Free Republic

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. (AP) — Twenty-one gay couples exchanged wedding vows on the steps of village hall Friday in a spirited ceremony that opened another front on the growing national debate over gay marriage. As the ceremonies by 26-year-old Mayor Jason West were ending, the state Health Department asked the attorney general to seek an injunction "to prevent further illegal conduct by the mayor," a department spokesman said. A call to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office was not immediately returned. West, elected on the Green Party ticket last year in this village 75 miles north of New York City, joined...

Father who married daughter ordered back to prison MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- A 53-year-old man was sent back to prison after a judge decided the man had violated a probation order barring him from cohabitation with his 30-year-old daughter, who is also his former wife. Mobile County Circuit Judge John Lockett ordered Carroll Eugene Ferdinandsen to prison on Thursday after determining he violated a probation order barring him from cohabitation with Alice Ferdinandsen. Each had pleaded guilty to incest last summer in connection with their May 2003 civil marriage in Mobile County and served six months in jail before...

Financially, the gay marriage issue is a terrible idea. Aside from the philosophical ideology of it, this is the worst idea for gay men in a long time from a financial point of view. Here's an example; see if it "hits home": Paul is a successful agent in Hollywood, he works as most agents do, 19 hours per day, but has amassed a nice net worth -- house in the Hills, swank pad in Palm Springs, tidy IRA, $1.2 mill in profit sharing, weekends in Paris, etc. Paul is 42. Paul marries Todd, 28, a talented landscaper with perfect...

The bride said, "I do." Then Rosie did, too. Angered by President Bush's crusade to make it illegal for them to marry, Rosie O'Donnell and her lesbian partner, Kelli Carpenter, joined the rush down the aisle in San Francisco yesterday. "We were inspired to come here by the sitting President and the vile and vicious and hateful comments he made," the former talk-show host proclaimed after planting a kiss on her longtime love. In tying the knot, the country's most famous lesbian couple took center stage in the debate over gay marriage sparked by Bush's call Tuesday for a constitutional...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Former television talk show host Rosie O'Donnell said she planned to marry her longtime girlfriend Thursday in San Francisco, where more than 3,300 other same-sex couples have tied the knot since February 12.</p> <p>Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," O'Donnell announced she would wed Kelli Carpenter -- two days after President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.</p>

Bush's Demand for Discriminatory Amendment "Despicable New Low," says National Gay And Lesbian Task Force 2/24/04 1:42:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Sheri A. Lunn of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 323-857-8751 or 202-641-5592 WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a response by National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director Matt Foreman: "Today the President of the United States, solely for political gain, called upon Congress to amend the United States Constitution to enshrine our second-class citizenship in the nation's most revered document. This is a despicable new low. "This is nothing...

<p>'I'm tired of being forced into the shadows by society'</p> <p>After nearly three decades of failed relationships and emotional discontent, Lindsay Ashford has finally found himself.</p> <p>Since he was a child, Ashford has always had a deep attraction to young girls but never acted on his urges or knew they had a name.</p>

Last week, every Yale undergraduate received an e-mail heralding "Sex Week: A Celebration and Exploration of Sex and Sexuality at Yale University." Imagine a modest student's reaction to "Grandmother of Masturbation" Betty Dodson's impending lecture on the topic, "One Woman's Illustrated Sexual Revolution." Yale sophomore David O'Leary, upon returning from five o'clock mass, found in his inbox the promise of a "Porn Party! sponsored by Wicked Pictures with porn star Devinn Lane." According to event organizer and Yale senior Eric Rubenstein, Sex Week was supposed to open discussion about issues of love, intimacy, and romance, and was timed to coincide...

<p>AMES, Iowa -- A student bondage club at Iowa State University has been charged with violating university rules after a flogging demonstration in December.</p> <p>The school's Office of Judicial Affairs charged the group Cuffs with assault in violation of the Student Conduct Code and Iowa law.</p>

Lesbian bride dolls. Fourth grade "gay" clubs. A king and king at the high school prom. Dating tips for same-sex teens. Bathroom ogling -- and sometimes quick encounters -- in the middle school boys' restroom. These are just the first snapshots of the bizarre new world in store for American children if homosexual marriage is legalized. Most of the major players who mold our youth have already endorsed homosexuality and even cross-dressing. The National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union, favors support for "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender" students and teachers, which translates into uncritical acceptance throughout the curriculum...

Since the State of California through the Mayor of San Francisco, city officials, state judges and other state authorities have seen fit to flagrantly violate their own state laws regarding fraudulant marriage licenses, I think it would be prudent if other states passed laws not to recognize ANY California marriage license issued Feb. 12, 2004 or later. San Francisco's fraud does not fall under protection of the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution, since it is after all, illegal. We'd put some fire under California's feet if other states refused to recognize the legality of their marriage...

<p>If they wanted, Comcast subscribers could have watched "Table Top Sex" on the Spice channel Thursday night. Or they could have caught "Boob Mania 6." Or "Barely Legal 39."</p> <p>Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, is one of the most far-reaching distributors of pornography, offering subscribers a moaning, groaning melange of what's euphemistically called "adult entertainment" -- and profiting handsomely from the deal.</p>

The only thing standing between the Rev. Judy Brown and a future with Toby Lynn Smart was Smart's minister husband, so Brown came up with a chilling plot to kill him. That's how Salem Commonwealth's Attorney Fred King would have argued the case, anyway, had it gone to trial. Instead, Brown entered two Alford pleas Wednesday, meaning that she admitted no guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors would likely have proven the charges. The Rev. Judy Lynn Brown, 51, was charged with breaking and entering with intent to commit murder and malicious wounding in connection with a crowbar attack on Edwin...

<p>The principal of the city's controversial new high school for gays and lesbians has been replaced following a tumultuous fall term that saw several of its students charged with criminal activity.</p> <p>Daniel Rossi, previously director of an alternative high school in Manhattan, will replace William Salzman as the new head of Harvey Milk HS at Astor Place.</p>

<p>Has our culture gone iredeemably to pot, or can we jump for our lives?</p> <p>On Saturday night Sept. 8, 2001, I did something unusual. I went to Madison Square Garden to watch the taping of a Michael Jackson special that was soon to be aired on CBS. A friend had come to town with tickets and we decided to meet for dinner and go together. We thought it would be fun because we thought it would be strange.</p>

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley. Somehow it isn’t surprising how on the morning after the Super Bowl, there was outrage in the air—and it wasn’t just coming from Carolina fans. The MTV-produced halftime show, not to mention the commercials, left even some of the worldliest football fans sputtering. Our own Chuck Colson talked with a non-Christian friend who is usually blasé about what goes on in our culture, but who was furious over the exposure of Janet Jackson’s breast during the halftime concert—if you can call it that—and about finding out way too much...

Statement by NFL Executive Vice President Joe Browne regarding the Super Bowl halftime show: "We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced Halftime show. They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the show. It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime."

Agent allegedly ignores vandalism, threatens pastor instead.When vandals defaced a sign outside the First Baptist Church in Gravois Mills, Mo., because it read "Homosexuality is an abomination, there is forgiveness," Pastor Ted Haynes called local law enforcement and the FBI. The vandals actually did more than just spray paint the sign. They left obscene and intimidating messages on the church's answering machine and told a church member that if the sign wasn't removed, they would remove it. "What I wanted to do was just get it on record, in case our church got burned down, because there is that possibility,"...

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Jaguar North America today announces that it is launching an integrated marketing and advertising campaign to specifically reach gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) consumers. The Jaguar campaign is part of a comprehensive strategy developed by Ford Motor Company's Global Marketing organization. The campaign will target GLBT consumers in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Jaguar and Ford Motor Company are actively pursuing this niche market of more than 14 million consumers, with a buying power estimated to be more than $450 billion, by developing a tailored message to speak directly...

Gays win rights as refugees HOMOSEXUALS who would have to live "discreetly" to avoid persecution in their home country might be entitled to refugee status in Australia, the High Court found in a landmark judgment yesterday. The court split 4-3 over the decision to grant an appeal by a gay Bangladeshi couple, who claimed they would face persecution if sent back home. The Refugee Review Tribunal and the Federal Court previously had ruled the men would be unlikely to face persecution if they resumed the "discreet" gay lifestyle they had lived before fleeing Bangladesh in February 1999. But in a...