Free Republic

Breaking: The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of same-sex marriage.

Mitt Romney is moving quickly to reassemble his national political network, spending the weekend and Monday calling former aides, donors and other supporters — as well as onetime foes such as Newt Gingrich. Romney’s message was that he is serious about making a 2016 presidential bid. He told one senior Republican he “almost certainly will” run in what would be his third campaign for the White House, this person said. His aggressive outreach over the past three days indicates that Romney’s declaration of interest to a group of donors in New York Friday was more than the release of a...

In a move that surprised his most loyal supporters and former staff, Mitt Romney told several donors Friday he is seriously considering a third run for the White House… “Mitt has been a terrific leader for the Republican Party, but if he runs again, he’ll have to earn it again,” said veteran Republican operative Phil Musser, a former Romney supporter. His firm is already handling preliminary campaign work for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, but Musser says he has not committed to a candidate… “Jeb Bush forced everyone’s hand,” said Barney Keller, a Republican strategist. “If he’s serious, Romney needs...

Most of the children of gays and lesbians who have filed court briefs in same-sex marriage cases say their parents’ inability to marry has deprived them of legal protections and hampered them from living their otherwise typical lives. But four adult children of gay parents — acting as a “quartet of truth” — have submitted briefs to the 5th U.S. CircuitCourt of Appeals opposing same-sex marriages, with several saying that growing up under the rainbow was neither normal nor pleasant. The court, which is considering whether to uphold the man-woman marriage laws in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, will hear arguments in New Orleans...

Romney tells donors he is considering 2016 campaign Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, told Republican donors in New York on Friday that he is seriously considering a third presidential campaign in 2016, ... “I believe Mitt Romney is too much of a patriot to sit on the sidelines ... Zwick said.... Romney’s move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as former Florida governor Jeb Bush is swiftly snatching up major party donors and operatives as he prepares for an all-but-certain presidential campaign. The former Massachusetts governor held a lengthy meeting on Friday with about 30 major...

For the most part, the gay marriage debate now falls along partisan lines: Democrats support it, But within the crowded field of likely 2016 presidential contenders, there’s a lot of room for nuance. The would-be candidates have made much different arguments and have varying records on the issue. Meantime, the issue continues to change. On Jan. 6, Florida became the second-largest state to recognize gay marriage, bringing the total to 36. And on Friday, the Supreme Court will meet privately to decide whether to consider cases that could lead to a more definitive ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. Here’s...

The owner of a Richland flower shop being sued over her refusal to provide services for a same-sex wedding can face claims in her personal capacity, a Benton County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday. Barronelle Stutzman and her Arlene’s Flowers are being sued by the state Attorney General’s office and a same-sex couple. Stutzman, a Christian, declined to provide services for the couple’s wedding because of her religious beliefs. Her attorneys argued the claims against her personally should be dropped, describing them as unprecedented and unjust. Attorneys for the state and the couple argued Stutzman can be held personally liable...

I’m glad there’s a moderate Democrat finally running for president. I just wish he were running on the Democratic ticket. Jeb Bush, a likely Republican presidential candidate, called for “respect” of same-sex marriages on Monday as his home state of Florida began allowing gays to wed following a court ruling. Bush, a former governor of Florida, said in a statement that even those like him who oppose same-sex marriage must “respect the rule of law” now that the state’s ban on gay marriages has been ruled unconstitutional. Do you know what else is the law of the land? ObamaCare. So...

Leaders of the Florida Republican Party that supported the state’s 2008 ban on gay marriage were mostly silent Monday as throngs cheered South Florida couples given the right to wed.

Twenty-four hours in advance of a court deadline ordering clerks in at least one county to issue same-sex marriage licenses, former Sunshine State Governor and putative 2016 GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush shrugged his shoulders at the decision. “It ought be a local decision. I mean, a state decision,” Bush told the Miami Herald. “The state decided. The people of the state decided. But it’s been overturned by the courts, I guess.”

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has filed a petition appealing the legalization of same-sex marriage in Idaho to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the state’s case is the “ideal vehicle” to resolve the issue for the nation. “The time has come for this court to resolve a question of critical importance to the states, their citizens and especially their children: Whether the federal Constitution prohibits a state from maintaining the traditional understanding and definition of marriage as between a man and a woman,” Otter’s Washington, D.C. attorney, Gene Schaerr, wrote in the 41-page petition.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has answered one of the state's big questions about gay marriage: Can all 67 counties issue licenses to gay couples who want to marry? Yes, they can, Hinkle wrote in an order released Thursday afternoon, "Reasonable people can debate whether the ruling in this case was correct and who it binds," Hinkle wrote. "There should be no debate, however, on the question whether a clerk of court may follow the ruling, even for marriage-license applicants who are not parties to this case." Hinkle also warned that clerk's who don't issue marriage licences could be sued:...

<p>WASHINGTON — Jeb Bush, who’s seriously considering a 2016 presidential bid, has sprinted to the front of the Republican field in a new McClatchy-Marist Poll.</p> <p>Former GOP nominee Mitt Romney remains on top, with Bush, a former Florida governor, a close second. Take away Romney, and Bush leads the field.</p>

Mitt Romney has become the acid reflux candidate: He just keeps coming back up. There has been poll after poll, story after story and now, over the weekend, a “Ready for Romney” website emerged that may or may not be serious. (I am guessing “Masochists for Mitt” was already taken.) The Mitt boomlet is driven by three major forces: First, the belief that the potential Republican field for 2016 is so weak — even though you can find more than a dozen reasonably serious candidates in it — that Mitt will rise head and shoulders above it. It’s the Simon...

A lawsuit is moving forward against a Washington State florist who refused to supply floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding ceremony based on her religious objection, which could put her at risk of serious financial loss and the loss of her business. Baronelle Stutzman, who owns and operates Arlene's Flowers in Richland, Washington, is being sued by the Washington State attorney general's office for refusing to supply flowers for a same-sex couple's wedding ceremony. Instead, she referred the couple to another nearby florist who could supply flowers for their wedding. The attorney general's office filed its lawsuit against Stutzman in...

Listen to an audio version of this column Just in time for Thanksgiving, two more lawless federal judges, young ones who are Obama appointees, struck down state marriage protection laws in Mississippi and Arkansas. These are the latest examples of outrageous rulings by federal judges who have no jurisdiction in this area. The Constitution outlines the areas of very limited authority of the federal government and judiciary, and marriage is not an area in which they possess the rightful power to rule over the states. Therefore, this is a states' rights issue. Twisting the 14th Amendment to apply to degenerate...

Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday criticized President Barack Obama over his policy in the Middle East and his attitude towards Israel. Romney, who spoke at the inaugural Israeli American Council National Conference in Washington, accused Obama of being “naive” and of “distancing ourselves from allies”. Commenting on reports that Obama had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggesting cooperation against the Islamic State (ISIS), Romney was quoted by The Washington Times as having said, “I was frankly stunned that the President of the United States would write a letter of that nature, in effect...

Yesterday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals struck a reverberating blow on behalf of natural marriage and the Constitution by upholding bans on sodomy-based marriages in its jurisdiction.It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this ruling.It means, for one thing, that the issue is now on the fast track to the Supreme Court. If the Court accepts a marriage case by January, a decision will almost certainly be issued by next June.From a constitutional standpoint, the 6th Circuit’s ruling is a model of sound jurisprudence. The ruling observes that the Supreme Court has already settled the question of the...

By a two-to-one vote, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the right of states to ban same-sex marriage, overturning lower court decisions in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee that found such restrictions to be unconstitutional.

As same-sex marriage became legal in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming recently, the federal government now recognizes gay married couples in 33 states, including the District of Columbia, according to Attorney General Eric Holder. "With each new state where same-sex marriages are legally recognized, our nation moves closer to achieving full equality for all Americans," The Associated Press quoted Holder as saying. Holder's announcement means married same-sex couples in 33 states will qualify for federal benefits, including Social Security and veterans' benefits. "We are acting as quickly as possible with agencies throughout the government to ensure...