Free Republic

A number of polls in diverse locations indicate that mental illness may be far more pervasive than most experts have thought. A poll conducted by Time magazine and the Rockefeller Foundation claims to have found that 88 percent of people support bigger government. “People are scared,” said Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel. “Personal responsibility is too big of a burden for the average guy. He needs the comfort of a ‘big brother’ who’ll be there to tuck him in at night, so to speak.” “It’s the government’s job to take care of the people,” declared poll respondent, Melissa Pewler....

In Michigan, a homosexual man is suing two Christian publishers—Zondervan and Tyndale House—for $70 million dollars. Bradley Fowler claims they violated his constitutional rights and caused him "emotional distress" by publishing versions of the Bible that call homosexuality a sin. In my view, Fowler is suing the wrong party, but perhaps he realizes he is likely to have difficulty hauling the real author into court. While the lawsuit may strike us as funny, we ought to take such attacks on Christian teaching seriously: We are going to see many more of them if same-sex "marriage" is foisted upon us by...

SAN DIEGO— From the dusty Mexican border to the redwoods of the north, from broiling eastern deserts to the cool Pacific coast, on June 25, the prayers of more than a thousand pastors covered California like a quilt. The locus: Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego County. There, nearly 300 people, most of them pastors, gathered to pray, repent, and strategize for November, when Californians will vote on a constitutional amendment affirming the historical definition of marriage. While Skyline organized the event, satellite technology provided live video feeds to 1,300 more people—again, mostly pastors—gathered at 101 other churches up and...

As California Goes...? by: Emily Miller, July 18, 2008 The same-sex marriage debate proved to be a politically divisive issue in the 2004 election, and once again the subject dominates the national political landscape during an election year. Yet one aspect of the gay marriage debate remains largely ignored: if and how same-sex marriage threatens religious liberties and the free exercise clause of the First amendment. Lawyers convened last week at the Family Research Council to discuss the emerging conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty, and noticed an increase in the number of cases filed against religious institutions charged...

Fifty-one percent of likely voters in the state oppose Proposition 8 on the November ballot, a constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage by defining marriage as only between a man and woman, according to a Field Poll released today. The poll shows voters are divided by where they live, their age, gender and political party. For Prop. 8: "I see nothing wrong with gay marriage. It's only controversial to narrow-minded people. ... I think the opposition (to same-sex marriage) has to do with being close-minded about homosexuality. Or maybe people are afraid of it."

SAN FRANCISCO -- The state Supreme Court refused today to remove a proposed ban on same-sex marriage from the November ballot. The initiative, Proposition 8, is a state constitutional amendment that would overturn the court's May 15 ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry in California. Gay-rights advocates sued June 19 to block a vote on Prop. 8, arguing that the measure would destroy fundamental rights that can't legally be abolished by an initiative.

State lawmakers are expected to vote next week on repealing a 1913 law that prevents out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from getting married in Massachusetts, reigniting a divisive debate on an issue that has stirred passions and put the state in the national spotlight. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation Tuesday, and the House will follow shortly afterward, according to several lawmakers. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray favor the repeal, but their support on such a hot-button social issue does not guarantee that rank-and-file lawmakers will follow. Advocates of same-sex marriage rights...

Liberals who’ve been uneasy to downright dismayed with Barack Obama’s recent drift toward the political center now that he’s the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee can take some comfort in his lightly-publicized statement last week on California’s upcoming referendum on gay marriage.

About a month ago, the California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, issued a declaratory opinion that Proposition 22, which states that, “Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California,” enshrined into statutory law by 61.4% of California voters in 2000 (over four million voters), was “unconstitutional” on the basis that "gender discrimination" violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution. The LA Times reported that: "The California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday in a broadly worded decision that would invalidate virtually any law that discriminates...

Virginia resident Lisa Miller, mother of 6-year-old Isabella Miller, was involved in homosexuality for a short time. Thankfully, she found freedom from the destructive "gay" lifestyle – as so many others have done –through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and, along with Isabella, is now a Christian. For the past five years or so, Lisa and Isabella have been trying to live their lives in peace at home in Virginia. But unfortunately, they've been unable to do so, as Lisa's dark past has come back to haunt them. They've been the target of a vicious legal attack by militant...

Bishop Thomas Wenski Orlando, Jul 1, 2008 / 06:27 am (CNA).- In a Sunday newspaper commentary Thomas Wenski, the Bishop of Orlando, Florida decried the California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a ban on same sex marriage, saying the act of “raw judicial activism” reminds us that “society’s culture wars are far from over.”Writing in the Ocala Star Banner, Bishop Wenski said advocates of homosexual marriage erroneously label their opponents as intolerant bigots. “To defend marriage as a monogamous union between one man and one woman is not bigotry,” Bishop Wenski wrote. “Nor are the efforts of those who...

Barack Obama is now on record as supporting same-sex marriage in California. He has previously said that he does not favor gay marriage, but he is opposing an effort by citizens in California that would ban same-sex marriage and overturn the decision of the far-left court that allowed it to go forward. It seems Obama does not want the citizens of the state to decide this issue . . .

Via Townhall, Reuters reports Obama claims to be against same-sex marriage, but also against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) or any other effort to defend the traditional definition of marriage: She [Michelle Obama] said he [Barack Obama] supported a complete repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which only recognizes marriages between men and women and upholds states' rights not to honor same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. He also opposes a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in the U.S. military and was against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, she added. He supports...

Obama speak of equality and human rights but supports the murdering of innocent children through abortion and embryonic stem cell research as if such people were a sub-class of human beings . This is not consistent with the U.S. Declaration of Independence which clearly states "... all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This refers to the human fetus as does the similar decree by the United Nations. Without the right to life no other human right makes sense. Hence,...

The irony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) wading into California’s same-sex marriage debate is too delicious to ignore. Earlier this week, the church sent a letter signed by its president, Thomas B. Monson, to all Mormon bishops in California. The document refers to the California Marriage Protection Act on the November 4 ballot, a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex unions so recently won by a California Supreme Court decision. The letter is to be read aloud during June 29 services. In part, it states, “We ask that...

The juxtaposition of same-sex "marriage" being approved in California with the raid on the Texan polygamists seems to have made a few people ponder the logical connection between homosexuality and polygamy -- and, in some cases unhappily, reflect that former senator Rick Santorum was right when he said the Supreme Court's Lawrence decision would lead to sexual arrangements few people now approve.   And if so, the Unitarians will have gotten there first. A few years ago, a group called Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness declared that they wanted to "take their place beside the divorced, the intentionally single,...

RICHMOND | The couple walked into a Norfolk courthouse on a spring day, exchanged a few words and, within 10 minutes, were seemingly husband and wife. It was an unremarkable ceremony - except that several weeks later, officials realized that the shapely bride might not have been a woman. Now authorities in the state, where same-sex marriages are illegal, are weighing whether to file misdemeanor charges against the couple, Antonio E. Blount, 31, and Justin L. McCain, 18. An announcement is expected this week. At issue is whether the couple lied on their marriage license. A prosecutor says the decision...

By order of its state Supreme Court, California began legally marrying same-sex couples this week. The first to be wed in San Francisco were Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, pioneering gay-rights activists who have been a couple for more than 50 years. More ceremonies will follow, at least until November, when gay marriage will go before California's voters. They should choose to keep it. To understand why, imagine your life without marriage. Meaning, not merely your life if you didn't happen to get married. What I am asking you to imagine is life without even the possibility of marriage. Re-enter...

In the last eight months the Save Our Kids coalition and volunteers have made incredible headway in the campaign to protect our children. Without the tireless, dedicated efforts of our supporters, none of what we have accomplished would be possible. The generous support, prayers, and donations have humbled our staff and we will remain forever appreciative. Even with the setback last fall of coming just short of our referendum qualifying, Save Our Kids supporters have continually reinforced our resolve to overturn SB 777. This cause is bigger than one campaign-it is part of the overarching battle to defend our values...

Equality for All by: Melinda Zosh, June 20, 2008 Not all of the gay couples across America flocked to California to tie the knot on Tuesday. Some stayed in Washington, D.C. to lobby for health benefits. Openly gay U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) spoke at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on June 10. Baker supports the Lieberman-Smith Bill, which would give rights to gay partners of federal employees, including her own partner of 12 years. And she is not alone. “216,000 federal employees are denied benefits that others have such as health care and access…to medical leave,” said Winnie...

Where the Boys Are by: Emily Ham, June 18, 2008 After the state Supreme Court’s June 5 decision to discard the requests of attorneys general from some ten states to stay the May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage within the state, thousands of homosexual couples are expected to tie the knot in California as soon as the new legislation takes effect. But many people are seeing confusion in the horizon as questions are beginning to arise about how long the state’s new court ruling will be in place.This uncertainty began with the June 2 ruling in which the California Supreme...

- Snip- Evidence from previous and pending cases indicates that the court tends to take an extremely narrow view of people's "free exercise and enjoyment of religion" when they clash with another group's need for equal protection. This would seem particularly true following the In re Marriage Cases ruling, in which the majority equated the ban on same-sex marriage to the now discredited (and unconstitutional) ban on interracial marriages. Religious liberty claims rarely, if ever, have prevailed in the face of complaints about racial discrimination. Conflicts about the rights of gays and those of religious believers demonstrate that these are...

California's economy is poised for a multi-million-dollar windfall as same-sex marriages get underway here Monday, with the tourist sector eyeing a bonanza as gays and lesbians flock to the state to tie the knot. Analysts say that a mini-industry will sprout up as California prepares to become the only US state that will allow gays and lesbians from outside the region to get hitched on its soil. Massachusetts, the only other US state to allow same-sex marriage, forbids non-residents from exchanging vows there. That fact leaves California free to monopolize the same-sex wedding market. According to a University of California...

Bishops in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Archdiocese have reiterated that they "cannot approve of redefining marriage" as anything but the union of "a man and a woman in a committed relationship" as same-sex couples prepare to marry in California. The brief statement, signed by Cardinal Roger Mahony and his six auxiliary bishops, was issued hours before California counties were to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under a ruling of the California Supreme Court. The court ordered the ruling to become final on June 16 at 5pm. Condemning "all forms of violence, scorn and hatred - whether subtle...

The great celebration that has been going on today in the media over the impending commencement of gay marriages in California has left me fearful for this beloved country. Every time I heard the news or clicked on main news items, there it was: "At five o'clock, Pacific time, the State of California will permit gay marriages, etc..." Each time I saw it or heard it was like the tolling of a bell, which reverberated deep in my heart setting off a slight quiver of fear. My fear is, in large part, based on my religious beliefs. I am an...

In the carnival of San Francisco, the land of gay pride, you will now have the distinct pleasure of driving with your family down a city street, and the car in front of you will be playing homosexual sex acts right in front of your face for all your children to see on one of those contraptions that play movies in a moving automobile. Right in your face. Do you have a problem with that? This is happening now. In San Francisco, and other cities. We are going to be told that we have to accept this, just like we...

President Bush may follow in the footsteps of his brother Jeb and convert to Catholicism, several European papers are reporting. In the wake of the president’s visit to see Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, Italian newspapers, citing Vatican sources, said Bush was open to the idea of converting to Catholicism. The Italian newspaper Il Foglio referred to such talk about Bush’s possible conversion and stated that “anything is possible, especially for someone reborn like Bush.� Noting that Tony Blair converted to Catholicism after leaving office as Britain’s prime minister last year, the paper also stated that “if anything happens,...

Even financial journalists have found a way to promote a liberal social agenda, as CNBC’s "Squawk on the Street" showed in a June 16 segment praising the California Supreme Court for legalizing same-sex marriage. "This time around, one study expects over 100,000 gay couples will tie the knot, providing a boost to California’s ailing economy hit hard by the real estate foreclosure meltdown," CNBC Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Jim Goldman said. Goldman cited data from the pro-gay Williams Institute, a division of the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. According to its Web site, the Williams Institute "advances...

First California Same-Sex Wedding June 16 By: ANDY HUMM 06/12/2008 Veteran lesbian activists Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 83, whose 2004 wedding in San Francisco was invalidated by the California Supreme Court, will be the first same-sex couple to legally marry there on Monday, June 16 at 5 p.m. when the high court's May ruling finding a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples takes effect. It is the only one that Mayor Gavin Newsom will allow that day before county clerks across the state must begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples the next morning. The clerk in rural...

Even though a constitutional amendment aimed it prohibiting same-sex "marriage" is slated for a November vote, the California Supreme Court refused to delay the implementation of its decision invalidating a California law against the practice. “The argument that a delay would avert confusion is without merit,” the court wrote. “The premise that a voter-approved amendment would restore a ban on gay marriage is invalid. There is no higher authority than this court. No election can change that. If the gay marriage ban amendment were to pass, we would just have to strike it down later. Therefore, since the vote will...

Are we living in the last century of our civilization? Is it possible that all of our technology, knowledge and wealth cannot save us from ourselves? Could our society actually be heading towards collapse? A dramatic preview of an unprecedented ABC News event called "Earth 2100." According to many of the world's top scientists, the answer is yes, unless we take action now. This September, in Earth 2100, a dramatic ABC News 2-hour broadcast, the greatest minds across the globe will join together in a countdown to the year 2100 to tell us what we must do to survive the...

SAN FRANCISCO - Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon's nuptials at City Hall ignited the gay wedding spree that thrust San Francisco into the national spotlight in 2004. Now the city plans a repeat of the ceremony when gay marriage becomes legal in California on June 16. Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to officiate at the couple's wedding, just as he did for them in 2004. He said Monday that Martin and Lyon will be the only gay couple married at City Hall on June 16. The clerk's office will issue licenses for other couples beginning June 17.

Next week, same-sex couples across the country who want to marry will be welcomed in California. But what happens if they later want to divorce? That is one of the many legal issues that could confront California newlyweds who return to home states where same-sex marriages are prohibited. Unlike a Massachusetts ruling a few years ago, a landmark court ruling last month allowing same-sex marriages in California will permit almost any out-of-state couples to wed there. But that doesn't mean their lives after the wedding will be easy. Some gay and lesbian couples joined by marriage in Massachusetts or Canada,...

June 4, 2008 -- George "Sulu" Takei is speeding to the final frontier of gay marriage - and several "Star Trek" comrades will be by his side. But conspicuously NOT on the guest list is William Shatner, a k a Capt. Kirk.

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- California's highest court has refused to stay until after the November election its decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Conservative religious and legal groups had asked the California Supreme Court to stop its order from becoming effective until voters have the chance to weigh in on the issue. An initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage has qualified for the ballot. Its passage would overrule the court's decision. The Supreme Court says its ruling will be final at 5 p.m. on June 16.

ALBANY — Five state lawmakers, backed by a conservative Christian policy group, sued Gov. David A. Paterson on Tuesday, seeking to block the governor’s order directing state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York. The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, came as the Senate Republican conference all but ruled out taking any action to try to challenge the governor. The Christian group, the Alliance Defense Fund, based in Arizona, which represents the lawmakers, has fought efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in several states. In Tuesday’s suit, it argued that Mr. Paterson usurped the Legislature’s...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California's Secretary of State says an initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in the state has qualified for the November ballot. Debra Bowen says a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough for it to be put to voters. The measure would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman." It would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state if it is approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4. California...

SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline)-In a rare move, attorneys general from 10 states are urging the California Supreme Court to stay its ruling that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday with the California Supreme Court, the attorneys general say they need additional time to determine if their state would recognize gay marriages performed in the Golden State. "Certainly if the new California definition of marriage continues past November, the resulting litigation in our courts of the recognition issue will have the virtue of being both necessary and unavoidable under the principles of 'our federalism,'...

The Associated Press For conservative Christian activists, this month's California Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage provides an opportunity to rekindle interest in an issue that has fallen well behind the price of gas in the national consciousness. But it won't be easy, and not just because of pressing secular issues like the housing downturn and an unpopular war in Iraq. Voices within evangelicalism are pushing for a broader agenda, and evidence suggests younger evangelicals are more accepting of gays and lesbians. Meanwhile, anti-gay marriage amendments are on the ballot in only a few states and the issue doesn't play...

San Francisco, CA (AP) -- The attorneys general of 10 states are urging the California Supreme Court to delay finalizing its ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. The states involved are Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. The attorneys general say they have an interest in the case because they would have to determine if their states would recognize the marriage of gay residents who wed in California. They want the court to stay its ruling until after the November election,

Conservative groups that want the state Supreme Court to delay same-sex marriages in California until voters decide whether to reinstate a ban on those marriages in November ran into opposition Thursday from Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office defended the ban in court. A week after the 4-3 ruling striking down the law that allowed only opposite-sex couples to marry, Brown's office urged the court to let its ruling take effect in 30 days, as scheduled, despite the possibility that it would be undone later by a ballot measure. "It is time for these proceedings to end," said Christopher Krueger,...

Opposition is forming against Gov. David Paterson's directive to state agencies to recognize gay marriages legally performed in other states and countries. The Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms says the Democratic governor is circumventing the Legislature and courts and slapping New Yorkers in the face. granting government benefits to gay couples will come at a cost to the state even as Paterson calls for cuts in spending because of looming deficits.

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada. In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.” The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses. In a videotaped...

A support group for gay Mormons urged church leaders Wednesday to stay on the sidelines after the California Supreme Court said same-sex marriage there is legal. The church, which teaches that gay sex is a sin, has expressed disappointment in the recent ruling. Some critics and conservative groups want to overturn it through a constitutional amendment. In a statement Wednesday, the executive director of Affirmation said he hopes church leaders would not "use their energies and their funds" to overturn a ruling that affirms the worth of families or meddle in politics that demonizes gays. "Rather work with us to...

San Francisco (AP) -- California officials are telling county clerks that they can start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on June 17. The state Office of Vital Records says it chose June 17 because the state Supreme Court has until the end of business on June 16 to decide whether to grant a stay of its ruling legalizing gay marriage.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he doesn't agree with gay marriage, but he has managed to find a silver lining. "You know, I'm wishing everyone good luck with their marriages and I hope that California's economy is booming because everyone is going to come here and get married," he said at an Environmental Defense Fund event in Sacramento. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear told the Sacramento Bee that the governor meant his remark in a "lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek manner." "Certainly whenever folks come to California and spend money, it's a good thing, but we have not done any kind of study to...

Why not legalize same-sex marriage? Who could it possibly hurt? Children and the rest of society. That’s the conclusion of David Blankenhorn, who is anything but an anti-gay “bigot.” He is a life-long, pro-gay, liberal democrat who disagrees with the Bible’s prohibitions against homosexual behavior. Despite this, Blankenhorn makes a powerful case against Same-Sex marriage in his book, The Future of Marriage. He writes, “Across history and cultures . . . marriage’s single most fundamental idea is that every child needs a mother and a father. Changing marriage to accommodate same-sex couples would nullify this principle in culture and in...

A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in California isn't yet on the November ballot, but politicians, gay rights groups, religious organizations and others are preparing for a battle that will ripple across the state and could help decide who is elected president.The initiative, which says California will recognize marriages only between a man and a woman, is expected to qualify for the ballot soon after June 16, when this month's state Supreme Court ruling overturning an 8-year-old ban on same-sex marriage is scheduled to take effect - clearing the way for gay and lesbian couples to legally wed.But the...

Let me go out on another limb here and make another crazy prediction. Within 10 years, clergy will be sued or indicted for preaching on certain Bible passages dealing with homosexuality and churches, and church-related organizations will lose government contracts and even their tax-exempt status. The California judges also ruled, for the first time in American legal history, that sexual orientation is just like race. The California court just declared that those of us who see marriage as the union of husband and wife are the legal equivalent of racists. And openly racist groups and individuals can be denied government...