Free Republic

The ordeal is finally over, but for the past year, a North Carolina family has been torn apart after state officials claimed family photos of a father kissing his baby's belly button were some kind of child abuse. It began when Teresa Hamaty took impromptu party snapshots of her husband, Charbel, playfully embracing their naked, newborn son, Kristoff. After dropping the film off at an Eckerd store in North Raleigh, authorities were notified. "You see the back of the baby, and like if someone is kissing the baby's belly button," Teresa told WRAL-TV. But police saw the worst and arrested...

CJ Trentacosta, 3, of Dumont, N.J. walks down Fifth Avenue in New York's 2005 Gay Pride Parade with his family, Sunday, June 26, 2005. (AP Photo/Jennifer Szymaszek)

Committee defeats bill to ban gays from adopting children NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A House committee voted down a bill to ban homosexuals from adopting children, during an emotional debate Wednesday that included the House speaker calling the bill's sponsor a "master at political divisiveness." The Children and Family Affairs Committee voted 11-9 to defeat the measure, which had been watered down by a House subcommittee last week to remove references to homosexuals and to instead give preference to heterosexual, married couples over singles. But the full committee decided Wednesday to vote on the original bill and not include the...