Free Republic

If "love is love" and "everyone should have the right to marry the one they love," then why can't any number of people come together in "marriage"? On Valentine's Day, three men in Thailand were "married," and immediately, they became an Internet sensation. As reported on GayStarNews.com, when Joke, Bell, and Art posted their "wedding" pictures online, "the internet went crazy," with one Facebook post receiving 50,000 Likes and more than 1,000 comments. Why not? After all, "love is love," right? How can any gay activist object? As Art commented on Facebook, "Love occurs unconditionally and is not limited to...

When Pastor Adam Phillips moved across the country with his wife two years ago and planted a new congregation in Portland, Ore., he was heeding the call of his Christian roots, an Evangelical Covenant tradition that today has a primary mission “to reach young people, engage a growing multiethnic population, and develop vibrant local churches that make disciples.” “Pastor Adam,” as his congregation at Christ Church: Portland calls him, was well suited for such a mission. Young, familiar as much with Tumblr as with theological tomes, and a former director of faith mobilization for the ONE Campaign, the antipoverty group...

(CNSNews.com) - The Obama White House says it welcomes comments by the new defense secretary about transgender people serving in the United States military. "I've seen the reports of Secretary (Ash) Carter's comments," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday. "I can tell you that the president agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve should be able to serve. And for that reason, we here at the White House welcome the comments from the secretary of defense. "But in terms of -- of additional steps that the Department of Defense will take to...

Michael Sam gained overnight fame by becoming the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL. Now the 25-year-old Texan will show off his soft shoe by joining the celebrity contenders on season 20 of Dancing With The Stars, according to TMZ.

One mother’s essay, which states her desire for her 6-year-old daughter to be gay, has triggered a debate about parenting and gender stereotypes. Sally Kohn, a CNN contributor, lives with her partner Sarah Hansen and their daughter Willa Hansen-Kohn in Brooklyn, New York. In her recent essay for the Washington Post, Kohn writes, “I’m gay. And I want my kid to be gay, too.” She explains her stance by saying, “But more often than not, we define happiness as some variation on our own lives, or at least the lives of our expectations. If we went to college, we want...

US Names First Global Envoy for Homosexual Agenda By Julio Severo The United States is naming its first international envoy for homosexual rights. This is a historic event, because no nation, even the United Nations, has ever appointed a homosexual ambassador for global homosexual rights. Every single major news outlet in the U.S. is covering this historic event. In a press release, the U.S. State Department said Randy Berry, an openly homosexual diplomat, will be its special envoy to promote homosexual rights. State Department Secretary John Kerry said, “We’re working to overturn laws that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct in...

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has offered florist Barronelle Stutzman a deal: She can cater to same-sex weddings or she can stop doing weddings altogether. Of course, there’s always a third option: She can go out of business. Ms. Stutzman, the 70-year-old owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, is opting for none of the above. “Your offer reveals that you don’t really understand me or what this conflict is all about,” Ms. Stutzman said in a letter to Mr. Ferguson. “It’s about freedom, not money. I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home, and everything...

Fellow Republicans, you are sadly mistaken if you believe that the results of the November 2014 elections are a sign from the American people that the coast is clear to continue operating as you have in the past. You should not read into the results as predictive of the 2016 presidential elections. If you want to avoid a very short-lived honeymoon at the top you will have to govern in accordance with the realities that exist in America today. One of those realities is that the prohibition of gay marriage is a form of discrimination that our court system is...

The nation's highest military court has reversed the aggravated assault conviction of a Kansas airman accused of exposing multiple sex partners to HIV. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces unanimously ruled Monday that prosecutors failed to prove that any of (the) acts were likely to transmit HIV to his partners. The court upheld for "offensive touching to which his sexual partners did not provide meaningful informed consent". It also upheld his conviction for adultery, even though his wife participated.

The United States named its first international envoy for gay rights Monday, tasking a veteran diplomat with leading U.S. efforts to fight violence and discrimination against LGBT individuals overseas. Randy Berry, currently the consul general in the Netherlands, will promote human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, Secretary of State John Kerry said. A longtime foreign service officer, Berry has served at U.S. posts in Bangladesh, Egypt, Uganda and South Africa, and speaks Spanish and Arabic.

The head of the Log Cabin Republicans has been invited to speak on a panel at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, the pro-gay rights group announced Monday. Executive Director Gregory Angelo said he will be speaking on a panel called “Putin’s Russia: A New Cold War?” alongside Seth Cropsey, Cliff May, Amanda Brickell Bellows and potential 2016 candidate Carly Fiorina. The announcement comes after days of back and forth between the Log Cabin Republicans and the American Conservative Union, which organizes CPAC. “There has been a great deal of confusion over the last 48 hours regarding Log Cabin Republicans’...

The White House on Monday backed Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's remark that transgender people should not be precluded from military service because of their sexual identity. “The president agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve, should be able to serve,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during a press briefing. “For that reason, we here at the White House welcome the comments from the Secretary of Defense,” he added. On Sunday, Carter said he was “very open minded” about the idea of transgender people serving in the military. “I don't think anything but their...

A homosexual couple goes into a known Christian bakery and asks for a wedding cake for a same-sex “marriage,” is refused and then files a government complaint or sues. “Intolerance! Bigotry! Equal access!” is the cry. Many Americans have read of such stories in the news. Often the attempted purchase is a set-up, with activist-minded individuals targeting bakers whom they know will decline the request and then be vulnerable to state persecution by zealous bureaucrats. It’s a new front in the war on faith, legitimate freedom and private property rights. Many point out that it constitutes an unprecedented trampling...

RICHLAND, WA, February 20, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Washington State Superior Court judge ruled this week that politicians have the power to restrict religious actions and expression.Benton County Superior Court Judge Alexander Ekstrom ruled that while the religious beliefs of florist Barronelle Stutzman related to marriage is protected by the U.S. Constitution, living her life in accordance with her faith is not.Stutzman is the owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts in Richland, Washington. A business owner for nearly 40 years, she was sued twice for allegedly violating the state's "Consumer Protection Act," because she refused to furnish flowers for a...

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, may have landed herself in some trouble after it was reported her office did little to address the rather high rate of opiate prescriptions coming out of the Veterans Affairs center in Tomah, Wisconsin. As a result, Baldwin's office fired a top aide, offered her a severance package, and a confidentiality agreement. The aide, Marquette Baylor, rejected the deal and is filing a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Baldwin. At the same time, Baldwin's office had the Tomah VA report since last summer. To make matters worse, three...

If you haven’t been following Barronelle Stutzman’s case in Washington State, you need to be. She is the florist being sued by the state attorney general for refusing to participate in a gay wedding. The attorney general is trying to compel her to ignore her Christian faith and to participate in gay weddings. If she refuses, he is threatening the full coercive power of the state to force her to do it. She stands to lose everything—her home, her savings, her business, her livelihood—if she does not comply. I have an article today at CNN.com explaining the situation. The conclusion...

Ultimately, this is about the government designating an Official Position on a social issue and using force to impose it as a minority on the rest of the population. When the Civil Rights laws were enacted during the '60s, it was determined that places of "public accommodation" could not discriminate based upon race, sex or age. These are groups into which people are born. Hence, to be permitted access to offer goods and services to the public, they are obligated to offer them to all of the public, regardless of which group one is born into. And there is no...

Sally Kohn, a CNN contributor and progressive activist, says she hopes her 6-year-old daughter will turn out to be gay. Kohn, who has previously described herself as a “butch lesbian,” copped to the preference in an opinion piece for the Washington Post. “I’m gay. And I want my kid to be gay, too,” wrote Kohn, who also contributes to The Daily Beast. Kohn defended her position, arguing that it’s normal for parents to want their children to follow in their footsteps, whether it involves extracurricular activities, political outlook or sexual orientation.

A 37-year-old gay mom is set to spark controversy after she said she'd be disappointed if her daughter grew up straight. Sally Kohn a political commentator who has appeared on CNN and MSNBC, describes herself as living in the 'liberal bubble of Park Slope, Brooklyn, where 'yuppies' want their kids to be happy. She said: 'I'm gay. And I want my kid to be gay, too.'

...People reports that Guy Fieri, the host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, is officiating at the 101 Gay Weddings event at the James Royal Palm in Miami today... ...the first 101 couples to tweet [Chef Art Smith] with the hashtag #101gayweddings would be entered to get married.... The event also features DJ and porn director Chi Chi Larue providing beats at the post-wedding dance party...