Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 23 May 2017
Catholics challenge St. Louis’ ‘abortion sanctuary’ law

JIM SALTER cluding the schools, will “As a city, we don’t support
Associated Press not comply with what he discriminating against any-
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A group called a “vile bill.” one,” the mayor, a Demo-
of St. Louis Catholics filed Sarah Pitlyk, an attorney for crat, said.
a lawsuit against the city the nonprofit anti-abortion Alderwoman Megan El-
Monday over a local or- law firm the Thomas More lyia Green, who sponsored
dinance that prohibits Society, said the law pre- the ordinance, has said it
discrimination based on vents the archdiocese from wasn’t sparked by any spe-
“reproductive health deci- hiring only teachers who cific case or current law.
sions,” saying the law could support Catholic teach- Rather, she viewed it as a
force employers or land- ings on abortion. Pitlyk also way for the city to stake out
lords to go against their reli- said there’s no exception its opposition to future laws
gious beliefs. for faith-based “crisis preg- enacted in Missouri, where
The law, enacted in Febru- nancy centers” such as Our Republicans now control all
ary, bars employers from Lady’s Inn, and no provi- corners of government. A
hiring or firing people based St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson speaks at a news confer- sion for private companies measure that would have
on whether they have had ence Monday, May 22, 2017, announcing a federal lawsuit to led by devout Catholics, effectively overturned the
an abortion, get pregnant stop a St. Louis ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on such as O’Brien Industrial St. Louis ordinance subse-
outside of marriage, or use “reproductive health decisions.” Holdings LLC and its owner, quently failed in the Legis-
contraceptives or artificial Associated Press Frank Robert O’Brien Jr. lature. Washington, D.C.,
insemination. Landlords St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krews- Boston and the state of
also can’t refuse to rent to under the Archdiocese of cess,” St. Louis Archbishop on, in a statement, defend- Delaware all enacted laws
someone based on those St. Louis; Our Lady’s Inn, a Robert Carlson said at news ed the law. in recent years prohibiting
criteria. home for pregnant home- conference outside the “We don’t believe the ordi- discrimination based on
Opponents say they law less women; and a private federal courthouse where nance infringes on the rights reproductive health deci-
makes St. Louis a sanctu- company whose owner is the lawsuit was filed. “It is of the Archdiocese,” Nrew- sions. But Pitlyk said the St.
ary city for abortion. The Catholic. It seeks to stop rather a marker of our city’s son said. “The city worked Louis law is unprecedented
lawsuit was filed on be- the city from enforcing the embrace of the culture of with the Archdiocese to in its breadth, creating a
half of Roman Catholic ordinance. death.” modify the language in the protected class “based on
grade schools operating “Passage of this bill is not a Carlson said the archdio- board bill. social opinion.”q
milestone of our city’s suc- cese and its affiliates, in-

Police: Man slays neo-Nazi roommates over Islam disrespect

JASON DEAREN bomber Timothy McVeigh; employee hostage at gun- from his days in an engi-
Associated Press and explosives and radio- point at a Tampa smoke neering club at the Univer-
MICHAEL KUNZELMAN active substances, accord- shop, police said. He was sity of South Florida in 2013
Associated Press ing to the court documents. complaining about the and he used the substanc-
A Florida man told police They also found a fourth treatment of Muslims. es to boost homemade
he killed his two roommates roommate, Brandon Rus- “He further informed all rockets.
because they were neo- sell, crying and standing three victims that he was Russell has been charged
Nazis who disrespected his outside the apartment’s upset due to America with possession of an un-
recent conversion to Islam, front door in his U.S. Army bombing his Muslim coun- registered destructive de-
and investigators found uniform. tries,” police Detective vice and unlawful storage
bomb-making materials “That’s my roommate Kenneth Nightlinger wrote of explosive material. Court
and Nazi propaganda af- (Russell). He doesn’t know in his report. records did not list an attor-
ter he led them to the bod- what’s going on and just Officers talked Arthurs into ney for him.
ies. found them like you guys letting the hostages go and Andrew Auernheimer, a
Devon Arthurs, 18, told po- did,” Arthurs told the police dropping his weapon, and notorious computer hacker
lice he had until recently officers, according to the took him into custody. and internet troll, wrote a This photo made available
Saturday, May 20, 2017, by
shared his roommates’ report. While in custody, police post about the killings for the Tampa Police Department,
neo-Nazi beliefs but that Federal agents arrested said Arthurs started talking The Daily Stormer, a lead- Fla., shows Devon Arthurs, 18.
he converted to Islam, Russell, 21, on Saturday on about killing two people, ing neo-Nazi website. A man arrested after leading
according to court docu- charges related to the ex- and then he directed them Auernheimer, known online police to the bodies of his two
ments and a statement the plosives. to a condominium complex as “weev,” said in Sunday’s roommates told officers that
Tampa Police Department The FBI said Russell “admit- where the four roommates post that he knew the he killed them because they
released Monday. ted to his neo-Nazi beliefs” shared an apartment. were neo-Nazis who disre-
spected his recent conversion
Arthurs is being charged and said he was a member “I had to do it,” Arthurs told shooting suspect and both to Islam.
with two counts of first-de- of a group called Atom- police. of the shooting victims. He Associated Press
gree murder, two counts waffen, which is German Inside the apartment, the said he banned Arthurs
of aggravated assault with for “atomic weapon.” officers found the bodies from The Daily Stormer’s Himmelman and Oneschuk
intent to commit a felony Major Caitlin Brown, spokes- of 22-year-old Jeremy Him- Discord server, an online as “friends of friends” and
and three counts of armed woman for the Florida Na- melman and 18-year-old forum, for posting “Muslim said they belonged to the
kidnapping. Court records tional Guard, confirmed Andrew Oneschuk. Both terrorist propaganda” ear- Atomwaffen group.
did not list an attorney for that Russell was a current had been shot. lier this year. “Atomwaffen are a bunch
him. member of the Florida Police called in the FBI “He came in to convert of good dudes.
In the Tampa apartment National Guard. But she and a bomb squad, which people to Islam,” Auern- They’ve posted tons of fliers
with the victims’ bodies couldn’t immediately pro- found enough explosives heimer said during a tele- with absolutely killer graph-
Friday, investigators found vide any other information. to constitute a bomb, ac- phone interview Monday. ics at tons of universities
Nazi and white suprema- Arthurs started the chain cording to federal agents. “It didn’t work out very well over the years.
cist propaganda; a framed of events Friday when he At first, Russell told agents for him.” They generally have a lot of
picture of Oklahoma City held two customers and an that he kept the explosives Auernheimer described fun and party,” he wrote.q