Homosexuality

Although the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is well known for his leadership in the civil rights movement, an upcoming book is set to make the controversial claim that he would have been an advocate for gay marriage. Those shocking claims, however, squarely contradict what King's own daughter has said about him in the past, and even King's own words, which have described homosexuality as a "problem."

The ongoing debate was recently sparked by Michael Long, author of the upcoming book Keeping It Straight? Martin Luther King, Jr., Homosexuality, and Gay Rights, who feels the civil rights leader would have sided with those advocating for gay marriage. However, most do not believe King would have petitioned for homosexual marriage.

The Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of The Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny, told The Christian Post that in studying King’s speeches, he could not conceive the civil rights leader heading a gay rights movement. more >>

As conservative Presbyterians discontent with the PC(USA) gather this week in Florida for a conference to create a “New Reformed Body,” one church that championed the idea will not be joining the new group.

First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, which is hosting the “Orlando Covenanting Conference,” will not be joining the “New Reformed Body” but rather will remain with its present affiliation, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

David Swanson, senior pastor at First Presbyterian, told The Christian Post that his church had to decide on an affiliation when they left the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), before the NRB concept was initiated. more >>

Gay activists have been rebuked for “bullying” Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and pushing an unsavory agenda against him, by accusing him of “hating gays.” The Santorum camp quickly turned the tables on rumors sparked by gay activists that he had a hateful agenda, by affirming that his stance against a redefinition of marriage to include gays was a matter of public policy, and not a personal attack against homosexuals.

“This is a public policy difference. I think the problem is that some see that policy difference as a personal assault,” Santorum asserted.

The issue arose as Santorum was conducting his campaign in South Carolina Monday. A mother in the audience used the question time to explain her dilemma: “I have been supporting the senator since he announced his exploratory committee,” she announced. more >>

A group of pro-family Christian and Jewish leaders – including many African-American pastors – plan to rally outside the offices of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., Tuesday to protest the SPLC’s labeling of organizations, many of them faith-based, as "hate groups" due to their opposition to homosexuality and pro-gay agendas.

The SPLC categorizes "hate groups" as any organization in the nation that has "beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

The group of religious leaders believes the SPLC has wrongly applied that label to themselves and other members of the faith community.  more >>

A New Jersey judge has recently ruled that a Christian organization must perform same-sex ceremonies on its property despite its views regarding the practice.

Judge Solomon A. Metzger of the Office of Administrative Law ruled last Thursday that Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association violated state anti-discrimination laws when it did not allow a lesbian couple to use its boardwalk pavilion in 2007.

Jim Campbell, Alliance Defense Fund litigation staff counsel who represented the OGCMA, told CP that he “disagrees with the judge's recommended decision.” more >>

A Maryland County Councilman plans to introduce a bill Tuesday pushing local businesses to change public bathroom restrictions to accommodate transgendered men and women.

Tom Quirk, a freshman Democrat on the Baltimore County Council, said his proposed bill, the Act Concerning Human Relations, is meant to eliminate employer discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity.

"It's my strong belief that the only thing that should matter is someone's qualifications for a job," the District 1 representative told The Columbia Patch. more >>