Daily Archives: June 23, 2010

Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD): “The Federal Cabinet today [adopted] equality [for] Civil Partnerships [with respect to] tax rates on inheritance and gift tax law and in the real estate tax.” | [Google Translation.]

First Coast News: “The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida sent a letter today to Jacksonville’s mayor asking that the city stop opening council sessions with sectarian prayer.” | Text of letter at link.

ABC: “Tasmania’s Premier has defended his Attorney-General’s decision to use public money to develop voluntary euthanasia legislation. Lara Giddings is planning to use resources from her office and department to investigate and draft a Private Members Bill.”

The Christian Institute: “Scottish taxpayer-funded organisations from across the country are partnering with ‘gay rights’ group Stonewall to become ‘diversity champions’. The revelations come in the wake of the news that the Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution service, has also signed up to Stonewall’s diversity register, a move which prompted questions over its impartiality.”

The Christian Institute: “Oxford City Council is using new powers to crackdown on ‘exploitative’ lap-dancing clubs, in a move welcomed by a local church. St Ebbe’s Church is campaigning against a lap-dancing venue close to its premesis and praised the council for its ‘determination to rectify the situation’.”

The Christian Institute: “A retired GP who hastened the deaths of at least 18 of his patients remains defiant over his actions, despite the prospect of a police investigation. Last week the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled that Dr Howard Martin hastened the deaths of 18 of his patients by giving them excessive doses of morphine, and branded his conduct as ‘despicable and dangerous’.”

The Christian Institute: “The End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill, proposed by independent MSP Margo MacDonald, would allow the terminally ill and people who are ‘permanently physically incapacitated’ to seek assistance in ending their lives. But a public consultation on the controversial Bill has revealed that a staggering 86 per cent of the consultations respondents, some 601 people and organisations, were opposed to the Bill.”

Zenit: “Doctors in Spain are warning against ‘dignified death’ counseling centers that are pushing euthanasia in the form of ideologically slanted living wills. Ignacio Pascual of the organizations Professionals for Ethics told ZENIT that these ‘citizens’ advice for a dignified death’ information offices aim to counsel the sick, elderly and their relatives on end-of-life issues.”

LifeSiteNews: “A Canadian national pro-family group is taking their government to task after Canada’s ambassador to Romania, Philippe Beaulne, officially backed the country’s week-long ‘gay pride’ event in the capital last month.”

WWJ: “A Michigan lawmaker plans legislation designed to stop illegal immigrants from getting marriage licenses. The bills upcoming from Republican Rep. Dave Agema of Grandville would require marriage license applicants to show two forms of identification.”

Christian Web News: “In March 2009, Julea Ward was dimissed from EMU’s graduate counseling program because she did not agree that homosexual behavior was morally acceptable. The Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of Julea Ward; a hearing will be held on Thursday. … ‘Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for abiding by their beliefs,’ said [David French]. ‘Affirming homosexual behavior against one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree.’”

St. Petersburg Times: “Christian conservative Bill Foster [who] inhabits the mayor’s office this year . . . has refused to sign this year’s proclamation. But gay leaders say Foster is making a significant break from [the previous mayor] in a number of symbolic ways to acknowledge this weekend’s upcoming parade and festival, which organizers call the largest gay pride event in Florida and expect about 80,000 to attend.”

Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “Americans United for Separation of Church and State today urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan about her views on crucial religious liberty issues. In a letter to Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy and ranking minority member Sen. Jeff Sessions . . . ”

Washington Legal Foundation: “Trial lawyers in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama will now have to try much harder to avoid removal to federal court, thanks to a recent panel opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The case, Pretka v. Kolter City Plaza II, Inc., arose in connection with a class action suit brought by buyers of luxury condominiums in Florida.”

Associated Press: “Several companies say the Obama administration is ignoring a judge’s decision to strike down a six-month ban on deepwater drilling.”

FOX News: “An elementary school in Provincetown, Mass., is implementing a controversial condom distribution policy, allowing kids as early as first grade to practice safe sex, MyFoxBoston.com reported.”

Download Squad: “OpenDNS is a great service for a number of reasons, and today there’s one more. If you’re a concerned parent, they’re now making it super-easy to block porn from all the computers in your home. The new offering is called FamilyShield, and it’s just as easy to get working as the original OpenDNS service.”

FOX News: “A 5-year-old Ukrainian boy was slaughtered by an alleged religious fanatic as he played in a sandpit with his friends, Pravda reported Tuesday. … The June 18 killing has threatened to ignite tension in the town of Dneprovka, in Ukraine’s Crimea region, after it emerged that the 27-year-old knifeman was a suspected Muslim fanatic, the Russian online newspaper reported.”

“A jury says the city of Philadelphia cannot evict a local Boy Scouts chapter from a city-owned building for refusing to admit gays.”

Colorado Springs Gazette: “Weinstein, 55 . . . founded the nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation . . . The broad outlines of Weinstein’s approach: Condemn in the strongest language possible. Publicly embarrass. Sue if necessary. Each new step raises the pressure on his publicity-averse targets . . . Responsible Christians, he said, recognize ‘time, manner and place’ restrictions on proselytizing . . . Today, Weinstein saves the hellfire-and-brimstone rhetoric for new targets, excoriating as ‘clueless’ and ‘shocking’ the people he accuses of placing their religious beliefs ahead of the Constitution. ‘Make no mistake: They are a national security threat,’ he said.”

Associated Press: “Utah Republicans chose their nominee for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, selecting a legal scholar who grew up in a family of lawyers and fondly recalls discussing the Constitution over childhood dinners. … Lee’s mission is simple should he get elected: limit the role of government to what the founding fathers intended it to be. He wants to cut federal spending, repeal the new federal health care reform law, suspend congressional earmarks and mandate term limits.”

WALB: “Gail’s Lingerie and Video opened on West Broad Avenue 13-years ago, but it was in danger of being shut down under a proposed new adult business ordinance. … Tuesday night, city commissioners approved an updated version that includes Broad. The owner got support from her church in her effort to protect her business.”

“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today proposed new rules for hospitals that would protect patients’ rights to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay, including visitors who are same-sex domestic partners . . . ”

MSNBC First Read: “After yesterday vowing to seek an appeal quickly, administration officials now say the Justice Department will refrain from any legal action in response to yesterday’s court order that temporarily blocks the Interior Department’s moratorium on offshore drilling. The plan now is for the government to seek a new moratorium, doing so in a way that avoids some of the legal problems identified by the judge who issued yesterday’s injunction.”

Reuters: “Germany’s budget savings policy risks destroying the European project and a collapse of the euro cannot be ruled out, billionaire investor George Soros said in a newspaper interview released on Wednesday.”

Christian NewsWire: “To mark the day the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved the birth control pill 50 years ago, the Pro-Life Action League is encouraging pro-life activists across the nation to speak out against contraception.”

The Daily Iowan: “Abortion-seeking women are more likely to have experienced partner violence than the general population, according to a recent study by University of Iowa professors and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, was based on a series of private screenings of 986 women seeking abortions at Planned Parenthood on issues of physical and sexual abuse, as well as battering. Researchers completed the study over a period of 81⁄2 months; all the participants were Iowa residents.” | Abstract of Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Among an Abortion Clinic Population

AolNews: “A conservative legal group has asked a federal judge to force a Michigan bus company to run ads that offer support to Muslims who want to leave their religion, saying the ads are protected under the First Amendment. … ‘The only city so far that has dug their heels in is Detroit,’ said Robert Muise, a lawyer at the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan, the conservative legal group representing the Freedom Defense Initiative.”

Guardian: “A woman who had a sex-change operation 10 years ago has won her battle to receive a pension from the age of 60. Christine Timbrell was born Christopher Timbrell in 1941, but had surgery to change her gender in 2000. … Lord Justice Aikens, giving the ruling of the three appeal judges, said that before the Gender Recognition Act, English law had no way of dealing with a person who had changed gender, meaning ‘once a man, always a man’. But he said that a lack of legal framework to allow the law to recognise gender change and obtain a pension was discrimination.”

Yemen News Agency: “The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which regroups deputies from 47 European member countries, has declared Wednesday its opposition to ‘a general ban’ on the niqab or burqa as this would violate womens rights to wear such clothing, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).”

New York Times: “The vote, 131 to 129, was another setback for the Socialist government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, which had favored more-limited restrictions on Islamic clothing and has instead been pushing to curtail religious fundamentalism through better education.”

AP: “Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri vetoed legislation that would ask voters to decide whether the state’s two slot parlors can become full-fledged casinos, saying it left ‘critical financial information’ unknown and complaining that it took too much power out of the hands of communities.”

CNSNews: “Sales of new homes collapsed last month, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer get government incentives.”

Catholic News Agency: “Archaeologists and restorers working at the Roman catacombs of St. Tecla on Tuesday announced the discovery of the world’s oldest known paintings of the apostles Peter, Paul, Andrew and John.”

Sun Herald: “City attorney Jeff Bruni said the Legal Department reviewed studies from around the country to draft the ordinance. It restricts the location of sexually oriented businesses, including those that operate as bookstores, cabarets, theaters, escort agencies, nude model studios or motels.”

Catholic News Agency: “As the EU court in Strasbourg prepares to issue a new ruling on the public display of crucifixes on June 30, the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Russia, Bishop Joseph Werth, noted that the crucifix is not only a religious symbol but it also represents Europe’s true identity.”

Cincinnati Enquirer: “The crackdown on sexually oriented businesses in Clermont County could continue, spurred by concerns raised by the Citizens for Community Values. … Representatives of two adult-oriented businesses have faced criminal or civil court cases in the three months since CCV members met at a local church with County Commissioner Bob Proud, Assistant Prosecutor Daniel “Woody” Breyer and Union Township Administrator Ken Geis.”

Erie Times-News: “Township supervisors this morning approved distance requirements for adult entertainment stablishments in the township’s commercially-zoned districts, adding those figures to a developing ‘public indecency’ ordinance that will come up for formal adoption in mid-July.”

Forum 18: “At least three different regional police Departments for the Fight against Extremism, Separatism and Terrorism in Kazakhstan have raided religious communities in 2010, solely because they engage in unregistered religious activity, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Known targets have been congregations of the Council of Churches Baptists – who refuse on principle to seek state registration from the authorities – in both Akmola Region (around the capital Astana) and North Kazakhstan Region, as well as unregistered mosques in Taraz in the southern Jambyl [Zhambyl] Region.”

Christian Today: “The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has called on the European Court of Human Rights to uphold the principles of freedom and tolerance ahead of next week’s decision on whether schools in Italy will be allowed to display crucifixes in public school classrooms.”

“. . . once the balance shifts against the rights of freedom of religious expression, both on a personal level and on an institutional level, ‘we are going to find ourselves in a situation we’ve never faced before in the United States.’ He called it the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ saying that the erosion of the freedom of religious expression would spread across the Western world . . . ”

Washington Post: “Annapolis will offer benefits to same-sex partners of city employees beginning July 1, Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen said in a statement Tuesday.”

AP: “Lawyers for Lisa Miller argued their case Wednesday in Montpelier challenging a Family Court judge’s decision to award custody to former partner Janet Jenkins, of Fair Haven, Vt.”

The Hill: “House members on Wednesday received a letter signed by 305 organizations urging them to oppose the Disclose Act. The bill is slated to be vetted by the Rules Committee later today and be subjected to a floor vote on Thursday. ‘This legislation is a threat to the First Amendment rights of businesses across the country,’ the letter states. ‘It represents a significant departure from past campaign-finance legislation, which sought to treat unions and corporations comparably and was framed in a genuinely bipartisan manner.’” | Related: House Democrats Cancel Vote on Disclose Act Opposed by Pro-Life Groups | National Right to Life Committee Urges U.S. House to Reject ‘Disclose Act’ as ‘Unprincipled, Unconstitutional’ Political Attack

“Because I believe in committed — I believe that committed gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country, I have called for Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. (Applause.)”

Albert Mohler writing at The Christian Post: “Boys are clearly falling behind girls in both educational achievement and aspiration. The long-term consequences of this shift are momentous and virtually impossible to reverse in a single generation. This pattern has vast implications for marital prospects, since women express a strong preference to marry a man of equal or greater educational and professional potential. The collapse of the marriage culture within the working class, [Hannah] Rosin argues, is due to the fact that women are in control and have set expectations ‘too high for the men around them to meet.’ For Christians, the importance of this article is even greater. God intended for men to have a role as workers, reflecting God’s own image in their vocation. The most important issue here it not the gains made by women, but the displacement of men. This has undeniable consequences for these men and for everyone who loves and depends on them.” | Rosin’s article in The Atlantic: The End of Men

Rasmussen Reports: “Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters now believe Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan should not be confirmed following the Senate hearings scheduled to begin next week. That’s up nine points from the week President Obama announced her nomination and the highest level of opposition to date in Rasmussen Reports tracking of the Kagan nomination.”

The Virginian-Pilot: “Virginia lacks the legal ability to challenge a national law overhauling the health care system, so Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s lawsuit should be dismissed, federal attorneys argued in a court filing Tuesday.”

The Washington Post | DeBonis: “On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education issued its final evaluation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program — aka school vouchers. … Here’s what it found: (a) ‘There is no conclusive evidence that the [voucher program] affected student achievement.’ (b) The program ‘significantly improved students’ chances of graduating from high school’ — by 12 percent. And (c), the program ‘raised parents’, but not students’, ratings of school safety and satisfaction.’”

Atlanta Conservative Examiner: “The federal government does not have a proverbial ‘leg to stand on.’ The only way the federal government could subvert Arizona law is to ‘stack the deck’ in the Supreme Court or pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform (aka amnesty).”

Voice of America News: “Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan begin Monday in Washington. Kagan is President Barack Obama’s choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the high court’s leading liberal thinker.” | US Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The Blog of LegalTimes: “The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has released a new financial disclosure report for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, showing she received a final stipend last year for serving on a Goldman Sachs advisory council.”

LifeNews: “The Obama administration is making American taxpayers fund yet another round of embryonic stem cells with taxpayer funds even though they have never helped any human patients because of problems in animal research. On Monday, NIH Director Francis Collins approved eight more embryonic stem cell lines for federal funding — including the six lines the Stem Cell Working Group signed off on last week.”

LifeSiteNews: “The White House announced Monday that they would expand the definition of a 1993 federal law, with the result that many employers in all 50 states would be forced to extend family and medical leave to homosexual partners. Pro-family advocates, however, are denouncing the policy as blatant illegality, saying that it clearly contravenes the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).” | The Atlantic Wire has a round-up of related opinion pieces.

CBC: “Alberta’s Bill 44 was contentious when it was going through the legislature and the controversy continues over the right it gives parents to excuse their children from classroom discussions about sex and religion. The two-pronged legislation enshrined gay rights into Alberta’s human rights code, which was immediately enacted after the bill was passed. The second part of the bill will require teachers and school administrators to notify parents whenever religion, sex or sexual orientation is being discussed in their children’s classrooms.”

CNN In Session: “On In Session this week, the trial of a Florida woman accused of killing her ex-girlfriend. Cynthia Monson and Patricia Thomas dated for approximately twelve years. Early in their relationship, Monson adopted two children. Monson says she killed Thomas in self-defense after Thomas threatened her with a gun and to take her children away. In recorded statements to the police, Monson claims that Thomas did not have a legal right to Monson’s adopted children.”

Associated Press: “As gay-straight alliances spread in schools and kids reared by gay parents have kids of their own, books remain important survival tools for all young people trying to figure out who they are, said Lynn Evarts, a high school librarian in the farm country of Sauk Prairie, Wis. ‘Kids have for the most part become “Will and Grace”-ified, she said.”

National Catholic Register: “When Apple CEO Steve Jobs proclaimed that Apple products like the iPhone and iPad would provide ‘freedom from porn,’ the man regarded as the most savvy tech visionary of the last 30 years was suddenly derided as a ‘puritan’ and a ‘censor.’ … [Microsoft's] guidelines specifically state what won’t be allowed: ‘Images that are sexually suggestive or provocative, content that generally falls under the category of pornography, or content that a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content.’”

John Zucchi, chair of the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University, writing in the Montreal Gazette: “Quebec Judge Gerard Dugre has reminded Quebec’s education minister that when it comes to the constitutional rights of citizens, the discretionary powers of politicians and bureaucrats are particularly constrained. … On the question of whether the state can coerce a private religious institution to teach from a neutral perspective, Dugre responds with an unequivocal ‘no.’ A religious school is a moral person whose religious rights are guaranteed by Article 3 of the Quebec Charter of Rights.” | Related: Quebec to appeal Catholic school exemption from ethics course

Gay City News: “At the end of a day when a long-stalled LGBT rights initiative suddenly jumped to the front of the line, the New York State Senate on June 22 passed the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). The anti-bullying measure, already approved by the Assembly and supported by Governor David Paterson, provides protections based on a number of categories, including sexual orienation and gender identity.” | A03661

Arizona Republic: “In an international debate raging in religious magazines and on the Internet, experts say the bishop failed to appreciate the circumstances that led to Sister Margaret McBride’s decision as an administrator at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. The theological debate centers on two key issues. One is the circumstances of the medical procedure and whether it should be considered a treatment for an illness or a procedure intended to end the life of a fetus. The church would consider the latter to be an abortion. The second is whether McBride believed she was acting within the ethics of the Catholic Church, which puts emphasis on whether a person knowingly and willingly violates church law.”

Politico: “Former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger predicted Tuesday night that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark decision that gives women abortion rights. … Rachel Brand, the former assistant attorney general under George W. Bush who helped usher Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito through the confirmation process, demurred on a question about Roe’s reversal.”

The Washington Post | Right Now: “‘It’s typical of young lawyers going into constitutional law that they have inflated dreams of what constitutional law can do, what courts can do,’ Bork said. ‘That usually wears off as time passes and they get experience. But Ms. Kagan has not had time to develop a mature philosophy of judging. I would say her admiration for Barak, the Israeli justice, is a prime example. As I’ve said before, Barak might be the least competent judge on the planet.’”

SCOTUSblog: “[E]leven argued cases are still pending and are expected to be decided before the end of the Term.” …

APRIL SITTING:

Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (08-1371)
Argued: Apr. 19, 2010
Issue: Whether a public university law school may deny school funding and other benefits to a religious student organization because the group requires its officers and voting members to agree with its core religious viewpoints.

Doe v. Reed (09-559)
Argued: Apr. 28, 2010
Issue: (1) Whether the First Amendment right to privacy in political speech, association, and belief requires strict scrutiny when a state compels public release of identifying information about petition signers; and (2) whether compelled public disclosure of identifying information about petition signers is narrowly tailored to a compelling interest.

Indianapolis Star: “A Hamilton County judge has dismissed a request by a Fishers-based home-schooling group to halt a state agency from pursuing discrimination and retaliation claims lodged by a former member. … The group had argued that the commission’s scrutiny violates its members’ constitutional rights to religious liberty and association. The commission maintains it has jurisdiction because of the group’s educational function.”

New Haven Register: “All it took was one complaint for the school district to make a small but significant change to diplomas that will be handed out at graduations this week. For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, diplomas for New Haven high school students were printed without the phrase ‘in the year of our Lord.’” | Via Religion Clause.

The Wichita Eagle (AP): “A federal judge has rejected a request to keep Nebraska authorities from enforcing a state law that prohibits picketing within 300 feet of a funeral or memorial service. Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church that regularly protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers, had asked for a preliminary injunction as part of her lawsuit against the state. The suit challenges the constitutionality of Nebraska’s funeral protest law, as well as its ban on flag mutilation.” | Phelps-Roper v. Heineman, (D NE, June 21, 2010) | Via Religion Clause.

The Times-Tribune: “The Wyoming County commissioners agreed Tuesday to a $140,000 settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union over legal fees the organization incurred in a sexting case, county solicitor James Davis confirmed.” | Related: PA: Ex-student sues district for seizing her nude pics | PA: Federal judge enjoins Wyoming County D.A. from disciplining or prosecuting “sexting” teenagers for child pornography | 3rd Circuit: Prosecutor’s offer of leniency to teens for sexting is unconstitutional retaliation [CDR abstract]

Jill Stanek reports on a Planned Parenthood St. Louis Region marketing campaign offering “Fall 2010 Insemination Services” to lesbian couples.

Fox News: “Parents are outraged after young teenagers were instructed on graphic sexual acts during a Planned Parenthood sex education class at the local high school in Shenandoah, Iowa. … The students . . . were given instruction on how to perform female exams and the instructor used a 3-D, anatomically correct male sex organ to explain how to use a condom. But Dostal said she was most upset over the instructor simulating sexual acts using stuffed animals designed to resemble STD’s.”

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann writing at Townhall: “There is currently no legal procedure for a state government to go bankrupt. Congress, especially if it is Republican in 2011, should pass a mechanism that permits states to discharge in bankruptcy their collective bargaining agreements and contracts with their municipal unions.”

Minnesota Independent: “The park board has given the OK to Brain and Lois Johnson to distribute the Bibles, saying it is merely standing up for free speech. … The Johnsons had put pressure on the park board when they enlisted the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, a James Dobson–affiliated religious right legal organization based in Arizona. The group has defended numerous cases of anti-gay protesters crossing legal lines to denounce LGBT people, including a similar case in New York. In a complaint to the Minneapolis Park Board dated April 5, ADF called Twin Cities Pride a ‘festival devoted to the toleration of homosexual conduct.’”

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “If we don’t reign in this mad dash for mandated acceptance of homosexual behavior, it’s just a matter of time before government officials come after pastors for disseminating “hate speech,” when all they’re doing is preaching biblical morality. It’s already occurring in Europe and evidence of it heading our way can be seen in Canada.”

Dakota Voice: “‘IRS rules don’t trump the Constitution, and the First Amendment certainly trumps the Johnson Amendment,’ [Erik Stanley] explained. ‘No tax exemption can ever be contingent upon someone giving up a constitutional right. We will continue to monitor this situation and take appropriate steps to defend the church, if necessary.’” | ADF News Release

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “A born-again Christian evangelist and organizers of the nation’s third-largest gay pride festival are locked in a free-speech dispute expected to land them in federal court just three days before 200,000 people descend on Loring Park for the Twin Cities Pride festival. … ADF senior counsel [Nate Kellum] said the case is ‘unusual in that you have a private entity suing the city to keep another citizen from speaking.’ Kellum said ADF will fight the request for an injunction.”