Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Supreme Court: Same-Sex Spouses Must Get Equal Treatment In Birth Certificates
Justice Gorsuch, in an opinion joined by Justices Thomas and Alito, dissented saying that this is an inappropriate case for summary reversal.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Israeli Court Rejects Reception Hall Owners' Religious Objections To Same-Sex Marriage
Every person who opens a public business in Israel should know that they must serve the whole public equally, without discrimination, according to laws, which cover sexual orientation as well. As soon as the defendants opened their doors to all, they cannot close them for those who they believe do not meet the requirements found in the Bible or New Testament, thereby damaging their dignity and sensitivities.The court also said:
Rejection, verbal abuse, and humiliation of another based on their sex or sexual orientation constitutes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment does not only include sexual exploitation, but also, and perhaps principally, ridiculing another person for their sex or sexual orientation… and in this case, the plaintiffs were ridiculed because of their sexual orientation
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Oregon's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Invalidated
I am aware that a large number of Oregonians, perhaps even a majority, have religious or moral objections to expanding the definition of civil marriage.... Generations of Americans, my own included, were raised in a world in which homosexuality was believed to be a moral perversion, a mental disorder, or a mortal sin. I remember that one of the more popular playground games of my childhood was called "smear the queer" and it was played with great zeal and without a moment's thought to today' s political correctness. On a darker level, that same worldview led to an environment of cruelty, violence, and self-loathing.... Even today I am reminded of the legacy that we have bequeathed today' s generation when my son looks dismissively at the sweater I bought him for Christmas and, with a roll of his eyes, says "dad ... that is so gay."
.... It is at times difficult to see past the shrillness of the debate. Accusations of religious bigotry and banners reading "God Hates Fags" make for a messy democracy and, at times, test the First Amendment resolve of both sides. At the core of the Equal Protection Clause, however, there exists a foundational belief that certain rights should be shielded from the barking crowds; that certain rights are subject to ownership by all and not the stake hold of popular trend or shifting majorities.
.... With discernment we see not shadows lurking in closets or the stereotypes of what was once believed; rather, we see families committed to the common purpose of love, devotion, and service to the greater community.
.... I know that many suggest we are going down a slippery slope that will have no moral boundaries. To those who truly harbor such fears, I can only say this: Let us look less to the sky to see what might fall; rather, let us look to each other ... and rise.ACLU of Oregon issued a press release announcing the decision. According to the Los Angeles Times, marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in Multnomah County, home to Portland, as soon as the decision was handed down. In February, the state attorney general said she would not defend the ban in court.
Friday, September 22, 2023
4th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments on Catholic School's Firing of Teacher Who Entered Same-Sex Marriage
The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday heard oral arguments (audio of full oral arguments) in Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School. In the case, a North Carolina federal district court held that a Catholic high school is liable under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act for firing a substitute drama teacher after he entered a same-sex marriage and stated on Facebook his disagreement with Catholic teaching on marriage. (See prior posting.) As reported by Reuters, during oral argument the judges pressed the parties on the applicability of the ministerial exception doctrine, even though the school had stipulated that it would not raise the doctrine as a defense in order to avoid protracted discovery on the teacher's job duties.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
New York Trial Court Lets Open Meeting Challenge To Same-Sex Marriage Law Continue
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Northern Ireland Appeals Court Upholds Anti-Gay Discrimination Finding Against Bakery
The fact that a baker provides a cake for a particular team or portrays witches on a Halloween cake does not indicate any support for either.The court rejected broadly defendants' religious discrimination arguments, saying:
Anyone who applies a religious aspect or a political aspect to the provision of services may be caught by equality legislation, not because the legislation treats their religious belief or political opinion less favourably but because that person seeks to distinguish, on a basis that is prohibited, between those who will receive their service and those who will not.... In the present case the appellants might elect not to provide a service that involves any religious or political message. What they may not do is provide a service that only reflects their own political or religious belief in relation to sexual orientation.The Guardian, reporting on the decision, says that the decision will be appealed to the UK's Supreme Court.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Washington Court Decision Allows Signature Collection In Anti-Gay Marriage Referendum
Saturday, December 08, 2012
More On Yesterday's Same-Sex Marriage Cases Cert. Grant-- Standing
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Southern Baptist Convention Urges Prayer Sessions On Morning of Same-Sex Marriage Arguments
The command to pray for leaders is an appeal to pray for leaders, who in Paul’s time were avowed enemies of Christ and his church. Still, despite their hostility to the burgeoning Christian movement, Paul says that government is a gift from God meant for our good, and that Christians should pray for government officials’ betterment and their wisdom; that they’d execute justice accurately and indiscriminately. So we must....
The outcome of this decision will shape the landscape of the church’s ministry in the United States for generations to come; and it will have significant consequences on the future of religious liberty.[Thanks to Center for Inquiry for the lead.]
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Religious Leaders React To Same-Sex Marriage Decisions
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Pennsylvania Same-Sex Marriage Ban Challenged In State Court
Sunday, February 21, 2010
DC Court Refuses To Delay Effectiveness of Same-Sex Marriage Law
Thursday, May 14, 2009
NY Assembly Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill; Fate In Senate Unclear
Monday, March 23, 2015
Recent Articles of Interest
- Andrew Koppelman & Frederick Mark Gedicks, Is Hobby Lobby Worse for Religious Liberty than Smith?, (St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy, Forthcoming).
- Annabelle Lever, Democratic Equality and Freedom of Religion: The Dilemma of Public Service Provision, (Forthcoming in Philosophy and Public Issues (July 2015)).
- James Lindgren, Measuring Diversity: Law Faculties in 1997 and 2013, (March 20, 2015).
- James E. Fleming, Introduction to the Symposium on Ronald Dworkin's Religion Without God, (94 Boston University Law Review 1201 (2014)).
- David S. Cohen & Krysten Connon, Living in the Crosshairs: The Untold Stories of Anti-Abortion Terrorism, (Oxford University Press, 2015).
- Nan D, Hunter, Pluralism and its Perils: Navigating the Tension between Gay Rights and Religious Expression, (2015).
- Nelson Tebbe, Religion and Marriage Equality Statutes, (Harvard Law & Policy Review, Vol. 9, No. 25, 2015).
- Zachary Robert Herz, The Marrying Kind, (Tennessee Law Review, Vol. 82, 2015).
- Suja A. Thomas, Text-Bound Originalism (And Why Originalism Does Not Strictly Govern Same Sex Marriage), (March 16, 2015).
- Stephanie Farrior, Equality and Non-Discrimination under International Law, (in Equality and Non-Discrimination Under International Law, Stephanie Farrior, ed., Ashgate Publishing, 2015).
- Zulkarnain Muhamad Sori, Shamsher Mohamad & Mohamed Eskandar Shah, Shariah Governance Practices in Malaysian Islamic Financial Institutions, (March 16, 2015).
- Yinka Olomojobi, Islam: Between Peace and Violence, (March 17, 2015).
- Marc Lane Roark, Retelling English Sovereignty, (British J. Am. Legal Studies, Forthcoming).
- Manjeet Sahu, Preferential Treatment of Hindus Under Indian Tax Law: Emphasizing on Grant of Tax Benefit to Hindu Undivided Family, (April 21, 2014).
- Martin Wishnatsky, The Disincorporation Proclamation: Emancipating the Establishment Clause from the Fourteenth Amendment, 5 Faulkner aw Review 259-307 (2014)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Maryland House Fails To Pass Same Sex Marriage Bill After Religious Opposition
Friday, June 24, 2011
Amended Gay Marriage Bill With Expanded Religious Exemptions Introduced In New York
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
California High Court Upholds Proposition 8, But Validates Pre-Prop 8 Marriages
The majority opinion by Chief Justice George held that: Proposition 8 merely "carves out a narrow and limited exception" to privacy, due process and equal protection provision in the state constitution, "reserving the official designation of the term 'marriage' for the union of opposite-sex couples as a matter of state constitutional law, but leaving undisturbed all of the other extremely significant substantive aspects of a same-sex couple’s state constitutional right to establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship and the guarantee of equal protection of the laws."
Justices Kennard and Werdegar each wrote a concurring opinion. Justice Kennard also joined the majority opinion while Justice Werdegar only agreed with the result, but rejected much of the majority's analysis. Justice Moreno dissented arguing that Proposition 8 is a "revision" of the Constitution because it "strikes at the core of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution" by requiring discrimination on the basis of a suspect classification. The Court has also issued a press release describing the opinions. The New York Times reports on the decision.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Federal Court Rejects 1st Amendment Challenge To CA Gay Marriage Holding
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Update on Kim Davis and Marriage Licenses In Kentucky
Davis maintains that the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples burdens her sincerely held religious beliefs in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the Kentucky Constitution, and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Davis has not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on her federal constitutional claims. We need not address the merits of her claims under Kentucky law because the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution precludes the federal courts from compelling state officials to comply with state law.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
NY Governor Criticizes Rabbi's Comments Blaming Sandy On Same-Sex Marriage
The comments made by Rabbi Noson Leiter that sought to link the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy to our state's embrace of marriage equality are as offensive as they are ignorant.... This kind of hateful rhetoric has no place in our public discourse, and is particularly distasteful in times of tragedy.... I call on Rabbi Leiter to apologize immediately for his hurtful comments.Vos Iz Neias? also reports on these developments.