Free Republic

When President Barack Obama launched his campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat in late 2002, his wife Michelle enlisted the help of a longtime friend, Kevin Thompson. Michelle had gotten to know Thompson back in the early 1990s, when she was still Michelle Robinson and the pair worked in the policy shop of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Over the years, the two had stayed close, working together again at the University of Chicago Hospitals and swapping home improvement ideas over meals. Obama, who was then a state senator, would be facing off in the Democratic primary against businessman Blair...

In what sounded more like a gay activist screed in a high-school publication than a serious editorial in a major newspaper, the Charlotte Observer has officially declared war on people of faith and conservative moral values, mocking those who believe there is the slightest rational reason to resist the radical redefinition of marriage.Making no attempt to hide its disdain for the conservative, historic position, and gleefully mocking the views of the majority of North Carolinians, the editorial begins with three sentences ending in exclamation points – when is the last time you have seen that in a major editorial? –...

Ever since David Muir was tapped to replace Diane Sawyer when she leaves ABC World News in September, gossip about his sexual orientation has gone into overdrive. Kenneth in the 212 reports Muir is allegedly “openly gay in his day-to-day life.” Another juicy rumor claims that he and field reporter Gio Benitez are an item. Neither of these men are openly gay, but have been linked together after a series of coincidental appearances on ABC World News. Eagle-eyed viewers claim that Gio usually files his reports to Diane Sawyer from the field. But when Muir fills in as anchor, Benitez...

Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad discovered his son was gay and a thief on the same day. The actor admits he had built up quite a collection of stolen gay pornography magazines when he was finally caught trying to leave a store in his native Montana with a backpack full of saucy publications at the age of 14. In a recent an interview with Aisha Tyler for her Girl on Guy podcast, the red-faced star revealed, "I always considered that (incident) my coming out... It was so humiliating. "I had been stealing porn for a while. I had...

Amnesty International says a draft anti-gay bill in Chad represents a backward step for human rights in the country. The rights group said Tuesday that amendments to the penal code proposed by the government would criminalize same-sex conduct in Chad, threatening jail sentences of between 15 and 20 years, and a fine ranging from $100 and $1,000. …

The jockeying among the titans of the Supreme Court bar for a place at the lectern when the justices hear the next same-sex marriage case is as understated as it is unmistakable. In a half-dozen briefs filed in recent weeks, some of the best lawyers in the nation spent many pages arguing that their case was the right one in which to establish a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. They pointed out the attractive features of their own cases and the shortcomings of others. In legal jargon, streamlined cases without procedural pitfalls are said to be good vehicles. That made...

The public is evenly divided over whether businesses that provide wedding services, like catering or flowers, should be required to provide services to same-sex couples despite religious objections to same-sex marriage. Half (49%) say that wedding-related businesses should be required to provide services to same-sex couples just as they would to all other customers, while 47% say that these businesses should be allowed to refuse services to same-sex couples for religious reasons.

Conservative Republican Assemblywoman Michele Fiore of Las Vegas invited a few extra guests Tuesday night to the regular pasta dinners she has for constituents. The meal was the last official stop for a group of young conservatives traveling the country — visiting battleground states such as Nevada first — as part of a $1 million campaign to get the national Republican Party to support gay marriage in its party platform in 2016. The group has been to Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina is the next stop. Nevada already is ahead of the curve, said Tyler Deaton, campaign manager of...

S. Truett Cathy, the billionaire founder of the privately held Chick-fil-A restaurant chain that famously closes on Sundays but also drew unwanted attention on gay marriage in recent years because of his family’s conservative views, died early Monday, a company spokesman said. He was 93. Chick-fil-A spokesman Mark Baldwin told The Associated Press that Cathy died at home surrounded by members of his family. Funeral plans had not yet been finalized, he said. …

.... But Thursday’s ruling by 7th Circuit Judge Richard Posner, which struck down Indiana’s and Wisconsin’s gay marriage bans, is a different beast altogether. In his opinion, Posner does not sound like a man aiming to have his words etched in the history books or praised by future generations. Rather, he sounds like a man who has listened to all the arguments against gay marriage, analyzed them cautiously and thoroughly, and found himself absolutely disgusted by their sophistry and rank bigotry. The opinion is a masterpiece of wit and logic that doesn’t call attention to—indeed, doesn’t seem to care about—its...

The federal government’s number crunchers believe some 21,318 same-sex couples call Georgia home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent accounting, and new research forecasts that as many as half would jump the broom within three years if allowed by their government. I’m one-half of one of those aggrieved couples — denied, for more than five years, the social stability and legal protections of marriage. And, as a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee and adviser to prominent party figures, I’m also a professional political operative who’s helped install in government those who perpetuate marriage bias in America....

St. Louis Rams rookie defense lineman Ethan Westbrooks made the final 53-man roster on Saturday, beating out Michael Sam for one of the team's final spots... Westbrooks told ESPN's Nick Wagoner that he got a tattoo below his eye in 2011 because he never wanted to get a normal job again. Making it in the NFL would be the only way to prevent him from becoming "a guy that has a tattoo on his face looking for another job." ...

The Montreal Alouettes appear to be interested in free-agent defensive end Michael Sam. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Montreal Alouettes have contacted Sam but have yet to hear back.

FULL TITLE: Michael Sam was dropped by the NFL because 'no one wants the distraction', claims Buffalo Bills star as gay football player tweets upbeat message Michael Sam is no longer attached to an NFL team and none of them appear to want to pick him up because his sexual orientation causes too much distraction, claims a Buffalo Bills star. Offensive lineman Eric Wood goes on, more specifically, to blame the media for focusing on the personal life of the NFL's first openly gay draft pick. 'Blame that on espn,' Wood tweeted in response to Sam's inability to find an...

It was inevitable. Rookie Michael Sam, heralded as the first openly gay player in the National Football League, was released Saturday by the St. Louis Rams, prompting the liberal blog Mother Jones to run what amounted to a photo of the player, along with a provocative, almost juvenile headline. The post, “Michael Sam, Who Is Better At Football Than You Will Ever Be At Anything, Has Been Cut By the Rams,” offered no perspective whatsoever. In fact, other than the headline, there were no words. When Sam was first drafted, it was clear that if he were to eventually be...

FULL TITLE: No other team wants to pick up openly gay NFL draft pick Michael Sam after he's cut from the St. Louis Rams Michael Sam was not picked up by any other team Sunday after the NFL's first openly gay draft pick was cut by the St. Louis Rams. Sam's dreams of becoming the first gay NFL player have now been placed on hold. Sam is now free to sign with any NFL practice team. Scroll down for video

You know what I admire about bigots? I’m referring to the real wackos, the warped, scary, neo-Nazi, open Klansman, proudly sign-their-name haters. You know what’s kinda great about them? At least they’re candid.

Tuesday's SportsCenter featured an awkward break down of Michael Sam -- Rams defensive lineman and the first openly-gay player in the NFL -- and his shower habits. While Josina Anderson reported Kendall Langford said Sam is "one of the guys and seems to be taking a rookie approach in terms of listening and learning at his own pace" she also reported one unnamed Rams defensive player's position on Sam's showering with teammates. "Another defensive player told me Sam is 'respecting our space' and from his perspective he seems to think Michael Sam is kind of waiting to take a shower...

When Niki Quasney felt a piercing pain in her ribcage in March, the oncologist treating her advanced ovarian cancer told her to get to an emergency room immediately. But instead of making the short drive to a hospital near her home in Munster, Indiana, she drove alone for more than 40 minutes to one in neighboring Illinois. Quasney said she was “terrified” her local hospital might not allow her and her partner of more than 13 years, whom she wed last year in another state, to be together if she suffered a health emergency. Quasney and her partner, Amy Sandler,...

Patricia Yurena, a two-time winner of her country’s national contest and a runner-up in last year’s Miss Universe competition, came out as a lesbian on Instagram this Tuesday.