Religion & Law

Same-sex ?marriage? surprise issue in Australian election

Posted on August 20, 2010
AFP: "Gay marriage has popped up as the surprise question in the Australian election campaign, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her right-leaning opponent Tony Abbott repeatedly challenged on the issue."

Bring back Atlantic City as a beach resort: poll

Posted on August 20, 2010
Reuters: "New Jersey's Atlantic City should be brought back to life by refocusing on its sandy beaches and historic boardwalk rather than increasing state control of its casinos, a poll showed on Friday."

?Gay marriage slowly gaining? ? younger generation believes it is a lifestyle choice not genetic

Posted on August 20, 2010
Forbes: "There is one surprising area where young people differ from their elders about homosexuality. Since the pollsters started asking about it in the late 1977, the number saying homosexuality is something one is born with has been growing. But today, more young people than older ones believe it is a lifestyle choice...

RI: ACLU, parents challenge uniform dress code

Posted on August 20, 2010
CBS News: "According to American Civil Liberties Union complaint on behalf of four Woonsocket, R.I., parents, uniforms would be an added financial burden for families. Additionally, the ACLU says the uniforms won't do anything to improve the quality of education at kids' schools...

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The Becket Fund stands up (to ACLU) for Catholic hospitals

Posted on August 20, 2010
The Becket Fund: "In a letter on Thursday, August 19, 2010, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty threatened to sue the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if it tried to force religiously affiliated hospitals to perform abortions against the conscientious objections of their doctors and nurses...

New developments in GLAD?s DOMA challenge

Posted on August 20, 2010
Leonard Link: "One question that immediately began buzzing around the blogosphere was whether the Obama Administration's Justice Department will appeal these rulings. Others are when will the rulings take effect, and do they have any application outside of Massachusetts? Within the past few days, some answers have begun emerging...

Richard Epstein: No crosses for dead troopers? The dictatorial impulse returns

Posted on August 20, 2010
Richard Epstein writing at Ricochet: "The general laws that deal with the separation of church and state take Jefferson's metaphor and apply it with a ruthless insensitivity to all sorts of places where it does not belong. One would never say that the use of crosses in Arlington cemetery creates an establishment of religion because there are relatively few Jewish stars...

ACLU seeks race, ethnic data due to ?Muslim mapping? fears

Posted on August 20, 2010
Valley News: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California recently asked the FBI to release records related to the agency?s collection of race and ethnic data in the Southland. The request is one of 30 coordinated Freedom of Information Act filings by ACLU affiliates in states and the District of Columbia seeking records from FBI field offices related to the 'mapping' of ethnic communities...

5 reasons not to take college rankings seriously

Posted on August 20, 2010
The Consumerist: "1. College rankings are often based on opinion and not actual data . . . 2. Rankings can be based on factors that have no demonstrated impact on academic results . . . 3. The benefits of attending a more selective college might very well be canceled out by the benefits of attending a less selective college ...

7th Circuit addresses Indiana Right to Life challenge to Code of Judicial Conduct

Posted on August 20, 2010
Bauer v. Shephard, No. 09-2963 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2010) Election Law Blog: Judge Easterbrook Writes Important Judicial Speech Code Decision About Indiana's Rules

Rejection of ?gay? adoption is not a matter of tolerance, asserts Mexican archbishop

Posted on August 20, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda of Morelia, Mexico explained this week that the adoption of children by gay couples is not an issue of tolerance but rather a concern over legitimizing something that 'goes against nature itself.'"

NYC mosque leader: We won?t change the course

Posted on August 20, 2010
Boston.com (AP): "A leader of the proposed Islamic center and mosque two blocks from ground zero says dropping the plan in the face of protest is not an option."

New York City Bar speaks in support of Ground Zero Mosque

Posted on August 20, 2010
Law.com: "The New York City Bar issued a strongly worded statement Wednesday defending the right of Muslims to build an Islamic center and mosque, two blocks from ground zero, saying 'our nation is the stronger, both internally and in its standing in the world, for preserving religious freedom...

Moving the middle on marriage

Posted on August 20, 2010
Lanae Erickson and Jon Cowan writing at Politico: "First, advocates must reframe the conversation . . . Marriage is about lifetime commitment, responsibilities and obligations. If we can persuade people in the middle that gay couples want to get married for those reasons ? not simply to gain a list of legal rights and benefits ? we?ll connect with them in a far deeper way ...

DNC targets McCain on DADT

Posted on August 20, 2010
Advocate.com: "Organizing for America, the post-election outgrowth of Obama for America '08, is sending out an e-mail Thursday afternoon that targets Sen. John McCain for his threat to filibuster a Senate floor vote on 'don?t ask, don?t tell' repeal that?s expected to happen in September...

ADF on Fox News Channel: Utah crosses ruled unconstitutional

Posted on August 20, 2010
The Alliance Defense Fund's reaction to the 10th Circuit's reversal of a district court ruling in American Atheists v. Davenport upholding roadside memorials to fallen Utah state troopers was featured on the Fox News Channel. See three different videos below...

WI: Lawsuit challenges state?s domestic partner registry

Posted on August 20, 2010
LaCrosse Tribune: "A social conservative group filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging Wisconsin?s domestic partner registry, arguing it is a violation of the state?s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The lawsuit filed in Dane County Circuit Court by members of Wisconsin Family Action contends the registry creates a legal status substantially similar to that of marriage...

Iowa GOP condemns candidate?s ?anti-gay? comments

Posted on August 20, 2010
Des Moines Register: "A Republican Party official on Tuesday criticized anti-gay comments made by a Republican who is running for the Iowa House. Candidate Jeremy Walters of Des Moines wrote on his Facebook page that the Bible says . . . "

Newsweek: Life without gender?

Posted on August 20, 2010
"[S]ome researchers compare the evolution in thinking about gender to the struggle that began a generation ago for gay and lesbian rights."

Brazilian presidential candidate: Abortion should be available to women ?in despair?

Posted on August 20, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "During a debate on Wednesday, Dilma Roussef, the presidential candidate of the Workers? Party, said she is 'personally' against abortion but that it should be available to women in desperate situations."

?Fla. primary could yield gay milestones?

Posted on August 20, 2010
Washington Blade: "Primary elections set for Tuesday could yield two milestones if Florida voters elect a gay candidate to Congress and another man to become the first openly gay member of the state?s legislature."

?The gaying of CT politics?

Posted on August 20, 2010
Fairfield Weekly: "[L]ast week, Connecticut got its first openly gay candidate for statewide office when Kevin Lembo won a smashing victory in the Democratic primary for state comptroller . . . Lembo crushed Jarjura by taking 70 percent of the primary vote...

Pentagon to send DADT surveys to spouses of servicemembers

Posted on August 20, 2010
The Hill: "The Pentagon plans to survey approximately 150,000 military spouses about the military's 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy. In a statement, Department of Defense spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the surveys 'will help the military leadership assess the impacts, if any, a change in the law ...

?Gays? take aim at Target through shareholders

Posted on August 20, 2010
Los Angeles Times: "After weeks of public protest over its financial support of an organization that backed a GOP gubernatorial candidate opposed to gay rights, Target Corp. now faces a new form of pressure: demands from institutional shareholders that it revamp its donation process to avoid the chance of additional backfires...

The new battle: What it means to be American

Posted on August 20, 2010
Politico: "It's a classic case of be careful what you wish for. President Barack Obama wanted to end the baby boomer-era culture wars ? and he's done it. But along the way, Obama has sparked an even more visceral values debate about whether he's moving the country toward socialism and over the very definition of what it means to be American ...

82% say voters should be required to show photo ID

Posted on August 20, 2010
Rasmussen: "An overwhelming majority of Likely Voters in the United States think all voters in the country should be required to present photo identification in order to vote in U.S. elections."

Operation Rescue to fight remote abortions

Posted on August 20, 2010
Des Moines Register: "National abortion-rights opponents plan to ask the Iowa Board of Medicine today to halt Planned Parenthood's use of a remote-controlled system to dispense abortion pills in rural Iowa clinics. Officials with Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group headquartered in Kansas, also said Thursday they have filed complaints with county attorneys in 10 Iowa counties, including Polk County, seeking criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which has its headquarters in Des Moines...

North Korea executes underground church leaders, jails others

Posted on August 19, 2010
Christian Today: "North Korea has executed three leaders of the underground church and jailed 20 other Christians, reports a news agency focused on Asia."

Catholic Archbishop Dolan offers to help in NYC mosque debate

Posted on August 19, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Archbishop Timothy Dolan urged the different factions to carry on a 'respectful discussion' and offered to mediate between those who support the plans and those who oppose them."

Thomas More Society files motion for immediate transfer of parental notice challenge to Illinois Supreme Court

Posted on August 19, 2010
ChristianNewsWire: "This morning, Thomas More Society attorneys delivered the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court a motion to immediately transfer the legal case pending against the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court...

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