Free Republic

It’s by design. As I, and others, have repeatedly warned, the establishment of so-called “gay marriage” as a newfangled federal “right,” and the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment simply cannot coexist in harmony. Things diametrically at odds cannot possibly occupy, with any coherence, the same time and space. The secular left is tripping over itself right now to prove my point. In the wake of last month’s Obergefell v. Hodges opinion – an opinion that somehow divined a top secret “constitutional right” for Patrick Henry to “marry” Henry Patrick – liberals are now demanding, as...

If Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul is (politically) from Mars, then the leftist feminist writer Naomi Wolf is from Venus. But there's at least one thing this odd couple agrees on here on Earth: The government should get out of the marriage business. Following the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling, Sen. Paul argued that Southern states that want to stop issuing marriage licenses were right. The government shouldn't "confer a special imprimatur upon a new definition of marriage," he said. It should leave marriage to churches and temples, regardless of how these institutions define marriage, and let consenting adults of...

Yesterday, Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern wrote a piece that mainly disagrees with my (orthodox Christian) belief that homosexual sex is morally wrong — as is all sexual intercourse outside of marriage. I’m shocked — shocked — that a liberal writer on LGBT issues would take issue with my rather conventional Christian world view. What I did find interesting, however, was this statement: His thesis is that homosexuality is like abortion: an evil to be combatted, anathema to basic Christian values. Gay marriage is wrong, he suggests, because gay sex is wrong—an immoral choice, not an aspect of an immutable...

A 'straw man' or real threat? Conservatives warn that IRS could target gay marriage opponents.A brief exchange during Supreme Court arguments in the same-sex marriage case has exploded into a full-blown crisis for some conservatives who warn that the IRS could start revoking the tax-exempt status of religious groups that oppose gay marriage. The attorneys general of 15 states have written Congress asking for legislation to protect religious schools and other groups. Bills in the House and Senate are gaining support. Officials are responding to the Supreme Court ruling in June that required every state to recognize same-sex marriages....

In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, pastors and church members are experiencing a wave of anxiety over what many of them deem the “nightmare scenario”: lawsuits or government action designed to force them to perform or recognize same-sex marriages. While there are — so far — no meaningful judicial precedents that would permit such dramatic interference with churches’ core First Amendment rights, lawsuits challenging church liberties are inevitable. Indeed, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has declared that prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity “sometimes” apply to churches and has stated that a “church...

Two Christian colleges located in states that had their same-sex marriage bans struck down by the United States Supreme Court's June 26 decision that nationally legalized same-sex marriage are offering employment benefits to legally recognized same-sex spouses of school employees. The employment practices of Hope College, a small Reformed liberal arts school in Holland, Michigan, and the nondenominational Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, will both comply with their states' new legal definitions on marriage after the high court's ruling. On Monday, Hope College President John Knapp sent an email to the Hope community explaining that while Hope will continue to...

More than $210,000 has been raised in support of the Oregon Christian bakers who are being forced by the state to pay $135,000 in "emotional damages" to a lesbian couple for declining to bake them a wedding cake in 2013, an act that would have violated their deeply-held religious convictions. Although an online fundraiser established on GoFundMe.com to support Melissa and Aaron Klein, the owners of the now-closed Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery in Gresham, raised over $100,009 in nine hours in April, the campaign was taken off the website because the Kleins had been "formally charged by local authorities...

The owner of a family business that makes custom cakes today asked a Colorado appeals court to strike down state rulings that he discriminated against a same-sex couple by declining to provide a cake to celebrate their wedding. “People shouldn’t be forced to choose between earning a living and exercising their fundamental rights.”—@AllianceDefend’s Jeremy Tedesco Lawyers for “cake artist” Jack Phillips argued that compelling the suburban Denver baker to express his artistic talents in connection with the 2012 wedding of two men would violate his First Amendment rights not only to freedom of religion but also free speech or...

A church marquee that displayed a message disagreeing with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on same-sex marriage was spray-painted with graffiti this weekend. But the sign at Bisbee Baptist Church was quickly cleaned up to keep showing the message: “Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right.” Pastor Freddie Matthews said he would like to talk to the person who spray-painted the sign early on July 4 with the phrase, “F--- 2 Your God We Love Gays!”

Considering the direction society has taken in the last 30 days—or should I say the direction that five members of the United States Supreme Court are dragging us—perhaps it is time to do some thinking.Opining about the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision on homosexual “marriage,” Alabama’s Chief Justice Ray Moore said the decision was worse than the decision to uphold segregation because “it affects our entire system of morality and family values.” At the time of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, it was likely that morality and family values were assailed as well, though perhaps to a different degree. Nonetheless, Moore...

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – After the Supreme Court's ruling that same-sex “marriage” is a constitutionally guaranteed right, many Americans have asked, “How did we get here?” Last month's opinion tells us the road stretches back more than 50 years.Justice Anthony Kennedy's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges gave additional proof that the legal basis for same-sex “marriage” is inextricably tied up with abortion-on-demand and other aspects of the sexual revolution.In his 5-4 decision, Justice Kennedy says the newly discovered constitutional right to enter into a homosexual “marriage” is granted, in part, by the “right to privacy.”That right, first...

Today’s guest post is written by a friend that I’ve known for a long time. I’m thankful that she was willing to be vulnerable to share her story with all of us. You may notice that her name is not attributed. When asked, she said that she no longer wanted to be defined by her past, and felt that her story could be just as compelling whether named or not. Since these are sensitive topics, I suggested we leave it anonymous. I believe you will still find encouragement from it as I did. – If you want to read yet...

FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear told Casey County Clerk Casey Davis on Thursday that Davis should issue marriage licenses to every qualified person or resign. The governor also said he won't call a special legislative session to address same-sex marriage issues. Some legislators and county clerks have called for a special session. Beshear met privately for an hour with Davis, who objects on religious grounds to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples The governor later released a statement saying he advised Davis that he respects his personal beliefs but he took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The U.S....

Why civil marriage should not encompass group unions.Now that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, writer Freddie de Boer wants its proponents to adopt a new focus. “Where does the next advance come?” he asks in an essay at Politico. “Now that we’ve defined that love and devotion and family isn’t driven by gender alone, why should it be limited to just two individuals? The most natural advance next for marriage lies in legalized polygamy.” The time is ripe, he argues, in part because there’s no longer a strategic reason to hold off. “To advocate for polygamy during...

July 8, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- Kenyan National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and four other legislators have warned US President Barack Obama against promoting homosexual "rights" in his visit to the country this month.“Individual rights must not violate the rights of others,” Muturi said. “Those advancing gay rights must similarly appreciate our Christian, Islamic and African traditional values which abhor homosexuality.”Pointing out that sodomy is a criminal offence in Kenya, Muturi said his government has the right to “sanction any advances perceived to encroach on our social fabric” and that he believes advocacy of same-sex "marriage" is a form of Western...

(exurpt)"On Monday, July 6, I declined to marry a non-traditional couple during my duties assignment. The declination was based upon my personal and Christian beliefs established over many years. I apologize to the couple for the delay they experienced and wish them the best. The court has implemented a process whereby same-sex marriages will be accommodated. I will continue to perform traditional marriages during my duties assignment. I am also seeking advisory opinion from the Supreme Court of Ohio at this time as to whether or not I can opt out of the rotation. Upon receipt of the advisory opinion...

Behind every great man, there’s an incredibly astonished woman. And if you’re a Republican politician, the odds are pretty good she’s not on board with everything in your agenda. Along those lines, social conservatives have a new reason to worry about Scott Walker: Tonette Walker. In an interview with the Washington Post, Wisconsin’s first lady publicly distanced herself from her husband over the issue of gay marriage. What is more, it’s clear that Scott Walker’s views are out of step with his entire family on the issue. Consider this excerpt regarding the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling: “That was a...

The Oregon baker decision — which required a bakery to pay $135,000 to a same-sex couple for refusing to prepare a cake for their same-sex commitment ceremony — also ordered the bakers to: “…cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published, circulated, issued or displayed, any communication, notice, advertisement or sign of any kind to the effect that any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, services or privileges of a place of public accommodation will be refused, withheld from or denied to, or that any discrimination will be made against, any person on account of...

July 6, 2015 (BreakPoint) -- Both before and after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, some Christians argued that allowing same-sex couples to marry is not inconsistent with traditional Christian teaching on marriage.At the heart of these arguments is the assertion that same-sex relationships are, to borrow a phrase from gay writer Andrew Sullivan, “virtually normal.” That is, same-sex relationships are, with one very obvious exception, not all that different from traditional marriages. Thus, just as the Supreme Court held that similarly-situated couples should be treated equally under law, similarly-situated couples should be treated equally in our churches.The problem...

It is only proper that former Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall basks in the media limelight over the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court making gay marriage the law of the land. While she is no Judge Judy, Marshall has suddenly become a television personality, as she has been sought out for comment and interviews on the court ruling. And rightly so, since it all began in Massachusetts, in her court, and under her judicial leadership. Long before the issue of legalizing marriage between same-sex couples came before the U.S. Supreme Court, it was the decision of...