Daily Archives: March 13, 2009

The North Carolina Family Policy Council:
The so-called Bullying Bill, which purports to be about safety but actually seeks to promote acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism in North Carolina public schools, was introduced in the General Assembly yesterday.

“Legislation that would make marriage gender neutral in Iowa appeared dead Friday after it was stripped from the list of measures to be take up by lawmakers this session . . . ”

The Stanford Progressive carries this interview with Mikey Weinstein founder of the Miltary Religious Freedom Foundation.

Tim Fox discusses the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church v. Montana Commissioner of Political Practices that ruled the State of Montana had violated the Constitutional rights of a small rural Baptist Church when it required the Church to register as an incidental political committee for speaking in support of Montana’s CI-96 ballot initiative amending the Montana Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

“President Obama faces a difficult decision as he weighs how to respond to judicial orders requiring the federal government to pay insurance benefits to the same-sex spouses of two lawyers . . ”

MyCentralJersey.com: A state appeals court has granted a reprieve to a Route 35 all-nude juice bar battling with the borough to stay open . . . The three-judge panel issued the order Thursday staying the judgment of Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman.

ADF What’s Left of the Constitution: Why is this important? The conscience of pro-life health care workers is likely the thing that leads many of them to dedicate their careers to saving lives. The repeal of these reasonable protections could drive these workers right out of the profession.

The Guardsman: The university attempted to sanction the group for a similar incident in 2007. The lawsuit’s settlement, filed on behalf of the College Republicans by the Alliance Defense Fund, required SFSU to pay attorney fees and change much of its free speech policy.

IRIN Asia: Concerns are growing that the global economic slump, which is causing increased joblessness, could see an increase in human trafficking, said specialists.

Int’l Herald Tribune (Reuters): Austrian police on Friday said they have broken an Internet child porn ring that stretched across 170 countries, charging nearly 200 men and confiscating 14,000 computers, hard drives and diskettes.

Macon.com (AP): Authorities have arrested 25 people, including two state-certified correctional officers, in a statewide crackdown on Internet child pornography described as the largest operation of its kind in Georgia.

The Capital reports: Despite slim prospects of success this year, the movement to permit gay marriage in Maryland continues to draw high-profile support . . . Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler . . .

WEEK (NBC): The City of Peoria has filed a lawsuit against Elliott’s on North University Street [accusing] the men’s club [of] using the building next door for a dressing room for the club’s dancers . . .

KJRH 2: “House Bill 1326, by state Rep. Mike Reynolds, makes it illegal for any Oklahoma business to conduct research that would kill a human embryo or subject an unborn child to a substantial risk of death or injury.”

Watertown Daily Times: The Dodge County Board of Supervisors will . . . address a resolution to ensure future board sessions begin with prayer . . . The county’s attorney was directed to prepare a resolution based on Supreme Court rulings and the Alliance Defense Fund, which has a document outlining the parameters for prayer at meetings.

WTT28.com (AP): “An Ohio county’s policy giving preference to married couples in adoption and foster care is drawing criticism from state and national organizations involved with child welfare and from the American Civil Liberties Union.”

No Christian should be singled out and penalized for sharing his beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “After reaching this settlement with NYDOT, we are pleased Mr. Burritt can now freely enjoy his First Amendment right to display a religious message on his own property.”

Charleston Daily (AP): “. . . Organizers announced the formation of Fairness West Virginia on Tuesday. They said the group’s mission is to ensure fair treatment for gay and lesbian residents in their homes, workplaces and communities.”

PennLive.com:

A state House committee narrowly passed a bill Wednesday that, if enacted, would extend the same anti-discrimination protections to gay men and women that have long been the law for racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

Posted: 03/13/2009

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Category: Religious Freedom

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Source: www.pennlive.com

Tags: Category: Religious Freedom, State: Pennsylvania

Sun Journal (AP): “The author of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maine says more than 60 legislators from both parties have signed on as co-sponsors.”

Washington Post: “. . . filling the plum jobs has become a test of competing priorities for President Obama. While he pledged bipartisanship during his campaign, replacing the cadre of mostly conservative U.S. attorneys would signal a new direction.”

a href=”http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13278577″>Economist.com: Foreigners have long been attracted to Sapa and its surrounding mountains in the far north of Vietnam . . . But now, it seems, another type of visitor is finding this territory attractive: gangs of kidnappers who snatch young Hmong women for sale as brides across the border in China.

Terry J. Allen writes at In These Times: “. . . Making your marriage sacred should be between you and your goddy thing. Making your union legal, on the other hand, should be between you and state-guaranteed legal and human rights . . . ”

AP: “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told law students there could be an opening on the Supreme Court soon but didn’t hint at who might be leaving . . . ”

BBC: “Lebanese journalist with links to militant group Hezbollah has been barred from entering Britain. Ibrahim Moussawi was due to speak at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, but the home secretary has ruled he should be denied a visa . . . ”

LifeNews: “The Obama administration has been pushing the pro-abortion agenda all week at the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting at the United Nations

Philadephia Bulletin: Christian DeJohn, the winner of a monumental First Amendment case against the university, was back in federal court Thursday asserting Temple’s obligation to pay about $83,000 in earlier court expenses . . . David French . . . countered that the case lasted as long as it did because the university made strenuous efforts to prevent it from proceeding.

Helen Alvaré, J.D. writes at the Culture of Life Foundation: First, we need to remind the administration that while it is very powerful, it is not powerful enough to change facts, like the fact that a genetically human and unique individual begins his or her life with the embryonic phase. All the word-smithing in the world won’t alter this fact.

One News Now: . . . Passage of the ordinance caused an uproar because, in essence, it permits people to use public facilities — restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms — based on their inner feeling about their gender.

AP: “A court hearing to determine custody for three children with Nazi-inspired names failed to yield a decision Thursday, leaving the matter still unresolved.”

KATC.com (AP) reports: A Christian civil rights group is appealing a judge’s refusal to block a Louisiana university from enforcing its policy for allowing public speeches on campus.

The AZ Capitol Times reports: The Arizona Court of Appeals on March 12 upheld a state law that permits businesses to reduce their tax liability by contributing money to organizations that distribute private school scholarships to students . . . Other defenders of the state law include the Attorney General’s Office, former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Zlaket and the Alliance Defense Fund.

David French writes at the National Review Phi Beta Cons Blog: The college said no. Well, actually, they did more than that. They told the group that its materials (which, among other things, highlighted the toll abortion takes on African-American children) were “hate.” . . .

Vikram David Amar and Michael Schaps write at Findlaw:President Obama has helped inspire Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold (among others) to propose a constitutional amendment to end gubernatorial appointments of replacement senators altogether . . . In this column, after we assess the status quo and the proposed constitutional amendment, we endorse a third option—a Congressional statute.

Red County: “It is blatantly unconstitutional for public school officials to come into private schools and enforce a policy prohibiting them from expressing what’s central to their religious beliefs,” said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, or ADF.

“Parents should be able to choose the right school for their children. When it comes to our children’s education, the ACLU suddenly drops its talk of ‘freedom’ and ‘choice,’” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb.

The Post Chronicle: “That is obviously chilling their speech,” said Alliance Defense Fund attorney Heather Gebelin Hacker, whose group filed the suit on behalf of Sheeran.

Washington Times:”Maryland lawmakers took up the issue of gay marriage for the second consecutive day Thursday, with supporters asserting marriage is a civil right and opponents arguing that allowing such unions constitutes a grave threat to traditional family values . . . ”

Vox Verax: The crowd erupted with laughter . . . conservatives thought it was hilarious that God would envy the rival deity named Rush Limbaugh . . . While CPAC was a secular event . . . exhibitors included the Alliance Defense Fund, Liberty Council and Regent University . . .

OneNewsNow:
Homeless people in San Diego have received a reprieve after an intervention by the Alliance Defense Fund . . . Heather Gebelin Hacker, an Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney, explains . . .

RevolutionRadio.org: A North Carolina judge has ordered three children to attend public schools this fall because the homeschooling their mother has provided over the last four years needs to be “challenged” . . . “Parents have a constitutional right to make educational choices for their children,” said Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb.

Oliver Willis (via Washington Monthly): A few days ago Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council sent out an email blast trying to whip up opposition to David Ogden . . . Also chiming in were the Concerned Women for America who sent out an action alert calling Ogden a “porn lawyer”, and the Alliance Defense fund also pushed FRC’s message to their email lists.

Pacific Justice Institute: “A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today dismissed a lawsuit filed by atheist Michael Newdow, the American Humanist Association and others which had claimed that the traditions of saying prayers and ‘so help me God’ at the presidential inauguration were unconstitutional.”

CitizenLink: ADF filed a lawsuit Monday against officials of Pennsylvania’s Kutztown University and its police chief. The officials punished a police officer who refused to arrest a group of Christians sharing their faith on campus.

Catholic Exchange (LifeSite): Cpl. Steven Armbruster says he was unjustly relieved of duties during the 2007 incident for failing to obey a direct order that he says would have violated the free speech rights of the group . . . “Police officers who understand and respect the constitutional rights of American citizens should be commended, not punished,” said Randall L. Wenger . . .

The Religion Clause Blog: “Last week the U.S. Supreme Court decided Negusie v. Holder, (Sup. Ct., March 3, 2009) . . . A release from the Becket Fund praising the decision points out that it has important implications for victims of religious persecution.”

Becket Fund International Freed News: Ireland is set to relax broadcasting legislation on religious advertising in order to avoid further bans on religious promotion, the London Times reported on March 8.

NY Times: “President Obama will soon begin naming a small stream of nominees to the federal appeals courts, administration officials said, a step that will provide the first signs of how much he intends to impose any ideological stamp on the nation’s judiciary.”

a href=”http://www.kpbs.org/news/local;id=14099″>KPBS.org: Two legal groups are asking the Vista Unified School District to change a controversial policy that requires teenagers to get parental consent to leave campus for confidential medical services. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.

Citizen Link: “Christian students shouldn’t be threatened, silenced and discriminated against for attempting to share their beliefs on public college campuses,” said Heather Gebelin Hacker, litigation staff counsel for ADF. “But this school goes beyond censorship to actually try to compel the students to make statements they don’t believe.”

Seattle Times: “That is obviously chilling their speech,” said Heather Gebelin Hacker, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund . . . “In addition, it allows the school to punish speech that they don’t like. That’s Orwellian.” . . .

Michael J. New, writing at Public Discourse: Saletan . . . offers some thoughtful compromises in the ongoing culture war over sanctity-of-life issues . . . he does the pro-life movement an extremely valuable service by effectively debunking the notion that better access to contraceptives will significantly lower abortion rates.

Yahoo News (PRWeb): Prayer proclamations are a long-established and cherished American tradition going back to the Founding Fathers,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “This is simply a ridiculous lawsuit and an example of one radical organization’s allergic reaction to anything involving God.

Legal Times: “. . . In the past, the conservative justice has not always been welcome before African-American audiences.”

The Berkshire Eagle: A woman who allegedly intended to artificially inseminate her wife with her brother’s semen has been charged with domestic assault and battery . . . Jennifer A. Lighten, 33, told police that Stephanie Lighten, her wife, was …

SSRN: Nadya Suleman used sperm from a man she knows to conceive fourteen children using assisted reproduction. It is clear that Suleman is the legal mother of the children. The unanswered question is: “Are the children legally fatherless?”

SSRN: The present paper discusses definitional and methodological constraints, followed by the introduction and justification of four criteria that I believe necessary to any normative definition of religion.

The DOPA, and any similar legislation would fail to meet constitutional requirements due to the large burden placed on protected speech. Because the proposed filters target the technology of the site, and not necessarily the content, the reach of this legislation is so broad that it is irrational.