Free Republic

Of course the government has to choke off the feeble “recovery” by raising taxes still further. How else is it to pay for essential services like providing the public with gay sex manuals? According to someone who works for the state printer and wants to stay anonymous so as to keep his job: “It’s almost like a how-to manual to have gay sex." Who pays for this obscene depravity? You do: All of that comes with the supposed endorsement of state department of public health and federal funding. But the taxpayer money flushed away here is peanuts compared to what...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Supporters of gay marriage rallied in front of the Cabell County Courthouse in Huntington on Tuesday, only to be met by counter-protesters. The Valentine's Day rally included an attempt by at least one gay and one lesbian couple to apply for marriage licenses. Click here to find out more! "It's a day about love," said Justin Murdock of Huntington. He and his partner, William Glavaris, were one of the couples applying for a marriage license. The demonstrators supporting gay marriage were met by counter-protesters, a group from the Mount Olive Independent Fundamental Baptist Church of Hurricane....

In a move that supporters called a civil rights milestone, New Jersey's state Senate on Monday passed a bill to recognize same-sex marriages, marking the first time state lawmakers officially endorsed the idea -- despite the promise of a veto by Gov. Chris Christie. Monday's vote was 24-16 in favor of the bill, a major swing from January 2010, when the Senate rejected it 20-14. "It means the world isn't changing, it means the world has already changed," Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality said after the vote. "So wake up and smell the equality."...

Within an hour of Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signing a same-sex-marriage bill into law Monday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was meeting with a group of gay-marriage foes at a church minutes away, offering a message of support for their efforts to repeal the law. "I told them to keep up the fight, that this is an important issue for our families; it is an important issue for religious liberty," the former Pennsylvania senator said of his meeting with church leaders, during a news conference Monday afternoon. Santorum said it doesn’t make sense to have each state define marriage its...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire signed the bill surrounded by gay rights supporters. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,” she said. OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to...

Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire February 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington State has signed into law a gay “marriage� bill that will force church-owned facilities to accommodate homosexual ceremonies. Gregoire, a lame-duck Democrat governor who proposed the bill earlier this year, celebrated the end of defining marriage as between a man and a woman as she signed the bill on Monday. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,� she said. The bill makes Washington the sixth U.S. state to redefine marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia. Click...

DENVER — The college student accused of "glitter bombing" Mitt Romney after the Colorado caucuses has been fired from his unpaid internship with state Senate Democrats.

The year 2012 is shaping up as a big one for same-sex marriage. Last week, the Washington state Legislature passed a bill allowing gay marriage, and legislatures in Maryland and New Jersey may follow suit shortly (though New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has promised a veto). North Carolina and Minnesota are conducting referendums this year on constitutional amendments to bar gay marriage, and Maine is likely to conduct a referendum on legalizing it. On Tuesday, the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals reminded us that courts too have something to say on the subject. In a case challenging the constitutionality of...

BELLEFONTE – Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky lashed out Friday at former friends and neighbors whose complaints prompted prosecutors this week to seek his confinement inside his State College house. Sandusky's remarks to reporters came moments after a court heard testimony that several people had expressed concern over his frequent presence on his back deck, yards from a neighboring elementary school. "All of a sudden these people turn on me when they've been in my home with their kids, they've attended birthday parties here for my grandchildren, they've been on that deck and in that yard," he...

Every Halloween, New York City residents are greeted by homosexual parade marchers dressed to impress bystanders with a message that "gay is good." Some folks take the parade in stride, some are offended by more than a few outrageous displays, and others simply could not care less. That parade is a microcosm of how Americans, in general, feel about the gay movement. And those who oppose the in-your-face tactics of some homosexuals do have a legitimate gripe. They simply want to be left alone. They don't want to see explicit displays in public that offend their moral or religious point...

Did the “Killer Clown” act alone? Two Chicago lawyers have re-examined the circumstances surrounding the disappearances of three victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy — and concluded he probably had one or more accomplices. Criminal defense attorneys Robert Stephenson and partner Steven Becker took a fresh look at victims Russell Nelson of Minneapolis and Robert Gilroy and John Mowery of Chicago. The three young men disappeared in 1977 and were among 29 victims found in 1978 on Gacy’s property in unincorporated Norwood Park Township. Four other victims were found in the Des Plaines River. Gacy, a building contractor who...

More than 200 people rallied Tuesday outside the Statehouse to repeal New Hampshire's gay marriage law and replace it with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. State Rep. David Bates, a Windham Republican, told the crowd there is no truth more self-evident under the federal Constitution than men and women were created for each other. Supporters said the proposed repeal bill would not apply to gay marriages that have already occurred, but would stop new ones. Democratic Gov. John Lynch has repeatedly said he will veto attempts by the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal the law, which he signed...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- As grand marshals, Jane Lynch and Kate Upton, co-stars from the new The Three Stooges movie, will deliver the four most famous words in motorsports: "Drivers, start your engines." Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos and Will Sasso -- starring as Larry, Moe and Curly -- will start the action by delivering the green flag at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. "We look forward to Jane and Kate's participation in the pre-race ceremonies, adding to the star power of NASCAR's biggest and richest race of the year," Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III said. "Also, the...

On Tuesday night, a student at University of Colorado Denver was arrested by Secret Service for trying to throw glitter at Mitt Romney. Now sources are telling Colorado Peak Politics that the "glitter bomber" worked for the Colorado state Senate Democrats. This session. Glitter bombing has become a tool of liberal gay rights activists who somehow in their deluded minds think that throwing glitter at politicians will change their views on gay marriage.

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN suspended political analyst Roland Martin on Wednesday for "offensive" tweets during the Super Bowl that some critics said were anti-gay. Martin commented on Twitter about a commercial during the Super Bowl that showed soccer star David Beckham in underwear: "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him." The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said the remark advocated violence against gays. Martin said that he was making a joke about soccer and that he doesn't support violence against anyone. Martin also...

(CBS News) J.C. Penney is trying to rebuild its customer base with help from a new spokeswoman, Ellen DeGeneres. But a group called One Million Moms is accusing the company of "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon." DeGeneres responded to the group on her TV show Wednesday, saying, "I'm happy about (being the spokesperson) J.C. Penney is happy about it. But there's this group called One Million Moms that is not happy about it. And normally I try not to pay attention to my haters, but this time I'd like to talk about it because my haters are my motivators. This...

When gay couples first sought the right to legally wed in California, they argued that they were entitled to all of the benefits of marital bliss. It was only a matter of time before that benefit extended to the right to split up. -snip- Robin Tyler filed for divorce from Diane Olson on Jan. 25. The pair were among 14 same-sex couples who originally challenged the ban in 2008. In an exclusive interview with NBC4, Tyler spoke about her decision. "We're human and we went through difficult times," Tyler said. The marriage ran its course, she said. Tyler and...

Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed. The action comes a day after a federal appeals court declared California’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, saying it was a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples. The Washington House passed the bill on a 55-43 vote. Supporters in the public viewing galleries stood and cheered as many on the Democratic side of the House floor hugged after the vote. The state Senate approved the measure last week,...

When gay couples first sought the right to legally wed in California, they argued that they were entitled to all of the benefits of marital bliss. It was only a matter of time before that benefit extended to the right to split up. Even as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found California's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional Tuesday, one of the state's first gay couples to tie the knot was calling it quits. Robin Tyler filed for divorce from Diane Olson on January 25. The pair were among 14 same-sex couples who originally challenged the ban in 2008. In...

The big news on the culture-war front is a federal court's striking down of Proposition 8, California's constitutional amendment protecting marriage. In a two-to-one ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote, "The people may not employ the initiative power to single out a disfavored group for unequal treatment and strip them, without a legitimate justification, of a right as important as the right to marry." Now, I'm not sure why the judges mention a "disfavored group," as if singling out a "favored" one for unequal treatment would be okay. As far as I know, the...

A two-year-old boy with "three parents" - his lesbian mother, her partner and a gay father - is at the centre of an Appeal Court test case on the status of "alternative" families. The mother says she made a pact with the father during a restaurant meeting before the boy was conceived that she and her lover would fill the role of "primary parents" within a "nuclear family" and that he would not stand on his paternal rights. But now she and her partner say they feel "bitter and betrayed" after the father - a former close friend who attended...

When gay couples first sought the right to legally wed in California, they argued that they were entitled to all of the benefits of marital bliss. It was only a matter of time before that benefit extended to the right to split up. Even as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found California's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional Tuesday, one of the state's first gay couples to tie the knot was calling it quits. Robin Tyler filed for divorce from Diane Olson on Jan. 25. The pair were among 14 same-sex couples who originally challenged the ban in 2008.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has a hard-won reputation for issuing sweeping, precedent-setting and liberal rulings that are often overturned by the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court. With liberal icon Stephen Reinhardt as its lead author, one might expect a three-judge appellate panel not only to strike down Proposition 8, California's 2008 anti-gay marriage measure, but to declare a fundamental constitutional right for gays and lesbians to marry. Had it done so, it likely would have invited another Supreme Court reversal. Instead, Reinhardt – showing uncharacteristic constraint – sidestepped the larger constitutional rights issue cited in the trial...

So holds Dixon v. University of Toledo (N.D. Ohio Feb, 6, 2012). As Associate Vice President for Human Resources, Plaintiff was an “appointing authority” at the University, which means she had the power to hire and fire employees…. The University had an Equal Opportunity Policy which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. Further, the University has taken explicit steps to reach out to homosexuals and make them feel welcome. On April 4, 2008, the Toledo Free Press ran an opinion by Michael Miller which Plaintiff felt compared the modern movement toward increased tolerance and rights for homosexuals to the historical...

Two of three judges on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Judge Stephen Reinhardt stipulated that the ruling skirted the larger issue of whether same-sex couples have a right to marry. That's a shame, because at least an equal-right-to-marry claim makes for a clean argument. Reinhardt praised himself for overturning Prop. 8 on "the narrowest ground." It is also on the shakiest ground. The narrow ruling is based on the fiction that Prop. 8 eliminated a right without a legitimate reason. Prop. 8 was born of "animosity toward the class of persons...

Today, the 9th Circuit upheld the absurd ruling of Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, striking down Proposition 8, the voter-approved constitutional amendment that would uphold traditional marriage in the state. The ruling itself was highly political and in no way legally oriented. “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians,” wrote the Court, “and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior… the Constitution simply does not allow for ‘laws of this sort.’” -snip-President Obama has...

With today’s decision on marriage by the Ninth Circuit, and the likely appeal to the Supreme Court, more and more Americans are being exposed to the radical overreach of federal judges and their continued assault on the Judeo-Christian foundations of the United States. I was drawn back into public life by the Ninth Circuit’s 2002 decision that held that the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance were unconstitutional. Today’s decision is one more example that the American people cannot rest until we restore the proper rule of the judicial branch and bring judges and the Courts back under...

It's not every day that a federal appeals court cites late comedian Groucho Marx in a decision, especially one as important as overturning California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8. But a three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did exactly that Tuesday, citing Marx's quip that "marriage is a wonderful institution...but who wants to live in an institution?" It was one of several cultural references (another was to the title of a Marilyn Monroe movie, "How to Marry a Millionaire") in the decision that was narrowly hinged on whether the state had the right to withdraw the right...

Scotland’s four opposition parties are facing strong criticism after each of their leaders endorsed an “Equal Marriage Pledge” promulgated by homosexualist advocacy group Equality Network calling for a redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples. The ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), which concluded a 14-week consultation on the issue in December, have so far refused to sign the pledge. But Labour Party’s Johann Lamont, Conservative’s Ruth Davidson, Liberal Democrat’s Willie Rennie, and Green’s Patrick Harvie said last week that they would “campaign to beat the ban on same sex marriage,” as they jointly signed the pledge. At the signing event,...

Folks, we're not even being contrary when we point this out. For the 9th Circuit to rule Prop 8 unconstitutional, just as Gingrich is looking again for his footing -- just as Rick Santorum is about to steal his headlines -- is a Gingrichian dream. Look! He agrees: (TWEET FROM NEWT AT LINK) The link goes to the 9th (coincidentally) of Gingrich's solutions for fixing the judiciary, to prevent it from doing things that conservatives don't like -- abolishing courts that make "un-American decisions." He's been on the record wanting this treatment for the 9th circuit for a long, long...

News just began coming out a little after noon on the east coast. A California appeals court has struck down Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriage in the state. A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8...

SAN FRANCISCO – Supporters and opponents of California's ban on same-sex marriage were anxiously awaiting a federal appeals court decision Tuesday on whether the voter-approved measure violates the civil rights of gay men and lesbians. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that considered the question plans to issue its long-awaited opinion 18 months after a trial judge struck down the ban following the first federal trial to examine if same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married. The 9th Circuit does not typically give notice of its forthcoming rulings, and its decision to do...

In a meeting room at the Palazzo hotel in Las Vegas over the past week, Newt Gingrich mapped out a detailed strategy that would keep him in the presidential race all the way to the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., in August. The crux of the former House speaker's new plan is math: a complex analysis of each state's delegates, how they're awarded and how many, reasonably, Gingrich can expect to win... The winning candidate needs 1,144 delegates to claim the nomination..... Gingrich's team has studied the convoluted rules. Using targeted phone lists and targeted mail and focusing on more...

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, continuing his already well established anti-gay rhetoric, told a gay man at a campaign stop in Fulton, Missouri, on Friday that marriage is a “privilege” that only heterosexuals get because it is only the “intrinsic good” of their unions that benefit society. When asked by a gay audience member why gay couples don’t deserve equal rights when it comes to marriage, Santorum said that gay people are not entitled to “special” treatment under the law and went on to say: [Marriage is] not a right, it’s something that has existed since the beginning of human history...

Members of an Atlanta street gang were filmed beating a man who was brutally assaulted because “faggots” were not allowed in their neighborhood, according to a videotape of the apparent hate crime. The 30-second clip, posted today to the Worldstar Hip Hop web site, was shot outside a grocery store in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. The business, located at 1029 McDaniel Street SW, is a popular congregating spot for members of the Pittsburgh Jack City Gang (or “PBJC”). The group has also used the name “Jack City 1029.” After being provided a link to the video, an Atlanta police spokesperson told...

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court is ready to announce its ruling on whether California’s same-sex ["]marriage["] ban violates the ["]constitutional rights["] of [sodomites]. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday a three-judge panel plans to publish its long-awaited opinion on Tuesday.

Bloomberg.com reported, Feb. 1, that Goldman Sachs Group workers contributed $106,580 to Mitt Romney's presidential bid in the fourth quarter of last year and that Goldie is his largest source of campaign bucks at a half-million total so far. Goldman Sachs does like to spread its money around. It gave boatloads to Barack Obama and got Timothy Geithner as secretary of the treasury in return, along with a whole lot of bonus people. . . . In other Goldman Sachs news, its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, became the first national corporate spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual advocacy group....

Roland Martin’s call to attack men that liked a David Beckham ad has prompted the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to demand that CNN fire the commentator. It all started with a tweet Martin sent after Beckham’s commercial aired during the Super Bowl : “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”

The fight to finally reverse the "gay marriage" law in New Hampshire is coming to a head. Bill 437 is now before the NH Legislature and will be taken up and voted on within the next several weeks. New Hampshire's constitutional amendment process is very difficult,requiring a 2/3 vote of the Legislature just to get it started. The Republican leadership has promised they will let it go through. Rep David Bates has taken up this campaign and is spearheading it. There are definitely the votes in both houses to pass it. But the Governor has promised to veto it, so...

The ratings-challenged “Rosie Show” has let go of as many as 30 employees and contract workers in recent weeks, Crain’s Chicago Business reported Friday. [Snip] Last month, the program moved out of Oprah’s spacious former studio and started taping in a smaller, more intimate space reminiscent of a living room. Parts of “The Rosie Show” have been axed, such as the game show segment and having a band perform on the set. [Snip] “The Rosie Show” has struggled to capture a sizeable audience. Shortly after the program’s October debut, viewer numbers have hovered around 200,000.

For decades the Outfit had a nice piece of gay nightlife in Chicago, IL, and during the 1960s and 1970s its operations were overseen by John Gattuso according to recently released FBI files on the mobster. The FBI noted in June 1973 that under Gattuso's watch "business operations among homosexuals has become highly lucrative source of income for Chicago LCN Family." * * * One confidential informant told the FBI in 1974 that "one had to be connected with the outfit or at best have the outfit permission to open and operate a homosexual tavern." In 1955 at the age...

A Broward teenager is accusing a Fort Lauderdale youth pastor of sexually molesting him for the past 10 years, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Jeffery London, 48, was arrested Wednesday night at his home in Lauderdale Lakes after returning from conducting Bible study at the Bible Church of God in Fort Lauderdale, sheriff's officials said. The accuser, now 18 years old, recently told a friend from church that he had been abused repeatedly over the decade he lived with London. The alleged victim's mother had left him in London's care when he was 8 after she faced financial difficulties,...

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — An Army officer ordered a court-martial Friday for a low-ranking intelligence analyst charged in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history. Military District of Washington commander Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington referred all charges against Pfc. Bradley Manning to a general court-martial, the Army said in a statement. The referral means Manning will stand trial for allegedly giving more than 700,000 secret U.S. documents and classified combat video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks for publication.

The Hollywood Sign as it appears today. Hollywood’s most disgusting secret has recently been revealed and the story is a devastating indictment of the entire entertainment industry. Most moms are willing to fight like a tigress to protect kids from pedophiles, but unfortunately, there is a culture in Tinseltown that believes in looking the other way. California has been rocked in the last year by the prosecution of a prominent Hollywood businessman for molesting his young clients. This story grew as others acknowledged similar problems among the Hollywood elite of managers and agents

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A flyer sent home with some high school students in Montgomery County, Md., is causing consternation among parents. The flyer is from a group called PFOX, Parents And Friends Of Ex-Gays And Gays. In the one-page message, the group tells teenagers that no one is "born gay", and people can choose their sexual orientation. Karen Yount-Merrell, a licensed, clinical social worker, got one of the flyers when her son came home with his report card from Einstein High School. "I don't like it," Yount-Merrell declared. "Everything in this flyer make its sound like the goal is to...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court refused Thursday to unseal video recordings of a landmark trial on the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban but said it needed more time to decide if a lower court judge properly struck down the voter-approved ban. Siding with the ban's supporters, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled the public doesn't have the right to see the footage that former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker had produced with the caveat it would be used only by him to help him reach a verdict. Chief Judge Walker "promised...

Recently JC Penney announced that comedian Ellen Degeneres will be the company's new spokesperson. Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful. Their marketing strategy is to help families shop and receive a good value for their money. Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The...

The Washington state Senate, in an historic action, voted 28 to 21 on Wednesday night to legalize marriage between same-sex partners. "We ask for your support tonight because marriage is the way society says you are family," said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chief sponsor of the legislation and a gay man in a two-decade partnership. Regardless of how his colleagues voted, Murray added, they will receive a wedding invite from him. A practicing Catholic, Murray has said he is pained that he will not be able to marry in his church. The House of Representatives is expected to approve...

Kara Haney, left, and her partner of 8 years Kate Wertin, right, react as a bill in the Washington State Senate passes during a viewing party at The Lobby Bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Washington State Senate passed a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Washington State on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Dozens gathered at the bar to watch the debate via TV on the senate floor. Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- The Washington state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to approve it. Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the measure and has said she will sign it into law, though opponents have promised to challenge it at the ballot with a referendum. The packed public galleries burst into applause as the Senate passed the measure on a 28-21 vote Wednesday night after nearly an hour...