RELIGION HEADLINES -SUN 6-7-26

(SRN NEWS)  Malaysia is the latest country to try and protect young people from the dangers of the internet.  The government has started enforcing rules to prevent children under 16 from having social media accounts.  This decision is part of a global effort to enhance safety protections.  Existing users under 16 will have a month to manage their data before restrictions apply. Companies that fail to comply face hefty fines.  Experts say young people are especially vulnerable to sex-trafficking and pornography on social media and a growing number of countries are taking action.  Here in the U.S., family advocates want the government to do more.

(  )  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says that his country is failing Jewish people and the community is being brutally targeted by hate.  Carney says anti-Semitism in Canada has surged to levels not seen in the post-World War Two era.  He adds that last year over two-thirds of all religion-motivated hate crimes were directed at Jews, despite the fact that they make up just one percent of the population.  In recent months, anti-Semites in Canada have fired bullets at Jewish schools and thrown firebombs at synagogues and attacked community centers.  They have targeted Jewish-owned businesses and drove Jewish students from common spaces.

(  )  A new Gallup poll finds support for same-sex marriage and relationships in the U.S. has stopped rising after two decades. About two-thirds of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down from 71 percent in 2022 and 2023.  Most of the change is driven by Republicans. The views of Democrats and independents on the topic have remained mostly stable.  The Gallup poll also finds that about four-in-10 Americans believe that changing one’s gender is morally acceptable, down from nearly half in 2021.  These trends pose problems for the Democratic Party, which has made acceptance of the LGBT agenda a litmus test.

(  )  Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has to set up a detransition clinic for people who no longer wish to live as the opposite sex.  This is part of a settlement with the state over the hospital’s practice of helping children live as the opposite sex through the use of hormone treatments and puberty blockers.  The new clinic will provide various services, including endocrinology and psychiatry.  Per the settlement, Texas Children’s must also set up a website for the detransition clinic and create a page on the site so those individuals wanting to donate money toward the clinic’s efforts, can do so.