Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Sep. 29th, 2005 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdChristian school in [EDIT: Correction] California expels student for having lesbian parents;
FDA chair resigns after extending the Plan B schedule yet again - this after promises in confirmation hearings that he wouldn't do so and would have a decision by September 1st. Christian Medical Association calls him "a victim of the culture wars" - includes ACTION ITEM to appoint an anti-abortion replacement;
Scalia delights fundamentalists with statements supporting Congressional content-controls over NEA grants;
FotF pushes ACTION ITEM to ban stem-cell research via the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act," S. 658, alleging "fetal farms" growing babies only to kill them;
To his credit, Focus on the Family's Stuart Shepard criticises claims that Katrina and Rita were some form of specific divine wrath;
Creationism trial gets underway over mandatory instruction of "intelligent design" in Dover, PA;
Massachusetts: Catholic church pulls priests from Mass for refusing to support anti-marriage amendment;
Massachusetts: anti-marriage signature gatherers being bussed in, paid $1/signature;
Focus on the Family's interpretation of what the Air Force itself called a serious problem with evangelical pressure on non-Christians at the Air Force Academy: it's all "a smear";
Focus on the Family expects a "different" ruling on the so-called "partial birth abortion" ban, with Roberts as Chief Justice and - they hope - a replacement for O'Connor;
Focus on the Family: The ACLU is a communist front, built from the beginning to destroy America;
FotF: Gonzalez to continue pushing anti-obscenity laws;
FotF attacks doctor for providing free abortion services for Katrina victims;
CWA issues congratulations to John Roberts on his confirmation as Chief Justice;
CWA attacks pervious filibuster compromise again, calling its signatories "pudding heads," expecting it to come up in the new O'Connor replacement;
CWA attacks adding sexual orientation to existing Federal hate crimes legislation, calling it a "threat to religious freedom";
Agape Press: "Predatory Female Teachers Seen as Symptom of Cultural Selfishness";
Family Research Council: "The Homosexual Agenda is Winning in the House" - ACTION ITEM against adding sexual orientation to hate crimes law, claims it will lead to outlawing "teaching against homosexual conduct";
Alabama state senator blames "sinful behaviour" for hurricanes Katrina and Rita;
Michigan gets judicial decision OKing same-sex DP benefits for state employees despite anti-marriage amendment; appeal against the ruling expected.
----- 1 -----
Christian School Expels Girl for Having Gay Parents
Friday, September 23, 2005
Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170219,00.html
ONTARIO, Calif. — A Christian school expelled a 14-year-old student because her parents are lesbians, the school's superintendent said in a letter.
Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School (search) on Thursday.
"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, Shay's biological mother.
The school's policy states that at least one parent cannot engage in practices "immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship," Stob wrote.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
FDA Commissioner Resigns Amid Controversy
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038047.cfm
SUMMARY: Delay on the morning-after pill may have
influenced an early departure.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is out
after just 18 months on the job. Both sides appear happy
with his departure.
Dr. Lester Crawford's resignation as FDA commissioner is
fueling the Washington, D.C., rumor mill. Some say the
abrupt departure resulted from the extended comment period
he gave Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill. Others
think he made a bad decision by approving RU-486, known as
the abortion pill.
Planned Parenthood hailed Crawford's resignation as a
victory, citing his request for public comment on Plan B.
But Wendy Wright, senior policy director at Concerned
Women for America, said the FDA's approval of RU-486 was
problematic for Crawford.
[...]
Crawford was a casualty of the culture wars, according to
Dr. Gene Rudd of the Christian Medical Association.
"There may be other reasons we don't know. You know the
first casualty of war is truth," he said. "And sadly, we
in our society think that science will be the determinant
of truth, and it's far from that."
Connie Mackey, vice president of government relations at
the Family Research Council, said President Bush now has
an opportunity to choose Crawford's successor wisely.
"We can only hope," Mackey told Family News in Focus,
"that the president will make sure that someone who takes
over at FDA understands the severity of the kind of drugs
we are talking about for women -- RU-486 and
over-the-counter morning-after pills."
[...]
TAKE ACTION: Please let President Bush know that it is
important that the new head of the Food and Drug
Administration be someone who is willing to protect the
health of Americans without being swayed by the
pro-abortion lobby.
For help in contacting the president, please see the
CitizenLink Action Center.
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=20004&lvl=F
----- 3 -----
SCALIA SPEAKS OUT ON GOVERNMENT-FUNDED ART
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038046.cfm
SUMMARY: A Supreme Court justice says government should be
allowed to choose the art it wants to support.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia believes government
has a right to deny funding to what it considers offensive
art. The view is welcomed by religious conservatives who
complain that their tax dollars fund not just offensive,
but sometimes obscene, art.
In a forum recently at the Juilliard School, Scalia argued
that the National Endowment for the Arts was created by
Congress and therefore, Congress reserves the right to
decide how its funds will be used.
Tim Wildmon, a vice president of the American Family
Association, likes what the justice said.
[...]
Wildmon, meanwhile, thinks the debate is really a matter
of defining what is obscene and what isn't -- and what
good art is and what's not.
"Just because something has a shock value or you're
remembered because it was in the media, does not
necessarily mean that that is good art," Wildmon said.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Fetal Farming is on the Horizon
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
Summary: The biotech industry is intent on growing fetuses for body parts.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038045.cfm
One of the leading pro-life organizations in the country
is warning that the appalling possibility of fetus-farming
could be closer than we think. The National Right to Life
Committee suggests that even though Congress is distracted
with hurricanes, they still have time to draft some
"clone-and-kill" bills.
The reality of "fetus farming" is too grisly a concept for
most people to get their minds around. Daniel McConchie,
director of public relations and public policy at
Americans United for Life, explained the term.
"Basically, it's an idea that you're taking either the
early human embryo or a fetus, and using it for some sort
of spare parts," McConchie told Family News in Focus.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director of National Right to
Life, said that is where we're headed.
"Elements of the biotech industry are definitely moving
towards 'fetus farming' and Congress must act to prevent
that before it's too late," he said.
A Senate bill would expand the opportunities for the
biotech industry to clone-and-kill, but Richard
Doerflinger, deputy director of the Secretariat for
Pro-Life
Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
said state legislatures are leading the way to
Frankenstein's Castle.
"The legislators will say, 'Well, that's crazy, nobody
wants to do that,' then they'll also refuse to change the
language so that they can't do that," he said.
A case in point is already law in New Jersey, according to
McConchie.
"They actually allowed researchers to gestate a clone all
the way up until birth, at which point they have to
terminate the life," he said.
The only reason to bring a fetus to term and then kill it
would be to obtain body parts. The question is: How could
lawmakers pass legislation that allows harvesting of even
a cloned baby's tissues or organs?
"I think many of the legislators are quite oblivious to
what's going on," Doerflinger said.
That appears to be true from Congress on down. Pro-life
experts say the best way right now to block fetal farming
would be for Congress to pass the total ban on all forms
of human cloning proposed by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
TAKE ACTION: The Human Cloning Prohibition Act, S. 658,
would ban all forms of human cloning. Please contact your
representative and senators and ask them to support the
bill -- which is the only real way to stop human embryos
from being cloned and killed. You can find contact
information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
Long URL elided
----- 5 -----
COMMENTARY: HURRICANES AND BLAMING THE DEAD
Were the recent hurricanes a measure of Divine wrath?
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
September 27, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/commentary/a0038043.cfm
I did not predict that two hurricanes would strike
Louisiana within weeks of each other.
But my staff will verify that I did predict something else
with 100 percent accuracy: That as each of the hurricanes
struck, we would shortly begin receiving news releases and
e-mails claiming that it was divine wrath for
(fill-in-the-blank).
One claimed Hurricane Katrina was clearly because of
abortion clinics. Another claimed it obviously was because
of homosexuality and the Southern Decadence festival
scheduled in New Orleans. And yet another said anyone
could see it was because of all those casinos along the
Gulf Coast.
One group attempted to bolster its claim by quoting
Matthew 5:45, that God "sends rain on the just and the
unjust" -- apparently not realizing that, in context,
Jesus is declaring how God is merciful to the righteous
and the unrighteous.
[...]
But after-the-fact prophets don't impress me at all.
[...]
Concerning a sudden, unexplained disaster in New Testament
times, Jesus rebuked those who wanted to blame the dead:
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on
them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the
others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Intelligent Design Case gets Underway
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
NEWSBRIEFS
[Received in email; no URL]
"I guess I should say, 'Class dismissed.' "
That's how federal Judge John E. Jones III reacted Monday
to opening-day testimony in a landmark trial in Dover, Pa.
-- a case which could decide whether public schools must
provide students information about intelligent design when
they teach Darwinian evolution.
The suit was brought by eight families who object to the
Dover school board's mandate that students be presented
with information on intelligent design -- the first such
mandate in the country. The challengers argue that
intelligent design promotes the Bible's view of creation.
Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller attempting to
dazzle the judge, used a projection screen and flip-charts
to make points that courtroom observed compared to a
science lecture.
Patrick Gillen of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor,
Mich., who is defending the school district and its
policy, says intelligent design merely discusses the fact
that there is considerable evidence that the world was the
product of an intelligence -- and shows evidence of
design. It does not draw conclusions about the nature of
the "intelligence" behind the universe.
"This case is about free inquiry in education," Gillen
said, "not about a religious agenda."
[Correction: a story in yesterday's update incorrectly
located this court challenge. Dover, Pa., is correct.]
----- 7 -----
Priest pulled from Mass after refusing to support anti-gay marriage push
September 29, 2005
Long URL elided, click here for original story
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. --A Catholic priest in this town was temporarily pulled from the pulpit after refusing to support the state bishops' drive against gay marriage.
The Rev. George Lange of St. Luke the Evangelist was replaced last weekend by Bishop Robert McManus of the Worcester Diocese, who led the Saturday evening Mass and the Sunday morning Mass at the church.
The move came after Lange and his associate pastor, the Rev. Stephen Labaire, posted an item in the Sept. 11 church bulletin stating their opposition to a proposed Constitutional amendment that would ban on gay marriage. The state's Catholic bishops are leading a signature drive to get the amendment on the 2008 ballot.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Government BUY the People
Know Thy Neighbor
http://knowthyneighbor.blogs.com/home/2005/09/government_buy_.html
On Sunday the 25th, I went to the Wild Oats Supermarket in Saugus, MA, where I was greeted by a petition circulator. I was presented with an Initiative Petition to allow alcohol to be sold in supermarkets. The young man, Mr. Tiontee Johnson, explained how I needed to make my signature legible and added when I am done signing that he has another Petition about Traditional Marriage that he would like me to sign too. "You know", he said, "if you believe in 'Adam and Eve.'" He then added, "this signing on either of these just means you want it on the ballot, it doesn't really mean anything today."
Well, I signed the Petition to allow alcohol to be sold and asked Mr. Johnson if my name would be made public and was told emphatically, "No, these signatures go directly to the Secretary of State." Interesting... I was then asked if I wanted to sign "the traditional marriage petition." When I said no, He told me that he was being paid $1 a signature and that it would really help him if I could sign!
I asked Mr. Johnson for a card (see photo) and he gave me his employer's business card. In further questioning, I found out that Mr. Johnson is not even a Massachusetts resident but one of many that were bussed in from California and put up in hotels all over the Baystate and paid to collect signatures. By the way, the area code on the business card is from Michigan.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
THE ARCHITECTURE OF A SMEAR
What you don't know about the campaign to end public
prayers at the Air Force Academy.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Stephen Adams, Citizen magazine associate editor
September 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/features/a0038037.cfm
The news could have been worse. The U.S. Air Force's new
guidelines for religious tolerance, released in late
August, didn't ban all forms of public prayer and worship
at the Air Force Academy, as some liberal critics had
demanded. The Air Force still allows "brief, nonsectarian
prayer" at special ceremonies or in "extraordinary
circumstances" such as "mass casualties, preparation for
imminent combat and natural disasters," but "usually" not
at "staff meetings … and sporting events."
By all accounts, the policy is aimed directly at
evangelicals, whose numbers are growing among the ranks of
cadets and chaplains at the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Air Force football coach Fisher DeBerry, a churchgoer, got
the message. Soon after the guidelines were released, he
canceled team prayers in the locker room.
[more at URL]
----- 10 -----
PRO-LIFERS EXPECT POSITIVE OUTCOME ON KEY CASE
Partial-birth abortion will be weighed by a different high court.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
from staff reports
September 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038062.cfm
Pro-life groups are confident a ban on partial-birth
abortion will soon be the law of the land -- because it
will be decided by a Supreme Court with a new chief
justice and possibly a replacement for a swing-vote
justice.
The Bush administration appealed a case on Monday asking
the high court to reinstate the federal law banning the
gruesome practice.
The last time the Court ruled on partial-birth abortion
was in 2000; it determined Nebraska's law banning the
procedure was unconstitutional because it did not include
a "health exception."
Carrie Gordon Earll, bioethics analyst for Focus on the
Family Action, is encouraged that the Justice Department
wants the case heard sooner rather than later.
"What makes this request unique is the fact that the
Attorney General is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to move
this case up in the line and to hear it in its current
agenda rather than waiting till its next session," she
said.
In the 2000 ruling, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor cast the
pivotal vote. But Jay Sekulow, chief counsel with the
American Center for Law and Justice, said a court without
O'Connor could yield an entirely different verdict.
----- 11 -----
The ACLU vs. America
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 28, 2005
by Pete Winn, associate editor
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0038064.cfm
SUMMARY: A new book exposes the underpinnings of the
American Civil Liberties Union.
It has waged a war on America for eight decades -- and
most people don't even realize it. It opposes the right of
parents to raise children with faith and values. It
opposes true freedom of religion. It's seeking to redefine
marriage. And it's out to remake the country into what can
only be called a nightmare.
That's the picture painted in the new book, "The ACLU vs.
America."
Co-author Craig Osten talked with CitizenLink about the
book and the ACLU's design for the nation.
Q. Craig, most people think the ACLU may have started out
good in wanting to defend civil liberties, but took a
wrong turn somewhere. But your book seems to indicate
that's just not the case.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Gonzales Says No Backing Down on Obscenity
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
NEWSBRIEFS
September 28, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told The Miami
Herald that law enforcement must learn to out-smart
criminals bent on using the Internet to perpetrate crime
-- including obscenity.
After the announcement that the FBI had begun forming an
anti-obscenity squad to crack down on illegal porn
operations, the media reported negative feedback from a
few agents.
Gonzales countered the rhetoric by explaining the
reasoning behind FBI involvement and referring to a long
history of Congress pushing for prosecution of obscenity
cases.
"They've made the decision that dollars should be spent to
fight obscenity," Gonzales said. "When they appropriate
money in order for the department to fight crime, we have
an obligation to do that. And that's what we're doing
here.
"People get the idea that somehow the department with all
of its talent can't do more than one thing at a time. In
fact, we can fight the war on terror, and at the same
time, we can go after corruption, we can go after
corporate fraud, we can go after drugs, we can go after
violent gun crimes and we can go after obscenity."
----- 13 -----
Doctor Offers Free Abortions to Hurricane Victims
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
NEWSBRIEFS
September 28, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
An Arkansas abortion clinic is offering free abortions for
hurricane evacuees, The Associated Press reported.
While Arkansas Right to Life is reaching out to survivors
with "Operation Baby Box," -- providing basic supplies to
those who have lost everything -- a few miles away, Dr.
Jerry Edwards is offering abortion services free of
charge.
Edwards said he's doing it because it would be dangerous
for evacuees to wait until they can return home.
But Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to
Life, said the offer to kill unborn babies for free is an
offer to cause further physical and psychological damage
to evacuees already extremely traumatized by the storm.
"This just adds to the devastation these women already
have in their lives," Mimms said. "Some have lost family
members. They all lost property, for sure.
"Taking the lives of unborn children who are survivors of
the hurricane is the wrong response."
----- 14 -----
CWA Congratulates Judge Roberts on Becoming Chief Justice
Concerned Women for America
9/29/2005
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9071/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) expresses its hearty congratulations to Judge John G. Roberts on receiving Senate confirmation as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States.
As expected, all 55 Senate Republicans voted for Roberts and were joined by 22 Democrats and Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont). 22 Democrats voted “No,” following the lead of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).
“Judge Roberts deserved unanimous confirmation by the Senate and the fact that he didn’t get it is further proof of how the left is politicizing the judiciary,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel. “Some chose to jump off a political cliff by joining hands with the die-hard abortion, gay rights and environmental groups to oppose this supremely qualified judge.”
“If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, then the little guy’s going to win in the court before me,” Roberts told senators during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well then the big guy’s going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution.”
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back Into the Nomination Water
Concerned Women for America
9/28/2005
By Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9054/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm
The filibuster sharks are circling Supreme Court nominee Fill-in-the-Blank.
Showtime’s approaching. The Senate will vote September 29 at 11:30 a.m. on the confirmation of Judge John G. Roberts as the next Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts will be confirmed by 60+ votes. The Mother of All Supreme Hysteria will follow this when President Bush announces his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Get set for “Revenge of the Filibuster Nerds, Part II.” Unless the President names Al Gore or Babs Streisand to the high Court, judicial filibuster number 30 or 40-something begins, but who’s counting. The left, in and out of the Senate, will unleash attacks that will leave you thinking Bin Laden’s been wacked and they’re writing his eulogy.
The old adage comes to mind about the proof is in the pudding, or pudding heads, depending on your view of the “Great Compromise” concocted by the “Gang of 14” a few months ago. It’s been billed as the cure-all, end-all to take judicial filibustering off the table and restore “civility” to the “greatest deliberative body in world history.”
----- 16 -----
The Federal Hate Crimes Bill: Federalizing Criminal Law While Threatening Civil Liberties
Concerned Women for America
9/29/2005
By Robert H. Knight
A free society concerns itself with actions, not beliefs.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9069/CFI/papers/index.htm
The hate crimes bill, an amendment to the Child Safety Act (H.R. 3132), was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 15. Titled “The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act,” the bill is now under review in the U.S. Senate (S. 1145). This bill:
* Lays the groundwork for a severe threat to religious freedom.
* Expands federal power enormously into cases traditionally handled by the states.
* Creates “thought crime,” which has no place in American law.
* Violates the concept of equal protection under the law.
* Tempts law enforcement agencies into giving some crime victims’ cases more priority than others.
* Brings hate crime politics into the schools.
* Is unnecessary, given 1) there is no evidence that such cases are not receiving proper prosecution and sentencing, and that 2) hate crimes have been decreasing over the past three years, not increasing.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Predatory Female Teachers Seen as Symptom of Cultural Selfishness
By Jim Brown
September 26, 2005
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/262005c.asp
(AgapePress) - Yet another female public school teacher has been taken into custody on charges of sexually assaulting male students -- this time in New Jersey. Traci Tapp, a 28-year-old physical education instructor at Hammonton High School, was recently arrested for sexual crimes involving three school-aged boys.
Tapp has been charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact, and three counts of official misconduct. Her case is the latest in a rash of sexual assaults involving predatory female teachers nationwide. Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute says such cases reveal the extent to which contemporary culture has become one of self-gratification.
"These teachers obviously believe that their fling with the students was worth jeopardizing the future of the students so they could obtain this illicit pleasure for awhile," Knight observes. "This is really part of the mean mentality of the new age -- that we're all entitled to whatever we want at anytime with anyone we want."
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
URGENT: The Homosexual Agenda is Winning in the U.S. House
Family Research Council
September 28, 2005 - Wednesday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL05I13
With Republicans leading the U.S. House, we had thought the homosexual movement would not prevail. Yet, 223 Members of the U.S. House recently voted to award homosexuals a top item on their agenda, a "hate crimes" bill, giving special protections based on "sexual orientation." There was no advance notice of the vote. The leader of the homosexual advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said it was an "incredibly historic vote" that could give momentum to similar action in the Senate. He's right!
FRC has long fought against so-called "hate crimes" laws because they punish thoughts, not just actions. This bill also falsely equates homosexual behavior with race, and encourages a huge federal power grab over local law enforcement. Worst of all, such laws could eventually lead to criminal charges for preaching or teaching against homosexual conduct. A Pennsylvania hate crimes law led to the arrests of 11 Christians demonstrating in a Philadelphia public park last year. Though the charges were eventually dropped, the case and similar developments overseas demonstrate that our fears are well founded.
We are determined to stop the momentum of the homosexual movement, but that is no easy task since the bill has passed one House of Congress. Here is our strategy: Both of your U.S. senators need to hear immediately that this bill must not pass the Senate. Your Congressman also needs to hear from you right now that this vote was a major mistake - the bill may be voted on again in the House. But we must act fast to stop the momentum behind the homosexual agenda. Please act now. And one more thing: please forward this to many others so we can have a major impact.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Senator: God judging U.S.
with disastrous hurricanes
Alabama Republican cites culture of 'gambling, sin and wickedness'
Posted: September 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
An Alabama state senator says the reason why the Gulf Coast is suffering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is because God is judging Americans in that region for sinful behavior.
"New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness," wrote Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, in a column, according to the Birmingham News. "It is the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God."
----- 20 -----
QUEERLY BELOVED
Same-sex benefits OK'd despite amendment
Judge rules no conflict with voter-approved marriage definition
Posted: September 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46570
Michigan is moving ahead on a proposal to extend health care benefits to same-sex partners of state employees after a judge ruled the plan doesn't violate a voter-approved marriage amendment.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm made the announcement Tuesday after Ingham County Judge Joyce Dragunchuk's decision, the first judicial interpretation of the 2004 amendment, which defines marriage as only between one man and one woman.
[More at URL]
FDA chair resigns after extending the Plan B schedule yet again - this after promises in confirmation hearings that he wouldn't do so and would have a decision by September 1st. Christian Medical Association calls him "a victim of the culture wars" - includes ACTION ITEM to appoint an anti-abortion replacement;
Scalia delights fundamentalists with statements supporting Congressional content-controls over NEA grants;
FotF pushes ACTION ITEM to ban stem-cell research via the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act," S. 658, alleging "fetal farms" growing babies only to kill them;
To his credit, Focus on the Family's Stuart Shepard criticises claims that Katrina and Rita were some form of specific divine wrath;
Creationism trial gets underway over mandatory instruction of "intelligent design" in Dover, PA;
Massachusetts: Catholic church pulls priests from Mass for refusing to support anti-marriage amendment;
Massachusetts: anti-marriage signature gatherers being bussed in, paid $1/signature;
Focus on the Family's interpretation of what the Air Force itself called a serious problem with evangelical pressure on non-Christians at the Air Force Academy: it's all "a smear";
Focus on the Family expects a "different" ruling on the so-called "partial birth abortion" ban, with Roberts as Chief Justice and - they hope - a replacement for O'Connor;
Focus on the Family: The ACLU is a communist front, built from the beginning to destroy America;
FotF: Gonzalez to continue pushing anti-obscenity laws;
FotF attacks doctor for providing free abortion services for Katrina victims;
CWA issues congratulations to John Roberts on his confirmation as Chief Justice;
CWA attacks pervious filibuster compromise again, calling its signatories "pudding heads," expecting it to come up in the new O'Connor replacement;
CWA attacks adding sexual orientation to existing Federal hate crimes legislation, calling it a "threat to religious freedom";
Agape Press: "Predatory Female Teachers Seen as Symptom of Cultural Selfishness";
Family Research Council: "The Homosexual Agenda is Winning in the House" - ACTION ITEM against adding sexual orientation to hate crimes law, claims it will lead to outlawing "teaching against homosexual conduct";
Alabama state senator blames "sinful behaviour" for hurricanes Katrina and Rita;
Michigan gets judicial decision OKing same-sex DP benefits for state employees despite anti-marriage amendment; appeal against the ruling expected.
----- 1 -----
Christian School Expels Girl for Having Gay Parents
Friday, September 23, 2005
Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170219,00.html
ONTARIO, Calif. — A Christian school expelled a 14-year-old student because her parents are lesbians, the school's superintendent said in a letter.
Shay Clark was expelled from Ontario Christian School (search) on Thursday.
"Your family does not meet the policies of admission," Superintendent Leonard Stob wrote to Tina Clark, Shay's biological mother.
The school's policy states that at least one parent cannot engage in practices "immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship," Stob wrote.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
FDA Commissioner Resigns Amid Controversy
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038047.cfm
SUMMARY: Delay on the morning-after pill may have
influenced an early departure.
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is out
after just 18 months on the job. Both sides appear happy
with his departure.
Dr. Lester Crawford's resignation as FDA commissioner is
fueling the Washington, D.C., rumor mill. Some say the
abrupt departure resulted from the extended comment period
he gave Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill. Others
think he made a bad decision by approving RU-486, known as
the abortion pill.
Planned Parenthood hailed Crawford's resignation as a
victory, citing his request for public comment on Plan B.
But Wendy Wright, senior policy director at Concerned
Women for America, said the FDA's approval of RU-486 was
problematic for Crawford.
[...]
Crawford was a casualty of the culture wars, according to
Dr. Gene Rudd of the Christian Medical Association.
"There may be other reasons we don't know. You know the
first casualty of war is truth," he said. "And sadly, we
in our society think that science will be the determinant
of truth, and it's far from that."
Connie Mackey, vice president of government relations at
the Family Research Council, said President Bush now has
an opportunity to choose Crawford's successor wisely.
"We can only hope," Mackey told Family News in Focus,
"that the president will make sure that someone who takes
over at FDA understands the severity of the kind of drugs
we are talking about for women -- RU-486 and
over-the-counter morning-after pills."
[...]
TAKE ACTION: Please let President Bush know that it is
important that the new head of the Food and Drug
Administration be someone who is willing to protect the
health of Americans without being swayed by the
pro-abortion lobby.
For help in contacting the president, please see the
CitizenLink Action Center.
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=20004&lvl=F
----- 3 -----
SCALIA SPEAKS OUT ON GOVERNMENT-FUNDED ART
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038046.cfm
SUMMARY: A Supreme Court justice says government should be
allowed to choose the art it wants to support.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia believes government
has a right to deny funding to what it considers offensive
art. The view is welcomed by religious conservatives who
complain that their tax dollars fund not just offensive,
but sometimes obscene, art.
In a forum recently at the Juilliard School, Scalia argued
that the National Endowment for the Arts was created by
Congress and therefore, Congress reserves the right to
decide how its funds will be used.
Tim Wildmon, a vice president of the American Family
Association, likes what the justice said.
[...]
Wildmon, meanwhile, thinks the debate is really a matter
of defining what is obscene and what isn't -- and what
good art is and what's not.
"Just because something has a shock value or you're
remembered because it was in the media, does not
necessarily mean that that is good art," Wildmon said.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Fetal Farming is on the Horizon
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
from staff reports
Summary: The biotech industry is intent on growing fetuses for body parts.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038045.cfm
One of the leading pro-life organizations in the country
is warning that the appalling possibility of fetus-farming
could be closer than we think. The National Right to Life
Committee suggests that even though Congress is distracted
with hurricanes, they still have time to draft some
"clone-and-kill" bills.
The reality of "fetus farming" is too grisly a concept for
most people to get their minds around. Daniel McConchie,
director of public relations and public policy at
Americans United for Life, explained the term.
"Basically, it's an idea that you're taking either the
early human embryo or a fetus, and using it for some sort
of spare parts," McConchie told Family News in Focus.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director of National Right to
Life, said that is where we're headed.
"Elements of the biotech industry are definitely moving
towards 'fetus farming' and Congress must act to prevent
that before it's too late," he said.
A Senate bill would expand the opportunities for the
biotech industry to clone-and-kill, but Richard
Doerflinger, deputy director of the Secretariat for
Pro-Life
Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
said state legislatures are leading the way to
Frankenstein's Castle.
"The legislators will say, 'Well, that's crazy, nobody
wants to do that,' then they'll also refuse to change the
language so that they can't do that," he said.
A case in point is already law in New Jersey, according to
McConchie.
"They actually allowed researchers to gestate a clone all
the way up until birth, at which point they have to
terminate the life," he said.
The only reason to bring a fetus to term and then kill it
would be to obtain body parts. The question is: How could
lawmakers pass legislation that allows harvesting of even
a cloned baby's tissues or organs?
"I think many of the legislators are quite oblivious to
what's going on," Doerflinger said.
That appears to be true from Congress on down. Pro-life
experts say the best way right now to block fetal farming
would be for Congress to pass the total ban on all forms
of human cloning proposed by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
TAKE ACTION: The Human Cloning Prohibition Act, S. 658,
would ban all forms of human cloning. Please contact your
representative and senators and ask them to support the
bill -- which is the only real way to stop human embryos
from being cloned and killed. You can find contact
information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
Long URL elided
----- 5 -----
COMMENTARY: HURRICANES AND BLAMING THE DEAD
Were the recent hurricanes a measure of Divine wrath?
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
September 27, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/commentary/a0038043.cfm
I did not predict that two hurricanes would strike
Louisiana within weeks of each other.
But my staff will verify that I did predict something else
with 100 percent accuracy: That as each of the hurricanes
struck, we would shortly begin receiving news releases and
e-mails claiming that it was divine wrath for
(fill-in-the-blank).
One claimed Hurricane Katrina was clearly because of
abortion clinics. Another claimed it obviously was because
of homosexuality and the Southern Decadence festival
scheduled in New Orleans. And yet another said anyone
could see it was because of all those casinos along the
Gulf Coast.
One group attempted to bolster its claim by quoting
Matthew 5:45, that God "sends rain on the just and the
unjust" -- apparently not realizing that, in context,
Jesus is declaring how God is merciful to the righteous
and the unrighteous.
[...]
But after-the-fact prophets don't impress me at all.
[...]
Concerning a sudden, unexplained disaster in New Testament
times, Jesus rebuked those who wanted to blame the dead:
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on
them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the
others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Intelligent Design Case gets Underway
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 27, 2005
NEWSBRIEFS
[Received in email; no URL]
"I guess I should say, 'Class dismissed.' "
That's how federal Judge John E. Jones III reacted Monday
to opening-day testimony in a landmark trial in Dover, Pa.
-- a case which could decide whether public schools must
provide students information about intelligent design when
they teach Darwinian evolution.
The suit was brought by eight families who object to the
Dover school board's mandate that students be presented
with information on intelligent design -- the first such
mandate in the country. The challengers argue that
intelligent design promotes the Bible's view of creation.
Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller attempting to
dazzle the judge, used a projection screen and flip-charts
to make points that courtroom observed compared to a
science lecture.
Patrick Gillen of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor,
Mich., who is defending the school district and its
policy, says intelligent design merely discusses the fact
that there is considerable evidence that the world was the
product of an intelligence -- and shows evidence of
design. It does not draw conclusions about the nature of
the "intelligence" behind the universe.
"This case is about free inquiry in education," Gillen
said, "not about a religious agenda."
[Correction: a story in yesterday's update incorrectly
located this court challenge. Dover, Pa., is correct.]
----- 7 -----
Priest pulled from Mass after refusing to support anti-gay marriage push
September 29, 2005
Long URL elided, click here for original story
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. --A Catholic priest in this town was temporarily pulled from the pulpit after refusing to support the state bishops' drive against gay marriage.
The Rev. George Lange of St. Luke the Evangelist was replaced last weekend by Bishop Robert McManus of the Worcester Diocese, who led the Saturday evening Mass and the Sunday morning Mass at the church.
The move came after Lange and his associate pastor, the Rev. Stephen Labaire, posted an item in the Sept. 11 church bulletin stating their opposition to a proposed Constitutional amendment that would ban on gay marriage. The state's Catholic bishops are leading a signature drive to get the amendment on the 2008 ballot.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Government BUY the People
Know Thy Neighbor
http://knowthyneighbor.blogs.com/home/2005/09/government_buy_.html
On Sunday the 25th, I went to the Wild Oats Supermarket in Saugus, MA, where I was greeted by a petition circulator. I was presented with an Initiative Petition to allow alcohol to be sold in supermarkets. The young man, Mr. Tiontee Johnson, explained how I needed to make my signature legible and added when I am done signing that he has another Petition about Traditional Marriage that he would like me to sign too. "You know", he said, "if you believe in 'Adam and Eve.'" He then added, "this signing on either of these just means you want it on the ballot, it doesn't really mean anything today."
Well, I signed the Petition to allow alcohol to be sold and asked Mr. Johnson if my name would be made public and was told emphatically, "No, these signatures go directly to the Secretary of State." Interesting... I was then asked if I wanted to sign "the traditional marriage petition." When I said no, He told me that he was being paid $1 a signature and that it would really help him if I could sign!
I asked Mr. Johnson for a card (see photo) and he gave me his employer's business card. In further questioning, I found out that Mr. Johnson is not even a Massachusetts resident but one of many that were bussed in from California and put up in hotels all over the Baystate and paid to collect signatures. By the way, the area code on the business card is from Michigan.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
THE ARCHITECTURE OF A SMEAR
What you don't know about the campaign to end public
prayers at the Air Force Academy.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Stephen Adams, Citizen magazine associate editor
September 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/features/a0038037.cfm
The news could have been worse. The U.S. Air Force's new
guidelines for religious tolerance, released in late
August, didn't ban all forms of public prayer and worship
at the Air Force Academy, as some liberal critics had
demanded. The Air Force still allows "brief, nonsectarian
prayer" at special ceremonies or in "extraordinary
circumstances" such as "mass casualties, preparation for
imminent combat and natural disasters," but "usually" not
at "staff meetings … and sporting events."
By all accounts, the policy is aimed directly at
evangelicals, whose numbers are growing among the ranks of
cadets and chaplains at the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, Colo.
Air Force football coach Fisher DeBerry, a churchgoer, got
the message. Soon after the guidelines were released, he
canceled team prayers in the locker room.
[more at URL]
----- 10 -----
PRO-LIFERS EXPECT POSITIVE OUTCOME ON KEY CASE
Partial-birth abortion will be weighed by a different high court.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
from staff reports
September 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038062.cfm
Pro-life groups are confident a ban on partial-birth
abortion will soon be the law of the land -- because it
will be decided by a Supreme Court with a new chief
justice and possibly a replacement for a swing-vote
justice.
The Bush administration appealed a case on Monday asking
the high court to reinstate the federal law banning the
gruesome practice.
The last time the Court ruled on partial-birth abortion
was in 2000; it determined Nebraska's law banning the
procedure was unconstitutional because it did not include
a "health exception."
Carrie Gordon Earll, bioethics analyst for Focus on the
Family Action, is encouraged that the Justice Department
wants the case heard sooner rather than later.
"What makes this request unique is the fact that the
Attorney General is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to move
this case up in the line and to hear it in its current
agenda rather than waiting till its next session," she
said.
In the 2000 ruling, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor cast the
pivotal vote. But Jay Sekulow, chief counsel with the
American Center for Law and Justice, said a court without
O'Connor could yield an entirely different verdict.
----- 11 -----
The ACLU vs. America
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
September 28, 2005
by Pete Winn, associate editor
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0038064.cfm
SUMMARY: A new book exposes the underpinnings of the
American Civil Liberties Union.
It has waged a war on America for eight decades -- and
most people don't even realize it. It opposes the right of
parents to raise children with faith and values. It
opposes true freedom of religion. It's seeking to redefine
marriage. And it's out to remake the country into what can
only be called a nightmare.
That's the picture painted in the new book, "The ACLU vs.
America."
Co-author Craig Osten talked with CitizenLink about the
book and the ACLU's design for the nation.
Q. Craig, most people think the ACLU may have started out
good in wanting to defend civil liberties, but took a
wrong turn somewhere. But your book seems to indicate
that's just not the case.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Gonzales Says No Backing Down on Obscenity
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
NEWSBRIEFS
September 28, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told The Miami
Herald that law enforcement must learn to out-smart
criminals bent on using the Internet to perpetrate crime
-- including obscenity.
After the announcement that the FBI had begun forming an
anti-obscenity squad to crack down on illegal porn
operations, the media reported negative feedback from a
few agents.
Gonzales countered the rhetoric by explaining the
reasoning behind FBI involvement and referring to a long
history of Congress pushing for prosecution of obscenity
cases.
"They've made the decision that dollars should be spent to
fight obscenity," Gonzales said. "When they appropriate
money in order for the department to fight crime, we have
an obligation to do that. And that's what we're doing
here.
"People get the idea that somehow the department with all
of its talent can't do more than one thing at a time. In
fact, we can fight the war on terror, and at the same
time, we can go after corruption, we can go after
corporate fraud, we can go after drugs, we can go after
violent gun crimes and we can go after obscenity."
----- 13 -----
Doctor Offers Free Abortions to Hurricane Victims
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
NEWSBRIEFS
September 28, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
An Arkansas abortion clinic is offering free abortions for
hurricane evacuees, The Associated Press reported.
While Arkansas Right to Life is reaching out to survivors
with "Operation Baby Box," -- providing basic supplies to
those who have lost everything -- a few miles away, Dr.
Jerry Edwards is offering abortion services free of
charge.
Edwards said he's doing it because it would be dangerous
for evacuees to wait until they can return home.
But Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to
Life, said the offer to kill unborn babies for free is an
offer to cause further physical and psychological damage
to evacuees already extremely traumatized by the storm.
"This just adds to the devastation these women already
have in their lives," Mimms said. "Some have lost family
members. They all lost property, for sure.
"Taking the lives of unborn children who are survivors of
the hurricane is the wrong response."
----- 14 -----
CWA Congratulates Judge Roberts on Becoming Chief Justice
Concerned Women for America
9/29/2005
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9071/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) expresses its hearty congratulations to Judge John G. Roberts on receiving Senate confirmation as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States.
As expected, all 55 Senate Republicans voted for Roberts and were joined by 22 Democrats and Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont). 22 Democrats voted “No,” following the lead of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).
“Judge Roberts deserved unanimous confirmation by the Senate and the fact that he didn’t get it is further proof of how the left is politicizing the judiciary,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s chief counsel. “Some chose to jump off a political cliff by joining hands with the die-hard abortion, gay rights and environmental groups to oppose this supremely qualified judge.”
“If the Constitution says that the little guy should win, then the little guy’s going to win in the court before me,” Roberts told senators during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. “But if the Constitution says that the big guy should win, well then the big guy’s going to win because my obligation is to the Constitution.”
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back Into the Nomination Water
Concerned Women for America
9/28/2005
By Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9054/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm
The filibuster sharks are circling Supreme Court nominee Fill-in-the-Blank.
Showtime’s approaching. The Senate will vote September 29 at 11:30 a.m. on the confirmation of Judge John G. Roberts as the next Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts will be confirmed by 60+ votes. The Mother of All Supreme Hysteria will follow this when President Bush announces his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
Get set for “Revenge of the Filibuster Nerds, Part II.” Unless the President names Al Gore or Babs Streisand to the high Court, judicial filibuster number 30 or 40-something begins, but who’s counting. The left, in and out of the Senate, will unleash attacks that will leave you thinking Bin Laden’s been wacked and they’re writing his eulogy.
The old adage comes to mind about the proof is in the pudding, or pudding heads, depending on your view of the “Great Compromise” concocted by the “Gang of 14” a few months ago. It’s been billed as the cure-all, end-all to take judicial filibustering off the table and restore “civility” to the “greatest deliberative body in world history.”
----- 16 -----
The Federal Hate Crimes Bill: Federalizing Criminal Law While Threatening Civil Liberties
Concerned Women for America
9/29/2005
By Robert H. Knight
A free society concerns itself with actions, not beliefs.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9069/CFI/papers/index.htm
The hate crimes bill, an amendment to the Child Safety Act (H.R. 3132), was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 15. Titled “The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act,” the bill is now under review in the U.S. Senate (S. 1145). This bill:
* Lays the groundwork for a severe threat to religious freedom.
* Expands federal power enormously into cases traditionally handled by the states.
* Creates “thought crime,” which has no place in American law.
* Violates the concept of equal protection under the law.
* Tempts law enforcement agencies into giving some crime victims’ cases more priority than others.
* Brings hate crime politics into the schools.
* Is unnecessary, given 1) there is no evidence that such cases are not receiving proper prosecution and sentencing, and that 2) hate crimes have been decreasing over the past three years, not increasing.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Predatory Female Teachers Seen as Symptom of Cultural Selfishness
By Jim Brown
September 26, 2005
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/262005c.asp
(AgapePress) - Yet another female public school teacher has been taken into custody on charges of sexually assaulting male students -- this time in New Jersey. Traci Tapp, a 28-year-old physical education instructor at Hammonton High School, was recently arrested for sexual crimes involving three school-aged boys.
Tapp has been charged with one count of sexual assault, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact, and three counts of official misconduct. Her case is the latest in a rash of sexual assaults involving predatory female teachers nationwide. Bob Knight of the Culture and Family Institute says such cases reveal the extent to which contemporary culture has become one of self-gratification.
"These teachers obviously believe that their fling with the students was worth jeopardizing the future of the students so they could obtain this illicit pleasure for awhile," Knight observes. "This is really part of the mean mentality of the new age -- that we're all entitled to whatever we want at anytime with anyone we want."
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
URGENT: The Homosexual Agenda is Winning in the U.S. House
Family Research Council
September 28, 2005 - Wednesday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL05I13
With Republicans leading the U.S. House, we had thought the homosexual movement would not prevail. Yet, 223 Members of the U.S. House recently voted to award homosexuals a top item on their agenda, a "hate crimes" bill, giving special protections based on "sexual orientation." There was no advance notice of the vote. The leader of the homosexual advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said it was an "incredibly historic vote" that could give momentum to similar action in the Senate. He's right!
FRC has long fought against so-called "hate crimes" laws because they punish thoughts, not just actions. This bill also falsely equates homosexual behavior with race, and encourages a huge federal power grab over local law enforcement. Worst of all, such laws could eventually lead to criminal charges for preaching or teaching against homosexual conduct. A Pennsylvania hate crimes law led to the arrests of 11 Christians demonstrating in a Philadelphia public park last year. Though the charges were eventually dropped, the case and similar developments overseas demonstrate that our fears are well founded.
We are determined to stop the momentum of the homosexual movement, but that is no easy task since the bill has passed one House of Congress. Here is our strategy: Both of your U.S. senators need to hear immediately that this bill must not pass the Senate. Your Congressman also needs to hear from you right now that this vote was a major mistake - the bill may be voted on again in the House. But we must act fast to stop the momentum behind the homosexual agenda. Please act now. And one more thing: please forward this to many others so we can have a major impact.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Senator: God judging U.S.
with disastrous hurricanes
Alabama Republican cites culture of 'gambling, sin and wickedness'
Posted: September 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
An Alabama state senator says the reason why the Gulf Coast is suffering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is because God is judging Americans in that region for sinful behavior.
"New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast have always been known for gambling, sin and wickedness," wrote Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, in a column, according to the Birmingham News. "It is the kind of behavior that ultimately brings the judgment of God."
----- 20 -----
QUEERLY BELOVED
Same-sex benefits OK'd despite amendment
Judge rules no conflict with voter-approved marriage definition
Posted: September 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46570
Michigan is moving ahead on a proposal to extend health care benefits to same-sex partners of state employees after a judge ruled the plan doesn't violate a voter-approved marriage amendment.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm made the announcement Tuesday after Ingham County Judge Joyce Dragunchuk's decision, the first judicial interpretation of the 2004 amendment, which defines marriage as only between one man and one woman.
[More at URL]
