Free Republic

Following the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, unity was expected to be the hallmark of the Republican National Convention for the presidential candidate. "I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America," Trump said. But the message of unity rings hollow for some in the LGBTQ community, who say they have repeatedly been the target of Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, and others on the national stage. "It can be difficult to stay hopeful when anti-LGBTQ sentiment comes...

At least 144 out LGBTQ athletes will be heading to Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, with a record number of out male Olympians participating, according to the LGBTQ sports site OutSports. In the last Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, there were at least 186 out competitors, but the list originally started at 121, according to OutSports co-founder Cyd Zeigler, who said the number increased as the sports news site became aware of additional publicly out athletes. This year, at least 18 male athletes participating in the summer Olympics are publicly out. Zeigler said equestrian, an Olympic sport...

[Catholic Caucus] Knights of Columbus to cover Rupnik art in DC and ConnecticutThe Knights of Columbus announced Thursday it will cover mosaics by the accused abuser Father Marko Rupnik in Washington, D.C., and Connecticut, a dramatic move that represents the strongest public stand yet by a major Catholic organization regarding the former Jesuit’s embattled art.The 2.1-million-member lay Catholic fraternal order said July 11 it would use fabric to cover the floor-to-ceiling mosaics in the two chapels of the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and in the chapel at the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut — at...

[Catholic Caucus] Italian priest to ‘bless’ homosexual activist ‘couple’ after civil union ceremonyDon Giuseppe Cavoli will ‘bless’ Hector Pautasso and Filippo Sanchi at the reception after the two LGBT activists contract a civil union, in the Italian diocese of Francis-appointed Bishop Andrea Andreozzi.Bishop Andrea AndreozziCARTOCETO, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — Two homosexual activists are due to receive a “blessing” from a Catholic priest following their civil union ceremony later this year, with the longtime cohabiting pair also intending to adopt a child. A July 7 report by an Italian daily highlighted the upcoming plans for the state and ecclesial approval of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland calls for instant removal of all Rupnik art after Lourdes’ bishop delaysUrging the removal of all displayed artwork by alleged serial abuser Fr. Rupnik, Bishop Strickland wrote, 'There should be no delay, no debate, no consideration, no compromise.'LOURDES, France (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland has called for the immediate removal of all images by Father Marko Rupnik from “all Catholic sites,” days after the Bishop of Lourdes shied away from removing the mosaics at the shrine due to “real opposition.”In a social media post July 4, Strickland issued a call for the instant removal of all...

Multiple brawls and wild chaos engulfed Washington Square Park in the aftermath of New York City’s Pride Parade Sunday as police battled to control the unruly mob of revelers, shocking footage shows. Video from the jaw-dropping scene showed fistfights and hair-pulling as several troublemakers turned the crowded park into their own personal boxing ring while herds of onlookers watched with glee and even whipped out their phones to record the showdowns in Lower Manhattan. At one point, two young men threw haymakers at each other before one took a tumble to the ground. Seconds later, two women briefly took swings...

Thousands of people danced, sang and celebrated at Toronto’s Pride Parade on Sunday until the procession was suddenly stopped mid-route, and then cancelled, by a protest. About 30 demonstrators, calling themselves the Coalition Against Pinkwashing, held banners and chanted on Yonge Street, just south of Wellesley Street, three and a half hours after the parade’s 2 p.m. start. Floats and marchers making their way south toward the parade’s finish at Nathan Phillips Square were stranded behind the protesters, who chanted “Free Palestine” and “Pride is a protest.” And 45 minutes after the protest began, Pride Toronto announced the remainder of...

NEW YORK (AP) — The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride reached its exuberant grand finale on Sunday, bringing rainbow-laden revelers to the streets for marquee parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere across the globe. The wide-ranging festivities functioned as both jubilant parties and political protests, as participants recognize the community’s gains while also calling attention to recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws, such as bans on transgender health care, passed by Republican-led states. Thousands of people gathered along New York’s Fifth Avenue to celebrate Pride. Floats cruised the street as Diane Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” played from loudspeakers. Pride flags...

Idaho librarian June Meissner was closing up for the day at the downtown Boise Public Library when a man approached her asking for help. As an information services librarian, answering patrons’ questions is part of Meissner’s day-to-day work, and serving the community is one of her favorite parts of the job. But when the man got close enough, “he took a swing at me and tried to punch me in the head,” said Meissner, a transgender woman. “I blocked it and he started yelling slurs and suggesting that he was going to come back and kill me.”

NEW YORK (AP) — With Pride Month in full gear, U.S. shoppers can find the usual merchandise many stores stock for the June celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and rights. But analysts and advocates say the marketing is toned down compared to previous years, and at some chains, there’s no trace of Pride at all. The more subdued atmosphere underscores the struggle of many retailers to cater to different groups of customers at a time of extreme cultural divisions. This year’s Pride Month is unfolding amid a sea of legislation and litigation over LGBTQ+ rights, especially the ability of transgender young...

When it comes to handling a pair of toddlers, Pete Buttigieg, the unflappable Secretary of Transportation, may appear a little jet-lagged. Pete and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, raise their two-year old twins, Penelope and Gus, in Traverse City, Michigan, where they recently moved full-time from Washington to be closer to family. The kids call Pete "Papa," and Chasten "Daddy." Asked if they are a good cop/bad cop duo, Pete replied, "I don't know if we have it down to good cop/bad cop. I think of myself as the bad cop, but you think I'm a pushover, don't you?" "You are...

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — David Titterington had a sense of what his childhood friend would ask him when she led him into a photo booth at a mutual friend’s wedding roughly a decade ago. As the countdown for the second photo ticked, Jen Wilson popped the question: Will you be my sperm donor? “Of course I said yes,” Titterington said. “I mean, who would have guessed that, being a gay man, I would have this opportunity to have biological children and also be part of their lives?” On Father’s Day, Kansas residents Jen and Whitney Wilson will pack up...

LGBT activists take Ontario town to Human Rights Tribunal for refusing to fly ‘Pride’ flagEmo, a small town in Ontario, is being targeted with legal action by LGBT activists for its 2020 decision to refuse to fly the 'pride' flag and proclaim June as 'pride' month.EMO, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — A small town in Ontario has refused to bend to the demands of LGBT activists and will now have to appear in front of a Human Rights Tribunal for rejecting a 2020 motion to proclaim June as “Pride” month and fly the LGBT “Pride” flag. This week, Emo, a small township...

This is Bend Police body camera footage from June 4, 2024. It's of an incident in which officers respond to a report of a naked woman approaching a home where a child was present outside. The video was released on June 6 after a public records request by Central Oregon Daily News. The request was made after a TikTok video went viral, showing the officer explaining to the resident about an Oregon law stating that being nude in public is not illegal unless the intent is sexual gratification. This video contains more from that interaction and shows officers speaking to...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis again welcomes group of ‘transgender’ males, homosexuals at Vatican audiencePope Francis met on Wednesday with a group of self-professed homosexuals and ‘transsexuals,’ led by pro-LGBT nun Geneviève Jeanningros, who make monthly trips to his weekly general audiences, where they are given seats of honor in the front row. Just days after reportedly complaining about too much “f–ggotry” in Catholic seminaries, Pope Francis welcomed gender-confused persons led by an LGBT activist nun at his weekly audience at the Vatican this week.Vatican News reports that on Wednesday, June 5, pro-LGBT Sr. Geneviève Jeanningros led a contingent of self-professed...

During Pride Month, we celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community. We reflect on the progress we have made so far in pursuit of equality, justice, and inclusion. We recommit ourselves to do more to support LGBTQI+ rights at home and around the world. To the entire LGBTQI+ community — and especially transgender children — please know that your President and my entire Administration have your back. We see you for who you are: made in the image of God and deserving of dignity, respect, and support. America is the...

Germany’s Parliament, known as the Bundestag, received enough votes last week to remove a section of the country’s Criminal Code to reduce the minimum penalties for “dissemination, acquisition and possession of child pornographic content.”According to the Bundestag, the bill specifies that “possession and acquisition should be punishable with a minimum penalty of three months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment. The offenses regulated in Section 184b of the Criminal Code are therefore classified as misdemeanors and not as crimes.”In 2021, the possession of child sexual...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgenderDiocesan hermits by nature don’t get much attention. A small subset of religious persons, hermits mostly spend their lives engaged in quiet prayer.Brother Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, has spent years doing just that. His monk’s habit might catch his neighbors’ eye, but he is known in the town where he lives primarily through his work with the local theater.But recently Matson decided that his faith compels him to make a little more noise than usual.“This Sunday, Pentecost 2024, I’m planning to come out publicly...

Boy Scouts of America changes name to ‘Scouting America’ to be ‘more inclusive’The organization began welcoming homosexual-identifying boys in 2013, halted its ban on gay adult scout masters in 2015, announced in 2017 that girls who identify as 'transgender' could enter boys-only programs, and fully opened its membership to girls in 2018.After years of turmoil and upheaval resulting in a major identity crisis, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced today that it’s changing its name to Scouting America in order to be “more inclusive.”The rebranding comes as the troubled organization emerges from bankruptcy after a tsunami of allegations of...

Louisiana AG sues Biden’s Dept of Education over rule forcing radical LGBT dogma on public schoolsWhile the lawsuit works through the courts, Louisiana leaders are telling state education officials not to comply with the Biden administration's new dictates. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced that her office is suing the Biden administration over its effort to force widespread recognition and accommodation of LGBT ideology on public education, arguing the White House is actually facilitating “discrimination” rather than ending it.In February, President Joe Biden’s U.S. Department of Education (DOE) submitted to the U.S. Office of Management & Budget its finalized Title...