Free Republic

Lady Gaga has won her bid to seal court records in a legal battle involving an ex-boyfriend over fears the information would seriously damage her career. The pop superstar's former lover and producer Rob Fusari is locked in a courtroom spat with the singer's friend and one-time collaborator Wendy Starland, who claims he cheated her out of proceeds stemming from Gaga's discovery....

MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) –Moscow police had rounded up over five hundred people in the city’s marketplaces by Tuesday morning following an attack over the weekend on a police officer trying to detain a suspected sex offender at a food market. Some 560 people have been detained in sweep checks in Moscow's southwestern district, city police said on their website Tuesday. On Saturday, a team of police officers was attacked by a crowd of 20 to 25 people at the Matveyevsky food market in western Moscow as they were detaining a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

Advocates of same-sex marriage are classifying Biblical teachings as “hate speech.” Some on the left are criticizing Senator Ted Cruz’s recent comments about how the drive to redefine marriage may threaten religious freedom — but a closer inspection of the issue reveals his worries were accurate, prescient, and maybe even too cautious. In an interview with Cruz, David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network raised the concerns that many Christians are now expressing: “A lot of Christian scholars, when they talk about the marriage issue, they see it as a religious-freedom issue . . . as in essence going down...

UNION COUNTY — The county freeholders have added their collective voice in support of gay marriage. In what same-sex marriage proponents say is the first such instance in New Jersey by a county-level governing body, the all-Democratic board adopted a resolution this week urging members of the Legislature to overturn Gov. Chris Christie's veto of Senate and Assembly bills that would have legalized gay marriage. Freeholder Alexander Mirabella, who introduced the board-sponsored resolution, said he hoped the board's action would spur freeholders in other counties to pass similar declarations and build momentum and ultimately encourage state legislators to override. “It's...

... se and Justin’s wedding, according to Us Weekly. The RSVP list was totally star-studded, including Padma Lakshmi, Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn, Zachary Quinto, Isaac Mizrahi, Nigel Barker, and Cat Deeley. And of course some of Jesse’s Modern Family castmates were in attendance like Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, and Eric Stonestreet, who plays Jesse’s husband on the show. The couple wed at 82 Mercer, a swanky space with hardwood floors and exposed brick walls, in Manhattan. The entire day was organized by planner, Bryan Rafanelli. “There was a lot of laughter,” an insider told Us. Jesse, 37, and Justin, 27,...

We first learned about a month ago that Glee’s Jane Lynch (Sue) and her wife of three years, Dr. Lara Embry, were headed for divorce. Now it’s official. People is reporting that Jane officially filed for divorce on Friday, July 12. The magazine reports that Jane and Lara actually separated as early as February 2, 2013. It also reveals that Jane filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. She’s also seeking to terminate the court’s jurisdiction to award Lara spousal support.

Nick Palacios struggled to get his conservative Pentecostal parents to accept him as a gay evangelical Christian for nearly a decade before his family found a common ground through faith.... a growing number of gay evangelical students are asserting their dual identities with underground clubs and nascent political activism. Last year, for example, a group called the Biola Queer Underground was quashed by Biola University, a small, conservative Christian school in nearby Orange County. This fall, the LGBT group plans on staging rallies to combat the Biola's longstanding policy on homosexuality — that sexual relationships are reserved for heterosexual marriage...

<p>Now on sale at Amazon and Barnes & Noble: 50 shades of gross.</p> <p>The nation’s dominant booksellers are peddling a raft of raunchy online books depicting incest, rape and bestiality — and some critics charge the retailers would rather hide the fast-proliferating and profitable filth than get rid of it.</p>

...Christians find themselves in a fight they did not choose—facing overwhelming odds and fierce opposition—with a culture demanding we abandon the Bible on homosexuality and instead “celebrate diversity.” Unfortunately, believers often oblige. Faced with an apparent dilemma of fidelity to faith or fidelity to friends, they choose their friends. They may not abandon Christ, but they reject the Bible, at least on this issue, making it easier to compromise again on other inconvenient truths. With controversial issues, you have to start with facts before you start giving opinions.... Lady Gaga’s mega-hit song, “Born this Way,” expressed what many believe: Homosexuality...

After two big victories for gay marriage June 26 in the US Supreme Court, proponents have momentum as the battle returns to the states. Three more states – Illinois, New Jersey, and Hawaii –could legalize same-sex marriage this year, joining 13 states plus the District of Columbia that already allow it. Next year could see another wave, with as many as five states moving to repeal constitutional bans. Nevada’s constitutional ban could fall in 2016. And New Mexico, which does not have a constitutional ban, could also take action.

In 2010, the Australian press, as in thrall to the homosexual community as our ignorant, sycophantic America press is, told the foolishly titled story “Two dads are better than one,” about a homosexual couple who went to Russia to adopt a child. These “fathers” described the obstacles they faced in trying to find a surrogate in the U.S. and the scrutiny they faced when they returned to Australia with their child, all because of the suspicions of authorities who feared that two homosexual men might be pedophiles. The article concluded with this heartwarming quote: “’We’re a family just like any...

Exercising this AM, had the local news on....noticed the Miami FOX station, WSVN, did a story praising the pro-sodomy Supreme Court decision..... Giving both sides' reaction is what journalists are SUPPOSED to do, right? I had to re-check the time after I saw the remarkably UN balanced story..... The entire story ran nearly 2.5 minutes. The last 10 SECONDS were a quote from the pro-family Tony Perkins....EVERYTHING else was noise and celebrations from those who delight in perversion.

Based on Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling, in which the Court majority determined that the Defense of Marriage Act’s federal definition of marriage had to incorporate state-based same-sex marriages, Internal Revenue Service regulations could be modified to remove non-profit status for churches across the country. The DOMA decision makes clear that marriage is a state-to-state issue, meaning that religious institutions that receive non-profit status on the federal level but do not perform or accept same-sex marriages in states where it is legal could have non-profit status revoked. Furthermore, should the IRS move to revoke federal non-profit status for churches, synagogues and...

Given the friction and financial woes facing the Girl Scouts these days, perhaps it's time for a giant friendship circle. Under that long-standing tradition, a ring of Scouts clasp hands and give a little squeeze, accompanied by a silent wish of good will. Just a year after its centennial celebrations, the Girl Scouts of the USA finds itself in a different sort of squeeze. Its interconnected problems include declining membership and revenues, a dearth of volunteers, rifts between leadership and grassroots members, a pension plan with a $347 million deficit, and an uproar over efforts by many local councils to...

The feel-good musical "Kinky Boots," with songs by pop star and Broadway newcomer Cyndi Lauper, strutted away with a leading six 2013 Tony Awards on Sunday, including best musical, best original score and best leading man...

Jason Collins will get the festivities started for the Boston Red Sox and their fans headed to Fenway Park for "Pride Night." WEEI (h/t NBC Sports) reports that the former Boston Celtics player, who last played for the Washington Wizards, will toss out the first pitch. The honor goes to Collins on "Pride Night," which will take place on Thursday in a game against the Texas Rangers. For more information, you can visit the website of Boston Pride, an organization that "produces events and activities to achieve inclusivity, equality, respect, and awareness in Greater Boston and beyond."

(CNN) – For Southern Baptist pastor Tim Reed, it was Scripture versus the Scouts. “God’s word explicitly says homosexuality is a choice, a sin,” said Reed, pastor of First Baptist Church of Gravel Ridge in Jacksonville, Arkansas. So when the Boy Scouts of America voted to lift its ban on openly gay youths on May 24, Reed said the church had no choice but to cut its charter with Troop 542. “It’s not a hate thing here,” Reed told CNN affiliate Fox 16. “It’s a moral stance we must take as a Southern Baptist church.” Southern Baptist leaders say Reed...

... Michelle Obama is slated to attend Democratic fundraisers in Boston and New York.... The White House did not release further details, but POLITICO's Reid Epstein has reported that one of the events is the DNC's LGBT gala, where NBA player Jason Collins is also scheduled to attend. Collins recently became the first active male athlete in a major American sport to come out as gay.

Kaitlyn Hunt is going for it all....

Assemblies of God leadership regrets that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has voted to change its policy regarding inclusion of homosexual youth members. We believe – as do a majority of Boy Scout volunteer leaders and parents – that this is not the best policy for BSA, nor for the young men it serves. As the landmark 2000 Supreme Court decision stated, BSA is a private organization with freedom of association to determine its own membership standards, upholding BSA's policy not to allow homosexual leaders or members. BSA stated at the time that a departure from that longstanding policy...