National Notes
___
Houses passes fetus bill. The U.S. House of Representatives voted Sept. 30 to provide legal protection for unborn children when they are harmed during the commission of a federal crime. The House voted 254-172 in favor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The bill would criminalize violence resulting in injury or death to an unborn child when it is committed during a violent federal offense against a pregnant woman. The punishment for such a crime against an unborn child would correspond to the penalty provided if the same harm were inflicted upon the mother. The legislation would not apply to abortions consented to by the mother.
___ Farrakhan paper says Floyd was `God's judgment.' The newspaper of Minister Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam says the devastation of Hurricane Floyd was "God's judgment" against the United States for the "past and present evil" done to blacks and American Indians. The Oct. 5 issue of The Final Call, the Nation's weekly newspaper, said in an editorial that unless the United States "repented for past and present evil done to black people and the indigenous people in North America," additional hurricanes, earthquakes and snowstorms would bring the United States "to her knees."
___
___ Columbine relatives sue. Relatives of students killed in the April shooting at Columbine High School have sued the Jefferson County School District in Colorado, claiming they were not allowed to use religious themes in a display of memorial tiles in the school's hallways. The Rutherford Institute, a conservative civil liberties organization based in Charlottesville, Va., is representing the relatives. The suit, filed Oct. 4, seeks damages because they believe the school has violated their First Amendment rights of freedom of religious expression and free speech.
___ Armey named Distinguished Christian Statesman. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, has been awarded the Distinguished Christian Statesman award from the James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship. The center annually honors a public leader who shows commitment to character, integrity and Christian beliefs. The center was started by Kennedy, the prominent pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Past winners of the award include Roy Moore, an Alabama circuit court judge; former Sen. Dan Coats, an Indiana Republican; and Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo.
___ Alabama district sued over ban on necklace. An Alabama school district has been sued for preventing a student from displaying a cross necklace. Kandice Smith, 11, a sixth-grader at Curry Middle School in Jasper, Ala., said she has been denied the ability to freely express her faith. The suit was filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court in Birmingham against the Walker County Board of Education. School officials said their uniform dress policy prohibits the wearing of any necklaces.
___
___ Alabama lottery defeated. Religious leaders were credited with influencing a rejection Oct. 12 by Alabama voters of a proposed state lottery. Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat who focused on the lottery as a means to improve the state's schools, found most Alabama voters did not agree with him. The lottery lost 54 percent to 46 percent.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!