Free Republic

[The Seattle Times is doing something highly unusual and irregular by endorsing Referendum 74 (marriage "equality") and then launching an all out social media campaign, called in its Editorial page "The I Do Effort", asking readers to clip out the placard in the Sunday Times, and to "take a photo of you, your partner or your family holding this sign and share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #IDo74. You can also email the photo to ido@seattletimes.com."]

As debate about the same-sex marriage referendum swirled around Maine, the social hall of Our Lady of Good Hope church was a bastion of Catholic conviction after Mass last week. About 30 people listened as two theologians from Massachusetts talked about the importance of marriage and why allowing same-sex couples to wed is contrary to church doctrine. Marriage is a lifelong commitment that is "oriented to the procreation and education of children," said Angela Franks, director of theology programs at the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Mass. "The whole debate over marriage is...

Republican primary voters in New York punished two incumbents last week who voted to legalize same-sex marriage, firing a potential warning shot nationwide toward GOP lawmakers who could soon face tough votes in their states. Two of the four veteran — and long-secure — Republican senators in New York who voted for same-sex marriage a year ago await counts of absentee ballots as they sweat out the political fight of their lives. A third announced his retirement this year in the face of strong opposition to his gay marriage vote. A fourth won his primary Thursday but only after a...

Rupert Everett has spoken out against gay parents and said he “can’t think of anything worse” than two men bringing up a child together. The star of the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love blazed a trail for gay actors when he came out as homosexual 20 years ago. However, he has been criticised by gay rights groups after giving an interview in which he decried same-sex couples who have children. The 53-year-old told the Sunday Times Magazine that his mother Sara had met his boyfriend but “still wishes I had a wife and kids.” “She thinks children need a father...

From the Christian Post: Just two months ahead of the November presidential election, Pastor Rick Warren said Sunday that Christians should gain courage and not apologize for voting in accordance with their worldview. "You don't need to apologize for voting for a Christian worldview which stands up for the sanctity of life, the sanctity of sex and the sanctity of marriage. You don't need to apologize for that because everybody votes what they believe," Warren told thousands of Saddleback Church attendees at the launch of a new sermon series. The Southern California pastor said those three issues (life, sex, marriage)...

The following is a list of the Obama administration’s “accomplishments” in support of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) political/cultural agenda, as compiled by homosexual activist and Obama ally Andrew Tobias. This list appeared in the pro-“gay” “Equality Giving” website. President Obama is easily the most pro-homosexual, pro-transsexual president in our nation’s history (hence the Newsweek cover) – far eclipsing the sizable pro-“gay” record of the last Democrat to hold the office, Bill Clinton. Due to the sheer volume of Obama’s homosexualist “achievements,” this sympathetic compilation is not comprehensive. Since AFTAH is not partisan and cannot endorse candidates, we will...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney emphasized his anti-abortion rights and anti-gay marriage positions in a videotaped message to the Values Voter summit Friday in Washington. "We need a president who shares our commitment to conservative principles and our respect for traditional values," Romney said. "We will uphold the sanctity of life, not abandoned or ignore it and we will defend marriage, not try to redefine it." Romney went on to argue that "culture matters," pointing to a Brookings Institution survey often cited by former rival Rick Santorum on the campaign trail that found families who waited to have children after...

A national organization advocating for marriage being defined as between one man and one woman has declared victory in the political primaries of Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The National Organization for Marriage sent out a statement on Wednesday referring to the defeat of several pro-same-sex marriage candidates in the Democratic primary as a "massacre." "A massive last-minute surge of money from pro gay marriage millionaire Tim Gill couldn't drown out the voice of the people, who defeated five out of six pro gay marriage state senators," read the statement from Brian Brown, president of NOM. "The media and pro...

Although several human rights organizations asked that Paul Ryan cancel his appearance at the Values Voter Summit, (see FR post: "Paul Ryan asked by Human Rights Campaign to skip speaking at "hate group" "conferencehttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2929419/posts ), Ryan apparently used his own powers of reason; he is obviously there, and speaking in fine form: Reported by gay advocates: The FRC (Famuly Research Council) gave a prayer "calling for homosexuality and gay marriage to be made illegal". : "Please pray that God will give FRC and our friends courage ceaselessly to proclaim truth as it pertains to marriage and human sexuality. May God...

This from the Maryland Catholic Conference: "Young adults in Maryland say loud and clear: "Don't redefine marriage in Maryland." Vote "Against" Question 6 on November 6, 2012." [SEE VIDEO @ LINK]

Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that a controversial ban on gay propaganda does not extend to public demonstrations and discussions of gay rights. In an August 15 ruling posted on the court's website on September 14, the court upheld a regional ban on gay propaganda targeting minors, but said that providing minors with "general" and "neutral" information about gay rights did not fall under the ban. The ruling follows an appeal by gay-rights activists of a recent ban by lawmakers in Russia's northwest Arkhangelsk Oblast of gay propaganda to minors. Gay-rights groups have welcomed the ruling, which they say excludes...

With the Star Tribune and MPR on the sidelines for now, only two major polling organizations have covered Minnesota's marriage amendment: SurveyUSA and Public Policy Polling. For the first time this election season, both showed "Vote Yes" forces leading. Bad news for gay-marriage supporters? Yes. But the nature of those leads were very different: SUSA has the anti-gay-marriage amendment claiming a majority even without undecideds, 50-43, while PPP posited a nailbiter, 48-47. Rather than going down the rabbit hole of whether gay-marriage foes lie to pollsters (they didn't in North Carolina this year), how did the polling numbers differ? Simply...

Opponents of same-sex marriage took the neck-and-neck finishes of Republican primary challengers to Sens. Roy McDonald and Steve Saland as a sign of strength. McDonald, R-Saratoga and Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, were among four Republicans who sided with a slew of Democrats to assure the same-sex marriage bill’s 33-29 passage in 2011, and conservatives have had them in their sights ever since. (Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, easily won a primary and Sen. Jim Alesi, R-Rochester, did not seek another term.) While gay rights advocates stuffed McDonald and Saland’s coffers, grass roots groups mobilized against them, and may have succeeded in ousting one...

Yesterday, on the way to an Intelligence Squared debate about campaign finance regulation, I happened to read a story about Roy McDonald, one of four Republican state senators who last year voted for the bill that legalized gay marriage in New York. McDonald did so only after receiving assurances from gay rights activists who promised to help counter the expected backlash by raising money for his re-election campaign. The New York Times reports that they delivered on that promise: "New York was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage with the support of a Republican-controlled legislative chamber, and gay-rights advocates,...

[Image: Cut out Obama dressed gay at Unity party during DNC] At a huge party in Charlotte during the Democratic National Convention hundreds of people milled about – cocktails in hand – in themed rooms. A barbershop choir sang, a classical quartet played and loads of delegates and Charlotte residents had their pictures taken with a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama. One guy grabbed Obama’s cutout crotch. A woman held a rainbow over his head for her photo. And yet another draped an orange feather boa around Obama’s cutout neck. This was the Charlotte Unity party, throw by the lesbian,...

[Interesting to see how they frame this, and that it is coming from a UK gay news site]A US Christian ministry has published a homophobic guide for parents to teach their children about gays. Mission: America's hate-filled pamphlet called 'Questions and Answers for Kids About Homosexuality' is intended as an easy guide for parents struggling to explain to their older grade school or middle school children what being 'gay' means. Despite rightly suggesting the word 'gay' should not be used as an insult, it quickly goes on to insist that homosexuality is 'wrong' and a 'sin'. 'Most cultures long ago...

A theological professor at an African-American Christian seminary has complained to federal anti-discrimination officials that he was fired based on his conservative views, particularly his stance against homosexuality. Rev. Jamal-Dominique Hopkins told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a filing last month that administrators at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) had begun mistreating him after attendees at an event he organized were given a book that called homosexual activity sinful.

An online petition calling for the removal of Chick-fil-A from the Marshall Student Center (MSC) has received considerable feedback — both support and backlash -— from the USF community. Though only a little over 100 signatures have been added to the petition on Change.org since last week (the petition had 771 signatures as of Wednesday night), it has received strong reactions. Scott Ferguson, an assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies, created the petition. As news of the petition’s existence has spread, he said he received negative feedback — including bigoted emails from other USF professors, negative...

Tim Gill and his band of big donors spent a fortune seeking to pass gay marriage in Rhode Island — but last night was a bad night for pro-gay marriage Dems in Rhode Island, according to the Providence Phoenix: "Tonight’s Democratic primaries were not kind to gay marriage supporters, who claimed just one of six key state senate races. Pro-same sex nuptials candidate Adam Satchell scored a decisive victory over Senator Michael Pinga. But five other gay marriage backers – David Gorman, Gene Dyszlewski, Laura Pisaturo, Lewis Pryeor, and Robert DaSilva — lost. . . . After tonight, then, it...

Two U.S. Senators have introduced legislation to ban same-sex marriages from occurring on military bases, following approval of a similar bill by the House of Representatives. Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., co-authored the legislation presented Tuesday that would prevent marriage or “marriage-like ceremonies” of same-sex couples at military facilities. It would also allow military chaplains to opt out of performing such a union if they object for “reasons of conscience,” Inhofe’s office said in a statement.