Obama's Selection For Inauguration Invocation Creates Controversy

Barack Obama yesterday created one of the earliest controversies of his upcoming administration by inviting pastor Rick Warren, author of the popular book, The Purpose-Driven Life, to deliver the invocation at his inaugural. Warren is the founder of Lake Forest, California's Saddleback Church at which Obama and McCain held a candidate forum in August. CNN reports that the selection of Warren has particularly incensed gay rights supporters. Warren backed California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage.

An Obama spokesperson defended the choice of Warren as an attempt to make the inauguration inclusive, even though Obama disagrees with Warren's views on gay rights. The Boston Globe says that "Warren has been a forceful advocate for reordering evangelical priorities.... [H]is public priority has been combating AIDS in Africa, and he has criticized the politicization of evangelical Protestantism." Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News says that this "is an early taste of the Democrats' post-election effort to reach evangelical Americans."

The benediction at the inauguration will be delivered by the 87-years old civil rights leader, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Yesterday's Atlanta Journal Constitution says that Yale poet Elizabeth Alexander will read a poem before Lowery's closing prayer. The Washington Post yesterday published the full schedule of the inauguration ceremony.

UPDATE: Here is an excerpt from a controversial Beliefnet interview with Pastor Rick Warren on the issue of gay marriage. Many opponents of Warren's participating in the inauguration point to language in this interview as being particularly insulting to gays and lesbians.

UPDATE2: AP reported on Sunday that Pastor Rick Warren defended the invitation extended to him to deliver the invocation at the Inaugural. In a speech to the Muslim Public Affairs Council annual convention in Long Beach (CA), Warren said that he loves people of other religions, of both political parties and he also loves "gays and straights."

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Amélie Barras & Dia Dabby, Only Skin Deep? Revising the Secular Narrative Through Circumcision, (Heather Shipley (ed.), Globalized Religion and Sexual Identity: Contexts, Contestations, Voices (Brill Academic Publishing, 2014), 86-106).
• Ifzal Mehmood, Siddiq Ali Chishti & Muhammad Hassan, Right of Women to Divorce: Adjudication of Redemption (Khul‘) in Islamic Law and Pakistani Law, a Critical Analysis of the Orthodox Islamic Scholars and Recommendations of Pakistani Courts on the Basis of Legal Opinion (Ijtihad), (Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2015).
• Kathryn Chan, The Advancement of Religion as a Charitable Purpose in an Age of Religious Neutrality, (September 12, 2015).
• Lynne Marie Kohm, The Unspoken Consequences of Obergefell: Calling Convictional Christian Scholars, (September 15, 2015).
• Steve Sanders, RFRAs and Reasonableness, (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming).
• Kellen R. Funk, Shall These Bones Live? Property, Pluralism, and the Constitution of Evangelical Reform, (Law and Social Inquiry, Forthcoming).
• Kari E. Hong, Obergefell's Sword: The Liberal State Interest in Marriage, (University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Sonu Bedi, The Horizontal Effect of a Right to Non-Discrimination in Employment: Religious Autonomy Under the U.S. Constiution and the Constitution of South Africa, 95 Boston University Law Review 1181-1204 (2015).
• Robin Fretwell Wilson, Bargaining for Civil Rights: Lessons From Mrs. Murphy for Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Rights, 95 Boston University Law Review 951-993 (2015).
• Michelle Kundmueller, The Devil Is In All the Details (Not Just In Georgia), [LEXIS link], 13 First Amendment Law Review 221-261 (2014).

No Action Under Color of Law In Refusing To Rent Meeting Space To Speaker

In Pasadena Republican Club v. Western Justice Center, (CD CA, Dec. 30, 2019), a California federal district court dismissed a suit claiming viewpoint discrimination and religious belief discrimination by the Western Justice Center (WJC) that was leasing the historic Maxwell House from the city of Pasedena.  WJC refused to rent space to the Republican Club for a speech by the president of the National Organization for Marriage because NOM's position on same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and transgender rights are antithetical to the values of WJC. In rejecting the Republican Club's civil rights claims, the court said in part:

The court will grant the Center’s and [its former executive director] Chirlin’s motion to dismiss because the complaint does not plausibly allege that the Center and Chirlin were acting under color of state law, as § 1983 requires, or that the City was involved in the alleged conspiracy, as § 1985(3) requires. Although a symbiotic relationship existed to some degree between the Center and the City, this case is distinguishable from Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, 365 U.S. 715 (1961), upon which the Club relies....

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Kyle Fields, Tohono O'odham Legal Systems, (August 1, 2018).
• Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema, Indigenization of Restitution of Conjugal Rights in Pakistan: A Plea for its Abolition, (August 28, 2018).
• Stephen M. Bainbridge, Restoring Confidence in the Roman Catholic Church: Corporate Governance Analogies, (UCLA School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 18-32 (2018).
• Amanda Shanor, First Amendment Coverage, (93 New York University Law Review 318 (2018)).
• Steven Douglas Smith, 'Fixed Star' or Twin Star? the Ambiguity of Barnette, (San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 18-363 (2018)).
• Serena Mayeri, Intersectionality and the Constitution of Family Status, (Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 32, Pg. 377, 2017).
• Lisa Chiyemi Ikemoto, Reproductive Rights and Justice: A Multiple Feminist Theories Account, (in Research Handbook on Feminist Jurisprudence (Robin West and Cynthia Bowman eds., Elgar Press, Forthcoming).
• Shannon Gilreath, A Comprehensive Rethinking of Equal Protection Post-Obergefell: A Plea for Substantivity in Law, (Wake Forest Univ. Legal Studies Paper (2018)).
• Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema, Revisiting Abdul Kadir v Salima: Locus Classicus on Civil Nature of Marriage?, (August 01, 2018).
• Avishai Benish, Dana Halevy & Shimon Spiro, Regulating Social Welfare Services: Between Compliance and Learning, (Forthcoming in International Journal of Social Welfare).

From SSRN (Legal issues relating to sexual orientation and religion):

• John G. Culhane, The Right to Say, But Not to Do: Balancing First Amendment Freedom of Expression with the Anti-Discrimination Imperative, (Widener Law Review, Vol. 24, 2018).
• Robert Leckey, Religion and Same-Sex Marriage, (In David Koussens, Benjamin Prud’homme & Safa Ben Saad (eds), La religion en droit de la famille: Le religieux comme variable de prise de décision dans un droit familial laïcisé [2019 Forthcoming]).
• Nausica Palazzo, The Strange Pairing: Building Alliances between Queer Activists and Conservative Groups to Recognize New Families, )Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, Vol. 25, No. 2, Fall 2018, Forthcoming).
• Thomas C. Berg, Masterpiece Cakeshop: A Romer for Religious Objectors?, (2017 Cato Supreme Court Review 139).
• Jordan Blair Woods, Religious Exemptions and LGBTQ Child Welfare, (Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 103 (May 2019, Forthcoming)).
• Robert C. Blitt, Leveraging Regional Human Rights Mechanisms Against Universal Human Rights: The OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission Study on Sexual Orientation, (William & Mary Law Review Online, Vol. 60(1) 2018).
• Steven Douglas Smith, Obergefell and the Reconstituting of America, (San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 18-364 (2018)).
• Justin O'Neill, The Queer Case of the LGBT Movement, (41 University of Hawaii Law Review (2019 Forthcoming)).

From SmartCILP:

• Ziaulrahman Mushkalamzai, Justifications for the Three-Tiered Judicial System in Afghanistan: Comparative Perspectives on Islamic Jurisprudence, 48 California Western International Law Journal 85-121 (2017).
• Faraz Siddiqui & Aleea Stanton, Blocking the Means to Exploit: Ending Kafala Under the Principle of Sadd al-Dhara'i, [Abstract], 61 Howard Law Journal 341-368 (2018).
• Nicole B. Godfrey, Holding Federal Prison Officials Accountable: The Case for Recognizing a Damages Remedy for Federal Prisoners' Free Exercise Claims, 96 Nebraska Law Review 924-976 (2018).
• JD Hsin, Defending the Public's Forum: Theory and Doctrine In the Problem of Provocative Speech, 69 Hastings Law Journal 1099-1145 (2018).

Recent Articles of Interest

 From SSRN:

• Michael A. Helfand, The Law of Torah U’Madda: Considering the Legal Implications of an Integrated Curriculum, (COVID 19 and Chinuch: Lessons Learned and Opportunities Uncovered. Volume 3: Families, Communities and Funders).
• Jeffrey A. Redding, Islamic Challenges to Pakistan’s Transgender Rights Law, (10 Melbourne Asia Review (2022)).
• William Wagner, Amicus Brief in Kennedy v Bremerton School District, (U.S. Supreme Court (No. 21-418) (February 28, 2022)).
• Lael Daniel Weinberger, Carson v. Makin and the Relativity of Religious Neutrality, (Forthcoming, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy Per Curiam).
• Emmanuel Umbu & Joseph Agada, The Right to Freedom of Marriage and the Constitutionality of the Prohibition of Same Sex Marriage in Nigeria, (Nigerian Bar Journal (2021), Vol. 11, Issue 1).

From SSRN (Abortion Rights):

• Paul Benjamin Linton, Neutralizing State Constitutions as a Source of Abortion Rights: The Path Forward, (Regent University Law Review, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2021-2022).
• Richmond Idaeho, Turning Point in American Abortion Law: US Supreme Court’s Reversal of Roe V. Wade, (July 9, 2022).
• Peggy Cooper Davis, The Reconstruction Amendments Matter when Considering Abortion Rights, (The Washington Post 2022).
• Peggy Cooper Davis, Overturning Abortion Rights Ignores Freedoms Awarded after Slaverys's End, (The Economist 2022).
• Melanie Kalmanson, Death After Dobbs: Addressing the Viability of Capital Punishment for Abortion, (July 11, 2022).

North Carolina County Commission Resolution Opposes Court's Marriage Equality Ruling

On Monday night, the Columbus County, North Carolina Board of Commissioners, by a vote of 6-1, passed a resolution asking for the federal court ruling invalidating North Carolina's same-sex marriage ban to "be reviewed and reconsidered to protect the foundation that America was established on."  According to WECT News, Commissioner Ricky Bullard who sponsored the resolution said it was motivated by his religious views, commenting: "In the Bible, it always talks about Adam and Eve. I've never heard it talk about Adam and Steve."

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Lotem Perry-Hazan, Curricular Choices of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Communities: Translating International Human Rights Law to Education Policy, (Oxford Review of Education, Forthcoming).
• Mark Strasser, The Protection of Conscience: On ACA, RFRA and Free Exercise Guarantees, (82 Tennessee Law Review 345-404 (2015)).
• Jill I. Goldenziel, The Curse of the Nation-State: Refugees, Migration, and Security in International Law, (Arizona State Law Journal, 2016).
• Harry G. Hutchison, Religious Liberty for Employers as Corporations, Natural Persons or Mythical Beings? A Reply to Gans, (Penn State Law Review, Vol. 120, 2015, Forthcoming).
• Barry Sullivan, Access to Information: Citizenship, Representative Democracy, and Catholic Social Thought, (From Democracy, Culture, Catholicism: Voices from Four Continents (Fordham University Press 2015)).
• Khaled A. Beydoun, Between Indigence, Islamophobia, and Erasure: Poor and Muslim in 'War on Terror' America, (104 California Law Review ___ (2016 Forthcoming)).
• Richard J. Ross, Binding in Conscience: Early Modern English Protestants and Spanish Thomists on Law and the Fate of the Soul, (Law and History Review 33(4) (November 2015): 803-37).
• Partners for Law in Development, Piecing Together Perspectives on Witch Hunting: A Review of Literature, (2013).
• Ian Murray, The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission: Reform or Un-Reform?, (2014) 17 Charity Law and Practice Review 151

From SSRN (Obergefell decision):

• Carlos A. Ball, Bigotry and Same-Sex Marriage, (University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, Vol. 84, No. 3, 2016).
• Laurence H. Tribe, Equal Dignity: Speaking its Name, (Harvard Law Review Forum, Vol. 129, pp. 16-32, 2015).
• Nan D. Hunter, Interpreting Liberty and Equality Through the Lens of Marriage, (6 Cal. L. Rev. Circuit 107 (2015)).
• Cynthia Godsoe, Perfect Plaintiffs, Yale Law Journal Forum, Vol. 125, No. 136, 2015.
• Carl H. Esbeck, A Post-Obergefell America: Is a Season of Legal and Civic Strife Inevitable?, (University of Missouri School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-24).

From SSRN (Islamic law):

• Michael J. T. McMillen, The Arcapita Group Bankruptcy: A Restructuring Case Study, (Global Trends in Islamic Commercial Law: International Shari'ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance and Thomson Reuters Report, 2015).
• Yusuf Roque Santos Morales, A Community Development Framework Based on the Maqasid Shariah and the Millenium Development Goals, (June 4, 2015).

From SmartCILP:

• John D. Haskell & Jessica Fish, Law As Eschatology, 53 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 185-209 (2014).
• John O. Hayward, The Free Exercise Clause: Fealty to God or Caesar?, 53 Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 211-252 (2014).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Omar Salah, Structuring Sukuk Al-Ijarah in the Netherlands, (TISCO Working Paper Series on Banking, Finance, and Services 08/2010, Nov. 26, 2010).
• Stephen Copp, A Theology of Incorporation with Limited Liability, (October 20, 2010).
• Christian J. De Ocejo, War Against God: How Iran Violates Islamic Law and What Human Rights Organizations Should Do About It, (December 3, 2010).
• Hassan Ahmad, Investigating Secondary Source Usage by Hanafi Jurists to Enhance Contemporary Relations in Muslim Minority Societies, (April 12, 2010).
• Pamela S. Karlan, Marriage, Method, and the Supreme Court, (Supreme Court Review, Forthcoming).
• Todd E. Pettys, Sodom's Shadow: The Uncertain Line Between Public and Private Morality, (Hastings Law Journal, Vol. 61, p. 1161, 2010).
• Jeremy Waldron, Secularism and the Limits of Community, (December 9, 2010).
• Todd E. Pettys, Letter from Iowa: Same-Sex Marriage and the Ouster of Three Justices, (Kansas Law Review, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Paul E. McGreal, The Making of the Supreme Court's Free Exercise Clause Jurisprudence: Lessons from the Blackmun and Powell Papers in Bowen v. Roy, 34 Southern Illinois University Law Journal 469-532 (2010).
• Religious Legal Theory: The State of the Field. Articles by Robert K. Vischer, Mark L. Movsesian, John F. Coverdale, Michael V. Hernandez, Samuel J. Levine, Amelia J. Uelmen and David S. Caudill. 40 Seton Hall Law Review 845-990 (2010).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Zvi H. Triger, Golda Meir's Reluctant Feminism: The Pre-State Years, (Israel Studies, 19.3 (Fall 2014), Forthcoming).
• Frederick Mark Gedicks & Andrew Koppelman, Invisible Women: Why an Exemption for Hobby Lobby Would Violate the Establishment Clause, (67 Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc 51 (2014)).
• Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Reconciling Liberalism and Judaism? Human Rights in Israel, (in Jo Carby-Hall (ed.), Essays on Human Rights: A Celebration of the Life of Dr Janusz Kochanowski (Warsaw: Jus et Lex Foundation, 2014), pp. 136-163).
• Robin Fretwell Wilson, Marriage of Necessity: Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty Protections, (Illinois Program in Law, Behavior and Social Science Paper No. LBSS14-35 (June 2014)).

From SmartCILP:

• David Pimentel & Brian Anderson, Judicial Independence In Postconflict Iraq: Establishing the Rule of Law In an Islamic Constitutional Democracy, 46 George Washington International Law Review 29-54 (2013).
• Sadiq Reza, Due Process In Islamic Criminal Law, 46 George Washington International Law Review 1-27 (2013).

Supreme Court Denies Cert. In Case Alleging Religious Belief Discrimination

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied review in Pasadena Republican Club v. Western Justice Center, (Docket No. 20-1773, certiorari denied 10/12/2021). (Order List). In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a suit claiming viewpoint discrimination and religious belief discrimination by the Western Justice Center (WJC) that was leasing the historic Maxwell House from the city of Pasedena.  WJC refused to rent space to the Republican Club for a speech by the president of the National Organization for Marriage because NOM's position on same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and transgender rights are antithetical to the values of WJC.  The 9th Circuit (full text of opinion) held that WJC was not a state actor for purposes of the Republican Club’s constitutional claims, and that the the government did not become vicariously liable for the discretionary decisions of its lessee. (See prior related posting.) Pasedena Now reports on the Court's action.

Controversial Pastor Hangs Obama In Effigy To Protest Marriage and Abortion Stances

Terry Jones, pastor of the small Gainesville, Florida Dove Outreach Center, who gained notoriety in 2011 for burning a copy of the Qur'an (see prior posting), has now created another controversy.  As reported last week by the Huffington Post (along with a photo), Jones has hanged President Obama in effigy on the front lawn of his church:

The effigy is suspended from a makeshift gallows with a noose of yellow rope, has a doll in its right hand and a rainbow-colored gay pride flag in its left.

In a telephone interview with The Huffington Post, Jones said the flag was meant to call attention to Obama's stance on same-sex marriage and that the baby doll is there because the president is "favorable toward abortion."...

There is also an Uncle Sam dummy standing at the base of the gallows outside the DWOC. Jones told HuffPost that the Obama effigy had originally been positioned to be hanging Uncle Sam when the display went up two weeks ago, but that the church changed the display on Wednesday.

The words “Obama is Killing America” are printed on a trailer nearby.

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the situation. [Thanks to Joseph K. Grieboski for the lead.]

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Seth Barrett Tillman, Blushing Our Way Past Historical Fact And Fiction: A Response to Professor Geoffrey R. Stone's Melville B. Nimmer Memorial Lecture and Essay, (Jan. 27, 2009).
• Paolo G. Carozza & Daniel Philpott, The Catholic Church, Human Rights and Democracy: Convergence and Conflict with the Modern State, (in The Cross, the Crescent and the Ballot Box: Catholic and Islamic Dialogue on the Rule of Law and International Democracy Promotion, Peter Schraeder, ed., Forthcoming; Notre Dame Legal Studies Paper No. 09-15).
• Cynthia Koploy, Free Exorcise Clause? Whether Exorcism Can Survive America's "New Neutrality", (Northwestern University Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Kenneth W. Starr, Our Libertarian Court: Bong Hits and the Enduring Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian Colloquy, (Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2008).
• Linda C. McClain, Red Versus Blue (and Purple) States and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate: From Values Polarization to Common Ground?, (University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, Vol. 77, p. 416, 2008).
• Melissa E. Murray, Marriage Rights and Parental Rights: Parents, the State, and Proposition 8, (Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Forthcoming).
• Cosmin Dariescu & Nadia Cerasela Dariescu, Rabbinical Chancery in Romania - An Alternative to the State Organized Courts in Solving Family Litigations?, (International Society of Family Law: Regional Conference in Israel, June 7-9, 2009).
• Ann Laquer Estin, Unofficial Family Law, (February 1, 2009).

From Bepress:

• Abeer Ghazi Jarrar, Combating a Religious Radical Ideology v. Suppressing Islamic Opposition: Jordan’s Approach to Counterterrorism, (Cornell Law School Graduate Student Papers Series, April 14, 2009).
• Sigit Ardianto, From Secularism into Modified Pluralism: Comprehensive Application of John Rawls’s Justice as Fairness Theory in Defining State and Religion Relationship, (Cornell Law School Graduate Student Papers Series, April 14, 2009).

From SmartCILP:

• Geoffrey C. Hazard, Not the City of God: The Multiplicity of Wrongs and Rules, 42 Akron Law Review 1-11 (2009).

Recent Books:

• Jon A. Shields, The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right, (Princeton University Press, 2009), reviewed by the New York Times.
• ABA Section of State and Local Government Law, RLUIPA Reader: Religious Land Uses, Zoning and the Courts, (Michael S. Giaimo & Lora A. Lucero, eds.) (April 2009).

Romney's Presidential Bid and His Mormon Religion

Today’s Weekend Edition of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) carries a front-page article on Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s potential bid for the presidency and how his Mormon religious faith will impact his chances.

The article begins with an account of Romney’s dead-pan humor speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Palm Beach, Florida:

"You may have heard that I’m Mormon," Mr. Romney told the crowd, adding that it’s "very difficult being Mormon" in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legalized. "You see for us, marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman and a woman and a woman."

In meetings with Christian conservatives, Romney is able to say, "I personally believe that Jesus Christ is my savior." He contends that voters will choose “individuals who are people of faith”, but he does not think that the "brand of faith" should matter.

Romney’s consultants do not believe that his religious affiliation will be as important to voters as political insiders are suggesting. Strategists believe, however, that Romney will eventually have to confront the religious issue directly.

Times Ad Condemns Violence Against LDS Church For Its Prop 8 Support

A full-page ad titled "No Mob Veto" (full text) ran in today's New York Times. The ad condemns the "violence and intimidation" being directed at the Mormon Church by reason of its support of California's Proposition 8 that banned same-sex marriage. (See prior posting.) Coordinated by the Becket Fund, the ad is signed by thirteen prominent religious, academic and human rights leaders. The ad indicates that the signers have different views on the "wisdom and justice" of Proposition 8, but agree on their opposition to anti-religious bigotry and violence. Signers included individuals with Evangelical, Catholic and Jewish organizational affiliations.

In a press release on the ad, Interfaith Alliance President C. Welton Gaddy said: "I am pleased to see the newfound commitment of some of my friends on the right to fight against anti-religious bigotry and violence against houses of worship.... [However] I do wonder if the signers will be willing to spend tens-of-thousands of dollars along with their prestige the next time a primarily gay congregation’s legitimacy is called in to question, or a mosque is targeted for harassment." Towleroad blog has additional background on the ad.

Shooter At Family Research Council Was Supporter of LGBT Rights

The Washington Post report today on the 28-year old man charged with shooting and wounding a security guard at the D.C. office of the Family Research Council suggests that he was motivated by the Council's opposition to expansion of rights for gays and lesbians.  According to the FBI affidavit (full text) seeking to show probable cause to charge Floyd Lee Corkins II, the shooter told the guard, before opening fire, "I don't like your politics."  Corkins' backpack contained 15 sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, whose president recently made highly publicized statements in opposition to same-sex marriage.  Corkins' parents told investigators that Corkins has strong opinions about those he believes do not treat homosexuals in a fair manner. Corkins has been volunteering at a community center that serves LGBT clients.

Prosperity Gospel Pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, Dies

As reported by CNN and AP, controversial Atlanta area mega-church pastor, Bishop Eddie Long, died Sunday morning of cancer at age 63. At its height, his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church where he preached a "prosperity gospel" had 25,000 members.  CNN summarizes his career:

Long was a national figure and one of the most innovative and polarizing pastors in the contemporary church. He was also a paradox.

He was a preacher who led an infamous march against same-sex marriage and denounced homosexuality, but he also settled a lawsuit by four young men who said he pressured them into sexual relationships....

He was a man who gave away cars and paid the college tuition of needy people, but he also was investigated by Congress after a charity he created had provided him with a million-dollar home and a Bentley luxury car.

"When he spoke, black people all over the country listened to him," said Shayne Lee, a sociologist who studies the black Pentecostal church. "He was part of the repackaging of Christianity for post-civil rights African-Americans."

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Mark D. Rosen, The Educational Autonomy of Perfectionist Religious Groups in a Liberal State, (1 Journal of Law, Religion & State 16, 2012).
• Thomas G. Field, Crimes Involving Intangible Property, (December 11, 2012).
• Andrew M. Koppelman, The Story of Welsh v. United States: Elliott Welsh's Two Religious Tests, (Richard Garnett and Andrew Koppelman, eds., First Amendment Stories, Foundation Press, 2011).
• Andrew M. Koppelman, Defending American Religious Neutrality, (Richard Garnett and Andrew Koppelman, eds., First Amendment Stories, Foundation Press, October 2011).
• Chuck Henson, Title VII Works – That's Why We Don't Like It, (2 University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review 41, 2012).
• Peter Nicolas and Mike Strong, The Geography of Love: Same-Sex Marriage & Relationship Recognition in America (The Story in Maps) Third Edition, (December 12, 2012).
• Susannah William Pollvogt, Forgetting Romer, (Stanford Law Review Online, 2012).
• Andrew Kim, 'Standing' in the Way of Equality? The Myth of Proponent Standing and the Jurisdictional Error in Perry v. Brown, (American University Law Review, Vol. 61, No. 6, 2012).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Elizabeth Sepper, Taking Conscience Seriously, 98 Virginia Law Review 1501-1575 (2012).
• Jacob Turner, Towards A Synthesis Between Islamic and Western Jus in Bello, 21 Journal of Transnational Law & Policy 165-206 (2011-2012).
• Church & State: Blurring the Lines, Wisconsin Lawyer, Dec. 2012.
• Steven H. Sholk, A Guide To Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations (2012 edition), PLI Course Handbook, Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Nov. 2012.

Wedding Videographers Sue To Refuse Same-Sex Couples

The owners of a St. Cloud, Minnesota film and media production company filed suit yesterday in federal district court claiming that the Minnesota Human Rights Act violates their rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments by requiring them "to produce videos promoting a conception of marriage that directly contradicts their religious beliefs if they produce videos promoting marriages between one man and one woman."  The complaint (full text) in Telescope Media Group v. Lindsey, (D MN, filed 12/6/2016), alleges that Carl Larsen and Angel Larsen "desire to counteract the current powerful cultural narrative undermining the historic, biblically-orthodox definition of marriage as between one man and one woman by magnifying God’s beautiful design and purpose for marriage through their creative storytelling and promotional talents." Plaintiffs argue:

The First Amendment prevents the government from compelling people to create, express, support, or promote a message not of their own choosing or to speak when they would rather remain silent.

KSTP-TV News reports on the lawsuit.

Obama Campaign Hires Religious Outreach Director

CNN reported yesterday that the Obama re-election campaign is hiring a staffer from the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to be the campaign's religious outreach director. Michael Wear has resigned his position as executive assistant to the executive director of the White House faith-based office, and will join the Obama campaign in Chicago as its Faith Vote Director. This report follows one in the New York Times yesterday that just two hours after announcing his support for same-sex marriage last week, the President had a conference call with eight African-American pastors to explain how he had reached his decision.

California High Court Tells 9th Circuit: Initiative Proponents Have Standing

The California Supreme Court yesterday gave a substantial boost to backers of Proposition 8-- the initiative that amended the state constitution to bar recognition of same-sex marriage.  In a lengthy and unanimous decision in Perry v. Brown, (CA Sup. Ct., Nov. 17, 2911), the state's high court held that:

when the public officials who ordinarily defend a challenged state law or appeal a judgment invalidating the law decline to do so, under article II, section 8 of the California Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Elections Code, the official proponents of a voter-approved initiative measure are authorized to assert the state‘s interest in the initiative‘s validity, enabling the proponents to defend the constitutionality of the initiative and to appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative.

Justice Kennard also filed a concurring opinion.  The court's decision came in response to a question certified to the California Supreme Court by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality under the U.S. Constitution of Proposition 8. The federal district court held that Proposition 8 violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.  State officials refused to defend the constitutionality of Proposition 8 and official proponents of Proposition 8 sought to intervene to defend the measure. (See prior posting). AP reports on yesterday's opinion.