California

Social conservatives are calling upon Christians in California to rally against a bill that – if passed – would pressure schools into honoring the late Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in a major city.

 With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expected to either sign or veto S.B. 572, the “Harvey Milk Day” bill, by the end of Sunday, conservatives are specifically urging concerned Californians to call into the governor’s office, noting that slain politician is far from the role model that some make him out to be.

“Milk engaged in adult-child homosexual sex and, according to his biographer, ‘had a penchant for young waifs with substance abuse problems,’” noted Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families. more >>

A simple, clean design by an Italian architect couple beat over 3,500 entries to become the cover design for Rick Warren’s new book, publisher Zondervan announced on Friday.

Simona Dall’Argine and Simone Salardi from the design firm Kimejoe.com in Sardinia, Italy, will be awarded $5,000 for having their entry selected for the cover of The Hope You Need.

Bestselling author Rick Warren, whose book The Purpose Driven Life has sold over 30 million copies, said he picked the cover because it conveyed the simple message contained inside the book. more >>

After an eight-year court battle, two Christian fertility doctors who refused to inseminate a lesbian woman have privately settled their case for an undisclosed amount of money.

Guadalupe Benitez, 37, had sued Dr. Douglas Fenton and Dr. Christine Brody of the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group in Oceanside, Calif., for discrimination in 2001, recalling that her doctor had told her “right off the bat” that she would not perform insemination on her because her religious belief does not support same-sex relationships.

Despite the warning, Benitez continued to seek service from her doctor for insurance plan reasons and because her doctor had assured her that another physician at the clinic would perform the insemination. more >>

Traditional marriage supporters who led California's campaign to ban same-sex marriage have been ordered by a federal judge to turn over their private e-mails, memos and other internal documents to lawyers seeking to overturn the ban.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on Thursday in favor of attorneys who filed a lawsuit on behalf of two homosexual couples against Proposition 8 – the state's constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Charles Cooper, lawyer for the Proposition 8 proponents, had argued last week that the discussions between campaign officials were meant to be private and that publicizing them would violate free speech rights and possibly subject the supporters to harassment, as reported by The Associated Press. more >>

The Lodi City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to allow prayers to be said in Jesus' name before council meetings.

The 5-0 vote repeals the city's current policy requiring prayers to be "non-sectarian and non-denominational." A new policy allowing uncensored invocations will be developed.

"I personally regret the decision this council made to have prayers that were nondenominational and nonsectarian," said Mayor Larry Hansen, according to the Stockton Record. "I believe the right decision is to set up a policy that allows uncensored prayers by anybody in this community who is a recognized part of the clergy." more >>