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CNSNews.com) – Taxpayers will pay almost $900 million over the next 10 years to extend federal employee benefits to homosexual couples, according to an analysis of “domestic partners” legislation by the Congressional Budget Office. However, supporters of the bill say the costs will be offset in other areas. President Barack Obama has voiced support for the measure. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee approved the measure last Wednesday, while the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a measure last month.

CALLER: It's called "How to Get Married ... by Me, the Bride." It's a little girl. And then the book is actually by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap. RUSH: Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap? CALLER: Yes. RUSH: Okay. CALLER: And it just came out this year, and I started reading it to the girls I was babysitting, and I'm horrified by what is in it. It basically completely redefines marriage. It says that you can marry anything, basically. It says you can marry an animal; you can marry a flower; you can marry your dad. It says you can marry...

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday. Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site? Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it...

PEORIA — The actions of a South Peoria couple within the past year so stumped a federal judge Friday that he could find no reason to cut them a break and sentenced them to maximum 30-year sentences for making sexually explicit videos with an 8-year-old child. U.S. District Judge Joe McDade, as he does with every defendant, tried to get inside the heads of Raymond E. Freeman, 51, and Tammy Watters, 43, to find some reason for a lesser sentence. In this case, he wanted to know why they would not only have sex with the child, who suffers from...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court in San Francisco has reversed a judge's order that backers of Proposition 8, the state initiative that banned same-sex marriage, give their campaign strategy documents to opponents trying to overturn the measure. In a unanimous ruling today, the Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out the order that Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued in October against backers of Prop. 8, which state voters approved in November 2008. Walker had said lawyers for two same-sex couples and a gay-rights group were entitled to see internal memos and e-mails between Yes on 8...

San Francisco health officials reported an alarming increase in new syphilis cases last year after years of declines. New syphilis cases rose 55.8 percent in 2008 over the previous year, San Francisco public health officials reported. The increase was significantly lower than the dramatic spikes reported early in the decade, when new infections increased 167 percent from 2001 to 2002. But last year's rise would seem to indicate an increase in unsafe sexual practices, which could lead to a rise in HIV infection rates.

The worldwide Anglican Church has been plunged into a fresh crisis after a lesbian was chosen as its second gay bishop. In a move that will dismay the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, Canon Mary Glasspool was elected as an assistant bishop for the diocese of Los Angeles. The Rev Rod Thomas, the leader of the conservative evangelical group Reform and a member of the General Synod, said: ‘I feel deeply ashamed that this is happening in the Anglican Church. ‘I think a schism is absolutely inevitable.’

WATERLOO - The Iowa Legislature doesn't reconvene until January, but same-sex marriage opponents already have started drafting an amendment that could overturn last spring's Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. "We're pretty sure (the issue) is going to be brought up several times," said Matthew Skuya, deputy field director of One Iowa, the state's largest group of gay and lesbian activists. "And I think it's important that we all do as much as we can to ensure marriage equality remains a part of our communities." Gay marriage supporters met Thursday night during a forum at Waterloo's public library. Nearly 60...

Tuesday December 1, 2009 D.C. Council Overwhelmingly Approves Same-Sex "Marriage" Law By Kathleen Gilbert and Peter SmithWASHINGTON, DC, December 1, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - By a lopsided majority, the District of Columbia City Council voted this afternoon to approve legislation that opens the legal definition of marriage to include homosexual couples. The vote went through despite strong protests from the city's religious leaders who said that the law violates individual conscience rights and religious liberty. The "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" passed on the first vote by an overwhelming 11-2 margin. The measure was predicted...

The effort to get same sex marriage on the California ballot in 2010 took a hit Monday. Rick Jacbos, the leader of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign just told us that after spending more than $200,000 on "qualitative research" into the issue in California that "We do not see a path to victory." So, the Courage Campaign sent a note to its supporters Monday calling for "for more research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot." Lambda Legal, a LGBT legal organization, said largely the same thing Monday. Jacobs told us that the research -- led...

(Reason #)8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson St. Louis, Mo., Nov 30, 2009 / 06:17 pm (CNA).- In a statement Monday, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis responded to a demonstration held outside the city's cathedral by a gay rights group protesting the use of archdiocesan funds to defend traditional marriage in Maine. Catholics have an obligation to “carry out Christ's teachings, whether in the privacy of our own home or in the public square,” stated the prelate on the Archdiocese of St. Louis website.On Sunday, gay rights organization Show Me No Hate protested the donation of $10,000 that the Archdiocese...

Five years after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts, the local Episcopal bishop yesterday gave permission for priests in Eastern Massachusetts to officiate at same-sex weddings. The decision by Bishop M. Thomas Shaw III was immediately welcomed by advocates of gay rights in the Episcopal Church, who have chafed at local rules that allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, but not sign the documents that would solemnize their marriages. The decision is likely to exacerbate tensions in the Episcopal Church and the global denomination to which it belongs, the Anglican Communion, which has faced significant division in the wake of...

WASHINGTON (BP)--Delivering a more forthright speech than is often seen from politicians on the issue, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer -- the third ranking member of the Senate -- told a homosexual group last week that "gay marriage" supporters "must not rest" until it is legalized in all 50 states. Schumer's comments came as Maine prepares for Tuesday's vote that will decide the future of "gay marriage" there. If Question 1 passes it would overturn a new state law that legalized "marriage" for same-sex couples. But if it fails it would be the first time any state will have approved "gay...

GAY ACTIVISTS BULLY D.C. PRIESTS November 20, 2009Catholic League president Bill Donohue addresses a serious issue involving gay activists in the District of Columbia:A new homosexual website, ChurchOuting.org, is intent on publicly disclosing who the gay priests are in the Archdiocese of Washington. The goal of this outing is to intimidate gay priests, as well as heterosexual priests who may be “romantically involved,” into voicing objections to the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage. This initiative is the work of Phil Attey, self-described as “Liberal-Gay-Ardent Obama Supporter”; he was active in the Obama Pride Metro-DC campaign. According to one...

Author Larry Sinclair, who insists he had sex and did cocaine with Barack Obama, is taking his campaign for revenge to Congress - and insiders say the furious First Lady vows to crush him! GLOBE bares all the details of the bitter battle in an exclusive you can't afford to miss

Barbara Ann Radnofsky,Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state. The amendment declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B: "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage." Architects of the amendment included the clause to ban same-sex civil unions and domestic...

Washington (AP) - Former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary Cheney has delivered a baby girl. It's the second child for Cheney and her partner of more than 17 years, Heather Poe. Sarah Lynne Cheney was born Wednesday morning at Sibley Hospital in Washington, weighing 6 pounds and 14 ounces. She is the seventh grandchild of the former vice president and his wife, Lynne. Mary Cheney and Poe had their first child, Samuel David Cheney, in 2007.

Judge Orders Compensation For Gay Couple Denied Benefits November 18, 2009 A federal judge today ordered compensation for a Los Angeles couple denied spousal benefits by the federal government because they are gay men. U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits to the spouse of federal public defender Brad Levenson to be a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of due process and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is prohibited by California state law. Levenson married his longtime partner, Tony Sears, on July 12, 2008, during the five-month...

A group called Love Honor Cherish launched an Internet-based effort today to collect enough signatures to place a measure repealing Prop. 8, the anti-gay marriage law, on the state ballot by next year. The signature-gathering drive will use social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, organizers said in a statement. “We’re taking names,” said John Henning, who is heading the SignForEquality.com effort launched to collect the signatures. "People throughout California can now help us win marriage back by the simple act of signing and collecting signatures.” Prop. 8 was approved by California voters a year ago, reversing a California...

American squeamishness about talking about sex has helped keep common sexually transmitted infections far too common, especially among vulnerable teens, U.S. researchers reported Monday. Latest statistics on chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis show the three highly treatable infections continue to spread in the United States. "Chlamydia and gonorrhea are stable at unacceptably high levels and syphilis is resurgent after almost being eliminated," said John Douglas, director of the division of sexually transmitted diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We have among the highest rates of STDs of any developed country in the world," Douglas added in a...

Atlanta's gay community has lost its Southern Voice. The city's gay and lesbian weekly has shut its doors after 21 years. Southern Voice, along with David Atlanta, a publication about gay men's nightlife in Atlanta, closed after a long-time financial battle to stay afloat. Southern's owner, Washington, D.C.-based Window Media LLC, shuttered the weekly newspaper and a handful of other gay publications nationwide over the weekend, the newspaper's editor, Laura Douglas Brown, confirmed to the AJC on Monday. Employees arrived at the newspaper's offices off of Briarcliff Road early Monday to find the door locked and a sign posted on...

Out of the Closet; Into the Church Homo McGreevey Finds Higher Calling thelastcrusade.org What does a gay governor do after he resigns from political office in disgrace? He becomes an Episcopalian and enters the priesthood. Jim McGreevey, the former New Jersey love gov, has gone from Turnpike truck stops to All Saints Church in Hoboken, where he is known as “Father Jim.” Last Sunday, the ex governor administered the sacrament of baptism to a bevy of babies, blessed the Eucharist, and carried the cross during the processional. In 2004, Mr. McGreevey resigned as Governor of New Jersey after revealing...

It never ceases to amaze me the degree to which liberals – the self-styled proponents of “tolerance” and “diversity”… the mind-numbingly sanctimonious arbiters of “hate” – consistently prove to be the most intolerant and hateful among us. But regrettably, since the recent passage of “Question 1” – the voter initiative that threw out counterfeit “gay marriage” in Maine – the level of hate-filled bile we’ve come to expect from the left has morphed from malicious to menacing. In the wake of the horrific act of Islamic domestic terrorism at Fort Hood Texas, it’s been learned that militant homosexual activists recently...

The poisonous ENDA is back. Barney Frank, the champion of gay America, will force a “debate” on the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Wednesday. Indications are it has a good chance of being signed into law. Frank has 189 cosponsors for the latest ENDA bill H.R.3017 and six of them are Republicans. According to Congressman George Miller: “The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), … would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees.” This sounds okay right? Think again. If gays were discriminated against...

Is it worse for a Republican to have been caught naked on camera or to support gay marriage? Meghan McCain weighs the hypocrisy of the Carrie Prejean scandal. BY MEGHAN MCCAIN If you’re a Republican, is it better to be in favor of gay marriage or to make a sex tape? That is the question. At least that’s the question that comes to mind after the reaction to the news that anti-gay marriage champion Carrie Prejean made a sex tape. After watching several of Prejean’s media appearances this week, it was not her incredibly uncomfortable threat to walk out on...

Connecticut’s year-old marriage equality law has meant hard-earned respect for same-sex couples — society’s official acceptance and the state’s unqualified recognition of their domestic happiness. “For same-sex couples, it’s a life-long dream” said Ridgefielder Barbara Simkins. “Who’d have thought there’d be such a day, that we’d have the same rights as every other human being in this country? But, unfortunately, it’s only in six states so far. I’m very very proud of Connecticut.” The state’s open-minded law has also made Ridgefield — with its pretty Main Street, nice restaurants, and a gay-owned bed and breakfast — a bit of a...

Kerry Eleveld reports that there's a plan and a timetable for repealing "don't ask, don't tell": Repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” will likely be included as part of next year’s Department of Defense authorization bill in both chambers of Congress, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Wednesday. “Military issues are always done as part of the overall authorization bill,” Frank said, insisting that this has been the strategy for overturning the policy all along. “'Don’t ask, don’t tell' was always going to be part of the military authorization.” Frank said he has been in direct communication with the White House, House...

Gay rights activists are looking to a possible vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York State on Tuesday as a way to drive a national campaign that opponents say has lost momentum. Five U.S. states have already legalized gay marriage -- Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont -- but earlier this month voters in a sixth, Maine, chose to repeal such a law, which was due to take effect in September. Forty U.S. states have laws banning gay marriage. New York's Democratic-controlled State Assembly passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in May, but the proposed legislation faces a...

A homosexual blogger passed off as a "joke" a suggestion by a contributor to his website that there might be church bombings because of Christians' refusal to support the homosexual lifestyle. But several individuals named in the column are taking the threat seriously. "That is what Fort Hood teaches us," said Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, referring to the attack on the Texas Army base by a Muslim officer that killed 13 people and wounded 28. LaBarbera was cited by name in the postings on the "joemygod" website run by homosexual advocate Joe Jervis. "When people...

Late this evening, the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, by a vote of 220 to 215. While this is a historic step toward improving health care for all Americans, it is also a tremendous advance for the health needs of LGBT people. HRC lobbied the three committees involved in drafting the bill to include provisions that would help LGBT people in particular obtain the improved access to health care that the Act is designed to provide. Some of these measures have been part of HRC’s legislative agenda as free-standing bills for many years. The...

Labels and Gay Benefits in Health Bill By ROBERT PEAR Published: November 7, 2009 WASHINGTON — Lower taxes for gay couples who receive health benefits from employers. Nutrition labeling requirements for snack food sold in vending machines and many restaurants. A new program to teach parents how to interact with their children. Those are some of the little-noticed provisions in a mammoth health care bill taken up Saturday by the House of Representatives. The main purpose of the bill is to make health insurance readily available to all Americans. To that end, it would expand Medicaid and provide hundreds of...

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.