Free Republic

A San Francisco city and county board resolution that officially labeled the Catholic church's moral teachings on homosexuality as "insulting to all San Franciscans," "hateful," "defamatory," "insensitive" and "ignorant" will be challenged tomorrow in court for violating the Constitution's prohibition of government hostility toward religion. Resolution 168-08, passed unanimously by the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors two years ago, also accused the Vatican of being a "foreign country" meddling with and attempting to "negatively influence (San Francisco's) existing and established customs." It said of the church's teaching on homosexuality, "Such hateful and discriminatory rhetoric is both...

By order of its state Supreme Court, California began legally marrying same-sex couples this week. The first to be wed in San Francisco were Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, pioneering gay-rights activists who have been a couple for more than 50 years. More ceremonies will follow, at least until November, when gay marriage will go before California's voters. They should choose to keep it. To understand why, imagine your life without marriage. Meaning, not merely your life if you didn't happen to get married. What I am asking you to imagine is life without even the possibility of marriage. Re-enter...

George Takei is going ring shopping. The Star Trek helmsman and his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, are engaged to be married. "This is something we've been passionately committed to, so, no, there's no cold feet," Takei told E! News today. ...Altman proposed last Thursday, shortly after the California Supreme Court struck down a state law banning same-sex unions. Takei, who publicly came out in a magazine interview in 2005, announced his plans in a blog post Friday, the same day Ellen DeGeneres took to her talk show to announce her engagement to actress Portia de Rossi. Takei, 71,...

Sheila Harmon found out about the situation at her son's high school in Fairfield, Calif., through a disturbing text message he sent: "Oh yeah. My teacher accidentally brought up his gay porn." Students in a computer graphic arts class at Armijo High School have reported their instructor was teaching a lesson on Adobe Photoshop Monday when the image that was projected to the screen revealed two men engaged in sex.' Freshman Chris Matthews told KXTV-Television in Sacramento that the teacher was clicking on random files when, "All of a sudden this big image of literally gay porn shows up. And...

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 Northampton 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 leave the room “for his own safety.”

...The latest revelations on the torture front show - the memo from John Yoo - as well as revelations from Phillippe Sands' book - means that Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington, John Yoo should not leave the United States any time soon. They will be at some point indicted for war crimes. They deserve to be...

<p>Elizabeth English is a mother of two, a partner in a four-year relationship, a social worker. On Saturday, she will add one more title: Catholic priest.</p> <p>English is a member of a small, independent Catholic church that does not recognize papal authority and ordains women to the priesthood.</p>

© 2003- The Press Democrat BYLINE: GUY KOVNER THE PRESS DEMOCRAT PAGE: A1 For about 30 years, Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr lived a painful, personal lie. As a gay man in the Army and the Reserves, he risked the loss of a cherished career if his sexual orientation became known. "It made you paranoid," the soft-spoken retired officer said at his home in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove area. Kerr's double life came to an end Wednesday, when the New York Times published an interview with Kerr, another general and an admiral in which all three declared they were homosexuals....

Score one for the Netroots! Newsweek has just announced that Markos Moulitsas, namesake and founder of the Daily Kos website, will be a contributor for the 2008. Here's the statement from Newsweek editor Jon Meachem, which seems to anticipate some sort of reaction from a disgruntled element: "We have always sought to represent a diversity of views in Newsweek, and we think Markos will be a great part of that tradition. He will give our readers in print and online a unique perspective. As always, our job is to create the most energetic and illuminating magazine possible, and Markos will...

"The bill raises concerns on constitutional and policy grounds, and if H.R. 3685 were presented to the president, his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill," the White House said. "H.R. 3685 is inconsistent with the right to the free exercise of religion as codified by Congress in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Act prohibits the federal government from substantially burdening the free exercise of religion except for compelling reasons, and then only in the least restrictive manner possible. "H.R. 3685 does not meet this standard. For instance, schools that are owned by or directed toward...

Six Democratic presidential candidates broke new ground Thursday night by participating in a televised forum devoted to gay issues, all voicing strong support for equal rights and government benefits for gay Americans - though the three leading candidates said they oppose same-sex marriage. With the candidates generally agreeing on the major issues at hand, questioners at the forum - organized by the Human Rights Campaign and Logo, a gay-themed television network - chose to dig deeper into their personal attitudes and experiences. In particular, they grilled former Sen. John Edwards, who has expressed religious concerns about same-sex marriage and who,...

Read TNR's accounting. It is as I predicted: honorable and, except for one small inaccuracy, it checks out. All the aspects aggressively challenged by the usual propaganda organs have been verified and corroborated. The military is now conducting its own investigation. Given the record of such formal investigations, I'm not as confident in the Pentagon as I am in TNR. Can we now expect apologies from the people who smeared and maligned the magazine and its soldier-reporter? I doubt it. The attackers are not the kind to acknowledge their own errors.

As a member of the United Methodist Judicial Council, physician James Holsinger voted with the majority to affirm Methodist teaching that bans practicing homosexuals from ordination. Holsinger also wrote a white paper for the denomination 16 years ago on the health hazards of gay sex and on the biological complementarity of the human sexes. Should that bar him from serving (as President Bush desires) as U.S. surgeon general? It's not surprising that homosexual-activist groups like Human Rights Campaign think so. But most of the major Democratic presidential candidates agree. [snip] The Bush administration didn't exactly rush to Holsinger's defense. "That...

Exodus International, the largest Christian outreach to ex-gays and those dealing with unwanted homosexuality, has entered a new phase of expansion – expanded vision, expanded network and expanded influence. "Exodus is expanding its message to reach more arenas in the public sector," said Randy Thomas, executive vice president of Exodus International. "We're finding that people are wanting our perspectives on a variety of cultural, social as well as spiritual issues." In the past three decades, Exodus has challenged churches and the wider public who respond to homosexuals with ignorance and fear as well as those who uphold homosexuality as a...

Yes, Rudy Giuliani Is a Conservative Steven Malanga And an electable one, at that. Not since Teddy Roosevelt took on Tammany Hall a century ago has a New York politician closely linked to urban reform looked like presidential timber. But today ex–New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sits at or near the top of virtually every poll of potential 2008 presidential candidates. Already, Giuliani’s popularity has set off a “stop Rudy” movement among cultural conservatives, who object to his three marriages and his support for abortion rights, gay unions, and curbs on gun ownership. Some social conservatives even dismiss his achievement...

Archdiocese cancels lease of parish hall to a group of homosexual men who dress as Catholic nuns and sponsor monthly bingo games to raise funds for HIV/AIDs programs The “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence,” who describe themselves as “the leading-edge order of queer nuns,” and whose official slogan is “go forth and sin some more” are looking for a new location for their monthly bingo games. Until late October, the group had leased Most Holy Redeemer church’s Ellard Hall in San Francisco for a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS programs. The Sisters held their Sept. 7 bingo fundraiser at Ellard Hall, and another...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he hopes to sign civil unions into law on Thursday... Mayors aren't required under state law to perform marriages, and the civil unions bill doesn't alter that discretion. Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan has said he will not perform the ceremonies and vowed Monday to not back down. "This is the first time in history an American is being told to perform a ritualistic ceremony no matter what you believe in," Lonegan said. "I'm not doing it. I'm daring them to make me do it."

THIS fall, stacked amid the hefty new college admissions books like "The Best 361 Colleges" and "Financial Aid for the Utterly Confused" is a guide about an entirely different sort of college acceptance. The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students (Alyson Books) profiles 100 of the country's "best campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, and it arrives at a time when gay students are more vocal and visible. It's looking more like half or most gay and lesbian Americans are coming out before they get to college, said Bruce Steele, the guide's editor in chief. Unlike in the...

Local members of the American Civil Liberties Union cheered Tuesday's surprise vote by the Los Altos City Council to rescind a ban on proclamations regarding sexual orientation. "We are pleased with the council's decision. But we're going to be watching to make sure the new rule is applied equally," said Tamara Lange, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. City officials approved the ban in February after the Gay Straight Alliance of Los Altos High School asked the council -- for a third year in a row -- to OK a proclamation declaring a citywide Gay Pride Day....

June 21, 2006 Joseph Bottum writes: A friend emails thoughts on the recent firing of a transportation commissioner in Maryland for remarks about homosexuality: Back in 2004, Rocco Buttiglione was nominated to be the commissioner of justice on the newly formed European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. A distinguished political philosopher and a friend and confidante of Pope John Paul II, Buttiglione had a long and admirable career of public service, but various members of the European Parliament objected vehemently to Buttiglione’s views on homosexuality. A Roman Catholic, Buttiglione had said publicly that he believed that homosexual...

Wishing all of you a blessed and reverent Holy Week! As is well known, the week leading up to Easter is the most sacred part of the calendar for Christians. While different denominations celebrate the holiday at different times, in 2006 many Christians, including Catholics, began Holy Week this past Sunday. It is supposed to be a time of repentance, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and meditating upon the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is, perhaps, not surprising that the homosexual community has chosen this week to celebrate their perceived victory over Christians in Philadelphia by hanging the 'gay'...

Bill requires gays' history to be taught STATE SENATOR WANTS CALIFORNIA TO LEAD WAY By Aaron C. Davis Mercury News Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO - The state Senate will consider a bill that would require California schools to teach students about the contributions gay people have made to society -- an effort that supporters say is an attempt to battle discrimination and opponents say is designed to use the classroom to get children to embrace homosexuality. The bill, which was passed by a Senate committee Tuesday, would require schools to buy textbooks ``accurately'' portraying ``the sexual diversity of our society.'' More...

Laura Murphy planned on attending her prom at Villa Maria Academy. She paid the $100 deposit, scheduled a limousine rental and asked her date. She ran into a snag, however, and it has nothing to do with what shoes to wear. Administrators of the private, all-girls Catholic high school school don't like Murphy's choice of companion, and they've told her to find someone else or come alone. Murphy, a senior who is openly lesbian, wants to bring her girlfriend of six months, Lindsey Shelton, and believes school administrators are discriminating against them. "They said, "We want it to be traditional....

The Portland City Council will have to ignore the recommendation of citizen advisers if it wants to accept a controversial gift of bronze statues from Portland Sea Dogs owner Daniel Burke. The Public Art Committee, an advisory group appointed by the council, voted 6-1 Wednesday to recommend that the council reject the statues, which depict a traditional family of four going to a baseball game. The vote came after Burke's attorney said no changes will be made to the sculptures. The statues generated heated public debate during the last week as issues of government intervention and family diversity clashed with...

(CBS 5) A military short on manpower is looking the other way when it comes to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." CBS 5 has uncovered new evidence of just how desperately the U.S. military is struggling to retain its fighting force by discharging far fewer gay servicemembers since Sept. 11 and the invasion of Iraq. Lance Corporal Jeff Key is a United States Marine who is open about being gay, including during his stint in Iraq. "All of my buddies knew," Key said. "None of them were gay. Well, I found out later after I got back that there were other...

Rural development and currency reform are the hot issues at China's annual session of parliament opening this week, but some delegates have quirkier matters on their minds. Li Yinhe, a sociologist and member of the advisory body to parliament, plans to submit a proposal on same-sex marriage, aiming to end discrimination against homosexuality. Li has submitted the proposal twice before, but it failed to gain the minimum support of 30 fellow members in the 2,000 group, the Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Li admitted that the "cultural environment in the country is not yet prepared for such a proposal"....

Governor Mitt Romney and a legislative leader yesterday delivered unwelcome news to the Catholic bishops of Massachusetts, who plan to seek permission from the state to exclude gay and lesbian parents from adopting children through its social service agencies. The governor said he was not authorized to give such an exemption, and State Representative Eugene L. O'Flaherty, the House chairman of the joint committee on the judiciary, predicted little support among lawmakers for any request by Catholic adoption agencies for an exemption from the state's antidiscrimination policies.

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank has criticized Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her role in the rejection of two international gay civil rights groups by a United Nations body. Last month, the U.N. Economic and Social Council, a think tank made up of nongovernmental agencies from around the world, voted not to admit the International Lesbian and Gay Association and the Danish Association of Gays and Lesbians. According to 365Gay.com, their application to join other nongovernmental agencies on the council was rejected without a hearing after the United States voted with some of the world's most repressive regimes, including Iran,...

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, a potential presidential candidate, said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word "fruits" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine. In a lengthy profile titled "God's Senator," the magazine quotes the Kansas Republican as criticizing countries like Sweden that allow civil unions between same-sex couples. "You'll know them by their fruits," Brownback said, quoting a biblical passage from Matthew 7:19. Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet said in the story, appearing in the magazine's current issue, that Brownback appeared to be calling gay Swedes "fruits," a derogatory term for...

The Blog of Daniel: Goodbye, Farewell, Amen by Jack Kenny, series creator, The Book of Daniel As this is probably my last bully pulpit for the show, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the thousands of people on boards, blogs and websites across the Internet who've shown such wonderful, loving support for The Book of Daniel. Love. Support. Tolerance. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Those are the Christian values that I was brought up with, and the values that I tried to bring into the world of Daniel. It's late now. I've just spent tonight with Susanna Thompson (Judith), Ivan...

BRANFORD - Through an informal seminar and improvisational theater format, Branford High School's Cultural Diversity Club provide the eighth graders at Walsh Intermediate School with an in depth look at name-calling, teasing and harassment and how to deal with these issues. All realities that occur on a daily basis, WIS Principle Robin Goeler said that he and other teachers have been enthusiastic about the annual assembly entitled "Worse Than Sticks & Stones: Why Name-Calling Hurts Everyone" and believes that it is instrumental in readying the students for their transition into high school. "We think it's great," Goeler said. "I think...

IF there's a certain schizophrenia in the rhetoric of senator Hillary Rodham Clinton these days, it's intentional. There she was last week, at a predominantly black congregation, lambasting Republicans. She lamented that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has been "run like a plantation ... And you know what I am talking about". Republicans as slave holders? Now that's inflammatory. Then only days later we saw the other side of Clinton's split political personality, a neo-conservative one: "I believe that we lost critical time in dealing with Iran because the White House chose to downplay the threats and to outsource the...

Tax cuts - Well I didn't get one, and in fact I'm a lot poorer now. But a lot of rich folks did get them and I'm am just waiting for that money to trickle down to me. Any day now and I'll be rollin in it! Bad guys - None of that wimpy negotiations and measured responses for our President. It's kill 'em all and let Allah sort 'em out. That's what I'm talking about! And what's even better is when they get captured. Our President knows how these people need to dealt with. If somebody shoved a chain...

Much as India claims it is globalising, there is enough evidence to show that on a range of social issues it remains locked in medieval mode, unable or unwilling to move in step with the rest of the world. Nowhere does this dichotomy show up more than our attitudes towards homosexuality, which is perceived as something alien to “our culture� and therefore to be stamped out. This issue is in sharp focus because of the arrest of four young men in Lucknow for allegedly indulging in sex at a picnic spot. They have been booked under Section 377 of the...

It’s getting harder to ignore the statistics about HIV/AIDS: 40 million people are infected worldwide. Over half of these are women and children. And in Africa, 14 million children are orphans due to the disease. You hear it on the news, see it in the movies, the President makes speeches about it, and Bono sings about it. Whose responsibility is it to take on this problem? The Government? The Church? Non-Governmental Organizations? As a Christian and a conservative, I used to demand that the government leave the role of compassionate action to the Church. But are churches doing their part?...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A gay man charged with helping his lover loot a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners. Stephen Signorelli, fighting charges that he stole at least $219,000 from the Roslyn, N.Y., school district, is seeking to bar testimony by his longtime companion, Frank Tassone, the district's former superintendent. Auditors say that in all, $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district. It is considered among the largest thefts from a U.S. school system. Tassone pleaded guilty...

A contestant on ABC's Wife Swap is suing the Walt Disney Company and the show's producer, RDF Media, for $10,225,000 after the person involved in the swap turned out to be a gay man. Jeffrey D. Bedford of Haileyville, OK told the Muskogee Phoenix that he could not comment on the case but provided a copy of his lawsuit in which he claims that the producers told him that if he did not proceed with the filming, they would not tell him his wife's whereabouts and would not pay for her return home; that the gay man invited members of...

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) are pushing passage of a hate crimes bill that will include federal protection for cross-dressers, drag queens, transsexuals, and she-males (individuals who maintian both male and female sex organs for bizarre sex acts). This dangerous pro-homosexual bill is called the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2005 (S. 1145). ...The legislation is ostensibly designed to aid local law enforcement officials in prosecuting hate crimes. What it actually does is make "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" into federally-protected categories equal to race or ethnicity under federal law. Transgender activist groups have lobbied...

Parents who stopped a new sex-education curriculum in Montgomery County, Maryland are at the nexus of a national trend in parental activism in school matters. "Montgomery County has become a symbol for parental activism," said Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America. Warren Throckmorton, a psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, said parents "are beginning to take matters into their own hands and are looking for ways to collaborate with other like-minded parents to protect their kids."

Three Men Arrested In Child Sex Sting In San Diego Last Updated: 02-15-05 at 9:32AM Three men have been arrested in San Diego in a child sex sting operation. FBI agents arrested seven men in southern California all accused of planning a trip to Mexico to have sex with boys. The sting was set up by agents who met the men during the past year at conventions for Nambla, which stands for the North American Man Boy Love Association. Agents say they used e-mails to set the bait. The men then flew in from different states to take part in...

MURRAY — A Murray High senior had a truly "memorable" 18th birthday Thursday when she and her girlfriend found out they'll be "cutest couple" in the yearbook. "It is really cool," said Kortni Coats, who will be named in the yearbook, along with Taunica Crump, her girlfriend of seven months. "We had joked around about it, but we had never thought we would actually win," Coats said. "It is so cool that all these students stand behind us and are supporting us." The decision follows a revote after an apparent tie with a junior-senior pair.

Couple Sues Over Alleged Sex Assault Of 2-Year-Old On Cruise Ship Pair Says Company Was Negligent In Hiring, Supervising Baby Sitter POSTED: 6:41 pm EST December 20, 2004 UPDATED: 3:40 pm EST December 21, 2004 MIAMI -- A couple have sued Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., alleging that a company baby sitter sexually assaulted their 2-year-old son while they were on a cruise. Dawn and Kurt Bennett of the Orlando area said the company was negligent in hiring and supervising the baby sitter on the Brilliance of the Seas, where the assault allegedly occurred on Dec. 18, 2003. They are...

Sacramento -- San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno introduced legislation to legalize same-sex marriage Monday, opening another front in the debate -- nationwide and within the Democratic Party -- over how far to extend gay rights. Five weeks after voters in 11 states adopted constitutional amendments defining marriage as solely between a man and woman, Leno is convinced that a majority of Californians favor bucking that trend. There is opposition to the idea among moderate Democrats, however, and a counter to Leno's push was also introduced Monday, the first day of the legislative session. Two Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that...

Alyn Libman won a $15,000-a-year scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley with a resume that showed more than just Libman's athletic achievement and academic potential. It also showed years of ridicule, beatings and threats, along with Libman's decision to become a boy in 11th grade. "It felt amazing to actually be embraced by someone who didn't just dismiss me for being different," said Libman, a 19-year-old aspiring civil rights lawyer and the first transgendered person to win a scholarship from The Point Foundation, a Chicago nonprofit organization that has awarded more than $1 million to college-bound gays since...

Apple to Recall 28,000 Laptop Batteries Thu Aug 19,12:30 PM ET By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) has agreed to recall about 28,000 batteries used in its 15-inch PowerBook G4 laptop computers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday. The batteries, made by LG Chem Ltd. (051910.KS) of South Korea, could overheat and pose a fire hazard, the CPSC said. "Apple is not financially responsible for this recall," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said. Apple has received four reports of overheating though no injuries have been reported, the consumer protection agency said. The recall affects...

PITTSBURGH (UMNS) — Despite favorable outcomes on most of their key issues at General Conference, conservative leaders are considering un-uniting the United Methodist Church. A proposed resolution to the denomination’s top legislative assembly, meeting through May 7, may not come to the floor before the end of General Conference. But two key conservative church leaders openly talked May 6 about an “amicable” divorce over “irreconcilable differences.” “‘United Methodist’ is an oxymoron,” said the Rev. Bill Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement and former senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Houston. “We haven’t been united for a long time....

Are gay priests to blame? David France, who wrote the definitive investigation of the Catholic Church’s sex scandal, argues that the Vatican’s homophobia drove many gay priests to abuse youths By Bruce C. Steele An abridged version of this interview appeared in The Advocate, April 13, 2004 It’s easy to dismiss the child abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church as having little to do with gay people because pedophiles and mature gay men are not the same thing. Right? David France, the openly gay author of the just-published Our Fathers: The Secret Life of the Catholic Church in an...

NATIONAL NEWS Polygamy advocates buoyed by gay court wins Some see sodomy, marriage opinions as helping their cause By JOE CREA Friday, December 26, 2003 Mark Henkel, a “constitutional conservative” and polygamy advocate, said two recent gay rights victories should pave the way to decriminalizing polygamy laws. He claims the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning state sodomy laws and a Massachusetts case that some say will legalize gay marriage in the Bay State should help polygamists. “The government does not have the authority to be in the marriage business in the first place,” said Henkel, founder of TruthBearer.org, a Web...

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders working with the Studies on Sexuality of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said they are interested in responses to a new set of study materials which were sent to professional church leaders in September. Also, the task force working with the study is planning a series of hearings throughout the ELCA to be held in mid- to late 2004. The Rev. James M. Childs Jr., director of the ELCA Studies on Sexuality, and the Rev. Margaret M. Payne, bishop of the ELCA New England Synod, Worcester, Mass., who serves as chair of the task...

Former Homosexual Says 'No one is born gay'CBN.com – Stephen Bennett is a former homosexual, who lived the "gay" lifestyle for 11 years. Today he's married and has two young children. He's also a born-again Christian who has a ministry to men and women who want to be set free from homosexuality. Whenever he's invited to appear on television news programs, though, Stephen says most won't let him tell his story truthfully. And they won't let him say that he's a former homosexual. He recently spoke with Lee Webb on The 700 Club. Lee Webb: Stephen, I wanted to get...