Free Republic

The Defense Department is withdrawing the nomination of Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, The Daily Wire can first report, under whose command drag performances took place on board the USS Ronald Reagan. Donnelly served as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier from April 2016 to September 2018, during which time Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley performed as a drag queen under the name “Harpy Daniels” at a department-sanctioned “Morale, Welfare, and Recreation” event on the aircraft carrier. The Defense Department announced on June 18 that President Donald Trump had nominated Donnelly for promotion to vice admiral and an appointment as...

Baylor University voluntarily rescinded a controversial grant that supported research focused on inclusion and belonging in the church, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals, President Linda Livingstone announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon. According to a now inaccessible press release published on June 30 from the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the $643,401 grant was awarded to the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation supplied the grant to “better understand the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations to nurture institutional courage and foster change.” The Baugh...

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a trans teacher in Florida has no right to refer to herself with the gendered honorific “Ms.” or ask to be referred to with the pronouns she/her under what critics have called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. The trans algebra teacher, Katie Wood, sued her employer, the Hillsborough County School Board, in 2023 soon after Florida’s anti-LGBTQ law was enacted. A lower court found that the law likely infringes on her First Amendment free speech rights and granted a preliminary injunction. However, the conservative-leaning appeals court overruled the lower...

NEW YORK, July 4 (C-Fam) UN human rights officials took over the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council to promote divisive social policies, including advocating for “gender-affirming care” services for migrants and criticizing countries that do not support pride marches, LGBT-friendly curricula in schools, and the killing of the unborn. Held from June 28 to July 9th in Geneva, Switzerland, this year’s UN Human Rights Council session convened member states, UN agencies, and accredited civil society organizations to engage with UN special rapporteurs’ latest reports. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk opened the session by decrying...

The Pennsylvania transgender coach who had been canned for inappropriate conduct, was rehired, but ultimately resigned over a porn video showing him smoking meth, recently admitted he was the one who had sent the incriminating video. David Yates, who coached tennis at Gettysburg High School and switched to the name “Sasha” in 2022, was not rehired following a pair of incidents which included him allegedly “stripping down to bra and panties” in the girls’ locker room. But Yates later reapplied for the position, and had the backing of many who claimed he’d been let go due to “transphobia.” A district...

An Iowa law removing gender identity as a protected class from the state’s civil rights code took effect Tuesday, the first action of its kind in the United States. The new rollback of protections is the latest attack on trans people in the US and part of a broader movement across conservative-led states working to restrict LGBTQ rights.

The campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. | Baylor University/Morty OrtegaBaylor University in Waco, Texas, has received a $643,401 grant from a liberal foundation to foster inclusion among LGBTQ-identified individuals in the church.The hefty grant to the private Baptist research university's Center for Church and Community Impact (C31) came from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, according to a press release from the school's Diana R. Garland School of Social Work.The grant's goal is "to foster inclusion and belonging in the church," with an emphasis on understanding "the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations...

On Saturday more than one million people are expected to attend Pride in London, the UK's largest LGBTQ+ event. But despite huge visitor numbers, organisers say the event - and others like it around the country - face an uncertain future due to a drop in funding and falling volunteer numbers. More than 85 Pride organisations say they've seen a reduction in corporate sponsorships or partnerships. BBC News has spoken to a number of Pride organisers about their worries for the future of Pride events, and what they believe is behind the drop in funding. Dee Llewellyn is volunteer chair...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy struck a blow at radical LGBTQ activism as “Pride Month” ended. Duffy sent a letter to all 50 state governors, the D.C. mayor, and Puerto Rico’s governor, a letter which he also shared with The Daily Signal. Trump’s transportation secretary told the governors to work on removing distractions, including woke political symbols, from roads and intersections. In the letter, Duffy wrote, “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. Today I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions.” He added, “Far too many...

... an opinion piece released at EndTimeHeadlines reveals that one [United Methodist] congregation has taken the agenda to an extreme. With an F-bomb-laden, LGBT "worship anthem" in which a performer loudly proclaims "I'm f****** gay." The commentary said, "It was once said that when the Church stops offending the world, it has stopped representing Christ. That grim warning came true again in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Zao MKE Church – an official United Methodist congregation – recently led its Sunday worship with a profane, self-glorifying anthem titled, 'I'm F****** Gay.'"

Just over two weeks after the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, the justices agreed to take up another high-profile issue involving transgender people – specifically, the constitutionality of laws that bar transgender women and girls from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams. In a list of orders released on Thursday morning, the court granted a pair of petitions filed by Idaho and West Virginia, seeking review of lower-court rulings that barred them from enforcing such laws. Idaho was the first state to enact such a ban in...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis church is calling for members of the LGBTQ+ community to be put to death or to kill themselves. Local faith leaders are condemning the message. The call was made during a recent sermon titled “Pray the Gay Away” inside Sure Foundation Baptist Church on the northwest side of the city. “There’s nothing good to be proud about being a f*****. You ought to blow yourself in the head, in the back of the head. You’re so disgusting,” Stephen Falco said from the pulpit. He was speaking during the church’s “Men’s Preaching Night.” The event was...

Founded in 1845 and claiming 16,000 students, Baylor University is the world’s largest Baptist University and also one of the oldest. Like many that have gone before, Baylor is deeply compromised despite seeking to be our theological betters. Baylor repeatedly touts their Christian creds, but the game is nearly up. Despite affirming that “The mission of Baylor University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community” and “the biblical understanding that sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage between a man and a woman are...

A recent performance by singer and performer Uché has ignited a firestorm of criticism after a video surfaced of him singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” with a controversial twist. In place of the time-honored closing line, “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” Uché deliberately changed the words to “land of the free, home of the gays.” The moment, which was captured and shared on TikTok during Pride Month, has prompted widespread backlash from Americans who see the alteration as a blatant sign of disrespect toward a cherished national symbol. The video, posted to Uché’s TikTok account...

After 17 years in the US Army, Maj Kara Corcoran, 39, was preparing to graduate from an elite military leadership programme. But there was a complication. Two days before the ceremony, Kara was told that she would need to conform to male regulations, which meant wearing male uniform and cutting the long blonde hair she had grown since she told the Army she identified as a woman in 2018. The directive had come from the Pentagon, and filtered down through her chain of command at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. "Nothing about me is a man, but we're going to force me...

Brita Filter says her corporate bookings for Pride events have dropped by 60% this year over last year. She's never had this much downtime in June, a typically busy month for gigs and events. She relies on influencer partnerships and community events to sustain her career, which she loves. Brita Filter, 39, is a household name in drag entertainment. Her popularity went mainstream when she appeared on season 12 of "RuPaul's Drag Race," and she's made appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "Broad City," and "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah."

The end is nigh. That seems to be the message this week from the three liberal justices at the Supreme Court when faced with the nightmarish prospect of parents being able to remove their young children from mandatory classes on gay, lesbian and transgender material. … Justice Sonia Sotomayor declared that there “will be chaos for this nation’s public schools” and both education and children will “suffer” if parents are allowed to opt their children out of these lessons. She also worried about the “chilling effect” of the ruling, which would make schools more hesitant to offer such classes in...

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of Maryland parents who sued a school board over its refusal to allow elementary school children to be taken out of classes with LGBTQ-themed storybooks. In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines Friday, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that found the parents needed to show that their kids were being coerced to act differently than their religious beliefs. The high court concluded that the parents “have shown that they are entitled to a preliminary injunction” because they “are likely to succeed in their challenge to the Board’s policies. “The...

Mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani wants to spend $65 million in taxpayer funds on transgender treatment — including for minors — if he’s elected to lead New York City. The Queens assemblyman, who is locked in a close race with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, says on his campaign website that the money would be funneled to public providers to help transgender New Yorkers. About $57 million would be allotted for public hospitals, community clinics, federally qualified health centers and nonprofits with another $8 million for more expanded services, the website states. Mamdani defended the spending plan as...

On the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationally, supporters say they are secure but also wary and watchful.Could same-sex marriage be next?Gay Americans and their allies have much to celebrate on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Same-sex marriage has, by almost every indication, become ingrained in everyday American life. Since the decision, there have been 591,000 same-sex marriages, and today, nearly two-thirds of Americans approve of the policy. Same-sex couples are staples in contemporary movies and television shows, and reside, often with their...