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School faces court hearing after banning Bibles on Religious Freedom Day
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Tuesday Liberty Counsel will meet the Collier County, Florida, School Board in the Fort Myers federal courthouse. This lawsuit challenges the board's recent ban on Bibles during Religious Freedom Day on school campuses in Collier County, Florida. For years, the school board allowed World Changers to provide free Bibles to interested students by placing them on tables where students could voluntarily pick one up during noninstructional time, but now the school officials claim that Bibles do not provide any educational benefit to the students and the distribution should stop. Liberty Counsel tried to convince the school board to correct its actions outside of court. But because of the school board's defiant actions, there will be a preliminary injunction hearing at 10:00 a.m. EDT in Judge Charlene Honeywell's chambers. READ MORE
U.S. may sue Arizona's Sheriff Arpaio for not cooperating in investigation
A federal investigation of a controversial Arizona sheriff known for tough immigration enforcement has intensified in recent days, escalating the conflict between the Obama administration and officials in the border state. Justice Department officials in Washington have issued a rare threat to sue Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio if he does not cooperate with their investigation of whether he discriminates against Hispanics. READ MORE
Making of a mosque mess
On Dec. 8, 2009, the New York Times published a story about a planned development in lower Manhattan: "The building has no sign that hints at its use as a Muslim prayer space, but these modest beginnings point to a far grander vision: an Islamic center near the city's most hallowed piece of land that would stand as one of ground zero's more unexpected and striking neighbors. "The location was precisely a key selling point for the group of Muslims who bought the building in July. READ MORE
Prop. 8 ruling ignores precedent, evidence and common sense
Even some who support same-sex marriage worry that, in striking down California's voter-approved proposition defining marriage as between one man and one woman, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker went too far. They are right -- and not the only ones who should be concerned. Walker's ruling is indefensible as a matter of law wholly apart from its result. READ MORE
Lawsuit Claims College Ordered Student to Alter Religious Views on Homosexuality, Or Be Dismissed
A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university after she was told she must undergo a remediation program due to her beliefs on homosexuality and transgendered persons. The student, Jennifer Keeton, 24, has been pursuing a master's degree in school counseling at Augusta State University since 2009, but school officials have informed her that she'll be dismissed from the program unless she alters her "central religious beliefs on human nature and conduct," according to a civil complaint filed last week. READ MORE
University of Illinois Instructor Fired Over Catholic Beliefs
The University of Illinois has fired an adjunct professor who taught courses on Catholicism after a student accused the instructor of engaging in hate speech by saying he agrees with the church's teaching that homosexual sex is immoral. The professor, Ken Howell of Champaign, said his firing violates his academic freedom. He also lost his job at an on-campus Catholic center. READ MORE
Federal Judge Rules Against Proposition 8
Chief Judge Vaughan Walker today overturned the will of seven million California voters by declaring Prop 8 “unconstitutional.” Although the decision was not unexpected by the Prop 8 Legal Defense team, Judge Walker’s opinions are especially strident. As a preemptive act, the Prop 8 defense attorneys sought a motion to “stay” – attempting to keep same-sex marriages from taking place – in the event that Walker overruled Prop 8. Giving all sides until end-of-day Friday, August 6, to respond to the motion, Walker has issued a temporary “stay”. At some point after that, Judge Walker will decide whether same-sex marriages should proceed in California. The legal defense team may need to seek immediate review from higher courts of appeal in order to keep new same-sex marriages from taking place. READ MORE
What would George Washington say about Islam in USA?
With all the loud clamoring about the proposed Islamic Center to be built near Ground Zero, reasonable voices are hard to discern. One thing is clear: this is not a debate about religious freedom. A mosque by peaceful Muslims of good will, unrelated to perpetrating the 9/11 attacks has every right to exist anywhere on these shores. It is the worst form of religious intolerance--and very un-American--to think that one form of religion has limits on where and when it may be practiced. READ MORE
Religious freedom to exclude
The Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited opinion in Christian Legal Society Chapter of the University of California, Hastings College of Law v. Martinez (CLS). The decision may go largely unnoticed since it arrived on the first day of future Justice Kagan's confirmation hearings and, McDonald v. Chicago, another decision released the same day, is gaining much more attention after it extended the Second Amendment to limit state gun control laws. Yet the CLS decision hits all the fault lines of the clash between non-discrimination requirements and claims about religious freedom. Welcome to the future of the so-called "culture wars." READ MORE