Round-up

Apologies for this "kitchen sink" round-up (see below), but it is one of those days.   I may add an item or two to the list later today if time permits. 

* Arizona appellate court strikes down school voucher programs.

* California Supreme Court rejects gay marriage ban.

* Federal appellate court hears oral argument in Colorado Christian University v. Weaver, a case considering whether Colorado may exclude "pervasively sectarian" institutions of higher learning from state-funded financial aid programs.  As the piece notes, the United States Justice Department filed an amicus brief in this case arguing that Colorado's use of the "pervasively sectarian" distinction violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.  The Christian Legal Society, which argued the case on behalf of Colorado Christian University, has posted all the briefs that were filed in the case.  (Thanks to Don Byrd for his post that brought both of these items to my attention.)

* A church-state question that will appear on the Florida ballot in the fall begins to draw national attention. 

* Texas Gov. Rick Perry offered "strong support for Child Protective Services officials Wednesday even as a social services official in the state's Hill Country expressed more outrage over the treatment of 464 children removed by the state from a West Texas polygamist compound. "  He "applauded agency officials for promising an internal investigation into the concerns raised by Hill Country Mental Health Mental Retardation [MHMR] officials when the children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints [FLDS] were housed at San Angelo shelters."   (For more on those allegations, click here.)  The article says that the governor's spokeswoman claims that the MHMR complaints were given to the news media before state officials were notified.  Meanwhile, an MHMR official "said he has contacted 'nationally known' civil rights lawyers about the situation and will be meeting with them next week."

* Robert Marus surveys some of the reactions to "An Evangelical Manifesto" and gets some feedback on those reactions from one of the statement's drafters, Os Guinness.

* A court-appointed lawyer is examining the FLDS finances.   The Deseret News reports that "[s]ubpoenas have been served on [Texas officials] demanding documents related to the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch and how it was purchased.  The man appointed by the courts to take charge of the FLDS Church's real-estate holdings arm wants to see records seized by law enforcement during the raid on the compound."  (A related previous post is here.)