Tag Archives: Topic: Legislation

News from The Associated Press: The Virginia state Senate passed legislation Thursday allowing private adoption agencies to deny placements that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, including opposition to homosexuality.

Tony Mauro at The Blog of Legal Times: By an 11-7 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee today approved a bill that calls for television access to Supreme Court proceedings. The bill, S.1945 . . .

The Salt Lake Tribune: Two bills before the Utah Legislature this session are intended to strengthen the institution of marriage.

The Salt Lake Tribune: A bill advancing in the Arizona Legislature would abolish the police department in Colorado City, a northern Arizona community where state Attorney General Tom Horne says officers who are followers of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs flout the law.

MSN.com: . . . including requiring doctors to tell women that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer and eliminating tax credits for post-secondary medical institutions that perform abortions.

JURIST: The Parliament of Uganda [official website] on Tuesday reintroduced legislation that would criminalize certain homosexual activities.

OneNewsNow.com: Colorado lawmakers face the task of dealing with a same-gender civil unions bill again this year.

Reuters: A bill to legalize gay marriage in Washington state won final legislative approval on Wednesday in a largely party-line vote that moved the state to the cusp of becoming the seventh in the nation to recognize same-sex nuptials.

The Hill: Members approved the Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act, H.R. 3521, by a 254-173 vote . . . Among Republicans, the vote was 197-41 in favor of the bill, and among Democrats, the vote was 57-132 against.

Education News: A bill sponsored by California Assemblyman Tony Mendoza that makes it easier for school districts to block charter schools has passed through the Assembly.

Baptist Press: With a weekend deadline approaching when churches will no longer be allowed to meet in public schools, the New York State Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow worship services to continue.

GoPride.com: HB 5710, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, provides that all laws of Illinois applicable to marriage apply equally to marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples.

WSJ.com: State lawmakers across the U.S. have started 2012 with a controversial message to their judges: keep foreign laws out of our courtrooms.

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

News from The Associated Press: Lawmakers put Indiana on the verge of becoming the Rust Belt’s first right-to-work state, passing legislation Wednesday that prohibits labor contracts requiring workers to pay union representation fees.

Times-Journal.com: : Standard insurance plans offered in Alabama would not cover elective abortions if a bill offered by state Sen. Shadrack McGill becomes law.

SeattlePI.com: The Senate will vote Wednesday on a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move the bill to a floor vote.

Liberty Counsel: U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced a bill called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 that will expand the nearly nonexistent exemption for religious employers in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare.

CBS Seattle (AP): A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days.

LifeNews.com: A pro-life member of Congress has introduced new legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in the District of Columbia based on scientific evidence showing unborn children feel pain.

Latimes.com: However the Supreme Court rules, members of Congress have their own obligation to abide by the 1st Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion. The bill passed by the House would put Congress’ imprimatur on displays on public property that give preference to a single religion. The Senate should reject it.

OneNewsNow.com: The South Dakota House has voted to recommend that school districts provide academic instruction on the Bible, brushing off concerns by some critics that the nonbinding resolution seeks to promote religious beliefs.

OneNewsNow.com: Senate Bill 2180, “An Act to Amend Section 97-5-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, to Revise the Offense of Felonious Abuse of Batter of a Child; and for Related Purposes,” submitted by Republican Senator Brice Wiggins, would make it a felony to “whip, strike, or otherwise abuse any child” in a manner that causes “bodily harm.”

NBC San Diego: Assembly Member Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) introduced a bill Thursday to create the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender specialty license plate for California.

ChicagoTribune.com: The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana’s top lawyer said Thursday that a bill pending that would allow schools to teach creationism in science classes clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and invites legal challenges.

CNET News: Hawaii’s legislature is weighing an unprecedented proposal to curb the privacy of Aloha State residents: requiring Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit.

ADF Attorney Austin R. Nimocks, Pastor Ken Hutcherson, Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute, and Washington Catholic Archbishop J. Peter Sartain on King 5 News.

ABC News: An Oklahoma bill that would ban the sale of food containing aborted human fetuses has some people wondering: What food currently contains aborted human fetuses?

LifeNews.com: Yesterday, the Michigan’s Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved pro-life legislation which would allow the state to offer drivers the ability to purchase specialty license plates with the phrase “Choose Life” on them. S.B. 60

News from The Associated Press: House Republican leaders are drafting a bill to replace President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul if the Supreme Court strikes it down this summer.

LifeNews.com: Pennsylvania House Bill 1077, entitled The Women’s Right to Know Act, is advancing in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The bill empowers women by offering truly informed consent before an abortion by providing the opportunity for a woman to view the ultrasound image of her child and observe the heartbeat.

CBS Miami: The state’s abortion battle was back in the spotlight as a House panel approved bills that would block abortions after 20 weeks, require 24-hour waiting periods and target abortions that might be motivated by the race or gender of the fetus.

CBS Boston: New Hampshire business owners could soon have the legal right to decide who they serve.

News from The Associated Press: The House has passed a bill confirming the use of religious symbols at military memorials. It was also voting on legislation to order that a prayer issued by Franklin Roosevelt on D-Day be installed at the World War II memorial in Washington.

Herald-mail.com: O’Malley, a Democrat who is making same-sex marriage a priority of his legislative agenda this year, said bill drafters were especially sensitive to protecting religious freedom in hopes of persuading lawmakers — as well as the state’s voters — to support the legislation.

The Washington Post: A New Jersey Senate panel has approved a same-sex marriage bill the same day Gov. Chris Christie vowed to veto it.

WTOP.com: A battle over whether child-placement agencies should be allowed to discriminate against prospective parents and children based on their sexual orientation has moved to the General Assembly.

Florida Independent: A bill that would allow students to pray during school events passed through its final state Senate committee yesterday.

Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, Christopher Plante of the National Organization for Marriage, and Jennifer Roback Morse of the Ruth Institute testify before the Washington House Judiciary on the purpose of marriage. (January 23, 2012)

NYTimes.com: Gov. Sam Brownback created the Office of the Repealer to recommend the elimination of out-of-date, unreasonable and burdensome state laws that build up in any bureaucracy over time.

Religion Clause: The National Center for Science Education reported last week that so far this year, six separate anti-evolution bills have been introduced . . .

The Republic: As long as the course is objective, it’s constitutional, said David Cortman, a lawyer with Phoenix-based Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group that supports the Bible classes.
“I believe it’s an extremely important type of course to provide just because our culture is so saturated with biblical reference and biblical allusions,” Cortman said.

Omaha.com: In the Legislature, State Sen. Beau McCoy’s Legislative Bill 912 would amend state law to prohibit local governments from creating new classes of residents protected from discrimination.

Pensacola News Journal: State Sen. Greg Evers is backing a proposed law that would legalize prayer at special school events such as graduation. It’s an effort a lawyer who has battled school prayer in Santa Rosa County calls meaningless “political theater.”

The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has postponed Tuesday’s scheduled vote on a controversial online piracy bill “in light of recent events,” he announced Friday.

OneNewsNow.com: Though a Florida legislative bill to allow prayer at public school events has made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, opponents warn it could be unconstitutional.

Center for AZ Policy Foundations Blog: Moments ago, two school choice bills were passed by the Arizona State Senate by a vote of 19-9-1.

Caffeinated Thoughts: “It is time to get New Hampshire taxpayers out of the abortion business,” said Michael Tierney, an Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Planned Parenthood’s business model is centered on abortion, and New Hampshire taxpayers want no part in it.” “Every innocent life deserves to be protected. Taxpayer dollars should go toward helping and caring for the most vulnerable Americans, not killing them,” said Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Mike Norton. “New Hampshire taxpayers should not be forced to fund abortions.”

Heritage Foundation Foundry: As of midnight, Wikipedia is shut down for 24 hours, and hundreds of other popular websites have gone dark right along with it. They are standing together in protest of two controversial pieces of legislation that threaten Internet security and undermine the freedom of speech all in an effort to crack down on online “piracy” — the illegal distribution of copyrighted material.

News from The Associated Press: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed a bill into law legalizing sports betting in his state – but only after a federal ban on such gambling is overturned.

LifeNews.com: Missouri lawmakers have introduced legislation which would protect the conscience rights of health care workers and religiously-based health care institutions. The proposals would ensure that physicians and nurses would not face employment discrimination for refusing to participate in medical procedures which violate their religious beliefs.

Diocese of Spokane: The legislation to redefine marriage, therefore, is not in the public interest. Marriage is certainly about the public recognition of a relationship between a man and a woman which carries certain rights and responsibilities for the two adults. But, it is much more

Washington Examiner: Virginia Republicans are moving swiftly to consolidate their newfound power in the General Assembly by revamping a committee that for years had been a black hole for conservative initiatives, most notably any legislation that would impose restrictions on abortion.

Washington Times: It’s official: Congress ended its least-productive year in modern history after passing 80 bills — fewer than during any other session since year-end records began being kept in 1947.

Florida Independent: Senate Bill 98 would “authorize district school boards to adopt resolutions that allow prayers of invocation or benediction at secondary school events.”

LifeSiteNews.com: A bill outlawing race- and gender-based abortions was introduced in the Florida state senate by State. Sen Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, on January 6th. Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, filed the same measure in the House of Representatives.

LifeNews.com: A bill in the Washington state legislature would require that any insurance policy sold to state residents for maternity coverage also require policyholders to pay for coverage of abortions.

Michael J. New at The Corner – National Review Online: However, subsequent Supreme Court decisions — most notably the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision — have given state-level pro-life laws greater constitutional protection. There is a good chance that future Supreme Court decisions will continue this trend, so the state-level gains that pro-lifers enjoyed in 2011 bode well for the future of the movement.

The Washington Independent: Van Zant’s bill would make performing an abortion a felony. House Bill 1151 would create the “Florida for Life Act,” a law that would essentially outlaw all abortions in direct defiance of legal abortion rights in the U.S.

News from The Associated Press: Democrats were poised to sit out another day of the Indiana House session on Thursday as they try to stop their state from becoming the first in more than a decade to enact right-to-work legislation.

Seattle Times: Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday said she’ll put forward legislation to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples. The proposal will be introduced during the legislative session that starts Monday. If it’s approved, Washington would become the seventh state to legalize gay marriage.

Constitutional experts warn a new law that allows the president to permanently detain U.S. citizens without trial could be used against pro-life activists, who have already been defined as potential terrorists in documents by some government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: House Bill 79, the third anti-abortion bill Kasich has signed this year, prevents health insurance plans available through the new federal health care law from paying for abortions, unless the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

William Saunders and Kellie Fiedorek at Life News: As 2011 draws to a close, it is worthwhile to pause and reflect upon the many victories gained in the protection of all human life. It is through the accumulation of these victories that we draw ever closer to our goal: a country where every human being is welcomed in life and protected in law.

HSLDA: On Tuesday, December 13, the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Children and Families held a hearing on S. 1877, a bill to require all adults to be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. HSLDA believes that this bill will create a police-state reporting environment that will lead to baseless investigations of innocent families, and actually hurt at-risk children. HSLDA opposes S. 1877.

MLive.com: The Kalamazoo City Commission unanimously approved a resolution Monday opposing proposed state legislation that would void Kalamazoo’s two-year-old, voter approved ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian or transgender individuals in housing, public accommodations or employment.

The Washington Post: The leader of the Ohio Senate said Wednesday that he’s suspending hearings on a bill that would ban abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat, saying amendments proposed by supporters have created confusion.

WorldNetDaily: Congress apparently has decided that allowing bestiality in the U.S. military isn’t a good idea.

Heritage Foundation: Next week, Congress will have an opportunity to bring much-needed oversight to America’s regulatory process by voting for the aptly named REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny), which would require any new regulations costing more than $100 million to be approved by Congress.

JSOnline: Women could not receive drugs that induce abortions unless a doctor gives them a physical exam and is in the same room when they receive the drugs, under a bill before a Senate committee Tuesday.

The bill, which the Senate passed 93-7 last week, would repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that states any person who engages in “unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy.”

ADF Attorney Steve Aden appeared yesterday to give testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution regarding H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act. Video and testimony from others giving testimony can be found here.

LifeNews: Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee Constitution Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican who is the sponsor of the abortion ban, will hold a hearing on the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA). Witnesses on the panel include Steve Aden, a pro-life attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund . . .

Leaders of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee introduced a bill today that extends the same benefits to same-sex partners that spouses of federal employees now receive. The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011 (S.1910) . . .

The Washington Post: Gay and Muslim groups say they are relieved after a Michigan lawmaker agreed to drop a provision in an anti-bullying bill that would have carved out an exemption for religious or moral beliefs.