Free Republic

As gay couples race to the altar in California this week, scientists may have found an answer to the so-called gay paradox. Studies suggest that homosexuality is at least partly genetic. And although homosexuals have far fewer children than heterosexuals, so-called gay genes apparently survive in the population. A new study bolsters support for an intriguing idea: These same genes may increase fertility in women. Despite some tantalizing leads over the past 2 decades, researchers have yet to isolate any genes directly linked to homosexuality. Nevertheless, a number of studies have shown that male homosexuals have more gay male relatives...

CONCORD – V. Gene Robinson, New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop, entered into a civil union yesterday with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew, according to WMUR-TV. The ceremony, held at St. Paul Church, coincided with the fifth anniversary of Robinson's election as the nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop. The state Legislature passed a law last year allowing gay couples to enter civil unions; the law took effect Jan. 1. In an interview last month on NBC's "The Today Show," Robinson said the decision to enter into a civil union came after he received death threats about his decision to...

Gene Robinson, New Hampshire's Episcopal bishop, entered into a civil union yesterday with his partner of 20 years, Mark Andrew, according to WMUR-TV. The ceremony, held at St. Paul Church, coincided with the fifth anniversary of Robinson's election as the nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop. The state Legislature passed a law last year allowing gay couples to enter civil unions; the law took effect Jan. 1. In an interview last month on NBC's "The Today Show," Robinson said the decision to enter into a civil union came after he received death threats about his decision to attend the Lambeth...

Americans seem mesmerized by the word "change." And, by golly, they sure got it last week from the California Supreme Court. It is difficult to imagine a single social change greater than redefining marriage from opposite sex to include members of the same sex. Nothing imaginable -- leftward or rightward -- would constitute as radical a change in the way society is structured as this redefining of marriage for the first time in history: Not another Prohibition, not government taking over all health care, not changing all public education to private schools, not America leaving the United Nations, not rescinding...

After being with his partner for almost two dozen years, George Takei can now plan a marriage. As reported at GeorgeTakei.com, Takei is pleased that his same-sex relationship can lead to marriage in California with the recent decision of the California Supreme Court to permit same-sex marriage. "Our California dream is reality," said Takei. "Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!" "The California Supreme Court further ruled that our Constitution provides for...

- Snip -But what if that curriculum is really a disguise for a very different agenda brought to Minneapolis by the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay and transgender advocacy group? What if its lessons have little to do with bullying, and much to do with ensuring that kids as young as age 5 submit to HRC's orthodoxy on family structure, even if it differs from their own parents' view? - Snip - In March, Minneapolis Superintendent Bill Green praised "Welcoming Schools" as "a tool to combat bullying, by focusing on diversity, gender stereotyping and name-calling." But the curriculum's...

TEACHERS are being urged to stop using terms such as husband and wife when addressing students or families under a major anti-homophobia push in schools. The terms boyfriend, girlfriend and spouse are also on the banned list - to be replaced by the generic "partner" - in changes sought by the gay lobby aimed at reducing discrimination in classrooms. Schools are coming under pressure to provide lessons for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and stack their libraries with books and videos covering their issues. Among the demands are the outlawing of homophobic comments by teachers or students in the...

"Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose. "We are shocked and appalled that the governor has blatantly attacked traditional family values in California," said Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute. "With this decision, Gov. Schwarzenegger has told parents that their values are irrelevant. Many parents will have no choice but to pull their children out of the public...

Is San Francisco anti-military? Mayor Gavin Newsom said Saturday, "I am sick and tired of this city being depicted as anti-military. The extreme right exploits the exception, when I believe there is a predominant respect in this city for the military, vets and those serving today." Newsom had a point when he said that critics of The Special City will not "allow the facts get in the way." Stories about Ess Eff turning away a crew filming a Marine recruitment ad apparently were much ado about nothing. The city did issue a permit - if not for the day the...

ne of the two major political parties of the United States has linked all its electoral hopes on domestic pathologies, economic downturns and foreign failure. It is actually difficult to name any positive development for America that would benefit the Democratic Party's chances in a national election. Name almost any subject, and this unhealthy pattern can be discerned. If African Americans come to believe that America is a land of opportunity in which racism has been largely conquered, it would be catastrophic for the Democrats. The day that most black Americans see America in positive terms will be the day...

On Thursday, Augaust 9th, at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street at Central park West, there will be a totally pro abortion panel to discuss "What's so bad about abortion?"

It doesn’t pay to take your constitutional right to free speech seriously anymore—at least, not if you live in Oakland, California. There, a handful of African-American Christian women recently found out that their free speech rights had effectively been outlawed. The women, who are Oakland government employees, had formed an organization called the Good News Employee Association. As their flyer put it, their group was “a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With Respect for the Natural Family, Marriage, and Family Values.” As columnist George Will relates, the women posted...

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Lindsey Ellerson Report: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told Planned Parenthood Tuesday that sex education for kindergarteners, as long as it is "age-appropriate," is "the right thing to do." "I remember Alan Keyes . . . I remember him using this in his campaign against me," Obama said in reference to the conservative firebrand who ran against him for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Sex education for kindergarteners had become an issue in his race against Keyes because of Obama’s work on the issue as chairman of the health committee in the Illinois state Senate. "'Barack...

But while government policy was undermining wedlock, it was also making it less economically necessary for women and children who increasingly relied for their support on a welfare state which grew dramatically under Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiative.23 Pushing down marriage rates and pushing up illegitimacy rates, welfare largesse created what sociologists Randal Day and Wade C. Mackey have called "the mother-state-child family." Because of the proliferation of this family form, Day and Mackey assert that married fathers must now "pay directly for their own children, and, in addition, must pay a heavy tax burden to support the state, as...

T.O. announces campaign to attract gay tourists toronto.ctv.ca Tourism Toronto said Friday that it plans to launch an advertising campaign aimed at making the city a top destination for gay travellers from the U.S. The campaign will focus on four major cities - New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. It will include ads in gay restaurants, bars and local publications, as well as event sponsorships and other promotional activities. "Toronto has things to offer all year round--we've got a number of festivals outside of Pride that we can market," said Bruce MacDonald of the Canadian Gay & Lesbian...

Mayor of Boston to raise rainbow flag over Boston City Hall today to celebrate "Gay Pride Week." The Founding Fathers who fought the British for freedom in Boston would probably shoot themselves if they saw this. It's not enough that Mayor Tom Menino allows Boston City Hall to be used for a perversion-filled "transgender prom" for kids and gay activists, that he marches in the "gay pride" parade, or that participates in their fundraisers. He has to raise the rainbow flag over Boston City Hall and keep it there for an entire week to rub it in, and embarrass us...

Here’s a Delphic riddle for our times: When is your father not your father? Answer: when he’s a sperm donor. Consider a case now before the Kansas Supreme Court. An unmarried woman in her early thirties decided that she wanted a child and asked a friend to be a sperm donor. He agreed, one thing led to another, which led to a syringe of his sperm, which led to the birth of twins. The mother says that she always intended to raise the kids alone and never wanted the friend involved in their lives. The donor says that he planned...

Ed Thomas OneNewsNow.com May 23, 2007 A pro-family group has completed a television monitoring project that focused on recording ads and sponsors on programs reportedly named by a major homosexual support group as giving positive portrayals of that lifestyle. Ford, the automaker that's already a target of conservative and pro-family groups, has emerged as the top sponsor of those pro-homosexual programs. American Family Association (AFA), which started the year-old boycott against Ford last spring because of its support of homosexual media and organizations through advertising and financial donations, says it has concluded a 12-week network TV monitoring project that again...

Dozens of students at three Sacramento, California, area public schools were suspended when they took a stand against a pro-homosexual event -- the "Day of Silence," which was observed nationwide late last month.Hear This Report   In the Sacramento area, an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 students chose to stay home instead of being confronted with the pro-homosexual message on the Day of Silence. But nearly 50 students who did attend school that day wore clothing and distributed literature highlighting the dangers of homosexuality. Some of these students were sent home, some were suspended, and others were given "Saturday school."Brad...

At least another 75 students have been suspended from school in California for wearing shirts that expressed their biblically-based opposition to homosexuality, and the district that, as WND reported, has been imposing the punishments, says those quotations aren't necessarily acceptable because they are from God's Word.