Free Republic

Four men who turned themselves in for attacking a couple who were leaving a Gay Pride event on Miami Beach are now being charged under Florida’s hate-crime enhancement law. ... up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the attack that took place during Miami Beach’s annual gay-pride...

It's the question I'm asked over and over again. It's the question that's dividing churches and separating family members. It's the question that must be answered: Can you be gay and Christian? Well, if you claim to be a Christian, that means that Jesus is your Lord and the Bible is your authority, so the real question is: What does Jesus have to say about this? And what does the Bible – God's Word – have to say? That's what we need to find out. Of course, we understand that every Christian struggles in some area, whether it be pride...

Three-quarters of California’s state assembly supported a bill that has striking implications for American citizens’ first freedoms, in that state and nationally. It is ostensibly a ban on gay and transgender “conversion therapy,” but the bill’s vague and sweeping text could affect essentially every institution of every religion that affirms sexual complementarity.We’re talking churches, schools, religious charities, summer camps — every forum that involves a financial transaction could be banned from allowing any discussion of basic doctrines of sexuality that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, among others, have held for thousands of years. We’re talking core doctrines of religions adhered...

It’s over for Colton Haynes and Jeff Leatham. The pair have split after six months of marriage, a source confirms to Us Weekly....

An event proclaiming freedom of all kinds of sexual identity issues is set to occur this weekend in Washington, D.C., spearheaded by a man who identified as a gay and transgender for approximately 15 years. Several former LGBTQ speakers from a variety of backgrounds will be sharing their stories of how they encountered the living God. Jeffrey McCall is the main organizer of what is being called The Freedom March, and in an interview with The Christian Post Wednesday, explained that despite constant talk in society about the perils of gay "conversion therapy," the March is centered on how the...

Former transgender, bisexual, lesbian and gay men and women, including an Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting survivor, will be gathering in the nation's capital for a worship event next weekend to proclaim how Jesus Christ liberated them. Attendees from across the nation will assemble at the National Sylvan Theater from noon to 3 p.m. on May 5 for what is being called Freedom March. Daren Mehl, president of the group Voice of the Voiceless, says he sees the event as "an opportunity for those of us who have a new life with Jesus to come together in fellowship and praise Him...

The California Legislature has proposed banning the sale of books written by ex-gay people and Christians who seek to help others who want to restrain or control their sexuality. Bill AB 2943 would ban the sale of goods and services that encourage one to change his or her sexual orientation or gender expression. That's right, the left is banning books! (Don't hold your breath waiting for the American Library Association to kick up a fuss, though.) National Review reported the details: First,  the bill by its own terms applies to very broad categories of services  and goods. Here’s the key enabling...

Someone asks "I have friends who are gay and planning a wedding. They know my beliefs on homosexuality — that it is not God's creative design. I'm expecting to receive a wedding invite anytime. What should I do?" Tim writes: These are tough questions — at first glance. What do I mean? One could agonize over such a question, but I believe the follower of Christ would recognize that he or she has one loyalty — to Jesus Christ. That means doing what the Bible says. I could refer to that text about not being unequally yoked — meaning a...

CLEVELAND, Ohio, April 17, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The pro-abortion and LGBT movements are linked spiritually, ideologically and politically, a Christian pro-family advocate says. Because of this, it has become more important than ever before for pro-life and family advocates to unite against these enemies of life and the family. Former abortion volunteer and Christian convert Linda Harvey explained to a recent pro-life conference how the LGBT and abortion movements have the common elements of rejecting God’s plan for humanity and targeting children. Children are the targeted of sexualization via comprehensive sex education in schools, Harvey said, and through dangerous and...

SACRAMENTO, California, April 18, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – The California State Assembly is slated to vote on legislation that has been interpreted as broad enough to ban the sale of books that address helping people overcome unwanted same-sex attractions. AB 2943 adds “[a]dvertising, offering to engage in, or engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with an individual” to the state’s list of illegal “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by any person in a transaction intended to result or that results in the sale or lease of goods or services to any consumer.” “Sexual orientation...

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has issued what he calls a "public warning" against oral sex. The president claims the practice has been pushed on Ugandans by "outsiders," and argues that the mouth is solely for eating. "Let me take this opportunity to warn our people publicly about the wrong practices indulged in and promoted by some of the outsiders," he told the press during an address. "One of them is what they call oral sex. The mouth is for eating, not for sex. We know the address of sex, we know where sex is," he continued. According to the Daily...

The Catholic Church in America has a problem. How is it that a flamboyant gay guy who is known for his openness about his past promiscuity and wild lifestyle is better at defending the Church than some (highly visible) men of the cloth? Recently, Milo Yiannopoulos was interviewed by America magazine, a Jesuit publication, which chose not to print the interview. Fortunately for us all, Milo did. "Amusingly, while the Jesuits struggled to decide if they could bear to publish my answers, one of the Church’s highest ranking Cardinals called out Fr. Martin by name as 'one of the most...

The Home Office has allegedly told the LGBT website Pink News that it wants to look again at the possibility of banning psychotherapy for unwanted same-sex attraction, which it disparagingly terms 'conversion therapy'. It says there was a question asked about it in the government's LGBT survey conducted in 2017. The Home Office has said that the government is currently studying the responses to the survey and that it will publish a response later this year.However, the government stated last year that it does not believe creating a criminal offence is right. This was in response to a petition by...

Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, faced an offensive line of questioning from Sen. Cory Booker – demanding to know if he opposed same-sex marriage and if he thought gay sex was perverse. Booker (R-NJ) came dangerously close to suggesting Pompeo’s Christian faith and religious beliefs made him unsuitable to be secretary of state. •Booker: “Is being gay a perversion?” •Pompeo: “Senator, when I was a politician, I had a very clear view on whether it was appropriate for two same-sex persons to marry. I stand by that.” •Booker: “So, you do not believe that it’s appropriate...

SYDNEY, Australia, April 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A Christian athlete in Australia is refusing to back down from his comments about homosexuality, despite public backlash. Israel Folau is a rugby player on the New South Wales Waratahs team. Last week, controversy erupted when he answered a question on social media by saying that God’s plan for homosexuals was “HELL... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.” Last year, he said that while he has “love and respect” for all people, he would not support the country’s referendum to recognize same-sex “marriage.” Backlash was swift. The sport’s leading...

A gay couple and a bystander who tried to help them were assaulted Sunday after the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade, police said. Rene Chalarca and Dimitri Lugonov told police they were were attacked by three men after they shared a hug while waiting to use a restroom... ....one of their attackers yelled an offensive Spanish word for homosexuals before hitting them several times, according to the police report. A bystander who saw the attack and tried to intervene was pushed to the ground and suffered a cut to the back of his head, the report said....

In a brazen assault on our most fundamental freedoms, California legislators are considering a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to receive professional help to resolve unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion. This would apply to people of all ages. People of all religious and moral convictions. It is an absolute outrage, and it must be opposed vigorously. For the last few years, a growing number of states and cities have embraced legislation making it illegal for minors struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions or gender confusion to receive professional help, even with the full support of their parents....

HORSHAM, Pa. (CBS) — A youth sports volunteer in Montgomery County is accused of sexting over social media with a young boy he met while refereeing a basketball game. Officials say 21-year-old Kevin Barron, of Horsham, reached out to a 12-year-old boy following a basketball game he refereed on Dec. 17 that the alleged victim was part of. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office says Barron, who is an elementary education major at Campbell University in North Carolina and a student teacher, started having conversations with the boy about basketball and his performance, but then they started turning sexual in...

A tweet posted by Argentina's government office for human rights has been mocked online. The tweet reads: "Whatever your orientation, we're all part of the sexual diversity.#MakingVisible." It is followed by a picture with the motto: "Heterosexuality is part of sexual diversity." Many readers reacted with incredulity and asked if the official government account had been hacked. Others posted memes of people rolling their eyes. https://twitter.com/SDHArgentina/status/978255505209643008/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-latin-america-43557526 Most pointed out that a campaign to make people more visible is usually aimed at minorities and not those who are in the majority. Twitter user @agostinaaznar wrote [in Spanish]: "I've never been discriminated...

Less than a year after Theresa F. Latini was hired as the first president of United Lutheran Seminary in Pennsylvania last April, she was unceremoniously ousted from the institution of higher learning after news broke that she once led a Christian ministry helping believers overcome same-sex attraction. She left that organization in 2001 and has since sworn off the idea that LGBT people can reject their identities, but that did not save her from ideological cleansing.United Lutheran Seminary (ULS) was formed in 2017, as a merger between two seminaries in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Latini was named its first...