THEIST_WATCH Msg : 62 Written : 08/03/94 04:13pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To :

THEIST_WATCH Msg : 62 Written : 08/03/94 04:13pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : No knife in schools But let's not let the United States out of this. In Livingston, California, the school board has banned knife carrying by Sikhs students in the public schools. The six-inch knife, called a _kirpan_, is allegedly a sacred article of faith and children as young as six years of age have been wearing them on their hips as they attend school. Challenged by both the Sikh parents and the ACLU, a federal judge ruled in May that the ban could be imposed because the weapons are lethal. Yet, tens of thousands of orthodox Sikh children habitually carry them. The U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the case in August. Sikhs follow a religion of India developed between 1500 and 1700. Their holy book (the Guru Granth Sahbi) contains the writings of the gurus who developed it, together with Hindu and Muslim prayers. That is just what California school need - rules of life and living that were put together in India 300 to 500 years ago. THEIST_WATCH Msg : 68 Written : 08/11/94 06:08pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : Fornicating Renters And That Ain't All Meanwhile, in the California state court system, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Sacramento, has just issued a forty-three page decision on the case of Evelyn Smith. You remember her. Way back in 1987 she refused to rent an apartment to a man and his girlfriend since they were not married. Her Roman Catholic religion holds such fornication to be a sin. The would-be renters took her to court. And the decision is in: the state of California has no "overriding interest" in protecting fornicators and Ms. Smith's complaint that she thought it a sin to rent to anyone engaged in nonmarital sex is a religious value which must be protected. This has all being in legal throes with the Fair Employment and Housing Commission of the State of California. The decision came down on May 26, and the Attorney General of California decided on July 26 that he will not appeal - the state is done with the case. After the fact, the Attorney General said he agreed with the court's unanimous ruling. He also pointed out that none of the nineteen university campuses permit unmarried couples to live in campus housing - and this is the second loss for fornicating would-be renters. The California Supreme Court which granted a review of similar 1991 Los Angeles case dropped it from the court's docket last fall. THEIST_WATCH Msg : 77 Written : 08/12/94 12:15pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : Auto de fe of Bibles An Auto-de-Fe of Bibles!! It seems that a "performance artist," Mark Pauline who heads Survival Research Laboratories of San Francisco was denied "the right" to burn thousands of Bibles in a scheduled September 1, 1990 performance at Artpark, a California state park concert shell. He sued the Natural Heritage Trust and the president of Artpark for "violating his free-speech rights." Recently a U.S. District Court ruled that his free speech had not been violated. He, therefore, announced he would appeal the verdict. But in order to stop the appeal, the Natural Heritage Trust and Artpark agreed to pay him $10,000. He announced on July 20, 1994 he would take the money and drop the appeal. THEIST_WATCH Msg : 85 Written : 08/25/94 07:02pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : Child Support & Religion Religion No Excuse for Skipping Child Support The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that religious beliefs are no excuse for not paying child support. Eugene Hunt of the "Community at Island Pond" refused to make child support payments to his ex-wife because it was against his religion. Apparently, he has been a member of the Community for 14 years. His wife left the church in 1989 and divorced him in 1990. He maintains that neither he nor his church "recognizes" his wife's decision to divorce him and hence he cannot support her or the child if they leave outside of the church community. Hunt was ordered by a lower court to pay $50 a month to his wife. The chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, Frederic Allen, wrote that "The order [for Hunt to pay the support] represents the least restrictive means for the state to further a paramount interest in having parents recognize their obligation to provide material support for their children." The decision of the court was divided, however. THEIST_WATCH Msg : 125 Written : 10/10/94 04:16pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : The Spirit of the Manly West Lives On The Spirit of the Manly West Lives On A thirty-five year old man, Ricky Eugene Kerr, of San Antonio, Texas, became inflamed with anger when his female landlady and her son attempted to evict him. He shot both of them to death. To his dismay he was brought to trail in front of a female judge. He took one look and demanded that the judge recuse herself. He vigorously pointed out that his religion demanded "that women must respect and obey men and cannot, judge, direct or even address men without permission." On "religious and moral grounds," he demanded that the judge remove herself from the court room because she could not be impartial once she knew his religious opinion about women. The hearing lasted less than a minute. Refusing, the judge is still on the bench and the murderer is still in jail. End of that story. * WCE 2.0/[NR-1167] * Religion is Myth-Information THEIST_WATCH Msg : 128 Written : 10/07/94 06:42pm From : NYT@NYXFER.BLYTHE.ORG Status : To : ALL Subj : Wiccan Group Charges Rights Violation in Florida NOTE: This message was originally in conference "Alternative News (Fido)" and was copied here by Robin Murray-o'hair. From: NY Transfer News Collective Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 21:42:51 -0500 (EST) From: MThorn@aol.com Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 19:30:47 EDT Covenant of the Goddess PO Box 1226 Berkeley, CA 94701 October 5th, 1994 Contact: Judith S. Harrow 212 942-5780 Jacque Zaleski 407 722-0291 WICCAN GROUP CHARGES FLORIDA MUNICIPALITY WITH VIOLATION OF MEMBER CONGREGATION'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS The First Amendment rights of a member congregation in Palm Bay, Fl., are bing violated by local officials through the selective enforcement of an unconstitutional zoning ordinance prohibiting the use of a residence for religious services, according to the Covenant of the Goddess, an international umbrella organization representing practitioners of the pre-Christian religion of Europe known as Wicca. A law suit has been filed. The local congregation, The Church of the Iron Oak of Palm Bay, and its ministers, the Rev. Jacque Zaleski and her husband, the Rev. Roger Coleman, have twice been cited and threatened with fines of up to $20,000 a month by the Palm Bay Code Enforcement Board for violation of the ordinance, while other local clergy routinely use their homes for Boble study and other religious events. Rev. Zaleski and Rev. Coleman this week filed a complaint against Palm Bay officials in Federal Court seeking injunctive relieif and monetary and other damages, the couple's attorney, Burton J. Green, reported. A preliminary hearing is set is for Oct. 11. The Church maintains official offices in nearby Melbourne, but Zaleski and Coleman hold outdoor services in their backyard about six times a year. "Roger Coleman and Jacque Zaleski don't have a church strucutre on their property. If the city's position is upheld any minister or layperson holding any type of religious event at home or in their yard-including weddings, seders, and Christmas dinner-would be implicated. This is clearly a case of selective enforcement," Atty. Green said. "In light of the many recent Supreme Court rulings which have unambiguously protected the First Amendment rights of homeowners from restriction by local zoning ordinances and the First Amendment rights to practice ones' religion without suffering from the interference of the State, we consider the zoning ordinance to be a violation of our congregation's First Amendment rights of freedom of expression and religion," noted Covenant First Officer Phyllis Curott. Ms. Curott is also an attorney. "We also consider the Code Enforcement Board's discriminatory application of its unconstitutional regulation to our member congregation to be a further violation of their fundamental civil rights and liberties," Ms. Curott continued. A number of other local clergy have voiced concern about the implications of the case for their own home worship. "Either this code is brand new or its never been enforced before, because many others have religious functions in their homes right now," the Rev. Ken Babington, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Cooca Beach, commented. "As much as I diagree with the theology of the Wiccan Chruch, I feel compelled to defend its right to freedome of worship. It's the principle I'm standing up for, not the Wiccan Church," he added. Rev. Zaleski said the battle with the city has left her and her husband financially and emotionally exhausted. "It's like being a leper. It makes you feel like you live in a Communist country," she commented. The Covenant of the Goddess has 87 affiliated local congregations and members throughout the English-spreaking world. ### -- + 212-675-9690 NY TRANSFER NEWS COLLECTIVE 212-675-9663 + + Since 1985: Information for the Rest of Us + + e-mail: nyt@blythe.org info: info@blythe.org + --- * Origin: helix.uucp =FidoNet/DharmaNet= Seattle 206.783.6368 (1:343/70) THEIST_WATCH Msg : 133 Written : 10/11/94 07:03pm From : ROBIN MURRAY-O'HAIR Status : To : ALL Subj : Bars and Churches in Texas Try Another Door And here was this old beauty shop, right up tight to a church, not more than 200 feet away. But new proprietors wanted to open a bar there since it was a good location. The name: "Aqua Bar" -- probably pointing out that the drinks could well be diluted with aqua. But the application with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) for a liquor license was denied -- and not for the threat of watered drinks. It happens that a Texas law bars taverns from opening within 300 feet of a church. What to do? What to do? The proprietors found the answer with a tape measure. The back door was 400 feet from the old, historic church. So, they zestfully went about renovating -- $80,000 worth. The main entrance to the bar became the back door (How dreadfully chic!). Reapplying for a liquor license, word was received from the TABC on October 7 that such a license had been granted to the upscale bar. The minister at the First Christian Church is hoping that the church votes to appeal the decision. * WCE 2.0/[NR-1167] * American Atheists Online at 512-302-0223 *********************************************************************** * * * American Atheists website: http://www.atheists.org * * PO Box 140195 FTP: ftp://ftp.atheists.org * * Austin, TX 78714-0195 * * Voice: (512) 458-1244 Dial-THE-ATHEIST: * * FAX: (512) 467-9525 (512) 458-5731 * * * * Atheist Viewpoint TV: avtv@atheists.org * * Info on American Atheists: info@atheists.org, * * & American Atheist Press include your name and mailing address * * AANEWS -Free subscription: aanews-request@listserv.atheists.org * * and put "info aanews" in message body * * * * This text may be freely downloaded, reprinted, and/other * * otherwise redistributed, provided appropriate point of * * origin credit is given to American Atheists. * * * ***********************************************************************