A Kentucky minister is threatening legal action against the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) after the department revoked his status as a volunteer with LGBTQI youth at the Warren County Regional Juvenile Detention Center. David Wells of the Pleasant View Baptist Church in McQuady, KY, refused to comply with a DJJ policy that requires that those who identify as LGBTQI be treated with respect for their individual identities.
Canned Clerk: Indiana County Employee Fired For Refusing To Process Same-Sex Couples’ Marriage Applications Files Lawsuit
From Americans United's Wall of Separation blog:
An employee at a county clerk’s office in Indiana who was fired because she refused to process marriage licenses for same-sex couples claims her “religious freedom” rights have been violated. So now she’s suing.
Legal Entanglements Ahead in a Post-Obergefell, Post-EEOC Decision America
In the aftermath of the Obergefell v. Hodges decision and last week's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruling, there has been a hopeful feeling in the air for supporters of LGBT rights. Unfortunately, these monumental leaps forward in civil rights will come at the cost of knotty legal entanglements.
Court Reverses Decision in Washington Emergency Contraception Case
For the second time, The U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has rejected a challenge to a Washington state law requiring pharmacies to stock and provide all prescription medicines, including emergency contraception such as the Plan B pill. A trial judge had ruled that the law was an unconstitutional violation of the plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion. The Ninth Circuit reversed, concluding that the Free Exercise Clause does not require exemptions for pharmacies with religious exemptions, because the law is not targeted at religion and advances the state’s interest in promoting patient safety.
Oregon Couple Discriminated Against By Bakery Speaks Out
Oregon couple Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer broke their silence on Tuesday about their legal battle with Sweet Cakes by Melissa and its owners Aaron and Melissa Klein. Their lawsuit was less about the cake the company refused to sell them for their wedding, the couple says, than the intense harassment and bullying they received once their complaints and personal information were made public
Equality Act: Equality The Right Way
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) today introduced the Equality Act, which would protect LGBT people from discrimination. It builds on our nation’s tradition of expanding civil-rights protections to ensure that more of our neighbors are protected from discrimination based on who they are.
Federal Appeals Court Correct To Reject Bogus ‘Religious Freedom’ Claims In Washington Birth Control Case, Says Americans United
Pharmacies Should Fill Prescriptions Regardless Of Owners’ Religious Views, Church-State Watchdog Asserts
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acted correctly today by upholding Washington state regulations that require pharmacies to fill prescriptions that their owners may find objectionable, Americans United for Separation of Church and State says.
Americans United filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the most recent version of the case, arguing that the regulations do not violate the religious freedom rights of pharmacy owners.
“The state of Washington has a clear interest in making sure women can get emergency contraception in a timely and safe manner,” said Alex J. Luchenitser, Americans United’s associate legal director. “A pharmacy owner’s personal religious beliefs shouldn’t be permitted to undermine that access.”
Washington pharmacy commissioners passed regulations in 2007 as a response to a spate of incidents involving pharmacists who refused to dispense birth control, emergency contraception and other medications. The same rules permit individual pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription as long as a colleague will do so instead.
Pharmacies, however, may not refuse to dispense the drugs entirely. The Stormans family, who owns Ralph’s Thriftway pharmacy in Olympia, claimed that provision violated its religious freedom rights and filed suit the same year. The family prevailed before a federal trial court in 2012, but the state appealed, arguing that it had a rational basis for requiring pharmacies to stock emergency contraception and other birth control pills.
The appeals court held that the regulations are neutral and don’t single out religion. The court also said the rules have a secular rationale of ensuring that state residents are able to get the medication they need.
“[T]he rules were rationally related to Washington’s legitimate interest in ensuring that its citizens have safe and timely access to their lawful and lawfully prescribed medications,” explained the court.
The case is Stormans, Inc. v. Wiesman. The Stormans family is being represented by the Becket Fund and the Alliance Defending Freedom, two Religious Right legal groups.
Americans United’s brief was prepared by Luchenitser and former AU attorney fellow Ben Hazelwood.
Supreme Court May Eventually Need to Weigh In On Same-Sex Discrimination Cases
Good News in Alabama: Two Counties Now Giving Marriage Licenses to All Couples
Faith Of The Fathers: Missouri State Sen. Attempts To Block Birth Control Coverage For His Daughters
A Missouri state representative who wants to stop his daughters from accessing birth control recently won a victory in his ongoing suit against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception regulations when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear arguments in his challenge to the regulations, thus reversing a lower court ruling that threw the case out on standing.
Battles Brewing Within the American Christian Community Over Marriage Equality
Christianity, like any religion, is far from a monolithic entity. With 217 known Christian denominations in the United States, there are bound to be some political and doctrinal differences. Still, few things have split American Christians like marriage equality
Ted Cruz Inspired By Business Owners Who Refused to Host Wedding for Same-Sex Couple
New EEOC LGBT Employment Protections Explained
Kentucky Clerk First to Be Sued For Refusing to Issue Marriage Licenses to LGBT Couples
Kim Davis, Rowan County clerk and one of recalcitrant Kentucky clerks who are refusing to issue marriage licenses to LGBT couples, is in the news again, this time as the first government employee to be sued for her (in)actions.
Dixie Discrimination: Ark. Law Attacking LGBT Protections Goes Into Effect
From Americans United's Wall of Separation blog:
Three Arkansas counties have refused to drop ordinances that ban anti-gay discrimination, despite a new state law designed to block them from enforcing the laws. The Associated Press (AP) reports that Little Rock, Hot Springs and Pulaski County are keeping the ordinances; a fourth municipality, Eureka Springs, has not yet reached a decision.
Faith 2 Action's Janet Porter Calls for Rehearing of Marriage Equality Case, Demands Help From Attorneys General
In an e-mail that's as abusive to the eyes as it is to the intellect, Faith 2 Action's Janet Porter has called upon the attorneys general of Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky to join her motion to "Rehear Obergefell v. Hodges" before the Supreme Court (minus Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, who must recuse themselves for performing marriages for same-sex couples).
Gun-Toting Pastor Urges Followers to Fight Marriage Equality
We get it. There are a lot of anti-marriage equality religious leaders out there. It's unfortunate, but it's true. However, most air their hate in the relatively sedate atmosphere of a church sanctuary. Most do not set up their web cameras, flip their baseball caps backwards, and reach for their trusty semi-automatic assault rifles in order to grace the world with their opinions.