Free Republic

A day after former Baptist minister and likely presidential rival Mike Huckabee offered a withering critique of Mitt Romney's record, the former Massachusetts governor made his pitch to the same group of religious conservatives. Romney appealed to attendees at the Values Voter Summit in Washington on Saturday, using a speech that drew heavily from his address to social conservatives at the same hotel earlier this year. "Putting such a spirit-crushing, back-breaking debt burden on our children is unworthy of our national character," he said. "That is why I believe that this spending and borrowing is not just economically irresponsible, it...

House lawmakers are poised to introduce legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The law, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and prevents same-sex married couples from receiving the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples. Reps. Jerold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) -- who is the first openly gay member elected to the House -- plan to introduce a bill this week that would scrap DOMA. Baldwin is also gay. In the 13 years since the bill was signed into...

DAYTONA BEACH -- The men's restroom on the second floor of the Volusia Mall Sears is no place for children, police said Wednesday with the release of surveillance photos of a man believed to have made sexual advances toward a 13-year-old boy. "Our biggest fear is children going into these bathrooms, especially with these predators circling around," Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "It was just a matter of time before something like this was going to happen." The boy, visiting from Illinois with his godparents, was propositioned two weeks ago in the restroom, Chitwood said. The man was in a...

All of you former Right Up Front readers know of my undying affection and unyielding loyalty to Mitt Romney. Indeed, he is my first choice for the nomination in 2012. Now it looks like the Stormin' Mormon may be testing the waters for an encore run at the GOP knod. Politico's Jonathan Martin has the details. After a few stops in some early primary states and lavish fundraiser at a "trendy" Washington eatery, there are many reasons for any former Romney fan to be hopeful. And who better to go up against a now-obviously undisciplined current White House resident than...

MITT ROMNEY isn’t openly running for president yet, but he’s clearly focused like a laser on 2012. And seldom has a noncandidate done so well by doing so little. That’s mostly because an astonishing number of his putative 2012 rivals have obliged Romney by systematically stumbling. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s stock sank like a stone after his amateurish, underwhelming response to President Obama’s February address to Congress. Sarah Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska has only exacerbated doubts about her abilities. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign have been badly embarrassed by soap opera...

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While he remains publicly coy about the possibility of another White House bid, Mitt Romney has a calendar that tells a very different story. From returning to a key early primary state to delivering an address before a social conservative conference and reuniting with members of his campaign-in-waiting, Romney is scheduled to spend a good deal of his September in a fashion befitting a man very much interested in running for president. snip............................ On Saturday, Sept. 19, Romney will speak at the Values Voters Summit, an annual conference in the capital, put on by the Family Research Council, that frequently...

Ben and Jerry's renames ice cream Hubby Hubby in celebration of gay marriage Ben and Jerry's has changed the name of one of its best-selling ice creams to Hubby Hubby, in celebration of the legalisation of gay marriage in its home state of Vermont.

DUXBURY, Vt. -- Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage on Tuesday at midnight, but anticipated demand has been low. Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan waited 17 years before finally tying the knot in a midnight ceremony at a lodge in Duxbury. The couple, who planned the ceremony for late Monday, were pronounced married long before the sun rose Tuesday, when a new law legalizing same-sex marriage took effect. "I didn't think it was even going to be possible," Slimback said. "We've waited so long to do it, but there are many other people behind us." Justice of...

BOSTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Republican former U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is quietly raising millions of dollars as he prepares for the 2012 campaign, analysts say. Observers say that since he lost the GOP presidential primaries last year, the former Massachusetts governor has shown his usual competitiveness and discipline in keeping his presidential aspirations in play, The Boston Globe reported Sunday. "He lost a tough race," New Hampshire state Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Republican former member of the U.S. House, told the newspaper. "After that, Mitt could have done anything he wanted with his life: back to the non-profit...

Ben & Jerry’s is temporarily renaming popular “Chubby Hubby” ice cream “Hubby Hubby” beginning today to celebrate the start of legalized gay marriage in its home state of Vermont. “The legalization of marriage for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont is certainly a step in the right direction, and something worth celebrating with peace, love - and plenty of ice cream,” Ben & Jerry’s CEO Walt Freese said in announcing the sugary switch.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Expanded domestic partnerships for same-sex couples could face a public vote after Washington officials ruled that referendum sponsors have enough voter support to force a referendum on the November ballot. The new partnership law, nicknamed "everything but marriage" by its supporters, would broaden domestic partnerships by granting gay and lesbian couples all the remaining state-provided benefits that presently apply only to married heterosexual couples. After a month of counting petition signatures, the secretary of state's office said Monday that Referendum 71 had 121,617 valid voter signatures - more than a thousand more than needed to advance to...

Fifteen years ago, in his first book, Dead Right, David Frum identified several challenges facing Republicans. He cited the “fundamental contradiction” of William Weld, at the time governor of Massachusetts, who thought he could be a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. Frum recounted how this Republican blue-blood, unable to reconcile the two positions, evolved into a thoroughgoing liberal who pushed through huge budget increases, in much the same way that John Stuart Mill, who objected to the social conservatism of his day, ended up a socialist. Had this disconnect been limited to one governor in one state, Frum’s point...

Opponents of same-sex marriage launched a campaign today to re-ban gay marriage in Iowa. Click to use The Times' interactive map to track changes in rights for gay couples in the U.S. since 2000. The National Organization for Marriage, which was active in getting Proposition 8 approved by voters in California, sent out an appeal for donations to run advertisements on behalf of political candidates who oppose same-sex marriage. It said the first ad would support Republican Stephen Burgmeier, who supports putting the issue of same-sex marriage to a vote in the Hawkeye State. He is up for election in...

Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) -- A federal judge in Southern California has dismissed on a technicality a same-sex marriage lawsuit that created a rift between President Barack Obama and his gay supporters. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled Monday that the case challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act had been improperly filed in state court before it was transferred . . .

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal court case which could legalize gay marriage in the United States will begin trial in January 2010 with high-profile lawyers but not longtime gay and conservative antagonists lined up on opposite sides of the debate, a district judge ruled on Wednesday. Aiming to speed a contentious case that could be destined for the U.S. Supreme Court, San Francisco District Court Judge Vaughn Walker denied requests to join the case from gay advocacy groups and social conservatives who said they would not be adequately represented. Ted Olson, the conservative lawyer whose Supreme Court arguments put...

“ God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not He will whet His sword; he hath bent His bow and made it ready.” ( Psalm 7:11-12) “The wicked shall be cast into hell and all nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17) What does Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a prosperous and hard working, commonsense, Midwestern city in the heartland of America have in common with San Francisco, California, a city world renown for it’s celebration of perversity? The city of Cedar Rapids, which has a population of about 150,000, once known as “the...

Not too long ago, conventional wisdom seemed to dictate that gay marriage in America was inevitable. Conservatives, surprisingly, would tell me this more often than anyone. But something has changed. Carrie Prejean has had an effect on us. That's the argument made by my friend, Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, in the latest issue of National Review. After a series of judicial usurpations, legislative victories, and public-relations onslaughts, the gay-marriage movement took a blow this past November, when Proposition 8 was passed in California. Voters affirmed a ballot measure that defined marriage as "between a man...

Quakers 'to allow gay marriages' The Quakers have supported same-sex unions for more than two decades One of the UK's oldest Christian denominations - the Quakers - looks set to extend marriage services to same-sex couples at their yearly meeting later. The church has already held religious blessings for same-sex couples who have had a civil partnership ceremony.But agreeing to perform gay marriages, which are currently not allowed under civil law, could bring the Quakers into conflict with the government. The issue of active homosexuality has bitterly divided other churches. But the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the...

Here’s a great example of the bogus media pushing their agenda down our throats. A few days ago I saw this headline on CNN: Republican: Palin is Another Huckabee What they failed to mention in the headline is that the Republican, Alex Castellanos, worked for Romney during his 2008 Presidential bid. They also failed to mention the recent poll that had Sarah, Romney and Huckabee as the top three contenders for 2012. So, a more truthful headline for CNN might have been: Romney pays staffer, CNN to slam competitors.

Only You. And You. And You. Polyamory—relationships with multiple, mutually consenting partners—has a coming-out party. Terisa Greenan and her boyfriend, Matt, are enjoying a rare day of Seattle sun, sharing a beet carpaccio on the patio of a local restaurant. Matt holds Terisa's hand, as his 6-year-old son squeezes in between the couple to give Terisa a kiss. His mother, Vera, looks over and smiles; she's there with her boyfriend, Larry. Suddenly it starts to rain, and the group must move inside. In the process, they rearrange themselves: Matt's hand touches Vera's leg. Terisa gives Larry a kiss. The child,...

Wash. Gay Partnership Foes Turn in Signatures OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Sponsors of a campaign to overturn Washington state's domestic partnership law turned in their petition signatures Saturday and said they believe they have enough to force a public vote. The expanded "everything but marriage" domestic partnership law was scheduled to take effect Sunday, but is now delayed until the signatures can be counted, a process that could take up to a month. To qualify for the November ballot, supporters of Referendum 71 must have 120,577 voter signatures. Supporters say they have about 138,000 signatures. "I feel our signatures are pretty...

A proposed law to recognize a growing number of same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries is winding its way through California's Legislature. Opponents of gay marriage say Senate Bill 54 violates Proposition 8, a voter initiative approved last November that amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The bill's sponsor contends that his proposed changes to state family law are consistent with the California Supreme Court's nuanced decision in May to uphold Proposition 8. The court's decision upheld the right of voters to bar gay couples from the label "marriage," acknowledged...

Traditional marriage advocates on Friday lauded the order of a federal judge to remove the state of California as a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). They also hailed U.S. District Judge David Carter’s decision to throw out a challenge to Proposition 8, California's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, had claimed that both Prop. 8 and the federal DOMA violate the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Equal Protection Clause. The two men filed the suit in December 2008 – five...

Episcopalians on Friday authorized bishops to bless same-sex unions and research an official prayer for the ceremonies, capping a meeting that moved the church closer to accepting gay relationships despite turmoil over the issue in the Anglican family. The Episcopal General Convention also underscored the church's desire to remain a full member of the global Anglican Communion. But the actions at the national assembly are likely to damage the already strained relations within the fellowship.

Today, a federal judge tossed out yet another challenge to Proposition 8. (Prop 8 is a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman in California) This time the challenge was on "federal constitutional grounds..."

Over the past year, Meghan McCain has made rounds proclaiming her support for positions that aren't exactly like other Republicans. She has spent a significant amount of time criticizing the tactics of other Republicans, including Ann Coulter and Karl Rove. Additionally, McCain has been rallying against anti-gay marriage Republicans – including the man that became the symbol of her father's presidential campaign. In an interview with Out Magazine, McCain said, "Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumb*** . He should stick to plumbing," in response to Joe the Plumber's comment that he "wouldn't' t have...

When free people refuse to be cowed and actually stand up against statist government oppression of their rights, they usually prevail. Which explains perfectly why this story needs to get out, and why the mainstream media studiously ignore any mention of it.

Church of England under pressure to accept gay marriage By STEVE DOUGHTY 11th July 2009 The Fellowship Of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of clergy and lay people, are unhappy with the liberal agenda of some churches The Church of England warned last night that it is under pressure to accept gay marriage. But two senior bishops - writing on behalf of the CofE - said it is not prepared to abandon its traditional teachings in favour of the idea of 'gender neutral' marriage. They said that the Church of England considers 'it is vital for the Church to maintain a...

The federal Defense of Marriage Act which protects the traditional definition of marriage may be facing its biggest challenge yet. Massachusetts filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal law. "We're taking this action today because, first, we believe that [DOMA] directly interferes with Massachusetts' long-standing sovereign authority to define and regulate the marital status of its residents," said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Massachusetts was the first state in the country in 2003 to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. It is now also the first state to challenge DOMA, the 1996 law that defines marriage as between one man and...

The California Legislature is getting back into the Proposition 8 fight with a bill that would recognize possibly thousands of same-sex marriages performed outside of California before the measure was passed. SB 54 , introduced late last week by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, also would ensure that gay and lesbian couples who have married in other states or countries since Nov. 5 -- when Prop 8 became official -- receive all the rights and obligations opposite-sex California couples enjoy, with the exception of the designation of "marriage." The bill faces its first test today in the Assembly Judiciary Committee,...

Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, sued the U.S. government Wednesday over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. The 1996 law denies federal recognition of gay marriage and gives states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, argues the act "constitutes an overreaching and discriminatory federal law."

SAN FRANCISCO - The attorney representing two same-sex couples who were denied a right to wed in California said on Thursday he expected the case to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to hear a case on the gay marriage issue. "When it does get to the United States Supreme Court, we expect to win," Theodore Olson, who was solicitor general under former President George W. Bush, told reporters after the first hearing on federal lawsuit that was filed in May. A high court ruling potentially could trump state laws prohibiting same-sex unions. Five out of...

It’s slowly starting to make the news, now. To be sure, the “mainstream” media is doing as little as possible to cover this heinous crime, but the new media is starting to make it know despite their efforts to promote their “objective bias.” I’m talking about Frank Lombard, Associate director of Duke University’s Center for Health Policy, and his despicable molestation of a 5-year old boy he adopted. Lombard was recently arrested by the FBI and charged with offering up his adopted 5-year-old African American son for sex to an undercover cop. Lombard admitted to molesting his own adopted son...

Judge Vaughn R. Walker Sacramento, Calif., Jul 1, 2009 / 06:02 pm (CNA).- The U.S. District Court has agreed to allow ProtectMarriage.com to defend   Proposition 8 in a lawsuit, after the state's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, refused to do so. The ruling will allow the coalition to defend the successful California initiative from last November that restored marriage to being only between a man and a woman in the state constitution. Andrew Pugno, general counsel for ProtectMarriage.com, has said that he is “pleased that the court will allow us to defend marriage and the will of the people against challenges to...

New York's annual Gay Pride parade was a colorful celebration of 40 years of progress toward civil rights for gays, but once the dust settled, gay couples who wish to marry in New York state remain thwarted. A bill to legalize gay marriage in the state that saw the dawn of the gay rights movement is mired in political stalemate in the state capital Albany, where Democrats and Republicans are battling over control of the state Senate. "I had hoped today's march would have been a bit of a wedding march. It's not," Christine Quinn, the gay speaker of the...

Calling it the most crucial issue for this generation, Governor David Paterson (D-N.Y.) said he will not permit the legislature to adjourn for the summer recess until it votes to legalize same-sex “marriage” in the state. “For too long we have suppressed a fundamental human right to wed the individual of our choice if that choice deviates from the heterosexual normativity that has straight-jacketed our society,” Paterson complained. “This channels homosexual love into dangerous promiscuity. Legalizing same-sex “marriage” will bring the stability of family to these relationships. It has got to be our top priority.” Paterson brushed aside critics’ contentions...

Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr. grew up thinking everyone has a right to be heard and that the right to vote is a near-sacred privilege. The son of a civil rights activist who fled Florida with his family when a state trooper threatened his father at gunpoint, Mr. Jackson knows firsthand the struggles to be recognized in the democratic system. But same-sex marriage, according to Mr. Jackson, is no civil right. "How dare someone piggyback on the civil rights movement?" he said. "What you really have is an elite group of people masquerading as a minority and systematically imposing their...

Contrary to what we hear incessantly, marriage is not a right; it is an estate, a condition. There are conditions of life that have nothing to do with rights. One doesn’t have a right to go through puberty. One either does or doesn’t. What is the condition of being married, and what makes it possible to attain it? Franz Rosenzweig’s anthropology—in which religion is a response to man’s sentience of death, and the sentience of death is not only an individual but also an communal characteristic—may help answer that question. Humankind fights mortality in two ways. The first is to...

New York governor David Paterson placed the marriage equality bill at the top of the list of items for senators to consider in a special session called for Wednesday, reports the New York Daily News. However, the fate of the bill remains anything but certain as chaos continues to reign in the chamber, where a protracted leadership struggle has upended business since June 8. On Tuesday afternoon, the special senate called by the governor broke down as Democrats and Republicans, who include one Democratic defector, held separate sessions -- at the same time. Different sets of bills were voted on,...

I believe my gay marriage was one of the happiest marriages any couple has ever had, even though we faced great adversities together. Separately, those challenges would have destroyed each of us. I am alive because I had my life partner to live for until I finally got the right diagnosis and treatment at the very brink of death. And she had a much longer life with multiple sclerosis, paralysis, and then quadriplegia, than she would have had without me. For both of us, those 20-plus years were the happiest of our lives. I met Margaret Ardussi on June 30,...

A rabbi at a Pompano Beach synagogue is ready to say mazel tov to the first Jewish gay marriage in Broward county, if only he could find a happy kosher couple. Temple Sholom recently shed its ultra-conservative image and is ready to perform the first ever commitment ceremony in the county.  Rabbi David Mark has been placing ads in Jewish newspapers to find two people who want to get hitched, something not possible just a few short years ago."There was a need out there among the public for something like this," Mark told the Sun-Sentinel. "It hurt me so much to my...

Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre has publicly confronted Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi after the latter announced his support of homosexual marriage in a New York Times opinion piece. Mr. Suozzi “certainly admits that he knows he is contradicting some basic moral teachings of his own faith,” Bishop Murphy writes. “This is not the first time he has done this. He has already placed himself publicly in the category of ‘pro choice’ on abortion. While homosexual orientation is a neutral reality on a moral level, homosexual acts are not morally neutral. They are wrong and they are sinful. Abortion...

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson said in an interview Sunday night that he would make sure that the State Senate votes on same sex-marriage legislation before it breaks for the summer, hours after he and his administration had refused to commit to forcing a vote on the issue. The development came as the governor announced plans to call the Senate to a special session on Tuesday, after trying unsuccessfully for two weeks to broker a compromise in a leadership battle that has deadlocked the chamber. But Mr. Paterson dismayed gay rights groups in his comments at a news conference...

The Daily Beast's Meghan McCain on being the newest poster girl for a celebrity photo campaign to overturn California's ban on gay marriage—and why more Republicans should follow her lead. I was so honored to be asked to pose for the NOH8 campaign. I am a proud member of the Republican Party and a proud supporter of marriage equality. I especially love the incorporation of the little elephant with his tusks duct-taped in the photograph. Marriage equality is not just a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a human one.

The White House said Thursday it was seeking ways to include same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships in 2010 Census data, the second time in a week the administration has signaled a policy change of interest to the gay community. The administration has directed the Census Bureau to determine changes needed in tabulation software to allow for same-sex marriage data to be released early in 2011 with other detailed demographic information from the decennial count. The bureau historically hasn't released same-sex marriage data. The gay community strongly supported President Barack Obama during the 2008 election. But some gay activists say they...

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics rejected a proposal to allow voters to decide on whether the District should recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Monday's ruling against a referendum irked pastors and traditional marriage supporters who want the people to be able to decide on the critical moral and social issue. "The real human rights issue at stake in this decision is whether the people of D.C. will be given their right to vote," Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., told The Washington Post. "We are not going to sit still for allowing an unelected...

By Cindy Frazier Updated: Friday, June 12, 2009 12:02 AM PDT There are No comments posted. haron and I went on vacation to the East Coast a couple of weeks ago and came back a married couple. Well, we are married in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa, that is. Not in California — yet. But that’s OK, it’ll come back around in our home state. And if not, then the federal government will make our marriage legal in all 50 states before too many years pass. Or not. Our Connecticut marriage is safe and solid....

As more states-like Iowa-approve same-sex “marriage,” conservatives are claiming that freedom of religion is in peril. Same-sex “marriage” supporters accuse them of engaging in hysterical gay-bating. Who’s telling the truth? Let me share some stories with you from an excellent news broadcast produced by National Public Radio. Then you decide. Two women decided to hold their civil union ceremony at a New Jersey pavilion owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. This Methodist group told the women they could not “marry” in any building used for religious purposes. The Rev. Scott Hoffman said a theological principle-that marriage can only...