Victory for Pastor Jones; Court Rules that Pastor’s Constitutional Rights Were Violated by “Peace Bond” Trial

ANN ARBOR, MI – Yesterday afternoon,Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolowski ruled that the Wayne County Prosecutor and Dearborn District Judge Mark W. Somers violated the constitutional rights of Pastor Terry Jones and his associate, Wayne Sapp, as a result of the “peace bond” proceedings brought against them this past Spring. The proceedings culminated with Judge Somers throwing Pastor Jones and Sapp behind bars because of their intended speech.

The Circuit Court ruling came in an appeal of the proceedings filed on behalf of Pastor Jones and Sapp by the Thomas More Law Center. The Law Center is a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In April 2011, Pastor Jones announced his plans to protest Jihad, Sharia Law and the radicalization of Muslims in America on public property in front of the Islamic Center of America, located in Dearborn, Michigan. It is the largest mosque in North America.

The City of Dearborn, with a history of anti-Christian policies, denied Pastor Jones a permit to exercise his free speech rights because of opposition and threats of violence from Dearborn’s large Muslim community. When Pastor Jones indicated that he intended to hold the free speech event anyway, the Wayne County Prosecutor, in cooperation with the City of Dearborn, filed a complaint in the Dearborn District Court. Under threat of arrest, police authorities forced Pastor Jones and Sapp into court where they had to stand trial to determine whether they intended to break the law.

Following the trial, the jury returned a verdict, finding that the free speech activity was likely to breach the peace. Judge Somers then imposed a $1 peace bond and issued an order that prohibited Pastor Jones or Sapp from going within the vicinity of the mosque, including the surrounding public property, for three years. When Pastor Jones and Sapp refused to pay the bond because it was a violation of their right to freedom of speech, Judge Somers committed them to the county jail.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “Pastor Jones had committed no crime and was not charged with a crime. Yet, he was forced into court and ultimately jailed because he intended to speak out against Jihad and Sharia Law. Regardless of how one feels about Pastor Jones, he has a constitutionally protected free speech right to express his message. The heavy- handed actions of the City of Dearborn and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office give us a glimpse of how imposition of Sharia Law, which forbids any criticism of Islam, will destroy that fundamental constitutional right.”

The district court’s judgment was appealed by the Thomas More Law Center, which argued that the peace bond proceedings violated the First Amendment and due process rights of Pastor Jones and Sapp. The Law Center also argued that the three year speech restriction violated the First Amendment.

In yesterday’s ruling, in addition to finding a violation of due process, Judge Ziolowski overturned on First Amendment grounds the District Court’s three-year injunction limiting Pastor Jones’ free speech rights by keeping him away from the mosque.

Wayne County Prosecutors say they’ll appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Iran Takes Note of Efforts to Save Pastor – Spreads Lies

It is clear that our efforts to put international media and political pressure on Iran to release Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani – who is facing execution for his faith – are having a tremendous impact.

The Iranian government has taken note of these efforts and has reacted by spreading lies about Pastor Youcef in an attempt to sway international attention from this horrific human rights abuse.

Over the last few days, we have reported that Iran’s semi-official news agency has spread false reports that pastor Youcef was never convicted of converting from Islam to Christianity, but that he had instead been charged with being a “Zionist” and committing “security crimes.” This is the worst possible charge that Iran could level at Pastor Youcef, and as one Iranian expert explained: “As soon as Iran’s regime is placed under international pressure because of its barbaric Middle Age laws, the regime looks for another reason to peddle” its execution sentence against Pastor Youcef.

Now, for the first time, the Iranian government has made a statement about Pastor Youcef, spreading blatant lies about his case. The official Iranian statement provides that “Iran has not issued any verdict on his case” and that “published news regarding the death penalty . . . are unsubstantiated.”

These are boldfaced lies being spread by the Iranian regime about Pastor Youcef because they have been caught in the act of attempting to execute a man for his faith, something that violates international and Iranian law and reportedly hasn’t happened in Iran for over 20 years.

We have the actual verdict from the Iranian supreme court (in original Farsi and translated into English by the Confederation of Iranian Students in Washington ), which provides undeniably that “Mr. Youcef Nadarkhani . . . is convicted of turning his back on Islam . . . .” The verdict further states, “During many sessions in court with the presence of his attorney and a judge, he has been sentenced to execution by hanging . . . .”

There is no question that Pastor Youcef has been convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death. It is crucial that Secretary of State Clinton – our top international diplomat – take the lead and that the United Nations (U.N.) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) end their silence on this issue and pressure Iran to spare Pastor Youcef’s life and release him unconditionally.

We can report from our contacts in Iran that, as of today, Pastor Youcef is still alive, but time is of the essence.

We know that the Iranian regime is taking note of our efforts, and now is the time to step up those efforts to keep this international pressure on Iran. You can help in this effort by joining the over 50,000 who have already signed the petition we are sending to Secretary of State Clinton and the U.N. to call on Iran for the immediate and unconditional release of Pastor Youcef.

Here is a Youtube link to the ACLJ Video:

Courtesy of
http://aclj.org/iran/iran-takes-note-efforts-save-pastor-spreads-lies

Elite Media vs. Tim Tebow, Christian

 

What do women, Tim Tebow, and evangelical Christians have in common?

They are all largely despised by the sports journalism division of our media elite. The continuing controversy over the first round selection in the National Football League draft of quarterback Tim Tebow by the Denver Broncos is a reminder that sports journalists are simply smaller and often nastier versions of their elite brothers on the serious side of the business.

Get accused twice of rape (Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh), repeatedly abuse your wife (Michael Pittman, Tampa Bay), regularly strangle and drown hapless dogs (Michael Vick, Atlanta)? Ah, well, boys will be boys, it is society’s fault — and besides, women and dogs don’t wear Super Bowl rings. But pray, work with the poor, and refuse to engage in casual sex — there’s something seriously wrong with you. Or, as one Sports Illustrated writer put it, you are a certified “wackdo.”

And so the controversy has swirled around “wackdo” Timothy Richard “Tim” Tebow, the evangelical Christian whose Denver Bronco jersey has become the top NFL merchandise seller before he set foot on Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. Fans love this clean-cut, home-schooled son of Christian missionaries as much as the sports journalism establishment despises him.

His crime: an intense faith considered “pretty evil” by journalists who look to their progressive brethren for their worldview. Welcome to the world of the sports journalism elite. Just call these mainstream sports journalists Mini-Me, the tiny clone of Dr. Evil in the late nineties Austin Powers movies. Mini-Me was everything Dr. Evil was, but less. In the same way, sports journalists are everything mainstream journalists are… but less. 

The mainstream sports elite looks up from what famed sports writer Jimmy Cannon called the “toy department” of life and see their big brothers on the news side emphatically anti-Christian, misogynistic, and radical left in orientation. And so they say, “Me too!”

“Me too” to the disdain for the young quarterback unexpectedly taken in the first round of the NFL draft and who led his University of Florida team to two national championships. In selecting him, Denver defied media and NFL insider conventional wisdom, which translated his “goofy” worldview to disparagement of his football skills. Never mind that he came out of college with both a Heisman Trophy, the premiere award of college football, and a James E. Sullivan award for the nation’s top athlete in any sport — Tim Tebow doesn’t have what it takes to succeed in professional football.

The antagonism of the media originates in the same place as the love of the fans — priorities. The Tampa Bay newspaper described Tebow’s view of the world as “faith, family, academics, football,” in that order. But what about the NFL staples upon which sports journalists fawn: sex, drugs, violence, and bling? 

Fans have largely ignored media experts, cheering Tebow because he is an exceptional athlete with exceptional character. The latter, however, is what bothers most journalism insiders, who responded to the selection with “scorn and mockery,” as the Wall Street Journal put it.

The intangibles that Broncos Coach Josh McDowell is betting will turn Tebow into a franchise leader are exactly the qualities at which mainstream journalists scoff. Don’t talk to us about character, CBS sneered, because if it really mattered, then all the NFL needs to do is gather up a bunch of “altar boys” or “‘A’ students.”

But character an NFL player does not make, and the sports media elite sees trouble in Tebow’s in-your-face spirituality and religion and family… especially his family, evangelicals all, smiling and wholesome and using words like “wonderful” and “blessed” and “thankful.”

With rare exception (Denver Post columnist Woody Paige predicted stardom, maintaining that murder and mayhem are not the only qualifications for NFL success), the journalists have delighted in disparaging the Tebows as too “Christiany,” a journalistic synonym for “fascist.” You know, the kind of people whose vocal love for Jesus conjures up thoughts of a “Nazi rally,” as the largest Boston sports radio station described a family gathering.

Tebow and his family are disliked because they are emphatically traditional, loving, and Christian. One Slate writer admitted to “queasiness on the part of media elites (me included) over the idea that the family really believes what it says it believes.”

Shameful, really: Respect women, love your neighbor, and put God first. This contrasts with the reigning attitude among sportswriters and broadcasters, which a retired female sports journalist described as “historically liberal and, in fact, misogynistic,” “delight[ing] in portraying females” as “sluts and groupies.”

Witness Tony Kornheiser, popular ESPN commentator and long-time Washington Post columnist, who often starts his cable show, “PTI,” with a leering remark about having sex. In his early sixties with a scraggly beard and balding head, Kornheiser has the on-air presence of the creepy uncle you shoo away from the kids on family picnics…and he has just finished a suspension for making sexist remarks on air about a female colleague.

He is a star of the ESPN network, which downplayed the charges against Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is alleged to have raped two girls, one in a ladies room stall in a nightclub. And while NBC sports gave the rape charges the boys-will-be-boys treatment, CBS spotlighted a player who said he would “never condone” what “Ben did with the young ladies”…but you want him leading your team.

After all, what’s a rape or two — just means you’re a leader, a player is the prevailing sentiment among those who cover the NFL. Besides, do you know how many of those press corps iPods are blasting rapper Eminem’s latest, saying that he’d like to “get as rowdy as Roethlisberger in a bathroom stall”?

And into this marches Tim Tebow. He films a commercial with his mother for Focus on the Family (“dedicated to helping families thrive“), and media angrily accuse him of pushing traditional lifestyles. You know, marriages where women are equal partners and men do not beat their wives or leave children sprinkled around the landscape like so many daisies in a field.

Positively un-NFL, so much so that one front-office executive announced to Yahoo Sports that “I don’t want any part of him” and his nutty views. Yahoo Sports columnist Les Carpenter, reacting to this, noted that Tebow, “known for his goodness[,] has actually drawn a more visceral reaction [from the NFL and sports journalism establishment] than those players who are at their core, truly bad.”

But Tebow continues being Tebow. He responds with good-natured humor to a jeering press that accuses him of being a virgin with a simple statement: “Yes, I am.” And he goes on to explain the importance of commitment and marriage and ends with noting the discomfort in the room: “I think y’all are stunned right now.”

…To which Pro Sports Daily responded “Don’t be shocked if some of these guys want to take him out and kill the legend that is Tim Tebow.” NCAA Football Fanhouse expressed dismay that “the most popular player in SEC history is saving himself for marriage.” “Unbelievable” when he can have any girl he wants.

What is wrong with this guy? The Washington Post brought in professional atheist Richard Dawkins to reassure its readers that the NFL has nothing to fear. Too many hits from the blind side did not produce this “dummy.”

Rather, that he was “home schooled by missionary parents is to blame.” So don’t worry: “Different sperm” from his father might have produced a child less “spectacularly stupid” with a greater chance to “have survived the home schooling and broken free.”

Don’t worry — you’re safe, for this Christian “nonsense” is an aberration, Dawkins assured readers.

So drop your pants, boys — are you ready for some football?

Stuart Schwartz is on the faculty at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Courtesy of
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/05/elite_media_vs_tim_tebow_chris.html

 

 

Lawmakers want university explanation for expulsion of Christian

Lawmakers in Michigan are preparing to call on the carpet leaders of taxpayer-supported universities across the state after top officials at Eastern Michigan University expelled from a counseling program a Christian student who refused to argue in support of the homosexual lifestyle.  

As WND reported, trouble began for master’s-program student Julea Ward when she refused to accept a client whose issue concerned a homosexual relationship.

The school expelled her from the counseling program March 12, 2009, for refusing to abrogate her own personal religious beliefs and support the homosexual lifestyle.

Since then, Ward has brought a lawsuit through the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom.

Now members of the Michigan Senate have approved legislation that includes a provision calling on university counseling programs to evaluate and affirm how they can accommodate the religious beliefs of students.

“Sec. 486. It is the intent of the legislature that each public university shall submit a report to the house and senate appropriations committees by October 15, 2010, on the university’s efforts to accommodate the sincerely held religious beliefs of students enrolled in counseling degree programs at the university,” says the provision, added to pending legislation and approved by the state Senate.

Eastern Michigan president Susan W. Martin

State Rep. Tom McMillin told WND the case was “extremely alarming,” and there was growing support for an effort to penalize universities that don’t accomodate religious beliefs.

“This is a state-taxpayer-supported university,” he said. “She’s got a court case. Hopefully that will be resolved.”

He said an effort to cut funding by 5 percent failed only because of federal mandates about education funding. But he said Senate members agreed with the demand for an accounting of how students’ beliefs are accommodated.

The plan has been adopted by the Senate and now moves to the House, where McMillin said he believes there is concern over the issue.

Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan said there is a valid point to the legislation since, among other things, taxpayers would be on the hook for damages should those be determined in Ward’s case.

She has described her case in her own words:

Glenn’s organization reported that Ward, a Southfield public-school teacher, was seeking her graduate degree in counseling. She was assigned to an individual who wanted help with his homosexual relationship.

Ward told her supervisor – before there was a meeting with the client – that because of her beliefs, she could not counsel in affirmation of the homosexual relationship but could work with any other issue that arose.

The AFA of Michigan reported she followed her supervisor’s instructions to refer the man to another counselor. But she immediately was investigated by an academic committee and later expelled, even though she had a 3.91 GPA and was only months away from graduation.

Ward had explained in detail to school officials she was not discriminating against someone based on sexual orientation.

“I told Dr. Callaway and restated in the informal hearing, that I would counsel individuals engaged in homosexual behavior regarding any issue unrelated to that behavior. The only thing I am unwilling to do is validate or affirm homosexual behavior, due to my religious beliefs,” she told a school committee investigating her.

She continued, “The Bible teaches that God ordained sexual relationships between men and women and not between persons of the same sex. … While people may struggle with homosexual inclinations and behavior, I believe (and the Bible teaches) that people should strive to cultivate sexual desires for persons of the opposite sex. I am morally obligated to adhere to these fundamental teachings of the Christian faith. … It would be a violation of my religious beliefs to be required to affirm or validate homosexual conduct.”

Irene Ametrano, one of Eastern’s counseling-faculty members, tried to poke holes in Ward’s beliefs, saying, “Homosexuality, I think it’s pretty well established is not a choice, but you see it as a choice.”

And Perry Francis, another counseling-faculty member, joined in, demanding from to know from Ward whether anyone is “more righteous than another before God.”

Gary Marx, another professor, implied she should not be a counselor.

“I guess what I am trying to figure is how someone with such strong religious beliefs would enter a profession that would cause you to go against those beliefs,” he said.

“The arrogance, disdain, and intolerance with which Eastern Michigan academics treated Julea Ward should be punished and prevented from happening on any other campus, but unfortunately, it’ll be Michigan taxpayers who are left holding the bag for the legal liability and possible financial damages that result from EMU’s egregious violation of her civil rights,” Glenn wrote in a statement.

“The Legislature should act to take taxpayers off the hook and make university employees who violate students’ civil rights individually responsible for their own legal defense,” Glenn said, “specifically by prohibiting the use of state tax dollars to pay attorney’s fees and damages for employees found by a court of law to have violated such rights.”

According to a column posted by David French of the Alliance Defense Fund, the lawsuit is over the fact that Eastern expelled Ward “not because she harmed anyone but simply because she was unwilling to express support for things she did not believe.”

The most recent court ruling in the case allowed it to move forward, rejecting claims from the university that the case should be dismissed because of “qualified immunity.”

Instead, the court ruled, “Ward has sufficiently plead and come forward with evidence that the EMU defendants’ act of dismissing Ward violated First and Fourteenth Amendment rights so clearly established that a reasonable official in their position would have clearly understood that they were under an affirmative duty to refrain from such conduct.”

Wrote French, “To be clear, this does not mean that the individual defendants in the case are personally liable, merely that they may be held liable later in the case. But this is still quite significant. It sends an unmistakable signal to university administrators that they do not have a free hand in dealing with students, that students’ First Amendment rights are ‘clearly established,’ and there can be much more at stake in any given case than injunctive relief (which is significant, but has no personal impact on university officials).”

School officials have told WND they don’t comment on pending litigation.

The judge said there are “genuine issues of material fact” about the school’s “true motivations” for dismissing Ward from the program. Further, the judge concluded, the student’s actions to avoid in advance a counseling session for which she had reservations probably followed professional ethical guidelines.

Courtesy of
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=144881

Victory: Pro-Life Student Group Finally Recognized at University of Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz., April 21, 2010—In a victory for freedom of association, the University of Arizona has reversed course and granted its Students for Life (SFL) group official recognition. The decision gives the group equal access to university resources. SFL’s application was initially denied by UA’s student government because the group’s proposed constitution required that members share beliefs about the sanctity of human life. After the student government denied recognition to his group, SFL founder Jeremiah Lange came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.

“FIRE is pleased that the University of Arizona has recognized its obligation to uphold the First Amendment right to freedom of association guaranteed to its students,” FIRE Vice President Robert Shibley said. “When students form groups around shared beliefs, they exercise a core constitutional right. A diversity of belief-based groups enhances the marketplace of ideas on campus.”

FIRE asked the U.S. Supreme Court to acknowledge this right of student groups to freely associate in a friend-of-the-court brief in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which was argued before the Justices on Monday.

UA’s application procedure for new student groups requires submission of a proposed constitution and a nondiscrimination statement. Lange submitted an application for SFL that satisfied the written guidelines of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona (ASUA), the student government. SFL also included a requirement that “member[s] must agree to stand by the princip[le]s that life is sacred and that the intentional killing of human beings through abortion, euthanasia, and murder, and all forms of eugenics are morally reprehensible.” The application was denied in a February 25, 2010, e-mail to Lange in which ASUA Club and Organization Standards Board Director Jarrett Benkendorfer informed Lange that “organizations cannot require participants to fulfill or abide by specific principles.” Benkendorfer informed Lange that the belief-based requirement was “unnecessary” because “students holding shared views with your club will be attracted to your organization.” 

In a March 15 letter to UA President Robert N. Shelton, FIRE pointed out that no ASUA regulations specified that student groups were prohibited from requiring voting members to share the group’s organizing beliefs, contrary to what Benkendorfer had alleged. Further, FIRE informed Shelton that preventing Lange and SFL from making belief-based membership choices was a denial of the group’s First Amendment right to freedom of association. As the Supreme Court made clear in Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984), “freedom of association plainly presupposes a freedom not to associate.” FIRE expressed doubt that recognized student groups including the College Republicans, Students for Justice in Palestine, Students Organized for Animal Rights, Voices of Opposition, Liberty in North Korea, Young Democrats, and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán were aware that they were unable to require members to share their central beliefs. 

If the Supreme Court rules against a similarly situated student group in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the ability of belief-based groups to exist and maintain their expressive identity on campuses around the country will be in jeopardy.

In a March 29 response, Arizona Student Unions Executive Director Bill Shiba avoided answering FIRE’s constitutional concerns, but asked Lange to reapply. On April 1, FIRE again wrote President Shelton, noting the inadequacy of Shiba’s reply and asking that Shelton “personally ensure that ASUA respects the constitutional right of UA students to assemble with others around shared beliefs.” In a reply of April 14, Shiba informed FIRE that SFL’s application had been accepted.

“Public universities like the University of Arizona cannot deny students their First Amendment right to meet with others of like mind to advance a message of their own choosing,” said Will Creeley, FIRE’s Director of Legal and Public Advocacy. “The university’s initial denial of recognition to Students for Life is a troubling example of what will happen across the country if the Supreme Court permits public universities to render freedom of association an empty right on campus. Fortunately, the University of Arizona has done the right thing by recognizing that campus life benefits from hosting a multitude of groups expressing a multitude of viewpoints.” 

FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience at our nation’s colleges and universities. FIRE’s efforts to preserve liberty at the University of Arizona can be viewed at thefire.org.  

Courtesy of
http://www.thefire.org/article/11794.html

Government calls preaching ‘clear and present danger’

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Liberty Bell engraving that states: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

A panel of judges at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today heard arguments that free speech should be allowed on public property at the site of the famous Liberty Bell, which itself quotes from the Bible in stating, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

The arguments came in a case involving Michael Marcavage, a minister whose work includes street preaching. He was fined and put on probation for preaching to the public on a sidewalk outside the Liberty Bell center after a trial in which government prosecutors described his message and actions as a “clear and present danger.”

The case began in October 2007 when Marcavage, director of the Repent America ministry, was arrested by supervising U.S. Park Ranger Alan Saperstein.

Marcavage ultimately was charged with violating a so-called “verbal permit” and “interfering with agency functions.”

A video of the arrest has been posted:

Evangelist Arrested for Preaching Near Liberty Bell from Repent America on Vimeo.

It was Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Goldberg during the June 2008 trial who argued Marcavage’s peaceful preaching presented a “clear and present danger.” Goldberg asked the judge to send a message not only to Marcavage but to anyone who would stand on public property and share their beliefs without government permission.  

According to Marcavage, Independence National Historical Park Law Enforcement Specialist Donald Reed recently reaffirmed that free speech activities are banned on any of the public sidewalks surrounding the park that align city streets without first obtaining government permission. Even with a permit, the activities must be confined to a designated “free speech zone.”

“In Philadelphia, the birthplace of American freedom, at the site of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, freedom is under attack by the very government that was established here to protect it,” Marcavage said.

Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

“The blessings of liberty that God bestowed upon our nation continue to be lost while the Gospel of Jesus Christ is silenced,” he continued. “If the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the ruling and finds that the federal government can ban Americans from speaking to others on matters that are important to them in the public forum or without advanced government permission, then this could very well be the final nail in the coffin of our freedoms.”

Marcavage told WND that based on their questioning, the three appellate judges – Michael Fisher, Thomas Hardiman and Robert Cowen – appeared to wonder about the prohibition of a Gospel message when other protesters with another message were left untouched. He noted commercial speech also was taking place in the same area where he was arrested.

“We obviously hope that what they revealed through the very hard questioning will be favorable toward freedom,” Marcavage told WND.

He said it is “absurd” that Americans have to fight for the right to speak freely on a public sidewalk near Independence Hall, where much of the work writing the U.S. Constitution was done, and adjacent to the exhibit of the Liberty Bell, one of the best-known symbols of freedom in the world.

Repent America is an evangelistic organization based in Philadelphia whose leaders “know that there is a literal hell and a lake of fire where the unsaved will burn for all eternity; therefore, we act upon this truth without reservation and GO OUT into the communities of America declaring the Word of God and proclaiming the Good News.”

WND reported earlier when Marcavage brought, with the help of private practice attorney C. Scott Shields, a complaint against the government over the speech infringement. That case is on hold while the current case is on appeal.

Marcavage was restricted from preaching even though Komen Breast Cancer walkers were “utilizing the same sidewalk as a forum for expressing their opinions and viewpoints,” court records reveal.

“However, Mr. Marcavage was told that he couldn’t stand on the … block and express his viewpoint and was instead given a verbal permit to express his viewpoint in another part of the Independence Mall, far away from where the Breast Cancer walkers were expressing their viewpoint,” court records said.

Michael Marcavage

Marcavage told WND previously of the danger he believes the court precedent poses.

“If they shut down our ability to speak, they shut down the Gospel; they shut down any message. If the government prevails in this case, America’s experiment in liberty has finally reached its demise,” Marcavage said.

On his blog, Marcavage has noted that such government-mandated “free speech zones” are being established across the country in an effort by cities, colleges and other institutions to regulate free speech.

The blog cited a 2007 study by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which found 259 of 346 colleges studied maintained such free speech restrictions.

 

Courtesy of
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=140269

Runaway Christian Convert Says Family Reconciliation Not Possible

 

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 AP

Rifqa Bary

Rifqa Bary

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COLUMBUS, Ohio —  A teenage runaway who fled Ohio claiming she’d be harmed for converting from Islam to Christianity says it’s no longer possible for her to reconcile with her Muslim parents.

Attorneys for 17-year-old Rifqa Bary say in a juvenile court filing that efforts by Ohio and Florida courts to reunify the family have failed. Bary also says in the Monday filing that she fears being killed or harmed if she’s sent back to her native Sri Lanka.

A judge is expected to rule on Bary’s latest request and several others by the teen and her parents at a hearing Tuesday.

Bary’s father alleges a minister helped her flee to Florida by driving her to a Columbus bus station.

Police in Florida and Columbus found no evidence the girl faced harm.

Courtesy of Fox News at
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587372,00.html?test=latestnews

Parents: You Don’t Know Your Teens as Well as You Think

New Study Says Parents Selling Teens Short
Underestimating Teens’ Charitable Nature

Hundreds of Thousands of American Teens Respond To Haiti Quake and Global Food Crisis — World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine, February 27th, 28th

Contact: John Yeager, World Vision, 425-765-9845

SEATTLE, Feb. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — Maybe parents don’t know their teens as well as they think. According to a new 30 Hour Famine study, less than one in ten parents of teens (9%) describe teenagers today as “generous”. More than half of parents (58%) describe teenagers as “lazy”, and almost as many (54%) describe teens as “selfish”. And yet more than half of those teens themselves (53%) say the current economic climate has made them more aware of the needs of others. And almost nine out of ten (89%) of teens in the same online survey, conducted by Harris Interactive in January, say they wish they could do more to help those in need.

According to the study, commissioned by World Vision, an international charity, only about three in five parents (62%) say their teenagers support charitable causes or organizations, whereas almost three out of four teens (74%) report that they do. In fact, 38% of teens say they support charities actively by volunteering their time or participating in an event like a run, a walk or a fast day like 30 Hour Famine.

HOW PARENTS SEE TEENS
58% of parents say teens today are lazy – 9% of parents say teens are generous

TEACHING THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARITY
91% of parents say they try to emphasize the importance of charity to their teen
68% of teens say their parents try to emphasize the importance of charity

EFFECTS OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE:
39% of parents say their teen has become more aware of the needs of others
53% of teens say they’ve become more aware of the needs of others

“These findings paint American kids in a new but accurate light — informed, global citizens who understand that solvable social problems like poverty and hunger exist everywhere around the world,” says Justin Greeves, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs & Policy Research with Harris Interactive.

Next month, hundreds of thousands of American teens will go hungry in an effort to help Haiti quake survivors and fight global hunger through World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. This year, a portion of funds raised by 30-Hour Famine groups will go toward Haiti’s long-term recovery. More than 200 youth groups nationwide have already contacted World Vision about designating 30 Hour Famine funds to Haiti relief.

Pat Rhoads, World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine Manager says, “I’m really excited and grateful that teens here can have a direct impact on teens and children in Haiti. Many wish they could go there and help the people of Haiti. This is a way to directly help them, even if they can’t make the trip.” Rhoads has been working with youth groups through the 30-Hour Famine for the last seven years. Since 30 Hour Famine started in 1992, groups participating in Famine events have raised more than $130 million.

February 26th & 27th, (there’s also another National Date April 23rd-24th) hundreds of thousands of teens will participate in World Vision’s 19th annual 30 Hour Famine, forsaking food for 30 hours to get a taste of what the world’s poorest children face. Prior to the event, teens raise funds by explaining that $1 can help feed and care for a child a day. So $1 for each hour they’ll fast, $30, can feed and care for a child for a whole month. As they fast, teens consume only water and juice as they participate in local community service projects (at food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters). Part of the funds from this year’s 30 Hour Famine will go toward long-term relief in Haiti after the January 12th quake. Last year’s 30 Hour Famine raised close to $11 million with funds going to fight global hunger. This year’s fund-raising goal is $12 million.

Tonight, almost 1 billion people worldwide will go to bed hungry — that’s one out of every six people on earth. 25,000 children die each day from hunger and preventable diseases. Chronic poverty, affecting half the people on earth, is the cause. Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day.

Where does 30 Hour Famine money go? Haiti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and other targeted spots where famine, conflict and other crises make children vulnerable. A portion of 30 Hour Famine funds are also used to address poverty here in the U.S.

World Vision works in 100 countries, helping approximately 100 million people every year.
Visit http://www.30hourfamine.org or call 800-7-FAMINE for more information.
Or visit our facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/wv30HF

30-Hour Famine groups available for interviews weekend of Feb 26-27 in these and other cities:

North Carolina (Charlotte)
St. John’s Episcopal – one of the nation’s top 30 Hour Famine fundraisers raised almost $80,000 last year.

Southern California
Trinity United Presbyterian Church (Santa Ana) students raised more than $30,000 last year.

Massachusetts (Boston area)
United Church of Christ last year raised more than $28,000

Oregon (Portland area)
Beaverton Christian Church — at least 500 teens expected at 30 Hour Famine rally.

The poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, between January 6th and January 12th 2010 via the ParentQuery online omnibus service among 526 U.S. adults ages 18 + who are parents of teens ages 13-17 and between January 13th and January 19th, 2010 via the YouthQuery online omnibus service among 641 youth ages13-17. For complete methodology, including weighing variables, please contact John Yeager.

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS:
Pat Rhoads – 30 Hour Famine National Manager – World Vision
Media Contacts: Gardi Wilks 708-434-5006 (office) 708-205-5020 (cell)
John Yeager 253-815-2356 (office) 425-765-9845 (cell)

About World Vision — World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. World Vision serves the world’s poor regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, visit http://www.worldvision.org.