Happy Fourth of July! One nice thing about this holiday is the fact that the Supreme Court Justices have gone home and we’re safe for a few months. No more devastating decisions cutting away at our rights until next fall—like taking your house away from you to build a motel or forbidding you to display the Ten Commandments.
Court Watch
The High Court did grant the League cert so that we can go back in the fall to argue why we should not be charged with racketeering. We must admit that while getting cert for the third time is a kind of plus, considering how hard it is to get cert, we’d just as well have been granted a summary reversal which is what we asked for, but we trust the Court will confirm it’s 2003 ruling, ordering that our property be returned and that the fedral injunction be dismissed.
We’ll probably be going before a court of only eight justices, if a new justice is not confirmed by October, which seems likely. Sandra Day O’Connor, a Reagan appointee, has resigned from the High Court, so we can expect a battle royal coming up in the Senate.
Who will Bush nominate? Will the nominee be too conservative for the Democrats or too liberal for the Republicans or too moderate for anyone? We can be certain of one thing—it won’t be boring.
A gaggle of pro-abort women have been haunting the steps of the Supreme Court, demanding that a pro-abortion judge be named to fill any vacancy (they thought it would be Rehnquist who would resign first), while pro-life and conservative groups like the Judicial Confirmation Network have drawn up a list of “battleground states” where they believe the fight for the Supreme Court nominee supporting original intent can be won. It is heating up to be a knock-down drag-out as the announcement of O’Connor’s resignation is made.
Speaking of the High Court, a cartoon by Skilley of the New Orleans Times Picayune Wednesday showed a reporter interviewing a Supreme with the question, “So, can the ten commandments be displayed in public, or would it violate the separation of Church and State?” The forthcoming answer from the Chief Justice is simply, “Yes.”
War Comes Close to Home
The downing of an American Chinook MH 47 helicolpter in Afghanistan this week, killing all sixteen on board, brings the war close to home as one of the military on board is the son of a very good friend. Our heart goes out to the family.
While offering our condolences to the father, he expressed sympathy for us because we have to go back to court. That shows you what a big heart this man has, to empathize with us when his own loss is so much greater than our little discomfort. We can think of no greater suffering than to lose a child. That’s one reason we fight so hard to outlaw abortion.
Pastor Tragically Slain
Another tragedy touching us is the murder of two good people in Buffalo Grove. Rev. Ivon Harris and his daughter Sarah were found slain Wednesday in their home, and their house had been set on fire. Harris was pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church on Elston Avenue in Chicago, just across the street from the Albany abortion clinic where we pray and counsel every week.
Some of our group had spoken with Rev. Fharris, and found him a decided improvement over the former pastor, who had been very hostile toward our efforts at the clinic. Rev. Harris had reportedly allowed some of our people to use the church parking lot during the Millennium Statue ceremony. We are praying for Rev. Harris, his daughter Sarah, and his grieving family
Adios, Espana
Poor old Catholic Spain, now the third European country to allow gay marriage. Not only did Spain make gay marriage legal, but they loosened up on their divorce laws, causing great consternation among devout Catholics who fought hard against both evils. The other European countries to legalize gay marriage are Holland and Belgium.
