By Randy Berle
Christian Action League
July 20, 2018

RALEIGH – A news story that has appeared on several media outlets in North Carolina indicates that there is a dangerous effort underway in the state to legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana.

The story features Abner Brown, the head of North Carolina NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), who says his group and others plan to tour the Tar Heel state with the hope of building enough support to legalize cannabis in 2019. They say they plan to build public support on the issue and persuade lawmakers to legalize cannabis use ahead of the General Assembly’s Long Session, which starts in January of next year. Read the rest of this entry »

By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
July 19, 2018

IZMIR, TURKEY – Wednesday, a Turkish Court refused to release from custody, Andrew Brunson (50), the Presbyterian Pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, who has been unjustly imprisoned on charges of espionage and terrorism. The Second High Penal Court ruled it would continue Brunson’s case and hear more testimony at a hearing scheduled for October 12^th. If Brunson is convicted, he faces up to 35 years in prison.

In a press release, North Carolina U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis (R), along with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) from New Hampshire, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R), and Lindsey Graham (R) from South Carolina, said: Read the rest of this entry »

By M.H. Cavanaugh
Christian Action League
July 12, 2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Monday evening, President Donald J. Trump announced his pick to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court vacated by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. President Trump chose Brett M. Kavanaugh, whom he touted as “a judge’s judge.” The President said that Kavanaugh has “impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. There is no one in America more qualified for this position, and no one more deserving.”

Kavanaugh, a graduate of Yale Law School, clerked for Judge Walter Stapleton of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Read the rest of this entry »

By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
July 12, 2018

SMITHFIELD – Monday night, Johnston County Commissioners held a public hearing to gauge County sentiment about a proposed Brunch Ordinance. The ordinance would allow for the sale of alcoholic beverages to begin at 10:00 a.m. instead of 12:00 noon on Sundays.

Smithfield and Clayton have already approved Brunch Ordinances. The proposed ordinance would affect unincorporated areas of the County.

In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation that has commonly been referred to as the “Brunch Bill.” SB 155 – ABC Omnibus Legislation authorized County Commissioners, Town and City Councils to allow, bars, hotels, private clubs and restaurants to roll back the time for alcohol sales from 12:00 noon to 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings – an increase of 2 hours.  It also expanded the additional two hours of sale for retail sales of beer and wine in places like convenience and grocery stores. But before this can happen, local governing bodies have to pass an ordinance that allows for it. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Terry Stoops
John Locke Foundation
July 12, 2018

Debate over the impact of the Opportunity Scholarship Program was renewed recently when N.C. State researchers Anna Egalite, D.T. Stallings, and Stephen Porter published a study that found “large positive impacts associated with voucher usage in North Carolina.”   

Their working paper is actually the fourth published analysis of the Opportunity Scholarship Program, the state’s voucher program for low-income families. When examined as a group, these studies offer insight into the enormous benefits that private schools, parents, and children receive from the Opportunity Scholarship Program. 

The Opportunity Scholarship Program is one of three private school choice initiatives in North Carolina. During the 2017-18 school year, more than 7,300 students from economically disadvantaged families received an Opportunity Scholarship of up to $4,200 a year to attend the participating private school of their choice. Read the rest of this entry »

Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
July 5, 2018

As if there had not been enough legal wrangling over Charlotte’s 2016 ordinance allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice and N.C. House Bill 2, which said restrooms and showers should remain gender specific, a federal judge is now trying to decide if House Bill 142, designed to return the state to its pre-bathroom-battle status, is harming anyone.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder heard arguments in a challenge against the law last week in Winston-Salem, and repeatedly asked for clarification from the plaintiffs. Read the rest of this entry »

By Randy Berle
Christian Action League
July 6, 2018

Brunson Pic. American Center for Law and Justice

A Turkish newspaper is saying that Pastor Andrew Brunson from Black Mountain, North Carolina, might be released at his next court date, July 18^th.

The motive, according to the article in the Hurriyet Daily News, says, “the Turkish government seems to be committed to developing ties with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration through increasing cooperation in the Syrian theater and resolving scores of bilateral problems.”

Brunson, 50, has served in Turkey as a Christian missionary for 23 years. He is pastor of the Izmir Resurrection Church, a congregation of about 50 people. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mark Martin
CBN News
July 5, 2018

Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, is a no-nonsense lobbyist faithfully advocating for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson who’s been imprisoned in Turkey since October 2016.

Creech says Brunson’s case boils down to religious liberty in the world.

“The accusation against him claims he is ‘dividing and separating (Turkey), by means of Christianization,’ and that his ministry is considered ‘an agent of unconventional warfare’ beneath the ‘mask of an evangelical church pastor,'” Creech explained, according to a news release from the Christian Action League.

“This is no different than when the Emperor Nero claimed the Christians burned Rome,” he continued. Read the rest of this entry

By Gary DeMar
GaryDemar.com
July 2, 2018

The Supreme Court is not operating like it was designed to operate. “The task of the Supreme Court is not to rule on guilt or innocence, rather it is to determine whether the decisions of lower courts are consistent with, or in violation of, the rights and guarantees defined by the Constitution.” The constitutional framers never intended that five unelected judges should be the final arbiter for what’s right and wrong for 320 million people.

At this point in time, we are stuck with this unbalanced system of checks and balances. Whatever good comes out of the court that actually fits with what the Supreme Court was designed to be is a good thing.

Hidden in the arguments of two of the latest Supreme Court decisions offer a defense of bakers, florists, photographers, and caterers who refuse to service same-sex weddings and related functions. In the 5-4 Janus v. AFSCME decision, the Supreme Court ruled that state-government employees cannot be forced to pay so-called “fair share” dues to labor unions. The following comments are from Justice Alito: Read the rest of this entry

By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
June 29, 2018

RALEIGH – Thursday, Forty-eight out of fifty members of the North Carolina Senate signed onto a Senatorial Statement urging the Turkish government to release Pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson, a Presbyterian minister from Black Mountain, North Carolina, has been unjustly imprisoned in that country since October 7, 2016.

Pastor Brunson, a missionary who serves as a pastor to a small Christian church in Turkey, was wrongly arrested and associated with a group that Turkish authorities say was responsible for a coup attempt against President Tayyip Erdogan. Brunson denies all the charges against him, saying at trial, “I’ve never done anything against Turkey. I love Turkey. I’ve been praying for Turkey for 25 years. I want the truth to come out.” Read the rest of this entry »