Daily Archives: May 30, 2008

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin court threw out a challenge to the state’s marriage amendment Friday, ruling that the amendment does not violate state law.

LifeNews.com reports: “A new Gallup poll finds just 28 percent of Americans take a pro-abortion position on the question of when abortions should be allowed. Another 71 percent of Americans either want all abortions to be illegal or want them …

Janet M. LaRue has this article on Townhall. She begins: “Marriage, it doesn’t mean anything.” That’s what Barack Obama told wife Michelle while they were dating, according to her recent interview in The New Yorker. But he’s telling voters that …

KSL.com reports: Parents say sex education went too far inside the classroom full of 8th-graders at Fort Herriman Middle School. Suzanne Johnson told us, “She explained how the teacher talked about masturbation. Girl masturbation, boys, the wrong ways … the …

The North Carolina Family Policy Council reports: A bill that would appropriate $16 million of state taxpayer dollars for stem cell research in North Carolina was introduced in the State Senate this week. The bill, SB 1965—Funds/Stem Cell Research, sponsored …

The Campaign for California Families has issued this press release on the Christian Newswire. It begins: With both the California Supreme Court and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refusing to abide by constitutional separation of powers and the California statutes recognizing only …

CWNews reports: The Vatican has announced that any Catholic bishop who attempts the ordination of a woman to the priesthood, and any woman who participates in such a ceremony, is subject to automatic excommunication . . . The Vatican document …

The ACLU of Ohio has issued this press release which includes a link to their Show Cause Motion. The Mansfield News Journal has this report: Richland County Judge says ACLU seeks to stifle free speech. It begins: Richland County Common …

The AP reports (Findlay, Ohio): “The American Civil Liberties Union is warning Findlay school leaders to stop a group from handing out Bibles to students during class time.” The ACLU of Ohio press release and demand letter are here.

It is interesting how a headline changes perception to such a great extent. Angus Reid has issued a press release titled: Americans Support Conditional Abortion. It indicates: . . . 54 per cent of respondents say abortions should be legal …

A Saskatchewan human rights tribunal has fined a Regina marriage commissioner $2,500 for declining to perform a same-sex “marriage” ceremony on religious grounds even though he referred the couple to another commissioner.

Samantha Singson reports on LifeSiteNews.com: Last week the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted its annual population award ceremony at the United Nations to honor an individual and an organization for “outstanding” work in the population field, including family planning. This …

Some Catholics fear the treaty will create loopholes allowing the EU to force Ireland to relax its strict abortion laws, permit same sex marriages and erode what they regard as traditional religious values.

The AP reports: Ten states have taken action in recent months to crack down on sexually abusive teachers following a stream of arrests and reports that have documented the problem of educators victimizing students . . . At least four …

LifeNews.com reports: Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell said on Friday he plans to ask the full 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to hold a hearing on the state’s partial-birth abortion ban. A panel of three judges from the court, in …

“The Supreme Court of Canada has sided with a pro-life nurse who was disciplined by the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses for protesting outside an abortion business. Bill Whatcott lost his nursing license in January 2005 when he was found guilty of unprofessional conduct.”

The AP reports: The company behind shows featuring dissected human cadavers concedes in a settlement with the state announced Thursday that it cannot independently verify the origin of the bodies and will offer refunds to people who attended its New …

Had a mid-century GI used “Mein Kampf” for target practice, I noted, Gen. George S. Patton would hardly have kissed one to appease a band of former Nazis . . .

The states involved are Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4538 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND NEWS RELEASE May 30, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ACLU fails to silence religious expression in Wilson County schools Religious expression can and will continue despite ACLU efforts …

[Toronto Imam] Hindy is using polygamy as a proxy for his fundamentalist version of Islam, something he wants to see legitimized in Canadian society as a whole. It is part of an attempt at empire building. . .

Andrew Zangrillia has this commentary on Findlaw. He writes: The legal profession is in the midst of a fundamental change, according to some inside observers. Critics of the status quo insist that aging law firm structures are no longer serving …

John-Henry Westen reports on LifeSiteNews.com with this subcaption: Bishops avoid engaging tough issues out of fear of “getting in trouble”; “martys really got in trouble”; “so what if somebody gets angry at you”

The jail will continue to classify inmates based on their genitalia, but D.C. Department of Corrections has created additional security measures and formalized the possibility of placing a transgendered person into protective custody, according to a May 10 memo.

A federal judge on Thursday barred school districts statewide from holding the daily moment of silence suitable for prayer that is required under state law.

There are estimates of 50,000 to 100,000 Muslims in the United States living in polygamous marriages, according to the NPR series.

The point is that there is no single model for religious experience. Humans are capable of many different modes of being religious, and the brain subserves them all in predictable and measurable ways . . . his research will not support traditional monotheistic faith in God, though it may spark a renaissance of spiritual exploration by researchers of a poly- or pantheistic bent.

Bill McConkey filed a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin in July 2007 over the way that the amendment appeared on a ballot in November 2006 . . . The Madison-based Wisconsin Family Council filed a motion through the Alliance Defense Fund . . .

The fact that a show with such strong sexual themes landed not on a freewheeling cable channel but on a once-genteel network astounded nearly everyone — including the show’s creative team.

Clearly, the imposition of same sex marriage will have repercussions that extend far beyond simply having the state calling committed “gay” couples “married” instead of “domestic partners.”

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In Cedar Lake Conference Association v. Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, (IN Tax Ct., May 28, 2008), the Indiana Tax Court concluded that a Christian campground was entitled to a property tax …

Time Magazine reports: Ahmadinejad’s defeat in the Majlis is the latest sign of the ferment within Iran’s ruling conservative coalition, which dominates the legislature. Larijani engineered two impressive political victories, first to win a seat in the 290-member assembly, and …

The average age for sexual consent across Asia is roughly 14.5 years (actually 14.7 for heterosexual relations and between 13.8 to 14.5 for homosexual sex of both genders). The West isn’t so far off; for example, in the US the average legal age for sexual consent is 16, as determined by state.

Acting on an application by the Istanbul governor’s office, the prosecutor said that LambdaIstanbul violated a constitutional provision on the protection of the family and an article banning bodies “with objectives that violate law and morality.”

Equality Giving carries this commentary by Professor Tobias Wolff of the U. of Pensylvania School of Law. He discusses the California Supreme Court marriage decision and reviews the effects of the Defense of Marriage Act.

How Appealing links to the case and numerous reports here and here on the yesterday’s ruling in Doninger v. Niehoff, No. 07-3885 (2nd Cir. May 29, 2008). Regarding the case: . . . Doninger sued Defendants-Appellees Karissa Niehoff and Paula …

The Bishop of of the Paterson New Jersey Roman Catholic diocese has written this column that begins: In the last 50 years, the modern landscape of sexual mores has shifted in dramatic ways. The acceptance of unilateral divorce, cohabitation, alternate …

The point I wish to underscore here is not that gay people cannot be good parents (just as many single mothers and fathers are good parents), but that there is something special and distinctive about sexual unions that can both create life and connect those babies to a mother and father.

Eugene Volokh comments on and links to the opinion in this post on the Volokh Conspiracy. The AP reports: Court: Sect children should be returned to parents. It begins: “In a crushing blow to the state’s massive seizure of children …

NPR reports: “As more and more Chinese go to college, U.S. universities are trying to grab a piece of this growing market.”

WorldNetDaily reports: “Public school students at Friendswood Junior High in the Houston area have been roped into Islamic training by representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations during class time, prompting religious leaders to protest over Principal Robin Lowe’s actions.”

The Chicago Tribune reports: Divorce and domestic violence are probably the last things on the minds of loving couples when they buy marriage licenses. But statistics suggest they shouldn’t be, considering that half of all marriages end in divorce and …

OneNewsNow reports: Officials in Ramsey County, Minnesota have sent letters to more than 800 churches and related entities there demanding various documents to justify the tax-exempt status of the ministries. Christian legal experts call the move illegal harassment. Douglas Napier, …

. . . what will happen to those marriages if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would restrict marriage to the union of a man and a woman? . . .

AFP reports: The US military said on Friday it was probing complaints that marines handed out coins inscribed with a verse from the Bible to a group of Sunni Muslims in Iraq, sparking outrage among local residents. It said a …

The New York Law Journal: Fairness and fear of legal liability convinced New York Gov. David A. Paterson to direct all state agencies to immediately recognize as valid same-sex marriages solemnized outside of New York, the governor said Thursday. “If …

Delaying enactment of the ruling would improperly mix judicial and political affairs, attorney general argues. Opponents had requested a stay until November, when a measure will appear on state ballot .

The NY Times reports: Legal challenges to Gov. David A. Paterson’s plan to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions are likely to come thick and fast. But they face an uphill fight, legal experts said on Thursday, given New York’s …

“This is your government in action. It represents a payback to Tim Gill and two other billionaires who have essentially ‘bought’ the state Legislature with enormous campaign contributions. Coloradans deserve better!”