Free Republic

LONDON, July 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In conflicts over same-sex couples staying in hotels run by religious believers, it is up to the owners to accommodate or close, the government says. In April, the Labour government passed the Sexual Orientation Regulations of the Equality Act 2006, drafted under the supervision of homosexual lobbyists, that make it illegal for Christian and other religious objectors to homosexual behaviour to refuse business to gay clientele.In the case of family owned bed and breakfast establishments, this requirement means that proprietors must allow homosexual partners to stay in the same room or be forced...

The top U.S. military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, doesn't plan to apologize for telling a newspaper that homosexuality is immoral. Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay people from serving in the U.S. armed forces. The general also compared homosexuality to adultery -- behavior that is prosecuted in the military, he said. "My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral," Pace told the Tribune. "I believe that military members...

John Edwards showed us he is not a Christian and has no idea what Jesus "would" think. The main tenant of Christianity is that Jesus, the only Son or God, came to Earth to die for the sins of man and that he was raised from the dead and rose to sit at the right hand of God. So what does Edwards comment that "I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs," mean? It means that if he was a...

Ann Coulter fired back at critics who demanded the conservative columnist apologize for comments she made during a speech in which she referred to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards as a "faggot." "'Faggot isn't offensive to gays; it has nothing to do with gays," Coulter said on "Hannity and Colmes" Monday night. "It's a schoolyard taunt meaning 'wuss,' and unless you're telling me that John Edwards is gay, it was not applied to a gay person."

Bill Maher has stirred outrage once again, this time saying it would be better if Vice President Dick Cheney was dead. On his HBO show "Real Time," Maher and his guests were discussing the assassination attempt on Cheney last week, and the fact that the Huffington Post web site removed comments regarding readers' disappointment that Cheney had not been killed. According to NewsBusters.org, the conversation went like this: Maher: What about the people who got onto the Huffington Post – and these weren’t even the bloggers, these were just the comments section – who said they, they expressed regret that...

WASHINGTON, March 3 — Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party’s best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here. The remarks by Ann Coulter, an author who regularly speaks at conservative events, were sharply denounced by the candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Their statements came after Democrats, gay rights groups and bloggers raised a storm of protest over the remarks. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference before an...

Self explanatory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AE847UXu3Q

Conservative author Jennifer Rubin wondered this morning whether any Republican candidates would have the decency to do a little Sistah Souljah-ing here: It is not “caving” into political correctness to distance and indeed condemn such remarks as unworthy of a political event like CPAC… Excommunication is not being suggested, just a public rebuke. By clearly stating her comments are beyond the bounds of civil discourse and her presence not a welcome addition to a mature political party, the Republicans could do themselves a world of good. How often does a party have the opportunity to display some measure of dignity,...

After four years of legal wrangling in the clergy-abuse scandal, attorneys for Bishop Robert Brom filed for Chapter 11 protection last night, making San Diego the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to declare bankruptcy. In a brief electronic filing just before midnight, the diocese said it had assets of more than $100 million and estimated debts of more than $100 million. Brom's action halts the first trial, set to start today, of about 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by 60 priests in incidents dating back decades. Brom said in a statement: “We put money on the...

WRENTHAM, Mass.— A state senator and father of a former American Idol finalist read profanity-laced criticism posted online about him and his family in a talk to high school students in his district about his opposition to gay marriage. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, defended his use of foul language during an assembly at King Philip Regional High School on Thursday by saying he was only repeating what had been written about him. The comments were posted on a Facebook.com page dedicated to a pro-gay rights history teacher at the school. "I hate scott brown" and "scott brown ascends from the...

"We are conducting a peaceful action. We want to show that we have the same rights as other citizens," Alexeyev told a news conference a few hours before events turned violent. The crowd opposed to gay rights and the rally included women who held up religious icons. They were joined by men in Cossack traditional dress — white sheepskin hats and black-and-red tunics. Police quickly moved in as the first half-dozen rally participants arrived carrying flowers. They were joined by about 100 religious and nationalist extremists who kicked and punched some of the activists. As Volker Beck, a Green member...

DELAND -- County Councilman Bill Long was arrested early this afternoon on a domestic violence charge after he was accused of striking former domestic partner Patrick Fulton and then damaging Fulton's DeBary home, a Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman said. An aggravated stalking complaint also has been referred to the State Attorney's Office by deputies. Long, 43, was arrested at about 2:20 p.m. and taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach for processing, the spokesman said. Bill Long Patrick Fulton The arrest grew out an incident the night before that began when Long is accused of striking...

Berkeley -- A company that was sued by a pair of gay skaters who alleged they were harassed for holding hands has agreed to hold monthly gay-straight skate nights, to sign an anti-discrimination pledge and to contribute $5,000 to two gay groups as part of a legal settlement. As part of the settlement announced late Wednesday, the skaters, John Manzon-Santos and Alan Lessik, also will get free admission for one year to the weekly "pairs preferred" skating sessions Berkeley Iceland plans to offer. East Bay Iceland, which owns the Berkeley rink and two others, also agreed to post placards advertising...

Syphilis rates in blacks, women and babies declined significantly between 1999 and 2004 but continued to rise overall, driven by a dramatic jump in infections among gay and bisexual men, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. About 64% of all the new syphilis cases in 2004 were in men who had engaged in homosexual activity, according to the CDC. That group made up 5% of the syphilis cases in 1999. "Increases in gay and bisexual men are overshadowing the decreases," Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, Sexually Transmitted Disease and Tuberculosis Prevention,...

Corporate America backs gay rights Plugged In: Gay rights are good business, no matter the politics. NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - This spring, shareholders at such big companies as ExxonMobil , Ford and American Express are voting on whether gay and lesbian people deserve protection against discrimination in the workplace. But even as battles over gay rights flare up in the corporate world, there's no doubt about who's winning the war. More than 80 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 now ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Some 249 of the Fortune 500 offer health and other benefits...

WASHINGTON: Seven soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have been charged with engaging in sex for money on an Internet website, the army said Friday. Three of the soldiers were charged with pandering, sodomy and “wrongfully engaging in sexual acts with another person while being filmed, with the purpose of broadcasting over the Internet for money”, the army said in a statement. The army gave no further details but the division had previously been reported to be investigating soldiers for engaging in sex on a gay website. The three face possible court-martial while four other soldiers received...

For the politically correct Bay Area parent, the "Curious George" children's books are a minefield of cultural horrors through which to tiptoe. Imperialism. Animal abuse. Bad parenting. Puh-leeeeze, George's defenders say. They're children's books, whose charm has not dimmed -- 25 million books and countless swag sold -- even if ideas about political correctness have evolved since the first George adventure was published in 1941. Sometimes a speechless, mischievous monkey is just that -- a monkey, not a metaphor. Besides, George's tales are no more un-PC than those of that royalist warmonger, Babar. Both camps are wondering how "Curious...

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, a potential presidential candidate, said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word "fruits" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine. In a lengthy profile titled "God's Senator," the magazine quotes the Kansas Republican as criticizing countries like Sweden that allow civil unions between same-sex couples. "You'll know them by their fruits," Brownback said, quoting a biblical passage from Matthew 7:19. Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet said in the story, appearing in the magazine's current issue, that Brownback appeared to be calling gay Swedes "fruits," a derogatory term for...

LILLE, France, January 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A court in Lille handed down its sentence on a French Parliamentarian Tuesday, fining him 3000 Euros and forcing him to pay an additional 6000 Euros to be split between three homosexual activist groups who brought the charges against the MP. Christian Vanneste, a member of the UMP representing the Lille region was found guilty in December on charges of violating a French law barring "hate speech" against homosexuals. However, Vanneste in the remarks upon which the charges were based and in his defence, was clear that he was not speaking against homosexual...

Five teachers at San Leandro High School have refused to comply with a school district order to display a rainbow-flag poster in their classrooms that reads, "This is a safe place to be who you are," because they say homosexuality violates their religious beliefs, ...The high school's Gay-Straight Alliance designed the poster, which includes pink triangles and other symbols of gay pride. In December the school board approved a policy requiring all district teachers to hang the posters in their classrooms. District officials said the poster is an effort to comply with state laws requiring schools to ensure students' safety...