How the Supreme Court’s decision could affect the religious liberty rights of religious organizations and individuals
[dc]W[/dc]hen the Louisiana state legislature failed to pass the “Marriage and Conscience Act” (HB 707)  earlier this year, on May 19, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an executive order  that will […]
Bills have been introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress that would prohibit the Federal government from discriminating against individuals, associations, and businesses that act in accordance with their religious beliefs about marriage.
On April 28, 2015, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether states can ban same-sex marriages, and if so, whether states that ban same-sex marriages must recognize same-sex marriages from states that perform them.
By Nicholas Miller – Is supporting religious freedom an act of bigotry? This question is seriously being asked in the wake of the recent media eruptions surrounding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) bills passed in Indiana and Arkansas. The firestorm surrounding these bills has brought the tension between religious freedom and gay rights to a new level of public scrutiny and focus.
By Jason Hines – This week, Governor Mike Pence held a press conference in order to clarify the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act that has received so much criticism lately.
By Jason Hines, PhD – The Court will answer two questions. First, ?does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?? Second, ?does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?? These questions create three possible outcomes.
Two ordained ministers, Donald and Evelyn Knapp, who operate a for-profit wedding chapel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho were threatened with a misdemeanor charge for refusing to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. The Knapps responded by filing a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order against the city in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
According to a survey released September 22, 2014 by Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans think that religion is losing its influence on American society while only 22% believe that it is increasing its influence. Of these, 56% believe that this loss of influence is a “bad thing.” Of the 22% who believe that religion is gaining influence, 12% say that it is a “good thing” while 10% say that it is not.
A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last week unanimously struck down state bans on same-sex marriage in Indiana and Wisconsin. In a 40-page opinion (http://www.scribd.com/doc/238675754/14-2386-212#download), Judge Richard Posner blasted the two states for arguing that the reason why gay marriages were prohibited while heterosexual marriages were encouraged was that heterosexuals needed marriage to make couples take responsibility for their unplanned children. The states had argued that since homosexual couples could not accidentally conceive children, the state had no interest in them being married.