Free Republic

<p>March 1, 2004 -- Hundreds of protesters descended on City Hall yesterday to demand that Mayor Bloomberg allow the city clerk to perform same-sex marriages.</p> <p>"In a city of tolerance, diversity and unity, it is past time that Mayor Bloomberg give the basic, fundamental civil right of marriage to same-sex couples," said City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan).</p>

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...

SANTA CRUZ — When Doreen Boxer and Cynthia Zapata heard that "power of love" was the theme of this month’s services at the Santa Cruz Bible Church, the recently married gay couple thought their search for a new place of worship might have been guided by a divine hand. "What a coincidence — we were honoring our love at a time they were celebrating love’s power," said Boxer. "It seemed like God had sent us to this church." Little did Boxer and her partner of seven years know that their Feb. 15 attendance at the church on Frederick Street would...

During Scarborough Country interview (buchanan ick) and Willie Brown (ugh) said that after CA adopts Newsomes edict on Gay Marriage, CA will demand recognition of the gay marriages from all states under the full faith and credit clause.

<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>

Posted on Sun, Feb. 08, 2004 As complaints of fighting and harassment surface among lesbians and straight girls, Phila. struggles to adapt rules.By Susan Snyder Inquirer Staff Writer Philadelphia high schools are struggling with a new problem in student behavior: rising tensions between heterosexual and openly lesbian girls. Nationwide, lesbians increasingly are declaring their sexual orientation and publicly displaying their affection for each other at younger ages, and Philadelphia appears in step with that trend. The phenomenon has led to embarrassing moments in some cases and physical clashes in others. Accusations of intimidation have surfaced on both sides: from lesbians...

Mayor Daley said Wednesday he would have "no problem" with County Clerk David Orr issuing marriage licenses to gay couples -- and Orr said he's open to a San Francisco-style protest if a consensus can be built. "They're your doctors, your lawyers, your journalists, your politicians," the mayor said. "They're someone's son or daughter. They're someone's mother or father. . . . I've seen people of the same sex adopt children, have families. [They're] great parents. "Some people have a difference of opinion -- that only a man and a woman can get married. But in the long run, we...

Thursday February 19, 4:27 PMGay couples queue to wed in San Francisco as Bush weighs in against them Scores of gay couples married in San Francisco as US President George W. Bush said he was "troubled" by the same-sex marriages, which have won a legal respite.Bush said he was following the situation "very carefully," after more than 2,600 homosexual marriages were sanctioned by the city during the past six days.The president, who has warned several times that he may seek or endorse a constitutional amendment making such unions illegal, told reporters at the White House that "these events are influencing...

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...

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday he was "troubled" by gay weddings in San Francisco and by legal decisions in Massachusetts that could clear the way for same-sex marriage. But he declined to say whether he is any closer to backing a constitutional ban on such vows. "I have watched carefully what's happening in San Francisco, where licenses were being issued, even though the law states otherwise," Bush said. "I have consistently stated that I'll support law to protect marriage between a man and a woman. Obviously these events are influencing my decision." "I am watching...

At the Capitol, a gay youth joins in fightagainst proposed constitutional amendment E-mail Croft -- include name, town, phone number for verification For all the propaganda about anti-gay constitutional amendments being needed to protect children, here's one kid everybody should meet: Gregory Casajuana, a 16-year-old student at Cobb County's Harrison High School. He was among the speakers Saturday at a rally opposing a bill to make the state Constitution say that gay people can never marry -- and a push to codify the same sentiment in the federal Constitution, which President Bush has suggested he would support. Others at the...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — The first of two judges to listen to objections to gay marriage in San Francisco delayed until at least Friday whether to block the city from continuing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.</p> <p>The second judge will take up a different petition Tuesday afternoon.</p>

<p>It was only his 12th day as mayor of San Francisco, but Gavin Newsom decided that night -- the very night he attended President Bush's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. -- that he was going to defy California law.</p> <p>And turn the nation on its ear.</p>

Legalization of same-sex marriage would be a seismic event across this culture. Nothing would ever be the same. Every young child asks his parents, "Can boys [or girls] get married to each other"? If the answer changes from "no" to "yes," homosexuality would have then achieved equal status with heterosexual conduct and marriage. This equivalence would be taught in schools, observed in the workplace and eventually imposed even on churches. If the answer becomes "yes" there will doubtless be a dramatic increase in the incidence of homosexuality. Sexual arousal is a mystical thing, subject to conditioning. How else can one...

SAN FRANCISCO - Scores of gay couples were issued marriage licenses here Thursday in a move by city officials that generated both immediate promises of legal action by gay-marriage foes and tears of joy and celebratory whoops by the newly hitched. Two days before Valentine's Day, Mayor Gavin Newsom gave the go-ahead to the county clerk to accept marriage license applications from same-gender couples....

Monday, Jan. 26, 2004Sex Education in Amherst A high school takes on a controversial play ByNATHAN THORNBURGH This Feb. 14, V won't stand for just valentine at Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Massachusets. The local school board and superintendent last month approved a student request to stage The Vagina Monologues the night before Valentine's Day as part of a national campaign to call attention to violence against women. The theater piece, written by Eve Ensler, has played off-Broadway and in all-star benefits around the country and the world on Valentine's Day for the past six years. But this...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco officials presided over the marriages of at least 15 same-sex couples Thursday and issued about a dozen more marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.</p> <p>The act of civil disobedience was a political and legal challenge to California law. It pre-empted the efforts of the Campaign for California Families (search) to block Mayor Gavin Newsom's plan to license same-sex marriages (search).</p>

<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>

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Syphilis rates rose dramatically for the second straight year in the United States, particularly among gay and bisexual men, a finding that has health officials worried about an increase in HIV/AIDS cases in the coming years. Overall, the U.S. syphilis rate rose by 9 percent between 2001 and 2002, the second consecutive increase from an all-time low in 2000, according to figures released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The bulk of the increase occurred among men, rising by about 27 percent overall, including a staggering increase of more than...