Daily Archives: April 1, 2010

Washington Post: “McHugh said in a statement released Thursday that he was ‘incorrect’ when he had said there would be a moratorium on dismissals while the Pentagon conducts a yearlong review on its ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.”

Family Research Council: “President Obama’s Secretary of the Army John McHugh, a former Republican Congressman from New York, indicated yesterday that he would no longer be enforcing the 1993 law which bars homosexuals from the military. McHugh told reporters that it would be ‘counterproductive’ to ‘take disciplinary action against someone who spoke with me openly and honestly.’ While that sounds warm and fuzzy, and would certainly get the Secretary high marks with the Human Rights Campaign, it ignores the law.”

Compass Direct: “A Muslim land owner who effectively seized a Christian graveyard here refused to allow the burial of a young Christian at the site on Sunday.”

The ADF Alliance Alert Daily Email Digest will not be published on Good Friday, April 2nd.  New posts may appear on the website in the event of significant news developments, but the regular schedule will not be followed.

Many thanks to all our readers.

Have a Blessed Easter!

la Croix: “Europeans recognize a privileged place [for Christianity], in its Catholic, Protestant or even orthodox [forms]. In the five main countries concerned by the Ifop poll conducted for La Croix (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Great Britain), two thirds of respondents consider that the message and values of Christianity are still valid. But this is not the case for one third of them. Christianity remains a feature of the religious culture of the old continent, but it is no longer exclusive.” [Google Translation]

FOCUS Magazine: “The state of Bavaria sees the controversial Scientology organization [as a] danger [and] Interior Minister Joachim Herrman announced a push for a ban. Scientology responded promptly and speaks of ‘cheap populism’. ‘I am personally very clear for a ban on Scientology,’ said Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) on Thursday. Scientology is clearly an unconstitutional and oppressive organization and stand [at war with] the basic principles of our democracy.’” [Google Translation]

The Morning Call: “For many parents of stillborns, a birth certificate is a purely symbolic but nonetheless precious document. Almost 30 states, including neighboring New Jersey, have laws that direct health departments to issue birth certificates for births resulting in stillbirth if a parent requests one. Pennsylvania law doesn’t provide for stillborn birth certificates. But Mancini’s grandmother, Dorothy Knappenberger of South Whitehall Township, is leading a grass-roots movement to change the law.”

LifeNews: “Idaho Governor Butch Otter allowed a bill to become law that will create statutory protections for health care professionals in specific areas of medical practice. The measure makes it so pro-life health care workers don’t have to fear for their jobs if they decide they don’t want to dispense drugs that could be used to cause abortions or kill patients at the end of their life.” | SB1353 | Idaho Chooses Life

The Oregonian: “With supporters of religious freedom looking on, Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill this morning that will end Oregon’s ban on teachers wearing head scarves and other religious attire. The ban won’t lift until after the 2010-11 school year. The rationale for the delay is to give leaders of the state’s labor and education agencies plenty of time to write detailed regulations for carrying out the new law.” | For more information on the ban see this ADF Alliance Alert compound tag: http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/tag/state-oregon+category-religious-freedom/

Reuters: “The extremist militia group members accused of plotting to kill police and wage war on the U.S. government should be freed pending trial because the case against them centers on political, not criminal issues, defense lawyers argued on Thursday . . . ”

“A judge in Travis County declined Wednesday to consider Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s request to intervene in the county’s first same-sex divorce case, letting stand the judge’s February decision to grant a divorce to two women who had been married in another state.”

Reuters: “New York state’s Governor on Thursday asked public sector unions to forego pay raises to help the state close a $9 billion budget deficit but the unions rejected the request.”

The Alliance Defense Fund sent letters to mayors across the U.S. Thursday urging them to observe and participate in the 59th Annual National Day of Prayer on May 6 and resist the unfounded demands of activist groups that claim the tradition is unlawful.

Philadelphia Gay News: “City attorneys urged a federal judge this week to require the Boy Scouts to post an $80,000 bond while the city attempts to evict them from a city-owned building . . . The Scouts refuse to pay fair-market rent, and won’t permit openly gay participants, while the building continues to deteriorate, said David Smith, an attorney for the city . . . ”

Yesterday, a federal judge enjoined enforcement of two Wisconsin campaign finance laws. The laws would have required Charles G. Hatchett of Whitewater, Wisconsin to register with the state and include a disclaimer on post cards and flyers urging his fellow residents to vote against a local referendum that will be voted on April 6.

Citizen Link: “The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considering establishing a “dot-xxx” domain for pornography . . . Patrick Trueman, formerly chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, said the domain would only increase the amount of porn on the Internet and make it more available. ‘There is no evidence that the public wants or needs this domain,’ he said. ‘There is also absolutely no evidence that any good would come of it.’”

Courier News: “Pope County officials will consider an ordinance regulating sexually-oriented businesses in the county after a club catering to homosexuals advertised on its Web site it would open Friday on private property near Atkins.”

Law.com (NJ Law Journal): “The president of the New Jersey State Bar Association said on Wednesday he agrees with the state judiciary’s advisory opinion warning lawyers they violate New Jersey’s bona fide office rule when they list and advertise space rented on a periodic basis as their primary place of business. ‘I don’t think that’s sufficient,’ Bar chief Allen Etish says about offices lawyers rent by appointment only, with phones that are answered by receptionists shared among multiple tenants. But a leading advocate for New Jersey women lawyers says the rubric might discriminate against them, since their juggling of family and professional responsibilities sometimes requires nontraditional office arrangements . . . ”

“After careful consideration, the court concludes that the defendants’ application of Wis. Stat. § 302.386(5m) to these plaintiffs constitutes deliberate indifference to the plaintiff’s serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment inasmuch as enforcement of the statute results in the denial of hormone therapy . . . ”

St. Louis Today: “. . . On a recent Friday afternoon at Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq mosque in south St. Louis, about 50 men, mostly of Afghan origin, gathered for prayer. They sat on the carpeted floor, shoeless, listening to the khutba, or sermon. After the men prayed, about half stayed to hear two ACLU members discuss the Muslim Rights Project. The project, an extension of the ACLU’s 5-year-old Muslim Rights Task Force, will provide volunteer attorneys for Muslims questioned by law enforcement officers . . . ”

New York Times (Reuters): “Between 15,000 and 30,000 Muslims, many of them immigrants from Chechnya, live in Poland — the biggest ex-communist EU state where more than 90 percent of the 38-million population declare themselves Catholics . . . ‘The problems seen in France, Germany or the Netherlands will come to Poland as it is modernising, catching up with the EU’s west and becomes more attractive to migrants from poorer parts of the world,’ said Professor Zbigniew Mikolejko of the Polish Academy of Sciences.”

JURIST: “The European Commission on Wednesday proposed reforms to simplify and clarify international divorce laws. Under the proposal, married couples from different European Union countries could choose the country of the divorce, and the various courts would use a common formula to decide which country’s law applies when a couple disagrees. EC Vice President Viviane Reding said the law will protect the weaker spouse and reduce the costs of litigation.”

Forum 18: “Two Protestants have been given criminal convictions to punish them for their activity, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Vissa Kim, pastor of Grace Light of Love Church in Taraz in southern Kazakhstan, was fined 10 months’ minimum wages today (1 April) for allegedly harming a woman’s health by praying for her. Sergei Mironov was given one year’s restrictions on his free movement after being found guilty of depriving a client of his drug rehabilitation centre of his freedom.”

Telegraph: “The men were detained after visiting an alleged brothel in east London. They were held under new legislation, which came into force on Thursday, to tackle men who pay for sex and to help women forced into prostitution against their will. It states that a man paying for sex with a prostitute who is being exploited through force, deception or threats is breaking the law.”

Carrie Severino writes at the Judicial Crisis Network: “. . . ‘When I retired from the U.S. Supreme Court, I had become aware of a serious problem in the United States that affects our nation’s courts both state and federal,’ O’Connor said . . . “There are a great many people in the United States today who think that judges are just politicians in robes.’ Where would the people get such a skewed idea of judging? Well, from the judges for starters . . . Justice O’Connor herself was famous for deciding hard cases by inventing multi-factor tests that were next to impossible to apply consistently and were never part of the original law . . . ”

Arizona Republic (AP): “The House Judiciary Committee will hear the bill on Thursday . . . The bill would make it a misdemeanor for minors to send or keep such images. It would also target images passed around among young people other than the intended recipient.” | SB1266: juveniles; communication devices; sexual material | Judiciary Committee agenda | ADF Alliance Alert compound tag for state-arizona+topic-sexting: http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/tag/state-arizona+topic-sexting/

“Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has notified Personhood Mississippi that enough valid voter signatures have been certified to ensure a spot on the November 2011 ballot.”

Christian Science Monitor: “Welcome to the austere – and increasingly embraced – message of Calvinism. Five centuries ago, John Calvin’s teachings reconceived Christianity; midwifed Western ideas about capitalism, democracy, and religious liberty; and nursed the Puritan values that later cast the character of America. Today, his theology is making a surprising comeback, challenging the me-centered prosperity gospel of much of modern evangelicalism with a God-first immersion in Scripture . . . ”

“We stood firm for the civil rights of every Iowan by saying loudly and clearly that any and all efforts to add discriminatory amendments to our state constitution have no place in our state constitution . . . ”

The Christian Institute: “Children are being taken to sexual health clinics for school trips which are designed to be ‘enjoyable’ . . . In London a genito-urinary doctor who has been involved in trips in the capital said: ‘We are trying to demystify the experience for children who may have to visit later in life, and to make the clinic friendly and welcoming.’”

Shane Vander Hart responds to the Governor’s argument that Iowans don’t want a marriage amendment and just want to move on when it comes to marriage. He writes at the Des Moines Register:  ”I’m curious where he’s getting his polling information because the last time a poll was done on the issue of marriage (not legislative priority, you can read a lot into that poll), but the question itself . . . Does our Constitution allow for a judicial oligarchy?”

Christian Examiner: “The U.S. Supreme Court—which will review a religious discrimination case brought by a Christian legal society from San Francisco college of law—has received nearly two dozen legal briefs supporting the student club . . . ‘Just as all student groups have the right to associate with people who share common beliefs and interests, Christian student groups have the right to be Christian student groups,’ said [Gregory S. Baylor], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘Requiring leaders of a Christian club to live by a Christian code of conduct is no different than an environmentalist club requiring its leaders not to be lumberjacks.’” | For more information on the case see the ADF Alliance Alert case tag: http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/tag/zz-christian-legal-society-v-martinez/

On Top Magazine (“gay advocacy website”): “Three Republican lawmakers filed a motion to intervene Monday to defend against a New Jersey lawsuit to win gay marriage. Senators Gerald Cardinale and Anthony R. Bucco, along with Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, are being represented by the Christian-based group Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) . . . ‘There’s more to marriage than just any two people in a committed relationship,’ ADF Senior Legal Counsel [Austin R. Nimocks] said in a statement. ‘At this time in history, we should be strengthening marriage, not tearing it down. Instead, activists are seeking to redefine marriage for all New Jersey citizens by resurrecting an already-resolved, three-year-old lawsuit with the goal of forcing legislators to redefine marriage against their will.’”

The New American: “The arrests on March 28 and 29 of nine people associated with the so-called Hutaree Militia in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio has provided media commentators and reporters with an opportunity to broadly smear all political conservatives, constitutionalists, Tea Party activists, and opponents of President Obama’s health care as ‘extremist’ and ‘anti-government’ . . . Of course, the SPLC has been attacking the “Christian Right” for years, leveling the sandwich smear on such respected Christian and pro-family organizations as Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, the late Rev. D. James Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Ministries/Center for Reclaiming America, and Beverly LaHaye’s Concerned Women for America, as well as the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Family Association, the Chalcedon Foundation, American Vision, the Christian Action Network, the Family Research Council, Summit Ministries, and the Traditional Values Coalition.”

Christian Concern for Our Nation (CCFON): “On Sunday 21st March, 65 delegates gathered in the stunning grounds of Exeter College, Oxford, to embark on a week of intense study, fellowship with one another, and worship . . . On the first evening, after many cups of tea and introductions, there was an opening banquet. Andrea Minichiello Williams (Director, Christian Legal Centre) and [Jeffrey Ventrella] (Senior Vice President, Alliance Defense Fund) spoke after the dinner with passion and humility, challenging all the delegates to ‘put Christianity in its place’ and to answer the ‘call of today’s worshipful warrior’ . . . Teaching from [Jordan Lorence] (Senior Vice President, Alliance Defense Fund) at these sessions was always highly relevant; he spoke honestly about the traps that Christians can fall into and provided practical advice for keeping our future careers devoted to God.”

OneNewsNow: “For the time being, a West Virginia hospital won’t be permitted to stop life-saving treatment of a woman in its care. Forty-year-old Rebecca Bennett is on dialysis and in a coma due to complications from diabetes, and Ruby Memorial Hospital previously informed family members that treatment would end March 27 against their wishes. Jeremiah Dys, general counsel for the Family Policy Council of West Virginia and an affiliated attorney with Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), took the case to court.”

Metro Weekly: “As D.C. enters its second month of same-sex couples being able to obtain marriage licenses, some wonder if – as with California and Maine – this apparent equality might be short lived . . . the D.C. Court of Appeals hears oral arguments at 10 a.m., May 4, in Rev. Harry Jackson’s lawsuit attempting to hold an initiative vote on marriage equality in the District. Jackson’s lawyers with the Alliance Defense Fund were unsuccessful in their attempts – all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court – to halt the marriage law from taking effect until a referendum could be held, but the case seeking an initiative remains.”

CitizenLink: “Attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) secured a court order on Friday that extends care for a 40-year-old woman on dialysis . . . Jeremiah Dys, an ADF-allied attorney, said hospitals ‘should not be allowed to cease care for a family’s loved one when state law gives the family the right to make medical decisions in such circumstances.’”

Liberty Counsel: “Yesterday, a federal district court ruled that agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) illegally conspired to violate the Fourth Amendment rights of Darrel Rundus when they confiscated his “Million Dollar Bill” gospel tracts. Liberty Counsel represents Rundus and his Christian ministry, Great News Network (GNC).”

AP: “Camp Lejeune officials violated the rights of a military veteran who came to his job on base in a vehicle emblazoned with anti-Islamic decals after his son died in a terrorist bombing, a federal judge ruled.”

Thomas More Law Center

“. . . SB1891 . . . creates the Freedom of Conscience Act . . . SB1890 . . . forbids sex selective abortions . . . SB1902 . . . regulates the use of the abortion drug RU-486 . . . ”

“Paula Dow took the oath of office on Feb. 23. On March 15, she filed a brief adopting the position of some of the looniest left-wingers on both coasts against a group of conservative Christians . . . ”

LifeSiteNews: “About 55,000 people in the cities of Lima, Arequipa el Corso, and Piura marched to express their opposition to the distribution of the abortion-inducing ‘morning after pill’ in Peru last week.”

Reuters: “The number of head and neck cancers linked to a virus spread by oral sex is rising rapidly and suggests boys as well as girls should be offered protection through vaccination, doctors said Friday.”

Religion Clause Blog: “To find space for housing near the suburban D.C Metro station, the county will pay subsidies to a developer who will build apartments over the First Baptist Church of Clarendon. A non-profit group bought air rights over the church last year. A new sanctuary will also be constructed, and the church and housing project will share an entrance, lobby and elevator.”

“Our goal is not to necessarily elect Republicans,” [Brian Brown of The National Organization for Marriage] said. “Our goal is to elect candidates who will stand up and protect marriage.”

Heritage Foundation, The Foundry: “In fact, if anything, the policies announced by President Obama yesterday will actually decrease and delay future U.S. oil production. The President actually canceled four lease sales off the Alaska coast that were planned to begin producing oil within the next two years, delayed a planned lease off Virginia until at least 2012, and placed some areas off limits for at least seven years. Go back and look at President Obama’s actual announcement again: he only promised new exploration off the Atlantic coast. There is absolutely no guarantee that any new drilling will ever occur. Secretary Ken Salazar’s Interior Department still has full discretion to never allow a single drop of oil to be harvested from these waters. And that doesn’t even begin to address the court challenges the enviro-left will employ to attack and delay the entire process.”

AP: “Four members of an assisted suicide group face arraignment Thursday in north Georgia on charges they helped a man with cancer kill himself.”

AP: “A Muslim woman’s caning sentence for drinking beer has been commuted unexpectedly, ending a high-profile case that raised questions about Islamic laws intruding into personal matters in Malaysia.”

Brett Stephens write at the Wall Street Journal: “If America wants to tilt the balance of Muslim sentiment in its favor, it needs to stand up for its principles, its liberties and its friends—Israel, Playboy and Lady Gaga included . . . ”

Deadline.com: “Neal McDonough is a marvelous actor who elevates every role he plays, whether it’s in Band of Brothers or Desperate Housewives. So when he was suddenly replaced with David James Elliott 3 days into the filming on ABC’s new series Scoundrels earlier this week, there had to be a story behind the story . . . ”

Breitbart (AFP): “Some consider it medical progress, but baby gender selection in conservative Egypt has caused a stir among traditionalists who see it as an affront to ethics and have lashed out at clinics offering the service.”

Daily Mail: “A parliamentary committee agreed yesterday to outlaw the wearing of face-covering veils in public. The full Parliament will vote later this month . . . The MP said Belgium did not wish to follow the ‘bad examples’ of Britain and the Netherlands, where he said many Muslims lived in separate communities.”

Baptist Press: “Sidewalk counselors will have to remain at least 35 feet from abortion clinics in Massachusetts after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider a challenge to the state’s restriction on such pro-life activity . . . ‘The government cannot single them [prolife-life advocates] out for punishment simply because they want to share their message with people entering the clinic,’ said Michael DePrimo, a lawyer affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, when the First Circuit Court heard the appeal.”

Carissa Byrne Hessick, Disentangling Child Pornography from Child Sex Abuse (March 24, 2010). Washington University Law Review, Vol. 88, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1577961

“Recent years have seen a significant increase in the criminal penalties associated with possession of child pornography. The new severity appears to be premised on arguments that blur the distinction between those who possess images of child pornography and those who sexually abuse children. In particular, sentences have been increased based on arguments that possession of pornography is equivalent to or worse than child sex abuse, arguments that viewing child pornography increases the risk that an individual will sexually abuse a child, and arguments that those who possess child pornography are abusing children undetected. This Article identifies instances where possession of child pornography and child sex abuse have been conflated, critically evaluates the arguments that promote such conflation, and identifies independent concerns with conflation. Specifically, it argues that blurring the distinction between the two crimes allows us to continue to misperceive child sex abuse as a stranger-danger issue, and that when law enforcement statistics aggregate possession and child sex abuse, then the public may be misled into believing that law enforcement is successfully battling child sex abuse, when that is not the case. The Article concludes that the modern trend of increasing sentences for possession of child pornography ought to be reviewed, and it suggests several possible areas of reform.”