The Liberty Blog

Judge Vaughn R. Walker held today that the Proposition 8 initiative that California citizens voted for in 2008 “does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples.” Read the case here. He also noted that it “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial more... (29 Comments)

It has been twenty years since the Supreme Court issued its decision in the peyote case, profoundly disrespectful of the rights of free exercise of religion. In the interim, there has been at least some hope that the courts would eventually come to realize the value of preserving religious freedom, and make a course correction. For this legal observer, these hopes were dashed by the recent decision involving a student chapter of the Christian Legal more... (41 Comments)

Many of us did it when we were young and in school. Not all our friends wanted to but those who were willing to abide by the rules joined. That’s how it was done – how we made our own club with our own rules. It wasn’t complicated. But try to do that in law school. That is a different kettle of fish altogether. There the obvious more... (4 Comments)

President Obama continued the tradition set in place by President Eisenhower in 1953 attending the National Prayer Breakfast. There has been some controversy over that practice. The Boston Globe, for instance has called it “Bad Religion.” “[T]he tradition amounts to a religious festival of American Christian nationalism,” writes James Carroll, “...this overtly theological claim on God’s favour goes to the heart of the imperial hubris that has led to one foreign policy more... (3 Comments)

My colleague James Standish and I took our places in the “4-D Room” of the Newseum to hear Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deliver the new US policy statement on internet freedom. Sitting there I wondered what it was about “internet freedom” that we as Christians should be mindful of. Upon reflection it became evident that my faith community has used the internet with great vigour. Even this musing is via the more... (2 Comments)

San Francisco is a long way from Dayton, Tennessee, where the trial of the last century was broadcast over radio to the thrilled attendance of millions of Americans, who heard the best trial lawyers of the day battle it out over the doctrine of biblical creation vs. evolution. But San Francisco is shaping up to host the trial of the new century, where God is again mocked, and biblical foundations are rocked to their core. more... (13 Comments)

It behooves each generation to look about with a critical eye – not being hoodwinked into accepting the popular opinion at face value but yet not getting worked up into a paranoid hysteria. An eye to understanding the long term implications of trends is crucial to determining how one might have to act should fears be realized. We have seen examples of this critical disposition in the past. February 7, 1934 – an elderly more... (12 Comments)

If you haven’t seen the Ben Stein documentary, “Expelled,” you should. It is an expose of the extent to which dogmatic Darwinism has come to dominate science, threatening freedom of inquiry, free speech, and casting scientific “heretics” who do research related to intelligent design out of the academy. Unlike most documentaries, it is not boring but a powerfully moving bit of film making. Just yesterday, I discussed the history of creation and evolution in the American more... (5 Comments)

Despite the fact that I am an employment discrimination lawyer, I’m not at all sure I know what discrimination is, anymore. At least, not discrimination as understood by the University of California. The U.C. is involved in two prominent religious discrimination cases where it has been accused of discrimination, and yet it has turned around and branded the religious groups as the wrongdoer. What does “discrimination” mean in this age of postmodern political correctness? Let’s more... (3 Comments)

Patrick McCollum is a Wiccan clergyperson who has been seeking for several years to become a chaplain in the California prison system. When his job application was rejected because of his religion, he did the all-American thing, he sued. Instead of hiring a competent lawyer, McCollum filed the lawsuit himself. Not surprisingly, he lost. Lawyers have a saying: “bad facts make bad law.” Remember the case about the drug rehabilitation counselors who were fired for their more... (11 Comments)