Free Republic

If a Marine spots two men in his battalion kissing off-duty at a shopping mall, he should react as if he were seeing a man and woman. If he turns on the television news to see a fellow Marine dressed as a civilian and marching in a parade with a banner that reads, "Support Gays and Lesbians in the Military!" he should accept it as a free right of expression. Prescriptions for those possible scenarios are being played out at Marine bases as the military prepares to allow gays to openly serve, ending a 17-year-old policy commonly known as "don't...

Homosexual men are to be allowed to give blood for the first time, in a move which will increase fears of transfustion patients contracting HIV. The ban on gay men donating blood is being lifted because it was decided that the rule could be discriminatory and might breach equality legislation. There are estimated to be 86,500 people with HIV in Britain, with a quarter unaware that they have an infection. About 42% of people infected with HIV in 2009 were homosexual men, according to the Terrence Higgins Trust, the HIV charity. Homosexual men are also at risk of passing on...

WASHINGTON -- After a brief reprieve, U.S. immigration authorities are once again denying applications for immigration benefits for same sex couples following a legal review. Chris Bentley, a spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Services agency, said Wednesday that a review by lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security, it was concluded that a law prohibiting the government from recognizing same sex marriages must be followed, despite the Obama administration's decision to stop defending the constitutionality of the law in court. The law, the Defense of Marriage Act, defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Earlier this...

The ministry of defence says it’s backing ‘out in the open’ military participation during the week-long event. The homosexual representatives of the armed forces will have their own special boat in the famous Canal Parade, traditionally held on the afternoon of the first Saturday in August.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court refused today to let same-sex marriages resume in California while it considers the constitutionality of a 2008 ballot measure that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Gay and lesbian couples and the city of San Francisco had asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month to lift its suspension of a federal judge's August 2010 ruling that declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional. The couples and the city, plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Prop. 8, cited the appeals court's decision to put the case on hold while the...

SACRAMENTO, Calif -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Many same-sex couples are getting a tax break this year from the IRS, according to new requirements to report their combined income on federal tax returns. Under "income splitting," the IRS is requiring all same-sex married couples or registered domestic partners in Washington state, California and Nevada to divide their combined income equally and report it on their separate tax returns. For some couples, it will mean more money in their 2010 refund; for others, they'll pay more in taxes. Either way, the change is significant, both monetarily and emotionally, officials of Lambda Legal,...

As you've no doubt already heard, the Obama administration announced today that the President now views Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional; the administration will stop defending it in court. That, of course, is the section holding that for federal purposes, marriage is defined as only between a man and a woman. Does this mean the president now favors gay marriage? At today's press availiability, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he doesn't: "I would refer you to just to his fairly recent statements on that. He is grappling with the issue. But he --...

At a time when the economy is in total meltdown mode, when Phoenix police officers and Arizona border patrol agents are being slaughtered by a drug war Obama refuses to fight, Congress focuses on gays in the military while it has no ability to help us win the wars we are waging or turn the economy around. Isn’t the whole point of being gay that you are attracted to same sex individuals? With the repeal of DADT (Don’t ask don’t tell) in the military, individuals who are gay will no longer have to hide that fact. In other words, the...

As gay people around the country reveled on Sunday in the historic Senate vote to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a liberal media watchdog group said it planned to announce on Monday that it was setting up a “communications war room for gay equality” in an effort to win the movement’s next and biggest battle: for a right to same-sex marriage. The new group, Equality Matters, grew out of Media Matters, an organization backed by wealthy liberal donors — including prominent gay philanthropists — that has staked its claim in Washington punditry with aggressive attacks on Fox News and conservative...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNS) -- The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Gary Roughead, released the following statement following the vote to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": I am pleased the Congress voted to repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' statute (section 654 of title 10, United States Code). This Senate action does not immediately change the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. If the President signs the provision into law, there are still a series of steps that will take place before Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed. First, the Department of Defense will prepare the necessary policies and regulations to...

Sixty-one senators have now expressed support for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, appearing to clear the way for passage if Democrats can bring the bill to a vote before the holidays. But the timing of a potential vote on the legislation remains uncertain as lawmakers race to dispose of other major items in the days left before Christmas. The House voted on Wednesday to approve the repeal and sent it to the Senate for passage. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has remained mum about when the chamber might vote on the measure. But Mr....