News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
Judge David Stras, a Trump appointee, wrote for the 2-1 majority opinion, where he noted that Minnesota can’t force “free and independent individuals to endorse ideas they find objectionable.” Alliance Defending Freedom Carl and Angel Larsen are a St. Cloud, Minnesota couple who run a media business called Telescope Media…
COMMENTARY BY The vast majority of business activities do not affect anyone’s freedom of speech or religion. nathaphat/Getty Images Owners Carl and Angel Larsen want to produce wedding videos, but, based on their religious beliefs, decline requests to do so for same-sex weddings. Courts are increasingly called upon to address…
Photo Submitted FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Should Native Americans be allowed to sacramentally ingest peyote with no criminal penalties? Does a crèche belong on the courthouse lawn? And what about the 8-foot-tall bronze statue of the satanic goat monster Baphomet, briefly on view last year at the Arkansas Capitol building? Mark…
D.J. Tice @StribDJ America has always been an experiment in the limits of diversity. How deeply and in how many ways can a people differ and disagree, and even disapprove of one another’s ways of life, and still remain “a people” — a community with enough shared values to stay…
Photo by Tetra Images/GettyImages Last Friday, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a group of atheists who sued the Speaker of the Pennsylvania House in federal court, claiming the Pennsylvania House violated the Establishment Clause by barring a non-religious person from offering prayer. The court ruled 2-1…
Extending First Amendment protection against compelling citizens to endorse ideas they find objectionable appears to depend primarily upon whether the idea or objection falls within Christian doctrine. Almost a year ago, I pointed out that modern religious liberty doctrine is grossly unbalanced in a way that favors religion, the Christian…
Blaine Adamson of Hands On Originals A print shop in Lexington, Ky., shouldn’t be forced to produce LGBTQ Pride T-shirts because the message goes against the owner’s religious beliefs, his lawyer told the Kentucky Supreme Court Friday. “The evidence is clear that Hands On Originals serves everyone — and just…
June 8, 2019: The Capital Pride Parade takes place every year on a Saturday in June between Dupont Circle and Logan Circle. Female pastors show their LGBTQ support. “Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Trump…
Blaine Adamson FRANKFORT, Ky. (BP) — A Kentucky print shop owner’s decision to not make gay pride T-shirts in 2012 because it went against his religious beliefs was argued before the Kentucky Supreme Court on Friday (Aug. 23). Blaine Adamson, the owner of Hands-On Originals in Lexington, declined to print…
Carl and Angel Larsen, the couple who owns the Minnesota-based Telescope Media Group. In Dec. 2016, the Larsens filed suit against a state law that would compel them to film same-sex wedding ceremonies despite their religious objections. An appeals court has ruled in favor of a Christian couple who oversee…
A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a lawsuit filed by two Minnesota filmmakers who want the right to refuse to film same-sex weddings, saying that videos are a form of speech with constitutional protections under the First Amendment Carl and Angel Larsen, who run a Christian business called Telescope…
COMMENTARY BY The idea that lawyers cannot be impartial judges because they are partners in a big law firm or take their religious faith seriously is not simply baffling, it is dangerous. William_Potter/Getty Images The Left today rejects the very idea of an impartial judge. This debate about the role…
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit by a Minnesota couple challenging a state law requiring that their video production company film same-sex weddings, which they say violates their Christian beliefs. FILE PHOTO: A rose is seen on a giant rainbow flag at a pro same-sex…
Roger Rollins “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” — U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” — Bible A principal in Long…
(Photo: Flickr Commons/Joe Gratz) A Christian realtor is suing the Virginia Real Estate Board, saying she felt compelled to resign after being investigated for a fair housing complaint related to sharing her religious beliefs on a business website and email signatures. In the state lawsuit filed in Richmond, Hadassah Hubbard…
The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Friday over whether a Lexington company was allowed to refuse to print T-shirts for organizers of the city’s gay pride parade. Blaine Adams, the owner of Hands On Originals, refused to make T-shirts for Lexington’s Gay and Lesbian Services Organization in 2012, saying that…
A split decision of the Eighth Circuit Court on Friday cleared the way Friday for two “Christian” videographers to sue the state of Minnesota over the right to refuse to film same-sex weddings, arguing that the videos are a form of speech subject to First Amendment protections. Carl and Angel…
Angel and Carl Larsen, owners of Telescope Media Group in St. Cloud, Minn. (Alliance Defending Freedom) Earlier today, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutional order , limited the reach of expansive nondiscrimination laws, and protected a Christian couple from having to choose between their business and their…
Nicole Russell is a contributor to The Daily Signal. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Times, The American Spectator, and Parents Magazine. In a win for the First Amendment, a federal appellate court ruled earlier this month that the seal…
The Government of Uganda has for a while sought to “regulate” religious freedoms under the guise of protecting its citizens. This has essentially taken the form of the controversial Religious and Faith-Based Organizations (RFBOs) Policy whose proponents are majorly officials in the Office of the President and the Directorate of…
Ashers Baking Company is fighting a discrimination case once again. A gay man is to challenge the UK Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of a Christian bakery after it found that he was not discriminated against when his cake order was refused. The case goes back to 2014 when Gareth…
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (centre) with faith community leaders. FOLLOWING last year’s Religious Freedom Review conducted by an expert panel headed by Philip Ruddock, and the publication of its report, the Australian government announced its intention to introduce a new law, a Religious Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination on the…
Morgan Bardonstone, 18, of Unity, right, and Ambrose Donth, 19, of Claremont, pass by a large menorah on display as part of the holiday decorations in Broad Street Park in Claremont, N.H., Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. City resident Sam Killay, an atheist, has registered a complaint with the city council…
The Justice Department outlined, in a Friday court filing , its reasons why transgender discrimination in the workplace is illegal under federal law. The filing is related to an upcoming Supreme Court case involving a transgender funeral worker Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her position after announcing her transition.…
The Federal Building in Burlington houses the U.S. District Courthouse and the U.S. Postal Service. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger Attorneys for the state defended Vermont’s dual enrollment program in federal court Friday, asking U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss to dismiss a lawsuit that argues the program discriminates against students…