Religion & Law

Sotomayor Running Out of Potential GOP Support

Posted on July 27, 2009
The Blog of the Legal Times: "The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider Sotomayor?s nomination Tuesday, and only one Republican member ? Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) ? out of the seven on the committee has said he plans to support her."

?D.C. law extends parental rights to gays?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Washington Post: "Lesbians in the District no longer will need the written consent of their partners to adopt children born to their partners through artificial insemination, under a new law that took effect Saturday."

Ireland: President McAleese signs blasphemy bill into law

Posted on July 24, 2009
The Irish Times reports: "President Mary McAleese has this morning signed the Defamation Bill 2006 and the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 into law." Text of the statute is here.

Will bloggers be at risk in AP content crackdown?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Debra Cassens Weiss reports in the ABA Journal: "The aim is for those who use AP articles to pay for them, AP president and chief executive Tom Curley told the New York Times. AP maintains that just publishing an article headline and a link requires a licensing agreement, the story says...

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House votes to slash abstinence funding

Posted on July 24, 2009
Brian Faler reports at Bloomberg: "The chamber voted 264-153 to approve an annual health and education spending bill that would eliminate a $99 million initiative providing grants to public and private organizations that encourage teens to abstain from premarital sex...

Fiji church leaders freed, but warned not to meet

Posted on July 24, 2009
Derick Ho reports in The Christian Post: "Two former Fiji Methodist Church presidents have been released Friday on bail, but warned not to hold the annual conference; they were arrested after other five leaders were detained the previous day."

Pew Forum: ?A portrait of Mormons in the U.S.?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Pew Forum: "A new analysis of the Landscape Survey data reveals that as a group Mormons are among the most devout and conservative religious people in the country. The Mormon community is also internally diverse, with differences according to levels of religious commitment and educational attainment, regions of the country where Mormons live, and between lifelong Mormons and those who have converted to the faith...

Muslim headscarves to be allowed in Georgia courtrooms

Posted on July 24, 2009
Jim Galloway reports at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Those who walk into any Georgia courtroom will be allowed to wear head coverings, such as scarfs worn by Muslim women."

Lawsuit challenges Wisconsin same-sex ?domestic partner? scheme

Posted on July 24, 2009
LifeSiteNews reports: "'This new domestic partnership scheme is precisely the type of marriage imitation that the constitutional amendment approved by Wisconsin voters was intended to prevent,' [Raum] continued. 'Those who are determined to redefine marriage in Wisconsin are attempting an end-run assault on marriage hoping they can evade the clear language of the state constitution...

GA: ?Nude dancing at Coaster?s leads to charges?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Macon.com reports: "Three people have been charged in connection with nude dancing that Macon police say was taking place at Coaster?s Bar and Grill at 3076 Riverside Drive."

Pence amendment fails, House votes to increase Planned Parenthood funding

Posted on July 24, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "After unexpectedly passing the House Rules committee late yesterday, an amendment introduced by Rep. Mike Pence to strip Planned Parenthood of its taxpayer funding under Health and Human Services "family planning" (or Title X) funds, has failed...

Democrats? ?Common Ground? bill pushes sex indoctrination

Posted on July 24, 2009
CitizenLink: "Democrats in the U.S. House have introduced a bill purportedly aimed at reducing abortions, but which would, in fact, increase funding of sex education without a major abstinence component. The bill, the Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act, also calls for increased access to contraceptives and expanded Medicaid family-planning coverage...

UK: ?Transgender inmate seeks prison move?

Posted on July 24, 2009
UKPA: "A transsexual prisoner serving life for manslaughter and attempted rape committed while she was a man has claimed the refusal to move her to a women's prison is a violation of her human rights."

Washington ?braces for battle over same-sex rights?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Brad Shannon reports in The Olympian: "A political fight over the rights of same-sex couples is drawing nearer in Washington State. Backers of Referendum 71, who want to overturn a new state same-sex partnership law, have made an appointment to file signatures with state elections officials Saturday afternoon...

Germany: ?Debate over adoption rights for homosexuals heats up?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Deutsche Welle reports: "Conservative politicians across Germany have lashed out at Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries' repeated demand that laws be changed to give homosexual couples the right to adopt children."

RI: Providence ordinance filed to ban stripping by minors

Posted on July 24, 2009
Amanda Milkovits reports in the Providence Journal: "A city councilman has submitted legislation to ban youths under 18 from working in adult entertainment venues in the city."

West Virginia Family Foundation fears court bias over sexual orientation

Posted on July 24, 2009
Mannix Porterfield reports in the Register-Herald: "A conservative Christian group says a sexual orientation policy adopted in 1993 by the West Virginia Supreme Court could tip the scales in favor of anyone challenging the Defense of Marriage Act."

North Dakota abortion business files suit to stop ultrasounds

Posted on July 24, 2009
LifeNews reports: "A Fargo, North Dakota abortion business has filed a lawsuit to stop women from having the ability to see an ultrasound of their unborn children before the have an abortion. Gov. John Hoeven signed the measure into law in May after the state House easily approved the ultrasound measure...

Senate OKs defense bill with ?hate crimes? amendment

Posted on July 24, 2009
"The Senate bill passed late Thursday by a vote of 87-7 . . . [the bill] expands the federal hate-crimes law to those attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability."

?UMass embraces gender neutrality?

Posted on July 24, 2009
Kristin Palpini reports in the Amherst Bulletin: "[S]tarting this semester, the University of Massachusetts is taking steps to protect the gender identities of its students with some technological tweaking that has been three years in the works."

?Anti-gay Singapore prof cancels NYU stint after uproar?

Posted on July 24, 2009
AFP: "Richard Revesz, dean of New York University's law school, said Thio Li-ann had informed him she would not be teaching during the fall semester because of 'controversy surrounding her views regarding homosexuality and gay rights.'"

Romanian organized crime authorities detain three in human egg trafficking scheme

Posted on July 24, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Romanian authorities have detained two Israelis and a Romanian who are suspected of trafficking in human eggs for foreign couples who patronized their Bucharest-based fertility clinic."

?Is the gay marriage debate over??

Posted on July 24, 2009
"[Gay marriage] is bad not only because of what it will do to the social fabric, but because of what it signals has already happened to our social fabric."

China steps back from one child policy

Posted on July 24, 2009
Jane Macartney reports at Times Online: "For the first time in decades, local officials in China?s economic capital have urged eligible parents to plan for a second child. The move was prompted by the city?s growing demographic imbalance and fears that the young generation will not be able to support the rapidly ageing population...

GOP Sen. Hatch to vote against Sotomayor nomination

Posted on July 24, 2009
National Review Online has the press release from Sen. Orrin Hatch's office: ?However, after thoroughly reviewing Judge Sotomayor?s record and being able to hear her testimony and responses during the hearing process, I reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, have found that I cannot support her nomination to the U...

Activists: NKorean executed for distributing Bible

Posted on July 24, 2009
Associated Press: "A Christian woman accused of distributing the Bible, a book banned in communist North Korea, was publicly executed last month for the crime, South Korean activists said Friday."

Oregon: Faith healing pair acquitted of manslaughter

Posted on July 24, 2009
Associated Press: "An Oregon couple who relied on prayer instead of medical care dodged manslaughter convictions Thursday in the death of their 15-month-old daughter."

Texas judge closes last custody case in FLDS raid

Posted on July 24, 2009
Brooke Adams reports in the Salt Lake City Tribune: "The last FLDS child in Texas state custody is home -- but not with her parents. A Texas judge signed an order Thursday permanently placing the last child taken from the polygamous sect's ranch into a relative's care, ending the state's involvement in the massive case...

Court says it can apply neutral principles to fiduciary claim against church trustees

Posted on July 24, 2009
Howard Friedman reports at Religion Clause: "In Askew v. Trustees of the General Assembly of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Inc., (ED PA, July 21, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court concluded that it could use neutral principles of law to resolve breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment claims brought against church trustees and officers, as well as a claim that Church Articles do not comply with Pennsylvania's non-profit corporation law...

White House expects healthcare bill by year?s end

Posted on July 24, 2009
Reuters: "White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said in an interview on Friday he expected a final healthcare bill by the end of the year and that negotiations in the U.S. Congress now focus on controlling costs."

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