Religion & Law

?Prop. 8 judge strikes down same-sex marriage ban?

Posted on August 05, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "The emotional plea was rejected by [Douglas Napier], an attorney who defended Prop. 8, as a distraction in a case that he said should have been about voters' rights. He called the ruling, which was the result of a nonjury trial in January, a legal 'bump in the road...

?Prop. 8 supporter: Judge?s gay marriage ruling is a ?terrible blow??

Posted on August 05, 2010
The Christian Post: "Alliance Defense Fund attorney [Daniel Blomberg], similarly, called the judge?s decision 'pretty shocking' because the trial is not only about marriage but about the 'fundamental freedom of having your vote count and having the liberty to express and live by your religious beliefs...

?Court overturns same-sex marriage ban?

Posted on August 05, 2010
The Daily Californian: "Supporters of the marriage ban, including the Alliance Defense Fund, have said they would appeal the decision."

Canada: Poll results show confusion over abortion

Posted on August 05, 2010
BC Local News: "A newly-released Angus Reid public opinion poll reveals some startling findings on abortion that blow apart the myth that the abortion debate is settled in Canada. In its 10-page news release, Angus Reid highlighted that only 21 per cent of Canadians know that there are no legal restrictions on abortion in Canada...

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Scottsdale Christian group at center of California same-sex ?marriage? fight

Posted on August 05, 2010
Phoenix Business Journal: "'We will certainly appeal this disappointing decision. Its impact could be devastating to marriage and the democratic process,' said ADF senior counsel [Brian Raum]. 'It's not radical for more than 7 million Californians to protect marriage as they?ve always known it...

Senators introduce bill to exclude abortion funding from new ObamaCare law

Posted on August 05, 2010
LifeNews: "The 'Excluding Abortion Coverage from Health Reform Act of 2010' guarantees that no federal taxpayer dollars can be used to pay for elective abortions. Their bill is a companion measure to the House bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts, known as the 'Protect Life Act,' H...

Kenya gives Obama abortion, Islamic courts

Posted on August 05, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "Kenya today gave President Obama a much-wanted birthday present, voting overwhelmingly to pass a constitutional referendum that would legitimize for the first time abortions and Islamic courts in the nation . . . In response to inquiries from Reps...

McConnell scolds Franken for making faces from dais during his speech

Posted on August 05, 2010
The Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) scolded Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on the Senate floor Thursday for allegedly mocking him while he delivered a solemn speech on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan."

N.Y. Appellate Division revives child support order against lesbian co-parent

Posted on August 05, 2010
Leonard Link: "A five-member panel of the New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department, unanimously ruled on August 3 that a woman is obligated to make child support payments to her former same-sex partner. Reconsidering the case after the state?s highest court, the Court of Appeals, had reversed the appellate division?s previous ruling that the Family Court did not have jurisdiction over the child support claim because New York State did not recognize the non-biological mother as a parent of the child, the Appellate Division panel now endorsed the use of the doctrine of equitable estoppel to resolve the case...

Maggie Gallagher: Prop. 8: Judge Walker?s bias will be overruled

Posted on August 05, 2010
"Judge Walker's view is truly a radical rejection of Americans' rights, our history and our institutions that will only fuel a popular rebellion now taking place against elites who are more interested in remaking American institutions than respecting them...

Mexican Supreme court upholds capital?s same-sex ?marriage? law

Posted on August 05, 2010
"The Mexican Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a fledgling law allowing same-sex marriages in Mexico City is constitutional, rejecting an appeal by federal prosecutors who argued that it violated the charter's guarantees to protect the family."

ND measures that missed ballot deadline still alive for 2012

Posted on August 05, 2010
KXnet.com (AP): "Supporters of several measures that didn't make the cut say they'll keep working to get the signatures they need. They include proposals to abolish property taxes and strengthen protection of religious freedom. [Secretary of State] Jaeger says those proposals could still appear on the June 2012 primary ballot if supporters get enough petition signatures...

Phil Lawler: ?Contraception: Why we?re losing the arguments on same-sex marriage?

Posted on August 05, 2010
Phil Lawler writing at Catholic Culture: "'Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage,' Judge Walker asserts, and by his decision he seeks to make it so. But he offers no logical support for that bald assertion. The words 'no longer' in the judge?s sentence are suggestive...

Kenya: Clergy accept defeat but push for amendment

Posted on August 05, 2010
Daily Nation: "'We will continue to press for reforms on Kadhi?s courts and abortion clause until they are out of the main body of the constitution. We don?t mind them being in an Act of Parliament,' said Bishop Joshua Koyo, the National Council of Churches of Kenya regional chairman...

Tebow?s eye black kicks up University of Florida statute controversy

Posted on August 05, 2010
ABC / Campus Chatter: "The University of Florida is constructing three statues to honor each of its Heisman Trophy winners--Tebow, Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996). The question on people's minds is: Will the statue stay true to life and include Tebow's famous Bible-versed eye black? Response from Florida students, both current and alumni, is mixed...

India: Religious structures on gov?t land will have to pay rent

Posted on August 05, 2010
Indian Express: "According to Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari, Ludhiana has nearly 397 religious encroachments and the Administration is all set to deal with the menace."

Advocates of anti-sharia measures alarmed by NJ judge?s ruling

Posted on August 05, 2010
Fox News: "A New Jersey family court judge's decision not to grant a restraining order to a woman who was sexually abused by her Moroccan husband and forced repeatedly to have sex with him is sounding the alarm for advocates of laws designed to ban Shariah in America...

Israel: Sperm donations become new import trend

Posted on August 05, 2010
Ynetnews: "Israeli men have stopped donating sperm, and women in need of donations are forced to wait in line for increasingly long periods. The crisis has led to the growth of a new field of import ? sperm donation."

California same-sex ?marriage? ruling: political hot potato

Posted on August 05, 2010
Christian Science Monitor: "It might have been bad news for Democrats that hot-button social issues have burst forth in the run-up to the midterm elections . . . The longer term is a different matter. Gay marriage is growing in acceptance among the American public, and efforts to crack down on immigrants and remove birthright citizenship alienate Hispanic voters, who are a growing force in American politics...

Roberts will swear in Kagan on Saturday

Posted on August 05, 2010
The Blog of LegalTimes: "Elena Kagan,just confirmed by the U.S. Senate, will be sworn in at the Supreme Court on Saturday, the Court has just announced. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. will do the honors. The plan mirrors last year's Saturday oath-taking for Sonia Sotomayor on Aug...

Gerard V. Bradley: Was judge in California?s same-sex ?marriage? case truly impartial?

Posted on August 05, 2010
Gerard V. Bradley writing at Fox News: " I wrote in this space yesterday that if Judge Vaughan Walker is in a committed same-sex relationship ? and there is credible evidence that he is ? then a question about his impartiality in the Proposition 8 trial arises...

James Taranto at WSJ: Why the same-sex ?marriage? ruling will stand

Posted on August 05, 2010
James Taranto writing at The Wall Street Journal / Best of the Web: "[W]hile Kennedy cannot be pigeonholed in terms of 'ideology,' on this specific topic, he has been consistent in taking a very broad view of the rights of homosexuals. He not only voted with the majority but wrote the majority opinions in two crucial cases: Romer v...

Richard Epstein: Same-sex bombshell overturns Proposition 8

Posted on August 05, 2010
Richard A. Epstein writing at Forbes: "The key element of the DOMA decision was its categorical conclusion that there was no conceivable rational basis to stop same-sex couples from marrying. Given the speed with which electrons travel cross-country, that Massachusetts decision gave Judge Walker a powerful signal that there was no obvious doctrinal obstacle in taking the same path...

Justice Department steers money to favored groups

Posted on August 05, 2010
Washington Examiner: "The Justice Department has found a new way to pursue civil rights lawsuits, using the powers of the Civil Rights Division not just to win compensation for victims of alleged discrimination but also to direct large sums of money to activist groups that are not discrimination victims and not connected to a particular suit...

Austin Bramwell: The Perry decision creates ?a new limit on government expression?

Posted on August 05, 2010
Austin Bramwell writing at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: "It strikes me that Perry is a revolutionary decision, and not just because it breaks new ground on the right to marry and equal protection. As far as I know (and I am furthest thing from a constitutional law scholar), heretofore the only limit on government expression was that the government may not convey a message that a particular religious belief is endorsed or preferred (the so-called 'endorsement test')...

The Prop 8 decision and the ?dictatorship of liberalism?

Posted on August 05, 2010
Edward Feser writing at What's Wrong With the World: What we?re seeing here is just one more application of the fraudulent principle of 'liberal neutrality,' by which the conceit that liberal policy is neutral between the moral and metaphysical views competing within a pluralistic society provides a smokescreen for the imposition of a substantive liberal moral worldview, on all citizens, by force...

Indonesia: Intimidation picks up ahead of Ramadan

Posted on August 05, 2010
Jakarta Globe: "As Muslims nationwide count down the days until the start of the holy month of Ramadan, so are followers of Ahmadiyah, but for a very different reason. Members of the controversial sect are currently living in fear of a repeat attack by hard-liners in the lead-up to Ramadan, one member told the Jakarta Globe on Thursday...

CA: Barstow City Council hears Samoan church appeal

Posted on August 05, 2010
The Desert Dispatch: "The City Council has decided to obtain legal advice before deciding whether or not a Samoan pastor has to pave about 400 feet of road in order to build his church."

Target apologizes for donation to conservative MN candidate opposed to the H-Agenda

Posted on August 05, 2010
Salon: "The head of Target Corp. apologized Thursday over a political donation to a business group backing a conservative Republican for Minnesota governor, which angered some employees and sparked talk of a customer boycott."

ACLJ is providing legal aid to persecuted Pakistani Christians

Posted on August 05, 2010
Pakistan Christian Post: "Speaking at the PPC conference on August 2, 2010, Shaheryar Gill, attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), shared about the work ACLJ?s affiliate, European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is doing in Pakistan...

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