Religion & Law

Catholic Bishops Urge Congress to Maintain Ban on Using Tax Dollars to Pay for Abortions in D.C.

Posted on July 09, 2009
CNSNews: "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is calling on the House Appropriations Committee to reverse action by one of its subcommittees ? and reinstate the ban on federal funding for abortion in the District of Columbia." Bishop's letter

Dave Cortman on ?Drive Time with Bill Bunkley?: Censorship of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Posted on July 09, 2009
ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on "Drive Time with Bill Bunkley" (910 WTBN) to discuss a Florida public school district's censorship of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the face of ACLU threats. The interview also includes some discussion of pending judicial nominations...

Documents on Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor Posted Online

Posted on July 09, 2009
Washington Post: "A trove of federal records relating to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor went online this morning, offering details of her earlier nominations for two federal judgeships." This post may be updated.

Texas: San Marcos City Council votes to continue prayer

Posted on July 09, 2009
San Marco Ministerial Association reports: "Basically, prayers will be open to all faiths of San Marcos and the prayers can not promote or demote any religion over another."

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Former Surgeon General Elders Gets Standing Ovation from Religious Group after Advocating Sex Ed for Kindergarteners

Posted on July 09, 2009
CNSNews: "Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders got a standing ovation after speaking at the annual summit of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice where she advocated health clinics offering contraceptives on public school campuses and comprehensive sex education in the schools starting in kindergarten ...

1st Circuit upholds Mass. abortion buffer zone law

Posted on July 09, 2009
"The modified version of the statute replaced the floating buffer zone with a 35-foot fixed buffer zone."

White House, hospitals reach deal on health care

Posted on July 09, 2009
Yahoo News (AP): "The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress...

AU: ?Victory for women?s health: pharmacies must sell Plan B pill?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Americans United for Separation of Church and State Press Release: "In 2007, the Alliance Defense Fund, a Religious Right legal group, sued on behalf of a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists. They argued that the regulation violates pharmacists? religious freedom rights, even though under the rules, a pharmacist who objects can pass the prescription on to a colleague at the same store...

?Calif. Bill Would OK Out-of-State Gay Marriages?

Posted on July 09, 2009
"The California Legislature is getting back into the Proposition 8 fight with a bill that would recognize possibly thousands of same-sex marriages performed outside of California before the measure was passed."

Lords back free speech shield in ?gay hate? law

Posted on July 09, 2009
The Government has been defeated in the House of Lords over its attempt to repeal a free speech protection from a sexual orientation ?hatred? law.

Ginsburg: Roe about eliminating unwanted populations

Posted on July 09, 2009
JUSTICE GINSBURG: ". . . Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don?t want to have too many of . . . "

N.Y. Republicans Move to Block Lt. Gov. Appointment

Posted on July 09, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124714688586118111.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Small churches: Together, making a difference for religious freedom

Posted on July 09, 2009
Right Side News has posted an Alliance Defense Fund video and transcript detailing the Montana Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church 9th Circuit victory. On Feb 25th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed a ruling which had upheld as constitutional a Montana commissioner?s determination that a church violated state law by not registering as an ?incidental political committee...

?House overwhelmingly rejects signing statement?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Walter Alarkon reports at The Hill: "The conditions on World Bank and IMF funding were part of the $106 billion war supplemental bill that was passed last month. Obama, in a statement made as he signed the bill, said that he would ignore the conditions...

?My First Abortion Party?: Is this level of callousness feminism?s chief triumph?

Posted on July 09, 2009
AlterNet carries this article by Byard Duncan that reveals an extraordinary level of callousness: "When I got the invite to a friend's abortion party, I thought it was a way to help her through a difficult decision. I was right and wrong."

Texas: Navasota ISD Responds to ACLU Allegations

Posted on July 09, 2009
KBTX.com: "School Board President, John Price says, the ACLU is alleging that some religious activities may have taken place on school property. For example, Prices says the ACLU believes some personnel may have participated in prayer functions and that Gideon Bibles were handed out on campus and placed in areas where students could have accessed them...

Constitutional disorder in the era of judicial supremacy: what can we do now?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Matthew J. Franck writes at Public Discourse: "In the era of judicial supremacy, our whole constitutional system is disordered by the prevailing view that the nation?s governing charter is fundamentally the property of unelected, unaccountable judges with power to shape and reshape it as they see fit...

Is White House coordinating attack on DOMA?

Posted on July 09, 2009
OneNewsNow reports: "'That's [Obama's] political preference [that DOMA be overturned],' [Mat Staver] says. 'There's no doubt in my mind, absolutely no question at all, that he and some of those in the Department of Justice are coordinating with individuals -- and perhaps even the attorney general in Massachusetts -- to literally bring these lawsuits and have a very weak defense so that the courts will ultimately overturn it without having the politicians and the president go on record showing that they are in favor of same-sex marriage...

Lawsuit challenging bar preference for Wis. law grads reinstated

Posted on July 09, 2009
Associated Press reports: "A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's policy of allowing in-state law graduates to become lawyers without passing the bar exam."

Chief Judge of 4th Circuit: Williams Resigns, Traxler Takes Her Place

Posted on July 09, 2009
Jennifer Forsyth reports at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog: "Karen J. Williams, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, has announced her resignation after being diagnosed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer?s, according to a letter she sent to colleagues yesterday...

Public Prayer: Mike Johnson v. Barry Lynn on the Michael Medved Show

Posted on July 09, 2009
ADF attorney Mike Johnson appeared on the Michael Medved Show to debate the issue of public prayer with Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The mp3 audio runs about 34 minutes.

Firefighters to testify about Sotomayor

Posted on July 09, 2009
The Hill: "Republicans will call two New Haven firefighters to testify in the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor next week, making clear the GOP's intent to place affirmative action at the center of Senate battle over Sotomayor's nomination."

?Gay legal groups want in on Calif court case?

Posted on July 09, 2009
AP: "Three gay-friendly legal groups have asked to be part of a federal lawsuit challenging California's same-sex marriage ban ? a request that drew an icy reception from the activists behind the case."

Couples study debunks ?trial marriage? notion of cohabiting

Posted on July 09, 2009
USA Today: "Most unmarried couples who live together aren't trying to test their relationship. They just want to spend more time together. That finding, from a new national study of dating and cohabitation, seemingly contradicts the popular wisdom of cohabitation as a trial marriage...

Afghanistan tones down contentious marriage law

Posted on July 09, 2009
AP: "Afghanistan's government has revised a law that stirred an international outcry because it essentially legalized marital rape, officials said Thursday. The new version no longer requires a woman submit to sex with her husband, only that she do certain housework...

Wyoming: Green River proposes SOB ordinance

Posted on July 09, 2009
Jeff Gearino reports in the Casper Star-Tribune: "A new ordinance proposal aims to keep sexually oriented businesses scattered in locations where they are unlikely to cause problems, officials said."

?India Supreme Court steps into gay sex law dispute?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Associated Press: "India's Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a petition from a Hindu astrologer who is seeking to annul a recent landmark ruling that decriminalized gay sex."

Australia: ?Gay couples should be allowed to adopt?

Posted on July 09, 2009
Nick Ralston reports in the Brisbane Times: "Laws should be altered to allow same-sex couples to adopt in NSW because it's in the best interests of children, a parliamentary inquiry has found."

ACLU closes its North Dakota office

Posted on July 09, 2009
Heidi Shaffer reports at INFORUM: "North Dakota?s only American Civil Liberties Union office in Fargo closed in February, a closure blamed generally on the poor national economy, but also to losses major contributors suffered in the Bernard Madoff scandal...

Engaging the Odd Couple: Same-Sex Marriage and Evangelicalism in the Public Square

Posted on July 09, 2009
Women's Rights Law Reporter: "There continues to be a marked ?softening of opposition? to and trend toward accepting same-sex marriage. Moreover, a ?kinder, gentler? strand of evangelicals seems to be making peace with American culture and with the momentous shifts that are reconfiguring marriage and family life...

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