Free Republic

A US politician tipped as the next US President and known to favour state power to define gay marriage laws will address the Conservative Party Conference in Bournemouth next month, according to reports. John McCain, senion Senator from Arizona, who voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and has been praised by gay lobby group the Log Cabin Republicans, will speak at the opening evening of the Tory annual gathering. The coup is seen as a sign that the party and leader David Cameron are being seen as viable alternatives to Labour, according to The Times Senator McCain is...

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California is forging ahead with the most aggressive U.S. program to reduce global warming -- a plan that pits Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger against fellow Republican George W. Bush. Both the governor and his state's Democratic-led legislature want to make California -- the world's eighth largest economy -- a model to follow with caps in greenhouse gas emissions that the U.S. president rejects. State politicians still are hammering out differences over the proposed Global Warming Solutions Act. If passed, it is likely to play a role in November's vote for governor and in national politics for years...

If so, can I start a daily chat thread especially for us?

If it seems odd for a porn star who supports the rights of exotic dancers and prostitutes to run as a Republican, Damayo insists that she supports the party, citing its history going back to Abraham Lincoln and the freeing of the slaves, as well as the Republican regard for individual rights. "I've been embraced greatly by the Clark County Republican Party," she says. "She is a legally viable candidate," says Clark County Republican Party chairman John Hambrick. "I think she's a very shrewd and competent businesswoman." Before her candidacy, Damayo volunteered heavily in the 2004 campaign; she's also treasurer...

Senator's gay bashing decried By Stephenie Steitzer Post staff reporter A day after calling gays "the wrong kind of people," State Sen. Richard "Dick" Roeding continued his verbal barrage on homosexuals, calling a Republican group that advocates gay and lesbian rights "a bunch of queers." After learning that the Kentucky Log Cabin Republicans had called for Roeding's resignation, the Lakeside Park Republican used the derogatory term to describe the group in an interview with The Post. The Log Cabin Republicans called for Roeding's resignation after he said that the University of Louisville was wrong to offer health benefits to gay...

Kolbe says time not right to push gay immigration rightsGay GOP congressman is in bi-national relationship By JOSHUA LYNSEN | Jul 6, 12:38 AM Retiring gay Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who is involved in a bi-national relationship, said in an interview this week that he isn't pushing gay issues in the ongoing immigration battle on Capitol Hill because it would only add "baggage" to the debate. "The immigration debate is so heavily laden and so fraught with so many issues that adding one like this into it is not terribly practical," said Kolbe, one of the leading congressional Republicans setting...

The following GLBT related legislation is currently in process in the California Legislature.  While some of these bills sound generic in nature, all are being supported by major GLBT activist organizations in California as advancing homosexual rights.  AB 606 - Safe Place to Learn Act Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys)Would require school districts to establish and publicize an antidiscrimination and antiharassment policy that prohibits discrimination and harassment as specified under current law, including, but not limited to, actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation and provides penalties for school districts found to be in violation of that law, including...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is reaching out to the state's gay community, nine months after vetoing a bill to allow same-sex marriage in the state. Schwarzenegger got a resounding reception at a fundraising dinner for the Log Cabin Republicans, an activist organization for gay conservatives. The group supports same-sex marriage and opposed Schwarzenegger's veto of the bill last year. There was no direct mention of the issue at the fundraiser although Schwarzenegger did tell the audience that no one should be judged by their sexual orientation. "I can't promise you that we will always be [of] the same mind," Schwarzenegger...

LOS ANGELES Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on a mission to remind voters that he is not beholden to the party of President Bush, told a group of gay Republicans on Thursday that no one should be judged by their sexual orientation. "In politics, I believe we need to address problems rather than attacking people," the governor said at a fundraising dinner for the Log Cabin Republicans, a group that has supported him since the 2003 recall election. "Whether you're gay or straight, everyone needs someone to love." The governor's decision to appear at the fundraiser, although it drew television cameras, did...

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - Undaunted by charges that he's turning the GOP in California into "a gay marriage party," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to speak tonight at a fund-raiser for a group of gay and lesbian Republicans. Schwarzenegger is expected to attend the Log Cabin Republicans event to raise money for the organization's West Coast chapters. "When he took the oath of office he said he'd be governor for all the people and that's what he's doing," said event organizer Ted Jackson. "He's coming to talk to us in an effort to reach out and be inclusive. He's got a strong...

If you're looking for a gay candidate to vote for in this fall's California legislative races, there are several out there. But they're more likely to be Republicans than Democrats. GOP voters nominated five openly gay candidates in Assembly races. But all five will face general elections in urban districts with heavy Democratic registration advantages. This group includes William Chan in Sacramento (AD 9), Ralph Denney in northern San Diego (AD 76), Brenda Carol Green in South Central Los Angeles (AD 48), Mark Patrosso in San Jose (AD 23), and Steven Mark Sion in West Hollywood (AD 42). Only Denney...

SAN FRANCISCO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to headline a fundraiser for gay Republicans in Hollywood next week in what would be his first appearance in front of a gay audience since he took office, according to the event's organizers. The June 29 fundraiser for Log Cabin Republicans comes as Schwarzenegger considers whether to veto a bill that would require chapters from gay history to be added to public school text books in California. The governor already has indicated he opposes the measure. The governor's stock has been down with gay rights groups since he vetoed a gay marriage bill in...

See for example this thread first. The latest gaffe from Howard Dean about gays puts him squarely between the Christians, who say "You can't marry, you're gay!" and the folks who say "God save the QUEEN!"

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean has contradicted his party’s platform and infuriated gay rights advocates by saying the party’s platform states “marriage is between a man and a woman.” “Howard Dean puts his foot in his mouth so often that he should open a pedicure wing in the DNC during his tenure,” Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero said Wednesday. “Howard Dean’s positions on LGBT issues have changed more often than the weather in New England, where he’s from.” National Gay & Lesbian (Socialist) Task Force... Foreman said in response to Dean’s “pandering and insulting interview” with the Christian Broadcasting...

I love the Beatles' music. My respect for individual members of the legendary band end there. Paul McCartney has spent a lifetime making incredible music while uttering pure gibberish on issues that matter. It seems that if he can’t put a rhyme and a tune to it, his brain turns to mush.

Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) recently announced that he would not seek re-election after serving 11 terms in Congress. His quiet announcement was barely covered in the national media, which is a real pity. His leadership, especially on issues of immigration and border security, will be sorely missed. Consider, for example, the immigration bill recently passed by Congress with much sound and fury. This bill has only one idea: to muscle up on more enforcement along our borders. The sad fact is that we have already tried this. During the past 15 years, we have more than quadrupled the number of...

Go HERE. The poll is on the left side, scroll down. Vote early, vote often. U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, who represents Cochise County, announced last week that he was not going to seek a 12th term in office. How would you rate his work in Congress over the past 21 years? Effective. Somewhat effective. Not very effective. Ineffective. This poll needs to be FReeped. This is a newspaper in Kolbe's home district. Kolbe lost Cochise County to conservative Republican challenger Randy Graf in last year's primary election. Tucson easily nullified our votes. This newspaper is in the heart of Cochise...

A number of conservatives are seething over the fact that Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), was the featured speaker at a fund-raising event for a group of homosexual Republicans last weekend. One pro-family leader called Norquist's appearance "an act of utter betrayal." Norquist was the main attraction at the "Grand Ol' Party," the largest fund-raising event of the year for the Dallas, Tex., chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a homosexual advocacy group within the GOP. Carla Halbrook, a member of the national Log Cabin board and the organization's chapter in Dallas, told Cybercast News...

Gov. Rick Perry is actively promoting Proposition 2, the proposed constitutional amendment against same-sex marriages, and many other Republicans are supporting it. But at least one GOP group is campaigning against it. The Log Cabin Republicans of Texas, a gay and lesbian group that has fought the state's conservative GOP leaders before, denounced Proposition 2 as discriminatory. "The proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage would discriminate by singling out gays and lesbians and those in other committed relationships from the basic rights and responsibilities that married Texans enjoy," said Andy Hendricks, the group's president. "Individual liberty and freedom from governmental...

The Rev. John C. Danforth, an Episcopal priest who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. senator from Missouri, recently told a political gathering in St. Louis he was open to performing rites for the blessing of same-sex unions, but would not officiate at a gay “marriage.” Speaking to the St. Louis chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans (which describes itself as “the leading voice for fairness, inclusion and tolerance in the GOP”) Fr. Danforth rejected calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying it was “nothing more than gay bashing.” He told The Living...