Free Republic

ACLU threat causes Boy Scouts to drop public school ties; churches urged to fill void NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Boy Scouts of America is removing the charters of thousands of scouting units from public schools after an American Civil Liberties Union threat to sue taxpayer-funded institutions that charter BSA units. The ACLU sent a letter to the Boy Scouts of America in February threatening legal action against public schools and other governmental agencies that charter Boy Scout groups on grounds that their sponsorship amounts to religious discrimination and violates the separation of church and state. Boy Scouts open their meetings by...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The battle over bulge continues at an Atlantic City casino. The "Borgata Babes" aren't getting a break on their weight. The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, N.J., won't budge on its new weight requirements. The Borgata has rejected a union grievance challenging the casino's imposition of weight limits on cocktail servers -- known as "Borgata Babes" -- and costumed bartenders. It said they are performers whose personal appearance and grooming are a key part of Borgata's image. The babes have to squeeze into skimpy costumes. Last month casino officials announced that the Borgata...

Motorcycle club sues Rochester bar for discrimination Updated: 02-19-2005 09:01:02 AM ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) - A Rochester bar is being sued by a motorcycle club whose members were told they are not welcome there. The lawsuit against the North Star Bar was filed in Olmsted County Court. The attorney representing the Sons of Silence motorcycle club says its members were refused entrance to the bar because they were wearing their "colors," or motorcycle apparel. He sent a letter to the bar warning of legal action, saying a 1998 state law prohibits that kind of discrimination. The lawsuit says some of...

Nebraskans call the Fair Housing Center in Omaha from time to time seeking help, saying they believe landlords won't rent to them because they're gay. The answer? That's discrimination. But it's not against the law. Center staffers tell the callers that, under Nebraska and federal law, they have no legal protection, said Jill Fenner, Fair Housing Center director. A legislative proposal would change that. Introduced by State Sen. David Landis of Lincoln, Legislative Bill 50 would prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Fair Housing Center, a division of Fair Housing Advisory Services, doesn't take positions on legislative proposals....

Illinois churches are protesting a new state law that bars them from "discriminating" against homosexuals, contending it robs Christians of their First Amendment freedoms. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law yesterday amid a demonstration led by the Illinois Family Institute, or IFI, a non-profit group affiliated with Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and Alliance Defense Fund. The measure adds "sexual orientation" to the state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion and similar traits in areas such as jobs and housing. The bill was signed to loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 150...

-snip- Right-Wing Party Declared Illegal in Belgium [John Derbyshire] In a nasty little example of what the Left would like to do to anyone that refuses to toe the PC line, a Belgian court has just ruled Vlaams Blok "racist," effectively making the party illegal. Vlaams Blok is the most popular party in Flanders (the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium). Last June they got almost a quarter of the votes in regional elections. The Belgian establishment hates them, however, since they have at various times advocated (a) the secession of Flanders from Belgium, (b) the repatriation of non-European immigrants. The lights...

WASHINGTON - With political fund raising, campaign advertising and organizing taking place in full swing over the Internet, it may just be a matter of time before the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) joins the action. Well, that time may be now. A recent federal court ruling says the FEC must extend some of the nation's new campaign finance and spending limits to political activity on the Internet. Long reluctant to step into online political activity, the agency is considering whether to appeal. But vice chairwoman Ellen Weintraub said the Internet may prove to be an unavoidable area...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., August 25, 2004 A federal lawsuit was filed today against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) by Alpha Iota Omega (AIO), a Christian fraternity that was denied recognition by UNC because it would not agree to open its membership to students of different faiths. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is fighting on behalf of AIO in its conflict with UNC administrators, is now joined by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which brought the suit against the university. "For too long, UNC has denied religious groups the basic rights that all...

When I recently learned that UNC officials had ordered the funds of a Christian fraternity frozen just because they refused to admit non-Christians, I was shocked.  When I found out later that the funds never even belonged to the state I was outraged. The idea that the state of North Carolina could freeze the privately raised funds of a Christian fraternity made me wonder whether UNC equated Christian student groups with terrorist networks like al-Qaeda.After I made that very suggestion to my friend Jon Sanders at the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, he showed me that I...

Christian Frat Rejected by UNCA Christian student group that refused to sign a non discrimination policy has been denied official recognition by the University of North Carolina.Alpha Iota Omega would not follow university policy requiring membership to be open to all, because it wanted only those with similar beliefs to join in.Without official recognition, the frat cannot recieve student fee money.

Key West, Fla. — Three heterosexual couples said they were kicked out of a hotel in Key West because of their sexual orientation. The six were vacationing with a homosexual couple and had reservations at a hotel called Big Ruby's when the three heterosexual couples were kicked out. “The manager literally said: ‘We don't want you here,”' Jim Pirih, who was vacationing with his partner and heterosexual friends, said. The group was already settled in their rooms Wednesday when the manager told them they would have to leave, citing a policy of not allowing heterosexuals on the property, Mr. Pirih...

A judge cleared the way for a gay teenager to try to prove in court that the school he attended expelled him for admitting his sexual orientation to a teacher. Palm Beach Circuit Judge David Crow turned down a demand for arbitration by Jupiter Christian School on Wednesday. The order appears to allow Jeffrey Woodard and his mother, Carol Gload, to pursue their suit against the school. The school says it asked him to leave because he was a low-achieving student with behavioral problems and his fees weren't paid.

Religious-rights lawsuit by student actress is back By Elizabeth Neff and Celia R. Baker The Salt Lake Tribune A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit brought by a former University of Utah student who claims she was forced out of the school's Actor Training Program (ATP) for following her religious beliefs. Christina Axson-Flynn, a member of the LDS Church, refused to take God's name in vain or use the f-word while performing scripted monologues in class. She claimed in a lawsuit that being required to set aside her religious beliefs violated her First Amendment rights, but the allegations...

Domestic partners don't qualify for perks given to spouses at Druid Hills Golf Club Lee Kyser put down $40,000 and pays about $475 in monthly dues at Druid Hills Golf Club, just like most other senior members of the 91-year-old Clifton Road country club near Emory University. Kyser, a clinical psychologist, golfs there with her significant other, and plans to enroll their 2-year-old twins in swimming lessons there next year. "We're just like any other family," Kyser said, "except that we happen to be lesbians." This fact sits at the center of a dispute pitting Kyser and another gay couple...

Suppose you want to deal with me but I don't want to deal with you. Should I be forced to? You might ask, "What are you talking about?" Here's a short list. Suppose you want to marry me, but I don't want to marry you. Or, suppose you want to play tennis with me, but I don't want to play with you. Or, suppose you want to be in my club, but neither my fellow club members nor I want you. The question is, how much do we Americans value freedom of association? Keep in mind that freedom of association...

<p>EUGENE, Ore. -- A lesbian couple alleges that O'Hara Catholic School refused admission to their 4-year-old daughter because of their sexual orientation.</p> <p>The couple has complained to the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the Oregon Child Care Division.</p> <p>One of the women, Lee Inkmann, said O'Hara Principal Dianne Bert told her in mid-August that having a family with two mothers at the school would confuse other children, and that gay unions are in conflict with Vatican teachings.</p>

A lesbian couple has complained to the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the Oregon Child Care Division, alleging that O'Hara Catholic School refused admission to their 4-year-old daughter because of their sexual orientation. One of the women, Lee Inkmann, said O'Hara Principal Dianne Bert told her in mid-August that having a family with two mothers at the school would confuse other children, and that gay unions are in conflict with Vatican teachings. Bert declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Portland. O'Hara issued a statement that said the school does not discriminate on the basis of...

Is it reasonable for a university to insist that campus Christian groups accept non-Christian or anti-Christian students as group leaders? Ask a hundred ordinary Americans and you would very likely get 99 or 100 noes. Ask Rutgers University, though, and you'd get an answer that would earn a summa cum laude for political correctness. In September, Rutgers banned a Christian group from using campus facilities and stripped the group of university funding because it selects leaders on the basis of religious belief. Rutgers is punishing the InterVarsity Multi-Ethnic Christian Fellowship for violating the university's nondiscrimination policy. That policy states that...