Free Republic

Crown Heights will see its first-ever Straight Pride Parade this weekend. So how do the homos feel? By Jaime Jordan Reggae artists on the Taking Care Of Our Own Productions (myspace.com/tcooo) label are planning a Straight Pride Parade for Sunday 31 at 10am, starting at Church and Flatbush Avenues in Crown Heights and continuing down Bob Marley Avenue. It was organized in response to accusations made by gay activists, specifically Peter Tatchell, founder of the activist group OutRage!, that certain reggae songs, including Stapler’s “Hit Them Hard,” incite violence against gays. “The issue is not homophobia,” explains Tatchell. “It is...

The recent headlines about the legalization of gay marriage in California and the efforts to reverse that decision have left me dismayed. I may be in the minority among my fellow Christians, but I find myself increasingly ashamed by the words and actions of the leaders of the religious right. Why are so many squandering precious time in an attempt to outlaw gay marriage? We could be putting our efforts for God to much better use! There are far more pressing issues the world is facing today. It should not be the priority of so many to prevent two men...

The Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, one of just two bishops in the Church of England to boycott the Lambeth Conference entirely, insisted today that he is being true to biblical authority. Explaining a decision that he admits has been painful for a man who sought refuge in Britain from persecution, and who has been at the heart of the two previous convocations at Canterbury – first as Coordinator in 1988 and then as a Member of the Steering Committee in 1998 - he said it was a matter of ‘conscience and logic’. He said that ‘persistent false teaching’...

Michigan man is seeking $70 million from two Christian publishers for emotional distress and mental instability he received during the past 20 years from versions of the Bible that refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, a gay man, claims his constitutional rights were infringed upon by Zondervan Publishing Co. and Thomas Nelson Publishing, both of which, he claims, deliberately caused homosexuals to suffer by misinterpretation of the Bible. Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson. According to a USA Today report, Fowler’s two separate suits against the publishers claim...

A Michigan man is suing Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishing, claiming biblical references to homosexuality as a sin violate his constitutional rights and have caused him emotional pain and mental instability. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and $10 million from Thomas Nelson, The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reported. He is representing himself in both claims. Fowler claims the Bible has made him an outcast and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of "demoralization, chaos and bewilderment." "As frivolous as this case may sound, it's an indicator of where the homosexual agenda is headed," said...

Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman but after surgery and hormone treatment lives as a man, has given birth to a girl at an Oregon hospital, People magazine reported on Thursday. Beatie, 34, who kept female reproductive organs after initiating a transgender transformation and legally changing his name from Tracy Lagondino in his 20s, confirmed the birth to the magazine. The baby, conceived through artificial insemination using donor sperm and Beatie's own eggs, was born on June 29, and Beatie and the baby are "healthy and doing well," People reported. Beatie's wife, Nancy, 46, whom he married five years...

WASHINGTON — The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group. While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women.

...in this election cycle, I can’t imagine the DNC would knowingly allow the carefully manicured image of their candidate to be pulled into the culture wars with such a provocative commercial sponsored, at least indirectly, by the spouse of their former standard-bearer... See video here

Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson was united in a civil union ceremony with longtime partner Mark Andrew yesterday afternoon at St. Paul's Church in Concord. Attorney Ronna Wise, a justice of the peace, performed the private ceremony before about 120 friends and family. The day marked the five-year anniversary of the New Hampshire election that, once ratified, made Robinson the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican church. Robinson had made public his intent to get a civil union but had purposely kept the date and the details quiet. He did so, said spokesman Mike Barwell, out of respect for next...

Gay Pride Parade to Bring Out Hundreds of Thousands June 7, 2008, 12:42 PM PDT WEST HOLLYWOOD -- More than 400,000 people are expected to line Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood Sunday for the 38th annual LA Pride Parade, which celebrates the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Crescent Heights Boulevard and head west to Robertson Boulevard. It will feature more than 125 entries, including floats, bands, marching community advocacy groups and convertibles with honored guests, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Radio talk show host Stephanie Miller will serve as grand marshal....

SEATTLE (AP) — Most of the time, a kiss is just a kiss in the stands at Seattle Mariners games. The crowd hardly even pays attention when fans smooch. But then last week, a lesbian complained that an usher at Safeco Field asked her to stop kissing her date because it was making another fan uncomfortable. The incident has exploded on local TV, on talk radio and in the blogosphere and has touched off a debate over public displays of affection in generally gay-friendly Seattle. "Certain individuals have not yet caught up. Those people see a gay or lesbian couple...

Same-Sex Couple Sues After Faced With Ultimatum at Mariners Baseball GameAnyone who has attended a Major League Baseball game in the past decade has probably seen a "Kiss Cam" where couples throughout the ballpark are featured locking lips on the big-screen JumboTrons. But controversy over ballpark kissing erupted at Safeco Field in Seattle this week when a same-sex couple claimed they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, which stadium officials deny. Sirbrina Guerrero, 23, says she and her partner, who requested anonymity, were just "exchanging pecks," not acting any differently than heterosexual couples at the game, when park...

SAN FRANCISCO — California's highest court considered this week whether doctors' religious beliefs give them the right to withhold medical treatment from lesbians and gay men, a group specifically protected under state anti-discrimination laws. Taking up a case that has pitted the promise of religious liberty against the guarantee of equal access, the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments May 28 in a lawsuit brought by a woman who claims her Christian doctors refused to perform artificial insemination on her because of her sexual orientation.

Ritter signed Senate Bill 200 this afternoon in his office, without any of the public ceremonies and news releases that came with six other bills he signed today. His spokesman, Evan Dreyer, said the governor was not deliberately trying to keep the signing quiet. In all, Ritter signed 20 bills today, Dreyer said.

A Home Depot store in Utah plans to celebrate Gay pride in the Store with decorations of Rainbows and employee Tee shirts announcing gay pride. Inside sources say that this is something that will be devastating to business as most of the customer base tends to be on the Right side of the issue as they are mostly religious people. I am actively involved in this business and i dont want to be a part of it bacuae this is contrary to my belief and would like advice from more experienced FReepers on how best to disrupt these outrageous plans...

A JUDGE has allowed a 12-year-old Victorian girl to start a taxpayer-funded sex swap, despite objections from the child’s father. The girl has begun court-approved hormone treatment in the first step toward a complete gender switch. The Family Court orders also permit the girl, who cannot be named, to apply for a new birth certificate, passport and Medicare card in a boy’s name. The application to allow the hormone treatment was lodged by the girl’s mother. A state government observer, an endocrinologist, a psychiatrist, a family counsellor and a lawyer acting on the child’s behalf all supported the plan. Only...

Michael Brewer, a senior at Morehouse College, was strolling purposefully around this storied campus on a hot spring day, his heavy frame dripping sweat, his hands clutching a small stack of fliers. "No more hate," the fliers read, in a stylish typeface. "No more discrimination. No more." "What's up, brother?" Brewer said in a lilting, cheerful voice as he approached a fellow student in a dark business suit. "Take one of these, if you will." The young man gave the flier a glance. It was promoting what was perhaps the most ambitious week of gay rights events in the history...

Brasilia, May 22, 2008 / 07:51 am (CNA).- Attendees at Brazil’s first national “Youth Conference” in the capital city of Brasilia has issued a declaration containing rulings favoring the legalization of abortion and the creation of an educational system free of “homophobia.” Preliminary materials given to the 2,280 attendees at the April meeting were published by the government and bore the name of President Luiz Lula, LifeSiteNews reports. One publication claimed that 70 thousand women die every year because of complications from badly-performed abortions. The publication also said that women never die of legal abortions. Official U.S. statistics report about...

The principal of a South Carolina public school has announced plans to resign rather than continue his work at Irmo High following a demand to launch a student club to promote homosexuality. "The formation of this club conflicts with my professional beliefs in that we do not have other clubs at Irmo High school based on sexual orientation, sexual preference, or sexual activity," Principal Eddie Walker, who identifies himself as "Class of 2008-2009," told the school community in a letter. His letter said he planned to announce his pending departure to students via the intercom today, but school officials told...

Preachers give sermons. They ponder morality and seek to divine the will of God. They see stories not as narratives from which readers may draw their own conclusions, but as parables, useful for illustrating life lessons. In the Eye of the Storm, the new book by Gene Robinson, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, is not the memoir it appears to be. It is not Robinson telling his story but Robinson expounding his opinions. How does a Christian deal with the Bible's harsh judgments, contradictory messages and archaic views? What does God have to say about sexuality? How has the...

Episcopal Seminaries Struggle With Costs Long-Held Training Model Faces an Uncertain Future By G. Jeffrey MacDonald Religion News Service Saturday, May 17, 2008; B09 In the cloistered world of Episcopal seminaries, time sometimes seems to stand still as clergy-in-training gather in stone chapels to pray in ways familiar to their forebears centuries earlier. But the semblance of timelessness can be deceiving. Some of the 11 seminaries affiliated with the Episcopal Church are slashing core programs, while others report rapid growth in enrollment. Still others are reexamining conventional wisdom about what it takes -- and how much it costs -- to...

Newly-announced Obama endorser and superdelegate, Rep. Pete Stark, talking about the California gay marriage decision on XM's POTUS08 earlier today: Rebecca Roberts, XM: Congressman Pete Stark of California, a new super-delegate for Barack Obama. I wanted to get your reaction, by the way, since you're a Californian, on the Supreme Court decision to overturn the ban on gay marriage. Stark: I think that was, you know... California usually leads on these issues of human rights and civil rights. I was quite proud of our state supreme court. We're going to have a big fight, because you know, the born-again Christians...

SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court has overturned a gay marriage ban in a ruling that would make the nation's largest state the second one to allow gay and lesbian weddings. The justices' 4-3 decision Thursday says domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. Chief Justice Ron George wrote the opinion. The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march. The case before the court involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter-approved law...

- 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...

"We're here, we're queer, get used to it!" Dozens of lesbian activists at Smith College climbed in through windows and stormed the podium in a riot scene shortly after Ryan Sorba began a speech on his upcoming book, The Born Gay Hoax. The melee forced an end to the speech before a packed hall in the library on the Northhampton campus. Uniformed police officers and a plainclothes security guard were in the room but mostly just stood and watched. Rather than take action against the rioters, the officers and a university official walked to the podium and ordered Sorba to...

The battle over same-sex marriage in California heated up Thursday, when supporters of an initiative to ban it in the state's Constitution submitted more than 1.1 million signatures in an effort to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

The American Family Outing, a gay-friendly outreach to mega-churches, responds to Family Research Council fund-raising letter.Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 10, 2008 -- On Thursday, April 3, 2008, The Gay City News reported on a Family Research Council (FRC) fundraising letter devoted to the American Family Outing, a project that aims to create dialogue between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) families and members at six American mega-churches. The letter, dated March 2008 and signed by FRC President Tony Perkins, asks for $50,000 to create "Church Crisis Response Teams" to react to same-sex couples and their children who have expressed a desire...

Thousands of Oregonians a year change their names. But the case of a Bend resident who says he is legally male and five months pregnant has highlighted the much smaller numbers who legally change their sex. That option exists in Oregon, as in most states, for transsexuals who switch genders. "Oregon's law is very typical," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. The crux of the decades-old law is one sentence. The same court with jurisdiction over legal name changes "may order a legal change of sex and enter a judgment indicating...

ONE of Scotland's most senior Catholics has launched an attack on the "gay lobby" in Scotland, claiming there is a "huge and well-orchestrated conspiracy" against Christian values. The Rt Rev Joseph Devine, Bishop of Motherwell and president of the Catholic Education Commission, said gay rights organisations aligned themselves with minority groups, such as Holocaust survivors, to project an "image of a group of people under persecution". He warned that the gay lobby – which he labelled "the opposition" – had mounted "a giant conspiracy" to shape public policy. He singled out the actor Sir Ian McKellen, who was given a...

Just one year ago, Megan Wallent's co-workers at Microsoft knew her as Michael. Then, in an e-mail sent to his entire staff, he announced that he no longer considered himself a male. The long-time executive, in charge of the Internet Explorer division for Microsoft, underwent major feminization surgery and legally changed his gender. Wallent's wife, like his co-workers, had no idea that this guy's guy was conflicted about his gender identity. ABC's Neal Karlinksy has the story from Seattle. Read more here and view a slideshow of the transition from Michael to Megan.

"Boycott the April DAY of SILENCE! Below is the list of schools we believe will be participating in the April 2008 "Day of silence." This pro-homosexual day communicates clear (and false) messages to ALL students in the school that: homosexuality is a worthy lifestyle; that it has few or no risks; that some people are "born" homosexual, including students; and that those who oppose this behavior are hateful and uninformed. We do NOT agree. The Day of Silence is, sadly, a day of deception.The facts do not support the implications noted above. Responsible parents and communities will oppose this message...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Four years after San Francisco ignited a heated national debate by briefly allowing gay marriage, California's top court hears arguments on Tuesday about whether matrimony should be limited to a man and a woman. The hearing brings into focus the highest-profile U.S. fight over gay rights in recent years and the outcome could end up influencing legislation and litigation in other states on a matter that has been a hot-button issue in election campaigns. "California's a bellwether state. What happens here, blows east," said Larry Bowler, a retired deputy sheriff from Sacramento, who opposes gay marriage,...

A recent front-page story in our local newspaper hailed the upcoming wedding of two lesbian women in our county who are travelling to Canada for their ceremony. The younger of the two women boldly declared, "How can love ever be wrong? I think God would take up a fight for me on that one. He’d be on my side." Would He? In a recent article written for my congregation, I examine the difference between biblical love and unbridled lust. Is God really in favor of lesbian love?

US, February 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - At the same time that news has come out that the Toronto Catholic School board has refused to participate in pro-homosexual activities, homosexual activists are making significant inroads in US schools, as a booklet titled, "Just the Facts about Sexual Orientation and Youth," is set to be distributed to all 16,000 school districts in the country. The 24-page booklet by the National Education Association and American Psychological Association, tells students that homosexuality is a "normal expression of human sexuality". "What's so scary and dogmatic about this report is that it communicates that religious-based viewpoints...

Americans who self-identify as “gay” or lesbian comprise roughly one to three percent of the population. Yet the homosexual movement — led by extremist homosexual pressure groups like the so-called Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — represent, per capita, one of America’s most powerful and well-funded political lobbies. Consider that HRC and the HRC foundation alone have an annual budget in excess of 50 million. Through a carefully crafted, decades-old propaganda campaign, homosexual activists have successfully cast homosexuals — many of whom enjoy positions of influence and affluence — as a disadvantaged minority. They have repackaged and sold to the public...

The Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Rev James Jones, a conservative evangelical, expressed the views in a book, A Fallible Church, in which he apologised for objecting to the appointment of the gay cleric Dr Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading. He was one of nine bishops to sign a public letter criticising the proposed consecration. The bishop also apologised for his conduct and its effect on John, who eventually withdrew his acceptance of the post after bowing to pressure. Jones said: "I deeply regret this episode in our common life. I still believe it was unwise to try to...

Des Moines, IA, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief at the Iowa Supreme Court, in a case that will ultimately either protect or destroy the definition of marriage in Iowa. The sex-sex "marriage" issue hit Iowa in August 2007, when an Iowa judge decided in favor of a number of homosexual couples who had sued to overturn a state ban on marriage. At various times in 2004 and 2005 six homosexual couples applied for marriage certificates to the Polk County Recorder and Polk County Registrar, Timothy Brien. Brien denied their applications for marriage on the basis...

Police, saying they were responding to citizen complaints, carted away two large promotional photographs from the Abercrombie & Fitch store in Lynnhaven Mall on Saturday and cited the manager on obscenity charges. Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman, said the seizure and the issuance of the summons came only after store management had not heeded warnings to remove the images. The citation was issued under City Code Section 22.31, Bernstein said, which makes it a crime to display "obscene materials in a business that is open to juveniles." He did not say what was being done with the pictures and when...

Guess who booed a black pastor at a Martin Luther King, Jr. rally? In his Stoplight video commentary, Stuart Shepard delves into the exceptionally rude behavior exhibited at a Washington [state] high school. Click the link for the Video.

I’ve been studying higher education for a long time, but I’ve never seen anything quite as queer as a new course being taught at the University of Michigan. Section Two of English 317 is titled “How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.” Taught by Instructor David Halperin (halperin@umich.edu), the course is worth three credit hours to Wolverine students interested in exploring learned gayness. For years, I’ve been hearing that gayness is a function of some sort of gay gene but, apparently, I’ve been over-simplifying the issue. Here’s what Halperin has to say: “Just because you happen to be a...

To the Members of the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts: I am writing to thank the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts for the advice and support you have given to me during my campaign for the U.S. Senate and to seek the Club’s formal endorsement of my election. The Log Cabin Club has played a vital role in reinvigorating the Republican Party in Massachusetts and your endorsement is important to me because it will provide further confirmation that my campaign and approach to government is consistent with the values and vision of government we share.I am pleased to have had...

Do you like Cher's gay programming idea? Yes No

Just the facts on SB 777 By: ROBERT TYLER Forget everything you learned in kindergarten about the difference between boys and girls. According to Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature, schoolchildren can now choose their own sex. I'm not talking about choosing "sexual behavior or sexual preferences." Kids are going to be taught that they have the right to completely ignore their physical anatomy and choose the status of being "male" or "female." Ignore your common sense, ignore your chromosomes and ignore your anatomy. This is what your politicians want to teach your kids in school. After all, California's kids...

The Old Media barely missed a toe-tapping beat in their relentless coverage of the Larry Craig “scandal” to mention that a staffer for Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell was arrested last week by the FBI after showing up for a sexual rendezvous with someone he believed to be a 13 year-old boy. The handling of the “incident” by the Old Media provides a textbook example of pervasive liberal media bias. The arrest occurred on the afternoon of Friday, November 30 but the first reporting of it came from The Smoking Gun website on Monday, December 3. Sen. Cantwell terminated the staffer,...

As the first-ever term of gender-neutral housing at Dartmouth comes to a close, the Office of Residential Life has begun to look back at its newly instituted gender-neutral housing program floor and, based on positive feedback, does not foresee a need to make any significant changes in the coming terms. Out of the 32 students who applied for this special housing, 16 students and one undergraduate advisor were eventually chosen because they showed an active interest in participating in the model of a shared community which would hold programs and dinners focused on discussing gender-related issues. Article continues on TheDartmouth.com...

Diversity assembly at Eastern sparks backlash from parents WENDY L. GARMAN For The York Dispatch Article Launched: 11/16/2007 10:47:40 AM EST Eastern York School District's board meeting was standing-room only Thursday night after more than two dozen people turned out to protest a diversity assembly held last week at the high school. Kathy Freeland, who has a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old in the district, said she received no notification of such an assembly and was "disturbed" to learn that her children were addressed by a "gay man, an African-American woman and a Jew." "I send my children to school to...

Gone are the days when Jesuit priests were virile men who fully embraced the Catholic Faith and prayed to be worthy of a martyr's crown. Let's play "compare and contrast", shall we? First, here's a tale from the 1640s in the upstate New York wilderness:He [Fr. Isaac Jogues] did not yet know the cause of his companion's [Rene Goupil] death; but the old man who had caused him to be slain having invited him, some days later, to his cabin, and giving him food, when the Father came to offer the blessing and express the sign of the Cross, that...

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Gay-lesbian network Logo is moving into the network news business, planning to televise a half-hour weekly newscast produced by CBS News. "CBS News on Logo" will premiere next Monday at 7 p.m. EST. The newscast stems from a two-year partnership between the MTV Networks channel and CBS News. A dedicated CBS News crew working out of its West 57th Street broadcast center had been producing three-minute interstitials that aired daily on Logo. [Snip] The new show will focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues including the 2008 election, HIV/AIDs and entertainment, sports and science...

The nation’s biggest gay rights group is trying to force Sen. Barrack Obama (D-Ill.) to cancel presidential campaign event with a controversial preacher who claims he was homosexual but has been cured. The Human Rights Campaign has expressed its strong reservations to Obama over his campaign-sponsored tour that features gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. The influential organization, representing a powerful Democratic constituency, let Obama’s campaign know that it would issue a public demand if Obama did not immediately cancel the event, said a person who had been briefed on the exchange. Obama will not be present on the so-called Embrace the...