National Notes
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Adventists sue over name. Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have asked a federal judge to block a Florida "breakaway church" from using the church's name after the West Palm Beach, Fla., congregation launched radio and newspaper ads denouncing Protestants and Catholics. Leaders of the Maryland-headquartered denomination say the Florida congregation, the Eternal Gospel Church of Seventh-day Adventists, has violated a 1980 trademark agreement on the name "Seventh-day Adventist." Lawyers for the Florida church, however, say "Seventh-day Adventist" is a generic term and no group should have a "monopoly" on it.
______ Campaign urged to count same-sex couples. Two prominent think tanks on gay issues have launched a campaign to encourage same-sex couples to be counted in the U.S. Census. The campaign encourages same-sex couples living in the same household to check off the "unmarried partners" option when asked to describe their relationships on census forms.
___ Briefs filed in Scouts case. Conservative Protestants and the U.S. Catholic Conference are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's ruling that said the Boy Scouts of America must accept an openly gay New Jersey Scout leader, saying the ruling violates the right of private organizations to recruit leaders who share their views. Joining the Catholic Conference in filing "friend of the court" briefs in favor of the Boy Scout position are the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the Family Research Council and the American Center for Law and Justice. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for April 26.
___ Review board appointed on death penalty. After suspending executions in his state pending further study of the death penalty, Illinois Gov. George Ryan appointed a panel on March 9 to examine why more death sentences have been overturned than carried out in his state. Ryan, a Republican and death penalty supporter, halted executions in January after state records showed the state has executed 12 death-row inmates since 1977, while 13 have been released. A similar committee has been set up in Indiana.
___ Death penalty moratorium sought. Protestant, Jewish and Catholic leaders urged Congress and the White House March 9 to suspend federal executions while capital punishment is examined for disproportionately targeting minorities and poor people. Following the lead of Illinois Gov. George Ryan, religious leaders said Congress must halt executions so that no innocent inmates are put to death. A dozen religious leaders gathered at the U.S. Capitol with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who has introduced a bill to abolish the federal death penalty. Feingold's bill is currently working its way through a Senate committee, but so far Feingold has managed to find only one other senator to support the bill.
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