News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell (THE CONVERSATION) A movement for religious rights is transforming the place of religion in American public life. From the 1960s until very recently, liberals successfully…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
(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…
In democratic pluralist and secular societies, freedom of religion is a fundamental right to be enjoyed by all individuals. The most unique feature of this human right is the extent to which it is premised on personal belief. For the most part in Uganda, under the 1995 constitution, different faiths…
Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers is seeking an OK to refuse service to gay couples. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key) After obtaining a perfunctory decision last year in her favor, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Washington State is back before the U.S. Supreme Court with a renewed…
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…
Breanna Koski, left, and Joanna Duka of Brush & Nib Studio are challenging a Phoenix ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. They do not want to prepare custom wedding invitations and other products for same-sex nuptials. (Photo courtesy Alliance Defending Freedom) The Arizona Supreme Court will decide…
{Originally posted to the author’s website } Imagine that a defiantly secular, left-of-center government is formed later this fall, comprising Blue & White, Israel Beytenu, Labor-Gesher, the Democratic Union and the United Arab List – and that it sets out to “fully democratize” Israel. December 2019: Justice Minister Avigdor Liberman…
The Arizona Supreme Court will decide Monday how much leeway — if any — business owners have to refuse to serve certain customers based on religious beliefs. Officially the case is whether the city of Phoenix can enforce its ordinance which makes it illegal to discriminate in providing goods or…
Supporters for both Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, and gay plaintiffs Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed made their voices heard after Tuesday’s court hearing. By The Richland floral shop owner at the center of a 6-year fight over religious freedom is once again asking the country’s highest court to…