County Official Defends Home Bible Study Citation

County Official Claims Home Bible Study Citation Was Not An Attack On Religious Activity

SAN DIEGO -- A local pastor is outraged because he says the county wants to shut down his Bible study group, but the county says he has it all wrong. Thursday, for the first time, a San Diego County official sat down with 10News, to respond to the allegations. The story of pastor David Jones' claims against the county has grabbed national attention.

http://www.10news.com/news/19595677/detail.html

Couple: County Trying To Stop Home Bible Studies

SAN DIEGO -- A local pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their home, 10News reported.

Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

http://www.10news.com/news/19562217/detail.html

Law 'will force churches to employ gay staff'

This is the very sort of thing we are concerned about.

Churches will be banned from turning down gay job applicants on the grounds of their sexuality under new anti-discrimination laws, a Government minister said.

By Matthew Moore

Religious groups are to be forced to accept homosexual youth workers, secretaries and other staff, even if their faith holds same-sex relationships to be sinful.
Christian organisations fear that the tightened legislation, which is due to come into force next year, will undermine the integrity of churches and dilute their moral message.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5357247/Law-will-force-churches-to-employ-gay-staff.html

Religious freedom for non-believers

Sheila Liaugminas

When courts and lawmakers can drive morally informed voices from the public square, it’s not just religious believers whose rights are eroded.

http://www.mercatornet.com/sheila_liaugminas/view/religious_freedom_for_non_believers/

Christian student refuses 'remediation,' gets the boot

Charlie Butts and Marty Cooper - OneNewsNow

A college student in Michigan has been formally dismissed from a graduate program based on political correctness gone awry. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco explains that Julea Ward encountered resistance from Eastern Michigan University when she refused to affirm a counseling client's homosexual behavior.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=482418

Valedictorian's free-speech case goes to court

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow

A student's free-speech rights are being defended in federal court. Liberty Counsel is pursuing the case at the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. General counsel Steve Crampton is defending Colorado high school valedictorian Erica Corder. Along with 14 others, Corder was permitted to make a 30-second statement at the graduation ceremony. "And because she mentioned Jesus Christ, she was told immediately after the service that she would not be receiving her diploma along with the other students, but had to meet the principal who then required that she sign an apology, with which she did not agree, as a condition for receiving her diploma," Crampton explains.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=449586

'Right of conscience' regulation faces hurdles

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has introduced legislation to protect medical personnel who object to providing services based on their religious beliefs. The regulations implement over 35 years of civil rights laws governing healthcare, allowing medical personnel -- including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists -- to refuse to perform services to which they object. Otherwise, there was the threat of some hospitals being forced to close, according to Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical Association.

"If you can imagine...your Catholic, Baptist, or other religiously affiliated hospital in your own community not [being[ open, that was where this was heading [along] with an effort to force [out of healthcare] all those who do not do abortions...," Stevens explains.

Pro-abortions forces had already made headway in forcing their views upon medical professionals, so the regulations are needed, says the Christian CEO. "Two out of five of our members say they have either been fired or lost a promotion opportunity or discriminated against in some other manner based upon their religious beliefs," he notes.

Stevens expects a move in the next administration to overturn the rules, and he believes it will take a strong grassroots effort to keep them intact.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=358766