PALATINE, Ill. — Palatine Township High School District 211 has been cited by the U.S. Department of Education for discrimination for barring a male from having full access to the girls locker room. However, school district officials claim they have done nothing wrong. In a letter written to the district on Monday, federal officials informed the district that they have 30 days to make changes.
Amid the defeat by voters of an ordinance that would have made it illegal in Houston to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or a host of other characteristics, Mayor Annise Parker promised that the fight was not over. "I guarantee that justice in Houston will prevail. This ordinance, you have not seen the last of. We're united. We will prevail," Parker said. The ordinance was rejected by a 61% vote on Tuesday.
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is taking her fight to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 126-page appeal, Davis and her attorneys asked the Circuit Court to overturn four lower-court decisions. Specifically, they are asking the Court to reverse two injunctions against Davis, as well as grant her an injunction from having to follow the Supreme Court’s marriage ruling, and overturn the contempt of court decision that placed her in jail.
Nino Esposito adopted Roland "Drew" Bosee in 2012, reducing the Pennsylvania inheritance tax payable upon the death of either one of the men from 15% to 4%. Now, they're trying to undo the adoption to get "married" and a state trial court judge has rejected their request, saying his ability to annul adoptions is generally limited to instances of fraud.
With early voting results in, Houston’s proposed ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and a number of other characteristics was behind in the polls by a significant margin. As the polls closed on Tuesday, early voting figures showed 63 percent of more than 130,000 Houston voters who cast ballots early voted against the measure.
Today, the people of Houston will head to the polls to vote on Houston's Proposition 1, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But residents aren’t the only ones having a say in the debate. A number of big businesses have gotten behind the ballot initiative, urging voters to say “yes.” Seven of the biggest include Apple, BASF, Dell, Dow Co., General Electric, Hewlett Packard and United Airlines.
Today, residents of the City of Houston will vote on Proposition 1, an ordinance that would make it illegal to discriminate against homosexuals and transvestites in employment, housing and public accommodations. The ordinance would also allow men who identify as women to use the women's restroom. All Houston residents, please watch this 40-second video by Campaign for Houston, then vote "No" on Proposition 1.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy told a Harvard Law School audience that government employees with religious convictions about marriage should resign. The justice admitted that Christians who must "enforce a law that they believe is morally corrupt" face "difficult moral questions." "However,” he said, "the rule of law is that, as a public official, in performing your legal duties, you are bound to enforce the law."
Ben Carson said on Wednesday that his support for "gay rights" initiatives while on the boards of Costco and Kellogg does not clash with his support for traditional marriage. Carson supported various initiatives for both companies, such as barring discrimination based on gender identity, providing health insurance for employees' domestic partners, and offering more diversity training.
A recent poll indicates that just 41 percent of Americans think government officials shouldn't have to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, down from 49 percent in July. The shift is especially stark among Republicans. A majority of them — 58 percent — still favor religious exemptions for officials issuing marriage licenses, but that's down 14 points since 72 percent said so in July.
The popular evangelical-owned fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A has been listed as a sponsor of a “faith-based” homosexual film and arts festival. Level Ground began as a student-organized event in 2013, and was touted as the “world’s first faith-based LGBT film festival." Surprisingly, Chick-fil-A is listed as a sponsor on Level Ground's website, OnLevelGround.org. An online petition is asking Chick-fil-A to make an official statement.
A Colorado resident who was unable to get a gender-neutral passport has sued the federal government to try to force the United States to join a handful of other countries that allow people to get travel documents without picking a gender. Lambda Legal announced the lawsuit Monday on behalf of Dana Zzyym (pronounced Zimm) of Fort Collins, Colorado, who identifies as "intersex."
The Christian Colorado baker who was found guilty of discrimination for declining to make a cake for a same-sex "wedding" in 2012 has appealed his case to the state supreme court, which gives the court the opportunity to weigh the hot-button issue of whether private wedding venders have the right not to support "gay weddings" on the basis of religious objection.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's lawyer has asked a state district judge to throw out a lawsuit that challenges Jindal's executive order offering special protections to people who oppose same-sex "marriage." Judge Todd Hernandez heard arguments about Jindal's request Monday but did not immediately rule.
Abortion and same-sex "marriage" came under fire Sunday as preachers and politicians urged Oklahomans to take a stand against the U.S. Supreme Court rulings they said go against Scripture. Several thousand attended the "Protect Life and Marriage Rally" held on the south steps of the State Capitol building. Participants were encouraged to sign a petition saying the state has the right to set its own abortion and marriage laws.
After a drawn-out showdown between Houston's popular lesbian mayor and a coalition of conservative pastors, voters in the nation's fourth-largest city will soon decide whether to pass the "Houston Equal Rights Ordinance." The ordinance would make it illegal to discriminate against homosexuals and transvestites in employment, housing and public accommodations. The city will vote on November 3.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used his executive authority Thursday to ban all transgender discrimination, making New York the first state to ban discrimination against transgender individuals by both private and public entities. "It is intolerable to allow discrimination of transgender individuals and they are one of the most abused, harassed groups in society today," Cuomo said.
Two new ads have been released in opposition to Houston's Proposition 1. The first is by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who says in the ad that the ordinance "is not about equality," but "about allowing men in women's locker rooms and bathrooms." The second is by Campaign for Houston, which points out the danger of allowing registered sex-offenders to use the same restrooms as young girls.
The IRS is making it official: The tax agency says it will now recognize same-sex "marriages" regardless of where they were performed. The IRS and the Treasury Department also said they will interpret the terms "husband" and "wife" to also include same-sex partners. The IRS proposed the regulations Wednesday to implement the Supreme Court's decision in June that purported to redefine marriage.
Ashers bakery's appeal against being found guilty of discrimination will be heard next year. Earlier this year, a Northern Ireland court held that Ashers had discriminated against customer Gareth Lee when the firm declined to bake a pro-"gay marriage" cake for him. Ashers was ordered to pay £500 (about $770) in damages. Today, senior judges in Belfast listed Ashers' challenge to the ruling for a hearing due to get underway on February 3.
One of Virginia's school districts may be hiding information that led to its decision to treat “gender identity” as a protected class, say concerned parents. After receiving seven requests to produce records of the dialogue between board members and state and federal officials leading up to the policy change, Fairfax County Public Schools has failed to comply. This could constitute a violation of Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
Dr. Ben Carson said Wednesday that the Supreme Court's June ruling purporting to redefine marriage is the worst decision by the high court in the past 20 years. After the Court handed down its decision in June, Carson conceded that the ruling was "now the law of the land" despite his strong objections.
Chile, which is viewed as one of the more conservative countries in it's region, will start recognizing same-sex civil unions this Thursday. While there was broad cross-party support in Chile's National Congress for allowing civil unions, polls show only around a quarter of Chileans support same-sex "marriage."
The Mormon Church staked a deeper claim to middle ground in American society on Tuesday, advocating for compromises between protecting religious liberties and prohibiting discrimination, and criticizing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. "We may have cultural differences, but we should not have 'culture wars,'" Mormon leader Dallin H. Oaks declared.
A Tennessee church has barred the Boy Scouts of America from meeting on its property after the organization lifted its ban on openly homosexual scout leaders earlier this year. North Boulevard Church of Christ, which sponsored Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, has given the units time to find a new meeting location. Out of 600 churches and organizations that are connected with the BSA in that region, only 3 have decided to leave.