Daily Archives: February 7, 2012

Bloomberg: South Carolina sued the U.S. Justice Department over its decision to block a law requiring voters to show photo identification at polls, the state’s attorney general said.

American Civil Liberties Union: The American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Perkins Coie appeared in Alaska Superior Court yesterday seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the sex marker on their driver’s licenses.

CNN.com Blogs: But O’Malley, who identified himself as a Catholic, noted Sunday that 28 states already enforce such a policy.

Stephen J. Heaney at Public Discourse: Personally opposed, but actively supporting…well, it’s complicated.

ADF President and General Counsel at National Review Online: If the federal government can succeed in forcing people to violate their faith, it will have the power to force anyone to do anything. It is therefore sad but not surprising that Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius took to USA Today this week to spin rather than explain her boss’s decision to force people and entities all over the country to fund abortifacients, contraception, and sterilization against their consciences.

Christian Concern: Andrea Minichiello Williams spoke to the General Synod today (6 Feb), challenging the Church of England to take a stand for traditional marriage before it is too late.

LifeSiteNews.com: Even as the United States’ Catholic bishops have launched an all-out campaign against the Obama administration’s birth control mandate and urged their flocks to resistance, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has invoked the support of “fellow Catholics” to justify her position in favor of the mandate.

Christian Concern: The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that any legalisation of assisted suicide or euthanasia would be a “disaster” for Britain, creating circumstances where life would be “legally declared to be not worth living.”

LifeSiteNews.com (includes video): Pro-life leaders say on Sunday, Rick Santorum may have become the first major presidential candidate in history to address the link between abortion and breast cancer.

LifeNews.com: The Pennsylvania House Health Committee voted on Monday to advance the Women’s Right to Know Act (House Bill 1077), which would offer a pregnant woman the chance to view an ultrasound image of her unborn child and observe the baby’s heartbeat prior to an abortion

The Salt Lake Tribune.

Robert George and Carter Snead: Planned Parenthood’s Hostages – WSJ.com: Faced with even the tiniest depletion in the massive river of funds Planned Parenthood receives yearly, the behemoth mobilized its enormous cultural, media, financial and political apparatus to attack the Komen Foundation in the press, on TV and through social media.

Defenders of marriage in California will appeal Tuesday’s ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that upheld a district judge’s decision against the state’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage.

No court should undercut the democratic process by taking the power to preserve marriage out of the hands of the people.

The opinion. Maggie Gallagher at National Review Online: Ninth Circuit to 7 Million California Voters: You Are Irrational Bigots Rick Hassen at Election Law Blog: Initial Thoughts on 9th Circuit Prop. 8 Decision How Appealing links to numerous reports. Orin …

Des Moines Register: Gov. Terry Branstadt’s administration said today it is appealing a Polk County District Court ruling that ordered state health officials to issue a birth certificate listing both members of a same-sex marriage as the legal parents of a 2-year-old girl.

LifeNews.com: The 3-genetic parent embryo is back in the news. This time it is Australia that wants to attempt to genetically engineer a human embryo to have 3 genetic parents.

NYTimes.com: The Georgia law, which made the act of promoting assisted suicide an element of the crime, was deemed a violation of free speech rights. | Final Exit Network v. Georgia

Mr. Obama could amend that order or issue a new one to order federal contractors not to discriminate in their workplaces on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Blankfein to Speak Out for Same-Sex Marriage – NYTimes.com (includes video): Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief of Goldman Sachs who has become a lightning rod for Wall Street critics, might seem an unlikely advocate for same-sex marriage. But his credentials — a public figure in a conservative industry — could make him a powerful voice for that cause.

Religion Clause: Yet another decision has been handed down in the 7-year litigation over Plano, Texas Independent School District rules that, among other things, prevented a student from handing out candy canes with attached religious messages. In Morgan v. Plano Independent School District, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12875 (ED TX, Feb. 1, 2012), a Texas federal magistrate judge summarized the prior history of the case . . .

Religion Clause: In Brown v. Herbert, (D UT, Feb. 3, 2012), a Utah federal district court held that members of an openly polygamous family (subjects of the television show Sister Wives) have standing to bring suit against the County Attorney to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s Anti-Bigamy Statute.

Religion Clause: As previously reported, the Nevada Republican Party yesterday scheduled an evening caucus to accommodate Orthodox Jews who could not attend Saturday daytime caucuses for religious reasons.

The Daily Caller: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has caused a storm of controversy by saying in a television interview that the people of Egypt should not look to the United States Constitution when drafting their own governing document because it’s too old and there are newer examples from which to draw inspiration.

Religion Clause: France’s 1905 law on the separation of church and state bars creating municipal cemeteries limited to only one religion. This means that cities have been limited to setting aside Muslim-only sections in existing cemeteries.

Religion Clause: It appears that the letter posed particular issues for Catholic chaplains in the U.S. military who received a letter to read from Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA. God and Country blog reports that Army’s Office of the Chief of Chaplains e-mailed senior chaplains advising them that Broglio had not coordinated the letter with the Chief of Chaplains Office.

News from The Associated Press: A political adviser to President Barack Obama said Tuesday the administration didn’t intend to “abridge anyone’s religious freedom” with its regulation requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control for their workers.

News from The Associated Press: South Carolina drivers can buy religious license plates that feature three crosses and a sunrise.

News from The Associated Press: Utah’s Supreme Court is deciding whether a sperm donor contract is proof that a man wanted to be a father, even after his death.

News from The Associated Press: Students at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania can get the “morning-after” pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine installed at the request of the student government.

News from The Associated Press: Europe’s human rights court has rejected an invasion-of-privacy complaint by Monaco’s Princess Caroline – one of two potentially groundbreaking rulings Tuesday that uphold the media’s right to report on celebrities.

News from The Associated Press: British lawmakers from across the political spectrum voiced anger Tuesday at a court decision to release an imprisoned extremist cleric, saying the man described as one of Europe’s leading al-Qaida figures could be free during the London Olympics.

Heritage Foundation Foundry Blog: Luckily for Ms. Rowe, the Alliance Defense Fund took up her cause and provided legal representation. Ms. Rowe invoked her freedom of association under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as a defense against the claim that her statement preferring “a female Christian roommate” illegally discriminated. Ultimately, HUD ruled sensibly . . .

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears on the Hugh Hewitt Show. | MP3 audio 10:24 mins

How Appealing links to more coverage of the ruling. __________________ The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Byron Babione regarding the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit today in Walden v. Centers …

Rasmussen Reports: Fewer than half of voters nationwide still believe elections are generally fair. Most think the system is rigged to benefit incumbents in Congress.

News from The Associated Press: A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that seniors who receive Social Security cannot reject their legal right to Medicare benefits, in a rare case of Americans suing to get out of a government entitlement.

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman appeared on The Victoria Taft Show to discuss the situation. | MP3 audio 6:41 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on FRC’s Washington Watch to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 9:03 mins

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 5:35 mins

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears appeared on Truth that Transforms. | MP3 audio 24:23 mins

he Alliance Defense Fund Tuesday officially made public its report to Congress identifying waste, abuse, and potential fraud by Planned Parenthood affiliates across the nation that may amount to multiple millions of dollars in wasted taxpayer money.

Newsmax: The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) plan to hold a conference call with the media Tuesday morning, to discuss ADF’s latest report to Congress alleging waste, abuse, and potential fraud by Planned Parenthood. [more]

The New American: But instead of abandoning its attack on the pregnancy centers, the city council simply replaced its objectionable ordinance with another equally onerous statute that, explained the ADF, “continues to require pro-life centers to post negative signs simply because the centers speak to women about pregnancy.” As with the first, the replacement ordinance continues to exempt abortion facilities from the First Amendment-violating law. [more]

OneNewsNow.com: We talked with the school district, and they realized that their policies were unconstitutional [and] needed to change, and so they have fortunately drafted new policies that make sure that all religious speech is treated equally and that our client, in this case A.W., has the right to invite her friends [at school] to church activities …,” details Matt Sharp, ADF litigation staff counsel.

OneNewsNow.com: “The city should recognize that using sleight of hand to force pro-life centers to post a message the city wants does not solve the First Amendment problems with the law,” says Bowman. “Courts around the country have been striking these types of laws down that target pro-life pregnancy centers.”

WORLD New York: Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund told the Council that no other city has had a ban and so far, none has been sued for violating the First Amendment. Up until now, the primary rhetoric in favor of the ban centered on protecting the minds of impressionable youth. But today’s hearing revealed deeper concerns and a fundamental anti-Christian bias.

JournalNow.com: Although the Alliance Defense Fund is also offering to defend its revised policy if challenged in court, there were no takers on the county board on Thursday. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said she was against telling anyone how to pray: “I could never invite anyone here to pray, and meet them at the door and tell them how to pray,” she said. “That is insulting.” | Also reported at: MyFox8.com

Todaysthv.com: “All students should have the freedom to express their beliefs. The Constitution clearly prohibits bans that single out a religious viewpoint,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Matt Sharp. “This settlement means that fliers for ‘church-related’ activities will be treated with the same respect given to fliers for numerous other community programs and events.”

Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily: “The American people deserve a court system that upholds the integrity of the judicial process,” said Austin R. Nimocks, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which has worked on the case. [more]

OneNewsNow.com (2/2): “I would … urge people to realize that Mayor Bloomberg needs to know that the whole nation is watching him and that he’s not doing this in isolation or in private,” Lorence notes. “And so I would urge people to write letters or e-mails to Michael Bloomberg, City Hall, New York, New York — that’s all the address you would need.” [more]

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco at the Detroit Free Press (2/2): These five simple, yet profound, words come from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit’s recent opinion in a case involving Eastern Michigan University’s expulsion of Julea Ward from its graduate counseling program.

The Eastern Echo: Tedesco said the court recognized Ward’s rights were violated by the EMU. “The court said that the university can’t force a student to alter or violate her beliefs as a condition to getting a degree. That’s what we’ve been saying the university was up to from the beginning,” Tedesco said. “The Sixth Circuit really hit that and said, ‘That’s unacceptable. The First Amendment doesn’t allow it.’

The American people deserve a court system that upholds the integrity of the judicial process. The 9th Circuit correctly ruled that when a trial judge makes a solemn promise, as Judge Walker did by assuring the parties that the trial video would not be publicly released, the judiciary must not be allowed to renege on its pledge.

NYTimes.com: “The U.S. Constitution appears to be losing its appeal as a model for constitutional drafters elsewhere,” according to a new study by David S. Law of Washington University in St. Louis and Mila Versteeg of the University of Virginia.

Telegraph: Girls as young as 13 have been fitted with contraceptive implants at school without their parents knowing.

CBS New York: Catholic leaders upped the ante Monday, threatening to challenge the Obama administration over a provision of the new health care law that would require all employers, including religious institutions, to pay for birth control.

CNSnews.com: Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, wrote a letter to be read at all Sunday Masses for U.S. military personnel around the world that said that a regulation issued by the Obama Administration under the new federal health care law was “a blow” to a freedom that U.S. troops have not only fought to defend but for which some have recently died in battle.

ADF submitted legal opinion letter to Forest Service, will offer to defend memorial if attacked in court

Mandatory public, private school classes with graphic, church-bashing content
caused public outcry, lawsuit

In the wake of a federal court order that halted a Pulaski County Special School District flier policy, district officials have settled a lawsuit with Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing a 3rd-grade student and her mother who had been denied permission to distribute fliers for church-sponsored activities.