Religion & Law

Second lawsuit filed over what Arizona voters can wear to the polls

Posted on November 01, 2010
UPDATE: Arizona Republic: "Maricopa County voters can wear 'tea party' T-shirts into polling places Tuesday, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Judge James Teilborg issued the opinion hours before polls opened for the 2010 general election...

Tenn. student leads prayer before high school football game

Posted on November 01, 2010
First Amendment Center (AP): "A group of young people and adults gathered and said a prayer before the start of a high school football game in southeastern Tennessee on Oct. 29 despite a ban on using loudspeakers to lead the event."

Ctr. for Reproductive Rights: ?Arizona abortion law goes into effect following settlement?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Center for Reproductive Rights: "Today, a 1999 Arizona law regulating abortion providers went into effect. This comes after the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ordered to lift a 10-year stay back in May blocking enforcement of the regulations...

Vatican spokesman issues call for full religious freedom in Middle East

Posted on November 01, 2010
CatholicCulture.org: "In an October 30 editorial, Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See Press Office, issued a call for full religious freedom in the Middle East." The editorial is here.

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Spain: Rajoy refuses to say if he?ll protect same-sex ?marriage? law if he wins elections

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Reader: "The president of the Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy, has refused to say if he is 'committed' to keeping the gay marriage law if elected Prime Minister in the next general election, as he says he is not sure if it is 'constitutional.'"

Vt. Supreme Court approves transfer of custody from mom to former lesbian partner

Posted on November 01, 2010
"The Vermont Supreme Court says a family court was right to award custody of an 8-year-old girl to her non-biological mother in a lesbian custody case."

New Iowa Poll: Voters tilt toward axing justices

Posted on November 01, 2010
Des Moines Register: "Voters remain split over the retention of Iowa's Supreme Court justices, yet a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows more than one-third now want to oust all three."

Appeals court strikes down mall?s ?don?t talk to strangers? rule

Posted on November 01, 2010
California Catholic Daily: "The California Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by the owners of the Galleria Mall in Roseville in favor of an evangelical Protestant youth pastor over the shopping center?s restrictions on free speech. The high court?s Oct...

PA: Haverford resident requests discrimination ordinance based on sexual practices

Posted on November 01, 2010
Mainline Media News: "Longtime resident Lou Devecchis at Monday?s commissioners meeting asked the board to adopt an ordinance banning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender discrimination. The ordinance would bar such discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations, and create human relations commissions to investigate discrimination complaints, Devecchis said...

Indiana: Judge to rule on school funding case

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Journal Gazette (AP): "A judge is expected to decide this month whether a constitutional challenge to the way Indiana distributes education funding can continue in court."

Canada: Law to stop coerced abortions faces uphill battle

Posted on November 01, 2010
Toronto Sun: "Debate was feisty Monday morning in the House of Commons as MPs argued the pros and cons of a private member's bill that would make it a crime to coerce a woman into having an abortion . . . The bill proposes up to a five-year prison sentence for a person found guilty of coercing a woman into having an abortion, and up to two years for a person found guilty of attempting to coerce a woman to do so...

?Schools must implement proactive education plans to end bullying and protect students, says ACLU?

Posted on November 01, 2010
ACLU Press Release: "Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio urges school officials to adopt comprehensive education programs designed to educate students and parents about the consequences of bullying. The ACLU's call to action comes after weeks of state and national reports of bullying and teen suicides caused by bullying...

Insignificant is beautiful: Why exactly do we want to make a difference in the world?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Mark Galli writing at Christianity Today: "Generation Y is into social justice ? so say generation gurus . . . That Generation Y cares about social justice is linked to another aspiration: the yearning for significance. This generation wants to make a difference in the world, to work on things that matter, engage activities that change the world...

Video: Ted Olson on new media and passing same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Huffington Post: "Ted Olson talked about the importance of new media and legalizing gay marriage at HuffPost's 2010 Game Changers celebration in Soho on Thursday night."

San Fran pursues students who lie about residence

Posted on November 01, 2010
Mercury News (AP): "San Francisco school officials have gone on the offensive against students who lie about where they live so they can attend the city's schools."

High court rejects campaign finance appeal

Posted on November 01, 2010
Washington Post: "The Supreme Court is passing up an election eve chance to weigh in on campaign finance disclosure rules for groups that raise and spend money independently of candidates."

Unions target your private retirement savings

Posted on November 01, 2010
Mark Hemingway writing at The Washington Examiner: "On Oct. 8, the two senators from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on 'Retirement (In)security in America.' Among the proposals discussed was 'Guaranteed Retirement Accounts,' or GRAs...

Catholic magazine denounces violence against pro-life women in Argentina

Posted on November 01, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "In its November edition the Argentinean Catholic magazine Familia y Vida (Family and Life) has published a full report on the violent attacks against pro-life advocates that took place at the National Women?s Conference in the city of Parana between Oct...

Heritage Foundation: School choice on trial at the U.S. Supreme Court

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Heritage Foundation: "Amidst the flurry of political activity taking place this week, outside the voting booth another important policy issue is up for consideration. This Wednesday, November 3, school choice will be on trial at the United States Supreme Court, courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union...

Arizona illegal immigration law gets appeals court hearing

Posted on November 01, 2010
Arizona Republic: "In an hour-long hearing Monday, three federal judges peppered lawyers on both sides of Senate Bill 1070 with testy rapid-fire legal questions as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals began considering whether to keep portions of Arizona's immigration law from going into effect...

Video ? Alliance Defense Fund Weekly Update ? 2010 November 1: Violation for seeking Christian roommate; Restraining order to protect baby?s life!

Posted on November 01, 2010
ADF?s Weekly Update is on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waEIv-vbHZI

Retired chaplains warn against DADT repeal

Posted on October 29, 2010
Washington Post: "Dozens of retired military chaplains say that serving both God and the U.S. armed forces will become impossible for chaplains whose faiths consider homosexuality a sin if the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy is thrown out. If a chaplain preaches against homosexuality, he could conceivably be disciplined as a bigot under the military's nondiscrimination policy, the retired chaplains say...

India: Gov?t bars prayers in Jamia Masjid

Posted on October 29, 2010
The Daily Rising Kashmir: "Alleging that authorities did not allow Friday prayers at historic Jamia Masjid for the 8th consecutive week today, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar has called for a meeting of Islamic scholars on November 2 to discuss the counter strategy against restrictions on religious freedom...

Holy site sparks row between Israel and UN

Posted on October 29, 2010
Guardian: "Site near Bethlehem included in a resolution by Unesco, which says it forms 'an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories.' The UN body in charge of culture, education and science also urged the Israeli authorities to remove the site from its national heritage list, on which it was placed in February this year...

Sexual orientation in advertising now prohibited in Lithuania

Posted on October 29, 2010
UK Gay News Press Release: "A new amendment to Lithuania's Provision of Information Act came info effect last week It bans the 'manifestation or promotion' of sexual orientation in advertising and audiovisual commercial communications."

Tension over Europe?s ?gay rights? role

Posted on October 29, 2010
EU Observer: "Gay rights organisations openly acknowledge the crucial role played by European institutions in securing recent advances in the area, but concerns over top-down decision making and rising bureaucracy tell a more nuanced backstory. Delegates at the 14th ILGA-Europe annual conference in The Hague on Thursday (28 October) also expressed fears over growing social conservatism in a post-recession Europe, and pointed to the recent Roma debacle as highlighting divergences between EU legislation and implementation on the ground...

Euro Commission requests Czech Republic to comply with EU gender equality rules

Posted on October 29, 2010
European Commission Press Release: "The European Commission has today sent a formal request to the Czech Republic to implement fully EU rules against gender discrimination in employment (Directive 2002/73/EC). The request, in the form of a reasoned opinion under EU infringement procedures, comes after the Czech Republic failed to adequately implement all aspects of the Directive in its national law...

Catholic schools cannot refuse to hire ?gay? teachers, says European Commission

Posted on October 29, 2010
"The European Commission has said that Roman Catholic schools in Poland or elsewhere in the EU cannot refuse to employ gay teachers."

IN: South Bend Common Council defeats ?gay rights? measure

Posted on October 29, 2010
South Bend Tribune: "The South Bend Common Council voted Monday to defeat a proposal to ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The vote was 6-3 with council members Tom LaFountain, David Varner, Derek Dieter, Timothy Rouse, Karen White and Henry Davis Jr...

Poll: South Dakotans divided over civil unions

Posted on October 29, 2010
The Daily Republic: "The poll of 393 South Dakotans, conducted Sept. 20-Oct. 6 by the McGovern Center at DWU, indicated that there is no consensus among South Dakotans on the issue of civil unions. While approximately 43 percent of respondents opposed any legal recognition for same-sex couples in South Dakota, 36 percent supported some form of legal recognition, either marriage or civil unions, and 21 percent were not sure or did not respond to the question...

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