As a country that has long prided itself on representing a superior national enterprise, we must learn from our past. We have not yet taken unconscionable measures against our Muslim citizens and must avoid doing so at all costs. As our history indicates, our Constitutional values may well be at stake when we fear and…
Category: Current Events
An Analysis of the Results of the Federal Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Trial
In short, Judge Walker ruled based on the evidence presented, as any trial judge should, and regardless of his own personal sexual orientation or biases, Prop 8 supporters simply did not make a viable case for themselves. Sloganeering may have won the election but did not win a trial where real evidence was required. Prop 8 supporters may later look at the ruling and claim it was wrongly decided but as this essay points out, the reality is that they did a poor job presenting their evidence and only put two witnesses on the stand, both of whom had previously written statements that contradicted their testimony in favor of Prop 8. When both of these witnesses were neutralized, Prop 8 advocates had nothing left with which to prove their case and any effort by any judge to add in facts to uphold Prop 8 would have been the very definition of judicial activism.
Transcript of Mayor Bloomberg’s Speech on Ground Zero Mosque
Delivered August 3, 2010 at Governors Island in New York. “We’ve come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that more than 250 years later would…
Why Using “Landmark Status” to Block the NY Mosque is a Threat to Religious Land Use Rights
I recently received a message from Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) calling on Christians to protest plans to build a mosque in Manhattan near Ground Zero. (http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=973 ) Although the ACLJ, not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), does not try to hide the fact…
Why Using “Landmark Status” to Block the NY Mosque is a Threat to Religious Land Use Rights
I recently received a message from Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) calling on Christians to protest plans to build a mosque in Manhattan near Ground Zero. (http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=973 ) Although the ACLJ, not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), does not try to hide the fact…
Analysis – Christian Legal Society v. Hastings – The Lesson: Stipulations Matter
Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling holding that it was not unconstitutional for a public institution (Hastings University Law School) to require a institution-recognized student group (Christian Legal Society (CLS)) to allow any student to participate in the group regardless of their status or beliefs. You can read the…
A Short History Of The Conscientious Objector (Liberty Magazine)
Michael Peabody, editor of ReligiousLiberty.TV, writes for the July / August 2010 issue of Liberty Magazine. The full article is available in print and online at http://www.libertymagazine.org/index.php?id=1636 EXCERPT: The date was June 5, 1917, the first day of the draft. Sousa’s Band struck up “Stars and Stripes Forever” and the 6,000 in attendance at the…
Promoting Religious Liberty: Whither the Obama Administration? (Doug Bandow – Huffington Post)
EXCERPT: The Obama administration has talked much about increased engagement and improved outreach abroad. But it has neglected to offer effective support for one of the most important human rights, religious liberty. The dilatory nomination of Dr. Cook as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a start. Much more remains to be done, however. It…
So Much For Religious Liberty (Forbes)
By Richard Epstein EXCERPT: What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. One glaring weaknesses of the modern law on religious freedom is that it turns a blind eye toward neutral rules with a disparate impact on members of minority groups. That is why Justice Scalia was wrong in Employment Division, Department of Human…
Campus Christian Groups Loses Appeal at Supreme Court (CNN)
EXCERPT: CNN – The Supreme Court has ruled against a Christian campus group that sued after a California law school denied it official recognition because the student organization limits its core membership to those who share its beliefs on faith and marriage. At issue was the conflict between a public university’s anti-discrimination policies and a…