Religion & Law

Webcast: ?Mission Compromised: How the military is being used to advance a radical agenda?

Posted on July 20, 2010
On July 20, 2010, FRCAction is sponsoring a webcast about the Defense Authorization Act. ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks will be joining this panel.

Indonesia: Constitutional Court to hear request to beef up porn law

Posted on July 20, 2010
Jakarta Globe: "The highly divisive 2008 Anti-Pornography Law will be back in the Constitutional Court today. But unlike the previous judicial reviews that sought to annul the controversial law, or at least parts of it, this time the applicant wants the court to strengthen it...

UK: Lib Dem leader predicts marriage redefinition before next general election

Posted on July 20, 2010
Telegraph: "Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader . . . predicted that before the next general election, the law will be changed to give an equal right to full marriage."

VA: Loudoun ?War on Christmas? issue makes for strange allies

Posted on July 20, 2010
The Washington Post / Virginia Politics: "In recent days, the ACLU of Virginia and deeply conservative Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R) have found themselves on the same side of a War on Christmas debate raging in Loudoun County. That happens as often as ...

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Georgia to vote on personhood today

Posted on July 20, 2010
Personhood USA: "Muscogee County voters who ask for a republican ballot tomorrow will see something a little different. You will find a question on the ballot that reads, 'Do you support an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution so as to provide that the paramount right to life is vested in each human being from the earliest biological beginning until natural death?' The question is being posed by the non-profit group, Georgia Right to Life...

Personhood in Montana delayed, not defeated

Posted on July 20, 2010
Personhood USA: "The Montana Personhood Amendment Initiative CI-102 volunteers received news yesterday that they were just 6,000 signatures short of the required 48,674 signatures to put Personhood on the 2010 ballot."

CA State Senator Roy Ashburn: ?My journey, my party and LGBT rights?

Posted on July 20, 2010
CA State Sen. Roy Ashburn writing at Gay Politics: "I should begin with an apology. I am sincerely sorry for the votes I cast and the actions I took that harmed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people . . . For nearly 26 years, the voters in my area of California trusted me as their elected representative...

?LGBT representation in Congress could double?

Posted on July 20, 2010
Gay Politics: "The Victory Fund has endorsed three non-incumbent gay candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year. If all three win, they would double the number of out members of Congress, joining incumbent Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass...

?Mom/Not Mom/Aunt?

Posted on July 20, 2010
"After five loving, fulfilling years with my boyfriend, Drew, I suddenly found myself online, looking to meet a woman . . . Together we had a decision to make. One of the strangers on this Web site could end up contributing half of our child?s DNA."

?No gay voice in new Zimbabwe constitution: Mugabe?

Posted on July 20, 2010
AFP: "Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said the country will not listen to those who want gay rights to be mentioned in a draft of the new constitution, state media reported on Sunday."

PA: Towns fill state void on ?gay rights?

Posted on July 20, 2010
The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Fast-forward one year, and Goodman, 21, who lives in Bala Cynwyd in the township, finds himself at the fore of a small but growing trend in Pennsylvania. He is prodding Lower Merion to join 16 other municipal and county governments in Pennsylvania that have enacted laws protecting members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from discrimination...

Same-sex ?marriage? inches toward High Court

Posted on July 20, 2010
NPR: "Advocates are hoping two cases now in the federal courts may signal a turning point in the fight for gay marriage. A federal court in Boston ruled last week that same-sex married couples deserve federal recognition. That case, along with another in California, is likely to move the battle closer to the U...

Laid-off attorneys search for work far outside traditional law firms

Posted on July 20, 2010
Jonnelle Marte writing in the Wall Street Journal: "Facing a tough job market, many lawyers struggling to find work . . . are re-examining their roles and testing the waters in other fields. Some are attempting to stay in the industry by taking temporary work as contract lawyers?low-profile, lower-paying positions that often involve more routine work, according to consultants and industry experts...

Utah law professor says free speech protections should be loosened for religious extremism

Posted on July 20, 2010
Deseret News: "University of Utah law professor Amos N. Guiora proclaimed Friday that free-speech protections of religious gatherings need to be considerably loosened for the war on terrorism to succeed. ... [According to Guiora] law enforcement agencies must monitor what is said in places of worship such as mosques or synagogues when and if authorities have reason to believe that a religious leader is inciting followers to commit acts of terroristic violence...

Argentine justice of peace refuses to marry homosexuals

Posted on July 20, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "'They can accuse me of what they want. God has spoken, and I am going to obey Him to the letter, even if it costs me my job, even if it costs me my life, because what God says comes first,' [Marta Covella] said."

China satisfied with Google search engine tweak

Posted on July 20, 2010
Reuters: "China is satisfied that U.S. Internet giant Google Inc is complying with Chinese laws after it tweaked the way it directs users to an unfiltered search page, a senior official said on Tuesday."

Is divorce contagious?

Posted on July 20, 2010
ABC: "While it may sound like hyperbole, experts say divorce can become 'contagious' in close social groups. ... According to new research done by Fowler, along with professors Nicholas Christakis and Rose McDermott, being friends with someone who gets divorced makes someone 147 percent more likely to get divorced themselves...

Today, showdown at the State House in Trenton over marriage

Posted on July 20, 2010
Garden State Equality Press Release: "In a state where the Governor and several conservative activists have endorsed the civil union law as a way to avoid marriage equality - saying the civil union law already provides equality to New Jersey's same-sex couples - Garden State Equality has just released a damning two-and-half-minute video in which state Senators who voted against marriage equality confess that the civil union law has failed...

Calif pro-union law struck down by appeals court

Posted on July 20, 2010
Mercury News (AP): "A Sacramento appeals court says California's union-backed 1975 law allowing labor picketing outside stores is unconstitutional because it requires property owners to host speakers they disagree with." | Ralphs Grocer Co. v. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 8, No...

?The dangers of seeing America as a ?Christian nation??

Posted on July 20, 2010
Stuart Whatley writing at the Christian Science Monitor: "With a creeping rise in secularists and nonbelievers today, some American Christian traditionalists see a politically existential threat. ... But those who state outright that Christianity was the driving force behind the settling and political conception of the United States rely on contrived historicism...

UK: The conservative ban on Michael Savage

Posted on July 20, 2010
Jeffrey T. Kuhner writing in The Washington Times: "Radical Islam has won a major victory in its war with the West . . . Britain's new coalition government, led by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, has decided to uphold the ban against Michael Savage, the popular talk-radio host...

SCOTUSblog: October arguments, day by day

Posted on July 20, 2010
SCOTUSblog: "The Supreme Court on Monday released the calendar for oral arguments for the opening session of the 2010 Term, starting on Monday, Oct. 4. The Court will hold afternoon arguments on two of the five argument days in that sitting. The morning sessions run from 10 a...

Federalist Society: Doe v. Reed ? Post-decision SCOTUScast

Posted on July 20, 2010
Federalist Society SCOTUScast: "On June 24, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Doe v. Reed. In this case, the Court was asked whether compelled disclosure of signatory information on a referendum petition violated the First Amendment. ...

Scotland: ?Allow us full marriage, demand gays?

Posted on July 20, 2010
News.Scotsman.com: "Gay campaigners are calling on the Scottish Government to legislate for 'full marriage equality'. They say civil partnerships, introduced for same-sex couples in 2005, do not have the same status as marriage."

Shaky 51% support same-sex ?marriage,? Field poll finds

Posted on July 20, 2010
San Francisco Chronicle: "A Field Poll scheduled to be released today shows little has changed since May 2008, when 51 percent of voters said they supported same-sex marriage, only to ban it by approving Proposition 8 six months later. ... As in May 2008, 51 percent of voters say they support same-sex marriage, with 42 percent opposed and 7 percent having no opinion...

SCOTUS Live Blog of Kagan Nomination in Senate Judiciary Today

Posted on July 20, 2010
Associated Press: "The Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting Tuesday to take up Kagan's nomination after a week's delay at the request of Republican lawmakers. Democrats hold a 12-7 advantage on the committee." | Senate Judiciary Committee

SD: Sturgis residents riled up over sexually oriented business rumor

Posted on July 20, 2010
Rapid City Journal: "Sturgis officials say they don't know what kind of business might be moving to a location near Interstate 90 Exit 32 but that if it's an adult-oriented business, it would likely violate state statutes regarding such businesses."

TX: San Marcos school district ditches ?abstinence-only?

Posted on July 20, 2010
KXAN: "Monday night, they voted to start teaching Abstinence Plus. It is a program for grades six through 12 that not only teaches waiting but also educates students on how to have safe sex with the use of birth control and condoms. ... 'The abstinence-only programs have not been proven effective,' said local pediatrician Dr...

MT: Helena School Board ?sex ed? decision pushed back

Posted on July 20, 2010
KRTV: "The Helena School Board is taking the controversial human sexuality portion of the proposed health curriculum back to staff for some additions. After a flood of public comment in recent weeks, the executive committee decided to push back its decision; the board was going to vote on the curriculum in August, but now Superintendent Bruce Messinger says it will be more like October...

Recall effort against WI ?sex ed? prosecutor fails

Posted on July 20, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "A drive to recall a Wisconsin prosecutor who warned health teachers they could face criminal charges for teaching students how to use contraceptives has failed." | [4.7.2010] WI: Prosecutor warns teachers about new sex education curriculum

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