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Federal judge puts decision against religious land use act on hold
Two months after U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson ruled the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000 an unconstitutional "blunderbuss of a remedy," he agreed to reconsider his decision, the Los Angeles Times reports today.

Two years ago Elsinore Christian Center, working with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Alliance Defense Fund, sued the city of Lake Elsinore, California, after it was denied a conditional-use permit to move into a former grocery store.

Yesterday, Wilson said the church could pursue its lawsuit under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, avoiding questions of whether RLUIPA is constitutional.

Alliance Defense Fund counsel Robert H. Tyler told the Times that yesterday's decision "represents a major victory at this stage of the litigation."

It may be a victory for Elsinore Christian Center, but what does it mean for RLUIPA? Dozens of RLUIPA cases are working their way through the courts right now. The constitutionality question is going to have to be answered sooner or later—and probably will end up at the Supreme Court. Earlier, supporters of the church said they would appeal the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Expect more coverage later at the websites of the Becket Fund and Alliance Defense Fund, as well as at the North County Times.

Let's take a brief respite from the Episcopal Church USA's implosion, shall we? For those of you desperate for more news on homosexuality and the church, Weblog will tomorrow be back to being the Bizzarro World version of The Advocate. (Sigh.)

The Passion:

• Group sees anti-Semitism in Gibson film | The Anti-Defamation League Monday called on Mel Gibson to modify his controversial film on the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ to make it "free of any anti-Semitic message" (Houston Chronicle)
  
  
• Also: ADL voices concerns on Gibson's 'Passion' (Associated Press)
  
  
• Also: Jewish group says Gibson's 'Passion' will fuel hate (Reuters)
  
  
• Gibson film ignites passion, irony | What if it's true that some Jews were culpable in Jesus' crucifixion? (Jonah Goldberg)
  
  
• Gibson's 'Passion' hearing whispers of anti-Semitism | "We still have grave concerns," Rabbi Eugene Korn, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Office of Interfaith Affairs in New York, said as he left the private screening (Houston Chronicle)
  
  
• Gibson gives select 'Passion' screenings | On Friday it was shown in Houston to an audience that included for the first time an official from the Anti-Defamation League (Associated Press)
  
  
• Mel Gibson screens 'Passion' for Houston group (Houston Chronicle)
  
  
• Stadium stirred by 'Passion' preview | A Harvest Crusade crowd in Anaheim gets a four-minute glimpse of Mel Gibson's provocative film about Christ (Los Angeles Times)
  
  

More film:

• Do the ratings rate? | Not satisfied with 'R' and 'PG-13,' some are creating their own ratings (ABCNews.com)
  
  
• Obeying the call of Kieslowski's commandments | How often are we to be introduced to "The Decalogue"? (The New York Times)
  
  
• Earlier: The Ten Commandments Become Flesh | A Polish director prods European and American audiences to consider God's timeless standards (Christianity Today, Feb. 5, 2001)
  
  

TV:

• The party faithful | Contrary to what you might have heard, God is not a DJ (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• TV has a long way to go before it's going gay | The medium's gay-themed or gay-friendly shows, it cannot be overemphasized, are more than ever before but still only a handful amid, literally, hundreds (Steve Johnson, Chicago Tribune)
  
  

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August (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47