Free Republic

It has been 47 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and 46 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act. And yet the political leaders of this nation of liberty cannot seem to muster the courage and principle to sweep away one remaining example of institutionalized, government-sanctioned discrimination: The 1996 law that denies the right of marriage to same-sex couples. The law, the Defense of Marriage Act, was passed in the heat of election-year fear and bigotry against men who want to marry other men, and women who want to marry other women. It was a...

Actress Kristin Chenoweth is a self-identifying Christian who has sparked controversy by speaking out about her support of the gay community in an interview with lesbian and gay publication The Advocate. The LBGT publication asked the TV and theater star: "What would you ask people who cite Christianity as their justification for passing laws that discriminate against people?" Chenoweth replied, "I would ask, 'What would Jesus do?' It sounds so cliché and Pollyanna-ish, but I have a feeling if he were on the earth today, he wouldn't be walking around saying, 'You’re going to hell' and 'You're wrong, you're wrong,...

"In fact, I have been unable to find information about any NAMBLA conference which Harry Hay didn’t attend." --From ZombieTime, Memo to Kevin Jennings: Your reputation is on the line The Media Matters "Smear" Poor Media Matters, the Left's "watch dog" that acts like an attack dog. The Left political group has labeled information that emerged about Jennings and his praise of NAMBLA promoter Harry Hay (whom Jennings said "inspired me") as a "smear". From Smear: Kevin Jennings Praised A Member Of NAMBLA: The conservative smear machine, still attempting to damage progressives by drawing shady guilt-by-association connections, is trying to...

France’s new culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, who has defended the filmmaker Roman Polanski against extradition charges for statutory rape, was attacked on Wednesday for his admission in a 2005 autobiography, “The Bad Life,” that he “got into the habit” of paying “young boys” for sex in Southeast Asia despite “the sordid details of this traffic.” Mr. Mitterrand, who is a nephew of former President François Mitterrand, faced calls for his resignation from the far-right National Front. Later, the Socialist Party spokesman, Benoît Hamon, told Reuters: “As a minister of culture he has drawn attention to himself by defending a filmmaker...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans are a diverse, extraordinary, resilient, and passionate group of forgiving men and women. I wouldn't be standing beside them demanding full and equal treatment under the law and speaking out against the harm caused by religion-based bigotry at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11 if I thought they were not created in God's image the same as myself, same as my family, as we all are—we are all God's children. And I know better than anyone, since six years ago I was one of those bigots. At that time...

The interpretive conflict regarding homosexuality and the Bible is a relatively recent phenomenon, between two fundamentally different positions and interpretive foundations. Historical/traditional scholarship evidences that the Bible contains laws which prohibit homosex (same gender sexual relations; also referred to as homoeroticism or homogenital relations), and which are as universal and immutable as laws against illicit heterosexual partners are shown to be (or even more so), as belonging in the same class. In addition, the necessary positive sanction of marriage, which is provided explicitly for opposite gender sexual unions, is nowhere established for homosexual unions. Pro-homosex polemicists have responded to this...

Matthew Rolston for Rolling StoneUs Magazine Adam Lambert finally confirms his sexuality in the new issue of Rolling Stone (on stands tomorrow). "I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," the American Idol runner-up says.

(RTTNews) - President Barack Obama recognized June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, or LGBT, pride month Monday. In a presidential statement he marked the anniversary of the LGBT pride movement and added that the government will "commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans." "LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect," Obama said. "I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans," he added. "These measures include enhancing hate...

Two issues continue to cloud the American political scene. Gay rights and the protection of life. These two issues are seen as so important that many Americans are willing to ignore all other issues such as poverty, housing, foreign policy and health care to vote according to a candidate’s position on homosexuality and abortion. The right to life, abortion, freedom of choice issue is much the tougher issue and a healthy debate should continue until some sort of understanding is reached and codified into laws that are firmly upheld by our courts. I suspect the most workable solution is not...

Here across the northeast tip of the United States, where we pride ourselves in like-it-or-stick-it Yankee independence, individuals are toiling to extend marriage equality to the homosexual community. This week, somewhat shockingly, they achieved success in Vermont. Now we will see if Maine and New Hampshire can squash the serpent of fear as well. If I hadn't already chosen a side in this debate, the comments I've heard in recent weeks from opponents of the three bills would have been enough to make me an entrenched defender of the proposals. When the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted last month...