in the schools?...(read more)

DOJ Takes Expansive Interpretation of Partial Birth Abortion Ruling

Posted on May 11, 2007
Lyle Denniston reports on a new DOJ filing over at the SCOTUS blog, ...(read more)

The Marriage Battle: Ordinary Folks Need to Wake Up to the Role of Incrementalism and Language Manipulation in Law and Policy

Posted on May 10, 2007
PBS has an article titled, Oregon Governor Signs Domestic Partner Bill. The article provides some details regarding the passage of domestic partnerships in Oregon this week. In November 2004, the people of Oregon passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and woman...

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NC Supreme Court Upholds Crimes Against Nature Statute

Posted on May 08, 2007
In a juvenile delinquency case, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state's "Crime Against Nature Statute."  In the Matter of R.L.C., 2007 WL 1299443 (N.C. May 4, 2007). A fourteen year old, RLC,  and a twelve year old engaged in sex and oral sex in the back of a parent's car...

Is It Time to Break the ABA Monopoly on Legal Education?

Posted on May 07, 2007
Why do so-called "red states" with conservative pro-family legislatures allow leftist legal elites in the ABA to dictate the terms of legal education? Furthermore, why is this issue completely off the radar screen of pro-family policy organizations in these states?...

Is Stripping a Feminist Act?

Posted on May 07, 2007
Last week, we took a quick look at the relationship between porn and feminism.  As noted earlier, many feminists are horrified at the commodification of women while others argue that the "sex business" liberates women.   Sarah Katherine Lewis has this article on AltarNet that provides insight into various feminist perspectives on this issue...

Students to Principal: "You Teach the Bible in Your Church and Censor the Bible in Your School . . . You Hypocrite"

Posted on May 07, 2007
Sacramento, Citrus Heights : Students who were suspended from school for wearing T-shirts with Bible verses opposed to homosexuality in response to the Day of Silence are protesting in front of the principal's home and his church where he apparently leads a Bible study...

Is There Disdain for Evangelicals in the Classroom?

Posted on May 07, 2007
That is the title of an article that appeared in the Washington Post on Saturday.  The article is generating a lot of interest in the blogsophere and elsewhere.  Over the weekend it was one of the most emailed articles from the Washington Post website...

Criticism of FIRE's Campus Speech Code Survey: Put Your Cookies on the Table

Posted on May 04, 2007
The First Amendment Center is running this story that describes a George Mason professor's critical analysis of FIRE's Campus speech code survey.  The story is rather lengthy, but it quotes the director of ADF's Center for Academic Freedom, David French, who puts the cookies on the table in this National Review Phi Beta Cons blog post...

Interview with Justice Stevens

Posted on May 04, 2007
Hat tip to How Appealing for pointing to this interview with Justice Stevens in the Third Branch, the newsletter of the federal courts. ...(read more)

President's Letter to Speaker Pelosi Reaffirms Strong Commitment to Sanctity of Life Principles

Posted on May 03, 2007
On March 30, 2007, 155 Congressmen sent a letter to the President urging him to reaffirm his commitment to pro-life principles and indicating that they would assist in sustaining any necessary vetoes.  The President should be commended.  Today, he sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi reaffirming his commitment to pro-life principles and advising her he would veto any violation of those principles...

3rd Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania City's Sign Ordinance

Posted on May 03, 2007
Bradford, Pennsylvania cited private property owners who made various signs from handmade cardboard and plywood signs containing criticisms of City officials. Some of the signs included: ?How unethical is Mayor Henry??, ?Can CEO Corignani work an honest 8 hours??, ?Stop the City Hall Puppet Show, Mayor Henry?, and ?Fire Chief Wild Bill McCormack, Resign!?...

ADF President Alan Sears commends President Bush: for promise to veto ?hate crimes? legislation

Posted on May 03, 2007
ADF's newly released press release by that title is here. ...(read more)

Wholesome Christian Families: Are Children in Need of Foster Care and Adoption Services Being Robbed of a Valuable Resource by Hostile Government Policies

Posted on May 03, 2007
365Gay.com has this report, "Evangelicals Face Heat Over Gay Adoption."  The report has a "gay adoption" spin - something opposed by most Christians.  But, it also details some of the discriminatory issues Christians face when they attempt to participate in foster care and adoption services administered by secular governments...

H.R. 1592: When is a ?hate crime? not really a ?hate crime??

Posted on May 02, 2007
  As the possible passage of H.R. 1592, the so-called ?hate crimes? bill, looms on Thursday, we need to remember the true agenda behind this bill: Paving the way for  advocates of  homosexual behavior to censor pro-family speech  through future legislation or court decisions...

Amnesty International: How Can a Human Rights Organization Take no Position on Who is Human?

Posted on May 02, 2007
Ryan T. Anderson at the First Things blog today blew the top off Amnesty International's poorly concealed efforts to hide their newly enacted abortion advocacy....(read more)

CLS Center for Law and Religious Freedom Launches a New Blog!

Posted on May 02, 2007
Please welcome the CLS Center for Law and Religious Freedom to the blogosphere. You can check out the Center's new blog at: http://religiousfreedom.blogspot.com/...(read more)

Hate Crimes Legislation: HRC Concerned About Grassroots Opposition That is Bombarding Congress

Posted on May 02, 2007
Late yesterday afternoon, HRC's President, Joe Salmonese sent out an email urging supporters of the pending hate crimes legislation to call Congress.  HRC claims to be America?s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality...

A Supreme Court Resignation at the End of the Term?

Posted on May 02, 2007
  We are less than two months from the end of the Supreme Court's term.  If a justice is planning to retire,  he or she will probably do so at the very end of the term, or a week or two later, meaning retirement sometime between late June and mid-July...

Feminists and the Rise of Torture Porn

Posted on May 01, 2007
Yesterday, I lamented several of the adverse effects arising from militant feminism.  There is, however, one policy area where many feminists reach the right conclusion and that is in their opposition to pornography.  They correctly view porn as a dehumanization and degradation of women...

Same-Sex "Marriage" Rooted in Militant Feminism

Posted on April 30, 2007
For years traditional pro-family advocates have argued that the ultimate goal of those advocating same-sex "marriage" is to abolish distinctions between the sexes or to make gender irrelevant. Apparently through its practical mechanics, Spitzer's bill drives home the point - loud and clear...

Suit Alleging Yahoo Complicity with China for Human Rights Violations

Posted on April 30, 2007
Friday's post, Political Viewpoint Censorship: On Guard, Schools and Campaign Finance Laws Aren't the Only Places Where It is Happening, mentioned the suit brought by a Chinese dissident against Yahoo for providing information to the Chinese government that resulted in his being subjected to various human rights violations...

Political Viewpoint Censorship: On Guard, Schools and Campaign Finance Laws Aren't the Only Places Where It is Happening

Posted on April 27, 2007
Last week, we noticed a significant drop in the subscription numbers for one of ADF's email newsletter services.  We also started getting increased inquiries from subscribers wondering why they weren't getting their subscriptions.  Finally, a subscriber tipped us off to the fact that one of the nation's largest email service providers had blacklisted us...

Backlash to Geoffrey Stone's Anti-Catholic/Religious Bash

Posted on April 26, 2007
Last Friday, we reported on an Anti-Religion/Catholic Backlash in Wake of Carhart II.  That post was followed by this post: Geoffrey Stone Joins the Anti-Catholic Bash in "Our Faith Based Justices". It appears there is a backlash to the backlash...

NJ Court Orders New Trial Where Prosecution Offered Expert Testimony That Defendant's "Palo" Religion Does Not Permit Her to Tell the Truth

Posted on April 26, 2007
In State v. Miraballes, 14-2-7191 (App. Div. (Weissbard, J.A.D.), the defendant was convicted of various charges, including burglarizing human tombs.  On appeal, a New Jersey appellate panel found error in the prosecutor's use of a hypothetical question addressed to the State's expert on non-traditional religious practices...

PBA Ruling Already Making Waves in Lower Courts

Posted on April 25, 2007
The Washington Post has this story by Jerry Markin which notes that the U.S. Supreme Court vacated two lower circuit rulings and ordered reconsideration in light of Carhart II. ...(read more)

Geoffrey Stone Joins the Anti-Catholic Bash in "Our Faith Based Justices"

Posted on April 20, 2007
His post is here on the ACS blog.  See my earlier post on this topic here. ...(read more)

Nate Kellum: No ?Permit Clause? in the First Amendment

Posted on April 20, 2007
Nate Kellum's post commenting on a North Carolina case appears here on The Hill's Congress Blog.  Nate is Senior Legal Counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. ...(read more)

Anti-Religion/Catholic Backlash in Wake of Carhart II

Posted on April 20, 2007
See the cartoon and comments in a post by Rick Garnett over at the Mirror of Justice Blog.  He writes: "What is, for me, most striking (and demoralizing) about this cartoon (and about similar "chill wind blowing from Rome" cartoons, blog posts, op-eds, that are already all over the web) is that it suggests something very depressing about the state and future of debate about moral uestions...

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