In what will prove to be a momentous year for marriage, the U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of cases involving marital status in four states and will judge whether the citizens of these states and all others have the authority to maintain the traditional meaning of marriage or be forced to accept novel, alternative versions of the institution.
Hans Christian Anderson's famous story, The Emperor's New Clothes, teaches that we should strive to discern and declare truth in the face of mounting political pressure. This vitally important lesson was exhibited last week by district court Judge Martin Feldman in his remarkable and courageous ruling upholding the Louisiana constitutional provision that defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
Late last week, on Friday afternoon, while most of us were checking out of work and focusing on the weekend, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a press release informing of yet another revision to its contraceptive/abortion pill mandate. As it turns out, we didn't miss much.
Last week, a panel sitting for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down – by a 2 to 1 margin − a 2012 Mississippi law as an undue burden on a woman's right to abortion.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, a chain of retail stores owned by David Green and his family, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a wood-working company run by the Hahns, striking down the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate instituted under Obamacare that compelled companies to supply health insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs against their will and conscience.
The pithy, catch-phrase "abortion distortion" is frequently used to describe how rules of law, logic, and common sense go by the wayside whenever abortion is involved. The phenomenon is easily detected.
More and more colleges are depriving religious student groups, particularly, Christian-oriented groups, of this same basic liberty to gather with – and be led by – individuals with harmonious views. Instead, these colleges want to tell Christian groups what they are supposed to think.
Marie Antoinette may never have said "Let them eat cake," but, in Colorado the seven-member Civil Rights Commission recently declared their intention to make them bake cake, ordering a Christian baker to design and prepare wedding cakes for same-sex couples – or else suffer the consequences.
Two weeks ago, in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court handed down a monumental decision protecting legislative prayers and those who wish to offer them. The Court also confirmed that it's okay to say Jesus in public prayers.
Last week, the Daily Telegraph reported that doctors and nurses in the UK who have religious or moral objections to supplying "morning-after" pills are being discriminated against.
