Free Republic

Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.

A state lawmaker wants to allow same-sex marriage in Michigan. Representative Pam Byrnes of Washtenaw County introduced a plan Wednesday to amend the state constitution to allow same-sex marriages, as well as recognize them from other states. "Same-sex couples should not be denied the joys and responsibilities that come with making a lifetime commitment to each other," Byrnes said. "The Michigan I know is not a place that would deny visitation rights to a dying loved one or access to health care just because of someone's sexual orientation." In 2004, Michigan voters passed an amendment banning gay marriage. The amendment...

Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate. Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters' rejection of a law that would have allowed gay couples to wed, depicting it as a warning shot that should deter politicians in other states from pushing for same-sex marriage. "Every time the citizens have voted on marriage, they have always sided with natural marriage," said Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based Christian...

The State Supreme Court has declined to hear a constitutional challenge to a law creating a domestic partner registry for gay couples. The high court denied a petition for original action from Wisconsin Family Action, which claims the registry violates a state Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage or any similar status. Lester Pines, the attorney representing the state in the case, says it’s not the end of the road for the challenge. He says the lawsuit will just have to start at the Circuit Court level instead. In a statement, Wisconsin Family Action says it plans to take its challenge...

Cecelia Burnett and Ann Swanson had already set their wedding date. When they joined about 1,000 other gay marriage supporters for an election night party in a Holiday Inn ballroom, they hoped to celebrate the vote that would make it possible. Instead, they went home at midnight, dejected and near tears after a failed bid to make Maine the first state to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box. "I'm ready to start crying," said Burnett, a 58-year-old massage therapist, walking out of the ballroom with Swanson at her side. "I don't understand what the fear is, why people are...

Tuesday November 3, 2009 Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiEDINBURGH, Scotland, November 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An influential gay rights activist and youth group leader, and another homosexualist activist, have been jailed for life for their involvement in the largest pedophile ring ever uncovered in Scotland.James Rennie, one time co-coordinator of the homosexual rights group LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Youth Scotland and a former teacher, and Neil Strachan, the former secretary of a Celtic boys club and campaigner on homosexual issues, were convicted in May on charges including sex attacks...

Over the last several months homosexual activist campaign workers from across the country have been traveling to Maine to campaign against the upcoming vote for traditional marriage. It's been largely paid for by national homosexual groups. But all along the Massachusetts homosexual lobby has been a major organizing and fundraising arm of the pro-gay marriage push in Maine.

President Obama’s highly controversial Safe Schools Czar, Kevin Jennings, is concerned about the heterosexual indoctrination of children in our public schools. In his bizarre view: “we all know what’s promoted in our schools: Heterosexuality is promoted in our schools. Every time kids read Romeo and Juliet or they’re encouraged to go to the prom or whatever it is, kids are aggressively recruited to be heterosexual in this country. And you know what, it doesn’t work. The reality is that if schools could affect your sexual orientation there would have been no gay people in the first place. But they’re still...

The U.S. government should abolish its sanctioning of marriage, argued Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar.

Gays demand tolerance and inclusion. See how long that lasts once should they continue to get people fired because they dare not agree with their brand of "marriage"....

Raleigh, N.C. – Two weeks out from election day Maine voters are divided right down the middle when it comes to whether they will reject the state’s law allowing same sex couples to marry. 48% say they will vote to over turn the law while 48% say they will vote to keep it with only 4% of the electorate still undecided. Opinion on the issue predictably breaks heavily along party lines. 74% of Republicans are planning to vote yes while only 25% of Democrats are. Independents may end up deciding which way it goes- presently 50% of them support rejecting...

AUGUSTA, Maine — A high school guidance counselor who appeared in a television ad opposing gay marriage is reportedly the target of an effort to rescind his state license, according to campaign officials. Don Mendell of Nokomis Regional High School in Newport was featured in an ad by Stand for Marriage Maine in support of Question 1, which seeks to overturn a new state law allowing same-sex couples to wed. Now, a guidance counselor from another school has filed a complaint with state regulators requesting that Mendell’s license to practice social work in Maine be revoked because of his statements...

The D.C. City Council Washington D.C., Nov 1, 2009 / 03:10 am (CNA).- A Washington, D.C. City Council proposal to recognize same-sex “marriage” would redefine marriage and could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.The proposed law, called the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, redefines marriage as “the legally recognized union of two people.” It says a religious association or a non-profit associated with a religion shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities or...

Athletes have heard the ugly words on practice fields for most of their lives. They hear them in the streets and at neighborhood hangouts. But when Chiefs running back Larry Johnson used an antigay slur on his Twitter account and in the locker room this week, he struck a nerve that makes professional sports leagues wince. The NFL, like other pro sports leagues, is perceived as homophobic. Of the more than 20,000 athletes who have played in the NFL, less than a handful have identified themselves as gay — David Kopay was the first in 1975, followed by Roy...

The US is to end its 22-year ban on people with HIV entering the country, President Barack Obama has confirmed. Mr Obama made the announcement as he extended funding for an act that provides HIV/Aids related health care. "If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/Aids, we need to act like it," Mr Obama said. The US is one of only about a dozen countries barring entry on HIV status. The ban is expected to be lifted at the beginning of 2010. 'End the stigma' Mr Obama confirmed the move as he signed the Ryan White HIV/Aids...

(CNSNews.com) - Legendary record producer Quincy Jones told CNSNews.com in an interview that Michael Jackson is “not gone” and their “souls were connected together” through their work and friendship. At the Ludacris Foundation gala over the weekend, CNSNews.com asked Jones, “What do you think about the situation with Michael Jackson? I know it’s been a while since the whole original incident. What do you think about the handling of his estate? Is there something that you think should be done?” “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not an expert on that side,” Jones told CNSNews.com. “Our souls were...

Despite an economy languishing in high unemployment and low consumer confidence, more American companies are jumping on the bandwagon to provide support for homosexual and transgender employees. More than 300 firms have now received perfect 100 percent scores in this fall's Corporate Equality Index, produced annually by the Human Rights Campaign which ranks businesses on their "treatment" of employees who have chosen homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyles. The list, which saw a 20 percent increase this year in the number of perfect scores, includes newcomers such as theater giant AMC Entertainment, Costco, Delta Air Lines, Food Lion and General...

ABC has posted the first eight and a half minutes of its upcoming reboot of V, the alien-invasion series that kicks off on Nov. 3. Not much we haven't seen in promos before, but the clip introduces the main characters briefly before getting right into it: The arrival of 29 ginormous alien spacecraft over the major cities of the world, including New York.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is in hot water with GLAAD -- after the former NFL Pro-Bowler reportedly dropped the homophobic f-bomb twice in the last 24 hours. President of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Jarrett Barrio is calling for the NFL to take action against Johnson, saying "All too often this is the word that is used to ridicule and harass young gay and transgender athletes on local sports fields across America. Professional athletes who use this word need to be held accountable for feeding a climate of intolerance toward our community. NFL officials need...

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — The organizers of the Miss California USA pageant sued former beauty queen Carrie Prejean Oct. 19 to get back the $5,200 they gave her in January for breast implants. The legal action, a countersuit responding to a suit by Prejean, also seeks proceeds from a book Prejean is writing. Prejean won last year’s Miss California USA pageant, then got breast implants to help her compete in the national pageant in April, where she placed second. There she ignited a controversy when she expressed her opposition to gay marriage in response to a question by a pageant...

(Arlington, VA) Equality Virginia PAC announced at a press conference in Arlington today its endorsement of Jody Wagner for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. "In every respect, Jody Wagner has demonstrated that she will walk with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Virginians on the path to full equality," said Equality Virginia PAC CEO, Jon Blair, at a joint press conference with Wagner. Delegate Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) said, "Jody Wagner has what it takes to make a great lieutenant governor. Not only does she know Virginia's finances, but she also knows what it takes to run a small business. Jody puts...

Rosie O'Donnell has confirmed that she and longtime girlfriend Kelli Carpenter are on the rocks. In a new interview with USA Today, she says, "We're a family. We will remain a family forever. And we are working on our issues." The 47-year-old O'Donnell -- who has been suggesting a split on her blog -- wouldn't confirm a National Enquirer report that Carpenter, 42, has moved out of their Nyack, NY, home and into Manhattan. (USA Today notes that Carpenter was not at the house during the interview.) Meet Rosie O'Donnell and other stars' surprise BFFs "We're a family, we remain...

"We want to change the American workforce and revolutionize social norms...Our current public policies undermine the moral and political unit of same sex couples and families and that's a moral wrong that needs to be rectified." - Chai Feldblum, Nominee to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Source Chai Feldblum, Obama's nominee for the EEOC, aims to fundamentally change America's definition of marriage. Feldblum is perhaps the nation's leading LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights activist. A graduate of Harvard Law School, once Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she's now Professor of Law at Georgetown University....

President Barack Obama has nominated a Georgetown University law professor, Chai R. Feldblum, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council. Feldblum, a lesbian activist lawyer, formerly worked for the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign Fund, and in the mid-1980s clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade. Feldblum faces Senate confirmation hearings before she can assume her post at the EEOC. The significance of her nomination for Catholics is underscored by the EEOC's recent ruling that Belmont Abbey, a Catholic college, must provide coverage for contraception in its insurance plans for employees. Feldblum's record...

NEW YORK, NY --- UNPRECEDENTED BLOCK OF TV PROGRAMMING IS FIRST WAVE OF MULTI-YEAR "I PARTICIPATE" CAMPAIGN From October 19-25, More Than 60 Network TV Shows To Spotlight The Power and Personal Benefits of Service Celebrities, "Cities of Service" Founding Mayors, Volunteer Groups and Major League Baseball Players Gather in Times Square to Launch Today in the heart of Times Square, actors and executives representing the Entertainment Industry Foundation (or EIF, the entertainment community's collective charitable organization) joined New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and 15 mayors from around the country, numerous celebrities, and key service groups to launch...

President Barack Obama has nominated a lesbian activist lawyer to serve as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In a recent White House announcement, President Obama nominated Chai Feldblum, a professor of law (gay studies) at Georgetown University who formerly worked for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the pro-homosexual Human Rights Campaign Fund, to serve as one of five Commissioners on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In the mid-1980s, Ms. Feldblum clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmum, the liberal Supreme Court justice who authored the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. “She has also...

Do you remember the anticipation surrounding the great non-debate between Barack Obama and John McCain hosted by Pastor Rick Warren? Televised from Saddleback Church as millions watched, Warren pledged to ask the hard questions in order to get to the truth. It was a critical juncture in the presidential campaign and there was much public discussion over faith and values and marriage and Proposition 8 and where, exactly, each man stood. “I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman ... for me as a Christian it is also a sacred union…you know, God is in...

David Bohnett Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 16, 2009 / 03:55 am (CNA).- Delivering an acceptance speech for a GLSEN award, a wealthy homosexual activist has attacked Catholic leaders, saying they are among his movement’s “greatest adversaries.” He called on his allies to combat “head-on” religious organizations opposed to homosexual causes and to take “active measures” against them. At its Oct. 9 Respect Awards event in Los Angeles, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) honored David Bohnett, the cable network HBO and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes with its Lifetime Achievement Award. They were awarded for what GLSEN called “their...

For decades, Congressman Barney Frank has been the iconic image of gay civil rights advocacy on Capitol Hill. He was one of the few openly gay elected officials in Washington for years. I was once proud to say, "Barney Frank has got my back." But as one of the most vocal critics of the National Equality March, Frank has many LGBTQ Americans wondering if he has become a bureaucratic gatekeeper. And worse, many under the age of 40 are asking if Barney Frank is now the iconic image of the generational schism of our gay rights movement. Several march-goers reported...

BOISE - A local high school math teacher has been arrested for obscene conduct in a public place. Chuck McClure, Boise Police public information officer, says Kyle Dennis, 37, was arrested after multiple instances of "obscene live conduct" that took place at two Boise retail outlets starting in February of this year. According to court documents, Dennis "knowingly engaged in obscene conduct...by manipulating his penis with his hands while walking around a Costco store with an erection." The documents go on to say that Dennis performed the same behavior at the Costco on 2051 S. Cole Road as well as...

President Barack Obama has nominated a Minnesota policewoman to become the first openly gay person to serve as a U.S. marshal. Sharon Lubinski is an assistant chief in the Minneapolis Police Department, where she has worked for 20 years. Obama has had a rocky relationship with gay activists, who want him to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. He publicly pledged last weekend to do so.

Why We Are Going to Hell – Part 4,025 America’s New Holiday bythelastcrusade.org Public school students throughout California will be celebrating May 22 as a new holiday. On this day, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born. As was Sir Laurence Oliver, arguably the world’s greatest artist. Richard Wagner, the great composer, was born on May 22 but his music will not be played for the students in commemoration of his works. Nor will Tommy Franks, the Yankee pitcher, be honored on this day, let alone St. Rita of Cascia, the patron of desperate causes....

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage...

Rallying to the defence of director Roman Polanski after his arrest in Switzerland, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand declared the situation "horrifying," and suggested that if the cultural world didn't come to the rapist's defence, "it would mean there is no culture in our country." He may have a case -- if you consider drugging and sodomizing a 13-year-old a manifestation of advanced "culture." Sadly, however, Mr. Mitterrand is hardly the only public figure willing to shrug off sexual crimes and indiscretions. Mr. Mitterrand's own background is illustrative. In a 2005 book he described as "half real and half dream,"...

The commander in chief on Saturday reiterated his support for having homosexuals serve openly in the military. Fortunately, there's a good chance this is another issue on which President Obama is all talk.

The President stood confident at the podium when he addressed a crowd of nearly ecstatic fans Saturday night. He promised those assembled for the Banquet of the “Human Rights Campaign”, the leading homosexual activist organization in the Nation: “You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman.” Lest anyone be confused concerning the meaning of his words here is another excerpt: “… I support ensuring that committed gay couples have the same rights and responsibilities...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill recognizing gay marriages sanctioned in other states during the nearly five months such unions were legal in California. Schwarzenegger says the action is consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in California before voters approved Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is a constitutional amendment passed in November that limits marriage to a man and a woman. The bill signed by the governor late Sunday also says gay and lesbian couples who were married in other states after Proposition 8's passage have...

Judy Shepard stood before a massive crowd at the Capitol on Sunday for a single, painful reason. "I'm here today because I lost my son to hate." Her gay son, Matthew Shepard, was kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998. He died five days later in a hospital. More than 10 years later, Judy Shepard addressed the thousands of gay rights activists in Washington who wrapped up Sunday's National Equality March with a rousing rally at the Capitol. "No one has the right to tell my son whether or not he can work anywhere. Whether or not he can live...

Thousands of homosexual and lesbian activists marched through Washington today after President Obama pledged to end the ban on gays serving openly in the US military. The rally was organised by protesters impatient with the president’s failure to act on his campaign promises for gay reforms. But in a major speech last night, Mr Obama insisted: ‘I’m here with you in that fight. Do not doubt the direction we are headed and the destination we will reach.’ He vowed to end the Pentagon’s policy of allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military so long as they don’t disclose...

Thousands of gays and lesbians claimed the streets of the nation's capital today in a demonstration demanding full equality under the law. The National Equality March snaked past the White House and streamed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol. Demonstrators chanted "Yes we can" in English and Spanish, resurrecting President Obama's campaign slogan, and waved signs and banners. Organizers said the LGBT community, which encompasses lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgendered people, are not satisfied with a piecemeal approach to gaining civil rights. They are seeking "full federal equality" and singling out issues pertaining to marriage, adoption, military service and the...

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker opened the gates to hell this month when he ruled that strategists for Proposition 8 -- the 2008 ballot measure, passed by 52 percent of California voters, that limited marriage to a man and a woman -- must release internal campaign documents to measure opponents. Political activists of all stripes beware: Unless this ruling is overturned, the word will be out that sore losers who can't beat you at the ballot box and probably can't beat you in court can file a lawsuit designed to pry away proprietary information that they later can use...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected. "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He did not give a timetable for the repeal of the law passed by Congress in 1993 and signed by President Bill Clinton, who also promised to repeal the ban on homosexuals...

Though I'm partial to Magic Brownies, Half Baked and Phish Food, this month I'm getting my Ben and Jerry's fix through a personally heretofore unexplored flavor: "Chubby Hubby." Or "Hubby Hubby," as it has been called in Vermont this month. In keeping with its quirky corporate culture and commitment to social justice, Ben and Jerry's has temporarily changed the name of its legendary "Chubby Hubby" ice cream to honor the legalization of gay marriage in the company's home state of Vermont, where the change went into effect Sept. 1. This clever promotion joins other corporations rushing to drink from the...

Title only.

a friend has been sending me ecstatic emails about the speech. I just watched it—the speech is every bit as good as the ones candidate Obama gave, as the performance candidate Obama delivered at the HRC/Logo Democratic Primary Debate, as the open letter to the LGBT community that candidate Obama released before last November's election. Imagine all the wonderful things this guy is going to accomplish if he ever actually gets elected president. In other words: sorry, folks, nothing new to see here. Pledges, promises, excuses. Lip service. Other reactions...

Obama Vows Unqualified Support For Gay-Rights Agenda Steven Thomma | McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama vowed his unwavering support for the full gay rights agenda Saturday night, saying that he'll push Congress to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military. He also said that he'll work to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman, to guarantee that gay and lesbian couples get the same benefits as straight couples, and to ban anti-gay discrimination in the workplace. "There are still laws to change and hearts to...

In last year’s presidential election, Barack Obama won 70 percent of the gay vote, John McCain just 27 percent. Does that kind of clearly dominant constituency — one that’s more politically-attuned than the rest of the electorate — come with any political obligation regarding gay rights? You bet it does, and this weekend Obama is acknowledging the debt. On the eve of Sunday’s National Equality March, expected to draw thousands to Washington, he’s addressing the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. ...Marriage and the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay men and women in uniform...

Openly gay Congressman Barney Frank says a gay rights march on Washington this weekend is "a waste of time at best." Representative Frank said Sunday's National Equality March was "an emotional release." But he said directly lobbying representatives and senators would be much a more effective way to achieve change. Frank said the only thing marchers are putting pressure on "is the grass."

Strident conservative attacks on two of President Barack Obama’s gay nominees could temper the impatience gay and lesbian activists show as he speaks to a major gay civil rights group Saturday night — but the widespread restlessness still will be palpable. Obama’s speech to the Human Rights Campaign dinner comes just days after a gay Education Department official, Kevin Jennings, and a lesbian nominee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chai Feldblum, were targets of a flurry of criticism from conservative groups and some media outlets. “It certainly can’t hurt if people on our side realize the vehemence of the...

Washington D.C., Oct 9, 2009 / 05:35 pm (CNA).- A new survey shows that a majority of Americans continue to oppose same-sex “marriage” and consider homosexual behavior immoral. However, opponents of same-sex “marriage” may have become more favorable towards allowing legal arrangements for homosexual couples.The Washington, D.C.-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reported that 53 percent of Americans say they are opposed to same-sex “marriage,” with only 39 percent saying they favor legal recognition for the practice.While only 30 percent of regularly churchgoing non-Hispanic white Catholics favored same-sex “marriage,” 54 percent of those who attend less than...