Religion & Law

?Same-sex couples may feel pressure to raise heterosexual kids?

Posted on September 17, 2010
BusinessWeek: "Social pressure for gay parents to raise heterosexual children can cause stress for these families and make it harder for gay children of gay parents to get the support they need, says an expert."

Brazilian pastor threatened by gov?t for opposing pro-abortion policies

Posted on September 17, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "A Brazilian pastor is being threatened with 'legal measures' by government officials following a sermon condemning the ruling party's support for decriminalizing abortion, the homosexual agenda, and infanticide committed by indigenous tribes in the Amazon rain forest...

NJ Superior Court reverses injunction against sexually oriented business, holds internet is not sufficient ?alternative forum?

Posted on September 17, 2010
Borough of Sayreville v. 35 Club, LLC, No. A-3537-08T1 (N.J. Super. App. Div. Sept. 17, 2010)

Illinois: Plan Commission votes against rooming house for Orthodox campus group

Posted on September 17, 2010
Daily Chronicle: "A proposal by a campus ministry wishing to create a rooming house for Northern Illinois University students was rejected by the DeKalb Plan Commission."

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Planning to burn a Koran = $200,000 bill from the gov?t for policing costs?

Posted on September 17, 2010
Gainesville Sun: "The cost of policing the Dove World Outreach Center for the planned Quran burning that never happened is expected to come to about $100,000 each for the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, officials say...

Ave Maria will cooperate with Law School Transparency project

Posted on September 17, 2010
Law.com: "Ave Maria School of Law ? a Roman Catholic law school that moved in 2009 from Ann Arbor, Mich. to Naples, Fla. ? agreed on Thursday to provide detailed employment data for its graduates to the nonprofit organization."

Raheel Raza at the United Nations: Muslims more free in West than in Islamic countries

Posted on September 17, 2010
International Humanist and Ethical Union: "Famous human rights activist, Board member of the Muslim Canadian Congress and International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) Representative Raheel Raza confronts Tariq Ramadan and the Pakistani Ambassador representing the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)...

Motion for rehearing filed in Texas same-sex divorce case

Posted on September 17, 2010
Dallas Voice: "Attorneys for a gay Dallas man who?s seeking a divorce from his husband filed a motion this week requesting a re-hearing of the case by the full 5th District Court of Appeals." PDF of the motion is here.

German Foreign Minister enters civil partnership

Posted on September 17, 2010
Businessweek: "German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle married his long-time partner Michael Mronz, Bild newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information."

UK: Pair convicted of running illegal fertility company

Posted on September 17, 2010
Guardian: "Two men were facing jail today after being convicted of running an illegal fertility company providing women with access to sperm donors. Nigel Woodforth, 43, ran the operation from the basement of his home in Reading, Berkshire, with 49-year-old Ricky Gage...

9th Circuit dismisses ?ask God what your grade is? case on standing grounds

Posted on September 17, 2010
"A federal appeals court has tossed out the lawsuit of a California community college student who claimed that a teacher illegally berated him in class for making a speech opposing same-sex marriage."

Pope at Westminster: Religion in the public square, Thomas More?s trial is still before us

Posted on September 17, 2010
And yet the fundamental questions at stake in Thomas More?s trial continue to present themselves in ever-changing terms as new social conditions emerge. Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: what are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse.

MT: Bozeman expected to adopt resolution supporting ?gay rights? suit

Posted on September 17, 2010
KULR 8: "The city of Bozeman is expected to adopt a resolution that supports seven gay couples who are suing the state for the same rights as married couples."

Turkish referendum: Neo-Ottomans victorious

Posted on September 17, 2010
Srdja Trifkovic writing at Chronicles: "Over the past eight years, Prime Minister Rejep Tayyip Erdo?an?s Islamist government and his AKP (Justice and Development Party) have been successful in undermining Mustafa Kemal?s legacy and the character of the state founded upon that legacy...

NC: King Christian flag fight not over

Posted on September 17, 2010
WXII 12: "Religious leaders and local veterans have vowed to raise money to take on any potential legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union over the right to fly a Christian flag at a city owned veteran's memorial in King." Related: NC: Christian flag removed from veterans park after ACLU inquiry

Dubai: Woman fights to ban music during call to prayer

Posted on September 17, 2010
The National: "Although there is no federal law against playing music during prayers, the Department of Economic Development can issue fines in individual cases. Penalties include a warning with a follow-up for a first offence, a fine of Dh500 for a second and Dh1,000 for a third...

White House bypasses Senate, avoids confirmation fight for consumer czar, NOW applauds

Posted on September 17, 2010
ABC: "President Obama today selected Elizabeth Warren, who's idolized by liberals but loathed by financial executives, to help create the controversial new consumer protection agency she first proposed several years ago . . . The president's decision, first reported by ABC News' Jake Tapper, will give Warren an important role in creation of the bureau, but will avoid a confirmation fight in the Senate, a political maneuver that has upset lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle...

Mexico to U.S.: Promise of a better life leads to the nightmare of sexual slavery

Posted on September 17, 2010
CNN: "According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency that monitors employment, standards, and social protection issues, there are about 12.3 million victims of human trafficking around the world . . . Several cases have been successfully prosecuted in states, including Georgia and New York, against prostitution rings that operate in the same way...

More veteran chaplains express grave religious liberty concerns over homosexual agenda in military

Posted on September 17, 2010
The number of highly distinguished veteran chaplains expressing religious liberty concerns over any dismantling of the military?s policy against openly practiced homosexual behavior has increased with the addition of numerous signatures to a letter to President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert M...

Turkey may bar Greek Orthodox mass at Hagia Sophia

Posted on September 16, 2010
Reuters: "About 200 Greek Orthodox Christians want to travel to Istanbul to try to hold mass at the former basilica of Hagia Sophia, defying Turkish law that bars religious services in what is now a museum. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said Ankara could stop the group from entering Turkey if they pose a security threat...

Erik Stanley: Seriously, an official ACLU Day?? $407 Million Dollars?

Posted on September 16, 2010
ADF Attorney Erik Stanley writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: "Imagine my surprise . . . when I see trumpeted on the ACLU?s website the fact that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued an official proclamation stating that September 15 is 'ACLU Day...

Israel Supreme Court: Jerusalem must fund ?gay center?

Posted on September 16, 2010
Boston.com (AP): "Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the Jerusalem city government to provide more than $120,000 in funding for a prominent gay community center."

Ken Livingstone promises new ?gay rights? measures if elected London mayor

Posted on September 16, 2010
Pink News: "London mayoral hopeful Ken Livingstone has promised that if elected in 2012, he will appoint a LGBT advisory board and hold an annual Pride reception."

Morning-after pill distorts abortion figures in Spain, experts assert

Posted on September 16, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Spain?s Health Minister, Trinidad Jimenez, attributed the decline in the unofficial number of first-time abortions to the legalization of the morning-after pill. According to the newspaper La Razon, Jimenez said abortions have dropped by more than 3,000 since 2008...

In Delaware?s Senate race, frustration with GOP boiled over

Posted on September 16, 2010
Amy Gardner and Sandhya Somashekhar writing at The Washington Post: "A sentiment had taken hold that party elders weren't listening, weren't true to conservative beliefs and assumed that everyone who votes Republican would go along with their decisions, just as they always had...

WI: Lt. Governor to speak at Freedom From Religion conference

Posted on September 16, 2010
Badger Herald: "In a move some have termed politically risky, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton will address the Freedom From Religion Foundation at a convention in Madison next month."

Log Cabin Republicans seek ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? injunction

Posted on September 16, 2010
NPR: "A gay rights group will ask a federal judge Thursday to order the Pentagon to stop enforcing 'don't ask, don't tell,' the law barring gays from serving openly in the military . . . 'We want her to block any further enforcement or application of don't ask, don't tell wherever we have military operations ? not just in California, not just in this country but wherever we have military bases anywhere in the world,' [attorney Dan Woods] said...

RI: ?Gay mayor wins Dem nod for Kennedy House seat?

Posted on September 16, 2010
USA Today / On Politics: "Providence's openly gay mayor, David Cicilline, won the Democratic nomination in a Rhode Island congressional race. He's vying to replace Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who announced plans to step down earlier this year."

NC: Christian flag removed from veterans park after ACLU inquiry

Posted on September 16, 2010
digtriad.com: "Cater said at the advice of the city attorney, the city council voted Wednesday night to take down the Christian flag. They cited the enormous cost associated with fighting the potential lawsuit on the issue."

MA: Video shows public middle school boys joining Muslim men in prayer at controversial, Saudi-funded Boston mosque

Posted on September 16, 2010
PR Newswire: "Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) today released a disturbing video showing Wellesley Massachusetts public middle school boys taking part in Muslim prayers during a field trip to a mosque. The video raises serious questions about permitting school children to visit the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center ? the controversial Saudi-funded mosque in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston...

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