[Active-l] (NEWS) Today's Cultural Warfare Update

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

Focus on the Family glad Michigan won't include the HPV/cervical  
cancer vaccine in its standard school vaccination set;

Colombia's national government now gives GBLT couples more  
recognition than the US's, by allowing social security and  
inheritance; Focus on the Family calls it "marriage-like rights,"  
which they, of course, oppose;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM against embryonic stem-cell research  
in Oregon; they call it a "Clone-and-Kill Bill" and "the destruction  
of human life";

Kroger stores in Nashville - Kroger is a grocery-store chain, the  
parent company owns QFC locally - pull the Nashville gay newspaper  
off the shelves; Focus on the Family and Exodus International (an "ex- 
gay" quackery group) both happy; EI says, "Many people who subscribe  
to a conservative set of values or a Christian set of values don’t  
appreciate that sort of influence into their places of employment and  
the places that they shop or do business with";

FotF puff piece supporting Atty. General Gonzales and the Bush  
administration's justice department, which has been working with the  
explicitly anti-GBLT Alliance Defense Fund;

FotF promotes their "Values Voters Summit" 2007, a smaller-scale  
event in a non-election year; primary issues are fighting abortion  
rights, fighting marriage rights, and the 2008 elections;

FotF happy that a Missouri bill would "cost Planned Parenthood $1  
million per site" in the state; the bill requires facilities  
providing abortion services to qualify as "ambulatory surgical centres";

Focus on the Family claims that discovery of functionality in "junk"  
DNA is "a strike against evolution," makes up the claim that  
"Darwinists" relied on "junk" DNA as "evidence of the randomness of  
evolution," then knocks down that strawman; "This is a strike against  
evolution";

FotF promises that four particular state legislators in Massachusetts  
who voted against the anti-marriage amendment are "going to have to  
answer to their constituents for that"; we'll see if Focus on the  
Family decides to try to make examples out of them; they also point  
readers at their state affiliate, the Massachusetts Family Institute;

Massachusetts Family Institute/voteonmarriage.org ACTION ITEM to  
thank the 45 legislators who voted for the amendment to revoke GBLT  
marriage rights;

Massachusetts Family Institute/voteonmarriage.org ACTION ITEM to  
condemn the "11 Traitors" - yes, they call them traitors - who voted  
against the anti-marriage amendment;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to condemn bill to lift "overseas gag  
rule" barring groups receiving US foreign aid funding from discussion  
abortion and requiring family-planning groups to focus heavily on  
abstinence-only AIDS prevention;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support a Bush judicial nominee in  
the Senate; accuses Democrats of _planning_ to call him a racist;  
People for the American Way report that in 2001, Judge Southwick  
removed a child from a woman's custody solely and explicitly on the  
basis of her being a lesbian and opposes GBLT equality under the law;  
also, quoting PFAW, "Southwick went even further by joining a  
gratuitously anti-gay concurrence which extolled Mississippi’s right  
under “the principles of Federalism” to treat “homosexual persons” as  
second-class citizens. The concurrence suggested that sexual  
orientation is a choice and stated that an adult is not “relieved of  
the consequences of his or her choice” – e.g. losing custody of one’s  
child"; I don't have primary sources for this so am not providing a  
separate URL;

Focus on the Family promotes conference on "the morally treacherous  
waters of bioethical issues";

FotF spinoff Family Research Council condemns Southwest Airlines and  
SunTrust Banks, Inc., for being sponsours at DC's Capital Pride  
Festival, the annual GBLT event;

Remember Kansas's theoconservative attourney general who went fishing  
through abortion provider medical records? One of the guys he hired  
to do so is using those records in anti-abortion activities. Focus on  
the Family condemns the new Kansas AG for trying to stop him;

Focus on the Family triggers National Right to Life Committee purge  
of dissatisfied Colorado affiliate which was angry at James Dobson  
for not being absolutist enough in his anti-abortion activities;  
mmmmmm, purges;

Focus on the Family condemns Olympia (Washington) school for a six- 
person panel talking about their personal experiences with anti-GBLT  
discrimination; the are, of course, outraged; it appears to have been  
part of an anti-harassment/anti-bullying programme, which Focus on  
the Family opposes when it includes GBLT people; they also call it a  
"homosexuality lesson";

FotF ACTION ITEM against Maine expanding parental-leave act to  
include same-sex parents; it allows people to take medial leave to  
take care of an ill partner; they are, of course, opposed, presumably  
because sick fags should be left to die alone or something; I think  
the opposition to programmes intended to prevent bullying and  
harassment of queer teenagers is still worse than this, but this is  
pretty low;

FotF political article noting that "2008 Democratic Candidates Push  
Gay Agenda";

California assembly passes GBLT marriage rights for the _second_  
time; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) promises to veto it  
again if it reaches his desk (through the Senate); Focus on the  
Family has an ACTION ITEM out to urge said veto and to urge  
California state Senators to vote against the bill;

FotF notes "Lightning Punctuates Giuliani's Abortion Comments";

American Academy of Physician Assistants fails to ban "reparative  
therapy" (the so-called "gay conversion" therapy) outright; the  
"Fellowship of Christian Physician Assistants" continues to lobby for  
it.


----- 1 -----
Michigan Backs Off HPV Vaccine Mandate
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004869.cfm

Last year, Michigan was set to become one of the first states to  
mandate that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against the human  
papillomavirus (HPV).

A bill that recently cleared the Senate drops the mandate. Instead,  
it would require that parents of sixth-graders be given information  
about the vaccine. The bill is now in the House and is expected to  
become law.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Colombia's Congress Gives Marriage-Like Rights to Gays
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004868.cfm

A measure to give same-sex couples rights similar to married couples  
passed Colombia's Congress last week, a move seen as the biggest  
advance for homosexuals in the Roman Catholic country.

According to Reuters, the measure grants gay couples living together  
for more than two years the same social security and estate  
inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common law marriages.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
Oregon Lawmakers Poised to Vote on Clone-and-Kill Bill
Taxpayers would fund the destruction of human life.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004873.cfm

The Oregon state House will vote on legislation Wednesday that would  
allow tax dollars to go to researchers who want to clone human  
embryos, then kill them for their stem cells.

The bill, HB 2801, would create a Human Stem-Cell Research Committee  
and a grant fund, which the committee would use to provide funds to  
researchers.

Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family  
Action, said special-interest groups that are pushing the legislation  
are using scientific phrases such as "somatic cell nuclear transfer"  
to hide the fact that it's about cloning humans.

"Don't be fooled," she told Family News in Focus. "This bill promotes  
the creation of human life through cloning for the sole purpose of  
destroying it for research."

Not only is life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research ethically  
wrong, because it requires the destruction of human life, but, Vargo  
added, it's also scientifically problematic.

"There has yet to be a single human clinical trial using embryonic  
stem cells, because of their unpredictable and tumor-causing  
tendencies," she said. "Whether it's called 'therapeutic cloning' or  
'somatic cell nuclear transfer,' this legislation would encourage  
human cloning, which creates and destroys a unique member of the  
human species."

TAKE ACTION
Oregonians should contact their representative and urge him or her to  
vote 'No' on HB 2801. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update  
subscriber, click on the blue "Take Action" button in the e-mail to  
be automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise, click on  
this link.


----- 4 -----
Gay Publication Pulled from Grocery Store Shelves
Kroger says political, religious content is not allowed.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004871.cfm

A gay newspaper will no longer be displayed in Nashville Kroger  
stores because it doesn’t meet the grocery chain’s criteria for  
publications.

DistibuTech, which manages the free publication racks in most Kroger  
stores, said it put Out and About in the stores before reviewing the  
content. Kroger’s policy is not to display free publications that  
promote “political, religious or other specific agendas.”

[...]

Amanda Banks, director of government affairs at Exodus International,  
said the controversy brings up other issues.

[...]

She said businesses have a right to cater to their customer base:  
“Many people who subscribe to a conservative set of values or a  
Christian set of values don’t appreciate that sort of influence into  
their places of employment and the places that they shop or do  
business with."

[More at URL]


----- 5 -----
DOJ Ramps up Religious Protection
Government goes on the offensive to defend our rights.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004872.cfm

As attacks on religious expression have increased in the last seven  
or eight years, so has the response by the Department of Justice  
(DOJ). First under former Attorney General John Ashcroft and now  
under Alberto Gonzales, the DOJ has made a concerted effort to  
protect the religious liberties of Americans.

[...]

The Justice Department often partners with Christian organizations to  
defend faith. Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund has brought  
several cases to DOJ.

“Sometimes you have to go on offense to defend those rights," he told  
Family News in Focus. "That’s what the Justice Department has been  
doing with great success."

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Washington Briefing 2007: Challenging You to Make An Impact
Event is designed to motivate values voters.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
6-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004874.cfm

Connie Mackey, senior vice president for FRC Action, said people who  
attend will have the opportunity to choose from a host of events,  
speeches, breakout sessions and luncheons.

The summit is sponsored by FRC Action and co-sponsored by Focus on  
the Family Action, American Values and the Alliance Defense Fund.

Invited speakers include President George W. Bush, all presidential  
candidates, Bill O'Reilly, Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh,  
Tony Snow and Rick Warren.

[...]

The focus is general in its content in that some of these issues are  
ongoing -- the life issues are ongoing, the battle to keep marriage  
between a man and a woman is ongoing. But there will be lots of new  
speakers and new ways to approach those same issues.

And with the 2008 election looming, there'll be some emphasis on  
what's going to be happening there.

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Missouri May Force Changes at Planned Parenthood
Focus on the Family
6-18-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004862.cfm

Republican Gov. Matt Blunt is expected to sign a bill that would  
place new regulations on abortion clinics and could cost Planned  
Parenthood $1 million per site.

Under the legislation, any clinic that performs more than five first- 
trimester abortions per month, or any later-term abortions, would  
have to comply with the specifications for an ambulatory surgical  
center. The new requirements would take effect Aug. 28.

[More at URL]


----- 8 -----
Human DNA More Complex Than Was Thought
Discovery a nod toward intelligent design.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-18-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004864.cfm

Studies taking a deeper look into the human genome have revealed that  
human DNA is up to five times more complicated than researchers had  
thought.

Portions of the human genome that scientists said had no function –  
dubbed "junk DNA" – had been claimed to be evidence of the randomness  
of evolution.  But studies now reveal that what was thought to be  
"junk" has purpose and could help scientists understand more of how  
life works and how diseases can be cured.

[...]

Backers of evolution have held up so-called junk DNA as evidence  
against intelligent design. Casey Luskin with the Intelligent Design  
and Evolution Awareness Center told Family News in Focus the new  
research is welcome news.

"Intelligent design is actually being vindicated, because we’re  
discovering that it’s actually the Darwinists who are wrong on this  
point," he said. " 'Junk DNA' is not 'junk.' ”

[...]

“Now they’ve realized that this evolutionary assumption that our  
bodies are full of just sort of functionless junk is a very bad one,"  
he said. "This is a strike against evolution.”

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
Four Massachusetts Lawmakers Renege on Marriage Promises
They refuse to let the people decide the definition of marriage.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
6-18-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004864.cfm

Two Democratic and two Republican lawmakers in Massachusetts – whose  
election platforms included preserving traditional marriage – voted  
against a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as the  
union of one man and one woman.

The amendment was defeated 45-151 by a joint session of the  
Legislature, eliminating any chance of getting it on the 2008 ballot.  
It needed 50 votes to pass.

[...]

[Massachusetts Family Institute president] Mineau said lawmakers are  
supposed to do just that: represent the interests of the people who  
elected them. But these four did not.

"They're going to have to answer to their constituents for that –  
plain and simple," he said.

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Saying "Thank You" to the Principled 45
Contact Information for the 45
Massachusetts Family Institute
voteonmarriage.org
Online as of 19 June 2007

http://www.voteonmarriage.org/the45.shtml

Contact Information for the 45 legislators who voted YES on the  
Marriage Amendment at the Constitutional Convention on June 14, 2007

Though we were denied the victory yesterday, there were forty-five  
courageous legislators who stood by their convictions and voted to  
let the people vote on marriage. These heroic representatives and  
senators repelled the unprecedented pressure placed upon them by  
Deval Patrick, Therese Murray and Salvatore DiMasi and stood by their  
previous pledges to support the Marriage Amendment.

These brave legislators need our thanks today!

Those opposed to a statewide vote on the definition of marriage have  
already promised to put all their resources towards removing these  
principled public servants from office. We must remind them that they  
were right in their votes and that we appreciate the sacrifices that  
they have made while standing firm on this issue.

Please call, email and write each of these legislators to thank them.  
Below is the contact information for the 45 legislators. We encourage  
you to call, email and write to each of these legislators thanking  
them for their courage and their strength of conviction. A  
handwritten thank you note would be the most personal way to thank them.

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
Tell the 11 Benedict Arnolds how you feel about their betrayal
Contact Information for the 11 Traitors
Contact Information for the 11 legislators who switched their votes  
on the Marriage Amendment at the Constitutional Convention on June  
14, 2007
voteonmarriage.org
Online as of 19 June 2007

http://www.voteonmarriage.org/the11.shtml

On June 14, after the votes were cast and the final tally revealed,  
eleven legislators (nine who had voted for the Marriage Amendment at  
the Constitutional Convention held on Jan. 2; two freshmen  
legislators who ran and won election on "letting the people vote"  
last year) turned their back on the citizens of this Commonwealth and  
voted to deny the people a say on the definition of marriage. This is  
an outrage and these eleven legislators must understand that  
disloyalty has consequences.

These eleven Benedict Arnolds not only lied to the leaders of our  
movement, they lied to every citizen in this state. Right up until  
the day of the vote, each of these legislators reiterated their  
commitment to voting "Yes" to give the people a right to voice their  
opinion on same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, the true character of  
these so-called "public servants" became apparent once the final vote  
was recorded.

Please call, email and write each of these legislators today. Below  
is the contact information for the 11 traitors. Let them know, in  
civil but strong terms, how you feel about their decision to change  
their votes. They need to know that the outrage over their betrayal  
is real and will not go away overnight.

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
House Set to Vote on Bill That Would Fund Abortions Overseas
Another provision would waive abstinence directives in AIDS program.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
6-18-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/cltopstories/A000004867.cfm

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote on an appropriations bill  
Wednesday that includes language aimed at ending the president's  
prohibition on tax dollars going to groups that fund or promote  
abortion overseas. Another provision in the bill would change the way  
AIDS money is spent.

The State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill contains language  
that would kill the Mexico City policy – named after the location  
where President Reagan announced it.

The National Right to Life Committee said the proposed change would  
"allow even the most aggressively pro-abortion groups to be eligible  
for U.S. assistance," LifeNews.com reported.

Reps. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, and Bart Stupak, a  
Michigan Democrat, are behind a bipartisan amendment to the bill that  
would preserve the pro-life policy.

“Once again, we are so thankful for members of Congress who are  
willing to defend family values," said Ashley Horne, federal policy  
analyst for Focus on the Family Action. "Constituents must stand  
behind Representatives Smith and Stupak as they seek to protect the  
family in the face of overwhelming odds by offering these pro-family  
amendments.”

President Bush has pledged to veto any legislation that undermines  
his pro-life policies.

The appropriations bill also includes a provision that would waive  
the 33 percent spending directive for abstinence-until-marriage  
programs under PEPFAR, a five-year, $15 billion plan to address AIDS.

Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., is planning to offer an amendment to protect  
the abstinence component.

Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus Action, said,  
"International research has proven that HIV infections decrease in a  
generalized population when a three-pronged approach is taken:  
abstinence-until-marriage, being faithful to one’s partner, and  
condoms if necessary. Why would any politician risk increasing HIV  
rates in this world?"

TAKE ACTION
Urge your representative to support Rep. Pitts’ amendment to preserve  
the spending directive for abstinence-until-marriage programs. Also,  
urge your representative to support the Smith/Stupak amendment to  
preserve the Mexico City policy.

If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue  
"Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to  
our Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link.


----- 13 -----
Appellate Court Nomination Threatened in Committee
Democrats won't allow up-or-down vote by full Senate.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
6-15-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004858.cfm

Partisan politics have stranded a Bush appellate court nominee in the  
Senate Judiciary Committee as Democrats threaten to block a vote.

Mississippi lawyer Leslie Southwick was nominated by Bush this year  
to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Curt Levey, executive director of the Committee for Justice, said  
Democratic committee members are up to the same old tricks: calling  
every southern white nominee a "racist" and blocking anyone who might  
have a conservative judicial philosophy.

"It looks as if all 10 of them are going to vote against Southwick,  
which means he'd be defeated in committee and the nomination would be  
essentially dead," Levey said. "I didn't think this was going to  
happen, because the allegations against him are so baseless."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action,  
called the threat "an outrage of the first order."

"The travesty here, as we've experienced before," he said, "is that  
liberals on the Senate Judiciary Committee are so beholden to left- 
wing, special-interest groups that fund their re-election campaigns,  
they smeared and defamed excellent nominees to keep peace with those  
groups."

The American Bar Association has rated Southwick as "well-qualified,"  
Hausknecht added. He's considered an outstanding jurist.

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said there is no reason for liberals to  
block the nomination.

"He's one of the finest lawyers in the state of Mississippi," he told  
CQ Today. "It's pure partisan politics at its worst."

Levey said liberals searched through more than 7,000 cases Southwick  
was involved in, looking for ammunition.

"They could only find two cases – and he didn't even write the  
opinions – and they're still picking out phrases like 'homosexual  
lifestyle,' claiming it is an offensive phrase," he said.

On Thursday, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., aware of the antics of the  
committee, asked for an extra week to convince committee members to  
allow Southwick a vote by the full Senate.

Hausknecht said it is up to leaders such as Sen. Mitch McConnell, R- 
Ky., to follow up on warnings about the consequences of playing games  
with judicial nominees.

"If this nonsense doesn't stop now," Hausknecht said, "the courts  
will suffer, the rule of law will suffer, and we'll all be worse off  
because of it."

TAKE ACTION
Ask your senators to give President Bush's judicial nominees a fair  
up-or-down vote by the full Senate.

If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue  
"Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to  
our Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link.


----- 14 -----
Arizona Bioethics Conference Brings Christians Together
Focus on the Family
6-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004846.cfm

Do you need a living will? An advance directive? What’s all the fuss  
about stem-cell research and cloning?

Tackle these questions and more at "The Biotech Century: Facing Our  
Future," a conference on Christian worldview and bioethics that is  
coming to Phoenix in November. The conference is co-sponsored by  
Focus on the Family.

"What does the Bible say and how does biblical truth apply to these  
topics?  That's what we'll cover in the conference," said Carrie  
Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family  
Action. "The world is a different place than it was 10 years ago —  
and it will be different yet in another 10 years. This conference is  
designed to help equip pastors, church leaders and other Christians  
as they navigate the often morally treacherous waters of bioethical  
issues."

Speakers include Earll, and Nikolas Nikas, president of the Bioethics  
Defense Fund.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit The Biotech Century Web site ( http://bioethicsconference.com ).

[Ed. Note: According to the splash of the webpage, the conference is  
being held at the Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix, and is preceeded  
by an invitation-only Pastor's Briefing. Sponsours are Focus on the  
Family, The Centre for Arizona Policy, Phoenix Seminary, the  
Christian Medical and Dental Association, The Center for Bioethics  
and Culture Network (who are, interestingly, aware of and against  
transhumanism and "technosapiens" - one of their primary writers on  
transhumanism is a creationist - and against stem-cell research,  
abortion rights, and so on), and the Bioethics Defense Fund (mostly  
anti-abortion-rights and anti-stem-cell research which talks about  
"eroding Roe" as "a winning strategy") - basically, all  
theoconservative and/or fundamentalist organisations. I think it's  
clear what kind of conference this will be.]


----- 15 -----
Airline, Bank Criticized for Funding Gay Pride Festival
Focus on the Family
6-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004847.cfm

Southwest Airlines and SunTrust Banks, Inc., are defending their  
sponsorship of a gay-pride event in Washington, D.C., last weekend  
after coming under fire from the Family Research Council (FRC).

The airline and bank were corporate sponsors for the Capital Pride  
Festival, a 10-day event in which homosexuals took to the streets to  
demand "social equality" — namely the legalization of same-sex marriage.

FRC criticized the sponsors, arguing it was an "irrational business  
decision" to "put their name and their money behind radical  
homosexual activities."

[More at URL]


----- 16 -----
Kansas AG Wants to Silence Outspoken Abortion Witness
Focus on the Family
6-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004848.cfm

Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison sent a letter to Dr. Paul  
McHugh demanding that he stop publicly discussing records associated  
with the investigation of late-term abortionist George Tiller, KWCH- 
TV reported.

McHugh, a former Johns Hopkins University professor, was asked to  
review the records at the request of former Attorney General Phill  
Kline.

[...]

McHugh told Women Influencing the Nation that the redacted abortion  
records reveal that clients did not receive complete exams, and  
reasons cited by Tiller to justify abortions were "social," not  
"psychiatric."

[...]

"The remarkable thing was they were all the same. These were very  
brief files," McHugh told The Associated Press. "Lots of  
psychiatrists, including me, do not believe there are any pure  
psychiatric reasons that justify abortion."

Mary Kay Culp, executive director or Kansans for Life, said Morrison  
is trampling on McHugh's free-speech rights.

"This is an outrage," Culp told LifeNews, "and (it) illustrates the  
lengths that Dr. Tiller and AG Morrison will go to cover up the truth."

[More at URL]


----- 17 -----
Colorado Pro-Life Group Joins National Right to Life
Rogue affiliate cut loose.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
6-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004849.cfm

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) on Wednesday named  
Colorado Citizens for Life/Protecting Life Now as the new state  
affiliate, replacing the divisive Colorado Right to Life (CRTL).

In a misguided and misleading media campaign a few weeks ago, CRTL,  
along with a handful of other groups, criticized Focus on the Family  
Founder and Chairman Dr. James Dobson for his support of the federal  
partial-birth abortion ban that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the  
Family Action, said it's reassuring to know a group of such  
prominence is willing to make a tough decision when its charter is  
challenged by a rogue affiliate, such as CRTL.

"Rather than use their money and energy to advance pro-life goals,  
Colorado Right to Life chose instead to attack its allies in the  
cause," Earll said. "It gave its parent organization no choice but to  
name a new state affiliate."

[More at URL]


----- 18 -----
Washington Parents Weren’t Told Before Students Had Homosexuality Lesson
Focus on the Family
6-11-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004815.cfm

Some Olympia, Wash., parents were outraged that they weren't informed  
before their middle school kids attended an assembly about what it's  
like to be gay, The Olympian reported.

At an assembly last week, six panelists told students about how their  
same-sex attraction has led to discrimination.

Patti Connolly, whose eighth-grade daughter attends Washington Middle  
School, said the school should have alerted parents.

"I was livid," she said. "It's not appropriate. That stuff is taught  
at home, not at school."

[...]

Bill Lahmann, superintendent of Olympia School District, said while  
the school could have done more to notify parents, Olympia schools  
would not stop holding such assembliers.

"It doesn't matter what a student's beliefs are or anything else," he  
said. "Harassment is not tolerated."

Stewart Wood has an eighth-grade daughter at the school.

"The school was making a decision to give certain information to sway  
students," he said. "They're undermining parents, and they're  
deciding what morals to teach our children."

[More at URL]


----- 19 -----
Maine Legislature Expands Family Leave Act to Include Gays
Focus on the Family
6-6-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004789.cfm

A bill to expand Maine's Family Medical Leave Act to include domestic  
partners is headed to Gov. John Baldacci's desk, and a spokesman said  
Baldacci will sign it, The Associated Press reported.

"It was expected. We were the only opposition to it. It's basically  
same-sex benefits," said Michael Heath, executive director of the  
Christian Civic League of Maine, which is associated with Focus on  
the Family.

"The bill has been this session's legislative priority for the Maine  
homosexual lobby," reads a statement from Heath's group.

The measure applies to heterosexual couples as well as homosexual  
couples, Heath said. It allows those who have been employed for 12  
consecutive months by the same employer to receive up to 10 weeks of  
family medical leave to care for a domestic partner.

TAKE ACTION
If you live in Maine, urge Gov. Baldacci to respect the sanctity of  
marriage by vetoing this bill. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update  
subscriber, click on the blue button in the e-mail to be  
automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise, click on  
this link.

(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)


----- 20 -----
2008 Democratic Candidates Push Gay Agenda
Focus on the Family
6-6-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004790.cfm

Seven Democratic presidential candidates, including the frontrunners,  
unanimously believe the federal government should recognize state- 
level same-sex marriages. That's according to a survey conducted by  
the Human Rights Campaign, a national homosexual activist group.

Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards,  
along with four others, all favor repealing Section 3 of the federal  
Defense of Marriage Act, the Baptist Press reports. Under the change,  
the government would be forced to grant the legal benefits of  
marriage to same-sex couples "married" at the state level.

According to the questionnaire, the seven candidates also support:  
civil unions for gay couples; overturning the military's "Don't Ask,  
Don't Tell" policy; federal hate-crimes legislation that would grant  
gays special rights; and the Uniting American Families Act, which  
would allow gay Americans to petition for immigration sponsorship for  
their same-sex partners.

(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)


----- 21 -----
California Assembly Approves Gay-Marriage Bill
Schwarzenegger, who vetoed similar legislation in 2005, has said  
he'll do it again.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
6-6-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004792.cfm

For the second time in two years, a bill to legalize same-sex  
marriage could be headed to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's  
desk.

The Assembly voted Tuesday, mostly along party lines, to allow gay  
couples to marry. The measure now heads to the Senate, which adopted  
a similar bill in 2005. Schwarzenegger vetoed that bill, and has said  
he will veto this one if it reaches his desk.

“There ought to be a few standards that stand the test of time,  
marriage being one of them,” Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, R-Chico, told  
The Associated Press. “An institution that has lasted thousands of  
years in one form, that we would change it in the Legislature is  
pretty arrogant of us.”

This chapter of the state's same-sex marriage debate is likely to be  
settled by California's Supreme Court this year or next, according to  
news reports. The court will rule on the application of Proposition  
22, which was passed by voters in 2000.

"Once again, California legislators are thumbing their collective  
noses at the very people they purport to represent," said Carrie  
Gordon Earll, senior director of issues analysis for Focus on the  
Family Action.

"In 2000, a majority of Californians voted that only marriage between  
a man and a woman would be valid or recognized in that state. Yet,  
pro-homosexual lawmakers are determined to undermine marriage by  
declaring that homosexual 'marriage' should be allowed — regardless  
of what the people have spoken on the subject."

TAKE ACTION
If you live in California, urge your senator and Gov. Schwarzenegger  
to support traditional marriage. If you are a CitizenLink Daily  
Update subscriber, click on the blue "Take Action" button in the e- 
mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise,  
click on this link.

(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)


----- 22 -----
Lightning Punctuates Giuliani's Abortion Comments
Focus on the Family
6-6-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004788.cfm

Lightning struck at Tuesday's Republican presidential debate just as  
candidate Rudy Giuliani stepped to the microphone to answer a  
question about his support for abortion, LifeSiteNews.com reported.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Giuliani to address comments made by  
Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin, who had compared Giuliani to Pontius  
Pilate and said, "Rudy's public proclamations on abortion are  
pathetic and confusing. Even worse, they're hypocritical."

As Giuliani started to answer, lightning struck several times nearby,  
momentarily zapping the sound system and producing alternating static  
and silence. Giuliani raised his hands and glanced toward the heavens.

"For someone who went to parochial schools all his life," he  
chuckled, "this is a very frightening thing."

Nonetheless, he took his chances and expressed his personal  
opposition to abortion, but reaffirmed his belief that government  
should stay out of it.

(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)


----- 23 -----
Physician Assistants Debate Help for Homosexuals
Group stops short of banning reparative therapy.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-4-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004771.cfm

After much wrangling, the American Academy of Physician Assistants  
(AAPA) will allow its members to help patients who want to leave  
homosexuality.

A fight erupted at the AAPA’s annual meeting last week over a  
resolution brought by the "Committee on Diversity" that would  
essentially have banned therapy aimed at helping people escape  
unwanted homosexual attraction.

John Fields, a spokesman for the Fellowship of Christian Physician  
Assistants, said his group joined others in opposing the idea.

[...]

A resolution that passed states that the AAPA will not allow members  
to coerce patients into reparative therapy or view homosexuality as a  
mental disorder.

“We didn’t slam the door on the option of the therapy," Fields said,  
"but we still don’t have a mechanism in our policy that will allow a  
patient’s spiritual condition to be considered.”

[More at URL]