Free Republic

After introducing its first openly gay character in September 2010, Archie Comics continues to lead the pack with the mainstream comic book world’s first same-sex marriage. Kevin Keller will marry his military sweetheart, Clay, in an upcoming issue of Life with Archie. The character is also set to star in a pioneering solo title starting this February. An interracial same-sex marriage between two soldiers in an Archie comic? The times are no longer a-changin’, they are a-changed.

WHITINSVILLE, Mass., – Twenty years after he met the love of his life, nearly five years after their wedding helped make history, it took a nasty bout of pneumonia for Gary Chalmers to fully appreciate the blessings of marriage. "I was out of work for eight weeks, spent a week in the hospital," Chalmers said. "That was the first time I really felt thankful for the sense of the security we had, with Rich there, talking with the physicians, helping make decisions. ... It really made a difference." At stake was the most basic recognition of marital bonds — something...

The "hate crimes" plan pending in the Senate that has been dubbed the "Pedophile Protection Act" would "break" the U.S. Constitution if adopted and enforced, according to an Arizona congressman. And citizens are expressing their concern by dispatching hundreds of thousands of letters to senators. U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., was interviewed today on WND columnist Janet Porter's radio program for the Faith2Action Christian ministry. "They have to necessarily break the Constitution for this bill to have any effect," Franks said. WND has reported multiple times on the developing legislation – a plan that failed under President George W. Bush...

One thing we're going to miss, in the 21st century, is the quality of mercy. Life is not, cannot be, just. If it was, children would not die. All but a tiny few of us would roast for our sins. And to quote the lovely Jennifer Nettles, this would be the very last country song. But if human beings cannot be just, we can be merciful. We have that choice. And not too long ago, folks took mercy seriously. We believed in values like the Golden Rule, and lessons like the Sermon on the Mount. These days, the exercise of...

Tori Amos has blasted voters who pushed through a gay marriage ban in California - because it goes against the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. The hitmaker, whose father is a Methodist minister, insists outlawing same-sex unions is un-Christian and a breach of civil rights. And she is confused Californian voters passed the Proposition 8 bill - which reversed a previous ruling permitting gay marriage in the state - on the same day Barack Obama was elected U.S. President last year. She tells Attitude magazine, "(I was) extremely disappointed. Well, we go back to this concept of emancipation. The...

Two issues continue to cloud the American political scene. Gay rights and the protection of life. These two issues are seen as so important that many Americans are willing to ignore all other issues such as poverty, housing, foreign policy and health care to vote according to a candidate’s position on homosexuality and abortion. The right to life, abortion, freedom of choice issue is much the tougher issue and a healthy debate should continue until some sort of understanding is reached and codified into laws that are firmly upheld by our courts. I suspect the most workable solution is not...

As Florida Gov. Charlie Crist considers whether to enter the competitive race to replace Sen. Mel Martinez, some public talk has turned to the issue of his sexuality, thanks to Outrage, an independent film focused on politicians who are accused of hiding their sexual orientation. During this appearance on an Arlington, Va., cable newschannel, Crist's name surfaced during a conversation on Outrage. The film names Crist among several political figures alleged to be hiding their sexual orientation, using comments from people who claim to be past lovers in addition to other material. The newschannels' segment featured blogger Mike Rogers, whose...