Richard Wolf
Richard Wolf is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Richard Wolf
Republicans, religious groups urge Supreme Court to uphold gay marriage bans
By Richard Wolf — April 7, 2015
WASHINGTON — A brief from prominent evangelical and Baptist ministries and seminaries paints opponents of gay marriage as future victims of discrimination whose freedom of speech would be threatened.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence: ‘Not going to change’ religious freedom law
By Richard Wolf — March 30, 2015
Facing a rising tide of criticism and business boycotts against his state, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he would consider a second law that "amplifies and clarifies" the first one but added, "We're not going to change the law."
Gay marriage supporters plan to flood Supreme Court with a friendly push
By Richard Wolf — February 10, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) The first name on the brief will be that of Edie Windsor, who led the 2013 lawsuit that gutted a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Handwriting on the wall for gay marriage (ANALYSIS)
By Richard Wolf — February 9, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) If the justices thought there was a good chance they would rule against same-sex marriage in the upcoming cases involving Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, they likely would stop couples from marrying elsewhere.
Supreme Court upholds religious rights of prisoners
By Richard Wolf — January 20, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) The court came down decisively on the side of a Muslim prisoner whose beard had been deemed potentially dangerous by Arkansas prison officials. Growing a beard, the justices said, was a Muslim man's religious right.
BREAKING: Supreme Court will decide fate of state bans on gay marriage
By Richard Wolf — January 16, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) The high court will hear arguments in four cases in April, and its ruling is expected to clarify whether gay marriage becomes legal coast to coast.
Edie Windsor, heroine of gay marriage movement, revels in a whirlwind year
By Richard Wolf — December 30, 2014
(RNS) The 85-year-old widow keeps up a hectic pace of public appearances and takes pride in the progress seen by the LGBT community both in court cases and public opinion polls.
Are vanity license plates government speech? Supreme Court to decide
By Richard Wolf — December 8, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The cases present two issues that have come up repeatedly in lower courts: Do vanity plates speak for the government that issues them or the driver that displays them?
Supreme Court seems increasingly wary on death penalty
By Richard Wolf — December 3, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) On top of drug protocols, developmental disabilities and lawyers' mistakes, justices must decide if mental illness should be a reason to keep prisoners such as Scott Panetti alive. An appellate court gave him last-minute reprieve.
Gay marriage hits major bump in federal appeals court
By Richard Wolf — November 6, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) "This decision gives greater certainty that this matter will ultimately return to the Supreme Court, as we have said all along that it must," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.
Puerto Rico gay marriage ruling sets up a potential federal conflict
By Richard Wolf — October 23, 2014
(RNS) "Ultimately the very survival of the political order depends upon the procreative potential embodied in traditional marriage," U.S. District Judge Juan Perez-Gimenez ruled. "Those are the well-tested, well-proven principles on which we have relied for centuries."
Supreme Court allows gay marriage to expand to 30 states
By Richard Wolf — October 6, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The unexpected decision by the justices immediately affects five states in which federal appeals courts had struck down bans against gay marriage: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah.
Justices to take up Abercrombie & Fitch headscarf case
By Richard Wolf — October 3, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court agreed to rule on a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim girl who claimed she was not hired as a "model" by Abercrombie & Fitch because of her black headscarf.
On Supreme Court docket: beards, church signs, and, yes, Middle East peace
By Richard Wolf — September 23, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) In its upcoming term, the Supreme Court will consider a religion trifecta: One case focuses on prison inmates. Another deals with outdoor signs. The third affects Americans born in Jerusalem.
Gay marriage supporters’ string of court victories broken in Louisiana
By Richard Wolf — September 4, 2014
(RNS) The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman marked the first time since the Supreme Court ruled against the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013 that a federal court refused to throw out a state's ban on gay and lesbian marriages.
