Free Republic

A petition in Ukraine calling for same-sex marriage to be legalised has gained enough signatures for the president to consider the proposal. The petition has more than 28,000 signatures, meaning President Volodymyr Zelensky now has 10 days to respond. Homosexuality is not illegal in Ukraine, but same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are not recognised. This has caused particular problems for LGBT people signing up for the military following Russia's invasion. For example, under Ukrainian law if someone in a same-sex relationship dies, their partner cannot collect their body or bury them. The online petition says: "At this time, every day...

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will take up proposed legislation next week that would ban certain assault weapons, the panel said on Friday, citing a string of recent mass shootings across the United States.The committee will meet on Wednesday to mark up the bill, which "would ban the sale, import, manufacture or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons," it said in a statement.A spate of gun massacres since May at a New York grocery store, a Texas elementary school and an Illinois Independence Day parade have renewed fierce U.S. debate over gun regulations.

White House spokesperson John Kirby walked back that remark, reassuring Israel that there had been no change in U.S. policy after Sullivan made the error in briefing reporters on Air Force One en route to Israel on Biden’s Middle East trip.The Times of Israel reported:Asked about the potential of reopening the Jerusalem consulate that served Palestinians, Sullivan said that it is the US’s position “that we would like a consulate in East Jerusalem, obviously that requires engagement with the Israeli government, that requires engagement with the Palestinian leadership as well, and we will continue that engagement on this trip.”...Kirby said...

The radical Christians are found in the rural areas. Their towns are defenseless, they have almost no cops and their firemen are volunteers. They have to borrow cops and firemen from neighboring jurisdictions miles away in order to handle anything big. And they think they're safe out there. Forget burning cities, cities are on our sides. It's time for rural areas to feel the heat. You show up 100 deep in every rural town in a 50 mile radius intent on revolution, you'll crash their system and make them pay. And if you all think I'm kidding, I'm dead serious....

Russia is being hit hard by Ukraine‘s Javelin anti-tank missiles. What makes this weapon so powerful? The U.S.-made FGM-148 Javelin is one of the premier portable anti-tank missile systems in the world. It’s also an expensive piece of kit, with each missile typically costing more than the targets it eliminates. However, corruption is the main problem that every country has to fight with and the Ukrainians are no different! The expensive javelins have allegedly found their way into the black market on the Internet. Telegram channels have repeatedly reported that military equipment is being sold by the Ukrainians. The sales...