Tag Archives: State: Pennsylvania

WFMZ: “A birth certificate is a precious document for a parent. But it’s a document that parents of stillborns in Pennsylvania don’t have.”

LifeNews: “The city of Pittsburgh may have to pay attorneys fees after it lost a case regarding the buffer zone law that has been the subject of lawsuits by pro-life advocates . . . Alliance Defense Fund attorneys challenged the local law as unconstitutional for prohibiting speech and helped represent a pro-life nurse who took on the ordinance, which prohibited her from counseling and speaking with women.”

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer on Thursday granted a request from Mary Kathryn Brown and ordered the city to pay $209,276 in attorney fees and costs, mostly to attorneys from The Alliance Defense Fund, for representing Brown in federal court.”

ADF Attorney Casey Mattox writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “ADF allied attorneys Len Brown, Randy Wenger and Demetrios Stratis (with assistance from many more allies) sent letters to 5 schools – Rutgers, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Westmoreland Community College (PA), Cheyney University (PA), and Delaware State . . . I’m pleased to let you know that while none have been finalized yet, all five schools have acknowledged the need to revise their policies to protect students’ free speech rights.”

Washington Post: “Senior White House advisers asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about whether he was serious about running for Senate, and to feel out whether he’d be open to other alternatives, according to sources familiar with the situation . . . ”

ADF Attorney Casey Mattox writing at Speak Up Movement / University: “Several months ago I was reviewing a policy at Penn State-Erie when I stumbled upon the ‘Safe Zone’ at Penn State-Behrend (the Erie campus). I finally got around to blogging about the school’s decision to extend its “Safe Zone” coverage to atheist and vegetarian students – something I had never seen before . . . Surprisingly, someone at Penn State – Behrend evidently read my blog and the school quickly altered its “Safe Zone–Behrend” to remove atheists and vegetarians. (You can also view the same website here, with a delicious treat added). This means that these woebegone classes have now been cast back to the lions (seriously, that’s their mascot) of Penn State–Behrend alongside the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, agnostic (who evidently were not convinced enough of the non-existence of God for the ‘Safe Zone’), omnivorous, and other students who must fend for themselves in the wilds of Erie, PA.”

Wire: “A former Pennsylvania high school student has sued school and county officials for damages in a controversial sexting case. The student alleges a violation of her constitutional rights, in a civil suit filed last week that could serve as a cautionary tale to other officials considering punishing students over risque self-portraits . . . ”

Lambda Legal: “The Boy Scouts are entitled to their beliefs, but they have no right to make the city of Philadelphia’s taxpayers foot the bill for their harmful discrimination against gay people.”

Fox News: “A top-ranking Republican over the weekend accused the White House of handing a “bribe” to Rep. Joe Sestak, as the Pennsylvania congressman held firm to his claim that the Obama administration offered him a job to sit out the Senate primary race against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. ”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Now the state is in the midst of developing a sophisticated data system that will track students from preschool to elementary and secondary education to postsecondary education to the work force . . . ”

ABC: “A Pennsylvania school district that was at the center of a highly publicized ‘sexting’ case was sued Thursday by a teenager who claims her principal confiscated her cell phone, found nude images she had taken of herself and turned it over to prosecutors.”

AP: “Former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey is the Republican nominee to run for Senate in Pennsylvania.”

AP: “Wednesday’s endorsement by NARAL Pro-Choice America goes to U.S. Rep. Joe Sesta . . . ”

Anthony Hardy Williams writes at the Wall Street Journal full access via Google: “Under President Obama’s new $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, states can compete for funds by creating programs that improve the quality of their schools. The idea of rewarding school reform initiatives is good, but one-time grants from the federal government will not improve our public education system by itself . . . Pennsylvania should adopt reform based on the same premise as the Race to the Top initiative: that competition for taxpayer dollars improves the quality of education. School choice means supporting the full menu of educational options . . . ”

AP: “Free-speech lawsuits being filed Wednesday accuse Pennsylvania State Police of wrongly charging hundreds of people with disorderly conduct for swearing.”

Google News (AP): “Specter, then a Republican, voted against Kagan’s nomination as solicitor general in March 2009. In a statement on Monday, Sestak said he expects Specter ‘may backtrack from his earlier vote on Ms. Kagan this week in order to help himself in the upcoming primary election, but the people of Pennsylvania have no way of knowing where he will stand after May 18.’”

LifeNews: “State officials in Pennsylvania want to close the abortion center run by abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who is under investigation following the death of a woman in a botched abortion . . . ”

Pocono Record: “Those against a proposed ban on churches along the Route 209 commercial district and those favoring expanded zoning for strip clubs both got at least part of what they wanted. Most who testified were far from happy with the document as a whole . . . The new ordinance does take the decision of whether to approve a strip club, adult book store or similar use out of the hands of supervisors. It will be up to the Zoning Board of Appeals to determine if the use and location meet the new requirements.”

Philly.com: “Burlington County school board voted Tuesday night to pull a book depicting teenage homosexuality from its high school library shelves after protests from a local conservative group.”

LifeNews: “News of a teenager who was taken to New Jersey from her foster mother and allegedly pressured by city health department officials to have an abortion is drawing outrage from pro-life advocates.”

Times Record News (AP): “[T]he federal government doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, nor do the vast majority of states, including Pennsylvania. Even with a valid out-of-state marriage license, gay and lesbian couples in those states face uncertainty, extra legal bills and inevitable rebuffs that straight couples avoid . . . ‘The government cannot issue a divorce for a marriage it doesn’t recognize,’ said ADF senior legal counsel [Austin Nimocks].”

CNN: “It’s only been two months since the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage, but local attorney Lawrence Jacobs is already cautioning his clients: Marriage may be allowed, but divorce will be much harder to do. While the District and five states have legalized same-sex marriage and consequently allow divorces, granting same-sex divorce elsewhere is often murky. As married same-sex couples cross into states that explicitly ban or don’t recognize gay marriage, they face a dilemma.”

“A DEPARTMENT OF Human Services caseworker pressured a pregnant Mayfair teenager to undergo a late-term abortion by threatening to take away either her toddler or her unborn baby if she had the child, according to the teen’s foster mother.”

Times-Leader: “A federal judge today issued a permanent injunction precluding Wyoming County prosecutors from filing charges against several teen girls involved in a ‘sexting’ case . . . Munley’s ruling ends the case. Wyoming County may be on the hook to pay attorneys fees to the ACLU, however.” | Related: 3rd Circuit: Prosecutor’s offer of leniency to teens for sexting is unconstitutional retaliation

WFMJ (AP): “A bill that would require Pennsylvania’s public schools to provide sex education to students is on its way to the state House of Representatives.” | HB 1163. Today’s Education Committee Roll Calls can be viewed here. | For more information on Pennsylvania and “sex ed” see this ADF Alliance Alert compound tag: http://www.alliancealert.org/tag/state-pennsylvania+topic-sex-indoctrination/

The Philadelphia Inquirer: “It’s happened so often that it’s now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight. In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability. Not in Center City’s 182d state House district. There, it’s a badge of honor . . . ”

Pittsburgt Post-Gazette: “The recent charges against state Sen. Jane Orie stemming from the 2009 Supreme Court race, combined with the “explosive” growth in funds spent to elect appellate judges, are strong reasons why Pennsylvania should move to a merit selection system for judges, Gov. Ed Rendell said today.”

Lebanon Daily News: “On Tuesday, the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center of Lebanon County will address the growing sexting problem with teens, parents and other concerned citizens at a town meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Lebanon High School auditorium, 1000 S. Eighth St.”

OneNewsNow: “Five universities and colleges in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are being urged to revise their policies that may restrict the free-speech rights of Christian students . . . ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco tells OneNewsNow that the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2007, in another ADF case, that such restrictions are unconstitutional because they gave officials ‘an easy-to-abuse enforcement mechanism to punish any speech that they may decide is “offensive.”‘ That, says the attorney, presents a dilemma for students.”

On Top Mag (“gay advocacy website”): “A Pennsylvania lawmaker says he’s preparing to introduce a bill in the House that would recognize gay and lesbian couples with civil unions. Representative Mark Cohen, a Democrat, says he expects to debut his bill by April 14, gay weekly Philadelphia Gay News reported.”

PennLive.com: “In the wake of the indictment of state Sen. Jane Orie, the highest-ranking woman in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, uber-activist and Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives Gene Stilp has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board against Judge Joan Orie Melvin, the state senator’s sister . . . ”

Evangelical Examiner: “According to the Alliance Defense Fund, on behalf of students at five universities and colleges in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, they have sent letters today to inform the schools of the need to revise restrictive ‘speech codes’ on their books that do not comport with a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. . . . ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco said: ‘The 3rd Circuit has ruled that the kinds of ‘speech codes’ we see at these universities are unconstitutional primarily because they give officials an easy-to-abuse enforcement mechanism to punish any speech that they may decide is “offensive.” These policies need to be revised to respect student free speech rights that are protected by the First Amendment.’”

HotAir.com quoting from Liberty Pundits: “In late February, on the victim’s birthday, Tercero visited her at home and used misoprostol he allegedly stole from Wegmans pharmacy to cause the miscarriage. Without her knowing it, Tercero put one pill in her vagina, one in her juice and one in her water. She was 13 weeks pregnant at the time . . . ”

On behalf of students at five universities and colleges in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the Alliance Defense Fund sent letters Thursday to inform the schools of the need to revise restrictive “speech codes” on their books that do not comport with a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

ACLU: “The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee today voted against legislation to amend the state constitution to ban same sex marriage. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania hailed the vote as a victory for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the commonwealth . . . ”

The Morning Call: “For many parents of stillborns, a birth certificate is a purely symbolic but nonetheless precious document. Almost 30 states, including neighboring New Jersey, have laws that direct health departments to issue birth certificates for births resulting in stillbirth if a parent requests one. Pennsylvania law doesn’t provide for stillborn birth certificates. But Mancini’s grandmother, Dorothy Knappenberger of South Whitehall Township, is leading a grass-roots movement to change the law.”

Philadelphia Gay News: “City attorneys urged a federal judge this week to require the Boy Scouts to post an $80,000 bond while the city attempts to evict them from a city-owned building . . . The Scouts refuse to pay fair-market rent, and won’t permit openly gay participants, while the building continues to deteriorate, said David Smith, an attorney for the city . . . ”

The Reporter: “For the second month in a row, West Rockhill has put new rules on the books to keep a lid on sexually-related businesses. In February, it was restrictions designed to make sure massage parlors are not fronts for prostitution. In March, it was an update to zoning rules for adult entertainment businesses.” | Related: PA: West Rockhill passes sex shop restrictions

The state Supreme Court, Lash wrote, has described a ‘fundamental right’ as ‘”inherent in man’s nature,” among the “basic rights of human beings,” and among the “Hallmarks of Western Civilization.”‘ The argument that a same-sex marriage passes such a test is ‘unsupportable,’ the judge continued.” [post update links to the opinion]

Lambda Legal: “Late yesterday afternoon, Lambda Legal and Mazzoni Center sought permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in a federal lawsuit brought by the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America challenging the City of Philadelphia’s policy requiring nondiscrimination in the use of the City’s subsidies.”

Lambda Legal: “Late yesterday afternoon, Lambda Legal and Mazzoni Center sought permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in a federal lawsuit brought by the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America challenging the City of Philadelphia’s policy requiring nondiscrimination in the use of the City’s subsidies.”

OneNewsNow: “A middle-school student in Pennsylvania will be allowed to wear a T-shirt with the message ‘Abortion is not healthcare’ after the school district there reached a settlement with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) . . . ‘The Supreme Court has held for years that students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate, and that certainly applies to Christian and pro-life students also,’ [David Cortman] contends. ‘So we certainly commend the school district for finally realizing and agreeing to change their unconstitutional policy.’”

OneNewsNow: “The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has intervened in a case in which the family of a mentally disabled man wants life-sustaining treatment halted, even though he is stable and conscious . . . ‘The family in this case is arguing that just because this patient has a mental disability, they should be able to determine that he’d be better off dead. But a person’s value is not based on his or her mental or physical abilities,’ [Matt] Bowman contends. ‘No one should be able to decide that a person’s life is not worth saving just because they have a disability.’”

ADF News Release: Word to Pa.’s highest court: People with disabilities not better off dead

About Matt Bowman

Christian Post: “Officials at West Shore School District in Pennsylvania have agreed to lift a ban that prevented at least one middle school student from wearing an ‘Abortion is not Healthcare’ T-shirt . . . ‘Public schools should not censor pro-life students for their views,’ said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman, in a statement. ‘School district officials have done the right thing in recognizing this young man’s First Amendment right to express his beliefs. We commend the revision of their unconstitutional policies so that students can engage in free speech protected by the First Amendment.’”

The Intelligencer: “West Rockhill supervisors on Wednesday evening approved updated regulations for adult entertainment in the township. The new rules are part of an extensive overhaul to township zoning, but officials decided it would be best to address adult uses separately to keep such businesses from being established before the regulations.”

‘What’s ironic about this case is the district attorney got penalized for being too nice . . ‘

“Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have secured a favorable settlement with the West Shore School District on behalf of a middle school student who was ordered to remove a T-shirt donning the message ‘Abortion is not Healthcare.’”

PhillyBurbs.com: “Doylestown Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a zoning ordinance amendment that would limit the location of sexually oriented businesses to the retail commercial district — the Doylestown Shopping Center on North Main Street.”

Lebanon Daily News: “The senators didn’t utter a word of debate before or after gay-rights proponent Sen. Daylin Leach proposed to table the measure. The vote was 8-6.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee

OneNewsNow: “Two pro-life counselors’ lawsuits against York, Pennsylvania, have been settled . . . Attorney Randall Wenger of the Independence Law Center and Alliance Defense Fund reports that the men ran into frequent problems because police made up the rules as they went along . . . Wenger believes the victory allows pro-life speech to go forward and protects Christians and others against arbitrary police action.”

The Alliance Defense Fund and allied attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday with Pennsylvania’s highest court on behalf of a mentally disabled patient, arguing that his legal guardians should not be allowed to deny him life-sustaining treatment while he is in a stable and conscious condition.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “Pittsburgh City Council is scheduled to host a public meeting from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Onala Club, 1625 West Carson Street, to allow residents to voice their opinions about a proposed strip club in the community.”

Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: “According to the Complaint in EEOC v. Pollard Agency, filed last week, the Pollard Agency fired an employee for ‘wearing a headscarf to cover her hair, which is a sincerely held religious belief as required by her faith.’ The EEOC argues that this violates the duty of religious accommodation . . . ”

York Dispatch: “The district has agreed to pay the family $16,140 to cover legal fees. The family has been represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian-based attorney organization defending the right of people to live out their faith.”

Pocono Record: “An adult entertainment bar is set to open next week in Jackson Township across the road from a church. Located at Route 715 and Doll Road, across from the First Hispanic Church ‘The Light of the Poconos,’ the sign that once read ‘Pub 715′ now reads ‘Thrills’ in yellow letters against an explosive black-and-red background.”

Your4State: “The bill by State Representative Seth Grove (R-York) would make sending nude or inappropriate photos by text message or e-mail a second-degree misdemeanor for anyone between 13 and 17 . . . The bill is expected to be voted on by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.”

York Daily Record: “The Alliance Defense Fund, which had attorneys representing Snell and McTernan, said in news release Wednesday that they had reached a ‘favorable settlement’ with the city. ‘We are pleased that the city has recognized the free speech rights of these peaceful and respectful pro-life counselors,’ attorney Randall L. Wenger, who represented the men, said in the release.”

LifeNews: “Edward Snell and John McTernan, who were arrested and threatened with arrest, respectively, for exercising their First Amendment rights, were represented by ADF attorneys and allied attorneys in two separate lawsuits against the city of York. ‘Christians shouldn’t be arrested and threatened with arrest for expressing their beliefs on public property,’ said Randall L. Wenger–one of more than 1,600 ADF-allied attorneys–who was lead counsel in the cases and serves as chief counsel of the Independence Law Center in Harrisburg.”

ADF: “Alliance Defense Fund allied attorneys and ADF attorneys secured a favorable settlement with the city of York Tuesday on behalf of two counselors who were kept from sharing their pro-life message with individuals in a public alley next to a Planned Parenthood abortion facility.”

USA Today: “Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter has jumped out in front of Republican Pat Toomey, 49% to 42%, in the latest Quinnipiac Poll. In December, Specter and Toomey were tied at 44%.”

Baptist Press: bortion doctors and their clinics continue to be the targets of legal investigations. The following accounts were reported by major newspapers in recent days . . .

MyFoxPhilly.com: “The legal and licensing problems for an abortion doctor spread into Delaware for Dr. Kermit Gosnell . . . Gosnell is licensed in Delaware and until last week practiced part time at a women’s clinic in Wilmington. Officials there now say the doctor no longer works there because his license to practice medicine had been suspended in Pennsylvania . . . ”

EdNews.org: “At many colleges, it’s a standard part of the recruiting process once applicants are admitted. Current students who share individual traits or academic interests help reach out to prospective students with similar backgrounds or interests.”

Leonard Link: “I am delighted to report that on January 21, 2010, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued an en banc decision in M.A.T. v. G.S.T., 2010 PA Super. 8, 2010 Westlaw 204148, in which Constant A. was officially overruled as a precedent. It took a quarter of a century, but finally we are rid of that homophobic presumption against gay parental custody in Pennsylvania . . . ”

CNSNews: “Pennsylvania regulators say federal raids at a Philadelphia clinic where abortions are performed found ‘deplorable and unsanitary’ conditions, including blood on the floor and parts of aborted fetuses in jars.”

PhillyBurbs.com: “Doylestown Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve an ordinance that would require all sexually oriented businesses in the borough and their employees to be licensed by the borough.”

CBS3.com: “Philadelphia and federal authorities who raided a doctor’s office after allegations a woman died following an abortion made a shocking discovery: more than two dozen frozen fetuses . . . ”

Washington Times: “Abortion rights advocates have been unable to halt the ‘Choose Life’ license plate variations in nearly two dozen states, so now they’re working to balance the bumper debate.”

America’s Right: “The complaint, filed by minor high school student Blake Robbins and his parents, alleges that the school district has been spying on the activities of students and students’ families through the ‘indiscriminate use of and ability to remotely activate the webcams incorporated into each laptop issued to students,’ all without the knowledge or consent of any of the students or parents involved.”

Religion Clause Blog: “The EEOC announced last week that it had filed suit in a North Carolina federal district court against a Goldsboro, North Carolina construction company that refused to accommodate the religious needs of Seventh Day Adventist employees . . . Yesterday, in another case, the EEOC announced that UPS Freight, one of the country’s largest trucking companies, will pay $46,000 to a Rastafarian who was fired shortly after he was hired because he refused for religious reasons to cut his hair or shave his beard.”

phillyburbs.com (AP): “City Solicitor Dan Regan says the fees sought by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., are ‘excessive’ and is challenging the request.”

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization that represents Mary Kathryn Brown in the case, wants about $244,000 for representing Brown in federal court and $115,000 for representing Brown before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

The Evening Sun: “State Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, said he was genuinely surprised to learn that the Pennsylvania ACLU is objecting to his proposed legislation on the subject, because his goal is to reduce the penalty for teens … He’s proposed legislation that would reduce the charge to a misdemeanor for offenders who are 13 to 17 years old.”

ADF Attorney Joseph Martins writing at the Academic Freedom File: “Free speech violations manifest themselves in many forms on America’s campuses. Perhaps one of the most frequent—and misunderstood violations—concerns the distribution of student activity fees . . . Take, for example, the Student Government Board (SGB) at the University of Pittsburgh. The SGB initially denied Students For Life’s request for $1,515 to attend the National Students for Life Conference and the March for Life in Washington D.C. on the grounds that the group was ‘proselytizing’ for its cause . . . ”

The Hill: “The 77-year-old Democrat was a close friend of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and had been a strong voice on military matters in Congress.”