The Alliance Defending Freedom is arguing that a federal judge should not dismiss their lawsuit against a northern Idaho city. The lawsuit contends that the city's anti-discrimination ordinance violates the religious rights of the owners of Hitching Post Lakeside Chapel. Attorneys on both sides of the issue presented their arguments in U.S. District Court on Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush is expected to issue a decision in the next few weeks.
The Supreme Court’s attempt last month to redefine marriage has left Americans sharply divided, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that suggests support for homosexual unions may be down slightly from earlier this year. According to the poll, 42 percent support same-sex "marriage" and 40 percent oppose it. The poll also found a near-even split over whether local officials with religious objections should be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 47 percent said that it should be required, while 49 percent said that exemptions should be allowed.
Rick Perry is opposed to having openly homosexual leaders in the Boy Scouts of America, he said Sunday, even after that organization dropped its ban on such scoutmasters. "I believe that scouting would be better off if they didn't have openly gay scoutmasters," the former Texas governor and 2016 GOP presidential candidate said. The Boy Scouts dropped its policy banning "gay" scouts in 2013. And earlier this month, the organization also dropped its ban on homosexual scoutmasters after a push by the group's national president, former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. A final vote by the National Executive Board on removing the ban is expected to take place on July 27.
When asked wether he thought being "gay" was a choice, Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker answered, "I don't have an opinion on every single issue out there. To me, that's, I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question." When asked about the ban on homosexual leaders that is being challenged in the Boy Scouts, Walker said, "I thought the policy was just fine. I'm saying when I was in Scouts, it was fine. You're asking what should the policy be going forward. It should be left up to the leaders of the Scouts."
The majority of countries in Europe require people who wish to "change" their legal gender to undergo surgery and sterilization, or be diagnosed with a mental disorder and get divorced if they are married. However, Ireland's new bill will allow people 18 or older to legally "change" their gender without intervention. One anti-gender activist put it this way: "Self-determination is at the core of our human rights." This issue is all about who determines reality. If man does not believe that he is defined by God, then he will seek to define (or rather un-define) himself.
The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has unanimously approved a resolution to allow openly homosexual men to be leaders of Scouts as young as 7 years old. In a statement Monday, the BSA said the 17-member executive committee approved the resolution on Friday and noted it would become official policy immediately if ratified by the organization’s 80-member National Executive Board at a meeting on July 27.
There are only a few days to go before the July 21 deadline to file for a re-hearing before the US Supreme Court on its recent 5-4 “same-sex marriage” ruling. But chances are bleak that this crucial filing will be done. The states involved in the "same-sex marriage" case are Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The attorney general of any one of these states could file for a rehearing, but no one is showing any desire to do it.
Filmmaker Coley Sohn has launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to start filming the "gay marriage" comedy “Dodie and Cheryl Get Hitched.” IFC is releasing another "gay marriage" comedy, “Jenny’s Wedding,” on July 31. This is a deliberate and strategic attempt to shift public opinion on marriage and homosexuality. People will cease to be disgusted with sin when they embrace the idea that sin is funny.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Two Republican state representatives have filed a bill that would allegedly protect county clerks from criminal or civil liability for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of their religious beliefs. Reps. Stan Lee of Lexington and David Meade of Stanford are sponsoring the bill for the legislative session that begins in January. The bill is similar to one filed by Republican state Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence.
MURFREESBORO, TN – State Rep. Rick Womick is calling for impeachment of Gov. Bill Haslam for accepting the "gay marriage" ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and of the five justices for making the decision. "I am looking at impeachment proceedings," the Republican lawmaker from Rutherford County said during a Tuesday phone interview. Womick contends that Haslam should enforce the Tennessee Constitution and the amendment approved by voters in a referendum that bans "gay marriage" because the U.S. Supreme Court has no authority to rule on marriage.
When the SC Senate went in session Monday morning to discuss items that the governor had vetoed from the state budget and to discuss a proposed bill to remove the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds, Sen. Lee Bright of Spartanburg was one of the first officials to speak. Bright said instead of debating the Confederate flag, the state needed to be debating "same-sex marriage" in wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that attempted to redefine marriage in all 50 states.
After refusing to "marry" a homosexual couple in Toledo, Municipal Court Judge C. Allen McConnell has clarified that his denial was based on his religion and that he intends to continue performing only traditional marriages unless ordered to do otherwise by the state Supreme Court. He said, "The declination was based upon my personal and Christian beliefs established over many years....I will continue to perform traditional marriages during my duties assignment."
The terms “husband” and “wife” have been deleted from California’s marriage law under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The terms will be replaced with “spouse” to accommodate the Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul doesn't know whether county clerks in his home state have a constitutional right to refuse to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. Paul said he is "not a legal authority on that" and isn't sure whether the clerks have a legitimate reason to resist the U.S. Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage.
A federal judge heard arguments on Monday about a county clerk who is refusing to issue marriage licenses following the U.S. Supreme Court's attempt to redefine marriage. U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning heard testimony from the couples involved in the lawsuit filed against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who says "same-sex marriage" violates her religious beliefs. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Davis on behalf of two homosexual couples and two heterosexual couples who were denied marriage licenses.
Texas Clerk Joyce Lewis-Kugle stepped down from her post Monday. She did this rather than participate in the recent attempt by the Supreme Court to redefine marriage. She said, "Before taking office, I was required to take an oath to uphold the laws of this State and the United States. Due to the recent decision by the Supreme Court, the laws I swore to have now changed."
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore told a church crowd on Sunday that the U.S. Supreme Court "destroyed the institution of God" by redefining marriage. "How do they come out now and say that marriage, which is ordained by God, doesn't mean what it's always meant, between a man and woman?" Moore said. "Not between two men, two women, or three women and one man."
Sixty-three percent of Republicans oppose the Supreme Court’s backing of "gay marriage," according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. This could give a boost to candidates in the Republican primaries who still hold to a traditional view of marriage; such as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Under a first-in-the-nation policy quietly enacted by the State of Oregon in January, 15-year-olds are now allowed to get a "sex-change" operation. Many residents are stunned to learn they can do it without parental notification — and the state will even pay for it through its Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.
More Americans believe individual states should have a right to refuse federal court rulings, a new poll says. Thirty-three percent of likely U.S. voters think states should be able to ignore federal court rulings if their elected officials agree with them. That number is up nine points from 24 percent during a similar survey last February. Just over half (52 percent) disagree, down from 58 percent in the previous sampling.
About 2 percent of North Carolina’s magistrates have officially recused themselves from performing marriages (true marriages as wells as homosexual "marriages") since the legislature passed a law last month that allows magistrates to opt-out due to religious objections.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback recently issued an executive order meant to protect religious liberty in the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling on same-sex "marriage." However, he also indicated that the state of Kansas would adhere to the Supreme court's redefinition. He said, "We have a duty to govern and to govern in accordance with the Constitution as it has been determined by the Supreme Court decision. We also recognize that religious liberty is at the heart of who we are as Kansans and Americans, and should be protected."
Former president Jimmy Carter has said that he believes Jesus would support "gay marriage." "I think everybody should have a right to get married, regardless of their sex" Carter explained during an interview with HuffPost Live. "I don't have any verse in scripture...I believe that Jesus would approve gay marriage, but that's just my own personal belief," he added.
A Tennessee county on Monday named a temporary county clerk after the person in the position resigned rather than issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Former Decatur County clerk Gwen Pope said she resigned because issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples would violate her religious beliefs.
Irion County, TX - Citing the Constitution and natural law, Irion County clerk Molly Crimer has vowed to stand for natural marriage. Referring to the opinion of the Supreme Court regarding marriage, Crimer said: “To keep my oath to uphold the Constitution, I must reject this ruling that I believe is lawless….I have to stand for the Constitution and the rule of law.”