Religion & Law

State Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging California Marriage Amendment

Posted on June 26, 2009
"This lawsuit claims that section 7.5 of Article I violates the equal protection clause of the State Constitution."

?German activists push for constitutional amendment for gay rights?

Posted on June 26, 2009
Deutsche Welle reports:"Klaus Jetz, head of the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD), told Deutsche Welle that the political focus of this year's Christopher Street Day parades, which will begin this weekend in Berlin, will be on amending Article 3 of the German constitution...

UK: Town Councillor banned for describing homosexuality as a disability

Posted on June 26, 2009
BBC News: "Bill Pritchard, former town councillor in Barmouth, Gwynedd, wrote to an assembly government minister, referring to two men in a local development. He described homosexuality as 'a demon which can be driven out.'"

Lithuanian president vetoes ban on homosexual agenda in schools

Posted on June 26, 2009
PinkNews reports: "The President of Lithuania has vetoed a new law that would have banned materials that ?agitate" for gay relationships from schools"

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Ky. gambling defeat may have political fallout

Posted on June 26, 2009
Forbes (AP): "'We've already heard rumblings of people that are filing and considering filing and announcing that they are going to run against particular candidates that voted for and against the gambling measure,' said David Edmunds, a spokesman for the Kentucky Family Foundation, which opposed the measure...

Alabama Policy Institute: Health care plan limits choices

Posted on June 26, 2009
Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, writes in the Montgomery Advertiser: "Given that an estimated 157.4 million Americans have private employer-provided insurance, over 108 million people could lose their coverage and be forced into a government plan which cuts fees to doctors and reduces spending on health care technology...

ACLU supports Conn. diocese in lobbying suit

Posted on June 26, 2009
Associated Press: "The Connecticut unit of the American Civil Liberties Union is backing the Diocese of Bridgeport in its lawsuit against a state agency that says the church must register as a lobbyist."

?The climate change climate change?

Posted on June 26, 2009
Kimberly A. Strassel writes in the Wall Street Journal: "Among the many reasons President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority are so intent on quickly jamming a cap-and-trade system through Congress is because the global warming tide is again shifting...

?PROMISES, PROMISES: Gays bemoan go-slow approach?

Posted on June 26, 2009
AP: "I hope you don't doubt the president's commitment," Biden said during a 20-minute address at the gathering. Assuring donors and other guests that Obama would keep the nation focused on "the unfinished business of true equality for all our people," the vice president said, "I don't blame you for your impatience...

Long court battle ends in evangelist?s favor

Posted on June 26, 2009
OneNewsNow: "'This is a meeting room in a library that is basically open to about anything you can imagine, from meetings of political parties -- the Democrats had meetings there -- to tryouts for 'American Idol' to you name it, and that the only thing that was singled out were certain types of religious meetings,' he notes...

Judge says ministry can leaflet at PrideFest

Posted on June 26, 2009
Southern Voice: "The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund says an order was issued last week that will allow the Apple of His Eye organization to share its religious views and pass out leaflets at the Pride event in St. Louis."

China report: Hospital dumps 6 aborted fetuses

Posted on June 26, 2009
AP: "A hospital in central China dumped six aborted human fetuses and the bodies of two people at a construction site, state media said Friday."

Late-term abortion ban protects ?weakest, most helpless beings,? federal court rules

Posted on June 26, 2009
Catholic News Agency: "Jordan Lorence, Senior Counsel for the pro-life Alliance Defense Fund, said the initial ruling of the three-judge panel 'conflicted significantly' with the U.S. Supreme Court?s decision. 'No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless...

ACLU checks schools, religious freedom violations

Posted on June 26, 2009
Dallas Morning News (AP): "ACLU attorney Fleming Terrell says the organization has received complaints about teachers participating in religious extracurricular clubs and displaying crosses, and about Gideon Bibles being distributed in Navasota schools...

Marriage: ?It takes a congregation?

Posted on June 26, 2009
David P. Goldman writing at First Things: "Humankind fights mortality in two ways. The first is to raise children who will remember us, and the second is to seek eternal life through divine grace. The estate of marriage involves both."

BBC supports Islam and attacks Christianity, says the former BBC Radio 2 presenter

Posted on June 26, 2009
Christian Concern for Our Nation: "A former BBC Radio 2 presenter claimed that the corporation is biased against churches and has embarked on a wider secularist campaign to get rid of Christianity . . . He added: ?They?re keen on Islam, they're keen on programmes that attack the Christian church...

Cloning? Polygamy? Affair is worse, say most

Posted on June 26, 2009
Newsday: Ninety-two percent of those polled say that it's morally wrong for married people to have an affair. Even more wrong than cloning a human, for instance. Only 88 percent of people say that's wrong . . . Committing suicide? 80 percent. Polygamy? 91 percent ...

House passes climate-change bill

Posted on June 26, 2009
Politico: "The House of Representatives passed a sweeping climate-change bill Friday ? a major victory for President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that left Republicans fuming about a ?national energy tax? they said would exacerbate the nation?s economic woes...

?Missouri Appeals Court Rejects Lesbian Co-Parent Custody and Child Support Claims?

Posted on June 26, 2009
Leonard Link: "A three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, ruled on June 23 that a lesbian co-parent?s attempt to establish legal ties with the child born to her former partner could not be entertained on the merits under Missouri?s archaic family law, and that she also could not seek financial support from her former partner for the child whom she bore during their relationship...

?Indiana Appeals Court Rules for Lesbian Mom on Grandparent Visitation Claim?

Posted on June 26, 2009
Leonard Link: "A unanimous three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled on June 23 in Matter of Visitation of C.LH., 2009 Westlaw 1765688, that a trial judge, Hendricks Superior Court Judge Karen M. Love, abused her discretion in ordering that the homophobic grandparents of a lesbian mother be given ten hours a month of visitation with their young grandson...

Secondary effects and the 3 acts of David Souter

Posted on June 26, 2009
FirstAmendmentCenter.org: "Justice David Souter played a pivotal and somewhat unusual role in the development of a most important doctrine in First Amendment law ? something called secondary effects. In his three acts in this area, which involves adult entertainment, he expanded the doctrine, partially retracted his earlier position and called for the creation of a new category in the Court?s larger free-speech methodology...

Washington: ?Take me out to the strip club? Judge says play ball?

Posted on June 26, 2009
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Oh, baseball. America's pastime. Cracker Jack. Cold beer. Hot dogs. And body glitter? That's the upshot of a decision issued Friday by a King County Superior Court judge, who cleared the way for a proposed Déjà Vu strip club -- adult cabaret in the court's parlance -- near Safeco Field...

Focus Action gambling analyst discusses the damaging influence of casino interests in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

Posted on June 26, 2009
Focus on the Family Action: "A new report from the government watchdog group Common Cause has found that gambling interests donated more than $4.3 million to candidates for public office in Pennsylvania over the last seven years."

Apple confirms it banned iPhone porn app

Posted on June 26, 2009
CNET.com: "'Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content,' Apple's statement reads. 'The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content...

MN Teen Challenge target of church-state complaint

Posted on June 26, 2009
Minnesota Independent: " In a letter to Holder, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State argue that MNTC has used taxpayer money to promote a specific Christian viewpoint in its programming." The letter.

Court Nominee Criticized as Relying on Foreign Law

Posted on June 26, 2009
NY Times: "Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, sharply criticized Judge Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday, accusing her of relying too heavily on international law in her opinions, which he said raised doubts in his mind about how she would interpret the Constitution as a member of the Supreme Court...

China Suspends 1,000 Lawyers

Posted on June 26, 2009
Legal Blog Watch: ". . . Shanghai human rights lawyer Ma Tianlin believes the suspension of licenses is retaliation by the Beijing Justice Bureau over the fact that many Beijing lawyers have demanded direct election of members to the Beijing Bar Association...

Porn Makes Its Way to iPhone

Posted on June 26, 2009
Citizen Link: "Pressure from the public can have a huge impact on a business, according to Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. That's why families must continue to let Apple know how they feel about porn being available on the iPhone...

Another Supreme Court abortion case developing

Posted on June 25, 2009
SCOTUSblog: "Two years after the Supreme Court last ruled on abortion restrictions, a new test case is likely on its way to the Court, perhaps reaching there by next Fall. Responding to an order by the Justices to take a new look at a Virginia abortion ban, the Fourth Circuit Court on Wednesday upheld the law...

TX: Nueces County to pay $15K settlement in SOB suit

Posted on June 25, 2009
Caller-Times: "Nueces County will pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit involving a sexually oriented business that was denied a permit."

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