News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
A longstanding consensus on how to accommodate religious beliefs in government settings is breaking down as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn longstanding precedent and allow greater role of religion in public life. Those were some of the observations of Nina Totenberg, the longtime legal affairs correspondent for…
Plaintiff Christopher Doyle A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state of Maryland’s law banning licensed practitioners from engaging in conversion therapy treatment with minors. The legislation was signed into law by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in May of 2018. The lawsuit was initially filed by…
FILE – This Jan. 22, 2019 file photo shows Christian artists Joanna Duka, front left, and Breanna Koski, front right, outside the Arizona Supreme Court after justices heard arguments over Phoenix’s anti-discrimination ordinance that bars businesses from refusing service to same-sex couples for religion reasons. Duka and Koski, who operate…
Joanna Duka (left) and Breanna Koski (right), owners of Brush & Nib Studio Last week, the Supreme Court of Arizona issued an important decision in Brush & Nib v. City of Phoenix , another case located squarely at the intersection of religious freedom and the new sexual orthodoxy. The case…
Attorney Jonathan Scruggs, of the Alliance Defending Freedom, speaks following his legal arguments in January at the Supreme Court that the sincerely held religious beliefs of business owners allows them to turn away gay customers. (Capitol Media Services file photos by Howard Fischer) By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services |…
Jeremy Dys is deputy general counsel to First Liberty Institute, a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. Prayer at legislative gatherings is as old as the United States—perhaps older, if we reach back in time to the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock. Legislative prayer is such…
Skip to main content A Pensacola law enforcement officer is suing his state employer over claims he was unlawfully prevented from sharing his Christian beliefs in his workplace. In a federal civil trial that began Wednesday in Tallahassee, Kevin Fiedor claims that the Florida Department of Financial Services violated his…
Capitol Media Services PHOENIX — Anti-discrimination laws do not trump the rights of business owners to refuse to provide certain services to gays, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. In a divided decision, the majority concluded that the owners of Brush & Nib Studios have a constitutional right to refuse…
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times A view of Cloud Gate, aka “The Bean,” in Millennium Park from the 32nd floor of 8 S. Michigan Ave., Thursday, May 30, 2019. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times Four Wheaton College students who were repeatedly stopped from open-air preaching and passing out evangelism literature in Millennium Park are…
A Deschutes County proposal to allow churches in areas zoned to help deer, elk and antelope has a land use group and a state agency concerned about the impacts on wildlife that need undisturbed tracts of land for habitat, food and migration. A proposal before the county planning commission seeks…
In what many have dubbed “Masterpiece Cakeshop 2.0,” the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday in a pivotal case regarding freedom of expression. The Arizona high court found that a Phoenix law violated the free speech rights of religious business owners Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib…
Transgender activists rallied at the White House in October to protest the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies. Stating that California’s interest in fighting discrimination against LGBTQ residents outweighs the right to impose religious standards on healthcare, an appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit against the Catholic Dignity Health hospital chain for…
CNN image PHOENIX – A 2013 Phoenix law that adds "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance violated the freedom of speech and religious beliefs of two business owners, the Arizona Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling Monday. Wedding invitation designers Joanna Duka and Breanna…
PHOENIX (CNS) — Arizona’s Catholic bishops praised the state Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 decision upholding the refusal by two Christian artists to create custom wedding invitations for same-sex couples based on their religious belief in marriage as being between one man and one woman. “We are grateful that the importance…
WASHINGTON – The Arizona Supreme Court Monday sided with two Phoenix women who said a city law aimed at preventing discrimination would have forced them to violate their Christian faith by creating custom invitations for same-sex weddings. A narrow majority of the court said that the religious convictions of Brush…
Calligraphy is a form of expressive speech, and therefore the city of Phoenix cannot compel a local studio to create wedding invitations for same-sex couples, Arizona’s highest court ruled yesterday. The Arizona Supreme Court determined, 4-3, that any attempt to use Phoenix’s ordinances to punish Breanna Koski and Joanna Duka…
The Arizona Supreme Court sided with two Phoenix business owners who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds, with the court saying such objections “may seem old-fashioned, or even offensive to some,” but they are still covered by the Arizona Constitution’s protection of free speech. (Photo by Amy Teegan/Creative Commons) Breanna…
(CNN) — A 2013 Phoenix law that adds "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance violated the freedom of speech and religious beliefs of two business owners, the Arizona Supreme Court said in a 4-3 ruling Monday. Wedding invitation designers Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners…
Source: National Archives via AP September 17 th is Constitution Day. One wonders how many Americans will take notice. After all, no one is getting a day off, there aren’t any mattress sales, and nobody ever got insta-famous talking about our founding document. Maybe that needs to change. Ours is…
All quiet on the Arizona Supreme Court building steps following the September 16 ruling. In a 4-3 opinion, The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Phoenix-based Brush & Nib Studio, a small business that refused to produce wedding invitations for LGBTQ couples. (This is a breaking news story,…
Screen capture from the video “Getting to know the artists of Brush & Nib” The Arizona State Supreme Court has ruled Phoenix-based company Brush & Nib, which designs custom wedding invitations, may turn away same-sex couples looking to engage their services. According to the Phoenix New Times , the owners…
AmberLaneRoberts/iStock/Getty Images Plus The Arizona Supreme Court granted businesses a right to discriminate against same-sex couples on Monday. By a 4–3 vote, the court carved an exemption into Phoenix’s human rights ordinance to let businesses refuse to sell custom wedding invitations to gay customers. The decision is rooted in the…
POLITICS In narrow ruling on Phoenix law protecting LGBT residents, court says Brush & Nib owners don’t have to create invitations for same-sex marriages. PHOENIX — Editor’s Note: The above video is an interview with the Brush & Nib owners from earlier this year. In a narrow ruling on a…
(Facebook Photo/Brush & Nib Studio) The Arizona Supreme Court issued an eagerly anticipated ruling in Brush & Nib et al. v. City of Phoenix on Monday. It decided that a person’s deeply held religious belief overrides the need to treat all people equally, including those in same-sex marriages, at least…
The Arizona Supreme Court will decide how much leeway business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious beliefs. PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court will decide Monday how much leeway — if any — business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious…