Religion & Law

Elena Kagan and the Religion Clauses

Posted on June 25, 2010
Law.com: "[T]wo separate reports issued Wednesday suggest that Kagan may part company with Stevens in cases involving religious liberty. ... In one report, scholar Melissa Rogers suggests Kagan could 'move the Court closer to reinvigorating the Free Exercise Clause and thus closer to providing additional protection for the peaceful practice of all faiths...

Pakistan scours Google, other sites for blasphemy

Posted on June 25, 2010
Associated Press: "Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google, Yahoo and Amazon, for sacrilegious content, while blocking 17 other, lesser-known sites it deems offensive to Muslims, an official said Friday."

Internet addresses to accept Chinese script

Posted on June 25, 2010
Associated Press: "ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, agreed in a Friday meeting to start using Chinese characters for suffixes handed out by Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwan-based Internet registries. It started allowing Arabic earlier this year...

UK doctors: fetus can?t feel pain before 24 weeks

Posted on June 25, 2010
Associated Press: "British health experts say the human fetus cannot feel pain before the age of 24 weeks, so there is no reason to change the country's abortion laws." | Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Press Release | Summary and full report: "Fetal Awareness"

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Hong Kong votes to add elected legislative seats

Posted on June 25, 2010
Associated Press: "Hong Kong's legislature on Friday agreed to add 10 elected seats, completing a set of Beijing-backed electoral changes that critics say reinforce the territory's undemocratic political system."

Whatever happened to ? Ruth Malhotra and Orit Sklar?

Posted on June 25, 2010
Atlanta Journal Constitution: "When Georgia Tech students Ruth Malhotra and Orit Sklar sued the school in 2006 for unconstitutional speech policies, both intended on pursuing careers in their majors: international affairs and civil engineering. ... [Their] federal civil rights lawsuit, supported by the Christian-based Alliance Defense Fund, challenged Georgia Tech's speech code, the use of a 'free speech zone' and portions of the university's 'Safe Space' training manual that were considered unconstitutional...

Nampa Classical Academy timeline

Posted on June 25, 2010
Idaho Press-Tribune: "Sept. 1, 2009 ? ... Attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit, conservative Christian advocacy group, file a lawsuit on behalf of NCA asking a judge to block enforcement of the Charter Commission's decision that Nampa Classical Academy cannot use the Bible and other religious texts in classrooms...

ID: State commission revokes Nampa Charter Academy?s charter, suit filed by ADF to continue

Posted on June 25, 2010
Idaho Press-Tribune: "The Commission voted 5-0 to revoke the charter for failure to demonstrate fiscal soundness. The revocation is effective Wednesday, at which time NCA could cease to receive public funding. ... NCA ran into trouble with the Charter Commission last summer when the commission said the school could not use the Bible and other religious texts in the classroom...

Free speech an issue again at NY community college

Posted on June 25, 2010
OneNewsNow: "A college student in New York is once again getting the run-around from school officials for trying to express his religious views on campus. ... Hayon, president of the student Republican Club, wanted to hold an on-campus forum entitled 'The Economic, Political, Social, and Legal Outcome on Same-Gender Marriage' to defend the definition of marriage as one man and one woman...

Battle escalates over homeschooled child seized by Swedish government

Posted on June 25, 2010
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and the Home School Legal Defense Association filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights Friday asking it to hear the case of a seven-year-old boy seized by Swedish authorities because his parents home-school.

Twin Cities Pride Festival imbroglio moves to court

Posted on June 25, 2010
Pioneer Press: "U.S. District Judge John Tunheim heard arguments from attorneys for the festival, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and from Brian Johnson, the man whose desire to hand out Bibles and tell festival-goers homosexuality is a sin started the imbroglio...

Twin Cities Pride seeks to bar evangelical from distributing religious literature at pride event

Posted on June 25, 2010
LezGetReal: "Last year, he was barred by the The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and was arrested when he tried to do so. This year, he obtained a lawyer from the Alliance Defense Fund and they argued to the Park Board that it would be a violation of his First Amendment rights to restrict him from distributing literature...

FSU expands non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation, gender identity

Posted on June 25, 2010
Tallahassee Democrat: "Florida State University?s non-discrimination policy was amended this morning without discussion ? or even public acknowledgement. But the unanimous decision by FSU?s Board of Trustees to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the university?s policy ? language similar to an ordinance adopted recently by Leon County ? was greeted with relief and joy outside the board meeting...

UK: Cameron protects budget for international abortions

Posted on June 25, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Millions of pounds of British taxpayers? money will continue to fund abortions in developing countries, after David Cameron ordered that the Department for International Development?s (DFID?s) budget be protected from any cuts...

Social conservatives make their case against Kagan

Posted on June 25, 2010
Baptist Press: "With Elena Kagan's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing set to begin Monday, conservative groups are pushing back against the media storyline that says President Obama's Supreme Court nominee is a blank slate on hot-button social issues...

11th Circuit: Live porn website illegally ?operates as a business? in residential area

Posted on June 25, 2010
FlavaWorks, Inc., v. City of Miami, No. 09-11264 (11th Cir. June 25, 2010) | Excerpt: "The activities taking place at the 27th Street residence are part and parcel to Flava Work?s business operations. The fact that certain aspects of the business are performed at other locations does not alter this analysis...

Woman sues church over ?gay marriage?

Posted on June 25, 2010
CNN: "Years before the nation's capital legalized same-sex marriage in March, one church in Washington, D.C., opened its doors to gay couples as part of its mission to establish an 'inclusive body of Biblical believers.' ... Yvonne Moore not only left Covenant Baptist, where she had worshipped for nearly 40 years: she filed a lawsuit for her weekly tithes because, as she said, 'They didn't respect the members enough to listen to us...

Judge: ?Minn. gay pride fest can?t bar evangelist?

Posted on June 25, 2010
Minneapolis Star Tribune (AP): "Johnson, who runs a chain saw carving school and other businesses, did not return phone messages seeking comment Friday. But his attorney, [Nathan Kellum] of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal rights group, said Johnson is thankful he'll be able to walk through the park, hand out Bibles and talk about his faith with people at the festival...

Heather Gebelin Hacker: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez update

Posted on June 25, 2010
"That means that the only two justices who have not written an opinion from the April sitting are Justice Ginsburg and retiring Justice Stevens . . . "

Military men to testify at Kagan hearing

Posted on June 25, 2010
The Blog of LegalTimes: "Republican-called witnesses will include several current or retired members of the military, such as U.S. Army retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a fundamentalist Christian, and Army National Guard Capt. Pete Hegseth, who is executive director of the conservative Vets for Freedom...

New Jersey town considering a topless beach

Posted on June 25, 2010
Associated Press: "The city council is considering a request from Reggie Flimlin, an Asbury Park woman who owns a yoga studio, to allow women to decide for themselves whether they want to wear bikini tops on the beach. She says it's already happening on less populated beaches in the city's north end...

Catholic Health Association applauds ?strong leadership? by Obama on health care

Posted on June 25, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Despite criticism from the U.S. Catholic bishops, the Catholic Health Association (CHA) has issued a statement saying it continues to support the insurance reform provisions in recent health care legislation and continues to 'applaud' President Obama for his 'strong leadership...

Thousands oppose Scottish euthanasia Bill

Posted on June 25, 2010
Christian Today: "Representing thousands of voters across Scotland who are opposed to the introduction of assisted suicide and euthanasia through the End of Life Assistance Bill, the Catholic Parliamentary Office, led by John Deighan, dispatched the first of many sacks of support for 'Care Not Killing'...

Forced abortion expert tells National Right to Life audience terrible China policy continues

Posted on June 25, 2010
LifeNews: "Steven Mosher, the expert on the China one-child policy credited with exposing and bringing attention to the problem of forced abortions carried out under it, reminded the audience at the National Right to Life convention that the forced abortions on women continue...

?Gay activists? to protest outside of Exodus conference

Posted on June 25, 2010
Orange County Register: "Local members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are planning to protest religious activists' efforts to cure people from homosexuality this weekend. The demonstration will be held at the intersection of Ridgeline and University drives outside of Concordia University's campus where Exodus International is holding its annual conference...

Poll: 2 in 5 Evangelical leaders drink alcohol

Posted on June 25, 2010
Christian Post: "Forty percent of evangelical leaders said they 'socially drink alcohol,' according to a new monthly poll. ... The poll, released Thursday, was based on responses from the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals, including the CEOs of denominations and representatives of a broad array of evangelical organizations...

Alberta bill won?t alter Catholic education: board

Posted on June 25, 2010
CBC News: "Alberta's controversial legislation that gives parents the option of pulling their children out of sexual education or religion classes they deem inappropriate or offensive will not affect how Catholic schools are run, board officials say. The specifics of Bill 44, which comes into effect this September, were indexed in the Education Department's annual Guide to Education on Wednesday...

UCLA-Lambda study purports to show link between marriage bans and lack of health insurance for same sex partners

Posted on June 25, 2010
Insurance News: "The study, released today in the online edition of the leading journal Health Affairs, found that partnered lesbians are only 28 percent as likely as married heterosexual couples to receive healthcare coverage for a partner through an employer...

Provincetown likely to limit condoms to 5th grade and up

Posted on June 25, 2010
ABC News: "A Massachusetts school district is going ahead with plans to give condoms to students even without their parents' consent, but because of an outcry from Gov. Deval Patrick and others the district will consider excluding students in grades one through four"

VA: ACLU report evaluates 2010 legislative session

Posted on June 25, 2010
ACLU: "The ACLU of Virginia today released its annual review of the Virginia legislative session. [Civil Liberties Review: Virginia General Assembly 2010] describes more than 100 bills pertaining to civil liberties and civil rights in Virginia."

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