Tag Archives: State: Virginia

Washington Post: The Virginia Board of Health has approved abortion clinic regulations that include the strict building standards that abortion-rights supporters opposed. The board voted 13-2 Friday to enact the regulations, including a hotly contested provision that requires Virginia’s 20 existing abortion clinics to meet the same architectural standards as new hospitals.

Washington Post: Virginia’s Board of Health will meet Friday for what promises to be a showdown over abortion-clinic regulations between some board members and the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II.

Pilot Online: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has threatened Board of Health members that they could be denied state legal counsel and have to pay for their own defense if they again disregard his advice about relaxing controversial abortion clinic rules and litigation ensues.

LifeNews: Two days before Virginia state health department officials consider rules related to the inspection of abortion clinics, the results of documents from the health department about prior inspects show some ghastly results.

Wall Street Journal: The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is making one of the largest ad buys in its history, buying $3.2 million TV time in the battleground states of Virginia and Ohio, saying Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bad for women’s health.

WSLS.com: he ACLU of Virginia wants the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors to forego prayer at its meetings, or adopt a moment of silence instead.

Washington Examiner: A Vienna-based church congregation claims in a lawsuit filed against the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors that a zoning ordinance is restraining its free speech rights and places a burden on its free exercise of religion.

Washington Examiner: The Virginia board ordered to write stricter rules for abortion clinicswill reconsider its recommendations after conservative Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said last month that the board didn’t go far enough.

AP: Janet Jenkins, of Fair Haven, filed the civil lawsuit Tuesday when a jury was announcing its guilty verdict against Mennonite pastor Kenneth Miller, who helped Lisa Miller and daughter Isabella flee.

The Church Report: But Kenneth Miller’s lawyer, Joshua Autry, told the jury he would prove his client believed Lisa Miller had full custody of Isabella when she fled the country. “Your decision is not going to be a referendum for or against civil unions in the state of Vermont,” Autry told the jury. “It’s going to be about whether, at the time of the removal, Janet Jenkins had parental rights.”

Chicago Tribune: A Mennonite minister goes on trial this week for helping a woman flee to Nicaragua with her daughter to evade court-ordered visitation with her former same-sex partner, and he could face up to three years in jail if convicted.

SCOTUS Blog: Now, a Virginia university is seeking to revive its challenge to both mandates. It has asked the Court for a new order that would revive its challenges in a lower federal court. It did so in a rehearing petition, filed on Monday. The Court seldom grants such petitions, but it definitely has the power to do so. Liberty University, a religion-oriented private college in Lynchburg, Va., had its own case pending among the petitions from which the Justices chose in granting review of the Affordable Care Act (Liberty University v. Geithner, 11-438).

Roanoke.com: Roanoke County officials were inundated with calls from the community urging them to continue opening meetings with an invocation — and late Tuesday evening, officials said they will likely keep prayer, but it will likely be nonsectarian.

The New Civil Rights Movement: When asked if the Republican Party specifically needs to do a better job of accepting opinions on gay marriage and other cultural issues that do not align with party orthodoxy, Cantor said “absolutely.”

Luray Page Free Press: Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli refused on Monday to certify new regulations of women’s health centers approved last month by the State Board of Health, claiming that the board exceeded its authority by adopting an amendment that allows existing women’s health care centers to be “grandfathered in,” rather than subjected to building requirements meant for the construction of new facilities.

Citizen Link: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli III on Monday said his office can’t certify new regulations for abortion centers that exempt existing facilities.

Washington Post: The Rev. Ronald Nuzzi, who heads the leadership program for Catholic educators at the University of Notre Dame, said many bishops “are in a pickle.” They want Catholic institutions to be staffed by people who not only teach what the church teaches but whose “whole life will bear witness.”

WRIC.com: Joseph P. Rapisarda, the Henrico County Attorney issued the following statement: “The Board was beefed on the legal ramifications of having a sectarian prayer. After careful consideration, the Board decided to end the practice of having an opening prayer, effective immediately.” It’s a decision the Freedom From Religion Foundation says it’s happy about.

Washington Post: Gov. Bob McDonnell told state legislators Tuesday that Virginia policymakers need more answers from President Barack Obama’s administration about Medicaid before they respond to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal health care reform law.

ABC: After a lawsuit was filed against the Roanoke Athletic Club by a same-sex couple for offering them a “family membership” then revoking it, the club today changed its policy.

ADF letter prompts university to strike policy language that excluded certain religious activities from funding

ADF letter prompts university to strike policy language that excluded certain religious activities from funding

WDBJ7.com: Stop praying in the name of Jesus or prepare for a lawsuit. That’s the warning more and more local governments in our region are getting.

WHSV.com: The Giles County School Board on Thursday approved the deal . . . Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, says the commandments’ removal will make the school more welcoming to students of all faiths.

One News Now: ADF litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp says they were told school policy forbids the funding of “religious worship or proselytizing.” “So this was a clearly discriminatory policy that was targeting religious speech and religious worship for disfavored treatment and denying it access to this pool of funds that all other student groups could get access to,” Sharp asserts. [more]

Roanoke.com: An attorney from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is the same Wisconsin-based group to make the initial complaint in Giles County about a school’s display of the Ten Commandments, sent a letter to board of supervisors Chairman Richard Flora last month. The board met June 12 in closed session to discuss the issue, citing probable litigation.

Speak Up Movement Univeristy Blog: Officials at Virginia Tech recently gave the “okay” for a long-overdue change to its policies governing funding for student organizations in response to a letter from ADF warning the university that its policies violated the First Amendment.

AP: The Service Employees International Union . . . Target states include Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia – each considered crucial for an Obama victory.

August Free Press: It voted 7-4 to amend the proposed regulations to “grandfather in” existing health centers so that they are not required to meet the same architectural standards demanded of new construction.

Alan Sears at the ADF Blog: One of the primary goals for the Alliance Defense Fund is to transform what tomorrow looks like in America for your children and grandchildren. Two important cases last month – involving the right of children like yours to live out their faith freely on their tax-funded high school campuses – underscore just how committed we are to that crucial goal.

Washington Post: Leaders of Richmond’s five biggest law firms are urging the city’s Circuit Court judges to do what the General Assembly would not: Appoint an openly gay man to the bench.

Christian Post: A Virginia County’s School Board has voted unanimously to temporarily remove a display of the Ten Commandments from a public high school, replacing it with a copy of a page from a history textbook.

Religion Clause Blog: Now, according to the Roanoke Times, the Giles County School Board yesterday voted unanimously to replace the Ten Commandments text that is displayed at Narrows High School with a copy of a page from a history textbook captioned “Roots of Democracy“.

One News Now: Even if she’d been doing the same types of activities at a Boys and Girls Club, or a scouting organization or something like that, she would’ve received credit under the old policy,” explains litigation staff counsel Matt Sharp. “But because she chose to do that work at a church, she was originally denied any credit and ultimately put on probation with the National Honor Society.”

The Hill: Former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama is officially leaving the party for the GOP, he announced Tuesday.

ADF lawsuit prompts school district to change policy that denied honor society credit for faith-based community service

InsideNova.com: Foreman also said the council needed to hear the input of Doug Anderson, a Woodbridge attorney affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund. The goal of the fund is to educate the public and government about constitutional rights, particularly freedom of religious expression.

Washington Post: When the four Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Virginia gather for their third and final debate Friday, they’ll have before them a brand-new issue: gay judges.

InsideNova.com: Allen said he hadn’t heard all of the arguments for or against Thorne-Begland, but his inclination would be to overlook sexual orientation. “What I’d look at as far as judges is, I’d look at their qualifications. As far as judges are concerned, sexual orientation is not one of their criteria for being a judge,” Allen said during a campaign stop in Prince William County on Tuesday evening.

WMAL.com (includes audio): After taking an “all or nothing” approach last year, in which all bidders were allowed to apply for display permits on a “first come, first served” basis, a committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors is recommending a single display for 2012. The display would consist largely of secular and religious items that have been displayed in previous years, including a holiday tree, a creche, a Santa and reindeer. Wreaths and garland would also decorate the fence surrounding the courthouse square.

Richmond Times-Dispatch (video): The House of Delegates’ rejection early Tuesday of a judgeship for Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, who would have been the first openly gay person elected to the bench in Virginia, retrained the spotlight on a General Assembly session rife with controversy over social issues.

Washington Post: A group called “OpposeTRAP” plans to bombard board members with phone calls, emails and personal visits Thursday. TRAP is an acronym for Targeted Regulations on Abortion Providers.

Religion Clause Blog: NECN News reported yesterday that federal district judge Michael Urbanski sent the case into mediation, suggesting that the parties consider whether the display could be modified by leaving out the four Commandments that mention God.

Washington Post: On one side of the river, there’s an aggressive, ambitious attorney general of the state’s dominant political party who aspires to be governor. On the other side, there’s, well, exactly the same thing.

Republic: Free-speech groups and a southwest Virginia school division are squaring off over a lawsuit challenging the display of the Ten Commandments in a public high school.

The Hill: President Obama leads presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the critical battleground state of Virginia, according to a Washington Post poll released on Thursday. Obama leads Romney 51 percent to 44 percent, according to the poll.

Eugene Volokh reports at the Volokh Conspiracy: An interesting Virginia Supreme Court decision, Wyatt v. McDermott (Va. Apr. 20, 2012), recognizes this right. An excerpt (paragraph breaks added) . .

One News Now: A Christian organization is asking Williamsburg, Virginia, to repent of a proposed ordinance to limit free speech.

Roanoke.com: Ever since the Giles County School Board voted 3-2 to put the Ten Commandments back in Narrows High School, members supporting the display have taken pains to point out that it’s just one part of a collection of historical documents.

Richmond Times Dispatch: The Virginia state Senate has voted 20-19 to defeat a $3.2 million budget amendment to cover the costs of some abortion ultrasounds over the two years beginning July 1.

Fox News (includes video with Jordan and Sarah Stites): Attorney Jordan Lorence, from the Alliance Defense Fund that is proceeding with the lawsuit, weighed in saying that they’re suing based on the First Amendment and free exercise of religion. He said the way the policy is currently written is problematic and needs to be changed, calling it unconstitutional.

Christian Post: “They can’t just stop there. There’s this unconstitutional policy that underlies this whole case,” said Sharp, as reported by OneNewsNow.com. “The school district-wide policy prohibits any credit for community service work done … if that community service work is done at a church.”

Washington Post: “If you are doing community work that is part of a church service, you can’t be given credit,” said Matt Sharp of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, the group that filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. “This is an unconstitutional policy that needs to be remedied.”

One News Now: Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defense Fund says he applauds Fairfax County Virginia schools for trying to right this wrong. However, ADF is continuing with the lawsuit — and Sharp explains why. “They can’t just stop there. There’s this unconstitutional policy that underlies this whole case,” says the ADF attorney. “The school district-wide policy … prohibits any credit for community service work done … if that community service work is done at a church.”

Greeley Gazette: The Alliance Defense Fund is helping an honor student in Alexandria, Virginia after she was denied community service credit because her volunteering was faith-based rather than secular in nature. Matt Sharp, litigation counsel with the ADF, says his client, 17-year-old Sarah Stites, is claiming discrimination because she was denied any credit toward her 12 required community service hours because her work was done at her local church.

ADF Attorney Matt Sharp appeared on WRVA 1140 Richmond, VA with Scott and Richard Lee to discuss this: School dishonors honors student’s service to children. | MP3 audio 8:47 mins

One News Now: ADF litigation counsel Matt Sharp says his client, a 17-year-old who is currently remaining anonymous, is claiming discrimination because she was denied any credit toward her 12 required community service hours because her work was done at her church. The student had completed 46 hours of service at “Kid Quest,” a Sunday school program.

Huffington Post: “There’s no honor in penalizing an honors student’s community service to children just because it happens to be faith-based,” Sharp said, according to FOX News & Commentary. “Positive community service and leadership like this should be encouraged by schools, not subjected to unconstitutional discrimination.”

WLJA ABC 7 (includes video): So with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based organization originally founded by James Dobson and other conservative religious leaders, the family sued.

WUSA9.com (includes video): There’s no honor in saying to an honor student, ‘your community service at a church doesn’t count,’ says Jordan Lorence who represented the teenager on behalf of the conservative Alliance Defense Fund.

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Staff Counsel Matt Sharp regarding today’s development in S.S. v. Fairfax County School Board, involving a National Honor Society student who was denied community service credit for her service to children …

Fox News: Virginia school district said they would reverse a decision to remove a student from the National Honor Society just hours after the student filed a federal lawsuit accusing the district of religious discrimination.

Religion Clause Blog: Alliance Defense Fund announced the filing of the lawsuit.

Fox News: “In essence, she was targeted and discriminated against solely because of the religious nature of her community service work,” said Matt Sharp, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund. Sharp is represented the unidentified student in her lawsuit. “There’s no honor in penalizing an honors student’s community service to children just because it happens to be faith-based,” Sharp said. “Positive community service and leadership like this should be encouraged by schools, not subjected to unconstitutional discrimination.”

LifeNews: Governor Bob McDonnell today signed into law a pro-life bill that allows women in Virginia to see the results of an ultrasound that is routinely performed by abortion facilities prior to an abortion.

Va. school district denies honor society credit for student’s community service because event was religious

NC Register: A bill that ensures that faith-based adoption agencies in the state of Virginia won’t be forced to place children in households led by same-sex couples has passed both houses of the General Assembly and is heading to the desk of Gov. Robert McDonnell, a supporter of the legislation, who is expected to sign it soon.

ADF Attorney Steve Aden at Townhall: What’s strange is that these same people have no ethical qualms about allowing an abortionist’s scalpels and vacuum devices to be inserted into a woman as her baby is literally ripped from the womb limb by limb. And they apparently feel no angst over a pre-born child being injected with medicine that stops his or her heart so that labor can be induced and the stillborn child can be disposed of in a trash can (or a dumpster) in much the same way one would dispose of a banana peel or moldy bread.

Washington Post: The Virginia Senate approved a bill Monday that would allow expectant parents to sue over the wrongful death of a fetus.

Washington Post: An unruly protest at the Capitol, mainly over anti-abortion legislation, and a daunting response by police in riot gear with dogs and assault rifles have spawned heated floor debates at the General Assembly.

Larry Sabato at the Washington Times: In the case of the Virginia primary, he who is absent is Rick Santorum. And it’s going to cost him, big time, on Super Tuesday.

LifeNews: After the Senate approved the bill, the House voted 61-35 for final approval of HB 462 and it now moves to McDonnell’s desk.

Washington Post: A Senate committee Thursday killed a bill that would allow Virginia’s tens of thousands of home-schooled students to play sports at their local high schools.

WSLS.com: Women who want to have an abortion in Virginia will first be required to submit to an ultrasound under precedent-setting legislation that narrowly passed the Virginia Senate on Tuesday.

News Advance: The future of two abortion-related bills already passed by the House of Delegates hangs in the balance today in the Republican-controlled Virginia Senate.