Free Republic

Young Republicans in Iowa are still split on the institution of marriage being extended to gay people. But there is a growing consensus among college-aged GOPers that in order to win elections, the party's focus should be elsewhere. Gay and lesbian campus groups and College Republicans haven't exactly been friendly to one another over the years, in Iowa or the rest of the country. But there are signs that with this coming generation the trend could be changing, and for the Republican Party that could be critical. "As a young Republican, I see where the party’s coming from with the...

“Change,” long the mantra of Barack Obama and the Democrats, is now clearly the watchword for Republicans such as Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul and Paul Ryan. The need for a Republican reset was repeatedly driven home at the party’s annual winter meeting here last week. The appeal for reform is coming from unexpected quarters within the GOP--including religious conservatives who appear to be moving toward a more libertarian view of the government’s role on same sex-marriage and other divisive social issues.... Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told a gathering of Ohio Republican officials on Saturday that the GOP needs to be...

Senate Democrats killed Gov. Bob McDonnell's comprehensive transportation funding plan that eliminates the state's gasoline tax in exchange for raising the sales tax to 5.8 percent Tuesday, just hours after the House of Delegates passed an amended version of the package. Senate Republicans offered two new versions of the plan that would have taxed gasoline at the wholesale level without increasing the sales tax, to no avail. The original measure's sponsor, Sen. Stephen Newman, introduced a new version of the bill that would have done away with the gas tax at the pump, and instead offer a wholesale gas tax...

Libertarianism has found tremendous success across our country over the last several years. Right now, that seems unlikely to change. At the crest of this political tidal wave has been the Campaign for Liberty. Founded by former U.S. Representative Ron Paul during the 2008 election cycle, it has grown into a formidable organization. With the guiding mission of informing Americans about Constitution-related issues, it has found a considerable degree of popularity among younger voters. In this first part of our discussion, John F. Tate, the Campaign’s president, explains how libertarianism came to find support among American voters, his opinion of...

The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain, indicating that the bill is assured of passage as it moves through further legislative stages.... After a six-hour debate, the Commons vote was 400 to 175 for the bill. It will have to pass in the House of Lords, where delaying tactics by opponents are possible, but Mr. Cameron has said that he plans to have the bill enacted into law sometime this summer..... A day after the newly confirmed archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, took office saying that he shared the Church...

Despite the best efforts of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and like-minded groups to make sure this business remains unfinished, reducing gun violence remains stubbornly high on the nation’s agenda. This is partly due to the ravings of Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president and spokesman, who almost single-handedly, or single-mouthedly, is making the pro-gun argument sound even crazier and more irresponsible than it is. And that’s saying something. This weekend, LaPierre treated viewers of “Fox News Sunday” to some of his lunacy. Anchor Chris Wallace gave him the opportunity to disavow the NRA’s shameful ad accusing President Obama...

The Vatican's top official on family policy has opened slightly to the possibility of rights for gay civil unions, although he also stressed that marriage should remain between a man and a woman. The remarks from Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, wee made at a Vatican press conference on Monday and were quoted in Italian press on Tuesday. "Marriage is a clear legal dimension. There are then multiple other types of non-family cohabitation for which solutions should be found in terms of individual law and in my view also in terms of property law,"...

Foes of same-sex marriage are laboring to pay the tab for an epic legal case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, as the movement suffers from fundraising shortfalls that could sap its strength in future battles. ProtectMarriage dot com, the advocacy group defending a California gay marriage ban now under review by the high court, showed a $2 million deficit in its legal fund at the end of 2011 - the third year in a row that expenses exceeded donations, federal tax records show.... "Unless the pace of donations starts to pick up right away, we could soon be forced...

"We must stop being the stupid party," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warned fellow Republicans recently. "It's time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults." Many Republicans apparently weren't listening, because they insist on doing stupid things. Exhibit A: lawmakers in a half-dozen states who are trying to alter the Electoral College system to give Republicans more votes. This is a desperate and ultimately self-defeating reaction to the changing demographics of America. The GOP calculus seems to be: We can never appeal to minorities, and we cannot win the presidency without them, so let's rig the system to reduce...

A fight over $5 between Bronx school children escalated to the point where the police were called and a seven-year-old boy was arrested, handcuffed, and kept in custody for 10 hours, according to the child's family, who is threatening to sue the city for $250 million. When Wilson Reyes' mother Frances Mendez arrived at the 44th Precinct, she was shocked to see her son handcuffed to the wall. Mendez said, "My son was crying, ‘Mommy, it wasn’t me! Mommy, it wasn’t me!’ I never imagined the cops could do that to a child. We’re traumatized... Imagine how I felt seeing...