c. 2008 Religion News Service

Florida court tosses challenge to religious funding ban

(RNS) Florida’s Supreme Court on Wednesday (Sept. 3) tossed out two statewide ballot initiatives aimed at ending a longstanding ban on public funding for religious institutions, drawing praise from church-state watchdogs.

Civil liberties groups had filed suit to remove the amendments headed for the November ballot, which sought to rewrite the state constitution to allow church groups to participate in government programs, and pave the way for school voucher programs.

A lower court had upheld the initiatives in an Aug. 4 decision.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Anti-Defamation League, which supported the plaintiff in the case, hailed the ruling.

“Religious liberty and public education are two cornerstones of the American way of life, and these amendments would have badly damaged both of them,” said Americans United’s vice president, Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, in a statement.

“We’re glad the Florida Supreme Court did its duty and put a stop to it.”

If passed, the initiatives would have opened state funding to religious organizations. They also provided a means by which state money could be used for vouchers at private schools _ including religious institutions. Florida law currently prohibits taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition.

Supporters of the initiatives contend that the current constitutional restrictions were originally enacted by Protestants to discriminate against Catholic groups. The Florida Catholic Conference and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami were among the religious organizations that intervened in the suit.

Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which provided financial assistance for the case, called the state’s current policy “obnoxious.”

“Floridians should have had the right to vote on the matter, and obviously it’s very sad when advocacy groups step in and silence citizens from voting,” McCaleb said.

_ Tim Murphy

Judge rejects challenge to N.Y. gay marriage rules

(RNS) A New York judge has dismissed the first challenge to a new state policy that recognizes same-sex marriages performed out-of-state, saying the current policy is in line with state law.

In a ruling on Tuesday (Sept. 2), state Supreme Court Judge Lucy Billings called the directive “consistent with New York’s common law, statutory law, and constitutional separation of powers regarding recognition of marriages legally solemnized outside New York.”

The Alliance Defensive Fund, a prominent Christian legal organization, brought the suit in June, shortly after Gov. David Paterson ordered that same-sex couples who are married out-of-state should receive the same rights afforded to married couples.

Paterson’s decision came after an appeals court ruled that a gay couple who married in Canada could not be denied medical benefits.

“This decision is a wise and fair determination of the policy that holds valid same-sex marriages legally performed in other states,” Paterson said in a statement. “Such comity is a bedrock of our federalism.”

Currently, Massachusetts and California are the only states that allow gay marriage, and a move to overturn California’s gay marriage law is scheduled for the November ballot.

_ Tim Murphy

Quote of the Day: Vice Presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden

(RNS) “To be Irish was to be Catholic was to be Democrat.”

_ Sen. Joseph Biden, Democratic nominee for vice president, speaking in his hometown of Scranton, Pa., about the political climate in which he was raised. He was quoted by The Associated Press.

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