Tag Archives: State: New York

NY Times: The command was read at 10 consecutive roll calls. Each of the city’s 34,000 officers, in theory, got the message: For “simply exposing their breasts in public,” women are guilty of no crime

But that would have meant the organization would have to be a political committee under New York law, just as candidate committees and political parties are. The organization would then have to register with the state board of elections, comply with recordkeeping requirements, and comply with extensive, periodic reporting requirements.

Democrat and Chronicle: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday postponed deciding whether to review a prayer case involving the town of Greece.

Jordan Lorence at the NYC info: Religious liberty will likely take a step forward May 22, when the New York City Council votes on a resolution asking the New York Legislature to overturn a state law that permits the New York City public school policy that bans private worship services in the vacant buildings when school is not in session. | originally posted at Speak Up Movement.

Bloomberg: The case is Tummino v. Hamburg, 12-cv-00763, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn). The appeal is Tummino v. Hamburg, 13-1690, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Manhattan).

AP: Muslims of America Inc. says the Christian Action Network is telling deliberate and damaging lies by alleging that terrorist training is happening in the Muslim group’s U.S. enclaves.

KRMG.com: Paul and Hava spend their days together but state law requires they return to their respective state sanctioned non-profit facilities at night. You see both are developmentally disabled.

AP: A federal judge, asked by the government on Tuesday to freeze his plan giving teenage girls broader access to morning-after birth control, instead seized the chance to accuse health officials of taking steps that would end up hurting poor people and improve their chances of prevailing in a protracted legal fight with reproductive rights advocates.

Albany Times Union: Karen DeWitt of New York State Public Radio talks to state Senate Republican Conference Leader Dean Skelos about his resistance to the abortion plank of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s women’s agenda and many of the election reform proposals that have been floated.

Human Rights Campaign: Today the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act passed the New York State Assembly by a vote of 85 to 46. This bill would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in employment, housing, public accommodations and credit.

TimesUnion.org: Amid concerns that the abortion rights plank of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Agenda hasn’t yet been nailed down as legislation, women’s groups will soon be able to show lawmakers bill language blessed by the Cuomo administration.

NY Daily News: The state Senate’s only openly gay lawmaker wants to outlaw a controversial therapy that attempts to make gay youth straight.

WorldNetDaily: Outraged parents say a New York middle school instructed young female students to ask one another for a lesbian kiss – and boys learned how to spot young sluts – in an anti-bullying presentation on gender identity and sexual orientation, according to Fox News’ Todd Starnes.

Education Week: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the appeal of a New York State couple who unsuccessfully sought a religious exemption from the vaccinations required for one of their children to attend public schools . . . The justices declined without comment to hear the family’s appeal in Caviezel v. Great Neck Public Schools (Case No. 12-869).

LifeNews: A college professor has been arrested for a profane rant at pro-life students at the University of Buffalo.

Rasmussen: Fifty-seven percent (57%) oppose the availability of the contraceptive for those that young without a prescription. Ten percent (10%) are undecided

Catherine Glenn Foster at American Thinker: On April 5, Federal District Court Judge Edward R. Korman ordered the Food and Drug Administration to allow over-the-counter distribution of Plan B abortifacient pills to girls of any age, thus striking down even the Obama administration’s practice of requiring a prescription for girls 16 years old and younger.

Charles Hanes at Washington Post: On March 28, a group of atheists in New York lost round one in their legal battle to keep the “Ground Zero Cross” out of the National September 11 Museum in lower Manhattan.

Times Union: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday nominated Sheila Abdus-Salaam, an appellate justice in Manhattan, to fill the final vacancy on the state’s highest court, where she will be the first black woman to serve.

Religion Clause Blog: Last September, New York City’s Board of Health adopted a controversial rule that requires informed consent from a parent or guardian in a Jewish ritual circumcision where a mohel will use the controversial procedure known as metzitzah b’peh.

MSNBC: Ella explains who a person can and can’t marry and how in New York a person can marry anyone they love. “Girls can marry girls and boys can marry boys in New York and a girl can marry a boy in New York too,” Ella told Krystal.

“We are pleased that the court got part of it right: the First Amendment prohibits the government from funding candidates based upon their opponent’s speech,” said James Bopp, Jr., counsel for the plaintiffs.

CNSNews: In a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that age restrictions on over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill are “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” and must end within 30 days.

American Freedom Law Center: Yesterday, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) filed a lengthy memorandum of law in opposition to a Buffalo-area school district’s motion to dismiss AFLC’s federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Joelle Silver, a Christian public school teacher who was forced by school officials to censor her personal speech and remove all religious content from her classroom under threat of being fired.

NY Post: With the state budget done, Albany will now turn to other issues — with Gov. Cuomo’s push for a new abortion law being one of the top issues. We’re told the proposal is a codification of the US Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that created a constitutional right to abortion. It’s not.

Religion Clause Blog: In American Atheists, Inc. v. Port Authority of NY and NJ, (SD NY, March 28, 2013), a New York federal district court rejected constitutional challenges to the inclusion of the World Trade Center Cross—two beams that survived the collapse of the World Trade Center—as part of the National September 11 Museum in lower Manhattan.

CBS New York: With the cost of living on the rise and showing no sign of slowing down, total strangers desperate to save money are moving in together.

Jordan Lorence at Speak Up Movement: Controversy continues to swirl around an anti-Israel “BDS” event at Brooklyn College on February 7, in which police removed four Jewish students from the event advocating for “BDS,” which is “boycott [of], divestment [from] and sanctions [against])” Israel. School officials are now investigating the removal, according to an article in the Jewish Daily Forward.

ABC: New York City health officials are urging some men to get vaccinated against meningitis amid an outbreak that has sickened 22 New Yorkers and killed seven. The dangerous strain of bacterial meningitis appears to be spreading through sexual encounters between men who meet through websites or smartphone apps, or at bars or parties, according to the City’s health department.

Religion Clause Blog: In Berkowitz v. East Ramapo Central School District, (SD NY, March 21, 2013), Jewish teachers and nurses sued after school officials refused to abide by provisions in collective bargaining agreements allowing teachers and school nurses to use paid sick leave days for observance of religious holidays.

Wall Street Journal: The owner of a Hudson Valley strip club is suing a local town after its plans to open a new adult business hit some snags when neighbors complained.

Wall Street Journal: Catholic bishops are making their annual lobbying visit to Albany as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Republicans are starting to clash over the governor’s abortion law proposal.

“The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), along with 19 other plaintiffs is suing the U.S. treasury for stamping “In God We Trust” on currency. Honorary FFRF board member, Mike Newdow, is acting as legal counsel in the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 1, 2013.”

Religion Clause Blog: A federal district court judge in New York City yesterday denied a motion by counsel for an accused terrorist who wanted to exclude Jews from the jury because there will be inflammatory testimony at trial about Jews and Zionism.

YouTube: Victims of the Obama Administration’s assault on religious freedom speak out at Rep. Black’s press conference in support of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. Speakers included:

The Stokes News: Legal counsel with Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to the Stokes County Board of Education, superintendent and West Stokes High School principal in mid-February, stating, “We have received complaints about three practices of Stokes County Schools that unlawfully promote religion and coerce religious exercise.”

NY Post: The numbers are staggering. Out of 120,000 live births in New York City in 2010, more than 54,000 babies were born out of wedlock. The human toll behind the numbers is devastating. Children raised without two parents face much higher odds in every facet of life. It’s as if they are forced to swim with one hand tied behind their backs.

Kim Daniels at Times Union: But rather than help such women in need, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reproductive Health Act would make a bad situation worse.

Catherine Glenn Foster at Townhall: In 2012, nearly half of America’s states enacted laws designed to protect women and children from coerced, unsafe, and rushed abortions. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, has dug in his heels in blind obedience to an outdated doctrine and is pushing to expand abortion in his state.

Kevin Theriot appeared on the Bott Radio Network with Dick Bott to discuss this: NY school treats blessing like cursing. | MP3 audio 26:41 mins

Washington Blade: The U.S. Senate on Monday evening made history with little difficulty when it confirmed the first openly gay Asian-American for a seat on the federal bench. By a voice vote, the Senate confirmed Pamela Ki Mai Chen, a lesbian, for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review: Dr. Anne Nolte, a family physician, takes time today from her busy patient schedule at the National Gianna Center for Women’s Health and Fertility she directs in Manhattan to protest Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Reproductive Health Act.

Blog of the Legal Times: The committee unanimously voted to approve Nelson Roman to be a judge for the Southern District of New York and Shelly Dick for the Middle District of Louisiana. The other nominees had opposition from Republicans: William Orrick for the Northern District of California was approved 11-7, and David Medine for the privacy board was approved 10-8.

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: Our children are under legal attack. Across the country, a slew of efforts are underway to punish youngsters for the faith of their parents … to intimidate children and their parents out of any public expression of their faith … and to circumvent even the most innocuous program that might somehow benefit Christian children in school.

Wall Street Journal: A coalition of physicians says Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed abortion rights bill will hurt women, forcing many into lifetime bouts with depression and guilt while making late-term abortions more common and more dangerous.

News from the Missouri Family Policy Council: “Silencing religious voices in public schools tells students that faith is something to be ashamed of,” says Jeremy Tedesco of the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the student in the case. “The First Amendment does not allow public schools to require students to put a lid on their expressions of faith.”

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham at JDSupra.com: Still, the case may not be over. The Alliance Defending Freedom has petitioned for a rehearing en banc (by the entire Second Circuit), on the basis that students of faith should not be excluded from fully participating in important events, and that personal speech and well-wishes should not be shut down just because of a religious reference.ADF argues that well-wishes and blessings do have a secular analogue, as expressed by the entire Hallmark industry.3 If this argument shifts the analysis to viewpointdiscrimination, the standard becomes much tougher for the school to meet, even under Hazelwood.

NY Post: What should Albany be devoting its time to these days? Gov. Cuomo seems to think it’s abortion.

Christian Post: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. The personal well-wishes of a student are no different just because they mention God,” said Senior Counsel David Cortman. “Public school officials have no legitimate basis to shut down personal speech just because it has a religious reference.” . . . Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the largest legal organizations in the United States championing religious freedom rights, changed its name and logo from Alliance Defense Fund last year.
“Our mission remains the same – defending religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family. Only our name has changed,” ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears stated last July. “The change is to help more people easily understand the work that we do and why it matters.” [more]

Matt Bowman appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss this: Mt. Sinai Ends Forced Abortion-participation Policy. | MP3 audio 11:09 mins

Albany Watch: He’s not planning to separate the abortion piece in order to allow the Legislature to approve other, non-contentious measures. The so-called “Women’s Equality Act” would include not only a bill to codify federal abortion rights in state law, but also legislation enhancing pay equity, cracking down on sex trafficking and ending pregnancy discrimination.

NY Times: Bucking a trend in which states have been seeking to restrict abortion, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is putting the finishing touches on legislation that would guarantee women in New York the right to late-term abortions when their health is in danger or the fetus is not viable.

Christian Post: “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. The personal well-wishes of a student are no different just because they mention God,” said Senior Counsel David Cortman. “Public school officials have no legitimate basis to shut down personal speech just because it has a religious reference.”

ChristianNews.net: The girl’s family then asked the Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to assist with the matter, which resulted in a federal lawsuit. “Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. The personal well-wishes of a student are no different just because they mention God,” stated senior counsel David Cortman. “Public school officials have no legitimate basis to shut down personal speech just because it has a religious reference.”

Thomas Messner at the Heritage Foundation: The nurse, Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a public interest law firm that focuses on issues including right of conscience and religious freedom.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to weigh in on a three-judge panel’s ruling against a New York 8th-grade student who wanted to include a religious blessing at the end of her graduation speech.

LifeSiteNews (2/15): “Pro-life medical personnel shouldn’t be forced to participate in abortions, and the new policies and procedures at Mt. Sinai reflect that,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The hospital seems to have decided to do the right thing and respect the conscience rights of its employees, who are protected by both federal and state law. We will continue to monitor the situation to make sure that the new policy is followed.”

World Mag: “Pro-life medical personnel shouldn’t be forced to participate in abortions, and the new policies and procedures at Mt. Sinai reflect that,” said ADF senior legal counsel Matt Bowman in a statement. “The hospital seems to have decided to do the right thing and respect the conscience rights of its employees, who are protected by both federal and state law.”

Baptist Press (2/15): “Pro-life medical personnel shouldn’t be forced to participate in abortions, and the new policies and procedures at Mt. Sinai reflect that,” said Matt Bowman, senior legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), in a Feb. 12 written statement. “The hospital seems to have decided to do the right thing and respect the conscience rights of its employees, who are protected by both federal and state law.”

One News Now: ADF attorney Matt Bowman tells OneNewsNow that pro-life personnel should not be forced to assist abortions. “The hospital seems to have decided to do the right thing — to respect the freedom of conscience of employees — because these employees are protected by both federal and state law in their freedom not to assist abortions,” he explains. Bowman adds that Mt. Sinai had known of DeCarlo’s religious objections since 2004.

LifeNews: “Pro-life medical personnel shouldn’t be forced to participate in abortions, and the new policies and procedures at Mt. Sinai reflect that,” said Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The hospital seems to have decided to do the right thing and respect the conscience rights of its employees, who are protected by both federal and state law. We will continue to monitor the situation to make sure that the new policy is followed.”

HHS investigation requested by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of NY nurse prompts new changes at hospital

Jon Scruggs at Speak Up Movement: In this respect, our proposed “worship paradigm” highlights the importance of the Bronx case and reveals conceptual flaws underlying the effort to exclude New York City churches from school buildings after hours. With the Bronx decision liable to come any day now, it will be interesting to see whether the Second Circuit continues to perpetuate the worship service/discussion distinction. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear (i.e. those who adopt our proposed worship paradigm), the continued perpetuation of this false distinction strikes right at the heart of our religious freedoms.

Religion Clause Blog: The New York Times reports that a New York federal district court on Monday dismissed one of three lawsuits challenging a proposed eruv that Orthodox Jews in Westhampton Beach plan to put up.

LifeSiteNews: Under state law, schools do not need to obtain parental consent to dispense the drugs. The $2.7 million program has provided contraceptives to 22,400 teens as young as 14.

Education News: Handouts of the “morning-after pill” to sexually active students have skyrocketed under an unpublicized project in which health centers in public schools offer girls a full menu of free birth-control drugs and devices, records obtained by The Post show.

LifeNews: If you saw the news about New York’s governor proposing that his state do even more late abortions, you were probably shocked, but maybe not surprised.

Islamist Watch: Zead Ramadan, board president of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), is eyeing a bigger platform from which to promote his Islamist agenda: a seat on the New York City Council. If he prevails, the city that endured 9/11 will count among its lawmakers a senior official in an organization linked to the financing of terrorists and intent on frustrating law enforcement efforts to foil the next jihad plot.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the Wall Street Journal: Since the mid-19th century, the Catholic-school model has been “one parish, one school.” That served us well for many years, but it has become painfully obvious that a new model is needed. Beginning in September, the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York will be broken down into regions, and every parish will be responsible for, contribute to, send children to, and have a voice in Catholic education in the archdiocese.

Religion Clause Blog: As previously reported, a New York federal district court earlier this month refused to issue a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the New York City Health Department’s rule requiring that a mohel(Jewish ritual circumciser) obtain a written informed consent form from parents before he performs a circumcision using the oral suction technique (metzitzah b’peh).

Religion Clause Blog: Vos Iz Neias? reported yesterday on a federal lawsuit filed in a New York federal district court by a minor student enrolled in a Nassau county yeshiva and by her father against the New York State Assembly and its legislative leaders.

LifeSiteNews: By promoting one of the most expansive abortion bills in American history, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has opened a civil war on two fronts: with his church and with elements of his own party.

WBTA1490.com: A religious freedom lawsuit involving the town of Greece could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The group Alliance Defending Freedom has asked the high court to reconsider an appeals court ruling involving prayers used to start Greece Town Board meetings.

Democrat and Chronicle: David Cortman is senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which has represented Greece at no charge since the case was filed in 2009 by two Greece residents who objected to the prayers. He blasted the appellate court decision, noting a long history in the U.S. of opening legislative sessions with prayer. “The town of Greece had a constitutional practice of allowing citizens to voluntarily deliver a prayer according to the dictates of their own conscience,” he said via email. “While the district court upheld the practice, the appeals court found it unconstitutional because the town did not invite non-Christian clergy from outside its borders.”

Chris Gacek of FRC at the Washington Times: In May 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit issued an aggressive, secular ruling in a “legislative” prayer case arising from a small town in western New York. In Town of Greece v. Galloway . . . The court applied a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis that paid close attention to the content of the prayers. The court recognized the prayers “did not preach conversion, threaten damnation to nonbelievers, downgrade other faiths, or the like.” Nevertheless, the court balanced factors like the proportion of prayers offered by self-identified Christians, whether prayers “contained uniquely Christian references,” and finally whether the person offering the prayer used first-person plural pronouns (“we” or “us”).