Free Republic

Some of the nation’s most famous corporations, including Lions Gate Entertainment and Live Nation, have not reported compliance with a California law that required boards of directors to meet a diversity quota. The law has just been declared unconstitutional by a Los Angeles judge, and yet a “shame list” remains online for the public to scrutinize which corporations have the most ethnic minorities on their boards.

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a “Christian” wedding photographer who demanded that the state’s nondiscrimination law be overturned, lest she be forced to photograph same-sex weddings. The woman, Emilee Carpenter, of Elmira, filed suit earlier this year, claiming that New York’s nondiscrimination law violates her First Amendment rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, and her Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. Carpenter claims to believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, and that weddings are meant to be “inherently religious and solemn events.” As such,...

The leader of a Pentagon working group overseeing efforts to root out domestic extremists in the military tweeted in 2019 that any supporter of former President Donald Trump unequivocally supports extremism and racism.“Support for him, a racist, is support for ALL his beliefs,” Bishop Garrison, who was appointed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to lead the Countering Extremism Working Group (CEWG), tweeted in July 2019 in reference to Trump.“He’s dragging a lot of bad actors (misogynist, extremists, other racists) out into the light, normalizing their actions,” Garrison, an Army veteran, tweeted. “If you support the President, you support that.”

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A California judge has ruled in favor of a Christian baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The judge denied a motion for a temporary restraining order filed on Wednesday against Cathy Miller, the owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California. According to a press release sent by The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, the order would have compelled "Miller to create wedding cakes for LGBT persons, even though doing so would violate her sincerely held religious beliefs."

Governor Jan Brewer (R., Ariz.) was correct to veto SB 1062, but she should have done it for a different reason: It did not go far enough. Brewer faced tremendous pressure to kill this measure, which would have let religious business owners refuse to serve gay patrons. Many Americans understandably had a visceral reaction against this legislation that, fairly or not, was seen as a potential green light for homophobia. The fact that this bill would have allowed enterprises to spurn gay clientele due to religious liberty probably sharpened the burrs beneath the saddles of its foes. However, what Brewer...

Here's a question: What is the true test of one's commitment to freedom of expression? Is it when one permits others to express ideas with which he agrees? Or is it when he permits others to express ideas he finds deeply offensive? I'm betting that most people would wisely answer that it's the latter, and I'd agree. How about this question: What is the true test of one's commitment to freedom of association? Is it when people permit others to freely associate in ways of which they approve? Or is it when they permit others to freely associate in ways...

At a local library a small group of individuals meet on a monthly basis to discuss Russian literature. Over the past ten years they've discussed every author from Pushkin to Dostoyevsky to Tolstoy. At the upcoming meeting they plan to discuss one or two twentieth century Soviet authors. When the date of the meeting rolls around, they find two new people there to participate in the meeting. In short order they learn that these two new participants have no love for Russian authors. In fact, they are two Estonian nationalists that hate everything Russian. They are at the meeting only...

WASHINGTON (AP)—A White House spokesman said Thursday that President Barack Obama believes women should be admitted as members to the all-male Augusta National, home of the Masters golf tournament. White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Obama’s “personal opinion is that women should be admitted” to the golf club. Carney said it was “up to the club to decide” but Obama told him he personally thinks women should be welcome. “We’re kind of long past the time when women should be excluded from anything,” Carney said. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Obama’s likely challenger in the fall, said...

(CNN) – Mitt Romney added his voice to the chorus calling for women to be allowed to join Augusta National Golf Club. When asked if women should be admitted, the Republican presidential frontrunner responded: "Of course." "I am not a member of Augusta. I don't know if I would qualify. My golf game is not that good," Romney told reporters after an energy-themed event in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. "Certainly if I were a member, if I could run Augusta, which isn't likely to happen, of course I'd have women into Augusta." Earlier Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said President...

The parade of hate crimes continue. This time the perpetrator is Vanderbilt University which has put five Christian student organizations on provisional status for being, well, Christian clubs. Vanderbilt was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1870s, with a donation from philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt. Thus, as is the case with 106 of the first 108 colleges and the universities in the United States, Vanderbilt was brought into existence by followers of Jesus Christ. Now his followers are being tagged as homophobic bigots and threatened with expulsion from campus because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Worse, Vanderbilt has...

A San Francisco Superior Court judge today issued a tentative ruling denying a request to block the state from implementing the top two primary system created under Proposition 14. A group of candidates and voters have filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 6, legislation detailing the mechanics of the state's new "top two" primary. Under Proposition 14, approved by voters in the June primary, the two candidates who receive the most votes in an all-party primary will advance to a general election run-off.

At the oldest law school in the West, law is being made this semester, not just taught. In a case that carries great implications for how public universities and schools must accommodate religious groups, the University of California's Hastings College of the Law is defending its anti-discrimination policy against charges that it denies religious freedom. The college, which requires officially recognized student groups to admit any Hastings student who wants to join, may be well-meaning, says the student outpost of the Christian Legal Society. But the group contends that requiring it to allow gay students and nonbelievers into its leadership...

A few years ago when the Muslim cabdrivers at the Minneapolis airport were refusing to carry passengers who had alcohol, several people pointed out that it would set a dangerous precedent to allow cabbies to select passengers according to Sharia rules. If a cabdriver could reject a passenger who was holding a bottle of whiskey, he could reject a passenger who was eating a ham sandwich, or an unmarried couple, or, as here, a gay couple. And the American principle of equality of access would be overthrown in favor of a religious discrimination that would enshrine Islamic law as a...

Americas Brazilian law would prohibit Christian teaching on homosexuality Rio de Janeiro, Jul 15, 2008 / 01:36 pm (CNA).- The Brazilian Senate is considering a bill approved unanimously and without debate by the country’s House of Representatives that aims to promote homosexuality and prohibit Christian teaching on the issue, under the guise of combating discrimination. According to the Association of the Defense of Life, the bill would make it crime punishable by five years in prison to impede expressions of “homosexual affection” in public places or private places open to the public. It would also punish those who deny employment...

Christian Photographer Hauled before Commission for Refusing Same-Sex Job By John Jalsevac New Mexico, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The case of a Christian photographer who refused to photograph a same-sex "commitment ceremony", was heard before the New Mexico Human Rights Division on Monday. A same-sex couple asked Elaine Huguenin, co-owner with her husband of Elane Photography, to photograph a "commitment ceremony" that the two women wanted to hold. Huguenin declined because her Christian beliefs are in conflict with the message communicated by the ceremony. The same-sex couple filed a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Division, which is...

HOUSTON -- An e-mail from a Houston-area landscaper that said he chose not to do work for homosexuals has spread nationwide, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday. Michael Lord wanted to spruce up the outside of his home in the Heights, so he asked the "Garden Guy" to create an outdoor work of art. But he was rejected based on his sexual orientation.... More at http://www.click2houston.com/news/10124161/detail.html video of the report http://www.click2houston.com/video/10124116/index.html

SARNIA/LAMBTON, March 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Observer, the local paper for Sarnia/Lambton Ontario, reports that the pastor of a local church is in hot legal water for his defence of Christian principles.   Tamara Bourgeois, 29, and Jerry Condie, 34, were to marry in June 2007 at Sovereign Grace Community Church and have told the Observer that they are considering legal action against Pastor Glenn Tomlinson when he refused to allow an active homosexual to be part of the wedding party.   Tomlinson said he believes that allowing an unrepentant homosexual in the ceremony is tantamount to sanctioning homosexuality....

ACLU opposes creation of 'Catholic town' Domino's Pizza founder wants to build new town with 'Catholic values' ACLU opposes creation of 'Catholic town' Feb. 21: The Situation's Tucker Carlson asks Howard Simon, the Executive Director of Florida's ACLU, why his group is trying to stop the founder of Domino's pizza from building a town with Catholic values, and pharmacies that may not stock contraceptives. TRANSCRIPT MSNBC Updated: 3:45 p.m. ET Feb. 22, 2006 If you could build a town from scratch, what would it look like? Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino‘s Pizza, wants a towering Roman Catholic Church at...

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) today praised the pending passage of the “Support Our Scouts Act of 2005,” which is included in the Department of Defense Authorization bill and the Defense Appropriations bill. Sen. Frist authored the legislation, which was co-sponsored by over 50 other senators, "to ensure that the Boy Scouts of America receives equal access to public facilities, programs, and forums and that the Defense Department will continue its support of Scouts and their Jamborees." “The passage of this legislation is a victory for the Boy Scouts of America and the many other organizations that...

The California Supreme Court took a look today at a lesbian couple’s claim that a golf country club discriminated against them by charging them higher membership fees than spouses pay. The case could be a preview of how the court approaches the same-sex marriage issue. By granting family memberships only to married couples, the San Diego country club “chose criteria that same-sex couples could not possibly meet," said Jon Davidson, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and lawyer for the couple who filed the suit. His argument – that a spouses-only policy amounts to discrimination against...