News Tidbits

Houston Public Media: The Abortion Training Taboo: How Texas Politics Influence Medical Education

New York Times: Groups Unite to Push for More Conservative G.O.P. Platform at Convention

WPR: Evangelical Rally Draws Thousands To Madison; Franklin Graham Urges People To Vote For Christian Candidates

The Guardian: Protest at church's praise for Orlando massacre reveals California's fault lines

Associated Press: Chick-Fil-A in Orlando Donates Food After Massacre

Cincinnati*com: Former president Jimmy Carter visits Ark Encounter

News Tidbits

New York Times: Ted Cruz, Seeking Converts to His Campaign, Rallies Iowa Evangelicals

Washington Post: Cruz’s evangelical outreach shifts into high gear

Wichita Eagle: Chanute residents protest removal of picture of Jesus from school

Us Weekly: Sam Rader, Viral Christian Vlogger, Kicked Out of Conference for Threatening Violence

People Magazine: Duggar Family Pastor Focuses Sunday Sermon on Infidelity After Ashley Madison Hack: 'We're in a Sexual Epidemic' 

Associated Press: NOM turns over donor list from gay marriage fight in Maine

National Catholic Reporter: LGBT groups continue valuable work, despite losing space during World Meeting

Kentucky*com: Two rallies in Frankfort represent two sides of same-sex marriage debate

Huffington Post: Denver May Ban Chick-Fil-A Branch Due To Its Anti-Gay History

Religion News Service: Italian Catholic Church scrambles to explain its role in lavish Mafia boss funeral

News Tidbits

In Touch Weekly: Josh Duggar Sued the Arkansas Department of Human Services

Ms. Magazine: California Passes Reproductive FACT Act

Fox 2 Now: Gay conversion therapy ban clears Illinois Senate committee

Washington Blade: Iowa group nixes anti-gay pledge for presidential hopefuls

Allentown Morning Call: Bangor mother defends son who wore Chick-fil-A T-shirt during Gay-Straight Alliance event

Raw Story: Dallas megachurch put woman ‘under discipline’ for wanting to leave her pedophile husband

Al Jazeera America: Sainthood for founder of California missions angers Native American groups

Pink News: Catholic cardinal: Irish people are ‘worse than Pagans’ for passing same-sex marriage

Huffington Post: After Outcry, Clemson Football Coach Dabo Swinney Says No To 'Anti-LGBT' Group Fundraiser

News Tidbits

WYFF 4 News: Sexual abuse survivors hold vigil at Bob Jones University main gate

Omaha.com: Federal judge dismisses Nebraskan's suit against all homosexuals

LGBTQ Nation: California attorney general granted more time to stop ‘shoot the gays’ ballot initiative

The Advocate: Oregon to Ban 'Ex-Gay' Therapy for Minors

Washington Post: Pope Francis will send ‘missionaries of mercy’ to absolve women of abortion ‘sin’

Raw Story: Anti-abortion groups vow to ignore DC law and fire women for using birth control anyway

CNN: Rick Santorum planning May 27 presidential announcement

Huffington Post: California's Drought Is Divine 'Judgment' From God Over Support Of Gay Rights, Bill Koenig Claims

Allentown Morning Call: Bangor High School Students suspended for calling out students wearing Chick-fil-A shirts during LGBT event

News Tidbits

Michigan Live: Religious liberty' a sticking point for Republicans wary of new LGBT anti-discrimination bills

Oregon Live: National Organization for Marriage continues legal battle against Oregon's gay marriage decision

WITF: Penn State pulls Gideon Bibles from hotel rooms

CBS Los Angeles: Chick-fil-A Banned From Ventura High School Campus Over Stand On Gay Marriage

Winston-Salem Journal: Thousands turn out to hear Reinhard Bonnke in Greensboro, NC

Gay Star News: Russian Orthodox Church cancels summit with Finnish Lutherans over support for gay rights

News Tidbits

New York Times: S. Truett Cathy, Chick-Fil-A Founder, Dies at 93

The Daily Beast: U.S. Air Force: Swear to God—-or Get Out

Seattle Times : More trouble for Mars Hill: Cutting jobs, merging churches

Global News: Canada: Trustee reserves ‘the right not to believe’ in trans people

BBC News: The rehab centres that lock up addicts against their will in Guatemala

Christian Science Monitor: As Brazil presidential candidate surges, focus turns to evangelicalism's clout

Commentary Tidbits

On Faith: 4 Ways Christian Fundamentalists Get Progressive Christianity Shockingly Wrong

Mother Jones: Did Anti-Gay Evangelicals Skirt US Sanctions on Russia?

The Atlantic: Chick-fil-A: Selling Chicken With a Side of God

Friendly Atheist: The Founder of Chick-fil-A is Dead

D Magazine: After 10 years of conversion therapy, Amanda Barbour finally gets the wedding of her dreams

Slaktivist: So who is this Gary Cass guy?

SPLC Hatewatch: CADC Calls for Deportation, Forced Sterilization, or War Against All Muslims

Human Rights Campaign: Catholic Schools Increasingly Seek to Shove LGBT Employees Back into Closet

Warren Throckmorton: Mars Hill Church to Close Three Locations; Another on Hold

Love, Joy, Feminism: Pastor Mark Driscoll Called Women “Penis Homes”

Commentary Tidbits

Religion News Service: Does Hobby Lobby have religious rights? The Supreme Court will decide

Church & State: Persecution Complex

Political Research Associates: Updating the Image of Anti-LGBTQ Bigotry

Pocono Record: Why Catholic Church still gets picked on

On Faith: WWJM? Who Would Jesus Marry?

Good As You: To be clear, Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy is still promoting anti-gay voices

Stuff Fundies Like: Keeping Young Fundamentalists In The Camp: A Response

Los Angeles Times: When American Christian evangelicals export hate not love

GLAAD: The next anti-LGBT export target: Peru

Slaktivist: Sex abuse in the church: Demonizing the demonic at Charisma magazine

Doug's Dribblings: God As Psychotic 

News Tidbits

CBS News: Hobby Lobby case fires up women, conservatives on Supreme Court

Pew Research Center: Support for gay marriage up among black Protestants in last year, flat among white evangelicals

Religion News Service: Mormon women seeking priesthood to be shut out of Temple Square

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Dan Cathy seeks to put gay marriage flap behind Chick-fil-A

Dallas Morning News: Ted Cruz talks religious liberty with Iowa home-schoolers, demurs on 2016 plans

Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Catholic teacher contract specifies banned practices

Huffington Post: One Year Of The Equality House Across The Street From Westboro Baptist Church

NPR: Westboro Baptist Will Find Justification To Continue, Pastor's Son Says

Boston Globe: Worcester Diocese is guilty of antigay bias, Coakley says

Gay Star News: Australia’s largest ‘ex-gay’ ministry announces it will close down

South China Morning Post: Hong Kong: Gay teachers banned from International Christian School in Sha Tin

News Tidbits

Aljazeera: Vatican criticized in report on child abuse

The Advocate: California Caterer Refuses to Serve Gay Wedding Over 'Christian Beliefs'

ABC 15: Sexual education causing controversy in Tempe

San Francisco Chronicle: Colorado cake maker appeals order to serve gays

Lone Star Q: Federal judge rejects anti-gay group’s attempt to file brief in case challenging Texas’

Topeka Capital Journal: KCC employee uses state email to air intent to 'extol King Jesus'

ABA Journal: Judge censured for asking staffers to pray, run errands

Raw Story: Eighty percent of congregation quits after Indiana church forces out gay choir director

Boston Globe: Can the evangelical church embrace gay couples?

WKRN ABC 2: Vandals spray paint pro-gay message on Cookeville Chick-fil-A

Commentary Tidbits

Fenuxe: Atlanta Urban League Giving Chik-fil-A CEO Equality Award

Talk to Action: A Theocratic Star Flames Out

Huffington Post: More on Doug Phillips and Vision Forum: More Than a Scandal 

Lez Get Real: NOM and Regnerus Take Their Bigot Sh*tshow to Michigan

Political Research Associates: Profiles on the Right: Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Salon: Meet the Catholic extremists who could shatter the church

Mother Jones: Vaginas Are Like "Little Hoover Vacuums," and Other Things Abstinence Lecturers Get Paid to Tell Teens

Love, Joy, Feminism: The Daughters’ Role: Liberty, Jubilee, and Faith Evangeline Phillips

News Tidbits

Associated Press: Frank Schaefer, Methodist Pastor, Convicted By Jury For Officiating Son's Same-Sex Marriage

The Advocate: Civil Rights Group Honors Chick-fil-A CEO, Draws Ire

Gay Star News: Sen. Marco Rubio to anti-gay fundraiser: moral issues need to be part of government debate

Wataugu Democrat: Schools accept 'In God We Trust' posters

Supreme Court Rulings A Major Victory for LGBTQ Equality, to the Religious Right's Chagrin

Wednesday was a historic day for the American LGBTQ community. on June 26th, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of federal benefits, reports Reuters. Additionally, the court decided that supporters of California's Proposition 8 (which bans same-sex marriage in California) had no legal standing to appeal the federal district court ruling that struck it down. Thus, a lower-court ruling that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional will stand.

The decision was greeted with joy by LGBTQ equality activists, including Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD,; Lambda Legal, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. Celebrations across the U.S. marked the monumental decision, showing that the struggle for LGBTQ equality has overcome two major hurdles.

Meanwhile, homophobes from the Religious Right are disgusted. And I couldn't be happier.

First, in a June 26th press release, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) expressed "dismay and outrage" at the Supreme Court decision. NOM president Brian Brown lambasted the alleged "miscarriage of justice" which would embolden "corrupt politicians".

"In a miscarriage of justice the US Supreme Court has refused to consider the decision of a single federal court judge to overturn the perfectly legal action of over 7 million California voters who passed Proposition 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman," said Brain Brown, NOM's president. "The Supreme Court's holding that proponents of an initiative had no legal right to appeal ignores California law and rewards corrupt politicians for abandoning their duty to defend traditional marriage laws. It's imperative that Congress continue to preserve the right of states to protect true marriage and refuse to recognize faux marriages performed in other states or countries."

Second, in a statement at the Concerned Women for America website, Penny Nance and Janice Shaw Crouse likened the SCOTUS decision to Roe v. Wade, branding the decision a repudiation of "Judeo-Christian principles that have stood the test of time." 

"The Supreme Court rulings fly in the face of reams of research showing that the best household arrangement for children is a married mom and dad. It contradicts centuries of experience across time and cultures for the best family structure for strong nations. It represents a national experiment in social reconstruction at the expense of our children's futures and the future of America. These decisions repudiate--with a vengeance--the sacred trust of the founders who built this great nation 'under God' and on a foundation of Judeo- Christian principles that have stood the test of time."

>Next, Richard Land, president of the Southern Evangelical Seminary, was similarly bombastic. A June 26th article at Charisma News quoted Land as calling the day "a devastating day for traditional marriage and religious freedom."

"Defining marriage for the American people is way above the Supreme Court’s pay grade," Land claimed. "God created marriage, and He has defined its parameters, regardless of what the majority of Supreme Court justices might think.”

In a statement entitled "Supreme Court's Refusal to Redefine Marriage Nationwide Allows American People to Consider Consequences of Redefinition", the Family Research Council warned that opposition to same-sex marriage would intensify as people "experience the actual consequences of redefining marriage." Regarding the DOMA decision, FRC president Tony Perkins argued that individual states should not be able to "impose" different definitions of marriage on the federal government. Predictably, Perkins asserted that FRC would continue to resist same-sex marriage.

"What is inevitable is that the male and female relationship will continue to be uniquely important to the future of society. The reality is that society needs children, and children need a mom and a dad. We will continue to work to restore and promote a healthy marriage culture, which will maximize the chances of a child being raised by a married mother and father.

PinkNews reports that Chick-fil-A chief operating officer Dan Cathy expressed disappointment on the ruling via Twitter. "Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies," he reportedly tweeted before being deleted.

Finally, former governor Mike Huckabee expressed his grief over the SCOTUS decisions via Twitter.

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: "Jesus wept."
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: "Jesus wept."
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

It's a new dawn for human rights and equality in the U.S. While the struggle is not over, a major hurdle has been cleared, much to the chagrin of the homophobic Religious Right. We can't let up now!



To read additional commentary, visit the following links.

Salon: Best of the worst: Right-wing responses to the court

Los Angeles Times: Gay marriage opponents caught in a vortex of public opinion 
Media Matters: "Supreme Court Overrules God" And Other Right-Wing Media Reactions To The Marriage Equality Victory

News Tidbits

Raw Story: Supreme Court to rule on Christian prayers at government meetings

Raw Story: Chick-fil-A donates gift cards to Ohio ‘Biblical Marriage’ event

CNN: Virginia GOP nominee compared Planned Parenthood to KKK

Los Angeles Times: Defector from anti-gay church struggles with her past

The Telegraph: Gay marriage could stop Christians becoming teachers or doctors, say UK church leaders

Pink News: UK MPs reject legal protection for religious anti-gay equality beliefs

Interfax: Orthodox Church, NGO of Moldova ask Chisinau mayor to cancel gay parade

News Tidbits

Chicago Sun-Times: Preacher Jack Schaap: Sex with 17 year-old was Lord's work

Pink News: Chick-fil-A Foundation's Tax Filings Show Anti-LGBT Donations Almost Doubled in 2011

Raw Story: Tennessee bill allows Christian counselors to reject suicidal LGBT students

Politico: RNC: Voters see GOP as ‘scary’ and ‘out of touch'

CBS New York: New Jersey Committee Advances Ban on "Conversion Therapy"

Gay Star News: France says ‘non’ to anti-gay marriage march

News Tidbits

BBC News: Director seeks answers with Bible Quiz documentary

Los Angeles Times: Chick-fil-A tax forms show no donations to anti-gay groups

New York Times: In Fight Over Life, a New Call by Catholics

Gay Star News: UK: Catholics deliver one million anti-gay marriage postcards

Chicken Sandwiches

The hilarious Chick-fil-A Foundation just posted this video of their latest hoax: renouncing homosexuality for free chicken sandwiches. Enjoy.

(Hat tip to Pink News)

News Tidbits

Washington Blade: Activists protest ‘Kill the Gays’ bill outside Ugandan embassy

Chicago Tribune: Gay "conversion therapy" proponents seek to halt California ban

San Francisco Chronicle: Judge Temporarily Blocks California Gay Therapy Law

CNN: Prosecutors offer plea bargain in Family Research Council shooting

The Emory Wheel: Emory University SGA Passes Resolution Against Chick-fil-A

Huffington Post UK: Bristol University's Christian Union Bans Women From Speaking At Meetings

Ynet News: Hundreds march for Israel in Manila

News Tidbits

Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch: Stockton Student Senate to Hold Vote on Chick-fil-A

National Catholic Register: New March for Life President Plans Increased Youth Appeal

Washington Post: Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois expelled over support for women's ordination

CNN: Rubio ignites debate with answer about creationism

News Tidbits

ABC News: Chick-fil-A Benefited from Summer's Gay Marriage Flap With More Customer Visits

News 9: Oklahoma: Catholic Priest Builds Chapel Next To Warr Acres Abortion Clinic

Gaystar News: Extremist Christian says gays have stolen ‘all the nice looking black men’

Washington Post: ‘Deserving of death’ scripture comment downplayed by Maryland anti-gay marriage leader

Christian Science Monitor: Richard Mourdock: The theology behind his rape comments

Gaystar News: Liberia Christians say God wants gay sex to stay illegal

Helsingin Sanomat: Finland: HS Infiltrates "Pray Away the Gay" Camp

al-Arabiya News: Bishops seeking to revive Catholicism are worried by Islam