RELIGION HEADLINES WED 7-9-25

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(SRN NEWS  )  Attorneys for the state of Maine and a Republican lawmaker who criticized transgenderism online now agree that the lawmaker’s appeal of her loss of voting rights is now moot.  Earlier this year state representative Laurel Libby questioned the state’s practice of letting boys compete against girls in school sports, prompting the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives to censure her and take away her voting rights. Lawmakers voted in June to halt the restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened on her behalf.

(  )  The Wisconsin Supreme Court has cleared the way for the state to institute a ban on so-called conversion therapy in a ruling that gives the governor more power over how state laws are enacted.  Conversion therapy refers to the practice of licensed counselors helping a young person abandon the homosexual lifestyle.  The court ruled that a legislative committee’s rejection of a state agency rule that would ban the practice was unconstitutional.  The decision takes power away from the legislature to block the enactment of rules by the governor’s office that carry the force of law.

(  )  The IRS says pastors endorsing political candidates during services should not risk losing their tax-exempt status.  This challenges the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 rule barring tax-exempt groups, including churches, from political endorsements.  The IRS and a Christian media group are asking a Texas court to stop enforcing the rule against religious organizations. The group argues the amendment violates their First Amendment rights. In 2017 President Trump signed an order to limit the amendment’s enforcement and Republican lawmakers have since pushed to repeal it.

(  )  Despite a falling birth rate in the U.S., a new AP-NORC poll finds most people do not want the government to focus on the problem.  Instead, respondents want the government to focus on reducing child care costs and improving maternal health. The survey reveals only 12 percent think encouraging more births should be a high priority, while 62 percent do not.  However, the poll also reveals that about four-in-10 Americans consider the cost of fertility treatments to be a major problem in the country and want insurance companies to cover those costs.