Free Republic

The science-deniers are running the LGBTQ show over at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and dissenters will not be tolerated. The department’s new “enhanced” policies promoting the “well-being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) children and youth in the Department’s care” ratchet in one direction only: encouraging children towards LGBTQ identities. DCFS has drawn a rainbow-colored line in the sand, announcing it “will not tolerate exposing LGBTQ children and youth to staff/providers who are not supportive of children and youths’ right to self-determination of sexual/gender identity.”

In the gay, lesbian and transgender community that has largely worshiped Mr. Murray — and especially in its heart, Capitol Hill, where Mr. Murray and his husband, Michael Shiosaki, have lived for decades — a pall of uncertainty and sadness has descended. “It’s such a complicated sadness,” said Monisha Harrell, the chairwoman at Equal Rights Washington, a statewide advocacy group that worked closely with Mr. Murray in promoting the Anderson-Murray Anti-Discrimination Law, which was passed in 2006. “There’s a sadness for the loss of a leader who has put himself on the front line of many of these causes that...

Gillette, which dominates the global razor business, has long followed a simple and lucrative strategy: Add new features and raise prices. But the 115-year-old brand is changing tactics this month by slashing prices and putting a new focus on its cheaper products. The Procter & Gamble Co. unit hopes to stop

A South Carolina elementary teacher is working to help his young students learn how to act like gentlemen, according to a report by WSMV. Raymond Nelson of Memminger Elementary in Downtown Charleston hosts 60 kids every Wednesday at the Gentleman’s Club, where the children are taught how to dress and act like gentlemen. He works with children who are at-risk children and came up with this idea to help the children. “I was thinking maybe if I have the boys dress for success,” said Nelson. “When was the last time you saw someone fighting in a tuxedo?” The club’s motto...

I was driving in to work earlier this week, listening to a local talk show, when I did something I almost never do. I called in. The subject was the decision by the governing board of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to allow openly gay adults to serve as den leaders, scoutmasters, and camp counselors. How could I resist? I am an Eagle Scout, and I have a book coming out next week called Scarlet Letters that deals with this larger subject. When the producer screened me about my stance, I decided to hold off on more complex issues...

A scoutmaster with a Boy Scout troop in South Jersey was "grooming" a young boy for sexual purposes by buying him pricey gifts, officials said Thursday. The Cape May man, Frank Thomson, was arrested and charged Tuesday with luring an 11-year-old boy after a concerned citizen tipped off authorities earlier this month to suspicious activity between the two, Cape May County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor said in a release. During several interviews with 68-year-old man, authorities say they discovered a separate incident several years ago where Thomson sexually assaulted a young boy. Additional charges were brought against Thomson on Wednesday....

The gay rights movement has been very subversive in our schools. They claim they want kids to be taught tolerance towards gay kids, so they won't be bullied. But that's not what these tolerance and "anti-bullying" classes are really teaching. They are actually advocacy classes aimed at teaching a physically unhealthy lifestyle. The latest example of this can be seen at a middle school classroom in Iowa: The Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth claims to be the largest homosexual youth conference in the nation, but contrary to popular opinion, its purpose is not fostering understanding in the schools or...

“Concerned Citizens” are petitioning Iowa’s Humboldt School District to prevent students from attending the Iowa Safe Schools conference after realizing it’s more about gay sex than bullying.The group of concerned parents and citizens in Humboldt believe it’s “a gross misuse of taxpayer money” to send students to the conference after several came home disturbed by the graphic, profanity-laced presentations delivered at the event in Altoona this April, WHO TV reports.The “Iowa Governors Conference on LGBTQ Youth” April 3 was billed as an anti-bullying summit aimed at fostering understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ youth, but when they arrived they soon learned...

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy will take a trip to a San Francisco nail salon Wednesday—a visit intended to shine a spotlight on health risks posed by the industry. [Snip] Nail polish and other products found in salons contain an array of chemicals that may pose a threat to public health and the environment. Without proper handling, exposure to chemicals such as formaldehyde can lead to difficulty breathing, skin irritation and other health problems. EPA already has put together a federal working group and doled out grants to organizations tackling the industry's public health and environmental impact created by...

[ ... Dufresne is by no means out of the woods for her exploits. Neither is Respess. They both still face criminal charges for their roles in a threesome with the same, unidentified student. ... ] [I read it was a marathon session at 9 hours.]

President Barack Obama, through a statement posted Wednesday night on the White House website by adviser Valerie Jarrett, backed legislation that would ban parents from having their children counseled not to be what Jarrett called "LGBTQ+". “As part of our dedication to protecting America’s youth, this Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors,” Jarrett said in the White House statement. “Conversion therapy generally refers to any practices by mental health providers that seek to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” said the statement. “Often, this practice is used on minors, who lack the...

WASHINGTON — A 17-year-old transgender youth, Leelah Alcorn, stunned her friends and a vast Internet audience in December when she threw herself in front of a tractor-trailer after writing in an online suicide note that religious therapists had tried to convert her back to being a boy. In response, President Obama this week will call for an end to such psychiatric therapies aimed at “repairing” gay, lesbian and transgender youth, White House officials said. His decision on the sensitive issue is the latest example of his continuing embrace of gay rights. In a statement to be posted on Wednesday evening...

Alevtina is one of several teachers who lost their jobs in St. Petersburg after being outed by an anti-gay activist. While most resigned quietly, the 27-year-old music teacher decided to fight her dismissal in court — an unusual step in Russia where gays have faced increasing pressure in recent years. The rising anti-gay sentiment has coincided with the passage of a controversial Russian law that prohibits exposing children to gay "propaganda." The law has made it easy to target teachers, because they work directly with children.

The New York chapter of the Boy Scouts of America has made history by hiring an openly gay adult — and telling bigotry to take a hike. They have hired a gutsy 18-year-old Eagle Scout named Pascal Tessier to work as a camp counselor this summer at the Ten Mile River Scout Camp in upstate New York. And nobody is prouder than his mom. “I am,” said Tracie Felker, who lives in Hagerstown, Md., when asked about her boundary-breaking boy. “It’s not a brave thing he is doing,” she added. “It’s something necessary, something that needs to be done.” Legal...

A further 33 per cent believe abortion should be legal in most cases Two-thirds said they believe schools need to offer more sexual education classes 71 per cent of millennials, people aged between 18 and 35, still believe in marriage

Acceptance of gay marriage has long been a matter of when, rather than if -- in large part thanks to younger generations being overwhelmingly in favor.But just how quickly are views of homosexuality changing from generation to generation? A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute has some insights.The poll tested how millennials (ages 18 to 34) view various sexual behaviors, including homosexuality. And about equal numbers say homosexuality is morally wrong (38 percent) and morally acceptable (42 percent). Another 13 percent say it depends on the situation, while 7 percent declined to answer.What's most interesting, though, is when...

The University of Minnesota Duluth will begin offering a minor in LGBTQ studies so that students can be better prepared for life in “an increasingly diverse society.” To complete the minor, students will have to take classes such as “An Introduction to LGBTQ” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer), “Queer Theory,” “Queer Media,” “Queer Cinema in International Perspective” and “History of the Homosexual Rights,” Campus Reform reported. “This minor will prepare students for life,” Gesa Zinn, head of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, told Campus Reform. ” ‘The job’ the LGBTQ minor prepares students for is to understand and...

COPENHAGEN, March 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A professor of sexology at Aalborg University has suggested that showing children pornography in school would help children better understand sexuality.Christian Graugaard said he hopes by watching hardcore porn, children will realize that it differs from real-life sex.Graugaard told the Danish public broadcaster DR that if children try to act out what they see online, it could result in "broken necks and disappointment," so he thinks schools should help teenagers distinguish between porn and real life. That process, he said, would involve showing them more porn.“Instead of having sex education be boring and technical,...

13 March 2015 Ikea Closes Website In Russia Over 'Gay Propaganda' Fears Ikea is to close down an online magazine in Russia over fears it could flout the country's law banning the promotion of gay values to minors. In a statement, the furniture giant said some articles in Ikea Family Live could be viewed in Russia as gay "propaganda". The controversial law was approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013, drawing criticism from rights groups. They say it has been used to ban gay rights events, a claim Russia denies. 'Ikea values' In the statement (in Russian), Ikea said: "When...

Planned Parenthood Federation of America tells teens on its website that it “can take a long time” to determine one’s “sexual orientation or gender identity.” “Sexual orientation describes which gender(s) you’re attracted to, sexually and/or romantically,” says Planned Parenthood’s “All About LGBTQ at a Glance” webpage. “Sometimes a person’s sexual orientation changes over time, but people can’t choose or decide to change who they’re attracted to.” …