Free Republic

The Greek parliament on Thursday passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, in a landmark victory for human rights in Greece and making it the first majority Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality for all. The decision, supported by 176 out of 300 lawmakers in parliament and with 78 against, follows months of polarized political and public discourse, and has been welcomed as a long-awaited vindication by the country’s LGBTQ+ couples.

Thursday night’s Log Cabin Republicans’ “Spirit of Lincoln” gala in the main ballroom of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beachfront club was a joyous celebration of gay rights. | Steve Helber/AP Photo PALM BEACH, Fla. — Hundreds of guests in tuxedos of all styles — sequined, quilted, velvet — and colorful gowns sipped on Trump-branded champagne and martinis. Between courses of steak and bite-sized Key lime pie, they danced to “YMCA” and “Macho Man,” the disco anthems at Trump rallies. Thursday night’s Log Cabin Republicans’ “Spirit of Lincoln” gala in the main ballroom of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beachfront club was a joyous...

The Last of Us actress Bella Ramsey recently told viewers to avoid watching the show if they are not comfortable with viewing sinful acts of grave depravity. Ramsey spoke with GQ Magazine, where she revealed the show will feature a plethora of acts of grave depravity going forward. She told the outlet, “I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out.” “It isn’t gonna...

"We’ve all heard of people being cancelled, thrown off social media, even fired from jobs … But how many years before a Christian minister [who speaks] on marriage and sexual orientation is reported [to] a government anti-terrorism program?"For Reverend Dr. Bernard Randall, that time has already come. The chaplain of a Church of England School was suspended, fired for gross misconduct, and reported to child protective services simply for restating what the Church of England believes. If his story sounds like a distant outlier, it’s not. Randall’s nightmare will be every Christian’s nightmare if our Senate passes the Respect for...

BREAKING: Republicans join Democrats to pass same-sex ‘marriage’ bill in massive defeat for conservativesTwelve Republican senators joined with all Democrats to pass the bill, which is set to be Joe Biden's first major legislative achievement on LGBT issues. (LifeSiteNews) – In perhaps the greatest defeat conservatives have ever suffered at the hands of Republican Party, the Senate today advanced Democrats’ bill to enshrine same-sex “marriage” into federal law in a vote of 62 to 37.Twelve Republican senators joined with all Democrats to pass the bill, the “Respect for Marriage Act,” including: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio,...

A child-care employee who was fired by her employer for refusing to read to her pre-schoolers books that celebrate same-sex relationships has filed suit alleging religious discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation. The complaint (full text) in Parisenkova v. Bright Horizons Children's Center, LLC, (CA Super. Ct., filed 10/13/2022), filed in a California state trial court, alleges that plaintiff's Christian religious beliefs prevent her from promoting messages that support same-sex marriage. After an initial informal accommodation, the school's director, who took personal offense at plaintiff's religious beliefs, refused to grant plaintiff a formal religious accommodation. As a prelude to her...

A petition in Ukraine calling for same-sex marriage to be legalised has gained enough signatures for the president to consider the proposal. The petition has more than 28,000 signatures, meaning President Volodymyr Zelensky now has 10 days to respond. Homosexuality is not illegal in Ukraine, but same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are not recognised. This has caused particular problems for LGBT people signing up for the military following Russia's invasion.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote Friday that the high court should reconsider rulings on contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage in a solo concurring opinion released Friday that struck down Roe v. Wade.The Republican-appointed justice argued that the Supreme Court should reconsider other cases that fall under prior due process precedents.“I write separately to emphasize a second, more fundamental reason why there is no abortion guarantee lurking in the Due Process Clause,” Thomas wrote. “Considerable historical evidence indicates that ‘due process of law’ merely required executive and judicial actors to comply with legislative enactments and the common law when...

Support for same-sex marriage in the United States has reached a record high, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. The survey found that 70 percent of respondents in the U.S. said that marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, an increase of 3 percentage points from June 2020. Gallup found that the latest increase in support for same-sex marriage was driven by Republicans, with 55 percent saying it should be recognized as valid. This is the first time Gallup recorded a majority of Republicans supporting same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, 73 percent of independents expressed support...

I take my child to be my lawfully wedded spouse … A New Yorker who wants to marry their own adult offspring is suing to overturn laws barring the incestuous practice, calling it a matter of “individual autonomy.” The pining parent seeks to remain anonymous because their request is “an action that a large segment of society views as morally, socially and biologically repugnant,” according to court papers. “Through the enduring bond of marriage, two persons, whatever relationship they might otherwise have with one another, can find a greater level of expression, intimacy and spirituality,” the parent argues in the...

A new survey has found that for the first time, a majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage. As part of its annual American Values Atlas, the Public Religion Research Institute released a report Thursday finding broad support for pro-LGBT policies in the United States spanning across partisan, ethnic and religious lines. The results of the survey match findings of other studies showing rising support for such policies. Overall, 67% of Americans support same-sex marriage. Support for allowing same-sex couples to marry is highest among Democrats (76%) and independents (72%). Notably, 51% of Republicans, who are seen as the party committed...

NEW YORK, November 27 (C-Fam) The European Commission intends to unleash a barrage of policies to impose LGBT uniformity across the European Union, including through the threat of sanctions. The powerful European Commission announced that it wants to make “hate speech” and “hate crimes” EU crimes by 2021 and to impose mutual recognition of “rainbow families” across the European Union by 2022. The EU Commission made the announcement in its first-ever EU-wide strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) equality on November 12. Alongside the pledge to legislate “hate crimes” and “rainbow families” the strategy sets...

LGBT leaders and supporters in the Church of England are threatening a mass walkout from a recently-launched discussion process about sexual issues unless bishops give an urgent guarantee to support the marriage of same-sex partners in church. The warning was issued in a joint letter sent to 34 bishops "known to be supporters of LGBTIQ+ people", among them the Archbishop of York and the Bishops of Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Dover and Liverpool. The letter was sent by Jeremy Timm, former chair of Changing Attitude England, and co-signed by a number of LGBT clergy and supporters, including Rev Colin Coward, founder...

A bishop of The Episcopal Church announced that he'll be stepping down from office weeks after the denomination’s disciplinary panel ruled that he violated canon law by refusing to allow same-sex marriages in his diocese. Addressing the Diocesan Convention on Saturday, Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany said he will resign as bishop on Feb. 1, 2021, according to Anglican Ink. On Oct. 5, the denomination’s Hearing Panel found Bishop Love guilty “by clear and convincing evidence” of violating Resolution B012, a measure passed in 2018 requiring that all Episcopal dioceses allow for the blessing of same-sex...

Mozilla has been watching the user share of its flagship Firefox web browser shrink for a while, so it was hardly a surprise last week when the company announced it was doing some belt tightening that would result in another round of layoffs. What was a surprise were the numbers involved: The company is laying off about 250 employees, for a staff reduction of 25%, and is completely closing its operations in Taipei, Taiwan. In addition, 60 employees will be shifted to new jobs, and the company will reduce spending on such things as developer tools, internal tooling and platform...

Novo-Ogaryovo, February 13, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that as long as he remains in office, Russia will not legitimize same-sex marriages. "As concerns Parent No. 1 and Parent No. 2, I've said publicly some time ago, and I'll repeat once again now: as long as I am president, we won't have parents number one and number two, we will have Mom and Dad," Putin said at a meeting with members of a working group for preparing constitutional amendments on Thursday. State Duma deputy Olga Batalina said at the meeting that the working group had received numerous proposals...

Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday suggested former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg wouldn't look masculine standing next to "Mr. Man" President Trump on a presidential debate stage because he is an openly gay married man. Democrats are “sitting there, and they’re looking at Mayor Pete, a 37-year-old gay guy ... loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage,” Limbaugh told his radio show listeners while discussing what he perceives as a weak Democratic field. “And they’re saying, 'OK, how’s this gonna look, a 37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband onstage next to Mr. Man Donald Trump? What’s gonna happen...

Whether you like it or not, there’s plenty of evidence that the God of the Bible does not sanction same-sex relationships. You may not interpret the Good Book that way. Perhaps you’ve got reasonable theological reasons for it.

The Hallmark Channel certainly wasn’t expecting to find itself at the center of a viral culture war controversy this weekend. But in 2019, corporations never know which move might grab the internet’s attention. The controversy started when Hallmark decided to cancel an advertisement they had accepted from the wedding planning service Zola. The ad depicted, in a humorous fashion, a lesbian wedding, and at one point, the couple kisses. The conservative group One Million Moms complained to Hallmark and launched a petition, angered that an advertisement on the family-friendly network showed a type of family arrangement not in accordance with...

You canÂ’t go anywhere without being served a hot, steaming bowl of alphabet soup. ItÂ’s shoved down your throat when you go to the loo; itÂ’s there when youÂ’re trying to watch certain streaming shows on Russian websites; itÂ’s there when your girlfriend is picking up tampons from the local mart; and itÂ’s there when youÂ’re trying to eat at a local restaurant and just enjoy some hot, mouthwatering, fried sausage. Heck, itÂ’s even there on the Hallmark Channel! Well, it wasÂ… until they axed it and then a bunch of the Rainbow Reich came out of their contemporary San...