Homosexuality

After the Washington State Senate voted in favor of a bill allowing same-sex marriage in the state on Wednesday, proponents of preserving the definition of traditional marriage have vowed to fight the measure by forcing a referendum and introducing legislation of their own.

The National Organization for Marriage said it would fund the campaigns of challengers to the seats of four Republican senators who crossed party lines to vote in favor of the bill. NOM will also team with local pro-family groups to collect the 120,577 signatures needed to force the issue to a referendum on the November ballot.

NOM President Brian Brown said the organization has successfully removed Republican legislators who voted in favor of same-sex marriage bills in the past and promised to attack Washington lawmakers with similar vengeance and great fervor. more >>

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused on Thursday the motion by opponents of California's Proposition 8 – the 2008 voter-approved ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman – to release the same-sex marriage trial video from 2010.

A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court said the video proceedings from the federal trial in San Francisco should stay sealed because the trial judge promised the defenders of Prop. 8 that it would be used by the court internally for non-public purposes only.

"The trial judge on several occasions unequivocally promised that the recording of the trial would be used only in chambers and not publicly broadcast," the panel said. more >>

The Washington State Senate voted to approve a same-sex marriage bill late Wednesday night, effectively clearing the final obstacle to becoming the seventh state to redefine traditional marriage.

The Senate voted 28-21 in favor of the bill, with four Republicans voting in favor and three Democrats opposed. The bill's supporters have long viewed the Senate as the biggest hurdle to pass as the state's House of Representatives and Gov. Christine Gregoire have both expressed support for legalizing same-sex marriage.

The final recourse for those opposed to the bill is to force a referendum onto the November ballot. In order to do so, opponents will have to collect 120,577 signatures by June 6. more >>

Pro-family group "One Million Moms" is urging customers to contact J.C. Penney and demand that the company drop openly homosexual Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson.

One Million Moms is an offshoot of the American Family Association (AFA), "one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with over two million online supporters…" according to its website. The AFA's mission is "to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture, and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission."

The group finds fault with J.C. Penney's recent decision to hire DeGeneres as its new spokesperson. In an announcement from the company's president last month, Michael Francis told the press, "Importantly, we share the same fundamental values as Ellen. At J.C. Penney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience." more >>

As more states will be voting on constitutional amendments defining marriage, polling indicates that most Minnesotans support the proposed amendment for their state.

According to a poll taken by Public Policy Polling reported on Jan. 27, 48 percent of Minnesotans polled support the amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, while 44 percent oppose.

"These numbers are consistent with other polls we've seen, which simply show that Minnesota is deeply divided on this issue," said Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for the anti-amendment group Minnesotans United for All Families, commented to The Christian Post. more >>

Christians need to make a "loud statement" and boycott Starbucks for their recent support of a gay marriage bill proposed in Washington state, one pastor said.

"Starbucks is promoting sin against God," Pastor Steven Andrew of USA Christian Ministries told The Christian Post. "I want God to bless the United States of America and God to bless Christians."

"God says homosexual marriage is an abomination and so God cannot bless that." more >>