Free Republic

If a Marine spots two men in his battalion kissing off-duty at a shopping mall, he should react as if he were seeing a man and woman. If he turns on the television news to see a fellow Marine dressed as a civilian and marching in a parade with a banner that reads, "Support Gays and Lesbians in the Military!" he should accept it as a free right of expression. Prescriptions for those possible scenarios are being played out at Marine bases as the military prepares to allow gays to openly serve, ending a 17-year-old policy commonly known as "don't...

Homosexual men are to be allowed to give blood for the first time, in a move which will increase fears of transfustion patients contracting HIV. The ban on gay men donating blood is being lifted because it was decided that the rule could be discriminatory and might breach equality legislation. There are estimated to be 86,500 people with HIV in Britain, with a quarter unaware that they have an infection. About 42% of people infected with HIV in 2009 were homosexual men, according to the Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV charity. Homosexual men are also at risk of passing on...

WASHINGTON -- After a brief reprieve, U.S. immigration authorities are once again denying applications for immigration benefits for same sex couples following a legal review. Chris Bentley, a spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Services agency, said Wednesday that a review by lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security, it was concluded that a law prohibiting the government from recognizing same sex marriages must be followed, despite the Obama administration's decision to stop defending the constitutionality of the law in court. The law, the Defense of Marriage Act, defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Earlier this...

SACRAMENTO, Calif -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Many same-sex couples are getting a tax break this year from the IRS, according to new requirements to report their combined income on federal tax returns. Under "income splitting," the IRS is requiring all same-sex married couples or registered domestic partners in Washington state, California and Nevada to divide their combined income equally and report it on their separate tax returns. For some couples, it will mean more money in their 2010 refund; for others, they'll pay more in taxes. Either way, the change is significant, both monetarily and emotionally, officials of Lambda Legal,...