Free Republic

When the Supreme Court destroyed the institution of marriage in one fell swoop with the Obergefell V. Hodges ruling, liberals, and LGBT advocates mocked us for predicting the slippery slope we now find ourselves on. Our children are growing up in a world where gender is supposedly fluid (unless we’re using it to get what we want) and love is whatever we want it to be. It was only a matter of time before the insanity of the culture would set the stage for pedophilia follow on the coattails of homosexuality and become a normalized sexual orientation. Under the so-called...

EL PASO, Texas, March 22, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — A video of pro-abortion congressman Beto O’Rourke, who is running for president, has surfaced showing him berating a Catholic priest for defending male/female marriage at an El Paso City Council meeting in 2011. The incident took place in June 2011 when El Paso priest Fr. Michael Rodriguez spoke against extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples during the public comment part of the meeting. O’Rourke, who had been serving as city councilman since 2005, called Fr. Rodriguez back to the podium after his remarks, seemingly to do nothing more than lecture him so...

Azusa Pacific University, a major California-based Christian school, has once again opted to remove a ban on same-sex romantic relationships. The University changed their student guidelines on inappropriate sexual behavior last Thursday, removing the ban on homosexual relationships, according to a report by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune published Saturday. Azusa Pacific University spokesperson Rachel White explained in comments emailed to The Christian Post on Tuesday that the changes were part of an overall update of the undergraduate student handbook. “The old handbook, produced decades ago, underwent a significant revision and redesign after input from student leaders, board, administration, faculty,...

(3 Feb 2019) Greetings in the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ. At the start of this year may I wish you joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. In September 2018 members of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales were asked to agree or not with the following statement written by the bishops of the Church in Wales: It is pastorally unsustainable for the Church to make no formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.The results of the ballot were 76 members agreed, 21 members disagreed and 1 ballot was spoilt. The Bench of Bishops...

The former top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, retired four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, criticized President Donald Trump's behavior and handling of the presidency, saying the commander-in-chief is dishonest and immoral. “I don’t think he tells the truth,” McChrystal said in an exclusive interview on “This Week” when asked by Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz if he believes the president is a liar. “Is Trump immoral, in your view?” Raddatz asked. “I think he is,” he said.

This week on The David Rubenstein Show, retired Justice Kennedy finally admitted the real reason behind his Obergefell ruling, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that created a novel definition of marriage to give legal status to same-sex couples. Kennedy said, “It seemed to me just wrong that under the Constitution, over 100,000 adopted children of gay parents could not have their parents married. I just thought this was wrong.” Well, now we know. The justice’s reasoning had nothing to do with Constitutional principles. He had an emotional reaction and in his hubris he imposed his private feelings on the nation....

Voters in Taiwan passed a referendum asking that marriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping their island will be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits. The vote on Saturday, organized by Christian groups that make up about 5 percent of Taiwan’s population and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. Justices told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans...

Roughly 80 LGBT caravan riders traveling from Central America to the United States broke away from the main group and headed towards Tijuana separately. When they got to Tijuana, officiants from the Unitarian Universalist delegation on Saturday threw a mass wedding where at least seven LGBT couples wed, The Hill reported. Baja California, where Tijuana is located, is one of a handful of states that recognizes same-sex marriages in Mexico. “This is really a dream come true, because you don’t see this in our home countries and this is something that we’ve always wanted to do, and today we had the opportunity...

The Christian publishers of an Australian bridal magazine are closing the publication after they were targeted over their choice not to feature same-sex weddings. White Magazine was started twelve years ago by Luke and Carla Burrell to celebrate love and commitment in marriage, rather than as a marketplace to sell products. The magazine was targeted by LGBTQ activists after it did not feature any same sex couples following the change in the law last year.

An Episcopal bishop in Albany, New York, has issued a directive banning same-sex marriages in his diocese, saying the church has been “hijacked by the ‘Gay Rights Agenda.’” The Rev. William Love says in a pastoral letter that Scripture describes same-sex relationships as “sinful.” He also says that “Satan is having a heyday bringing division into the church.” His directive Saturday comes three weeks before a resolution allowing same-sex marriages in Episcopal churches nationwide goes into effect. …

Four years ago, Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay. He says he's happy about that distinction — and his decision. "I'm very proud of it," the Apple (AAPL) CEO told Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is "God's greatest gift to me," he said. Cook came out on October 30, 2014. His sexual orientation had been widely rumored beforehand though he had not confirmed it publicly. "I was public because I started to receive stories from kids who read...

Sen. Chuck Schumer used the occasion of Sunday’s NYC Pride March to announce that his daughter, Alison, will be marrying her fiancée, Elizabeth Weiland. The women plan to walk down the aisle on Nov. 18. “Marching in the #NYCPride Parade has special meaning this year as I am marching with my daughter Alison and her wonderful fiancée Biz! #HappyPride,” tweeted the politician, who wore a lavender shirt to the pride parade.[SNIP]

June 18, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Jim Obergefell, the man whose name will be forever associated with the institution of genderless marriage in the United States, said he “was heartbroken and devastated,” by the Supreme Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop decision.   But more than that, Obergefell is frightened.  Very frightened. It’s not the actuality of the ruling that scares him; it’s the boogeymen he has concocted in order to shoo away any second guessing about the high court’s judgement in his favor three years ago.   “After deciding in favor of marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges,” asked Obergefell in a commentary...

Well, as a reader points out, we have our first court ruling on religious liberty since Masterpiece Cakeshop. An Arizona appeals court even cited the ruling in its own ruling against two Phoenix calligraphers who said that doing same-sex wedding invitations was a violation of their constitutionally protected religious beliefs. Here’s a link to a PDF of the full text of the ruling. Excerpts:

Lance Bass and husband Michael Turchin are one step closer to becoming parents. “We found the most amazing doctor, surrogate, everything is just great,” the former NSYNC member told People. “It’s happening, and it’s happening quick.” The couple wants to be “very” involved with the surrogate process every step of the way. “She lives close to us so we’ll be able to see her and be a part of her life and she’s going to be a part of our life the rest of our lives,” Bass said.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a narow victory to a Christian baker from Colorado who refused for religious reasons to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Jack Phillips and his Masterpiece Cakeshop is expected in the next two to three weeks. While the outcome could surprise us all, the result both sides of the political spectrum predict is a substantial win for the Left packaged as a favorable verdict for the Right. That is, the court will rule “for” Phillips but against his cause. The reason is pretty simple: Justice Anthony Kennedy is the swing vote, and in the oral arguments last December, his mind seemed made up. Kennedy knows that if Phillips’ speech as a cake artist is protected, then...

The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) conducted a live-fire missile exercise off the coast of Virginia May 11, firing four longbow hellfire missiles that successfully struck fast inshore attack craft targets. US Navy photo. The Navy completed the first phase of its Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) developmental testing for the Littoral Combat Ship program, with a May 11 live-fire test of the missile off USS Milwaukee (LCS-5). Milwaukee fired four AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles that successfully struck fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) targets in a complex warfighting environment, according to a Navy news release. The SSMM consists...

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, support for same-sex marriage has increased substantially. Currently, more than six in ten (61%) Americans say gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry legally, while only about half as many (30%) are opposed. Strength of support for same-sex marriage has increased dramatically over the past decade, while strength of opposition has fallen in nearly equal measure. Today, Americans who strongly favor same-sex marriage outnumber those who strongly oppose it by more than a two-to-one margin (30% vs. 14%). In 2007,...