Free Republic

Ten years after the Supreme Court extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices this fall will consider for the first time whether to take up a case that explicitly asks them to overturn that decision. Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for six days in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees. In a petition for writ of certiorari filed last month, Davis argues First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes...

In another display of a double standard, patriotic Americans are being blocked from wearing pro-Trump or conservative gear at public concerts and sporting events. Yet, Pride and trans flags are allowed to be freely displayed. At venues like NFL stadiums, pro-Trump shirts or MAGA hats have been confiscated or banned, with fans told that political attire isn’t allowed. Meanwhile, displays of Pride and trans flags are embraced—often part of official event branding or venue-supported inclusion campaigns. In a video posted to X, a man taped himself being kicked out of a St. Louis City game for wearing a MAGA hat....

Remember the good all days when you went to college to study astronomy, literature, engineering, or American history? Now you go to learn about sexual minorities and lavender activism. And that despite crackdowns by the Trump administration. While some universities like Columbia are now trying to put up at least a pretense of reform, the reality is that the people running most of our academic institutions are almost entirely leftist ideologues. They are simply going to use tricks like renaming DEI departments and hosting events with less fanfare while engaging in the same propagandizing. Don’t let them get away without...

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a split decision Thursday rejected an Oregon administrative rule that barred a woman from becoming a foster parent because she said wouldn’t respect the sexual orientation of an LGBTQ+ child.Jessica Bates, of Vale in Malheur County, had sued the state, alleging its policy violated her rights to free speech and religious freedom. Bates, a widowed mother of five, said on her application to become a foster parent that her religious beliefs prevented her from following a rule requiring her to “respect, accept and support” the sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression...

Member Services Advocacy Training and Events Newsroom About Calendar Store District Vacancies Contact Log In Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor could be a game changer for public education On Board Online • July 21, 2025 By Pilar Sokol Director of Legal Services Just before the end of this year's session, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision which many have referred to as a game changer for public education. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the high court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, who are in the process of challenging...

A crime that keeps repeating in the city of Delray Beach. The LGBTQ Pride intersection near Old School Square in Delray Beach is once again stained with black tire marks after a pickup truck drove by—twice—and did burnouts, video...

The alphabet wars are, as you might think, primarily about sexuality, sex, and sexual morality. When looked at in those terms, as many liberals do or claim to, you can see, if you squint hard enough, the point they make about just letting people live their lives in peace. At least until you start thinking about the impact that allowing men into women's spaces and reality slaps you in the face. Most liberals only like to think about the issue as a question of tolerance. What do we care if some men want to wear dresses? In many cases, that...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy struck a blow at radical LGBTQ activism as “Pride Month” ended. Duffy sent a letter to all 50 state governors, the D.C. mayor, and Puerto Rico’s governor, a letter which he also shared with The Daily Signal. Trump’s transportation secretary told the governors to work on removing distractions, including woke political symbols, from roads and intersections. In the letter, Duffy wrote, “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. Today I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions.” He added, “Far too many...

Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children from classes on days that storybooks with gay and transgender themes are discussed, the court ruled.Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious objections to withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q. themes are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s liberal members in dissent. The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom at the court, gains that have often come at the expense of other values, notably gay rights. The case concerned a...

“When it comes to the interpretation of the Constitution — the ‘great charter of our liberties,’ which was ‘meant to endure through the long lapse of the ages,’ — we place a high value on having the matter ‘settled right’ ...When one of our constitutional decisions goes astray, the country is usually stuck with the bad decision unless we correct our own mistake” – (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization 2022). The time has come for the Court to do just that — correct the mistake it made a decade ago and overturn the disastrous and unconstitutional decision that legalized...

The alarmists were right. Ten years after the Obergefell decision enacting same-sex marriage nationwide, its opponents — smeared then and now as cranks and bigots — have been vindicated. Same-sex marriage was sold to the public through a campaign of lies, and the lies are hurting people. It is therefore no wonder that support for same-sex marriage seems to have peaked, and may even be starting to decline, especially on the right. Of course, GOP leaders, whether from MAGA or the old establishment, have no stomach for the fight. They just want the issue to go away. They and the...

Amid mounting public backlash over men competing in women’s sports and adults engaging in perverse sexualized acts in front of children, many corporations are reportedly pumping the brakes on their support for “Pride Month” events this year. But AARP – despite purporting to be a nonpartisan organization – is still going full steam ahead on its Pride Month messaging, continuing a years-long pattern of embracing far-left gender ideology. An article published on AARP’s website on May 30 titled “Pride Month 2025: Making Connections Through Community” makes clear that AARP has no intention of backing down from its full-throated endorsement of...

When corporations got rid of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Even before Donald Trump's executive orders terminating all DEI positions in the federal government, dozens of major companies had already abandoned their practices. Many made their decisions after conservatives online specifically targeted them for their policies and threatened boycotts, with failed filmmaker turned failed congressional candidate Robby Starbuck taking credit for spearheading the movement. This withdrawal didn't just encompass inclusive work environments and hiring practices, or participation in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index — in abandoning DEI, companies...

The majority of EU countries — including France and Germany — want the European Commission to crack down on Hungary over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s plan to ban upcoming Pride celebrations in Budapest, according to a joint statement seen by POLITICO. (snip) Another EU official said momentum was building in capitals to use the nuclear option — stripping Hungary of its voting rights in the European Council via so-called Article 7 proceedings. In order to do so, a four-fifths majority of EU countries would first need to vote that Budapest has violated the EU treaty. Then, 26 countries (all EU...

Finally, some good news this week about lawmakers. The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, signed into law a bill that decriminalizes HIV. Specifically, the bill repeals an old law that made it a crime to “knowingly transfer or attempt to transfer” HIV to another individual.

MassResistance warns parents that fear and complacency are enabling LGBT “indoctrination” in schools—and urges bold, confrontational activism to reclaim education. For the last ten years, I have worked for MassResistance, an international organization that has been fighting the LGBT agenda targeting children and undermining parents in all of its perverse forms. We have had numerous successes, and lately we have generated considerable attention on overturning Obergefell v. Hodges and restoring natural marriage in the United States. For the last year and a half, though, few parents have reached out to us, and fewer have been willing to take a stand...

By all accounts, LGBT Pride Month 2025 will be conspicuously low-key. Appalled by Trump’s electoral victory and alarmed by the signal voters (a.k.a. consumers) sent, major corporations that once supported Pride events have scrambled for the exits as quickly as if someone had pulled the fire alarm. These developments bring relief to normal Americans, who feel as if the playground bully astride their chests finally dismounted and fled. But, for a cadre of die-hard activists, such public retreat from progressivism’s excesses represents an existential threat that must be thwarted.

Sales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter as the retailer faced boycotts for ditching its DEI efforts and felt the impact of President Trump's tariffs. Target cut its forecast for the rest of the year warning that sales would slip further as its customers pulled back on spending amid an uncertain economic environment. Earlier this year the company conceded to the Trump administrations attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by scaling back its own efforts. However, the retreat created a fierce customer backlash leading to store boycotts that further damaged sales. Sales for the...

The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold. Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back the rights of transgender people. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.

House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced the Equality Act, a landmark civil rights bill that would make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes. The measure, which would amend a federal law that already outlaws discrimination based on race, religion, sex and national origin, faces an uphill battle in a Congress controlled by Republicans, who have long opposed it over concerns it would trample religious freedom rights.