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The Obama Administration said Friday it is declining to defend the government in yet another lawsuit challenging federal laws limiting recognition of same-sex marriage. Attorney General Eric Holder sent Congressional leaders a letter formally notifying them that the Justice Department will not defend a case challenging the constitutionality of a federal law preventing same-sex spouses of military personnel from receiving veterans' benefits.

Perhaps no flip flop in his career has caused Mitt Romney more grief among conservatives than his evolution on abortion, from a pro-choice gubernatorial candidate to a pro-life presidential contender. His struggle to convince activists of his conservative bona fides underscores the fact that toeing the pro-life line is a requirement for a Republican presidential candidate. It is a litmus test in the most political sense of the phrase. After decades of avoiding what was once a toxic issue, Democrats are on the verge of establishing a new litmus test, one that will demonstrate just how quickly and dramatically the...

Why fight same-sex marriage? Even in America, where the outcome is not yet decided, there appear to be good reasons not to. The optics are poor and the mandate seems uncertain. Prospects for victory appear slim. Resources that might be reserved for more important fronts—abortion, for example—are squandered in defense of an institution to which our modern urban society is no longer committed. Industrial economies, reprogenetic technologies, and new ideas of autonomy—not to speak of new moralities—have called into question many of the assumptions on which that institution has always been based. Read more: http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=25-01-024-f#ixzz1mwQvlVp6

ANNAPOLIS — The House voted Friday night to approve Gov. Martin O'Malley’s same-sex marriage bill, sending the legislation to the Senate and clearing what was likely its most formidable legislative hurdle. The chamber voted 72-67 in favor of the bill, which would make Maryland the eighth state along with the District to pass legislation allowing gay marriage. The vote drew cheers from many visitors in the House chamber balcony and touched off a celebration among the bill’s supporters, many of whom exchanged hugs and shed tears after leaving the chamber. “It’s an amazing day here in Maryland,” said Delegate Heather...

1) Gay marriage is incompatible with Christianity (and for that matter, Islam & Judaism). If someone asks you why you oppose gay marriage, the only thing you really have to say to explain it is, "I'm a Christian." God doesn't condemn anyone for who he is; so if you're attracted to the same sex, that absolutely, unconditionally doesn't make you bad, evil or "un-Christian." On the other hand, let me note that I do consider hating, tormenting, or bullying people because of their sexual orientation to be distinctively "un-Christian" behavior. As Billy Graham has said, “God will not judge a...

Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire February 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington State has signed into law a gay “marriage� bill that will force church-owned facilities to accommodate homosexual ceremonies. Gregoire, a lame-duck Democrat governor who proposed the bill earlier this year, celebrated the end of defining marriage as between a man and a woman as she signed the bill on Monday. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,� she said. The bill makes Washington the sixth U.S. state to redefine marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia. Click...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire signed the bill surrounded by gay rights supporters. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,” she said. OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to...

The year 2012 is shaping up as a big one for same-sex marriage. Last week, the Washington state Legislature passed a bill allowing gay marriage, and legislatures in Maryland and New Jersey may follow suit shortly (though New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has promised a veto). North Carolina and Minnesota are conducting referendums this year on constitutional amendments to bar gay marriage, and Maine is likely to conduct a referendum on legalizing it. On Tuesday, the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals reminded us that courts too have something to say on the subject. In a case challenging the constitutionality of...

ALLEN, Texas — After the appeals court ruling banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, Rick Santorum on Wednesday pounded President Barack Obama for being anti-family values. Santorum attacked the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse Proposition 8, the ballot measure passed by California in 2008 that outlawed same-sex marriage. “Look at the 9th Circuit decision, which said the people of California said, in a constitutional amendment, that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Santorum told a women’s group in North Collin County. “And they found the constitution unconstitutional. Imagine that. The constitution...

Washington state lawmakers voted to approve gay marriage Wednesday, setting the stage for the state to become the seventh in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed. The action comes a day after a federal appeals court declared California’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, saying it was a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples. The Washington House passed the bill on a 55-43 vote. Supporters in the public viewing galleries stood and cheered as many on the Democratic side of the House floor hugged after the vote. The state Senate approved the measure last week,...

Folks, we're not even being contrary when we point this out. For the 9th Circuit to rule Prop 8 unconstitutional, just as Gingrich is looking again for his footing -- just as Rick Santorum is about to steal his headlines -- is a Gingrichian dream. Look! He agrees: (TWEET FROM NEWT AT LINK) The link goes to the 9th (coincidentally) of Gingrich's solutions for fixing the judiciary, to prevent it from doing things that conservatives don't like -- abolishing courts that make "un-American decisions." He's been on the record wanting this treatment for the 9th circuit for a long, long...

News just began coming out a little after noon on the east coast. A California appeals court has struck down Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriage in the state. A federal appeals court Tuesday struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage, clearing the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on gay marriage as early as next year. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that limited marriage to one man and one woman, violated the U.S. Constitution. The architects of Prop. 8...

"He could have stopped it, and should have stopped it," Huckabee said. CNSNews.com: Governor Romney should have stood up to the Court and said, "No"? Huckabee: He should've. (August 2008) Old news? Yes — and Mitt Romney hopes it will be ignored or forgotten. How does Romney manage to bury his past political sins? With a lot of help from his former critics — including Governor Huckabee — who seem to suffer from amnesia. But what of the media's duty to vet the candidates? Shouldn't every significant action in a candidate's record be under review? Why is the media —...

Bloomberg.com reported, Feb. 1, that Goldman Sachs Group workers contributed $106,580 to Mitt Romney's presidential bid in the fourth quarter of last year and that Goldie is his largest source of campaign bucks at a half-million total so far. Goldman Sachs does like to spread its money around. It gave boatloads to Barack Obama and got Timothy Geithner as secretary of the treasury in return, along with a whole lot of bonus people. . . . In other Goldman Sachs news, its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, became the first national corporate spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual advocacy group....

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court is ready to announce its ruling on whether California’s same-sex ["]marriage["] ban violates the ["]constitutional rights["] of [sodomites]. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday a three-judge panel plans to publish its long-awaited opinion on Tuesday.

As Washington's legislature works diligently to force homosexual marriage on its constituents, one of the more high-profile corporate entities in the Evergreen State has volunteered to help. In a January 24 statement, Starbucks vice president Kalen Holmes announced that the coffee retailing giant was proudly joining “other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.” Holmes emphasized that the measure, which would legalize homosexual partnerships as equal with traditional marriage, “is aligned with Starbucks business practices” and is “core to who we are and what we value as a company.” The Seattle Times...

First Lady Katie O'Malley isn't mincing any words when it comes to describing why she thinks gay marriage legislation failed last year. The first lady, speaking Thursday at the 24th annual Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality on Thursday, said "there were some cowards that prevented it from passing." A bill to allow same-sex marriage passed the Senate, but stalled in the House of Delegates.

From Washington Blade: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Friday he wouldn’t rule “in or out” the possibility of President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage in the upcoming State of the Union address. Carney made the remarks on whether Obama would announce support for marriage equality during the State of the Union address, which is set to take place Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, in response to a question from the Washington Blade. “I will not rule anything in or out,” Carney said. “I’m just not going to talk about — beyond pointing at his words —...

Dear Friends: The promotion and protection of marriage—the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife—is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people.The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community.It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies.It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female, and with the essential task of bearing and nurturing children. As religious leaders across a wide variety of faith communities,...

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Legislature is on the verge of having enough support to make Washington the seventh state to approve gay marriage, according to a tally by The Associated Press.A same-sex marriage bill is expected to be introduced by the end of the week. The AP reached out to all 49 state senators over the past week and found that more lawmakers are firmly supporting gay marriage than opposing it, by a margin of 22-18.The measure needs 25 votes to pass the Senate. The House is widely expected to have enough support, and Gov. Chris Gregoire publicly endorsed...

The federal government is considering changes to the law that will make it easier for foreign same-sex couples who married in Canada to obtain divorces, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Thursday. . . . Ottawa was pressed to clarify its position on gay marriage after an apparent about-face on the issue surfaced in a Toronto divorce case. A lesbian couple who married in Canada seven years ago and recently filed for divorce was told by a Department of Justice lawyer that their marriage was not legal. The stated reason was that because the partners live in Florida and England, where same-sex marriage remains...

An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in the United States to All Americans Released January 12, 2012 Dear Friends: The promotion and protection of marriage—the union of one man and one woman as husband and wife—is a matter of the common good and serves the wellbeing of the couple, of children, of civil society and all people. The meaning and value of marriage precedes and transcends any particular society, government, or religious community. It is a universal good and the foundational institution of all societies. It is bound up with the nature of the human person as male and female,...

VATICAN CITY, January 9, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In his annual address to ambassadors to the Vatican today, Pope Benedict XVI warned that laws permitting abortion and undermining the traditional family are threatening “the future of humanity.” Speaking particularly of the West, the Holy Father said, “I am convinced that legislative measures which not only permit but at times even promote abortion for reasons of convenience or for questionable medical motives compromise the education of young people and, as a result, the future of humanity.” Similarly, the pope spoke of “the family, based on the marriage of a man and a...

Did you know that the Obama administration in the US, and the David Cameron administration in Britain, are threatening to cut off aid to third world nations that do not support gay rights? I do not support foreign aid in principle. But I think that using aid to force gay rights on foreign nations is irresponsible and disgusting. Here are stories on the issue: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15524013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/06/us-overseas-aid-human-rights Almost all White Christian nations in Europe and elsewhere, embrace gay civil unions of one sort or another, and some support full gay marriage. In Non-White Christian nations, they view the White Christian nations...

A gay couple who adopted nine boys have been accused of sexually assaulting two of the children.But another adopted son of George Harasz and Doug Wirth insists his two fathers are innocent, and says his siblings have a disorder in which troubled foster children lash out at adults who try to connect with them.  Married 'fathers' Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000. George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.       Accused: George Harasz,...

Rick Santorum on Monday accused GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney of being more liberal on gay marriage than President Barack Obama. Santorum, a former senator from Pennsylvania, made his remarks during an interview on Laura Ingraham's radio show. When Ingraham asked Romney's stance on a proposed bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Santorum answered: “I would argue that Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, was to the left of Barack Obama on the issue of gay marriage.” DOMA is the 1996 law that bars federal agencies and the military from recognizing the legal marriages of gay...

BOSTON (BP) -- Some of the nation's top companies such as Google, CBS, Starbucks and Nike have joined forces in a legal brief asking a federal court to force the federal government to recognize gay "marriage." The friend-of-the-court brief asks the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a 2010 lower court ruling that struck down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In that ruling, Judge Joseph L. Tauro said the federal government must recognize gay "marriages" from such states as Massachusetts, Vermont and the other four states where it's legal. In essence, the brief argues, the...

Presidential candidate Rick Perry praised the legislators working to overturn New Hampshire's same-sex marriage law last night in Manchester. "As conservatives we believe in the sanctity of life. We believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage," Perry said. "And I applaud those legislators in New Hampshire who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, realizing that children need to be raised in a loving home by a mother and a father. As he spoke at the annual banquet for Cornerstone Action, a conservative advocacy group, Perry sought to set himself apart from others...

CONCORD — Both sides of a contentious debate on marriage equality will square off in Concord today. The House Judiciary Committee will consider House Bill 437 to repeal same-sex marriage, which became legal just last year. The bill also would allow civil unions for any unmarried adults competent to enter into a contract — including relatives. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, told the Herald on Monday the latest push to repeal gay marriage is meant to correct what he said was a mistake made by the Legislature in 2009. "I, and many people in New Hampshire, believe...

Senators James Alesi, Mark Grisanti, Roy McDonald and Stephen Saland Benefiting from Bloomberg-Hosted Fundraiser This Evening New York, NY---- The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today announced it is running an online advertisement throughout New York state in response to a Bloomberg-held fundraiser this evening for the four GOP senators that betrayed the trust of New Yorkers last summer by exchanging a vote for same-sex marriage for campaign contributions. The advertisement, called "Money Dance," is modeled after the practice of some brides and grooms dancing for money with supporters at their wedding. In this case, the four Senators -- Roy...

Would you attend a same-sex wedding ceremony? That question was posed recently to Houston pastor Joel Osteen, and Osteen said that he would attend, if the wedding involved friends. This came just after Osteen indicated that he could not perform a same-sex marriage ceremony, since he believes that homosexuality is a sin. I recently wrote about this exchange, suggesting that Osteen’s position is morally and theologically incoherent. As I said:This is beyond mere incoherence. It is moral and theological nonsense. More than that, it is a massive statement of ministerial malpractice. . . . You cannot celebrate what you say...

Much Ado About Nothing?Ledyard, N.Y.'s town clerk may be well within her rights. When New York legalized same-sex marriage in June, Rose Marie Belforti, the town clerk in Ledyard, N.Y., faced a dilemma: Either betray her Christian faith by granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or resign. Or at least that’s the choice same-sex-marriage advocates gave her. Instead, Belforti devised a compromise: She asked a deputy to sign all marriage licenses for her, so the town could obey the law, and she could keep her job.But for Deirdre DiBiaggio and Katie Carmichael, that wasn’t good enough.In August, the lesbian couple...

Just over a week after ending its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the Pentagon has released new guidelines permitting military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages in states where gay marriage is legal. “A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law,” a memo released Friday from Under Secretary of Defense Clifford Stanley read. “Further a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of...

Pentagon makes provisions for same-sex marriage mug.cnn By: CNN Wire Staff (CNN) - Ten days after the military dumped its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the military, the Pentagon has issued new rules allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon has decided that military chaplains may perform same-sex unions, whether on or off a military installation. The ruling announced Friday by the Pentagon's personnel chief follows the Sept. 20 repeal of a law that had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

When the New York state legislature rammed through a law “legalizing” same-sex “marriage” this last summer, countless New Yorkers disagreed with the decision. Among them were Christian town clerks who could not in good conscience sign marriage licenses for a union they consider sinful. Clauses were written in the law that supposedly protect clergy from being forced to act against their faith. However, such clauses do not apply to town clerks or any other government official. Clerks are told point blank, either accept the law, or resign. Town clerk Rose Marie Belforti of Ledyard, New York found out the hard...

The Christian Post reported that on August 21, 2011, Mike Weatherley, a MP [Member of Parliament] for Hove, wrote a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron saying, "As long as religious groups can refuse to preside over ceremonies for same-sex couples, there will be inequality." In 2004, The United Kingdom passed laws legalizing same-sex unions, but churches were not required to participate in these unions. In 2010, the Conservative - Liberal Democrat Coalition proposed an amendment to those laws which allowed places of worship to "opt-in" to register same-sex ceremonies, something that MP Weatherley called a "messy compromise." But...

DUXBURY, Vt. (AP) - When Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were searching for a place to get married, they settled on a site in Vermont, in part because the state is in the Eastern time zone. That way, the two men were able to recite their vows before family and friends at the first possible moment after the formal repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Just after midnight Tuesday, the partners of 11 years were married.

<p>When Navy Lt. Gary Ross and his partner were searching for a place to get married, they settled on a site in Vermont, in part because the state is in the Eastern time zone.</p> <p>That way, the two men were able to recite their vows before family and friends at the first possible moment after the formal repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Just after midnight Tuesday, the partners of 11 years were married.</p>

At this past July's Comic-Con International in San Diego, Archie Comics announced that not only would its exceedingly popular new character, Kevin Keller, the first openly homosexual member of the iconic Riverdale Gang, will star in his own ongoing series, but that readers would also see Keller get married in a future issue of Life With Archie. The publisher announced this week that the happy event will take place in Life With Archie #16, on sale in January.

Bob Russell EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBS 2) – He says he can’t take it anymore.A gay choir director at a Catholic Church in New Jersey has quit his job because he says the priest is making his work environment hostile.But does he have a case?St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in East Rutherford is where Bob Russell has been the choir director for decades. On Thursday, however, the 55-year-old was taking boxes into the parish to pack up his belongings.“Felt that I was put into a position that I had to resign my job because of my sexuality,� Russell told CBS...

WASHINGTON – The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) released the following statement today announcing that Gov. Rick Perry has signed their marriage pledge: "Kudos to Gov. Rick Perry for making it clear: he's a marriage champion!," said Brian Brown, president of NOM. "The purpose of NOM's Marriage Pledge is to move from vague values statements to concrete actions to protect marriage. Gov. Perry joins Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum as a signer of NOM Marriage Pledge. By doing so, Perry makes crystal clear that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, gay marriage is going to be a bigger issue...

Three city council members have been appointed to the advisory board of Iowa Republicans for Freedom, a GOP advocacy group aiming to promote and protect civil marriage for gays and lesbians in Iowa. Jeff Angelo, chairman of the organization, announced Thursday that Jason Gordon of Davenport, Craig Patterson of Grimes and Matt Walsh of Council Bluffs have been appointed.

A PRACTICAL CHALLENGE TO HOMOSEXUALS: I challenge the advocates of same-sex marriage and the entire sodomite community to gather themselves in a town exclusive to their perversion and see whether in 100 years they would not be in extinction? “Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address” Gilbert K. Chesterton

  Let Kids Find Their Own Path? Removing the Guardrails From Their Road David C. Stolinsky Aug. 18, 2011 While paging through Facebook recently, I came across a 13-year-old girl who declared that she was married to her girlfriend, whom she named. She didn’t say she planned to marry her friend when they grow older, but that she already was married. When I mentioned this to friends, they merely shrugged and asked what the problem was. � The problem is not the girl’s sexual orientation. That is her business and no one else’s. � The problem is lack of...

A gay man and a woman whose sex-change operation was paid for by the state tied the knot Saturday in a first-of-its-kind wedding for Cuba. Bride Wendy Iriepa arrived at a Havana wedding hall in the afternoon in a vintage Ford convertible and a full white wedding gown, flowers in her hair and holding a rainbow flag. Neighborhood residents came out of their homes to gawk at the wedding party and the journalists mobbing the car. Gay marriage is not legal in Cuba and Saturday’s wedding does nothing to change that since Iriepa, born Alexis, is a woman in the...

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The American Psychological Association (APA) has re-affirmed its support for same-sex “marriage� for the eighth consecutive year, this time with a more strongly-worded statement. On the eve of this year’s annual convention, the association’s policymaking body supported same-sex “marriage� unanimously in a 157-0 vote. The APA has backed “marriage� for homosexual couples since 2004, and marriage-like benefits since 1997, and now calls itself “a strong advocate for full equal rights for LGBT people for nearly 35 years.� This year’s resolution is the first new wording of the association’s position since 2004, and includes...

.“Our friends in New York six weeks ago passed a statute that said marriage can be between two people of the same sex. And you know what? That’s New York, and that’s their business, and that’s fine with me,” he said to applause from several hundred GOP donors in Aspen, Colo. “That is their call. If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business.”

One of the fundamental truths about the founding tenets of this nation is that our ordering principles — the basis of our laws, our conception of rights, the purposes to which government is supposed to obtain — are built upon the acknowledgement of and respect for natural law. Natural law presupposes that there are absolute standards of right and wrong, and carries with it the necessary understanding that this natural law, far from being the product of random happenstance or social consensus, is instead instituted by the Divine authority of a Creator God who formed the world in which we...

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act [2] (DOMA) and replace it with the Respect for Marriage Act [3], which would recognize “married” same-sex couples in the same way as married men and women and ensure those gay couples are eligible to receive federal benefits. Feinstein’s bill would not, however, require states without homosexual marriage laws to recognize those legally sanctioned in other states. “The bill [4]is simple,” Feinstein said at the National Press Club on Tuesday. “It would strike the Defense of Marriage Act from federal law and it...