Defense budget bill would roll back Obama’s 2014 anti-discrimination order
President Obama threatens to veto defense budget bill if language permitting discrimination on basis of religion or sexual orientation remains.
Why the United States should not give up control of the Internet naming system
Congress has two more days to act to save free speech, but in a year when the Internet has been the biggest thorn in the side of both parties, my guess is that Congress will tragically let control of ICANN slide away. The world deserves the full range of First Amendment protections of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and other freedoms that only the United States is constitutionally obligated to maintain.
U.S. Civil Rights Commission report gives free exercise of religion second-tier status
In a stunning report, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairman Martin Castro attacked the Religious Freedom Restoration Act at both the state and federal level, challenged the terms “religious liberty” and “religious liberty” as code for intolerance, and argued that free exercise rights should yield to other civil rights if they come into conflict.
Civil Rights Advocacy Highlighted at Northwest Religious Liberty Association Anniversary Banquet
On August 16, 2016, the Northwest Religious Liberty Association (NRLA) celebrated its 25th anniversary by highlighting key legislative achievements, including the passage of the Idaho Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 2000 and the two-part passage of the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) in 2009 and 2010.
Newly Amended SB 1146 Passes California Assembly
Yesterday the California Assembly passed SB 1146 (48 to 28 with 7 abstaining), sending the amended higher education anti-discrimination bill back to the Senate for a concurrence vote to take place before August 31.
Op-Ed: Do Your Homework
By Jason Hines, Ph.D., J.D. – One of the unfortunate things about the discussion that occurs whenever a police officer shoots another unarmed Black man is its monotony. I was planning to sit out the debate that would occur around the death of Alton Sterling. The reason I wanted to sit the discussion out is because we always seem to hit the same beats. Black folk say #BlackLivesMatter. The ignorant and the bigots among us say #AllLivesMatter. Before long, someone asks, “What about Black on Black crime?”
California Bill Would Punish Religious Colleges That Discriminate Because of Faith
If passed, SB 1146 is unconstitutional because the government is imposing a condition on religious institutions with the intent of pressuring them to compromise their religious beliefs.
Ideological Diversity Endangered on Modern College Campuses
Guest Opinion: College students are, for lack of a better word, being brainwashed. They are being fed the left-wing ideology, without the necessary diversity of opinion. These students then graduate, having internalized what they’ve been taught, as the absolute truth. You cannot debate them because they won’t debate. They will express anger at opposing views and refuse to listen.
THE ARTS: Allegiance: A Tale for Today
By Bill Cork – The musical, “Allegiance” is based internment camp during World War II but the themes are echoed in the 2016 US presidential campaign.
Rwandan pastor models extreme forgiveness by serving those who killed his family
Perhaps the strongest story of the power of forgiveness is found in the story, reported today by the Adventist Review, of Isaac Ndwaniye, the President of the East Central Rwandan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists who lost his entire family to mass genocide that was perpetrated by some of the people he has been called back to serve. If anybody ever had an excuse to abandon his calling, it is Pastor Ndwaniye.