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The Michigan diocese of the Episcopal Church is about to welcome its first female and first openly lesbian bishop this weekend. The elevation of the Rev. Bonnie A. Perry to bishop in Michigan comes as some Christian denominations in the U.S. struggle with issues of same-sex marriages and gays or lesbians in church leadership roles. Perry was elected last June at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit and her ordination will be held Saturday in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn. The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson became the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop in 2004. Episcopal conservatives opposed...

An activist of FEMEN women's movement staged a protest action during a Christmas mass in the main cathedral of Cologne, Kolner Dom. The topless girl climbed onto the altar of the cathedral in protest against the Vatican propaganda of criminalization of abortions. The woman displayed a slogan "I am God" written on her body. "FEMEN demands Vatican elders and their fanatical followers should stop producing medieval chimera and bring religious dogma in line with the modern world and human rights," a press release from the movement said.

FULL TITLE: Houston Mayor Annise Parker calls Phil Robertson a 'redneck wingnut' whose views are 'completely irrelevant' “I have never watched ‘Duck Dynasty,’ so I don’t think about it much at all,” Parker responded. “I’ve been a gay community activist since the mid-70s.

Need a nice flashback to 1995? Well, back then New Gingrich has just ascended to Speaker of the House and was hit with an endless fusillade of attacks by the lamstream media. They threw the kitchen sink at him, from the infamous Connie Chung interview with his mother to shamelessly using his gay stepsister as a weapon against him. So during this current cycle we'd been wondering where Candace Gingrich was. Well, here she is, brought to you by none other than the low-rated Rachel Maddow. Newt Gingrich might be confident he's got the votes to be the Republican presidential...

Victoria Childress DES MOINES, Iowa, November 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Iowa baker who politely declined to provide a wedding cake for two lesbians based on her Christian values may face legal action from the couple. Same-sex “marriage” was legalized in Iowa in 2009 by the state Supreme Court, and a 2007 state civil rights act disallows discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in matters of employment, education, housing, and public accommodation. On Tuesday KCCI 8 Des Moines interviewed Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers, who said they were “shocked” when a local wedding cake business owner declined to provide the...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Ellen DeGeneres a “special envoy” for global AIDS awareness during a speech on Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. DeGeneres, a lesbian comedian who hosts NBC’s Ellen DeGeneres Show, is in a same-sex marriage with actress Portia de Rossi. DeGeneres will “use her celebrity platform to raise awareness about the global fight against AIDS,” according to a State Department press release. The release also quoted from a letter Clinton sent to DeGeneres and from Degeneres's response. “By lending us your energy, compassion, and star power to serve as our Special...

A mother and her two daughters, all former Girl Scouts who say they are disillusioned with the organization’s connection to less-than family values, claim the U.S. group’s 52nd National Convention next week in Houston is a farce. Christy Volanski and her daughters, Sydney and Tess, formed a sort of watchdog group earlier this year with their online site, “Speak Now: Girl Scouts,” as their platform in attempt to expose the group’s pro-abortion stance. Volanski, who also served as a Girl Scout leader in the last three years of her daughters’ eight year membership, told The Christian Post that Girl Scouts...

Democratic Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani has publicly come out as a lesbian. In an interview, the 47-year-old Livingtson Democrat told the Stockton Record that it was not until after her 2006 election to the Assembly that she knew she was gay. Galgiani told the newspaper that she hoped talking about her life would provide support for youth dealing with issues related to their own sexual identity.

A state lawmaker who was a central figure this year in the drama over whether Maryland would approve same-sex marriage was charged Friday with stealing campaign funds to pay for her wedding. Charges brought by the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor allege that Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George’s) spent thousands of dollars of campaign contributions to pay for wedding expenses and for the salary of an employee in her law firm. In several instances, Alston wrote herself checks from the account of “Friends of Tiffany Alston” and then cashed the checks for personal use, according to the prosecutor’s...

Having tied the knot in a white wedding, a lesbian couple thought the icing on the cake would be a traditional honeymoon along with other young couples. But the trip turned out to be a nightmare after staff at their resort treated them as if it was not a "real honeymoon" and excluded them from special romantic meals and dances. Gemma Harman, 24, and Tamsin Harper, 36, said it was the "worst two weeks" of their lives and the "homophobic manner" in which they were treated was "disgusting". The couple, from Brighouse, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, decided to go on...

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Night-long celebrations will mark the final countdown to the historic end of the U.S. military's ban on openly gay troops, and even more partying will take place once it is lifted Tuesday. But in many ways change is already here. Countless subtle acts over the past months have been reshaping the military's staunchly traditional society in preparation for the U.S. armed forces' biggest policy shift in decades. Supporters of repeal compare it to the racial de-segregation of troops more than 60 years ago. For some gay service members, the fear of discovery and reprisals dissipated months...

A SIX-year-old boy placed in the care of a lesbian foster couple was dressed in girl's clothes and the humiliating pictures were posted on the couple's Facebook page. One of the women was preparing for a sex change to become a man at the time, while her girlfriend was undergoing fertility treatment. The boy and his 12-year-old sister have since been moved but former Children's Court magistrate Barbara Holborow yesterday called for a full inquiry into the decision to put them there. "Oh my God, what are we doing?" Ms Holborow, who has fostered eight children, said. Families Minister Pru...

Actress Kristin Chenoweth is a self-identifying Christian who has sparked controversy by speaking out about her support of the gay community in an interview with lesbian and gay publication The Advocate. The LBGT publication asked the TV and theater star: "What would you ask people who cite Christianity as their justification for passing laws that discriminate against people?" Chenoweth replied, "I would ask, 'What would Jesus do?' It sounds so cliché and Pollyanna-ish, but I have a feeling if he were on the earth today, he wouldn't be walking around saying, 'You’re going to hell' and 'You're wrong, you're wrong,...

Openly gay Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin says her bid for a Senate seat won't be about her sexual orientation, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported. Baldwin on Tuesday became the first Democrat to formally declare her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Herb Kohl. She is the first openly gay Senate candidate with a viable shot at winning. During a conference call on Wednesday, Baldwin insisted she's always been open about her sexual orientation, but added that the race will focus on other issues. “I have always since the beginning of all my adult life...

Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) has made it official — she’s running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D) next year. If she wins, Baldwin will make history as the the first openly gay member of the Senate. But how much will her sexuality factor into the race (if at all)? Baldwin was first elected to represent Wisconsin’s 2nd district in 1998, becoming the first female House member from the Badger State. She was also the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress as a non-incumbent. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was the first...

This one’s sure to have gay marriage proponents buzzing. Here Comes the Bride, a bridal store in Somers Point, New Jersey, is feeling the heat after allegedly refusing to sell a wedding dress to a lesbian. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Alix Genter visited the store with six of her closest family and friends. After the woman tried on a number of dresses, she purportedly chose the one she wanted and placed an order for it. But, when she filled out the associated form, she crossed out the word groom and wrote “partner” instead. Then, she wrote the name of...

The Rev. Amy DeLong, a Methodist pastor from Osceola, Wisconsin, decided to come clean. She brought to the attention of her local bishop that she had officiated over the same-sex union of a lesbian couple... She also told the bishop that she might as well be prosecuted for something else: she is in a lesbian partnership. And so, last week, DeLong, 44, faced a jury of church elders in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. At issue was whether she violated the Book of Discipline, which guides the church's teachings, by blessing the same sex union and for being a "self avowed, practicing...

The folks at MSNBC should be deeply embarrassed and ashamed of their prime time commentator Rachel Maddow. Having been exposed by Politifact for lying last week about Wisconsin having a budget surplus, Maddow on Thursday hypocritically defended herself by playing nine cherry-picked words from the broadcast in question while disgracefully calling her critics homophobes.

Bellevue says 'you're out,' gay softball coach claims A local women's softball coach said her team was banned from a Bellevue Baptist Church league after she acknowledged she is gay. Jana J. Jacobson said church officials told her the "deviant" lifestyle would prevent the team from competing in Bellevue's adult women's softball league. The coach said she was the only team member who attended meetings in preparation for the season that began June 8, and the only member questioned by Bellevue leadership. She wondered why her lifestyle mattered since they were playing softball. "Finally, in my frustration, I said that...

Jene Newsome played by the rules as an Air Force sergeant: She never told anyone in the military she was a lesbian. The 28-year-old’s honorable discharge under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy came only after police officers in Rapid City, S.D., saw an Iowa marriage certificate in her home and told the nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base. Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the western South Dakota police department, claiming the officers violated her privacy when they informed the military about her sexual orientation. The case also highlights concerns over the ability of third...