Free Republic

March 1, 2006 Bill to allow gay foster parents to adopt doesn’t have the votes By Jan Pudlow Senior Editor A proposal to allow gay foster parents to adopt the children they care for received its first public hearing since Florida’s anti-gay parenting law was first enacted in 1977. It was standing-room only at the Senate Children & Families Committee on February 14, where 19 people — including gay and lesbian parents, foster parents, foster children, national children’s advocates, sociologists, and researchers — testified why the bill was in the best interests of children. But before there was a vote...

(AgapePress) - A Maryland school board is under fire for placing members of three pro-homosexual groups on its new Citizens Advisory Committee on Family Life and Human Development (CAC). Among the groups represented on the committee are the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and Teach the Facts, a homosexual advocacy group whose founder has close ties to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).Members of a conservative parents group called Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC) are criticizing the Montgomery County Public Schools ((MCPS) for the pro-homosexual appointments to its...

Three Stillwater ministers discussed homosexuality from a positive, biblical standpoint Thursday. “It is important for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons to know that God is love,” said Lucy Wilke, president of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. The Sexual Orientation Diversity Association and the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays organized the spirituality and sexuality panel. The Rev. Gordon Edwards of the First Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Stan Warfield of the First United Methodist Church and Anne Collins of the Quakers spoke on the panel Thursday and in the panel in 2003. About 60 percent of the...

For years the National Education Association has taken teacher dues money and pursued left-of-center social advocacy objectives. Now another acronym in the American educational establishment — the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) — has joined the NEA in choosing sides in the cultural debate over homosexuality in the schools. As detailed by George Archibald in the Washington Times (but ignored by the rest of the national media), last year the PTA invited the group Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to exhibit at the PTA convention and to make a presentation. This year, the Parent and Friends of...

The mother of a 29-year-old lesbian who committed suicide nearly a decade ago told a gathering of gays and their friends and family members yesterday that her daughter died because of the "untruths taught by the church." A few of the 75 of so people gathered at Newport Presbyterian Church in Bellevue wiped away tears as Mary Lou Wallner talked about Anna's death in 1997, about the guilt she felt and how the circumstances have changed her life. Wallner, who lives just outside Little Rock, Ark., explained she was raised in a conservative Christian home, and that was how she...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The goal of safe-schools programs on behalf of children with same-sex attraction should be to "encourage them in their identity," workshop presenters for a pro-homosexual group told delegates at the national PTA convention. "Most gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) kids do not feel safe in school," said Roy Gilbert-Higginson, deputy director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). "They stay away, they truant, they don't get value of an education." The Rev. Lawrence Rezash, pastor emeritus of St. John's United Church of Christ in Dayton, Ohio, said PFLAG has developed a program for...

LINCOLN, Neb., May 12 (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the measure interfered not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a variety of other living arrangements. The amendment to the state's Constitution, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2000. The Nebraska ruling is the first in which a federal court has struck down a state ban on same-sex marriage, and conservatives in the United...

Montgomery County Public Schools yesterday halted a new sex-ed curriculum that was to have begun today, after a federal judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit that charged the course is unconstitutional and promotes homosexuality. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. had granted a 10-day temporary restraining order yesterday to halt the teaching of the new course. "I have directed the office of the deputy superintendent of schools to review and evaluate the materials referenced in the judge's order," Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said, "...before any decisions are made about any future pilot testing of the revised curriculum in our...

Homosexual Advocacy Group Criticizes New Pope(CNSNews.com) - Not everyone had words of praise for the selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope. A homosexual advocacy group expressed "concern" that Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, "does not present a hopeful vision of the future or inspire optimism for affirming language, policies or outreach." Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) noted that Ratzinger "authored a Vatican document condemning marriage and adoption by gay men and lesbians in July 2003." The Washington Blade described the document as a "battle plan for Catholic politicians." According to PLFAG, the document...

Breaking...

More than anything, Linda Bigelow wanted to be a mom. The traditional route -- romance, marriage, pregnancy -- would have been great, but she couldn't manage to grab hold of it. She dated, "but I realized I wasn't really looking for a husband for me, I was looking for a father for my future children," she says. "I decided that wasn't a good reason to get married." So at the age of 31, she decided to do motherhood -- solo. On June 4, 2000, after reams of paperwork and several months of waiting, she and her mother, Jean, collected her...

(Washington D.C.) — A Virginia based gay rights organization has called for the resignation of Fairfax County school board member Stephen Hunt after he sent a letter to school principals in the county touting “ex-gay” reparative therapy. Equality Fairfax, Equality Virginia is a consortium of the Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network, P-FLAG and the Human Rights Campaign. "Hunt should not be permitted to spread this kind of harmful misinformation," Paula Prettyman, president of Equality Fairfax said in her statement to the school board. "Reparative therapy techniques, or 'ex-gay' therapies, have been denounced by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological...

Bell-ringers and red kettles are a familiar site around retail centers each holiday season. But some activists hope to put a dent in the collections of the Salvation Army for what they say are the religious charity's anti-gay policies. For the fourth consecutive year, the PFLAG chapter in Genesee County, Mich., will protest the Salvation Army red kettle program, hoping their supporters will drop enough dollar bill-sized protest notes in the kettles to make an impact in the fund-raising, which brought in $93 million last year. This isn't a project the national office is sponsoring, but we're happy to direct...

Over 120 Jewish Leaders Sign Passover Petition for Marriage Equality 3/31/2004 5:01:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk Contact: Alice Leeds, 917-523-5029 or aleeds@pflag.org, or Taylor Thompson, 202-213-1591 or 202-467-8180 ext. 213, tthompson@pflag.org, both of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays WASHINGTON, March 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) announced that over 120 rabbis and Jewish leaders from all over the country have signed PFLAG's Passover Petition for Marriage Equality. At this time when Jewish families celebrate freedom from oppression, PFLAG implores fair-minded citizens across the nation to work for the...

Posted on Sat, Mar. 27, 2004 N.C. School Restricts Book on Gay Prince Associated Press WILMINGTON, N.C. - A children's book about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince will be available only to adults in an elementary school's library, a committee has decided. The book, called "King & King," will be locked up at Freeman Elementary School in response to complaints by some parents, a school committee ruled Friday in an 8-3 vote. The parents who initially complained after their first-grader brought home the book say the decision satisfies them. Michael and Tonya Hartsell said...

It has been a roller-coaster ride of emotions for my partner and I, these past several weeks. We have been together for over twenty-one years and have also been battling AIDS and HIV for all those years. Lately, we have watched the long awaited dream of gay marriage unfold on the television as we sit side by side in a hospital room. My partner, Peter, has been admitted to the hospital, six times in six weeks. The most heartbreaking moment was a month ago. For seven years he has been on dialysis and for over a year on the kidney...

I have a proposal at the federal level that would break this debate over same sex wedding certificates. Couldn't we pass a bill in congress that would deny Social Security benefits to spouses in counties that recognized (not just issued) certificates to any couples not defined as male and female? Any government benefits that are allocated on the basis of marriage should be denied to areas in the United States that make it ambivalent as to what kind of non-traditional unions would recieve them.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Appalled as Congressional Subcommittee Stacks Deck to Promote Homophobic Agenda 3/2/04 3:06:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Legislative Reporter Contact: Alice Leeds, 212-874-0675 or 917-523-5029, aleeds@pflag.org; or Taylor Thompson, 202-467-8180 ext. 213, tthompson@pflag.org; both of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays WASHINGTON, March 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the nation's largest grassroots family organization, denounces the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights for holding a hearing designed to showcase Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas)...

1/16/04 12:39:00 AM To: City and State desks, Political Reporter Contact: Ricardo Davis of Constitution Party of Georgia 770-924-8546; ga@constitutionparty.com ATLANTA, Jan. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a public statement the Constitution Party of Georgia (CPGa) raised concerns over the current efforts of Gov. Perdue to amend the Georgia Constitution to encourage state funding of church ministries involved in charitable works. State Chairman Ricardo Davis of Woodstock stated that "Senate Resolution 560, the Faith-Based Initiative Amendment (FBIA), may undermine the ability of state-funded Christian ministries to communicate the life-changing message of the Gospel by limiting their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to free...

Homosexual Agenda: Categorical Index of Links (Revision 1.1) Category Year Title Posted On FreeRepublic Adoption   2002 Pediatrics Group Endorses Homosexual Adoption     Trophy children Yes Bible   2003 What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality, Adultery...     What does the Bible actually say about being gay? Yes     The Christian Confronted by Homosexuality Yes     Talmud on Homosexuality     Is banning the Bible next?     Christianity and Homosexuality Yes     A divisive debate over the Bible spotlighted Episcopalians' OK for gay bishop   2002 Responding to Pro-Gay Theology   1999 The...