Daily Archives: March 23, 2011

Providence Journal: The Rhode Island AFL-CIO executive board has for the first time voted to endorse legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry in the state.

New Vision Online: THE controversial Marriage and Divorce Bill will be passed before the end of the eighth Parliament, Speaker Edward Ssekandi has said. The proposed legislation recognises cohabitation in terms of property rights, abolishes forced marriage, prohibits same sex marriage and allows women to divorce their husbands on grounds of cruelty.

Delaware Online (includes video): “Lawmakers by the baker’s dozen stood together with Gov. Jack Markell on the east steps of Legislative Hall on Tuesday afternoon, endorsing the first legislative effort to give same-sex couples the same legal protections and obligations now in place for married couples. Senate Bill 30 . . . ”

An immigration judge agreed Tuesday to delay the deportation of a Queens woman until the legal status of the Defense of Marriage Act becomes clearer.

Anglican Mainstream: “Eileen Mohr, who owns Crossbridge Books, said that a hotel in Worcester refused to host the launch after learning of the demonstration.”

Christian Today: “Muslim youths shot dead father of four Yunis Ilyas, 47, and newly-wed Jameel Masih, 21, in a church in Hoor Camp, Hyderabad.”

“What’s different this year is not the raw number of anti-abortion bills, but the fact that many of the toughest, most substantive measures have a good chance of passage due to gains by conservative Republicans in last year’s legislative and gubernatorial elections.”

LifeNews: More than a dozen pro-life groups are banding together for a letter to the president of Seattle University asking that the Catholic institution end its promotion of the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

Toronto Star: Police say they have arrested four people and seized millions of child sexual abuse images in New Brunswick as part of a targeted effort to reduce child pornography and the exploitation of children via the Internet.

Denver Post: The fate of the bill was never in doubt in the Senate, where Democrats have a 20-15 edge. The question is what happens when it goes to the House, where Republicans have a one-vote edge. Convention wisdom said the bill would pass it if it made it to the floor but likely will be sent to a “kill” committee.

Reuters: “A group of transgender residents filed a lawsuit against New York City over what they say are burdensome requirements for them to change the gender on their birth certificates.”

Japanese researchers cultivated small pieces of tissue from the testes of baby mice on a gel bathed in nutrients. After several weeks they collected viable sperm from the tissue.

LifeNews: The Texas Medical Board, which oversees licensed physicians but not abortion centers, has received complaints about a dozen abortion practitioners after a massive statewide investigation.

Washington Post: “Only a few months into his political career, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is considering a presidential bid.”

LifeNews: Today, the Senate approved the bill on a voice vote and, once the bill the House approved 91-30, is given final approval, it will go to pro-life Gov. Sam Brownback, who has promised to sign the measure into law. Republicans rejected weakening amendments from Sen. Marci Francisco, a Democrat.

One News Now: “Earlier in the month the Kansas House overwhelmingly approved restrictions on strip clubs, adult video stores, and other sexually oriented businesses. The Community Defense Act (H.B. 2107) would prohibit new sexually oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of a school, library, daycare center, or house of worship.”

House Joint Resolution 6 has already cleared the House and now moves to the full Senate, where it is expected to pass with little resistance.

The Republic: “The legal director for the ACLU of Alabama, Allison Neal, says the legislation would violate court rulings that states can’t ban abortions before viability.”

Mercury News: Lawyer Jack McMahon says the Gosnells have agreed to freeze those assets at the request of a Virginia family suing Gosnell over their mother’s death from a botched abortion.

Reuters: “The Idaho Senate on Wednesday approved a measure that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and subject abortion providers who violate the ban to criminal prosecution and lawsuits. The bill now heads to the state House of Representatives, where passage is expected . . . ”

Newschief: “With Bibles in their hands, more than 100 people showed up at Tuesday’s School Board meeting to show their support for prayer.”

Times Daily: A parent is accusing staff members at Blue Springs Elementary School of violating the constitutional rights of students by distributing Bibles and avoiding lessons on evolution.

Argus Leader: The law divides South Dakotans over the usual fault lines on reproductive rights, this time by making counseling centers a mandatory stop for women considering an abortion . . . . But it takes South Dakota into new territory by requiring that a woman visit a crisis pregnancy center during the 72 hours.

Andrew Brown at the Guardian: If the law of England is no longer based on Christian texts but on the idea of foundational rights – and this seems to be what recent court cases have concluded – it’s worth remembering that very few people believe that human rights exist – rather fewer, at a guess, than believe that God exists. Certainly very few people defended that position here on Cif belief when it was up for discussion. But if human rights are simply a political construct, they rest on political consent. That will be withdrawn very quickly if they come to seem an instrument in a political struggle.”

How Appealing carries the text of the docket entry and order denying the motion to lift the stay.

Austrian Independent:
The federal panel announced in Vienna today (Weds) that kindergartens in Austria were not discriminating against other religious communities by displaying crucifixes at their facilities.

Noticias Globas (Google translation): Peru’s Constitutional Court rejected the application requesting the removal of religious symbols from courts across the country. In Argentina, two judges of the Supreme Court intended the removal of crucifixes from the courts.

“Safoorah Khan had taught middle school math for only nine months in this tiny Chicago suburb when she made an unusual request. She wanted three weeks off for a pilgrimage to Mecca. The school district, faced with losing its only math lab instructor during the critical end-of-semester marking period, said no . . . ”

The Pakistan U.S. Embassy’s condemnation is here. | Hat tip: Religion Clause Blog.

Religion Clause Blog: “The Superior (WI) Telegram yesterday reports that the leaders of a Black Earth, Wisconsin church have been charged with child abuse for using wooden spoons and dowels to hit the backsides of children in their family and in the families of other church members.”

Religion Clause Blog: The complaint (full text) in Westminster Presbyterian Church v. City of Peoria, Illinois, (IL Cir. Ct., filed March 21, 2011), seeks a declaratory judgment that the fellowship meetings are sufficient to qualify Westminster House for the religious use exemption.

AP: “The change was triggered by last year’s sex abuse scandal that rocked the nation’s Roman Catholic Church.”

AP: “The NAACP’s newly revived Worcester chapter elected a 28-year-old openly gay black man as its president this month.”

ADF attorney David French appeared on Relevant Radio to discuss this: ADF files two appeals with U.S. Supreme Court over right of students to fight policies that muzzle speech. | MP3 audio 20:32 mins

ADF attorney Roger Kiska appeared on the radio to discuss this: ADF moves to have mother released from jail for keeping children from permissive German ‘sex education’ programs. | Al Kresta on Ave Maria Radio; MP3 audio 12:03 mins | Point of View Radio; MP3 Audio 18:18 mins

Christianity Today: “Earlier this month, New York City passed a bill requiring centers to disclose whether they provide abortions or emergency contraception, make referrals to organizations that do, and if they have a licensed medical provider on site. The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit against the city.”

Christian Examiner: “Christian students shouldn’t be censored at public schools just because district officials consider religious speech to be offensive,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “The school district is doing the right thing by changing its policy to protect students’ constitutionally protected rights so that censorship of religious speech no longer occurs during student activities.”

National Right to Life: The ADF lawsuit states, “Plaintiffs desire to offer their free, non-medical, non-commercial assistance to women without the threat of Bill 371-A forcing them to recite government-mandated speech, to be priced out of advertising to women in need, and to face fines, closure and jail time.” “Pregnancy centers, which offer real help and hope to women, shouldn’t be punished by political allies of the abortion industry,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “Attacks on pregnancy centers are an ideologically motivated attempt to distract from the growing national scandals in the abortion industry. For years, abortionists have preyed on women and girls for profit.  Now pro-abortion politicians are trying to give women fewer choices.”

AP: “Hundreds of minority Christians protested in Nepal’s capital on Wednesday, demanding the government provide them with designated burial grounds.”

The offending app by religious group Exodus International — which aims to “help” gay individuals through the Bible’s teachings — directly contradicts Apple’s guidelines, and constitutes inappropriate hate speech, argued activists from gay-rights group Truth Wins Out . . . . . . Sure, the Alliance Defense Fund and Focus on the Family and several thousand various Christian organizations have their apps (surprisingly) still in the app store, but where is Apple going to draw the line? If enough petitions come in about those apps, will they be iExiled too?

NCPA Policy Digest: “With Social Security deficits increasing and the U.S. population aging, policymakers today face a choice. If they raise Social Security’s maximum taxable wage — a common proposal — individuals will respond by working and saving less, which weakens the economy and does not fix the problem.”

AP: “Asch and fertility doctor Jose Balmaceda are charged with stealing the eggs and embryos of dozens of women being treated at the UC Irvine Center for Reproductive Health.”

CBS: “The Texas Education Agency reports Hispanic students this school year account for 50.2 percent of the state’s 4.9 million children enrolled in public schools, including pre-kindergarten and early childhood education.”

Catholic Culture: “At a UN session in Geneva, the Vatican’s delegate has argued that respect for fundamental human rights should not be used as a pretext for forcing public acceptance of homosexual activity.”

: “Marines are expected to obey lawful orders and could be subject to discipline or adverse administrative action if they refuse orders, even if such refusal is based on strong, sincerely held, moral or religious beliefs,” the briefing states.

ParentalRights.org: On March 10, the Obama administration told the UN Human Rights Council that it supports the UNHRC’s recommendations that the United States should “ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child [CRC].” Moreover, the administration promised that it “intend[s] to review how we could move toward its ratification.”

U.S. Dept. of State: At the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva 85 countries joined a Joint Statement entitled “Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” This follows previous statements on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons issued at the United Nations, including a 2006 statement by 54 countries at the Human Rights Council, and a 2008 statement that has garnered 67 countries’ support at the General Assembly. The United States is amongst the signatory states to both previous efforts. The United States co-chaired the core group of countries that have worked to submit this statement, along with Colombia and Slovenia . . .

The Hill: Republicans on the House Small Business panel Tuesday demanded to know how federal officials went about approving more than 1,000 healthcare reform waivers.

Wall Street Journal: So we the people are subject to a 2,700-page law that will cost us nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and will put the federal government, in charge of everyone’s medical care. The bill appropriates in advance some $100 billion from now until 2020, making it more difficult for future Congresses or Presidents to defund it. The bill creates some 159 new government agencies to administer health care. As of Jan. 1, 2014, unless it is repealed, health care will be run, controlled, and totally supervised by Washington.

Justin Murray, Exposing the Underground Establishment Clause in teh Supreme Court’s Abortion Cases, 23 Regent U. L. Rev. 1 (2010-11)