Daily Archives: March 23, 2012

Baptist Press: Utah Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed a bill that would have prohibited sex education classes in public schools from teaching alternative lifestyles and giving detailed information about intercourse and contraception.

Austin Ruse at The Catholic Thing: I do not believe that sexual orientation and gender identity should become new categories of non-discrimination in international law. For this, I have been “outed” on a number of homosexual websites and blogs as supporting the murder of homosexuals.

Sacramento Bee reports.

AsiaNews.it: The Christian community in Iraqis once more the target of Islamic extremism: Yesterday morning in Mosul in the north, security forces found the corpse of a man riddled with bullets.

Doug Farrow at Touchstone: Here we have what is perhaps the most pressing reason why same-sex marriage should be fought, and fought vigorously. It is a reason that neither the proponents nor the opponents of same-sex marriage have properly debated or thought through. In attacking “heterosexual monogamy,” same-sex marriage does away with the very institution—the only institution we have—that exists precisely in order to support the natural family and to affirm its independence from the state. In doing so, it effectively makes every citizen a ward of the state, by turning his or her most fundamental human connections into legal constructs at the state’s gift and disposal.

National Review: On the one hand — as NRO’s resident demography bore has been tirelessly pointing out — the Western world is facing an unparalleled demographic crisis brought on by a feminist-inspired modern twist on Lysistrata (showering sex but withholding children), while at the same time, the West’s vaunted “safety net” is collapsing because the system has been turned upside-down and a bevy of great-grandparents now coos over a single child.

Pope Benedict said on Friday communism no longer works in Cuba and that the Roman Catholic Church was ready to help the island find new ways of moving forward without “trauma.”

Washington Post: Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Friday that President Obama gives people reason to believe that he’s a Muslim.

Religion Clause Blog: In Imani Christian Academy v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, (Commwlth. Ct. PA, March 21, 2012), a Pennsylvania appeals court, in a 2-1 decision held that a Christian school which was independent from the church that founded it, but had overlapping personnel, is not exempt from the Pennsylvania unemployment compensation statute.

LifeSiteNews: “The Slovenian government has received a stern warning from a coalition of religious leaders against loosening the country’s laws to extend adoption rights to homosexual partners.”

CNN: A federal immigration court judge in San Francisco put a deportation proceeding on hold Friday for a gay California man who is an undocumented immigrant and married to a U.S. citizen, the couple’s attorney said.

USA Today: The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ decision to rescind an Indiana gay rights advocacy group’s specialty license plates has created a statewide battle among state officials, conservation groups and gay rights organizations.

Tennessean: About 500 people packed the steps of the state Capitol for the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally, held this afternoon to oppose the federal health care mandate.

AFP: “I think if there were major pieces of legislation that discriminated against any group, we would have to take that into account in our relationship, and it would be a cause for concern,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday in response to the video.

Washington Post: Obama’s top political advisers have held serious discussions with leading Democrats about the upsides and downsides of coming out for gay marriage before the fall election, a Democratic strategist who has discussed these matters directly with Obama’s campaign inner circle tells me.

Christian Concern: A Judge has ruled that a Christian who was demoted for posting private comments on his Facebook page criticising the introduction of “gay marriage” in churches cannot rely on his human rights to defend himself.

Christian Institute (carries the video): Even the Prime Minister – who personally backs gay marriage – was caught on camera looking irritated by the Speaker’s brash actions.

LoHud.com: Hundreds of people angry about the Obama administration’s contraception mandate rallied on Wall Street today, one of more than 100 such protests held across the country to define the mandate as an assault on religious freedom.

Washington Post: Every year it’s the same story: Another person, group, or institution attacks the observance of religious holidays in the name of inclusion and open-mindedness. The idea is that somehow accommodating my religious observance is offensive to those who do not share the same beliefs.

KCCI.com (includes video): “The truth needs to be told, Bob Vander Plaats needs to get a real job instead of working to spread a message of hate and discrimination,” said Sen. Matt McCoy.

USA Today: Seda Makhagieva, 15, had to fight to wear the hijab, a scarf that some Muslims say must be worn by women and older girls.

AP: A Canadian man testified Friday that he paid $105,000 ((EURO)80,000) to an Israeli citizen in 2008 to organize a kidney transplant in a Kosovo clinic allegedly used by an international organ trafficking network for dozens of illegal operations.

LifeSiteNews (includes video): Former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has criticized his party for waging a “war on women” based on their reaction to the Obama administration’s mandate that will force religious institutions to pay for contraception, abortifacient drugs and sterilization.

LifeNews: Thousands of pro-life Americans took to nearly 200 local rallies in cities and towns across the country to stand up for religious freedom and against the Obama mandate that requires employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions.

Blog of the Legal Times: The Senate confirmed Rudolph Contreras today as a U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia, becoming the second Latino to serve on D.C.’s federal district court.

Catholic Culture: The attorney general of Alabama has joined in a lawsuit filed by the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) to stop the Obama contraception mandate.

C-FAM: The United States burned diplomatic bridges during this year’s UN Commission on the Status of Women by using force and deception to pass an unpopular resolution calling for international access to contraception.

Elizabethton Star: The Senate has passed a proposal that would allow school personnel to participate in student-initiated religious activities on school grounds.

Washington Blade: A gay former judge running for the office of Delaware Insurance Commissioner and a gay Realtor running for the State Senate in a district that includes the popular gay resort town of Rehoboth Beach . . .

Seattle Times: A national group opposed to gay marriage called Wednesday for a boycott of Starbucks in response to the company’s public support of a new same-sex marriage law in Washington state.

Huffington Post: “In all of his teachings about multiple things -– he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies.”

NY Times: Senator James S. Alesi, one of four New York State Republicans who voted in favor of same-sex marriage last year, is unlikely to receive the nomination of the main Republican committee in his district, setting the stage for a difficult re-election race that could have implications in the fight for control of the State Senate.

Clevaland Dispatch: A college student identified at birth as a female but who now lives as a man says Miami University discriminated against him in school housing by assigning him to a women’s dormitory suite for next year.

Alliance Defense Fund at facebook. Photo’s are from all over the nation. Thousands rally at hundreds of locations to “Stand up for Religious Freedom” and against the HHS Mandate forcing people of faith to act against their conscience.

One News Now: Starbucks officials see no impact of the company’s decision to endorse a same-gender “marriage” bill passed by lawmakers in Washington state.

WorldNetDaily: The most well-read news story anywhere got no mention on Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times or any other so-called “mainstream” news outlet – a laughable adjective.

AWR Hawkins at Townhall: Ironically, after reading King’s argument about how Christian leaders are looking outside the church for scapegoats, I can’t help but notice how King is doing the exact same thing himself. He is looking outside of the movement he shares with Wallis and trying blame everyone who’s not equally “progressive” for the push-back President Obama’s agenda is facing from Christians throughout America.

Religion Clause Blog: Annenberg TV News yesterday reported that in Los Angeles, California, the Council on Islamic American relations has filed a lawsuit challenging the city of Lomita’s refusal to grant a permit for a renovation project for the South Bay Islamic Center.

Daily Mail: Shocking new evidence of the trade in human body parts has revealed how British patients could be buying organs from executed prisoners for £50,000.

Washington Post: China will abolish the transplanting of organs from executed prisoners within five years and try to spur more citizens to donate, a top health official says.

“Churches and ministries shouldn’t live in fear of being punished by the government for engaging in free speech protected by the First Amendment. The substance of our argument in that regard is alive and well at the Texas Supreme Court. All the high court decided was that it would not put a hold on the ruling from the Texas Court of Appeals. It has not yet ruled on the substance of our case or on our motion for an expedited appeal.”

Religion Clause Blog: In In re Navy Chaplaincy, (D DC, March 21, 2012), is another chapter in the long-running litigation by chaplains, endorsing agencies and churches claiming that the Navy discriminates against members of “non-liturgical” religions in its promotion, retention and separation  of chaplains.

SanLuisObispo.com: A San Luis Obispo atheists group is challenging the constitutionality of the City Council’s decision to not charge for parking downtown until church services have concluded on Sunday mornings.

ADF Attorney Jeremy Tedesco on WOAM Radio (1350am) “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” in Peoria, Illinois to discuss this: ADF responds to additional ACLU demands that schoolchildren be exposed to porn. | MP3 audio 7:52 mins

ADF Attorney Matt Bowman on Word of Truth Radio with Brad Brandon to discuss this: Obama Admin Finalizes Rules: $1 Abortions in ObamaCare. | MP3 audio 9:54 mins

ADF Attorney Steve Aden on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 13:47 mins

ADF Attorney Greg Baylor on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: Hierarchy in higher education: Fla. offers grants for some, but not all. | MP3 audio 5:31 mins

ADF Attorney Joel Oster appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this: Hundreds of Christians face jail time in El Paso. | MP3 audio 13:46 mins

AWR Hawkins at SALVO Mag: Fortunately, over time, and with the aid of the Alliance Defense Fund, both professors found relief: Howell has been allowed to start teaching again, and the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has ruled that Adams’s speech is protected under the First Amendment. But the bigger issue is why either situation ever happened in the first place. Both exemplify the not-so-free exchange of ideas that so frequently characterizes the university in the 21st century.

Thomas More Society: Today, Thomas More Society attorneys secured agreement from the U.S. Attorney General’s office to dismiss all of the civil charges pending against Denver pro-life advocate Kenneth Scott, who had been accused of physically obstructing clients and employees of the Planned Parenthood of theRocky Mountains abortion facility.

ssue(s): (1) Whether a state agency can ban the objective use of all materials it deems “religious” from public schools (including charter schools) and universities without First Amendment scrutiny. (2) Whether the state has either a valid educational interest or a mandate from the Establishment Clause to prohibit the objective use of all religious materials in a secular curriculum. (3) Whether “political subdivisions” are barred per se from suing their states in federal court regardless of their degree of independence or type of claim.

The New American: “Public universities should encourage, not censor, the free exchange of ideas,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman. “But for now, the supposed marketplace of ideas at San Diego State University will remain a stronghold for censorship. We wish the Supreme Court would have used this opportunity to make clear that the First Amendment protects the right of student groups to employ belief-based criteria in selecting their members and leaders.”

National Right to Life: Added ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox, “No one should force Rhode Islanders to subsidize other people’s abortions under the guise of health care reform, especially through illegitimate, extra-constitutional methods.”

LifeNews: “No one should force Rhode Islanders to subsidize other people’s abortions under the guise of health care reform, especially through illegitimate, extra-constitutional methods,” said ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox. “The responsibility to define and create these exchanges lies solely with the people through the General Assembly. The governor cannot circumvent state lawmakers simply because the majority of them want to maintain longstanding prohibitions against the use of taxpayer dollars for elective abortions.”

Christian Post: Jonathan Scruggs, Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Staff Counsel who represented the Whitson family in court, told The Christian Post that he was “disappointed with the ruling.” “But it’s important to note that the 6th Circuit did agree with us that errors were made in the jury trial. The 6th Circuit just ruled that those errors were ‘harmless’ and did not necessarily affect the outcome of the jury’s decision,” said Scruggs.
“We certainly agree that errors were made, but we also believe that these errors did in fact affect the outcome and deprived the Whitsons of a fair trial.”

AP: Joachim Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor and East German pro-democracy activist with no party affiliation, was formally sworn in

Liberty Counsel has agreed to represent Rev. Scott Lively, an evangelical pastor who was sued in a Massachusetts federal court by a foreign group called Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG).

HSLDA reports (includes audio).

Joe Carter at the Gospel Coalition: “Throughout the years of defending its policy,” says the Alliance Defense Fund, “the university did not tell the Democratic club it must be led by a Republican, or the vegetarian club that it must be led by a meat-eater, but it did tell Christian groups that they must allow themselves to be led by atheists.”

AP: . . . administrators removed him as student body president after he promoted changes aimed at making the prom more inclusive to gay students.

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Vice-President and Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco will join numerous other religious leaders Friday at the San Diego “Speak Up for Religious Freedom” rally. The rally will express opposition to the Obama administration mandate that forces religious organizations to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and other contraceptives through their insurance plans.

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys will be available for media interviews following oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in a lawsuit involving a Montgomery County law that forces pro-life pregnancy counselors to advise women against using their services.