Religion & Law

More than reaching the bar: ADF-allied attorneys honored for dedicated service

Posted on June 30, 2009
The Alliance Defense Fund honored six allied attorneys last week that have provided thousands of hours of dedicated, pro-bono service in defense of religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family. The value of those hours amounts to millions of dollars in free legal services that they have provided to clients in need.

SC attorney general calls for investigation of gov

Posted on June 30, 2009
AP: "Attorney General Henry McMaster said Tuesday he has requested the State Law Enforcement Division to review all of Sanford's travel records to see if any laws have been broken."

New York City bar: Sotomayor ?highly qualified?

Posted on June 30, 2009
AP: "New York City's bar association says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is 'highly qualified' to be a justice."

Minnesota court declares Franken Senate winner

Posted on June 30, 2009
"Minnesota?s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Democrat Al Franken is the winner of the state?s Senate race and should be awarded a certificate of election, paving the way for Franken to be seated."

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Muslims and civil rights: A continuing debate

Posted on June 30, 2009
ReligionLink.com: "The equal treatment of Muslims under the law raises questions about the extent to which the United States can extend basic human rights and civil liberties to its citizens and permanent residents at a time of heightened tension over security...

Chicago school backpedaling on homosexual parade involvement

Posted on June 30, 2009
OneNewsNow reports: "As OneNewsNow recently reported, students from Chicago's Nettlehorst Elementary School participated in Sunday's 'gay pride' parade. School officials claim the school did not endorse the event, but said that some parents were allowing their children to march in the parade...

CNN: ??Gayby boom?: Children of gay couples speak out?

Posted on June 30, 2009
CNN: "Levey is part of the 'gayby boom' generation. The 29-year-old management consultant is the son of a lesbian couple who chose to have a child through artificial insemination. He's their only child. Critics of same-sex marriage say people such as Levey will grow up shunned and sexually confused...

Alabama Planned Parenthood employee admits to ?bending the rules? on abuse reporting

Posted on June 30, 2009
LifeSiteNews reports on the latest video put together by Lila Rose and Live Action: "A Planned Parenthood counselor in Birmingham was caught on hidden camera telling an alleged 14-year-old statutory rape victim that the clinic "does sometimes bend the rules a little bit" rather than report sexual abuse to state authorities...

?Indian gay rights march calls to legalize gay sex?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Google (AP): "Hundreds of gay rights supporters waved flags and danced past traffic during marches through three Indian cities Sunday to celebrate gay pride and call for the decriminalization of homosexuality in this deeply conservative country. The New Delhi parade passed near the Delhi High Court, which is reviewing a law that prohibits gay sex ? and can punish it with up to 10 years in prison...

?Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture? Not

Posted on June 30, 2009
NY Times: "Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a group that opposes gay rights initiatives, said Mr. Obama?s reluctance to push more assertively for gay rights reflected public opinion. 'He?s given them a few minor concessions; they?re asking for more, such as "don?t ask, don?t tell" being repealed,' Mr...

Packaging emerges as major issue in White House abortion plan

Posted on June 30, 2009
Dan Gilgoff reports at his U.S. News & World Report God & Country blog: "As the White House readies its plan for finding "common ground" on reproductive health issues and reducing the need for abortion, a major debate has emerged over how to package the plan's two major components: preventing unwanted pregnancies and reducing the need for abortion...

Broad Federation of Faith-Based Organizations Gathers to Mobilize Grassroots Movement

Posted on June 30, 2009
Liberty Counsel: "Today a federation of some of the largest faith-based organizations in the country gathered in the Nation?s capital to plan, strategize, and work together on common interests within the Judeo-Christian tradition to mobilize their grassroots constituencies and to communicate faith and values to the religious, social, cultural, and policymaking institutions...

Pennsylvania: Ex-teacher gets one day in jail for child porn possession

Posted on June 30, 2009
Delaware Daily County Times: "A former sixth-grade teacher at St. Bernadette of Lourdes School in Upper Darby got what a federal judge called "a huge break" after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel sentenced Salvatore Graci, 34, of Wallingford, to a day in prison and 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to register as a sex offender...

Cal. Court of Appeals custody ruling: Former lesbian partner can be presumed parent

Posted on June 30, 2009
Charisma R. v. Kristina S., No. 2009 SOS 3940 (Cal. App. June 26, 2009) begins: Charisma R. (Charisma) and Kristina S. (Kristina) were a same sex couple who began dating in July 1997, moved in together in August 1998, and registered as domestic partners with the State of California in January 2002...

Spain deconstructs the traditional family

Posted on June 30, 2009
The move . . . is the latest in an ambitious program of social change under Zapatero, who critics say is resolutely determined to destroy Spain?s Judeo-Christian ethical foundations, primarily by deconstructing the traditional family.

Hypocrisy and Public Life

Posted on June 30, 2009
Christopher O. Tollefsen writes at Public Discourse: "Revelations about the infidelities of prominent social conservatives like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign have led many to mock advocates of public virtue who nonetheless succumb to personal vice...

Qaeda warns France of revenge for burka stance

Posted on June 30, 2009
AFP: "Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing threatened on Tuesday to take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to retaliate against the country, the US monitoring service SITE Intelligence reported. Earlier this month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka, which covers the whole face, was not welcome in the strictly secular country...

POTUS to LGBT: ?Welcome to Your White House?

Posted on June 30, 2009
"ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' filled the East Room, as more than 200 prominent gays and lesbians gathered for the first ever celebration of Pride month at the White House."

Teachers? union to consider abortion issue

Posted on June 30, 2009
One News Now: "The National Education Association will convene for their national meeting in San Diego July 1-6. Jeralee Smith, one of the co-founders of the NEA Conservative Educators Caucus, says one of the items her group has placed on the agenda is abortion...

Obama hopes to persuade all Americans to accept homosexuality

Posted on June 30, 2009
One News Now: "Obama acknowledged that many Americans still disapprove of homosexuality. 'There are still fellow citizens, perhaps neighbors or even family members and loved ones, who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes,' he stated."

U.S. Supreme Court looks over 9th Circuit?s shoulder

Posted on June 30, 2009
"This term, justices reversed, at least partially, 94% of the Western appeals court's rulings. Part of the reason, experts say, is the court is perceived as liberal and partial to the underdog."

Challenge filed against court order permitting ?Plan B? for 17-year-olds

Posted on June 30, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "'The life and health of women, especially minors, is more important than the political agenda of pro-abortion activist groups. Minors are least of all in a position to make an informed decision about the life or death of a child, or even about their own safety...

In defense of the right to discriminate

Posted on June 30, 2009
Wendy Kaminer writing at Spiked Online: "If the relationship between screening group members and expressing a group ideal seems obvious (practically tautological), the ninth circuit court of appeals still managed to finesse it. In Truth v Kent School District, a three-judge panel justified the denial of official status to a high school bible club, Truth, by minimising the effect of the denial on the club?s First Amendment rights and magnifying the effect of the club?s exclusionary rules on other students...

Florida: ?Holy Land free day still a mystery?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Orlando Sentinel: Holy Land Experience doesn't want you to know when it schedules its required free day each year out of concern over a possible "uncontrollable situation." . . . Holy Land, owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network, is required to drop its normal $35 ticket price and offer free admission one day each year in exchange for a property-tax exemption that saves it about $300,000 annually, according to a 2006 state law designed to guarantee the exemption...

Texas: Appeal Filed With 5th Circuit In Elementary School Hair Style Limits

Posted on June 30, 2009
Religion Clause Blog reports that the Needville, Texas Independent School District is appealing a case involving a five year old boy who is challenging school hair length restrictions on grounds that they violate his Native American religious beliefs...

Religious groups? radio ads back health overhaul

Posted on June 30, 2009
AP: "Liberal-leaning religious groups are launching radio ads in five states this week in which local pastors urge senators to back efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system."

Court Refuses To Dismiss RLUIPA Challenge To ?Shabbos House?

Posted on June 30, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: In Bikur Cholim v. Suffern, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54187 (SDNY, June 25, 2009), a New York federal district court refused to dismiss claims under RLUIPA and freedom of association claims challenging the denial of a zoning variance for a Suffern (NY) "Shabbos House...

D.C. Voting Rights

Posted on June 30, 2009
"Alliance Defense Fund attorney Brian Raum told TAS that Washington, D.C. demonstrates the disconnect between voters and government officials on the marriage question. With California's Proposition 8 and over a dozen similar ballot initiatives, the people have repeatedly affirmed the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman (though polls in a few states have recorded pluralities in favor of same-sex marriage)...

High court won?t hear Kent schools Bible-club case, case still alive

Posted on June 30, 2009
Lindsay Toler reports in the Seattle Times: "'We're willing to keep fighting if we need to,' Chandler said. He said his group, the Alliance Defense Fund, will continue to research the case, but their clients have not yet decided whether to begin another trial...

Multiple abortions may risk future kids? health

Posted on June 30, 2009
Christian Institute: "Dr Robbert van Oppenraaij headed the research team which published its findings in a report for the European Reproduction and Embryology Society. Dr van Oppenraaij said: 'It can be concluded that a history of abortion is associated with an increased risk for premature delivery and very premature delivery...

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