Religion & Law

MT: GOP lawmaker wants to remove repeal sodomy law

Posted on September 20, 2010
Bozeman Daily Chronicle: "A Republican lawmaker says it is time to remove from the books an obsolete Montana law declaring homosexual acts illegal. State Sen. John Brueggeman says he is requesting a draft of a bill to strike down the law. The bill would be considered by the 2011 Legislature, which convenes in January...

Snowe wants more debate on Defense authorization bill

Posted on September 20, 2010
"The question is, whether we should be voting on [DADT repeal] before we have the benefit of the comprehensive review that President Obama?s Secretary of Defense ordered in March."

David Hacker: A blow to student liberty on Constitution Day

Posted on September 20, 2010
ADF Attorney David J. Hacker writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "In a disappointing setback for college student free speech, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled late Friday that Jonathan Lopez does not have standing to challenge the Los Angeles Community College District?s speech code on its face (ADF represents Mr...

9th Circuit to hear Arizona immigration appeal Nov. 1

Posted on September 20, 2010
Associated Press: "[The 9th Circuit] says it will hear arguments Nov. 1 in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of a ruling that put parts of the state's new immigration law on hold."

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Canada: Edmonton archdiocese bans casino fundraising

Posted on September 20, 2010
CBC: "Catholic schools in Edmonton are being told to find new ways of raising revenues outside of casinos and other types of gambling. Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith has ordered all Catholic schools, community groups and other organizations to stop raising money through casinos and other types of gambling starting Oct...

PA: Officials in Scranton wrestle with questions of what a church is

Posted on September 20, 2010
The Scranton Times-Tribune: "The Rev. Harrison Putnam believes the former Trinity United Church of Christ hall at 510 Prospect Ave. is a church, in part because it is 'where we worshipped with our children.' The reverend disagrees with a Scranton Zoning Hearing Board ruling in August the hall at 510 Prospect Ave...

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ: ACLU challenges Lord?s Prayer at town meetings

Posted on September 20, 2010
Daily Record: "The saying of the Lord's Prayer at the start of Borough Council meetings has sparked a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on behalf of a local resident who is Jewish and believes the recitation is an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity and thus a violation of her civil rights...

Poll: 7 of 10 UK Catholics support abortion and use of contraception

Posted on September 20, 2010
UK Independent: "Seven out of 10 British Catholics believe that a woman should have the right to choose whether to have an abortion . . . The poll conducted by YouGov, which also revealed that nine out of 10 Catholic worshippers support the wide availability of contraception, quizzed a sample of more than 1,600 practising Catholics about their views on the vexed issues of abortion and contraception...

UK: Diners ?unknowingly eating Halal? at Wembley

Posted on September 20, 2010
BBC News: "Sporting venues across London routinely serve Halal meat to customers without informing them, it has emerged . . . Twickenham and Wembley Stadiums and Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital admitted they served it without telling diners."

Macedonia: Muslims seek help against infiltrating Wahhabi groups

Posted on September 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Moderate Muslims in Macedonia are urging the government and the international community to crack down on radical Wahhabi groups on the rise in the country."

Muslim groups back Ground Zero mosque

Posted on September 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Leaders of prominent U.S. Muslim groups called Monday for a national week of interfaith dialogue to combat religious intolerance and said they support the right to build a controversial Islamic center near ground zero."

Wisconsin governor seeks to remove sexting DA

Posted on September 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Wisconsin's governor said Monday he would start the process of removing a district attorney caught sending sexually harassing text messages to a domestic abuse victim."

Israel: ?Gay adoption policy undergoes reform?

Posted on September 20, 2010
Ynet: "The numbers of same-sex families who adopted children has doubled during the past year, according to data published Monday by the ministry . . . Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog introduced a reform to adoption regulations, which allowed women to officially adopt the children of their partners ...

NY law lets unmarried adults jointly adopt child

Posted on September 20, 2010
WCAX (AP): "The measure signed by Gov. David Paterson also substitutes the gender-neutral term 'married couple' in the adoption statute for 'husband and wife.'"

9th Circuit: Oregon law protecting minors from sexually explicit materials held unconstitutional

Posted on September 20, 2010
Powell’s Books v. Kroger, No. 09-35153 (9th Cir. Sept. 20, 2010) Before: Ferdinand F. Fernandez, M. Margaret McKeown, and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges. Excerpts from the opinion follow McKEOWN, Circuit Judge: We consider here the constitutionality of a pair of Oregon statutes intended to stop child sexual abuse in its early stages...

House panel moves bill requiring feds to ask about sexual orientation, identity

Posted on September 20, 2010
FOX News: "A House panel last week advanced a bill that would for the first time require federal health officials to ask patients about their sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposal introduced by Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the first openly gay woman elected to Congress, cleared a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on a party-line vote Thursday...

OH: Bowling Green to vote on discrimination issue

Posted on September 20, 2010
ABC: "Voters in Bowling Green will soon decide the city's definition of discrimination . . . the group One Bowling Green wants to expand the definition to include 12 additional characteristics, including gender identity and sexual orientation."

Senate?s ?Don?t Ask? repeal to face challenges

Posted on September 20, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "[I]n an interview with liberal pundit Rachel Maddow Wednesday evening, Vice President Joe Biden revealed the lack of a strong consensus among Democrat senators over the DADT repeal. While Biden said Republicans would only filibuster over the DADT 'if they're as foolish as I think they may be,' he admitted that the 55 Senate votes favoring repeal were scraped together with some difficulty...

N.J. Senate to hold ?family planning? override vote

Posted on September 20, 2010
Associated Press: "Democrats in the New Jersey Senate will hold a longshot vote today to restore $7.5 million in funding to 58 women's health clinics." More from the Essex County Conservative Examiner.

Neb. abortion docs to file fetus? age with state

Posted on September 20, 2010
BusinessWeek: "Nebraska doctors will soon be required to report an aborted fetus' gestational age to the state as part of a first-of-its-kind law that will ban abortions starting at 20 weeks based on assertions that fetuses feel pain at that stage of development...

Baylor President Starr touts Christian education, announces $100 million funding plan

Posted on September 20, 2010
The Baptist Standard: "American higher education needs Christian institutions like Baylor University, and Christian higher education must find a better way to fund its programs, rather than continuing to increase students? financial burdens, Baylor President Ken Starr said...

La.: New Iberia standard plaque will be offered for memorials in response to cross problem

Posted on September 20, 2010
The Daily Iberian: "Memorial plaques have been removed from trees at New Iberia City Park in response to what New Iberia Mayor Hilda Curry said was a growing problem regarding memorials and crosses in the city."

Mississippi House passes ?Bless our Schools Day?

Posted on September 20, 2010
Natchez Democrat: "In a recent special legislative session, the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a resolution designating today ? Sept. 19, 2010 ? as 'Bless our Schools Day ? A day of prayer for children and schools in Mississippi.'"

Scotland: Religious leaders attack proposal for the ?right-to-die?

Posted on September 20, 2010
The Herald: "Religious leaders will this week mount a concerted attack on proposals to help the terminally ill die with dignity, warning MSPs they would devalue human life, pervert the doctor-patient relationship and become a 'cover for murder.'"

AK: Pro Abort Lisa Murkowski to run a write-in campaign

Posted on September 17, 2010
"Just as Frank and Lisa Murkowski put their own interests ahead of the nation?s eight years ago with nepotism, Lisa will once again put political ambition ahead of love for country."

Austrian Economics: A Primer

Posted on September 17, 2010
Eamonn Butler: "Austrian School economists gave us the ideas of marginal utility, opportunity cost, and the importance of time and ignorance in shaping human choices and the markets, prices and production systems that stem from them. ?Austrian? economics has revolutionised our understanding of what money is, why economic booms invariably turn to damaging busts, why government intervention in the economy is a mistake, the importance of time and information in economic decision-making, the crucial role of entrepreneurship, and how much economic policy is just plain wrong...

Marriage is the most effective weapon against childhood poverty

Posted on September 17, 2010
"Since marital decline drives up child poverty and welfare dependence, and since the poor aspire to healthy marriage but lack the norms, understanding, and skills to achieve it, it is reasonable for government to take active steps to strengthen marriage...

New Republic: National media persistently underestimates the role of abortion in ?right-wing? politics

Posted on September 17, 2010
Ed Kilgore writing at The New Republic: "Perhaps because the national media tend to be secular, we are persistently underestimating the role that abortion plays in right-wing politics. Yet it is key to understanding some of the zealous opposition that caused GOP primary voters to overthrow Mike Castle [in Delaware]...

New TLC series aims to end ?discrimination? against polygamy

Posted on September 17, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "The stars of a controversial new TLC television show are gearing up to help change America's idea of the family, encourage an end to what they call 'discrimination' and promote legal acceptance of a new definition of marriage."

Ballot box: More pro-life primary victories in New York

Posted on September 17, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Pro-life candidates (not all of them Tea Partiers) won big Tuesday night in GOP primaries, putting them in competitive or underdog races against pro-abortion challengers in the upcoming November 2 election especially in New York. Here is a look at some of the political landscape for the pro-life movement in the Empire State...

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