KANSAS CITY – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Feb. 11 asking a state court judge to force Missouri to recognize same sex marriages of Missouri residents who were wed in states where it was lawful. While the lawsuit does not explicitly ask the court to nullify the Missouri Marriage Amendment, the legal argument used by the ACLU will inevitably lead to that result if the courts accept it, said attorney Mike Whitehead. “The eventual goal of this lawsuit is to … [Read more...]
Hobby Lobby files brief with Supreme Court
ERIN ROACH/Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) – In a case that could reverberate for decades, Hobby Lobby filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 10 asking the court to protect the religious liberty of the craft chain’s owners in regard to the Health and Human Services (HHS) contraception mandate. “Our argument at the Supreme Court is simple and straightforward: The plain terms of federal law protect religious exercise wherever it occurs – in the home, in a church, in a charity or … [Read more...]
U.S. Religious liberty on decline
Bob Smietana/LifeWay Research NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Americans have always had mixed feelings about religious liberty. Most say it’s important, but they don’t always agree how much liberty is enough or too much. That’s the issue at the heart of the upcoming Supreme Court hearings between Hobby Lobby and the Obama Administration over the Health and Human Services (HHS) contraceptive mandate. It’s a dispute that is unlikely to go away, no matter what the Supreme Court … [Read more...]
Judge’s reasoning leaks in rubberized ruling
Americans are blessed to live in a country where we can freely express our views, exercise our faith to its fullest (at least for now), appeal to our leaders for redress through our judicial system and change leadership through peaceful elections. While never a Christian nation, America was founded by people who established a government that was profoundly influenced by a Judeo-Christian ethic. President John Adams made this clear when he said our government could never function properly … [Read more...]
Hobby Lobby defends faith in Christ
JEFFERSON CITY – Joshua Hawley, an attorney on the legal team defending Hobby Lobby, told members of Concord Baptist Church here that the Oklahoma-based arts and crafts retailer will stand before the Supreme Court, March 25, because of “the hope they have in Jesus Christ.” The Green family – the Southern Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby – filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2012 because of an HHS mandate that would force them to violate their … [Read more...]
Abedini moved in Iranian prison
WASHINGTON – American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been wrongfully imprisoned in Iran for more than a year because of his Christian faith, has been moved from the murderer ward to the political prisoner ward in Rajai Shahr Prison. Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh, was a special guest speaker during The Pathway’s report at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in October. “Make no mistake; Pastor Saeed is still in the deadliest prison in Iran facing deteriorating medical … [Read more...]
Four Missourians sue governor for same-sex marriage order
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Four Missouri taxpayers filed a lawsuit on Jan. 8 challenging Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s recent executive order that permitted some same-sex couples to file a Missouri combined income tax return as “husband” and “wife” for 2013, in spite of a 2004 state constitutional amendment which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The lawsuit challenges Executive Order 13-14 as being unconstitutional, and alleges that the governor is trying to thwart the will … [Read more...]
HHS Mandate Q&A
WASHINGTON (BP) – The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases that challenge the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring most private companies’ insurance to provide coverage for contraceptives and abortifacients. The Obama administration asked the high court to review the issue after a federal appeals court in Colorado found in favor of Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based crafts franchise. The court will combine the Hobby Lobby case with lesser-known case involving Conestoga, … [Read more...]
R. Moore: ‘Duck Dynasty’ suspension censorship
NASHVILLE (BP) – The A&E network’s suspension of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson for comments regarding homosexuality constitutes an unhelpful form of close-minded censorship, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell D. Moore said. The president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission reacted to A&E’s Dec. 18 announcement that it had suspended Robertson indefinitely for comments he made in an interview with GQ magazine. The network’s statement seemed to indicate the action … [Read more...]
Marriage suffers another blow with polygamy ruling
As most Americans were thinking thoughts of Christmas cheer, a federal judge in Utah dropped a bomb on the institution of marriage, striking down the most crucial sections of the Utah statute outlawing polygamy. Dec. 13, Judge Clark Waddoups of the United States District Court in Utah ruled that Utah’s anti-polygamy law is unconstitutional, violating the free exercise clause of the First Amendment as well as the guarantee of due process. In one sense, the decision was almost inevitable, … [Read more...]
Saeed Abedini’s wife testifies before Congress
WASHINGTON (BP) – Less than two weeks before Christmas, Naghmeh Abedini testified before Congress on behalf of her husband, U.S. citizen and pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran since last June because of his Christian faith. “My husband is suffering because he is a Christian,” Abedini said when she addressed a subcommittee hearing of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 12. “He is suffering because he is an American. Yet, his own government … [Read more...]
Judge protects free speech rights of pro-lifers
St. Louis – St. Louis Circuit Court, Associate Circuit Judge Michael Noble dismissed charges against pro-life activists, Brian Westbrook, executive director of Coalition for Life St. Louis, and Rita Sparrow, veteran sidewalk counselor, after testimony and arguments Dec. 6. The cases had been brought by the City of St. Louis, stretching ordinances beyond their intended scope in order to charge Westbrook and Sparrow for simple, peaceful demonstration outside the local Planned … [Read more...]
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