Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Gerry Studds, the nation's first openly gay congressman, pushed the country to another landmark development when he died Saturday — the federal government, for perhaps the first time, will deny death benefits to a congressman's gay spouse. The federal government does not recognize the 2004 marriage between Studds and Dean Hara, providing a high-profile demonstration of the limitations of Massachusetts' gay marriage law — while highlighting maneuvering in Washington that has neutralized it and similar state laws. "A gay spouse will not receive any sort of pension or annuity or anything like that," said Chad Cowan, a spokesman...

Attleboro, Mass -- A lesbian couple from Rhode Island who won the right to marry in Massachusetts held their ceremony Sunday. After being denied a marriage license in Massachusetts, Wendy Becker and Mary Norton challenged a 1913 state law that prohibits out-of-state residents from marrying if the union would not be permitted in their home state. They argued that same-sex marriage was not specifically banned in Rhode Island. Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly agreed last month, saying he saw no evidence of a "constitutional amendment, statute, or controlling appellate decision" making same-sex marriage illegal in Rhode Island. Rhode Island Gov....

In London, sex scandals come along every other week. You name it, British parliamentarians do it: three-in-a-bed, auto-erotic asphyxiation, gay teen flagellation, getting your toes sucked while wearing the soccer kit of Chelsea Football Club. But at least at Westminster, sex scandals require actual sex. That the governing party of the world's only superpower could be felled by one creepy pervert's masturbatory e-mails and IMs is an event historians will marvel at. Granted that the Roman Empire in its death throes got hung up on gay sex, the American hyperpower seems set to be the first to collapse over gay...

Gay community analyzes Foley resignation Originally posted on October 01, 2006 MIAMI — "He was a homophobe who needed to be exposed," said journalist Michael Rogers, whose Web site, www.blogactive.com/, reported on Florida Rep. Mark Foley for three years. "I first started to report on Foley in March 2003," said Rogers, who is gay. "The reason why — he's anti-gay. He voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and has not renounced that vote. He refused to acknowledge that he supported the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell.' He would not sign on as a co-sponsor. He should be held...

In Swaziland they are called "lishendes" -- multiple concurrent sexual partners -- and they are the driving factor behind the HIV epidemic in southern Africa, said researchers on Monday at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto. Instead of casual sexual encounters with multiple partners, established partnerships outside of marriage are fueling a generalized epidemic in southern African countries. These partnerships often involve inconsistent condom use and occur in the context of low rates of male circumcision. At the conference in a presentation titled "Prevention Works: What's The Evidence," researchers put forward evidence for various HIV prevention programs aimed at...

Street's Ousting Of The Boy Scouts An Act Of Political Cowardicehttp://www.theeveningbulletin.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16997240 http://tinyurl.com/qhhrm 08/02/2006 By: GREGORY J. SULLIVAN, Special To The Evening Bulletin The decision by Mayor John Street and supported by the Fairmount Park Commission to punish the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America for its adherence to the organization's long-standing prohibition on openly homosexual members and leaders is the triumph of political correctness over sound policy. What is more, it is a betrayal of an organization and, most especially, the young boys who desperately need the moral instruction of the Scouts more than ever. Since...

Athletically speaking, Gay Games VII was a joke. Everybody knows true competition shouldn't include hefty figure skaters, any kind of line dancing or games best played with a beer in your hand. More than winning medals and breaking records, Gay Games participants talked of the importance of participating, having fun, being "out and proud," making strides toward a more accepting America and all that jazz. All around Chicagoland, guys kissed guys in the on-deck circle. Girls kissed girls between billiard matches. They didn't feel afraid or scared or judged. And in those eight days of reprieve -- something special happened...

India Government AIDS Body Urges Legalization of Sodomy NEW DELHI, India, July 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has joined the efforts of activist organizations to decriminalize homosexual behaviour, saying the ban on homosexual activity is driving HIV/AIDS infections underground. NACO, the regulatory government body responsible for efforts to control the spread of the infection, filed a statement in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday in support of a petition put forth by a local AIDS group that asks that the law against homosexual activity be lifted. UNAID and other non-governmental organizations are also backing the...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=396762&in_page_id=1773 War of the Worlds star Dakota, 12, has signed up to appear in Hounddog. The screenplay calls for Fanning's character to be raped in one explicit scene and to appear naked or clad only in "underpants" in several other horrifying moments. A source close to the film said: "The two taboos in Hollywood are child abuse and the killing of animals. "In this movie, both things happen." Fanning's mother, Joy, and her Hollywood agent, Cindy Osbrink, see the movie, written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier, as a possible Oscar vehicle for the pint-size star.

Public display of affection was inappropriate Thursday, July 13, 2006 My family enjoyed our first visit to your clean and beautiful city on June 24 and 25, as we arrived to deliver our daughter to a summer camp. After a much longer than anticipated drive, we arrived at our destination at 10:30 p.m., unloading our bags at the only possible spot at the hotel: curbside at the Courtyard Marriott on Spring Street. My three children were treated to an eyeful of amorous behavior by the lesbians seated on a public bench, not 10 feet away from us and directly in...

The National Education Association (NEA) has voted overwhelmingly to endorse same-sex "marriages." The action goes beyond "tolerance" to "acceptance" of the homosexual lifestyle as "normal" and "beautiful." Critics of the measure have suggested that the union is venturing far afield from the objectives of educating the young and obtaining better pay and working conditions for teachers. "This whole issue is controversial and tangential to our goals," said Norman Person, an NEA member from California. "I don't see how it helps kids or teachers." Franklin Butz, a gay member from New Jersey had the opposite view. "Educating the young about alternative...

The following statement was issued June 21 by the Communist Party USA and Young Communist League in honor of Pride Month. The month of June has been designated as Pride Month in celebration of the struggles and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. This coming weekend marks the anniversary of the uprising that occurred at the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969, in New York City. The uprising, in response to bar raids and attacks by the police, was led by working-class gay and transgender people, many of whom were Black or Latino, and...

Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey and his partner are about to become homeowners. The couple is scheduled to close next week on a $1.5 million Colonial in the Union County city of Plainfield, several people close to the couple told The Associated Press yesterday. Those who spoke to the AP did so on the condition of anonymity because the transaction has yet to close. The home, built in 1914, has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms, five fireplaces, and gardens by famed landscape architect Frederick Olmsted, who designed Central Park. The nation's first openly gay governor and his investment-adviser partner, Mark...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - The largest U.S. Presbyterian Church body approved a measure on Tuesday that would open the way for the ordination of gays and lesbians under certain circumstances. The new policy was approved on a vote of 57-43 percent among 500 church representatives at the biennial meeting of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. It gives local church organizations more leeway in deciding if gays can be ordained as lay deacons and elders as well as clergy, provided they are faithful to the church's core values. "It permits local governing bodies to examine candidates on a wider criterion than sexual...

Pride Festival Denied Funding Josh Pringle Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Organizers of Ottawa-Gatineau Pride Week say the future of the festival is in jeopardy. The comments were made after a City of Ottawa committee rejected a request for 20 million dollars in emergency funding. The Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee did approve 30-thousand dollars in city services and debt forgiveness. Vice-Chair of the Pride Week Committee Tamara Stammis says the board will have to meet to decide their next step. Stammis says the cash request was an important element for the festival. Councillor Diane Holmes tells CFRA News "is...

The governor of Maryland fired one of his appointees to the Washington Metro transit authority board for stating a negative opinion of homosexuality on a cable TV talk show. The board member, Robert Smith, had said: "Homosexual behavior, in my view, is deviant. I'm a Roman Catholic." The governor, Robert Ehrlich, said Smith's remarks were "highly inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.""Insensitive" sounds like a fair comment. "Deviant" is a harsh word for expressing one's non-approval of homosexuality. The governor is on less firm ground with "inappropriate." Smith's comment certainly was apropos of the talk-show topic, gay marriage. He was explaining why...

Metro Board Member Dismissed for Disparaging Remarks Washington (AP) - Governor Ehrlich has dismissed Washington Suburban Transit Commissioner Robert Smith for making derogatory remarks about gays. Smith also served on Metro's board of directors. Smith appeared last weekend on a Montgomery County (website - news) cable program to discuss the Senate's rejection of a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and referred to homosexuality as deviant behavior. Ehrlich says Smith's comments were highly inappropriate, insensitive, and unacceptable. The Republican governor is seeking re-election this year. The announcement came hours after openly gay DC Councilman Jim Graham demanded an apology from Smith...

Elissa Kane, left, and Lynne Lekakis, of Albany, N.Y., who were married in a Unitarian ceremony but were denied civil marriage licenses by the Albany City Clerk, wait outside the Court of Appeals in Albany, N.Y., Wednesday, May 31, 2006, for the state's highest court to hear four cases on gay marriage. Lawyers for gay couples seeking the right to marry in New York plead their case before the state's top court, hoping to reverse a string of losses in lower courts. (AP Photo/ Jim McKnight)

Liberty Counsel Files Suit on Behalf of Christian Businessman Who Refuses to Reproduce Pro-Homosexual Videos Arlington, VA – Today, Liberty Counsel filed suit in Arlington Circuit Court on behalf of Tim Bono and Bono Film and Video, Inc. against Arlington County Human Rights Commission (“Commission”), Arlington County Board, and Arlington County, Virginia, seeking Declaratory Judgment, Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief, and Damages. The lawsuit challenges the authority of the Commission to order Bono Film to duplicate two pro-homosexual videos provided by lesbian activist Lilli M. Vincenz. Tim Bono was contacted by Lilli Vincenz via e-mail to reproduce two documentaries entitled...

Lifeguard on Tiberias beach uses loudspeaker to tell off homosexual couple making out in water ; young man to receive NIS 5,000 in compensation from municipality What is the value of a hug? Quite a lot, if you live in Tiberias. A resident of the northern city, who was making out with his male partner on the beach and was told off in public by a lifeguard with a loudspeaker, will receive a compensation of NIS 5,000 (about USD 1,117) from the municipality and its economic company. At first, the young man filed a lawsuit against the municipality, but the...