Free Republic

NEW YORK, November 27 (C-Fam) The European Commission intends to unleash a barrage of policies to impose LGBT uniformity across the European Union, including through the threat of sanctions. The powerful European Commission announced that it wants to make “hate speech” and “hate crimes” EU crimes by 2021 and to impose mutual recognition of “rainbow families” across the European Union by 2022. The EU Commission made the announcement in its first-ever EU-wide strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) equality on November 12. Alongside the pledge to legislate “hate crimes” and “rainbow families” the strategy sets...

LGBT leaders and supporters in the Church of England are threatening a mass walkout from a recently-launched discussion process about sexual issues unless bishops give an urgent guarantee to support the marriage of same-sex partners in church. The warning was issued in a joint letter sent to 34 bishops "known to be supporters of LGBTIQ+ people", among them the Archbishop of York and the Bishops of Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Dover and Liverpool. The letter was sent by Jeremy Timm, former chair of Changing Attitude England, and co-signed by a number of LGBT clergy and supporters, including Rev Colin Coward, founder...

A bishop of The Episcopal Church announced that he'll be stepping down from office weeks after the denomination’s disciplinary panel ruled that he violated canon law by refusing to allow same-sex marriages in his diocese. Addressing the Diocesan Convention on Saturday, Bishop William Love of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany said he will resign as bishop on Feb. 1, 2021, according to Anglican Ink. On Oct. 5, the denomination’s Hearing Panel found Bishop Love guilty “by clear and convincing evidence” of violating Resolution B012, a measure passed in 2018 requiring that all Episcopal dioceses allow for the blessing of same-sex...

Mozilla has been watching the user share of its flagship Firefox web browser shrink for a while, so it was hardly a surprise last week when the company announced it was doing some belt tightening that would result in another round of layoffs. What was a surprise were the numbers involved: The company is laying off about 250 employees, for a staff reduction of 25%, and is completely closing its operations in Taipei, Taiwan. In addition, 60 employees will be shifted to new jobs, and the company will reduce spending on such things as developer tools, internal tooling and platform...

Novo-Ogaryovo, February 13, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that as long as he remains in office, Russia will not legitimize same-sex marriages. "As concerns Parent No. 1 and Parent No. 2, I've said publicly some time ago, and I'll repeat once again now: as long as I am president, we won't have parents number one and number two, we will have Mom and Dad," Putin said at a meeting with members of a working group for preparing constitutional amendments on Thursday. State Duma deputy Olga Batalina said at the meeting that the working group had received numerous proposals...

Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday suggested former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg wouldn't look masculine standing next to "Mr. Man" President Trump on a presidential debate stage because he is an openly gay married man. Democrats are “sitting there, and they’re looking at Mayor Pete, a 37-year-old gay guy ... loves to kiss his husband on the debate stage,” Limbaugh told his radio show listeners while discussing what he perceives as a weak Democratic field. “And they’re saying, 'OK, how’s this gonna look, a 37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband onstage next to Mr. Man Donald Trump? What’s gonna happen...

Whether you like it or not, there’s plenty of evidence that the God of the Bible does not sanction same-sex relationships. You may not interpret the Good Book that way. Perhaps you’ve got reasonable theological reasons for it.

The Hallmark Channel certainly wasn’t expecting to find itself at the center of a viral culture war controversy this weekend. But in 2019, corporations never know which move might grab the internet’s attention. The controversy started when Hallmark decided to cancel an advertisement they had accepted from the wedding planning service Zola. The ad depicted, in a humorous fashion, a lesbian wedding, and at one point, the couple kisses. The conservative group One Million Moms complained to Hallmark and launched a petition, angered that an advertisement on the family-friendly network showed a type of family arrangement not in accordance with...

You canÂ’t go anywhere without being served a hot, steaming bowl of alphabet soup. ItÂ’s shoved down your throat when you go to the loo; itÂ’s there when youÂ’re trying to watch certain streaming shows on Russian websites; itÂ’s there when your girlfriend is picking up tampons from the local mart; and itÂ’s there when youÂ’re trying to eat at a local restaurant and just enjoy some hot, mouthwatering, fried sausage. Heck, itÂ’s even there on the Hallmark Channel! Well, it wasÂ… until they axed it and then a bunch of the Rainbow Reich came out of their contemporary San...

Things turned spicy on Channel 9 this morning during a heated debate about Australian tennis legend Margaret Court. The panel on Sports Sunday was discussing how Tennis Australia (TA) handled its announcement yesterday it had invited Court to attend the Australian Open as a special guest to mark the 50-year anniversary of her incredible 1970 Grand Slam, when she won all four majors. In the same statement yesterday, TA also delivered Court a stinging backhand by saying it does not agree with her views that gay marriage should not be legal, which have “hurt and demeaned many in our community”....

For those of us who spend far too much time following the news these days, it is easy to feel that everything is falling apart. Regardless of your political ideology, there is no doubt that this country is politically divided and facing serious challenges. To make matters worse, we are entering an election season. Politicians will be trying their best to convince us that we are one vote away from choosing between Nazi Germany and Venezuela. Yet, as we gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, it is worth remembering that, beyond the headlines, things are actually pretty darn good....

Fox News contributor Guy Benson married his boyfriend of four years, Adam Wise, on Saturday. The couple tied the knot in front of 150 guests at the Charles Krug Winery in Napa Valley, Calif., People reported. Wise, 24, said of Benson, “We’re both organized and driven human beings. We just work well together. We’re best friends. He’s my home.” The pair met after Benson came out as gay on Fox News' "The Kelly File" in 2015, where he'd been promoting his book, "End of Discussion."

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has dismissed a landmark petition to legalize same-sex marriage in the majority Catholic country. On Tuesday, the country’s highest court ruled that Jesus Nicardo Falcis III, an openly gay attorney who initiated the petition in 2015, had no legal standing in the case since he had not applied for a marriage license, the South China Morning Post reported. Despite its decision, in a text released to journalists, the court noted the Southeast Asian nation's 1987 Constitution “does not define, or restrict, marriage on the basis of … sexual orientation, or...

Songs of Praise has screened the show's first ever gay wedding as part of a drive to modernise the programme. Presenters of the BBC One show have vowed that they are “not afraid of controversy” as they broadcast a wedding which is currently banned in the Church of England. The Sunday afternoon show, which has been running since 1961, was traditionally a “sort of hymn sandwich”, presenter of more than three decades Pam Rhodes said. But now, which a magazine format an on screen cast which includes soprano Katherine Jenkins and JB Gill, the former frontman of boy-band JLS, the...

An Oregon baker said Tuesday she's thrilled to have a "second chance" to fight in court over a $135,000 penalty for her shop's refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake. The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a ruling against the bakers, Melissa and Aaron Klein, who refused to bake the cake citing their religious beliefs. During the court's last term, justices ruled in favor of a Colorado baker in a similar situation, stating that a state body demonstrated improper hostility toward the baker's religion in finding that he violated a state anti-discrimination law. On Monday, the Supreme Court sent...

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is, once again, under attack. And, once again, the attacks are from liberals who cannot tolerate Thomas' consistent, unyielding and faithful commitment to America's founding principles. The latest concerns Thomas' 20-page opinion offered up in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, recently considered by the Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood challenged Indiana law prohibiting abortion for reasons of sex, race or non-life threatening deformity. The challenge was upheld in district court and the law overturned. However, the Supreme Court chose not to rule on the matter for procedural reasons, turning it back to...

When Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex unions, hundreds of gay people marked the occasion by registering to marry. It marked a significant change on the island, where the majority of people only relatively recently became supportive of same-sex relationships. In many other places there has also been a shift - often a rapid one - towards more liberal attitudes. For example, in 2007, one in five South Koreans said homosexuality should be accepted, -but, by 2013, that figure had doubled. Attitudes among the public also appear to have softened in other places including Argentina, Chile,...

Out of all the criticisms of Donald Trump, the one I've never understood is that he's somehow anti-gay. The Trump/Pence ticket was supposed to have put up conversion-therapy camps all across America by now, right? Yet somehow it hasn't happened. With all the legitimate reasons for a person to oppose Trump, they still keep making stuff up. Pete Buttigieg has been capitalizing on this, depicting himself as some sort of victim. He wants you to think Trump is oppressing him. He just can't seem to get Trump to play along. Check out this clip from an interview Trump just gave...

Taiwan's parliament has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage following a vote on Friday. In 2017, the island's constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry. Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by 24 May. Lawmakers debated three different bills to legalise same-sex unions and the government's bill, the most progressive of the three, was passed. Thousands of gay rights supporters gathered in the rain outside the parliament building in the capital, Taipei, to await the landmark ruling. There were shouts of joy and some tearful...

Children of LGBT parents can now be blessed or baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church officials declared in a new policy on Thursday, dramatically reversing a 2015 decision that excluded those children from the rituals until they were 18. The church will also update its handbook for leaders, removing the label of “apostasy” for same-sex marriage.