Religion & Law

?Gay and lesbian Republicans seek political inclusion?

Posted on August 30, 2010
US News and World Report: "Mehlman's self-outing has drawn increased attention to the political activism of gay and lesbian Republicans at a time when the Democratic Party is far more often associated with backing gay rights. The Log Cabin Republicans, a PAC that has since the late 1970s promoted 'a more inclusive Republican Party for gay and lesbian Americans,' has given financial support to several congressional candidates...

Christian academics cite hostility on campus

Posted on August 30, 2010
Minnesota Public Radio: "One of the hot debates in academia is now reaching the courts. The question: Do universities discriminate against religious conservatives? Some professors and students say they do, but it's not an easy charge to pin down . . ...

NY Gov. isn?t apologizing for Muslim comment

Posted on August 30, 2010
Boston Herald: "Gov. David Paterson said Monday that he doesn?t need to apologize to Muslim groups who criticized him for comments last week in which he described developers of an Islamic center and mosque planned near ground zero as peaceful and 'almost westernized' Muslims...

In defense of pervasive sectarianism

Posted on August 30, 2010
Duke Cheston writing at The John William Pope Center: "Recently, religious schools in the state learned that they cannot operate their own police forces, as other colleges and universities do. A ruling by the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that because Davidson College is deemed to be a religious institution, it cannot have a campus police force with the power to enforce state law...

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Gaddafi causes storm in Italy with invitation to Islam

Posted on August 30, 2010
Reuters: "Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed a two-day visit to Italy intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome."

Afghanistan?s dirty little secret ? rampant pedophilia

Posted on August 30, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "Baghlan province is in the northeast, but Afghans say pedophilia is most prevalent among Pashtun men in the south. The Pashtun are Afghanistan's most important tribe. For centuries, the nation's leaders have been Pashtun . . ...

Same-sex marriage gains GOP support

Posted on August 30, 2010
Washington Post: "A growing number of Republicans are breaking with the party's traditional stance to publicly state their support for same-sex marriage, a shift strategists say stems as much from demographics as from the renewed focus on economics and the 'tea party' movement...

Byron Babione on Ave Maria Radio with Al Kresta: Highway memorial crosses for troopers

Posted on August 30, 2010
ADF attorney Byron Babione appeared on Ave Maria Radio with Al Kresta to discuss the litigation over highway memorial crosses for troopers in Utah. | MP3 8:34 mins | ADF Media Information

Delaware: Tea Party Express ready to spend on Rep. Castle challenger

Posted on August 30, 2010
The Hill: "The Tea Party Express, which spent some $600,000 on Alaska Republican Joe Miller's primary challenge to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), says it's preparing to do the same on behalf of Christine O'Donnell (R) in Delaware. O'Donnell is challenging Rep...

Better off divorced thanks to the marriage tax penalty

Posted on August 30, 2010
Citizen Link: This headline is hard to miss. ?Why is the Government Trying to Force Me to Divorce My Wife?? But even more noticeable is the $80-100,000 dollars Scott Sumner and his wife will miss over their lifetime simply because they?re married.

FCC?s appeal of indecency case applauded

Posted on August 30, 2010
Baptist Press: "Pro-family advocates applauded the Federal Communications Commission's decision to appeal a court ruling they fear could open broadcast television to the use of even more profanities and obscenities."

ACLU sues over U.S. effort to kill U.S. terrorism suspects

Posted on August 30, 2010
Washington Post: "The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the U.S. government's authority to target and kill U.S. citizens outside of war zones when they are suspected of involvement in terrorism...

?Gay Republicans Rising?

Posted on August 30, 2010
Timothy Patrick McCarthy writes at Yahoo News: "Will the Republican Party follow Ken Mehlman?s lead and step out on gay rights? Historian Timothy McCarthy imagines a future where the GOP starts talking like Harvey Milk."

D?Souza: Christians Need to Tackle Secular Culture from ?Belly of Beast?

Posted on August 30, 2010
Christian Post: "On Monday, Dinesh D?Souza was tapped as the fifth president of The King?s College, which seeks to educate students to bring competitive Christian ideas to positions of leadership in the institutions of government, civil society, media, law, education, business, the arts, and the church...

Protest at military funeral ignites a test of free speech

Posted on August 30, 2010
USA Today (includes video): "Albert Snyder tears up, then turns angry as he recalls burying his Marine son while members of the anti-gay fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church picketed nearby."

5-day pill moves emergency contraception back to doctor?s office

Posted on August 30, 2010
American Medical News: "When ella is available later this year, physicians will have to decide if prescribing the drug is right for them and their patients."

Feds investigate fire at site of future Tennessee mosque

Posted on August 30, 2010
CNN: "Suspected arson at the future site of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has 'really raised the fear factor' among area Muslims, a representative of the mosque told CNN on Monday . . . The fire is under investigation, but "you can reasonably make the assumption" that it was deliberately set, FBI Assistant Special Agent Keith Moses said Sunday...

ACLU releases statement on TN mosque site vandalism

Posted on August 30, 2010
Tennessean: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee condemns the recent act of arson against the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro and supports the right of Muslims across the state to construct places of worship and practice their religion."

?Meth use among young gay men remains a pervasive problem?

Posted on August 27, 2010
Seattle Times: "Meth use among gay men has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in the western United States. Here in King County, about 10 percent of gay and bisexual men used crystal meth in a given year, according to data from Public Health ? Seattle & King County...

Chairman Joint Chiefs: National Debt is a Security Threat

Posted on August 27, 2010
". . . Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Tax payers will be paying around $600 billion in interest on the national debt by 2012, the chairman told students and local leaders in Detroit. 'That?s one year?s worth of defense budget,' he said ...

Judge refuses to stop Missouri law on sexual businesses

Posted on August 27, 2010
"Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said Friday that sexually oriented businesses likely will suffer economic loss as a result of the law. But he says that alone does not affect the legal analysis of the constitutional claims."

State lawmakers endorse Oakland ?transgender? judicial candidate

Posted on August 27, 2010
Bay Area Reporter: "A state senator and two Assembly members from the East Bay have thrown their support to a transgender woman running for an open seat on the Alameda County Superior Court this fall . . . Should [Victoria Kolakowski] win election in November, Kolakowski would be the first openly transgender trial court judge in the country and the only out LGBT superior court judge in Alameda County...

A non-demagogic disquisition on death panels

Posted on August 27, 2010
Avik Roy writing at National Review's The Agenda: "The NHS, for American conservatives, is the paradigm of how state control of the health care system plays out. Palin?s logic is irrefutable: once the government is spending the money, the government has an obligation to the taxpayer to use those dollars as efficiently...

Law Review by Carl H. Esbeck: ?Uses and Abuses of Textualism and Originalism in Establishment Clause Interpretation?

Posted on August 27, 2010
Carl H. Esbeck, Uses and Abuses of Textualism and Originalism in Establishment Clause Interpretation (August 23, 2010). Utah Law Review, Vol. 2011, No. 2; University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2010-19. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn...

Dutch Arab group fined over Holocaust cartoon

Posted on August 27, 2010
Expatica: "A Dutch appeals court on Thursday fined an Arab organisation in the Netherlands 2,500 euros for causing 'unnecessary offence' in publishing a Holocaust-denying cartoon." Via Eugene Volokh.

Boston man set free in N. Korea

Posted on August 27, 2010
The Boston Globe: "A Boston man being held in North Korea since January for crossing into that country illegally was freed yesterday at the behest of former President Jimmy Carter, and is expected to arrive back in Boston today . . . His friends told the Globe he was active in an evangelical church in South Korea and was very upset when a friend, Korean-American Robert Park, was arrested after crossing into North Korea on Dec...

Economy giving women pause about motherhood?

Posted on August 27, 2010
Reuters: "U.S. birth rates in 2009 declined for the second straight year, a sign the economy may be causing some women to think twice about having children, health officials said Friday."

Opponents of same-sex ?marriage? target Iowa judges

Posted on August 27, 2010
Washington Post: "Conservative activists are trying to oust three judges on the state Supreme Court whose unanimous ruling last year legalized same-sex unions. Their decision stunned opponents nationwide and delighted advocates who were eager for a victory in the heartland...

Focus on the Family donates 500th ultrasound, saving 81K babies from abortion

Posted on August 27, 2010
LifeNews: "Focus on the Family recently donated to a local pregnancy center the 500th ultrasound machine designed to help women contemplating abortion see an image of their unborn baby. The program is credited with saving as many as 81,000 children from abortions across the United States...

Obama, Congress cut funding for 176 abstinence programs despite new study

Posted on August 27, 2010
LifeNews: "The funding cuts will come even though the Obama administration was forced to reveal the results of a new study on Monday showing the effectiveness of abstinence education programs and the support parents have for them."

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