Free Republic

RUSSELL Halley takes pride in being able to do the splits as well as any woman on the dance floor. His partner, Jorge Guzman, can spin faster than the female competition. So when the two men don their see-through chiffon shirts to dance together, they alternate the lead. "I can send Jorge into a triple spin and catch him, and vice versa - even in the course of one move," Mr Halley boasts. "We can change place instantly. From an audience point of view it can be very exciting." The duo are at the forefront of an upheaval in America's...

Do you ever wonder why the internet is so polluted with pornography? The Supreme Court just reminded us why: it blocks every attempt by Congress to regulate the pornographers. From its ivory tower, the Court props open the floodgates for smut and graphic sex. Over the past five years, it has repeatedly found new constitutional rights for vulgarity, most recently invalidating the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). This latest judicial outrage happened on the final day of the Supreme Court term, after which the justices headed out for a long summer break. Lacking teenaged children of their own, the justices...

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- When Covington schools Superintendent Jack Moreland saw an advertisement for a Chippendales show, he thought it would be a good morale booster for his female employees. So he shelled out $420 to send 20 female staff members to a Chippendales show to see buff men strip off most of their clothing. It worked, but it also raised the ire of at least one person, who wrote an anonymous letter to the state Office of Education Accountability accusing Moreland of using school-district funds to pay for the strip show. Moreland said he spent $420 of his own...

Gay Marriages Continue After A.G. Decision PORTLAND - The American Civil Liberties Union may file its own lawsuit to uphold the right of same-sex couples to get married. ACLU's Executive Director David Fidanque told the media in a press conference not to be surprised. He says the organization is considering a variety of legal avenues. One is to sue for damages on behalf of couples who are being turned down in counties other than Multnomah County. He said that county officials are required by law to follow the Constitution. And so far, he says, all credible legal opinions have...

<p>The most troubling aspect of the city of San Francisco's insistence on granting marriage licenses to gay couples was the utter lawlessness of the action. Mayor Gavin Newsom had ordered City Hall to grant the licenses, and 4,161 gay couples from around the United States have been married in the city since Feb. 12.</p>

From LA Times of March 12: ... "Divided over gay marriage" by Roy Rivenburg Paula Ettelbrick, a law professor who runs the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, recommends legalizing a wide variety of marriage alternatives, including polyamory, or group wedlock. An example could include a lesbian couple living with a sperm-donor father, or a network of men and women who share sexual relations. One aim, she says, is to break the stranglehold that married heterosexual couples have on health benefits and legal rights. The other goal is to "push the parameters of sex, sexuality and family, and in...

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>

Oscar-nominated actress Charlize Theron has spoken out in favor of gay marriage, branding those like Arnold Schwarzenegger who oppose it "prehistoric". The Monster star, who grew up around a number of gay and bisexual people in her native South Africa, is appalled that gay marriage is still up for debate in this day and age. Theron, currently dating Irish actor Stuart Townsend, says, "I just don't understand that at all. It's so unbelievably frustrating. "I mean, I am surrounded by so many beautiful relationships just in my life, I can't tell you - just so inspirational. And the fact that...

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...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Gay and lesbian couples won another reprieve Friday when a judge declined to immediately stop San Francisco from granting them marriage licenses, saying conservative groups failed to prove the weddings would cause irreparable harm.

SAN FRANCISCO - After sanctioning more than 2,700 gay marriages in the past week, the city said Thursday it is suing the state of California, challenging its ban on same-sex marriages on constitutional grounds. City Attorney Dennis Herrera planned to file the suit in the afternoon, said his spokesman, Matt Dorsey. Two judges already are considering challenges from conservative groups seeking to halt the marriage spree that began last Thursday. The city's lawsuit asks that those cases be consolidated into one case. The city is asking Superior Court Judge James Warren to declare unconstitutional two sections of the California Family...

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...