Daily Archives: February 23, 2009

Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi fears a sharp increase in polygamy in the UK is becoming a threat to community cohesion.

A state Senate committee on Friday rejected a proposal to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Less than a month after the City Council amended its adult-entertainment ordinances, the city is preparing for a do-over, City Manager Greg Kisela says.

Conservatives, in turn, need to face the corollary truth: A culture of life requires an ethic of contraception. Birth control isn’t a sin or an offense against life, as so many girls and Catholic couples have been taught. It’s a loving, conscientious way to prevent the conception of a child you can’t bear to raise and don’t want to abort. It’s an act of responsibility and respect for life.

The School Law Blog reports: The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear the appeal of a Kentucky student who challenged a school policy that he believed barred him from speaking out against homosexuality . . . The justices declined …

Maggie Gallagher writes at National Review Online: The New York Times published an op-ed by David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch, proposing a Big New Idea: Federal recognition of state-level civil unions and same-sex marriage but if and only if those states …

The Courier: The man who threatened to sue the town of Corning early last year for rejecting his proposal to open a strip club on River Road is again at odds with town officials. Wayne Swartz was charged recently with …

Tampabay.com: Deputies began searching for Kylee Jean Copeland, 18, after she left her job as a dancer and waitress at the Showgirls strip club at 4210 US Highway 92 about 3:20 a.m. Saturday. Copeland hadn’t made contact with her family, …

PR Newswire: Leonard Fox a/k/a Anton a/k/a “Daddy” pleaded guilty today to a federal civil rights charge for sex trafficking of minors, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Lawrence J. Laurenzi …

Tamara Dietrich writes at The Daily Press: This local case seems straightforward enough. Three illegal immigrants — two men and a woman — charged with running brothels from 2006-2008 in which three other illegal immigrants — identified in the indictment …

Christian Newswire: “On Monday the Virginia Senate  Courts of Justice Committee voted 8-6-1 along party lines to kill a pro-faith bill, HB2314, which would have restored the rights of Virginia State Police Chaplains to pray publicly ‘in Jesus name.’”

Online Casino Advisory: The Presidential election this past fall revealed a rift between the two main components of the Republican Party, and the response to a Democratic bill legalizing online gambling may indicate which branch will control the Party’s future. …

Greg Moran writes at the San Diego Union Tribune: Tucked deep within the state Supreme Court’s sweeping decision in May that struck down same-sex-marriage bans for a time is a single sentence that will have a significant effect for years …

The Providence Journal: This year’s renewed drive for same-sex marriage has once again pitted Democrat against Democrat and Republican against Republican at the State House in a seemingly intractable conflict over fundamental beliefs, while middle-grounders — such as the new …

BBC: US authorities have rescued nearly 50 child prostitutes – some as young as 13 – in a nationwide operation against the trafficking of children for sex. More than 570 suspects were arrested during the action, which took place over …

Coastal Courier: Tru Playas owner Calvin Barrett said his thriving 10-year-old business will be severely impaired if he’s required to comply with the Liberty County commissioners’ proposed changes in the county’s adult entertainment ordinance. “If you change that ordinance … …

This Article contends that excluding apparently religious perspectives from public debate may inadvertently exclude non-religious perspectives as well, consequently impoverishing public discussion. This contention is demonstrated through an examination of the current debate over embryonic stem cell research, in which the pro-life position is often declared unacceptably religious. The truth is that those who envision the unborn as under construction in the womb do not find a human being present when gestation has just begun, while those who understand the unborn to be developing see an identity of being from conception. But neither view is based on religion. To disqualify the pro-life view as religious would exclude from public debate an important secular perspective.

The Charleston Gazette: The cause made headway last year, when the state Senate unanimously passed a bill that would have added sexual orientation, “actual or perceived,” to the state’s human rights laws. Current legislation covers age, race, gender, religion and …

AP: “Senate Bill 88 must pass another vote before it can be sent to the House. he state Senate has given initial backing to extending health insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees.”

FRC has issued this event invitation: WHY ISN’T ANYONE TELLING OUR KIDS ABOUT THE OTHER DANGERS OF CASUAL SEX? March 25, 2009 Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (ET) You are cordially invited to a Policy Lecture at the Family …

“A federal judge in Connecticut has ordered a man convicted of possessing child pornography to pay about $200,000 in restitution to a woman photographed as a child while being sexually abused . . . ”

LifeSiteNews: “Ignoring a letter signed by 44 members of the State House of Representatives Friday, Florida State Attorney Katherine Rundle issued a statement indicating that no decision has been made on the filing of criminal charges against abortionist Pierre Renelique …

LifeSiteNews: “Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe on Friday signed into law a state ban on partial-birth abortion, following the bill’s overwhelming support in both Congressional houses . . . “

Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: Salazar v. Buono, which the Court agreed to hear today, involves a relatively unusual fact pattern . . . But resolving this question may well lead the Court to reconsider the deeper constitutional …

LifeNews: “The Montana Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would limit the misuse of the privacy clause in the state constitution to allow for unlimited abortions. Montana is one of a handful of states where the state Supreme Court has …

CBS42.com: The controversial stance of keeping homosexuals from joining the Presbyterian clergy has just been dropped. A group representing the majority of Presbyterians in Alabama has cast a vote that could call for a big division within the denomination. Thursday’s …

KXMC.com: “The judge who ruled that physician-assisted suicide is legal in Montana has ordered the state to pay attorneys’ fees to the plaintiffs’ lawyers in an amount yet to be determined.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Page One Q reported yesterday on a decision handed down by the Washington State Human Rights Commission apparently allowing religious organizations to exclude gays and lesbians as volunteers. In March 2008, Tad Erichsen and John Footh were …

The Religion Clause Blog: “The lawsuit claimed violations of the Fair Housing Act and of RLUIPA in Nashville’s denial of zoning approval for a residential treatment center to Teen Challenge, a Christian substance abuse program . . . “

ADF President and General Counsel Alan Sears writes at Townhall: Cuba remains the ACLU’s “Fantasy Island,” where – to hear them tell it – happy Marxist children play together in perfect harmony, and the state makes sure its citizens are …

David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch write at the NY Times: We take very different positions on gay marriage. We have had heated debates on the subject. Nonetheless, we agree that the time is ripe for a deal that could give …

Washington Post: If we had it to do all over again, would we appoint Supreme Court justices for life? Allow the chief justice to keep the job forever? Let the court have the final word on which cases it hears …

CNSNews: Hawaii, the state that adopted the nation’s first “defense of marriage” constitutional amendment a decade ago, has now become the latest battleground in the fight for same-sex civil unions . . . The measure was passed by the state …

The Telegraph: PARENTS should avoid trying to convince their teenage children of the difference between right and wrong when talking to them about sex, a new government leaflet is to advise. Instead, any discussion of values should be kept “light” …

John McCormack writes at the Weekly Standard Blog: Ramesh Ponnuru takes apart a shoddy report on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) by Time magazine’s Amy Sullivan . . . Worst of all, Sullivan writes that it is a “false …

LA Times: “This saga of money, power and judicial politics in West Virginia has prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to consider for the first time whether big spending on a judge’s election can create an unconstitutional ‘appearance of bias’ that …

“The Supreme Court agreed Monday to step into a long-running legal fight over an 8-foot cross that stands as a war memorial in the vast Mojave National Preserve in California . . . ”

“The university should be a marketplace of ideas, not an institution for suppressing speech that is ‘unpopular’ with the academic elite,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco.

ADF attorney Jordan Lorence particpated in a marriage debate at Georgetown Law School which is webcast here. ADF press release: ADF attorney to debate same-sex ‘marriage,’ religious freedom at Georgetown

The Daily Cardinal: Critics of the domestic-partner benefits proposal in Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget are challenging its constitutionality in light of the 2006 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Wisconsin Family Council and affiliated groups contend the recent proposal creates a …

Reuters: “Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis . . . “

The Christian Post: A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a law that requires pornographers who take photos of people engaged in sexually explicit acts to provide “proof of age,” a ruling that strengthens prevention on the exploitation of children …

AFP: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday urged China to keep buying US debt as she wrapped up her first overseas trip, during which she agreed to work closely with Beijing on the financial crisis. Clinton made the plea …

The Billings Gazette: A Billings man in prison for drug possession has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Yellowstone County for alleged civil-rights violations, including interference with his satanic religious practices. Jason Paul Indreland claims in the U.S. District …

Cathy Ruse writes at Human Events: “President Barack Obama has nominated David Ogden for Deputy Attorney General.  It is another bad nomination that should not be confirmed.  Ogden is a hero to the porn industry for good reason. “

Courier-Journal: “U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning predicted over the weekend that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months . . . ” AP: “Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning apologized Monday to …

Muslim women who wear the hijab have for some time borne the brunt of public and institutional opposition to their religious dress. Of late, Muslim women who wear the niqab, or the full-face veil, have also found themselves to be the targets of arbitrary governmental policies and public objection. This chapter is an attempt to analyze opposition to the niqab in courtroom settings. It is argued that permitting women to wear the niqab in courtrooms does not impede justice. Opposition to the niqab is usually a knee-jerk response to difference that is typically not grounded in any rational understanding of the actual circumstances at issue. Part I of this chapter scrutinizes judicial assessment of credibility based on demeanour evidence, suggesting that demeanour is an inherently unreliable tool by which to judge truthfulness. The author argues that accommodations ought to be available to niqab-wearing women in their potentially multiple roles as lawyer, witness, jury member, judge or accused. Part II of the chapter suggests accommodation measures for niqab-wearing women in the few instances in which seeing their faces is necessary for the judicial task at hand. The illustrations in this chapter are drawn primarily from cases in Canada with some examples from Britain, the United States and New Zealand.

This paper introduces views both hostile to and supportive of the ideas of secularism and religious neutrality in the jurisprudence of Muslim minorities (fiqh al-aqalliyyat).

This essay argues that the four most plausible arguments compatible with public reason for an outright legal ban on all forms of polygamy are unvictorious. My purpose is not to survey exhaustively the empirical literature on contemporary forms of polygamy, but to tease out the types of arguments political liberals would have to insist on, and precisely how strongly, in order for a general prohibition against polygamy to be justified. The most common objection to polygamy is on grounds of gender equality, more specifically, female equality. But advancing this argument forcefully often involves neglecting the tendency of political liberalism (whatever name it goes by in contemporary, complex, multicultural societies) to tolerate a certain amount of inegalitarianism in private, within the bounds of robust and meaningful freedoms of choice and exit. Properly understood, polygamy involves no inherent statement about the essential inferiority of women, and certainly not more than many other existing practices and institutions (including many expressions of the main monotheistic religions) which political liberals regard as tolerable.

With the modern landscape of tech-savvy youths, today’s sexual predators employ online social networking sites (“OSNs”) as the new frontier for clandestine hunting grounds. These faceless cyber-sharks–the illicit spawn of the robust shelters created by § 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”)–have rapidly adapted to the free reign enjoyed in the unbridled habitat that is the internet. This Comment examines the surprisingly expansive immunity currently afforded to OSNs under the guise of the CDA. It also endorses the policies of website accountability and online sex-offender registration as complimentary techniques of combating today’s online predator crisis. Lastly, it serves to meet a growing need for the assemblage of cyber-law related information into an organized legal paper that explains several emerging concepts of liability for interactive internet service providers.

In fact, NCR leaders are perhaps more right than they know, because liberated sexuality (especially, and symbolically, homosexuality) is indeed a threat to the mythic nomos of religion as they understand it. Part III rejects the claim that debates about homosexuality are merely about homophobia or the simplistic dichotomy of “church and state.” Rather, when viewed with a more rigorous analytical framework (Part III utilizes the developmental models of theorist Ken Wilber, drawing on the work of Robert Kegan, Lawrence Kohlberg, Susann Cook-Greuter, and others), liberated homosexuality represents a change in the meaning of religion itself, a moving from what Wilber and others call a “mythic” understanding of religion to a “post-mythic” one.

This article proposes an approach that defines two legally recognized relationships. First, opposite-sex couples desiring a traditional marriage could choose the option that generally adopts portions of the covenant marriage law enacted thus far by three states. Second, all couples, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, could choose the option most similar to today’s current marriage relationship.

Visitation with children has been in the public and legal limelight for several decades. Despite the enormous interest evoked by this issue and the extensive concern with this right, confusion and dissatisfaction with existing legal rules surrounding visitation has only intensified. This article argues that the perplexity surrounding this issue reflects the absence of an underlying theory of visitation that would specify the interests and values that a right to visitation should aim to protect. It is further argued that the current perception of visitation rights as parental rights and the attempts to resolve the dilemmas prompted by visitation within a parental rights context thwart the development of a theory of visitation. The article proposes an alternative perspective on these dilemmas that challenges the fundamental premise of visitation as a parental right and as an integral component of the rights cluster associated with parental status. Instead, it is suggested to understand the right to visitation as independent of the cluster of rights associated with parental status and based on relational values.

Deciding to create a new human being as a member of one’s family may be as quintessential an aspect of personal liberties implied in the Constitution as the right to privacy. Prior decisions by the Supreme Court about contraception, informed consent, and abortion, among many other decisions, imply a respect for an area where governments should not interfere with individuals’ decisions concerning the creation of families.

This Note argues that many disciplinary alternative education programs (“AEPs”) violate both parents’ fundamental right to control their child’s education and students’ as yet unrecognized fundamental right to receive a minimally adequate education. These programs infringe parents’ fundamental right to guide their child’s upbringing by removing both the child and the child’s school from standards-based assessments, which confounds parents’ ability to compare their child’s education with their own values and to take action on the basis of that comparison. In addition, this Note argues that the right to receive a minimally adequate education is a longstanding tradition in America that has become increasingly essential to our ordered liberty along with the expansion of suffrage over the last century. AEPs often violate this right because they are unaligned with state education standards and do not offer an opportunity to earn a diploma. As part of its conclusions, this Note identifies solutions that, unlike the current model of AEPs, are narrowly tailored to achieve the state’s compelling interests in school discipline and in combating students’ disengagement from school.

This Article identifies three general categories of speech and health cases, represented by the three scenarios above, that illustrate how better to protect public health without compromising free speech.