W. Dist. N.C.: Religious Pro-Life Demonstrators may proceed in challenge to COVID Order on religious, not free-speech grounds. The court granted a motion to dismiss Global Impact Ministries, Cities4Life, and Cities4Life’s president’ claims against Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, to the extent they were based on the First Amendment’s Free Speech clause. But it allowed the prochoice group to proceed in its challenge based on the Free Exercise clause, pointing to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the government’s permitting secular activities during the relevant period. Religion Clause has more details here. Read the order here.
Category: North Carolina
W.D. N.C.: Catholic high school liable for firing teacher in same-sex marriage
W.D. N.C.: Catholic high school liable for firing teacher in same-sex marriage. The court rejected defenses based on the First Amendment—including the Ministerial Exception— Title VII, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, among others. Religion Clause reports on the decision here. Read the decision here: Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School, (W.D. N.C., Sept. 3, 2021).
1745 Authority to marry
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5921739/height/90/theme/custom/autoplay/no/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]All states authorize clergy to perform marriage ceremonies. But each state has its own definitions and procedures. For example, some states have narrow definitions of who qualifies as clergy, sometimes even requiring registration. And the consequences of not following these procedures can fall on both the marrying couple and the minister.