Third Circuit Court of Appeals issues ruling in New Jersey litigation over religious organization's ban on civil-union ceremonies

07/21/09 Leonard Link, by law professor Arthur Leonard:

Professor Leonard analyzes an unpublished ruling of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on whether a state anti-discrimination law would violate the religious-liberty right of a New Jersey religious organization that chooses to bar same-sex civil unions on its property. The Court decided to remand the case to the federal district court in New Jersey to determine the merits of of the organization's First Amendment, free-exercise claim.


07/18/09 The Philadelphia Inquirer (source: Gay Marriage Watch):

The appeals court said Wednesday that the federal judge should consider whether the association [of the United Methodist Church], which owns all the land in the Monmouth County village, can bar civil-union ceremonies on its property outside [a boardwalk] pavilion. The court did not reinstate the association's lawsuit as it pertains to the pavilion, which is not now used for weddings or civil unions.

07/18/09 NJ Star-Ledger (source: ADF Alliance Alert):

[T]he appeals court directed the district court to take on the broader issue of whether the association and the United Methodist Church, which owns all the land in Ocean Grove, can bar same-sex unions from its other properties in town.