Religious Freedom

Gay Rights, Religious Liberties: A Three-Act Story-"The collision that will play out over the next few years will be filled with pathos on both sides...."-NPR (National Public Radio, so you can also listen to this report)

The Aftershocks of Gay Marriage-"Writing in the Los Angeles Daily News after the California decision, David Benkof, who is gay, asked: “What happens if a traditionally religious business owner wants to extend his ‘marriage discount’ only to couples married in his eyes?” After interviewing several gay-rights legal organizations, Benkof predicts that they will pursue any means necessary, even jail time, to force recognition of same-sex marriage in most areas of life. Benkof, who opposes gay marriage because it harms children and stifles religious liberty, continues: “Now, no lesbian in history has lost her assets, her job, or her freedom for writing, teaching and running her business guided by her belief that marriage is a union of any two individuals who love each other. So why do gay activists outside California support limitations on the freedom of speech, the press, and religious expression for anyone who disagrees with them?”...We have already seen a preview of things to come in Massachusetts, where Catholic Charities of Boston was forced to close its doors because the court-imposed same-sex marriage law required that all adoption agencies offer services to same-sex couples. Catholic Charities, Boston’s largest and most respected adoption organization, was forced out of business because it refused to violate its most fundamental beliefs about the meaning of human sexuality and its link to marriage and family. But even if Catholic Charities had stopped receiving tax exempt status, it still would not have been allowed to refuse adoption services to same-sex couples. The result is that today fewer children in Massachusetts have loving homes with mothers and fathers."

New York

N.Y. policy illegally honoring outside same-sex “marriages” contested -"In defense of marriage in New York, attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed their opening brief in a New York appellate court Monday to prevent officials from illegally recognizing same-sex “marriages” conducted outside the state...“New York state agencies should respect the state’s marriage laws over the laws of foreign jurisdictions,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Brian Raum. “New York’s marriage laws are not arbitrary; they are designed to protect families and children. By redefining ‘spouse’ to include same-sex partners ‘wed’ outside of New York, officials are illegally undermining this public policy and replacing it with the marriage laws of foreign countries, to which the people of New York have not consented.” "-The actual opening brief filed with the court.

Respecting objections to same-sex 'marriage'-"If there is no such right to refuse to provide the service, then clearly the beliefs and consciences of same-sex couples are being preferred in the law to the traditional religious beliefs of millions of Californians," he says..."If the Supreme Court meant what it said about equality, then that would not be equality -- that would be discrimination against people of faith who hold more traditional religious beliefs," states Reinach. The letter signed by the groups' leaders says forcing those with religious objections to participate in same-sex marriages would "send a message of official state hostility toward religion."

Gay Activists Urge Caution on Marriage Rush -"Gay activists have revealed part of their legal strategy to bring gay marriage to all 50 states. Nine major gay rights groups admit they must lay the groundwork at the state level before they can turn to Congress and the federal courts. That's why the groups have issued a memo urging gay couples who wed in California not to sue the federal government or other states to get their marriage recognized."-See more: The "Campaign Ads" Trap and The "ACLU $258 million" trap to see how Valuable your Values Vote is for Religious Liberty and Traditional/Biblical American Family Values even at the state level.

Obama

Obamas' Stand on the Defense of Marriage Act

See more on Obama and 52 Democrats in congress on this issue.

Related News:

Wisconsin

Welcome mat out for gender-neutral restrooms-"To some, it is an encouraging sign of tolerance in a diverse society. To others, it is a troubling break with tradition."-See also For concerned moral voters in Colorado(also, don't miss "the first time in US history" happening in Colorado at bottom of email)

Moscow

Moscow ban on “gay pride” parade challenged in European court

Africa

Anglican Unity Strained As Conservatives Prepare for Key Conference-"Conservative Anglican leaders from around the world are preparing for a gathering to discuss the way ahead amid a deepening rift over homosexuality, just days after news broke about the "wedding" of two male Anglican priests in Britain...Much of the opposition to the liberalizing trend has come from Africa, where more than half of the world's Anglicans live. The two largest of the 38 provinces are the Church of Nigeria and the Church of Uganda, with some 20 million and 10 million members respectively."-See more on Africans taking values voter views of Abortion

Pro-Life

Michelle Obamas' values vs African values (see above link for contrast)

Michelle Obama's partial birth abortion fundraising letter-"In February 2004, Michelle Obama penned a fundraising letter to help her husband Barack raise funds for his Illinois-based Senate seat. The letter contends the federal ban on partial-birth abortions "is clearly unconstitutional" and "a flawed law." Though the three-day-long partial-birth abortion procedure involves the partial birth of a baby during the middle trimester of pregnancy and the jamming of scissors into the back of her head to kill her, Obama's wife describes it as "legitimate" medicine...She also said the Bush administration should not encourage the abortion practitioners who sued to reverse the ban to drop their lawsuit to make it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court later sided with Bush and Congress in saying the ban is legitimate. In closing, Obama told prospective donors that they could "count on" Barack to "keep the Bush team from appointing the Supreme Court justice that will vote against Roe v. Wade."-Actual Letter Here.

Obama's Deep Disappointment in McCain-"I think families are off limits. I would never consider making Cindy McCain a campaign issue, and if I saw people doing that - I would speak out against it. And the fact that I haven't seen that from John McCain I think is a deep disappointment."-Obama...."Senator McCain agrees with Senator Obama that spouses should not be an issue in this campaign, and he has stated that position frequently. Unfortunately, when the DNC was attacking Mrs. McCain, Senator Obama was not strong enough to stand up and speak out against the outrageous charges leveled at her by his party chair, Howard Dean. Obama's silence speaks volumes, and it's unfortunate that he would single out others for a standard he himself has failed to live up to."-Joe Pounder compaign manager..."I stated in my previous blog about the fact that I believe any family member, including spouses, who publicly campaigns for a candidate should expect criticism of their statements."-Blogger

Arizona

Arizona legislature passes partial birth abortion bill- See who voted for and against in Arizona House.