Daily Archives: February 4, 2011

“The fact is that the progression of laws allowing same-sex marriage requires the regression of laws that recognize and promote familial bonding between birth-parents and their children. Court rulings for same-sex marriage have already relegated children to a more peripheral role in defining the state’s interest in marriage.This leaves a vacuum inevitably to be filled by the state itself. With an ever diminishing role for birth-parents, the state is sure to produce ever more laws defining the parent-child relationship.”

Operation Rescue on Christian Newswire: “Rep. Steve King, (R-IA), has sent a letter signed by 71 Congressmen to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for information about the extent to which Federal tax dollars may be funding “telemed abortions,” which involves the distribution of the dangerous abortion pill, RU486 over the Internet, but denies women access to physical examinations or emergency care by licensed physicians.”

FoxNews: “Christian students shouldn’t be censored at public elementary schools because district officials think that religious speech may be offensive, which isn’t justified by the Constitution” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The LAUSD did the right thing by recognizing the student’s constitutional rights and lifting its censorship of religious speech at the talent show.”

FoxNews: “Shaykh Abdallah Adhami said Friday in a joint statement with the center’s developer that he will no longer serve as a religious adviser to the center. Adhami says he wants to devote his time to completing a book on the Quran.”

LifeSiteNews: The Alliance of Romanian Families (AFR) is intervening in the case of Domenic Johansson, the Swedish boy who was abducted by Gotland social services in 2009, asking that he be returned to his family, as international pressure increases on the Swedish government.

Standard-Examiner: “Republican Representative Carl Wimmer of Herriman says House Bill 171 would increase the number of abortion clinic inspections to twice a year.”

Gazette-Virginian: HJ 593 would add the following to the Virginia Constitution:

“Amends current free exercise of religion provisions of the Virginia Constitution to permit prayer and the recognition of religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including public schools in order to secure further the people’s right to acknowledge God. The amendment also prohibits (i) the composing of school prayers by the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, and (ii) requiring persons to join in prayer or other religious activity. The current free exercise of religion provisions of the Virginia Constitution mirror those in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and provide for the free exercise of religion and prohibit compelling persons to participate in religious activity.”

KJCT8.com: And the Utah chapter of the ACLU says it worries the references to God “may be viewed as a state endorsement of religion.”

Boston Globe (AP): “Many transgender Americans face intolerance in almost every aspect of their lives, contributing to high levels of homelessness, unemployment and despair, according to a comprehensive survey being released Friday.”

One News Now: “As Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees could vote as early as March on whether to unionize, the possibility is drawing a measure of criticism.”

Wisconsin Rapids Tribune: “A Madison organization is urging Marshfield leaders and residents to stop praying before City Council meetings.”

Christian Today: “Two Christians are reported to have died in separate Eritrean prisons after being refused medical treatment amid a renewed crackdown by the authorities against unregistered churches.”

Blog of the Legal Times: “Among the nominations are two candidates for spots on the bench of Washington’s federal trial court. Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia Superior Court and Amy Jackson, a partner at Washington-based Trout Cacheris, have both been nominated for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”

Albert Mohler, Jr. writes at the Christian Post: The appearance of that article does come as something of a surprise. After all, Ms., and the feminist movement it represents, insist that a woman must have the right to abort a pregnancy for any reason or for no reason. This claim, they have long insisted, is central to the very idea of reproductive freedom. So, what about sex-selection abortions – when it is female babies who are most commonly aborted?

Pioneer Press: “The National Transgender Discrimination Survey will be released this morning. It was commissioned by the task force and the National Center for Transgender Equality.” | Exec. Summary and Report

San Francisco Chronicle: “Edward Davila, a Santa Clara Superior Court judge nominated by President Obama to the federal court in San Jose, won unanimous approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday for the second time in three months.”

Richmond Times Dispatch: “The annual legislative debate between abortion-rights advocates and anti-abortion advocates played out Thursday as it has in previous years in the Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee.”

Examiner.com: Under HB 89, known as the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” physicians would be barred from performing abortions until after determining “the probable gestational age.”

NJ Star-Ledger: “Thousands of students in failing New Jersey public schools are one step closer to being able to transfer to private schools of their choice after an Assembly committee advanced a controversial school voucher bill tonight.”

CNSNews (includes video): “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said on Thursday evening that she will not retire from the court before 2012 and hinted that she might serve until she’s at least 83 years old in 2016.”

ABA: “Lawyers facing increasing pressure to “value engineer” their services have adopted a “better-faster-cheaper ethic,” leading to burnout and increased economic burdens for law firms.  That’s one of the conclusions of a report (PDF) on the future of the legal profession prepared by a special committee of the New York State Bar Association, the New York Law Journal reports.”

Wyoming Tribune Eagle: “A bill that would prevent Wyoming from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions from outside the state moved ahead Thursday in a Senate committee.”

AP: “Thousands of Albanians converged on central Tirana on Friday to demand the government step down over corruption allegations, two weeks after a similar anti-government demonstration turned violent and left three people dead.”

Atlanta J. Constitution: “The first committee hearing for major legislation targeting illegal immigration in Georgia had not even gotten under way Friday morning before the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to challenge the measure in court.” [HB 87]

LifeNews: “Live Action released today three more videos from the undercover investigations it conducted earlier this month of Planned Parenthood abortion centers helping alleged sex traffickers obtain abortions for underage girls.”

LifeSiteNews: Two more Canadian bishops have joined their voices with that of Calgary Bishop Fred Henry in condemning a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruling that denied marriage commissioners the right to refuse to perform same-sex “marriages.”

LifeSiteNews: “A new South Dakota measure would require women to seek counselling from a pregnancy help center before procuring an abortion.” (HB 1217)

LifeSiteNews: “The Washington state Senate heard testimony yesterday regarding a bill that targets pro-life crisis pregnancy centers (CPC). The bill, which CPC supporters say would enact onerous regulations and expose the centers to harassing lawsuits, was introduced in January into the Washington State House of Representatives and is now making its way through the Senate.”

LifeNews: “The battle to stop all federal taxpayer funding of abortions, and to ensure the Obamacare health care reform law does not allow abortion funding, starts in hearings in the House next week.”

NYT: “The Obama administration is examining whether the new health care law can be used to require insurance plans to offer contraceptives and other family planning services to women free of charge.”

Rasmussen: “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that (51%) of American Adults think movies and the motion picture industry impact U.S. society in a negative way. Just 21% think their influence is a positive one.”

Rasmussen: “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters describe themselves as conservative on fiscal issues, while 42% say the same on social issues.”

The Australian: “At the University of Adelaide on Wednesday night, he let fly at the “undemocratic” European Union and the European Court of Human Rights and defended his decision to provide a dissenting opinion to a ruling that abolished sodomy laws in Texas.”

Gallup: “Americans have mixed views on the influence of organized religion in the U.S. today, with 29% saying religion should have more influence and an identical percentage saying it should have less influence. A slightly larger 39% believe organized religion’s influence should be kept as it is now.”

Religion Clause Blog: “Leaders of three national religious groups on Wednesday wrote Florida U.S. House of Representatives member Allen West calling on him to apologize for saying, on a television interview show, that Minnesota U.S. House of Representatives member Kieth Ellison, a Muslim, is the “antithesis of the principles on which this country was established.”

Religion Clause Blog: “The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh that retains affiliation with the Episcopal Church USA has won its claim to property of the Diocese following the 2008 vote by the Diocesan Convention to withdraw from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. In Calvary Episcopal Church v. Duncan, (PA Commn. Ct., Feb. 2, 2011) . . . ”

Thomas More Law Center: “Her crime: she was a Christian publicly filming her fellow Christian missionaries discussing the Gospel with Muslims at last year’s annual Dearborn Arab Festival, and she didn’t turn off her camera quick enough after a police officer ordered her to do so.”

NCPA Policy Digest: As state legislatures around the country start cutting budgets, they face a puzzler — what is the proper subsidy (if any) for higher education? The answer to this question may hinge on another: whether higher education can be considered a “public good.”

ADF attorney appeared on the radio to discuss this: LAUSD allows Christian 5th-grade student in talent show same day ADF files for temporary restraining order. | Matt Sharp on the John Phillips Show, KABC radio — MP3 audio 11:47 mins. | Dave Cortman on “Talk from the Heart” with Rich Buehler – MP3 audio 7:50 mins | Dave Cortman on the Hugh Hewitt Show — MP3 audio 8:42 mins

LifeNews: “Following the release of a video that has received nationwide attention showing Planned Parenthood staff at a New Jersey abortion center helping alleged sexual traffickers cover up their crimes with abortions and STD testing, Governor Chris Christie has vetoed a bill funding Planned Parenthood.”

Russell D. Moore writes at the Wall Street Journal: Fewer and fewer American Christians, especially Protestants, strongly identify with a particular religious communion—Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, etc. According to the Baylor Survey on Religion, nondenominational churches now represent the second largest group of Protestant churches in America, and they are also the fastest growing. More and more Christians choose a church not on the basis of its denomination, but on the basis of more practical matters. Is the nursery easy to find? Do I like the music? Are there support groups for those grappling with addiction?

Michelle Malkin writes at Townhall: The second deepwater drilling ban (which oil spill czar Michael Bromwich admitted was “roughly congruent with the original moratorium”) was “lifted” in October, but still no permits were issued. This is because Team Obama’s eco-radicals never intend to approve them.

HB 130 . . . would prohibit “any local board of education from negotiating with a professional employees’ organization or teachers’ union concerning the terms or conditions of professional service on or after the effective date of this bill.”

The First Amendment Center (AP): The mother was asked, “Can he pick a song that doesn’t say Jesus so many times,’” said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based legal organization that represents the mother.The mother noted that the talent show had not listed any restrictions on the content of performances and was offended when she was told that several other students were told to change their songs because they contained profanity, Cortman said.“The mother was troubled that [the principal] had just compared Christian speech to vulgarity,” he said.

C-FAM: A similar legal campaign may not be far off for France, since the case is “ripe for review by the Strasburg court,” according to Roger Kiska, Legal Counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund. However, he foresees no chance of the European Court of Human Rights being able to successfully challenge the Council’s decision. According to Kiska, a same-sex marriage case was brought before the court already, which resulted in a ruling that it is “within a state’s margin of appreciation to decide upon its own family laws.” The French Council’s decision that the difference in treatment in family laws is justified falls within the “margin of appreciation” outlined in the European court’s ruling, and thus the Court should be unable to challenge France’s decision

The New American: Joseph Infranco of the Alliance Defense Fund, which helped to represent the firefighters, told OneNewsNow.com that the four men “were subjected to hours of just graphic, lewd exhibits and gestures and catcalls and all that sort of thing…. It’s shocking to think that the city would tell firefighters that they have to participate in a parade and be subjected to all this sort of lewd, sexual behavior.”

Christian Post: “Christian students shouldn’t be censored at public elementary schools because district officials think that religious speech may be offensive, which isn’t justified by the Constitution,” commented ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman.
“The LAUSD did the right thing by recognizing the student’s constitutional rights and lifting its censorship of religious speech at the talent show.”

The Seahawk: For this lawsuit, Adams is working with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance dedicated to defending religious freedom.
“If we [Adams and the ADF] don’t win this time, you can be reasonably confident that we’ll take UNCW to the Supreme Court,” Adams said.

Christian Post: “U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis ruled on Jan. 28 that city council violated the pregnancy centers’ freedom of speech by requiring “pro-life” pregnancy centers to post such a sign. Alliance Defense Fund Senior Council Casey Mattox anticipates the Baltimore judge’s ruling will be favorable towards the pending case of a Silver Spring pregnancy resource center forced to post signs declaring that it is a limited-service pregnancy center.”

Inside Higher Ed: The American Council on Education, joined by six other national higher education groups, is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a lower court’s finding that the University of Wisconsin at Madison improperly denied funding for some activities of a Roman Catholic student group . . . Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which sued the university on behalf of Badger Catholic and works on behalf of religious individuals and organizations, criticized the higher education groups for their stance on the case. “It’s very disappointing that this brief was written because the universities are basically asking the Supreme Court to be free of the First Amendment when it comes to equal access to facility use and equal access to student fee money,” Lorence said. “To allow a university to pick and choose between the private groups it will support on campus is diametrically opposed to the First Amendment.” . . .

The National Organization has prepared this ad that appears on YouTube for the Rhode Island marriage battle.

One News Now: “Essentially the issue is whether a conservative Christian professor has any First Amendment protection for his writings as a columnist and his public speeches that he delivers,” the attorney explains. “The university literally argued that his writings and his speeches were not protected by the First Amendment.”

SCOTUS Blog: “Virginia’s attorney general announced Thursday that he will ask the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the new federal health care law, without waiting for federal appeals courts to do so. The Justice Department is likely to oppose the move.”