EXCERPT: A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit to stop the display of the World Trade Center cross at a memorial of the 9/11 terror attacks. The “government enshrinement of the cross was an impermissible mingling of church and state,” the American Atheists say in a press statement. The group says it filed the…
Category: Legal Issues
State and Federal Legislators Introduce Bill to Outlaw Local Criminalization of Circumcision
California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) and Assembly member Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) have introduced a bill that would directly ban local bans on circumcision. In a press conference held in Los Angeles yesterday, July 21, 2011, Ma and Gatto said that the bill would render the San Francisco ballot measure moot.
Hermain Cain Opposes Murfreesboro Mosque Project (DNJ)
EXCERPT: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Thursday an effort by local Muslims to build a large mosque here is an attempt to “sneak” Shariah law into the fabric of the U.S. legal system. “I think it is an infringement and abuse of our freedom of religion, and I don’t agree with what’s happening here…
Israel Looking Into Making Sunday Day of Rest (Bloomberg)
EXCERPT: Israel’s government is examining a proposal to shift the weekend to the western Saturday and Sunday, a step that may benefit financial markets and retail and leisure companies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week appointed Eugene Kandel, head of the National Economic Council, to look into the implications of changing the weekend from Friday…
Cosmic Conflict & the Future (of America)
“Sometimes momentous times are seen to be such only in hindsight. I believe we are living in such momentous times.” Sigve Tonstad
Appeals Court Lifts Ban on Texas Graduation Prayer (AP)
EXCERPT: Public prayer will be allowed at a Texas high school graduation after a federal appeals court on Friday reversed a ban won by an agnostic family that claimed ceremony traditions such as invocations were unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency appeal filed by the Medina Valley Independent School District….
Religious Liberty on North Dakota Ballot (Devils Lake Journal)
EXCERPT: A North Dakota constitutional amendment about religious freedom will be on the state ballot next year. Secretary of State Al Jaeger says Wednesday that the initiative’s supporters got enough signatures to put the issue to a vote. It will be Measure 3 on the June primary election ballot. The proposed amendment says lawmakers may…
Proposal to Ban Circumcision Draws Strong Criticism (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
EXCERPT: At Religion Clause, Howard Friedman notes that Santa Monica could become the second California city to place on the 2012 ballot a ban on circumcision. A similar measure will be up for public referendum in San Francisco, prompting fierce opposition by many religious liberty advocates and others. Here’s a sample: The SF Chronicle’s editorial…
Judge Rules Against Plaintiffs Claiming Murfreesboro Mosque Violated Their Rights (The Republic)
EXCERPT: A judge has ruled that the construction of a new mosque in Rutherford County does not harm the residents who sued the county over it, but allowed them to move forward on claims the county violated an open meetings law. Plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Brandon Jr. had argued that the mosque violated his clients’ constitutional…
Tennesee Senate Approves Bill to Ban Teaching of Homosexuality in Schools (Boston Globe)
EXCERPT: A bill passed yesterday by the Tennessee Senate would forbid public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eight from discussing the fact that some people are gay. Opponents deride the measure as the “don’t say gay bill.” They say it is unfair to the children of gay parents and could lead to…