San Francisco Court Protects Religious Freedoms of Christian Homeless Shelter, Christian News
EXCERPT: The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has unanimously rejected a lawsuit filed by two people who sued the Boise Rescue Mission for insisting they take part in religious services. Read the full article: http://global.christianpost.com/news/san-francisco-court-protects-religious-freedoms-of-christian-homeless-shelter-56943/
Read MoreGermany, EU demand Iran to free pastor Nadarkhani | MF Monitor
EXCERPT: Germany, one of the few countries with diplomatic ties with Iran, has asked Iran to stay the execution of a pastor who refused to re-convert to Islam. http://www.microfinancemonitor.com/2011/09/30/germany-eu-demand-iran-to-free-pastor-nadarkhani/
Read MoreIran Upholds Christian Pastor’s Apostasy Conviction: Execution as Early as Wednesday | American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ
EXCERPT: Just days after Iran released two Americans accused of spying in Iran, an Iranian court has upheld the apostasy conviction and execution sentence of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Pastor Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s […]
Read MoreOC Couple Threatened With $500-Per-Meeting Fines For Home Bible Study « CBS Los Angeles
EXCERPT: An Orange County couple has been ordered to stop holding a Bible study in their home on the grounds that the meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a private gathering. Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm, of San Juan Capistrano, were fined $300 earlier this month for holding what city […]
Read MoreA Madman and His Manifesto (NYT)
EXCERPT: It passed with only scant notice, as with so many of the rude extremes of American life in a kinetic media age. The bodies of those Norwegian children slaughtered by a terrorist had yet to be fully recovered, let alone buried, when Glenn Beck compared the victims to Nazis. The summer camp where children […]
Read MoreSuit Seeks To Invalidate New York Same-Sex Marriage Law For Procedural Irregularities (Religion Clause)
EXCERPT: Liberty Counsel announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in New York asking a state court to declare the state’s Marriage Equality Act void and to declare void any same-sex marriages that have taken place under the Act. The complain in New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms v. New York State Senate, (Livingston Co. […]
Read MorePolygamy law doesn’t breach religious freedom guarantee, lawyer argues – Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Polygamy+doesn+breach+religious+freedom+guarantee+lawyer+argues/4544448/story.html
Read MoreJustice Department sues on behalf of Muslim teacher, triggering debate – The Washington Post
Do religious accommodation requirements cover a 3 week trip to Mecca? http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-sues-on-behalf-of-muslim-teacher-triggering-debate/2010/07/28/ABfSPtEB_story.html
Read MoreObama Administration Changes Its Approach to the Defense of Marriage Act
During the brief window between the California Supreme Court’s decision finding a ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the California Constitution on May 15, 2008 and the ballot-initiative amending said constitution on November 5, 2008, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer got married.
While same-sex marriages during this window period have been recognized in California since they were presumably “constitutional,” the newlyweds filed a case against the federal government in state court that was transferred upon motion of the federal government into federal court alleging that “the refusal of all states and jurisdictions” to recognize the validity of their marriage resulted in the denial of their marriage status by other states, and federal rights and benefits that other married couples received so long as they were of the opposite sex.
Read MoreAnalysis: Obama Administration Declines to Defend Part of the Defense of Marriage Act
Today Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Administration announced that the Justice Department will no longer attempt to defend Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (which defines “marriage” as between one man and one woman and “spouse” as a member of the opposite sex) from challenges in states that recognize gay marriage.
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