Louisiana

Puerto Rico gay marriage ruling sets up a potential federal conflict
By Richard Wolf — October 23, 2014
(RNS) "Ultimately the very survival of the political order depends upon the procreative potential embodied in traditional marriage," U.S. District Judge Juan Perez-Gimenez ruled. "Those are the well-tested, well-proven principles on which we have relied for centuries."

What happens next in the 20 states that still ban gay marriage?
By Brad Heath — October 7, 2014
(RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday leaves unchanged 20 state laws blocking same-sex unions. Each is already under legal attack, and some judges in those cases had been waiting to see what the high court would do. The court's instruction Monday: Proceed.

Gay marriage supporters’ string of court victories broken in Louisiana
By Richard Wolf — September 4, 2014
(RNS) The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman marked the first time since the Supreme Court ruled against the federal Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013 that a federal court refused to throw out a state's ban on gay and lesbian marriages.

Supreme Court affirms monks’ right to sell caskets
By Katherine Burgess — October 22, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) “We really can now move forward without worrying about being shut down,” said Deacon Mark Coudrain, manager of St. Joseph Woodworks in Covington, La.

Shariah 101: What is it and why do states want to ban it?
By Omar Sacirbey — July 25, 2013
(RNS) Muslims around the world have varying views about what Shariah entails, and its role in personal and public life. So what exactly is Shariah? Here are five facts that might help make sense of this complex and often misunderstood term.

Louisiana monks score second win in bid to sell caskets
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — March 22, 2013
(RNS) A group of woodworking Louisiana monks is celebrating after a federal appeals court ruled they can sell simple handmade caskets – and local funeral directors can’t stop them.

Monks win latest court battle in bid to sell caskets
By Richard A. Webster — October 24, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) A federal appeals court smacked down the Louisiana funeral board's continued attempts to prevent a group of Catholic monks from selling their hand-crafted caskets. By Richard A. Webster.

Former preacher becomes a poster boy for unbelief
By Bruce Nolan — June 13, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Jerry DeWitt is beginning to develop a national profile in the small universe of organized unbelievers as a former Pentecostal preacher who little by little lost his faith right there in the pulpit. Now DeWitt is out of the pulpit, and public about his nonbelief. By Bruce Nolan.

Monks’ caskets suit heads back to court
By Ramon Antonio Vargas — June 4, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) A group of Catholic monks who sued for the right to sell handmade caskets will head back to court this week, this time fending off an appeal from the state funeral industry after a federal judge ruled last year that the monks should be able to sell the caskets. By Ramon Antonio Vargas.

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