Religion & Law

Sierra Leone: Bar Association discusses gender equality

Posted on July 06, 2010
Awoko Newspaper: "The Sierra Leone Bar Association during its Annual Conference over the weekend held at the Wusum Hotel Conference Hall in Makeni, discussed in detail issues bordering around gender equality, human rights and freedom of information as cornerstones to nation building and human development...

Australia: Tribunal to decide on Christian campsite?s refusal to rent to ?gay youth group?

Posted on July 06, 2010
news.com.au: "A Victorian tribunal will be asked to decide if a Christian group can discriminate against gay people for religious reasons. The Christian Brethren will face the discrimination complaint tomorrow after it stopped a suicide prevention project for gay youths from using its facilities three years ago...

British Medical Association condemns counseling homosexuals

Posted on July 06, 2010
CCFON: "The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a motion condemning any therapy given to individuals who may wish to re-orientate from their homosexuality." | British Medical Association

Obama?s NASA chief: Muslim relations top priority

Posted on July 06, 2010
FOX News: "NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a recent interview that his 'foremost' mission as the head of America's space exploration agency is to improve relations with the Muslim world. Though international diplomacy would seem well outside NASA's orbit, Bolden said in an interview with Al Jazeera that strengthening those ties was among the top tasks President Obama assigned him...

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MA: AG cites, laments DOMA in rejection of ?gay? veteran?s joint burial

Posted on July 06, 2010
Telegram: "Mr. Hopkins, the recipient of two Bronze Stars and other medals, is married to a man. Because the federal government doesn't acknowledge same-sex marriage, the 65-year-old veteran may now be forced to choose between recognition for his longtime military service and perpetual rest with his longtime partner...

Costa Rica?s Constitutional Court orders a stop to same-sex ?marriage? referendum

Posted on July 06, 2010
Inside Costa Rica: "The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) has ordered the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) to suspend the process of the referendum on same sex marriages that was to have been included in the December 2010 municipal elections...

Cuomo: Same-sex ?marriage? can pass in 2011

Posted on July 06, 2010
New York Magazine: "Andrew Cuomo was asked by a reporter today if he thought a marriage-equality bill like the one that was defeated in the State Senate this December could pass in 2011. 'Do I think it can? Yes,' he replied."

Ireland: ICCL seeks full marriage rights

Posted on July 06, 2010
Irish Times: "The Irish Council of Civil Liberties has cautiously welcomed the passing of the Civil Partnership Bill but said deficiencies in the legislation will ensure that same-sex couples will remain unequal in the eyes of the law. ... ICCL director Mark Kelly said the Bill would offer a 'solid foundation' for the recognition and protection of same-sex relationships which were previously denied to them...

Argentina: Senate panel?s same-sex ?marriage? recommendation due today

Posted on July 06, 2010
On Top Mag ("gay advocacy website"): "A key panel in the Argentine Senate is expected to deliver its recommendation on a gay marriage bill Tuesday. The Senate General Law Committee began debate on the bill last month after it was approved in May by Argentina's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (la Camara de Diputados)...

N.J. town has Muslim mayor, Jewish deputy

Posted on July 06, 2010
UPI: "A Muslim and an Orthodox Jew have become mayor and deputy mayor in Teaneck, N.J., a town they jointly call a 'nurturing incubator.' Mohammed Hameeduddin and Adam Gussein told ABC News their big problem is bridging the budget gap, not the religious divide...

ADF Alliance Alert Categorical Email Digest will not be published on Mon. July 5th

Posted on July 02, 2010
The ADF Alliance Alert Categorical Email Digest will not be published on Mon. July 5th.  Happy Independence Day!

MO: ?Gays and lesbians are taking more public role in politics, as elected officials, activists?

Posted on July 02, 2010
St. Louis Beacon: "A.J. Bockelman knew the gay-rights movement had hit a new level of political clout -- and status -- when he found himself with other activists in Washington this week for a special reception in their honor at the White House. ... Bockelman credits the gains in clout and acceptance, in part, to the increasing willingness among gay and lesbian public figures in Missouri and the country to go public about their private lives...

Thomas Jefferson made slip in Declaration

Posted on July 02, 2010
Associated Press: "In an early draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote the word 'subjects,' when he referred to the American public. He then erased that word and replaced it with 'citizens,' a term he used frequently throughout the final draft...

Google won?t censor in China, exec says

Posted on July 02, 2010
Montreal Gazette: "Google Inc. is willing to talk to China as tensions mount over Internet policy, but will not return to censoring its search results. 'We will not go back to self-censoring,' Robert Boorstin, global director of public policy, said during a security conference in Ottawa Wednesday...

Federalist Society: Is the Electoral College obsolete?

Posted on July 02, 2010
FedSoc Blog: "At this critical moment in the progress of NPV's legislation, The Federalist Society's Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group and The Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies will co-host a debate between Ms. Tara Ross, author of Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College, and Hon...

How much blind deference? Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith?s testimony at Kagan hearings

Posted on July 02, 2010
An excerpt from the conclusion of Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith's written testimony in support of Elena Kagan's nomination to the US Supreme Court, via Jonathan H. Adler at The Volokh Conspiracy (see also the post's lively comments section): "The President of the United States is entitled to choose a judicial nominee whom he believes reflects his judicial philosophy; and his decision to nominate a highly qualified individual who swims in the broad mainstream of American legal life ? a description that Kagan easily satisfies ? warrants deference from the Senate...

Presbyterian Church in America to petition Obama on religious liberty in the military

Posted on July 02, 2010
byFaith Magazine: "The PCA?s General Assembly answered Overtures 12, 17, and 22 in the affirmative today. The Assembly did so by approving a request of the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel; the request directs the Stated Clerk?s office to petition President Obama and other federal officials, requesting 'the protection and meaningful continuance of the free exercise of religion within the armed forces of the United States...

Teen resolute in fight to have pledge said in classrooms

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Boston Globe: "Last week, Harrington, a senior, presented the Arlington School Committee with a petition, signed by more than 700 people, to require that the pledge be led in all the town?s schools each day. The committee deadlocked, 3 to 3, on a motion that would have required a daily, but voluntary, recitation of the pledge to be led over the intercom...

NYPD removes child porn video from servers

Posted on July 02, 2010
Associated Press: "New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the computer crimes unit has removed a child porn video from nearly 70,000 servers nationwide."

Mayor Daley lays out strict gun rules for Chicago

Posted on July 02, 2010
Associated Press: "The measure, which draws from ordinances around the country, would ban gun shops in Chicago and prohibit gun owners from stepping outside their homes, even onto their porches or garages, with a handgun."

Erik Stanley on the Jody Hice Show: IRS investigates SD Baptist pastor for speaking out on political candidate

Posted on July 02, 2010
ADF attorney Erik Stanley appeared on the Jody Hice Show to discuss the IRS' investigation of a South Dakota Baptist pastor. | MP3 17:19 mins | ADF Media: ADF agrees to represent SD church reported to IRS | IRS Should Investigate South Dakota Church That Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate, Says Americans United | ADF Pulpit Initiative

Nate Kellum on the Georgene Rice Show: Police in Oregon censor pro-lifer?s ?offensive? sign

Posted on July 02, 2010
ADF attorney Nate Kellum appeared on the Georgene Rice Show to discuss Pearson v. City of Stayton. | MP3 10:20 mins | ADF Media information on the case

Joseph Weiler: How I defended the Crucifix Before the European Court of Human Rights

Posted on July 02, 2010
Excerpt of Professor Joseph Weiler's argument before the European Court of Human Rights in Lautsi v. Italy: "In today?s Europe countries have opened their gates to many new residents and citizens. We owe them all the guarantees of the Convention. We owe the decency and welcome and non discrimination...

?India gays celebrate 1 year since landmark verdict?

Posted on July 02, 2010
Associated Press: "Hundreds of Indian gay rights activists and their supporters celebrated the first anniversary Friday of a landmark court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality and marking their gradual acceptance in the deeply conservative country."

A filibuster of Elena Kagan is justified

Posted on July 02, 2010
Floyd and Mary Beth Brown write at Townhall: "Elena Kagan is a radical. Barack Obama and his allies in the left-wing media have made every attempt to paint Kagan as a 'moderate,' but this truth is evident if you listen to her answers. She has a life-long history of extreme and radical left-wing political activism and her personal history clearly indicates that she will not hesitate to pursue Obama's far-left wing agenda from the bench...

Mall?s ?don?t talk to strangers? rule argued in CA Court of Appeals

Posted on July 02, 2010
Pacific Justice Institute: "The case arose after a youth pastor, Matthew Snatchko, was arrested at the Roseville Galleria Mall in 2007 for striking up a casual conversation with two other shoppers about faith. Although Snatchko had first obtained the shoppers? permission to broach the subject, a nearby store employee disapproved and called mall security guards, who arrested Snatchko...

WSJ: Reconfirming John Roberts

Posted on July 02, 2010
Wall Street Journal editorial: "Reconfirming John Roberts" - full text via Google News: "Pardon us for asking, but was that really Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation hearing this week? We're double checking because Senate Democrats seemed preoccupied with refighting the 2005 nomination of Chief Justice John Roberts...

GOP faces pressure on confirmation

Posted on July 02, 2010
The Hill: "Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan?s confirmation vote sets up a difficult political decision for a half-dozen or so Republicans. ... Republican senators will be under heavy pressure to vote against President Barack Obama?s second nominee to the Supreme Court in an election year characterized by an angry electorate fed up with incumbents...

SCOTUSblog: General Kagan Confirmation Hearings | Day 4

Posted on July 02, 2010
SCOTUSblog: "SCOTUSblog is offering live coverage of the fourth day of Elena Kagan?s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The session was expected to begin promptly at 4:00 p.m Eastern, but may begin a bit late. For the first three days we also offered a video feed from PBS?s NewsHour, but that coverage ended yesterday...

Carson Holloway: Elena Kagan?s living Constitution

Posted on July 02, 2010
Carson Holloway writing at Public Discourse: "This updated living constitutionalism, however, is even less compatible with a judge?s duty than the old, a problem left largely unexplored by Kagan?s Republican critics on the Senate Judiciary Committee. ...

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