Free Republic

Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s Teen Conference Literature Pushed Anal Sex in Parks With Strangers December 10, 2009 Jim Hoft In March 2000 the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) organization of Massachusetts held its 10 Year Anniversary GLSEN/Boston conference at Tufts University. This conference was fully supported by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Safe Schools Program, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and some of the presenters even received federal money. During the 2000 conference, workshop leaders led a “youth only, ages 14-21″ session that offered lessons in “fisting” a dangerous sexual practice. During the same...

Gay, Catholic and fed up with his church's efforts to quash the same-sex marriage movement, Phil Attey has come up with a controversial strategy: outing gay priests who speak out against homosexuality. (snip) He said he will out only gay priests and bishops who speak out against homosexuality. In the case of priests not publicly opposed to gay marriage but still in the closet, he said his goal is not to threaten them but to encourage them to "come out for the next generation and stand up against the anti-gay stance of the church." Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry,...

Dozens of people crowded the steps of Vallejo City Hall on Tuesday to protest a recent quoted remark by Mayor Osby Davis that gay people would not go to heaven. The protesters waved rainbow flags, held signs demanding the separation of church and state and some called for Davis' resignation. And then there was a roar. From inside City Hall came the sounds of more than 100 people clapping and cheering, praising God. "Lord, we're not against anybody. We're for our children," prayed New Hope Church Community Senior Pastor Terrence Nichols. "No matter what outside forces may stir up the...

The effort to get same sex marriage on the California ballot in 2010 took a hit Monday. Rick Jacbos, the leader of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign just told us that after spending more than $200,000 on "qualitative research" into the issue in California that "We do not see a path to victory." So, the Courage Campaign sent a note to its supporters Monday calling for "for more research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot." Lambda Legal, a LGBT legal organization, said largely the same thing Monday. Jacobs told us that the research -- led...

Washington – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today responded to the “Manhattan Declaration” produced and released by 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders indicating that they will not cooperate with laws that conflict with their beliefs, including those recognizing same-sex couples. The document also references the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) as a threat to religious liberty. Yet ENDA – which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity – broadly exempts religious organizations. The declaration also argues that religious groups that receive public funds...

Tuesday November 3, 2009 Scottish Gay Rights Activists Found Guilty of Pedophilia Sentenced to Life Imprisonment By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiEDINBURGH, Scotland, November 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An influential gay rights activist and youth group leader, and another homosexualist activist, have been jailed for life for their involvement in the largest pedophile ring ever uncovered in Scotland.James Rennie, one time co-coordinator of the homosexual rights group LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Youth Scotland and a former teacher, and Neil Strachan, the former secretary of a Celtic boys club and campaigner on homosexual issues, were convicted in May on charges including sex attacks...

A panel of legal scholars has suggested that Congress remove sodomy as a crime punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a recommendation that could boost efforts to end a ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. The Commission on Military Justice recommended that Article 125, which deals with sodomy, be repealed, arguing that “most acts of consensual sodomy committed by consenting military personnel are not prosecuted, creating a perception that prosecution of this sexual behavior is arbitrary.” In its report — dated October 2009 — the commission suggested several changes be made to the UCMJ, including...

SALISBURY, NC (WBTV)- More than 500 people packed St. Paul's Lutheran church in Salisbury Monday to discuss issues surrounding gay marriage and gay clergy. Members from Lutheran churches across North Carolina discussed the possibility of moving away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA voted last month to bless same-sex marriages and allow gay pastors to lead congregations... which left members divided. "We want to provide an avenue for them. For support and encouragement while they work through in their own congregations what they want to do," Pastor Carl haynes says. Clergy members also told us many...

A Christian activist says it's vital for believers to push back against those promoting the homosexual agenda. Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, an Illinois-based group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda. He says many people -- even in conservative, evangelical Christian circles -- do not know about the true agenda of homosexual groups such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Peter LaBarbera"They're undermining the Word of God by trying to say that the Bible does not teach that homosexual behavior is sinful," he says. "On the other side, they're pushing policies that promote gay...

The 2009 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Churchwide Assembly made grievous decisions that will not help the denomination in the years ahead. Those decisions were the adoption of a social statement on sexuality and four resolutions that approve of sexual relationships outside of marriage and direct a change in the ELCA’s ministry standards to allow for practicing homosexuals to serve as ordained pastors and lay ministers. One biblical phrase kept coming to mind in the weeks leading up to the ELCA churchwide assembly and very often during the August assembly—“ears to hear.” The phrase occurs repeatedly in the Old and...

A Comment about Gays in the US Military and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In June, 2008, Michelle Obama came to Manhattan's Waldorf Astoria for a fundraiser with wealthy gay Democrats and spoke of civil rights struggles "from Selma to Stonewall." Nearly one year later, gay rights issues have taken on a renewed prominence. Recent shifts in states from Iowa to New Hampshire have upped the tally to six states that now recognize same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, California's high court recently upheld a voter-approved proposition blocking gay marriage. And on Monday, the Supreme Court denied a request to review the Pentagon's ban on gays serving openly in the military. Quiet at the center of this...

The Alameda, Calif., public schools are adopting a curriculum that will require first graders to read literature that equates same-sex unions with a family made up of a mother, father and child. Parents will not be allowed to opt their first graders out of the curriculum. Members of the Alameda United School District (AUSD) school board voted 3 to 2 last week to implement the “Safe Schools” curriculum, which supporters say is aimed at stopping anti-homosexual bullying in schools. The program includes a between one and four lessons each year between grades 1 and 5 to introduce students to “LGBT”...

Within just a few days this month, the push for gay marriage found a wave of fresh momentum. A unanimous state Supreme Court decision legalized the practice in Iowa. The state legislature overrode a gubernatorial veto and instituted the practice in Vermont. And Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson announced plans to push legislation that would open the door to the practice in New York. Beyond the political and legal arguments on the issue, however, are demographic shifts indicating that the controversy over same-sex unions may eventually fade altogether. Younger Americans are far more supportive of civil unions and gay marriage...

Homosexual campaigners have boasted about how they hope to use the new Equality Bill to force local councils to back their demands. The claim is made on a site called equalitybill.com, run by a political campaigner who also works for Lord Alli, an openly gay Peer in the House of Lords. Theo Grzegorczyk says that Canterbury City Council has decided not to back a plan to promote gay plays in the council-owned theatre. The council has encouraged the group that made the suggestion, Pride in Canterbury, to promote the plays themselves. According to the Council’s website, it appears to have...

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is warning the county recorders' offices in his state that workers must process "marriage" licenses for same-sex duos or face possible charges in a court of law. "If necessary, we will explore legal actions to enforce and implement the court's ruling, working with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health and county attorneys," he warned on his website. But an announcement today from a statewide pro-family organization and a public interest law firm with a reach that goes around the world means the issue of same-sex weddings eventually could end up back in court. The...

Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, but the big story to come out of the normally politics-free telecast was Miss California's comments regarding gay marriage. When asked by judge Perez Hilton, whether she believed in gay marriage, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, said "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised...

Summary This visually explosive FBI document reveals the secret symbols organized pedophiles use to recognize each other and is likely to be of broad interest to readers, especially parents. Wikileaks has verified the document.

Speaks for itself.

WASHINGTON — Congress’ leading opponent of the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy on Monday reintroduced legislation to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., backed a similar measure last year. In a statement Monday, she said the policy has "failed our country and military for 15 years" and hurt readiness by preventing qualified citizens from joining the ranks. The legislation would remove the current rules preventing homosexuals from serving openly in the military and allow anyone discharged under the policy to apply for reinstatement, though details must be worked out. More than 12,500...

(AP)California Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a Democrat, will tomorrow introduce legislation in the House to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bans gay soldiers from serving openly in the military. “This law has failed our country and our military for 15 years,” Tauscher said at a news conference. “It harms military readiness and discriminates against patriotic young men and women who want to serve their country. It’s time for Congress to right this wrong.” Tauscher planned to introduce the legislation today but did not because the weather kept the House out of session, according to communications director Jonathan...

So, we've heard that Barack Obama is going to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. As two queer teachers that have been working hard to arrest the militarism of education in Chicago—a public high school for every branch of the military, and two for the army ( and not one of these with a Gay Straight Alliance for students ) , and over 10,000 youth from 6th to 12th grade participating in some form of military program in their public schools—we are not leaping with joy at this...

Two mainline denominations have announced decisions indicating a further move away from Bible-based Christianity. In Michigan, the new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan is an ordained Zen Buddhist. Northern Michigan's Episcopal congregations and delegates overwhelmingly elected the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester at their convention on Saturday. The diocesan website says Thew Forrester "has practiced Zen meditation for almost a decade," and the Buddhist community welcomed his commitment by granting him "lay ordination." The website also says Northern Michigan's new bishop "resonates deeply" with "his own interfaith dialogue with Buddhism and meditative practice." Meanwhile, Presbyterian Church (USA) representatives...

San Diego, Calif., Feb 19, 2009 / 09:45 pm (CNA).- A California jury found on Tuesday that four firefighters, who were ordered by their superiors to participate in the city’s “gay pride” parade were sexually harassed, and awarded them monetary damages from the city. The case dates back to July 2007 when four San Diego firefighters were informed by their superiors that they would be participating in San Diego’s annual “Gay Pride” parade.  Though the four men protested, they were ordered to dress up in full uniform and ride on the fire engine along the parade route. During the...

Federal judge rules denial of health coverage to same-sex spouse unconstitutional 10:54 AM, February 5, 2009. A federal judge has deemed unconstitutional the government’s denial of healthcare coverage and other benefits to the same-sex spouse of a Los Angeles public defender, calling into question the validity of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt said the federal government’s refusal to grant spousal benefits to Tony Sears, the husband of deputy federal public defender Brad Levenson, amounted to unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual orientation. “Because there is no rational...

Gay-rights activists meeting in Denver start the tough work Friday of mapping out plans to see the new administration adopt policies they favor, while recounting what went wrong last year in failed attempts to defeat anti-gay ballot measures in California and other states. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force wants to see President Barack Obama make federal changes they say are years overdue, such as repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" ban on openly gay service members. But gay-rights activists say they're afraid they'll be on the back burner in Washington as the economy dwarfs all. And activists...

Muslims aren't the only ones trying to restrict free speech in Europe. In Britain, for example, the government is facing pressure from homosexual rights activists to overturn a free speech protection amendment added to a controversial “gay hate” law. The free speech protection clause, which states that criticizing homosexual practice or urging people to refrain from such conduct will not, in itself, be a crime, was added to the new offense of “incitement to homophobic hatred.” But now the government wants to remove that protection. The crime of inciting homophobic hatred includes any words or behavior which is threatening and...

Tennessee -- Winchester authorities announced their success at shutting down a major international child porn operation in middle Tennessee this month that netted them one Gary Salles from Atlanta, Georgia. Salles is a long time gay activist and organizer of various charity operations for gays in Atlanta. He is also a self-professed pedophile. Salles claims he is a photographer from Atlanta and is well known as a dance club photographer in the Atlanta gay community. Instead of legitimate photos, though, what got Salles in trouble was child pornography. "To see the videos, firsthand, that he was sharing, that was exciting...

Irondequoit, N.Y. —Irondequoit police have charged an assistant Boy Scout leader of a troop in town with possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, a felony. Robert Casanzio, 19, of Irondequoit, was taken into custody Jan. 15 and also charged with attempted endangering the welfare of a child. According to Sgt. Barry VanNostrand, supervisor of the IPD’s criminal investigations unit, Casanzio’s charges follow an approximately two-month long joint investigation by that unit and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. Police allege that in October 2008, Casanzio placed a posting on Craig’s List Web site looking for “young teen naturists” and...

The lastest issue of French magazine Paris Match has published an interesting photograph of President Obama revealing what he always carries in his pockets. Among the items is a Miraculous Medal. The photo also shows another medal with the image of the Virgin Mary holding the Infant Jesus. (This photo first appeared in Time Magazine in June 2008). The medal has an association with Medjugorje. On November 27, 1989, Our Lady said to the visionary Marija: These days, I want you to pray in a special way for the salvation of souls. Today is the feast day of the miraculous...

A gay Dallas man who married his husband in 2006 when they lived in Massachusetts has filed what is believed to be Texas’ first same-sex divorce petition.

Washington DC, Jan 21, 2009 / 03:19 am (CNA).- Former Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork has predicted that upcoming legal battles will have significant ramifications for religious freedom. He names as issues of major concern the continued freedom of Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions and the likely “terrible conflict” resulting from the advancement of homosexual rights. Speaking in an interview published Tuesday by Cybercast News Service, Judge Bork discussed the contentious nature of modern politics. “Everything is up for debate these days. I can’t think of anything that isn’t,” he said. “You are going to get Catholic...

Story Updated: Jan 19, 2009 at 5:25 PM PST By KATU.com Staff PORTLAND, Ore. - Newly sworn-in Mayor Sam Adams has admitted having a sexual relationship with a teenage intern he met in 2005, according to Willamette Week, a news partner of KATU. The paper said it spoke with Adams Monday afternoon while the mayor was in Washington D.C. In that interview, the paper reports, Adams said the relationship with Beau Breedlove lasted for a couple of months in 2005. Adams and Breedlove met in 2005 when Breedlove was 17 years old. Adams told Willamette Week the pair had a...

...On the morning after the election, Kristin Rothballer, 36, who lives in San Francisco, kissed her female partner goodbye on the train while commuting to work. A black woman who sat down next to her turned and said she was sorry that Proposition 8, the amendment to ban gay marriage in the state, looked like it was going to pass. “We grabbed hands,” Ms. Rothballer recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, I really want to congratulate you because we have a black president and that’s amazing.’ ” “Our conversation then almost became about the fact that we were having the conversation,”...

MAVERICK priest Father Peter Kennedy says he will lead a breakaway congregation if Brisbane's catholic Archbishop forces him to leave St Mary's Church. There are fears that exclusion from the historic South Brisbane property will be the final act in a long-running dispute that has reached the Vatican. Is Father Kennedy right? Have your say. The dispute has attracted national and international attention because it represents the battle between conservative and less traditional forces within the Catholic Church. There are more Roman Catholics in Australia than any other religious group. Each week, St Mary's attracts large congregations while many more...

Friday January 9, 2009 Vatican Nuncio to the Netherlands Called to Defend Church Teaching on Sexuality by Dutch Foreign Minister By Hilary White   AMSTERDAM, January 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican envoy to the Netherlands has been called to a meeting to defend the Catholic teaching on sexuality and marriage by the Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister. At the request of homosexualist activist groups, Maxime Verhagen, a Christian Democrat, has demanded that the Papal Nuncio to the Netherlands, Monsignor François Bacqué, respond to accusations that the Church opposes “gay rights.”   Verhagen said, “The Netherlands is unpleasantly surprised by...

As we saw during primary season, our president-elect is not free of his own brand of hubris and arrogance, and sometimes it comes before a fall: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” was the prelude to his defeat in New Hampshire. He has hit this same note again by assigning the invocation at his inauguration to the Rev. Rick Warren, the Orange County, Calif., megachurch preacher who has likened committed gay relationships to incest, polygamy and “an older guy marrying a child.” Bestowing this honor on Warren was a conscious — and glib — decision by Obama to spend political capital. It...

2008 was filled with triumphs and setbacks for Rhode Island’s GLBT community, and featured a scandal involving openly gay Providence Mayor David Cicilline. Cicilline was the subject of some complaints from the GLBT community when he failed to show up for the Pride festival in June. Cicilline had been announced as one of the grand marshals for the Illuminated Nighttime Parade. United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse filled in for Cicilline as Grand Marshal. Rodney Davis, co-chairman of RI Pride, later claimed the city had thrown "stumbling blocks" in the organization’s path, making it difficult for RI Pride to put on...

Margie Christoffersen didn't make it very far into our conversation before she cracked. Chest heaving, tears streaming, she reached for her husband Wayne's hand and then mine, squeezing as if she'd never let go. "I've almost had a nervous breakdown. It's been the worst thing that's ever happened to me," she sobbed as curious patrons at a Farmers Market coffee shop looked on, wondering what calamity had visited this poor woman who's an honest 6 feet tall, with hair as blond as the sun. Well, Christoffersen was a manager at El Coyote, the Beverly Boulevard landmark restaurant that's always had...

WAAAAH! Why can't we have everything exactly our way? WAAAAH! Barack Obama chose someone to deliver the invocation at his inaugural that we don't like! WAAAH! Even though nobody remembers what is said at the invocation we are going to soil our diapers over this! Yes, the DUmmies are throwing a conniption fit over Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaugural next month and it is FUn to see them go over the edge as you can read in this THREAD titled, "Rick Warren? OK then, f*ck you too, Mr. Obama." So let us...

Rick Warren had a surprisingly candid response to Ann Curry's question as to whether he would change his views on homosexuality if it were established that people are born gay. The pastor of the Saddleback Church, explaining why such a finding wouldn't cause him to change his position, observed that he is inclined to want to have sex with every beautiful woman he sees, but that that doesn't make it right. Curry interviewed Warren for a Dateline segment that will be aired tonight on NBC. As noteworthy as Warren's admission was the righteous liberal anger, captured in the screengrab, Curry...

Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer of the film and stage musical “Hairspray,” has done the country a major, if inadvertent, service. He has composed a brief musical piece against California Proposition 8 that takes only three minutes to reveal the ignorance and hate that pervades so much anti-Proposition 8 activism. This short musical, viewed more than 2 million times on the Internet, features major Hollywood talents playing (through song) two groups on a beach -- gay men and women in beach clothes and a stuffy formally dressed church group composed of whites and blacks. Its message begins with a...

"Moving forward together" In his column this week in Catholic San Francisco, Archbishop George H. Niederauer calls for an end to hate and name calling in the aftermath of Proposition 8, and issues a call for reconciliation based upon trust, respect, and tolerance. The leader of the San Francisco Archdiocese says we must be able to disagree without being disagreeable, and “with God’s grace and much prayer, perhaps we can all move forward together.” The full text of the Archbishop’s column in the Dec. 5 issue of Catholic San Francisco follows. Proposition 8 on November’s ballot added fourteen words to...

Hollywood can still mount a soapbox and recall the dark days when people lost their jobs in show business for daring to take an unpopular political position that was outside the mainstream. Whenever they're criticized, they proclaim, "McCarthyism," accuse their critics of "blacklisting," and condemn the deplorable "intolerance." Hollywood has yet to accept, perhaps even to understand, that it is the entertainment industry that excels at this slanderous behavior. After California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, the artistic director...

This week, the creative minds behind “Hairspray,” composer Marc Shaiman and director Adam Shankman, opened their “Prop 8: The Musical” with an all-star studded cast that includes Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris and John C. Reilly at Sacramento Community College. You can watch it here. The point of the production is to shame the voting public for passing Proposition 8 a month ago, which simply defined marriage in California as between a man and a woman. The musical is clearly intended to spark more “public outrage.” No doubt, more protests, more storming of Mormon temples and Catholic churches and more...

In a short video posted on FunnyorDie.com entitled, "Prop 8 The Musical," an all star cast of Hollywood celebrities perform a low budget musical farce that defames Christ, mocks Christians and distorts the teaching of the Bible. "Jack Black should remember from his days at Hebrew School that homosexual acts aren't funny and are roundly condemned in the Bible," said Dr. Gary Cass, of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Appearing as a sarcastic, rotund Christ, Black distorts the Bible and condones shameful, homosexual acts. Associating Christ with perverse activity is an affront to all people of faith, especially Christians. Apparently Black...

This poster from the French government is aimed at reassuring young people who are "discovering" themselves that there is no difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality. It reads: The only difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality is homophobia. When you are an adolescent and wondering about your emotional and sexual orientation, you may unfortunately also discover homophobia and its violence. This period in your life is often difficult to endure and can lead to serious problems, sometimes even suicide. A national re-education campaign signed by: The Ministry of Health, Youth, Sports and Related Associations; and the National Institute of Health.

There is a video making the rounds that shows an angry mob of California gays confronting and intimidating Christians over the passage of Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage in that state. Michelle Malkin has a narrative of the event that sounds worse than the tape, which already sounds pretty bad. Reportedly the Christians met once a week to pray and sing on the public corner. Whether they’re hoping to “straighten out” gays or simply trying to facilitate encounters with Christ is unclear, but their method is problematic; it’s not how Jesus would do it. In the wake of Proposition...

A contentious reverse discrimination claim that has embroiled the Atascadero Police Department in controversy heads for mediation Tuesday. Earlier this year, city officials launched an internal probe into complaints of reverse discrimination made by male officers against female officers in the city's police department. The complaints allege preferential treatment for an alleged lesbian officer, provided by an upper level officer with whom she was romantically involved, sources said. A half dozen sources have confirmed the allegations. City officials and attorneys involved in the case have declined comment. Following the investigation, Police Chief Jim Mulhall ordered one of the alleged lesbian...

Although a week has passed since California voters overturned that state's Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the state has felt numerous aftershocks as gay rights activists have mounted large-scale protests directed at supporters of Prop 8, specifically the Mormon church. ... Demonstrations outside Mormon temples were reported over the weekend throughout California and more are anticipated nationwide. The Mormon church, however, is not the only Prop 8 supporter coming under criticism for its role in the controversial election, as Catholics and Evangelical churches have seen protests, as well. An estimated 10,000 gay-rights protesters gathered in San Diego, Calif. outside...