Michigan Sponsors Its Own Religious Freedom Bill

NBC25

Michigan lawmakers are working on passing their own Religious Freedom Act, states wwmt.com. The legislation is called Senate Bill No. 4.   It has been introduced and is now in committee.

Two other religious freedom bills are also being considered in the state, states attn.com.

The TV show Flashpoint in Michigan had a discussion Sunday about a religious freedom bill coming to Michigan.

Devin Scillian was joined by Randy Richardville, Stephen Henderson, Jill Alper and Sandy Baruah to talk about religious freedom acts and whether one might be coming to Michigan.

Richardville, a former Michigan Senate majority leader, said that he doesn’t think that Indiana’s situation will have a major effect on the state of Michigan.

Alper, a political strategist, talked about the governor’s reaction to the increasing talks about religious freedom acts and what it means moving forward.

Baruah, the President and CEO of Detroit Regional Chamber, says that this issue is very bad for business. He said having laws like this in place prevents the best workers from coming into the state.

Henderson, of the Detroit Free Press, said that the issue has become more aggressive and assertive and talked about what could happen to settle the case.

Non-Religious Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Passes In Madison, Wisconsin

Secular Talk

Do non-religious, secular people, and atheists have legal protections?

“On Tuesday, the city of Madison, Wisconsin announced that it is now against the law to discriminate against atheists, making it the first city in the country to grant explicit legal protection to people who do not believe in a God,” according to the publication Think Progress.

Think Progress:

“According to Hemant Mehta of the Friendly Atheist blog, last night the Madison city council voted unanimously to add atheists to a list of protected groups in the city’s equal opportunity ordinance, an anti-discrimination law. The move, which inserts the phrase ‘religion or nonreligion’ into the legal code, prevents atheists from being denied equal opportunity in employment, housing, and public accommodations.”

Secular Talk looks at the ordinance passed in Madison, Wisconsin that protects atheists and secular people.

(Updated post)

Indiana Pizza Place Would Refuse Service To Gays

Secular Talk

A local television station interviewed Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, which announced that they will turn down any gays entering their establishment looking for their wedding to be catered.

The interview was regarding Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RFRA,

The pizza place has received both support and backlash for its beliefs.

Marriage Control: Oklahoma’s Atheist Marriage Ban Proposal

The Lip TV

The Oklahoma state House has passed a bill banning non-religious people from marrying. The bill also requires that all marriage licenses be approved by a member of the clergy.

“The discriminatory legislation essentially makes it harder for gay marriages to take place bringing into question whether this is an attack on atheism, or same-sex unions,” states The Lip TV.

“But while it might seem on the surface like an assault on atheism, critics are saying that it is same-sex unions that the bill is not-so-stealthily attacking. By making the clergy – not judges and court clerks – the sole marriage licence issuers, it will be more difficult for gay marriages to take place,” states Metro U.K.

Student Sues Her Divorced Parents For Tuition, Wins

On Monday, a Superior Court judge in Camden, NJ ordered the parents of 21-year-old Temple University student Caitlyn Ricci to pay $906 of her tuition from Gloucester County College (now known as Rowan College at Gloucester County). She has been in a legal battle with her parents, Maura McGarvey and Michael Ricci, for more than a year.

The decision follows a ruling from this fall that bound her parents to pay $16,000 toward her tuition at Temple. The two have appealed that ruling.

Ricci sued her parents last spring, and reports say the woman has not seen her parents outside of court appearances in about two years. Her grandparents are paying her legal fees

Ricci’s legal victory has a legal precedent in Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529 (1982). In that case, a judge ruled that divorced parents were legally responsible for paying for their children’s higher education.

In November, the parents told Chris J. Brown, a New Jersey assemblyman working to create legislation blocking adult children from suing their parents for tuition, that while they are divorced, they have jointly made decisions about raising their daughter.

Do Religious People Vote Just For The ‘Religious’ Candidate?

What if a political candidate has views a religious person doesn’t agree with, but that candidate claims to be “religious?”

Will religious people vote for that candidate regardless?

According to a Yale poll, many people vote Republican despite 66% of Americans disagreeing with their policies.

David Pakman video.

Right-Wing Religious Broadcasters Fear Obama May Kill More Than Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao

Broadcasters Rick Wiles and Steve Quayle got together for a discussion of Ebola and whether “world leaders [are] preparing for a global Ebola plague.”

They discussed whether the President would kill more people than Pol Pot, Stalin, and Mao.

What do you think – when it doesn’t happen, will these broadcasters backtrack and apologize for saying it?

Kyle Kulinski video.

Planned Parenthood Study: Sex Education Delays Teen Sex

A recent study showed that teens will delay sex if they go through the sex education program “Get Real” sponsored by Planned Parenthood.

According to Think Progress: “Comprehensive sex ed classes that emphasize healthy relationships and family involvement can encourage more middle school students to put off having sex, according to the results from a new study published in the Journal of School Health.

“The results have big implications for school districts that are trying to decide what type of health classes to offer to kids in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

“The three-year study was conducted by researchers at the Wellesley Centers for Women, who wanted to figure out whether Get Real — a comprehensive sex ed program developed by Planned Parenthood — has an impact on middle schoolers’ sexual behavior.

“In order to do that, the researchers tracked a group of racially and economically diverse kids at 24 different schools in the Boston area, half of which implemented Get Real and half of which continued with their existing sex ed programs.”

Secular Talk video.

More info at: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/1487

Or:  http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/21/3581890/sex-ed-planned-parenthood-study/