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NEW YORK, NY, November 25, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the aftermath of the legalization of gay “marriage” in New York state, some commentators had wondered why, despite their leadership role in the fight against the law, the state’s Catholic bishops’ efforts had ultimately seemed so strangely half-hearted, given the high stakes. One of these was gay activist Terence Weldon. Writing after the vote at the blog “Queering the Church,” he said: “the really interesting thing about the Catholic bishops and NY gay marriage is not how vigorously they fought against it (as the headlines would have it), but how lukewarm...

After introducing its first openly gay character in September 2010, Archie Comics continues to lead the pack with the mainstream comic book world’s first same-sex marriage. Kevin Keller will marry his military sweetheart, Clay, in an upcoming issue of Life with Archie. The character is also set to star in a pioneering solo title starting this February. An interracial same-sex marriage between two soldiers in an Archie comic? The times are no longer a-changin’, they are a-changed.

GRASSTOPSUSA.COM - GIVE YOUR VALUES A VOICE In an email today, Chris Carmouche of GrassTopsUSA.com reports that the same sex marriage bill could have died in Senate Judiciary Committee, if not for the complicity of every Republican member. The Republicans on that committee are: Chuck Grassley (Iowa) - Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (Utah) Jon Kyl (Arizona) Jeff Sessions (Alabama) Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) John Cornyn (Texas) Michael Lee (Utah) Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) Here's the bulk of the email: GOP Senators Who Voted For Gay Marriage Before They Voted Against It So-Called "Homosexual Marriage" May Now Become The Law Of The...

BOSTON (BP) -- Some of the nation's top companies such as Google, CBS, Starbucks and Nike have joined forces in a legal brief asking a federal court to force the federal government to recognize gay "marriage." The friend-of-the-court brief asks the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a 2010 lower court ruling that struck down part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In that ruling, Judge Joseph L. Tauro said the federal government must recognize gay "marriages" from such states as Massachusetts, Vermont and the other four states where it's legal. In essence, the brief argues, the...

Microsoft and Starbucks are among 70 corporations, financial institutions, medical centers, and other major organizations that have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).The organizations are, or represent, major employers who argue that DOMA imposes significant administrative costs, and that it harms their ability to attract and retain talent."Microsoft has joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of a challenge on constitutionality grounds to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA," the company said in a statement. The amicus brief "points out the significant...

In the wake of the new Republican majority in the New Hampshire Legislature, some social conservatives want to turn back the clock on same-sex marriage. What a waste of time in a country and a state more rightly focused on righting our economic ship. According to exit polls last month, voters overwhelmingly care about jobs and the economy, followed by taxes, terrorism and health care. Same-sex marriage is not even near the bottom of this list; it is at the bottom. It's hard to imagine that New Hampshire legislators would spend an ounce of time on a settled matter. Nonetheless,...

Mike Huckabee, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012 says the effort to allow gays and lesbians to marry is comparable to legalizing incest, polygamy and drug use... Huckabee told the interviewer that not every group's interests deserve to be accomodated if their lifestyle is outside what he called "the ideal."... "There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accomodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, should we accomodate them?" he said. ...

The mayor of San Diego testified Tuesday that his views on same-sex marriage evolved after he learned one of his daughters was a lesbian. Mayor Jerry Sanders took the witness stand on behalf of two same-sex couples suing to overturn Proposition 8... "I had been prejudiced," he said. "I was saying one group of people did not deserve the same respect, did not deserve the same symbolism of marriage, and I was saying their marriages were less important than those of heterosexuals."... Sanders, a Republican, now believes it's in the interest of government to support same-sex marriage. A former police...

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Bruce Springsteen doesn't share Chris Christie's views on gay marriage and he won't play at the governor-elect's inauguration, but Christie says there's no hard feelings about the Boss' politics or his State Street freeze out.   "Obviously, two bad decisions on his part," Christie joked Monday after a meeting at Rutgers University with the leaders of several New Jersey colleges and universities. "Bruce and I don't agree on certain things politically -- big shock," the Republican added. "But it doesn't diminish at all my enjoyment of him as an artist and a performer."   For the record, Springsteen is...

A localized media frenzy has ensued after a Catholic reporter was let go from his 19-year position at a Maine newspaper for voicing his opinion against same-sex “marriage” and the campaign to legalize it in Maine. According to an article by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Larry Grard, a former employee of the Morning Sentinel, was sent a mass email from the pro-gay rights organization, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), following the repeal of the same-sex “marriage” law in Maine during the mid-term elections on Nov. 4. In the email, Trevor Thomas, spokesman for the HRC, voiced his disappointment with the...

WASHINGTON — Washington D.C.'s City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the council's 13 members. The final vote Tuesday was 11-2. The bill now goes to Congress, which has final say over the district's laws. Opponents say they'll try to get Congress or voters to overturn it. Passage of the bill is a victory for gay marriage supporters, who have been dealt a recent string of defeats... Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. New Hampshire will...

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...

Breaking news 4:24 PM N.H. legislators OK gay marriage The governor is expected to sign the bill, which would make New Hampshire the sixth state to legalize gay marriage.

WHITINSVILLE, Mass., – Twenty years after he met the love of his life, nearly five years after their wedding helped make history, it took a nasty bout of pneumonia for Gary Chalmers to fully appreciate the blessings of marriage. "I was out of work for eight weeks, spent a week in the hospital," Chalmers said. "That was the first time I really felt thankful for the sense of the security we had, with Rich there, talking with the physicians, helping make decisions. ... It really made a difference." At stake was the most basic recognition of marital bonds — something...

Washington Post reporter Tim Craig relays that the D.C. Council has voted 13-0, without debate, to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Watch D.C. Wire for updates.

KING: Since the last election, a number of states have moved ahead with same-sex marriage proposals. Some have done it legislatively. Some have done it in other ways. Some has happened through the courts, which I know both of you think is the wrong way to do anything, whether it's same-sex marriage or anything else. But, if, at the end of this conversation, you come to the conclusion that the consensus of the people you're talking to is to agree what Steve Schmidt, John McCain's campaign manager, said, you know, the Republicans are viewed as intolerant because we want constitutional...

I noted with satisfaction that Maine's senate passed a gay marriage bill this week. So too did the New Hampshire senate. Whether the two lower chambers will pass the accompanying bills is unclear (New Hampshire's house passed a slightly different version, so they have to address it again), and whether the governors would sign the bills is also not known (Maine's governor used to be opposed but now says he may be open to the experience). As Josh Marshall points out, it may be that we've reached some sort of societal tipping point on this issue—I can only hope so....

The United Methodist Church's top court recently ruled that clergy, both active and retired, cannot perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. Performing such services is "a chargeable offense," Bishop Beverly J. Shamana ruled last Friday. UMC's Judicial Council affirmed her decision. The council further ruled that an annual conference, or regional body within the UMC, "may not negate, ignore, or violate provisions of the Discipline with which they disagree, even when the disagreements are based on conscientious objections to the provisions." The council’s ruling was on a resolution passed by the California-Nevada Annual Conference last year, months after the California...