Gregory Baylor is director of the Christian Legal Society and said outlawing sacramental tea would be the equivalent of banning the wine served at a Roman Catholic Mass.

See a June 1, 2009, New York Times roundup and analysis of surveys on abortion and the possible impact of the Tiller shooting on public opinion.

According to a June 1, 2009, profile of Roeder in The Wichita Eagle, Roeder has connections to extremist anti-government groups and is a long-standing opponent of abortion.

A June 1, 2009, New York Times story quotes Roeder’s ex-wife as saying he was looking for a “scapegoat” to blame for his troubles. “First it was taxes — he stopped paying. Then he turned to the church and got involved in anti-abortion,” she said.

A June 2, 2009, Time magazine story notes that Roeder’s car was “decorated with a red rose — an antiabortion emblem — and a Jesus fish.”

A June 2, 2009, Wichita Eagle profile says that when Roeder turned to religion he became “adamant about his Old Testament beliefs and observed the Sabbath from Friday night through Saturday.”

Read an October 28, 2009, story on CNN.com about President Obama signing a bill that makes it a crime to assault someone based on their sexuality or gender.

Denise Eger is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, Calif. She is a well-known activist, most specifically with organizations devoted to fighting AIDS as well as on LGBT issues. The synagogue’s religious school has LGBT students and children of LGBT parents, and the rabbi runs a teen support group at the synagogue twice a […]