Free Republic

In the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that curtailed states’ ability to prohibit so-called “conversion therapy” outright, Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill to deter the practice through civil liability rather than direct bans. The proposal, House Bill 26-1322, would allow people who say they were subjected to conversion therapy to sue licensed mental health providers, as well as those who employ or supervise them, with no statute of limitations, according to the bill’s text. Lawmakers say that change reflects the reality that many survivors do not come forward until years, sometimes decades, after the harm. The...

Former Rep. Barney Frank, a liberal icon who was a key architect of the landmark Wall Street regulations Democrats enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, has entered hospice care at his home in Maine. And as one of his last acts, he is preparing to release a book repudiating his party’s left flank. A champion of liberal causes during his 32 years representing Massachusetts in the House, Frank says progressive Democrats have “embraced an agenda that goes beyond what’s politically acceptable.” “Until we separate ourselves from that agenda, we don’t win,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

The Texas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit over the state's investigations into families with transgender children because most of the investigations were closed and the children are no longer minors. In a ruling Friday, the state’s highest civil court ruled that because the Department of Family and Protective Services isn’t actively investigating the families, they no longer face the alleged threats they outlined in their 2022 lawsuits against the agency. The plaintiffs argued against dismissing the case, suggesting DFPS could choose to reopen its investigations without the injunction. But the Texas Supreme Court dismissed those concerns over future investigations as...

A Virginia transgender substitute teacher was arrested for allegedly plotting a chilling “murder spree” at a local school — and bragging online about having a disturbing hit list. Hadyn Dollery, 19, was busted on school grounds Monday after posting threatening messages on Discord targeting John Champe High School in Stone Ridge, about 40 miles west of Washington, DC, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and multiple outlets. Police said a tip on the department’s Safe2Talk app exposed the suspect’s sinister online posts. The accused would-be attacker allegedly unleashed threats against family and friends on the messaging app, including disturbing...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV affirms informal blessing for homosexual couples and downplays sexual sinPope Leo affirmed the position outlined in Fiducia Supplicans of informal blessings for those in homosexual unions while opposing a ‘formalized blessing,’ as proposed by German Cardinal Marx.On a return flight from Africa Thursday, Pope Leo XIV responded to a question about the Church in Germany issuing formalized blessings for homosexual couples, saying that the Vatican has objected. He made it clear, however, that the impromptu blessings of homosexual couples and couples in adulterous unions was still permitted as the Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans teaches, contrary...

Pope Leo XIV clarified April 23 that the Vatican does not support formalized blessing ceremonies for people in same-sex relationships, responding to a question about German Cardinal Reinhard Marx’s plan to introduce such rituals in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The Pope’s remarks came during an in-flight press conference while returning to Rome after his 11-day apostolic journey across Africa. Asked by a German reporter about Cardinal Marx’s decision, Pope Leo said the Vatican “has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples, in this case, ‘homosexual couples,’ as you asked, or couples...

Grindr’s in bed with strange fellows. The LGBTQ+ dating app has expanded its political presence in both Washington and California as it seeks to flex its influence muscles on a range of policy priorities. The app’s ambitions have grown since President Donald Trump’s return to office — and much of that is due to the registered Republican running the shop. Since April 2025, Joe Hack has navigated a GOP-controlled Washington as he pushes forward Grindr’s biggest legislative priorities. Out in California, George Arison, Grindr’s self-described “conservative” CEO, has waded into primary politics, pushing moderate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan as...

The Salt Lake City Tribune is reporting that an openly lesbian city council member running for Congress has been accused by four women of making "unwanted sexual advances."Lopez Chavez says that "nothing inappropriate" happened between her and three other women, while the alleged contact with the fourth woman never occurred."Victoria Petro, who is Lopez Chavez’s fellow City Council member; Maggie Regier, who worked on Stan Penfold’s mayoral campaign in 2019; Hoang Nguyen, who is now a state representative; and Jen Plumb, now a state senator, described their allegations in interviews with The Salt Lake Tribune," reports the newspaper. The incidents...

WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker was quietly investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly pursuing an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer — but the probe never substantiated the claims and was closed without releasing any public findings. Rep. Alma Adams, a 79-year-old North Carolina pol who has served the state’s 12th District comprising Charlotte since 2014, was slapped with the ethics complaint in 2022 for getting “extremely close” to her aide Sandra Brown, NOTUS first reported. Aides who spoke with ethics investigators were questioned about Brown’s visits to Adams at a one-bedroom apartment in DC — and her self-published...

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release announcing an investigation into gender self-identification policies in women’s prisons. The decision comes against the backdrop of mounting allegations of “rape, voyeurism, and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation” in states where male inmates are housed according to their self-declared “gender identity.” Under the authority of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Justice Department will determine whether facilities in California and Maine have exposed incarcerated women to “unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates.”Massachusetts should be the next jurisdiction on the list. Just west of Boston,...

A Canadian university is advertising five research positions, but applicants must be a part of the LGBTQ+ community to apply. Memorial University of Newfoundland posted five new Canada Research Chair (CRC) positions that are open to current employees of the liberal arts school, but there's a catch. In order to be eligible to apply, the applicant has to be a member of an equity group, including the 2SLGBTQIA+ people, a woman, Indigenous, a racialized person, or a disabled, according to the job postings viewed by the Daily Mail. The five-to-seven-year gig, which pays up to $200,000 CAD ($145,000 USD) annually,...

Yvette Flunder, the lesbian leader of the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California, who is also the presiding prelate of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, has drawn criticism for questioning parts of the Bible she finds “problematic” and suggesting that they be removed. The frustrated 70-year-old, who is married to her same-sex partner Shirley Miller, also suggested that the Bible needs a third Testament. “This is a very dangerous thing that I’m about to say now, ... a bit dangerous. I’m of the opinion that we need a third testament because the Bible has become problematic,”...

The European Commission said the anti-LGBTQ law would be one of the issues it would be taking up with the new government once it was in place. "It's up to the... Hungarian government to abide by the ruling and once that is done the issue is solved," said spokeswoman Paula Pinho. The man whose Tisza party defeated Orbán on 12 April, Péter Magyar, has not said much about the laws related to Hungary's LGBTQ community. However, in his victory speech, he spelt out his vision for Hungary as a country "where no-one is stigmatised for thinking differently than the majority,...

Democratic House candidate Sarah Trone Garriott's campaign is on the defensive after a resurfaced video showed her recounting her role in the marriage of a pair of satanists while serving as a minister-in-training. Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister running in a battleground House district in November’s midterm election, participated in the wedding of a satanist couple in 2006 while serving as an intern pastor in a West Virginia parish. Trone Garriott is vying to unseat Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, for a "toss-up" congressional seat in the southwestern part of the state. Throughout the campaign, she has been criticized for expressing...

Israel is set to host the Middle East’s largest ever LGBT festival at the Dead Sea in June 2026. The new festival, Pride Land, intends to transform the middle of the Judean Desert into a colorful pride city from June 1 to June 4. The event intends to create an experience broader than parties or performances, instead aiming for a space that is alive 24 hours a day, with 15 hotels, beach complexes, parties, and a central performance arena all operating around the clock. Alongside the nightlife, Pride Land will have cultural and art complexes, relaxation and scenic areas, and...

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a Colorado law that requires preschools receiving taxpayer money to enroll children of same-sex couples — setting up an important First Amendment showdown at the high court that pits religious rights against LGBTQ families. At the same time, the court declined to hear another high-profile case involving a Massachusetts couple who said their school began treating their middle school child as genderqueer against their wishes. After years of allowing religious schools in some settings to receive state funding alongside secular schools, the 6-3 conservative court will now decide what to do when school...

Screaming Cory Booker Dismisses Help from God: ‘What We Need Is Not from on High’ Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks at the National Action Network (NAN) Convention in New YoAP Photo/Angelina Katsanis Hannah Knudsen20 Apr 202693 2:36 “There is a storm in our nation” according to Democrat Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who called for a release of foot soldiers to fight the “darkness and wind” during an address at the Michigan Democratic Women’s Caucus Legacy Luncheon, seemingly dismissing the need for help from God. During his weekend speech in Detroit, Booker tried to get Democrats ready to vote in the...

According to retired CIA analyst Larry Johnson: During an emergency meeting On Saturday Trump tried to “use the nuclear codes” on Iran and he was stopped by General Dan Caine. According to Johnson “there is seriously something wrong with Trump.”

Yvette Flunder is the senior pastor of the City of Refuge United Church of Christ (UCC) in Oakland, California, as well as the Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. An avowed “womanist” and proponent of liberation theology, she is “gay-married” to another woman and is about as progressive and liberal as they come. During a recent message for the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy, Flunder shared: “This a very dangerous thing that I’m about to say now… a bit dangerous. I’m of the opinion that we need a Third Testament. because the Bible has become problematic....

TULSA, Okla. — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg drew a packed crowd Saturday, April 18, at Will Rogers High School for a town hall focused on key issues ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. A full gymnasium welcomed Buttigieg as he took the stage, with attendees filling the space to hear and take part in the discussion. The event was part of a broader series of stops as he continues engaging with communities ahead of November, following a fundraiser for the Kansas Democratic Party in Wichita. Tulsa mayor Monroe Nichols joined Buttigieg at the event after extending an invitation earlier...