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

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

Focus on the Family is slowly shifting to outright opposition to the  
HPV vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. They aren't there yet, but  
they're working on it, backing a bill to block Federal funds to  
schools who include it in their standard vaccinations package, and  
shifting their coverage of any HPV issue to negative.

And now, today's news.

Obscenely misleading headline on CNN.COM says "Biology teacher fired  
for referring to Bible;" no, he was fired for teaching Creationism in  
direct violation of school policy, and linked evolution to Planned  
Parenthood and Naziism;

German judge relies on Koran to deny a woman suffering severe  
beatings by her husband a divorce; there appropriate outrage;

German judge removed from bench over ruling;

ACT-UP founder Larry Kramer's column asking straight people: why do  
you hate us so much? In particular, he takes GBLT people to task for  
voting on the basis of lesser hate vs. greater hate;

Andrew Sullivan links to a radio excerpt of a Concerned Women for  
America wonk's explosive interaction with Mitt Romney;

Faith and Freedom Network praises Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy  
for speaking at the anti-gay Illinois Family Institute lunch and  
awards ceremony. They (hysterically) try to claim that the IFI isn't  
a political organisation and that this is therefore religious  
intolerance. Now _that's_ comedy. On a more serious note, this is  
just another manifestation of their underlying position: if you don't  
let them control your life through their laws, you are religiously  
oppressing them, because _their_ rights include control over _you_,  
in the name of Jehovah;

A second FFN article praising Tony Dungy, who says, "I'm with God and  
I believe IFI has taken the biblical, Godly position on marriage and  
so I'm pleased to stand with it";

Faith and Freedom Network asks whether Americans have too much  
freedom; the poll they have up with it outright asks whether  
Americans have too much freedom of expression, and answers it by  
saying only if Americans fail to "embrace the Judeo-Christian  
principles that made America great." He also quotes quite a bit about  
how democracy is only a good form of government for Christians and  
that liberty shouldn't be "a cloak for vice" and so on. As of this  
writing, the completely unscientific poll about whether Americans  
have too much freedom of expression is split, 51:49 against. I note  
for comparison purposes that the self-selected polls normally run  
11:1 or so in favour of the FFN position;

FFN opposes bill to instigate a state investigation of anti-abortion  
"pregnancy resource centres" in Oregon;

 From lj:cubes, an update on the Largo, Florida case of a city going  
against its own city policy to fire their city manager because of her  
gender reassignment;

Faith and Freedom Network condemns the Soulforce religiously-based  
pro-GBLT activist group as "a sad commentary" and "a missed  
opportunity," presumably, to try to turn more queers str8;

FFN praises General Pace for (against policy, in uniform) condemning  
lesbian and gay soldiers as immoral, and praises commentary (same  
interview, but prefixed with "as an individual") that he's glad that,  
in the military, "we prosecute that kind of immoral behavior";

Focus on the Family has a story unhappy about the overturning of COPA  
("Child Online Protection Act") as overreaching; this is the story  
with the Colbertian "Families in DANGER" graphic;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM against including GBLT people in  
violent hate-crimes law, and claims it "would make opposition to  
homosexuality a crime"; I suppose that's true if you consider  
beatings to be "opposition to homosexuality" that shouldn't, you  
know, be criminal; I did certainly hear enough in the past from  
fundamentalist groups such as Concerned Women for America defending  
gaybashing as a normal and natural response to the perversion of  
homosexuality;

Focus on the Family supports South Carolina bill requiring doctors  
offer ultrasounds to women considering abortions;

Alliance Defense Fund sues school over not allowing an anti-gay T- 
shirt on campus; it's one of several such lawsuits;

Focus on the Family is moving towards more open opposition to the HPV  
(cervical cancer) vaccine, slowly; they've started taking the  
"emphasise anything negative about it" approach they take to anything  
they dislike. In this case, they raise the _entirely legitimate_  
point that it hasn't been tested on children under 15 - but it always  
goes back around to 'but it's an STD and t/h/e/ /l/i/t/t/l/e/ /w/h/o/ 
r/e/s/ unmarried people shouldn't be having sex anyway.' I really  
find that deeply repulsive - and kind of indicative about where  
they'd go, if they could;

"Touchdown MARRIAGE" - Focus on the Family likes Indianapolis Colts  
coach Tony Dungy's anti-gay stance. Even better, they actually make  
the bizarre claim that Coach Dungy's anti-gay activities and  
Christian activism should make any queer players on the team feel  
_better_ about working for him, not worse;

Focus on the Family applauds new Utah law allowing schools to bar  
clubs "found to be offensive" by the community. The bill's author,  
Utah State Senator Chris Buttars (R-West Jordan), was overtly  
targeting Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and is pleased to have helped  
pass a law letting schools ban them. Note that they started appearing  
only after a Supreme Court ruling requiring equal access was won in  
response to _fundamentalists_ demanding religious clubs be allowed to  
use school property, and that GSA clubs made it into schools on the  
basis of that ruling. Again: _oppression under the law _is the  
goal__, and we see it overtly again here. Also, a quick Google search  
shows that Senator Buttars shows up a lot in creationism and anti-gay  
activity;

Focus on the Family condemns fertility clinics offering surrogate  
services to gay male couples;

Focus on the Family lurvs them some Tom Delay, and runs his  
condemnation of "the politics of personal destruction" on the very  
same page he calls liberals a pack of Communist thugs; this is mostly  
interesting because you get a glimpse into James Dobson's lobbying  
within the party - Delay slams Dick Armey for not being responsive  
enough to James Dobson's agenda. This entry includes both Part I and  
Part II of the interview, the latter of which only came out today.  
The latter part is headlined, "The Lord Has Had a Major Part in  
Developing Who Tom DeLay Is";

Focus on the Family backs a Federal effort by US Rep. Phil Gingrey (R- 
GA) to deny Federal funds to any school including the HPV/cervical  
cancer vaccine in their standard vaccinations package;

FotF ACTION ITEM against DP benefits in New Mexico;

Focus on the Family Brazil very unhappy with proposed anti- 
discrimination law, says it's against their religion not to be able  
to fire queers;

Focus on the Family USA interviews the head of Focus on the Family  
Latin America;

FotF makes a weird claim that Jamestown Settlement and Museum is  
being purged of Christianity-related materials;

FotF alarmed that Mexico City is considering legalising first- 
trimster abortions;

FotF outraged at "gay indoctrination" at Chicago high schools;  
anybody know what this is actually about? It looks like one of those  
things wherein here's a whole bunch of stuff going on and one of the  
things going on is GBLT students speaking about their own  
experiences. Focus hates that because one of their man methodologies  
is keeping GBLT people from being seen as _people_;

FotF ACTION ITEM against embryonic stem cell research;

Student who joined with ADF to sue her teacher and school over not  
getting to write a religious paper in a psychology class finally got  
a grade;

FotF claims a link between abortion and child abuse; anybody heard of  
the _Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology_? Is it real or  
another sham? Given that they have the word "internet" in their name  
and gave an interview to LifeNews, I tend to suspect the latter, but  
am withholding judgement. The study, by the way, was a study of low- 
income women with a pre-existing history of child abuse;

FotF: "Pope Says Catholic Lawmakers Cannot Compromise";

FotF supports anti-gay remarks made by General Pace; given the  
similarities between this story and the Faith and Freedom Network  
version, I rather suspect that FFN sourced theirs from this one;

FotF: Newt Gingrich calls for abolishing the Ninth Circuit Court of  
Appeals, saying it doesn't belong in America;

FotF condemns New York State Supreme Court ruling upholding  
recognition of an out-of-state same-sex marriage. Alliance Defense  
Fund counsel Brian Raum predicts the court's decision will be  
overturned, leading one to wonder _by whom, exactly?_ But presumably  
they expect some sort of Federal intervention;

FotF notes that "[Episcopalian] Denomination refuses to back down  
from support of homosexuality" and talks up a schism;

FotF reports that the Marriage and Family Institute - a local group  
that has an anti-marriage wing, and secular and religious forks -  
will continue receiving Federal funds for its nominally secular  
portion, a legal challenge having failed.


----- 1 -----
Biology teacher fired for referring to Bible
POSTED: 1356 GMT (2156 HKT), March 21, 2007

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/20/teacherfired.ap.ap/ 
index.html

SISTERS, Oregon (AP) -- During his eight days as a part-time high  
school biology teacher, Kris Helphinstine included Biblical  
references in material he provided to students and gave a PowerPoint  
presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany and  
Planned Parenthood.

That was enough for the Sisters School Board, which fired the teacher  
Monday night for deviating from the curriculum on the theory of  
evolution.

"I think his performance was not just a little bit over the line,"  
board member Jeff Smith said. "It was a severe contradiction of what  
we trust teachers to do in our classrooms."

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
German judge rules Koran allows wife abuse
Thu Mar 22, 9:26 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070322/wl_afp/ 
germanyjusticeislam_070322132641

BERLIN (AFP) - A German woman judge has refused a Moroccan-born woman  
permission to file for divorce by interpreting the Koran as allowing  
husbands to beat their wives.

"Where are we living? Woman judge allows beating in marriage... and  
invokes the Koran," said a front-page headline in Germany's top- 
selling Bild newspaper, reflecting the widespread angry reaction on  
Thursday.

"This Moroccan woman has the same right to protection from a violent  
husband as any German woman. Anything else would be misconceived  
sensitivity to the benefit of the husband and would amount to racist  
discrimination against the wife," said the Tageszeitung daily.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany also condemned the decision.

"The judge should have made a decision based on the German  
constitution instead of the Koran," said spokeswoman Nurhan Soykan,  
who said that violence and mistreatment, regardless of the gender of  
the victim, were also grounds for divorce in the Islamic world.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
German Judge Cites Koran, Stirring Up Cultural Storm
By MARK LANDLER
Published: March 23, 2007
The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/world/europe/23germany.html? 
_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

FRANKFURT, March 22 — A German judge has stirred a storm of protest  
by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim woman’s request  
for a speedy divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.

In a ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and  
European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, noted that the couple  
came from a Moroccan cultural milieu, in which it is common for  
husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote in her decision,  
sanctions such physical abuse.

News of the ruling brought swift and sharp condemnation from  
politicians, legal experts and Muslim leaders in Germany, many of  
whom said they were confounded that a German judge would put seventh- 
century Islamic religious teaching ahead of German law in deciding a  
case of domestic violence.

The court in Frankfurt abruptly removed Judge Datz-Winter from the  
case on Wednesday, saying it could not justify her reasoning. The  
woman’s lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, said she decided to publicize  
the ruling, which was issued in January, after the court refused her  
request for a new judge.

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
Why do straights hate gays?
An aging 72-year-old gay man isn't hopeful about the future.
By Larry Kramer
LARRY KRAMER is the founder of the protest group ACT UP and the  
author of "The Tragedy of Today's Gays."
March 20, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe- 
kramer20mar20,1,4594749.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE,

Why do you hate gay people so much?

Gays are hated. Prove me wrong. Your top general just called us  
immoral. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in  
charge of an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian troops, some fighting  
for our country in Iraq. A right-wing political commentator, Ann  
Coulter, gets away with calling a straight presidential candidate a  
faggot. Even Garrison Keillor, of all people, is making really tacky  
jokes about gay parents in his column. This, I guess, does not  
qualify as hate except that it is so distasteful and dumb, often a  
first step on the way to hate. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and  
Barack Obama tried to duck the questions that Pace's bigotry raised,  
confirming what gay people know: that there is not one candidate  
running for public office anywhere who dares to come right out,  
unequivocally, and say decent, supportive things about us.

Gays should not vote for any of them. There is not a candidate or  
major public figure who would not sell gays down the river. We have  
seen this time after time, even from supposedly progressive  
politicians such as President Clinton with his "don't ask, don't  
tell" policy on gays in the military and his support of the hideous  
Defense of Marriage Act. Of course, it's possible that being shunned  
by gays will make politicians more popular, but at least we will have  
our self-respect. To vote for them is to collude with them in their  
utter disdain for us.

Don't any of you wonder why heterosexuals treat gays so brutally year  
after year after year, as your people take away our manhood, our  
womanhood, our personhood? Why, even as we die you don't leave us  
alone. What we can leave our surviving lovers is taxed far more  
punitively than what you leave your (legal) surviving spouses. Why do  
you do this? My lover will be unable to afford to live in the house  
we have made for each other over our lifetime together. This does not  
happen to you. Taxation without representation is what led to the  
Revolutionary War. Gay people have paid all the taxes you have. But  
you have equality, and we don't.

[More at URL]


----- 5 -----
Romney Explodes At A Christianist
AndrewSullivan
23 Mar 2007 03:49 pm

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/03/ 
romney_explodes.html

Concerned Women for America's Sandy Rios got into a major spat with  
governor Mitt Romney over marriage equality at a small gathering with  
various religious conservatives. She talks about her private  
confrontation with Romney here ( http://www.massresistance.org/media/ 
MR_files/SandyRiosShow_030907.m3u ) on her radio show. Money quote:

"He was absolutely furious with me. He completely lost his composure  
and his temper."

[Editor's note: I listened to the radio show excerpt; it's not quite  
transcription-worthy - yes, yes, queers destroy families, all that -  
but the main uptake from it is the explosive theocon/Romney  
interaction. Oh, and someone at the conference calls Romney's having  
gone to Harvard "part of the problem."]

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Homosexuals Trying to Sac Tony Dungy
Faith and Freedom Network
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/03/homosexuals-trying-to- 
sac-tony-dungy.html

Homosexual activists are upset that Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis  
Colts coach Tony Dungy will be speaking at a banquet next week that  
is sponsored by an organization that supports the definition of  
marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The activists are pressuring both Dungy and the Colts organization in  
an attempt to stop Dungy from speaking and receiving an award from  
the Indiana Family Institute.

Both the Colts and their team chaplain have spoken.

The Colts organization issued a statement saying that the coach is  
free to speak to any group he wishes. The statement said, “The Club  
does not take positions in political issues in which it is not  
directly involved. The Colts do not endorse any political or  
religious position taken by any group that any Colts employee decides  
to speak or lend his or her name to.”

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Coach Dungy Scores a Touchdown
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, March 22, 2007

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/03/coach-dungy-scores- 
touchdown.html

On March 13th, I wrote a blog entitled, "Homosexuals Trying to Sac  
Tony Dungy" pointing out that the coach of the Super Bowl Champion  
Indianapolis Colts was going to be speaking and receiving an award  
for his pro-family, pro-marriage positions.

We pointed out that gay activists were trying to pressure the coach  
and the Colts organization into canceling Mr. Dungy’s speaking  
engagement.

Well, it didn’t work.

Coach Tony Dungy spoke this past Tuesday evening after receiving the  
award from the Indiana Family Institute.

[...]

He also said, “I’m with God and I believe IFI has taken the biblical,  
Godly position on marriage and so I’m pleased to stand with it.”

[More at URL]


----- 8 -----
Can We Have Too Much Freedom?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/03/can-we-have-too-much- 
freedom.html

Last weekend peace people and other anti-war demonstrators gathered  
in cities across America to protest the war.

Portland, OR probably led in reaching the lowest and least of all the  
protests.

While the Oregonian and other Oregon news outlets failed to give  
much, if any coverage to the burning of the flag and an America  
soldier (in effigy), Rachael Palinkas, a student at Linfield College  
was taking pictures. The pictures ended up on the internet, then on  
Drudge and now on the mainstream news.

[...]

This is, of course, all done under the banner of free speech and free  
expression.

But do we have too much freedom?

[...]

If we were to limit our freedoms, who would decide where to draw the  
line? Would it be President Bush or perhaps President Bill Clinton  
or, God help us, President Hillary Clinton or President Obama? God  
forbid.

[...]

When the conditions that have preserved our freedoms no longer exist,  
our freedoms will be eroded and lost because freedom – particularly  
freedom of expression is like an overstretched elastic band, it can  
snap and bite the hand that holds it.

The New Testament instructs us not to use liberty (or freedom) as a  
cloak for vice.

National, spiritual blindness is the result of moral and spiritual  
disarmament on the individual level.

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
Oregon Pregnancy Resource Centers Need Your Help
Faith and Freedom Network
Monday, March 19, 2007

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/03/oregon-pregnancy- 
resource-centers-need.html

The Oregon Pregnancy Resource Centers are under attack by the same  
kind of “work for hire” politicians as are in the majority in  
Washington State.

Pro-abortion groups, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL are pushing a bill  
that could ultimately be used to shut down pro-life pregnancy  
resource centers in Oregon.

[...]

Under SB 776 ( http://landru.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/ 
sb0700.dir/sb0776.intro.html ), the Department of Human Services  
(DHS) would be required to collect and study data on all aspects of  
the state’s pregnancy-resource centers. It would establish a toll- 
free number and online complaint form to assist those who have  
complaints against the pregnancy-resource centers. Here’s how bad it is.

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Stanton has 9 days to prepare
But his attorney may not be available March 23.
By LORRI HELFAND
Published March 14, 2007
St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/14/Northpinellas/ 
Stanton_has_9_days_to.shtml

LARGO - City Manager Steve Stanton will make his case to keep his job  
on March 23.

City Commissioners on Tuesday night chose that date for the public  
hearing because that's when they'll all be available.

But his attorney said she might not be.

"They chose to go with the only date we're not all available," said  
Karen Doering.

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
Soulforce: A Sad Commentary
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, March 15, 2007

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/archives/2007_03_01_archive.html

You may not be familiar with the organization Soulforce, but you will  
be hearing about them because what they call their “Equality Ride”  
will soon be coming to a Christian college near you.

For the second year, they are touring the nation with busloads of  
people visiting colleges, “with policies,” that they perceive  
“silence or exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.”

Their 2007 tour is underway and is scheduled to be in both Oregon and  
Washington.

[...]

Their mission statement seems to be to obtain “Freedom for lesbian,  
gay, bisexual and transgender people from religious and political  
oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.”

Their tour started earlier this week with their first visit to the  
Wisconsin Lutheran College on March 13th. The report they filed on  
their website said, “The administrators were unsympathetic, but the  
students were excited to speak with us.” They describe scenes where a  
student will bravely step forward and join them in prayer, “despite  
the school officials’ outright refusal to do so.”

What actually happened, according to people who were there and the  
police reports, is that administrators met with the Equality Ride  
people on Monday and asked them not to disturb the classes and  
activities. There was no agreement for them to come on campus so when  
they came on campus, six of them were arrested.

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
General Pace: "Homosexual acts are immoral."
Faith and Freedom Network
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/archives/2007_03_01_archive.html

General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the  
nation’s highest-ranking military officer, told the Chicago Tribune  
on Monday, “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are  
immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe  
that the Armed Forces of the United States are well served by saying  
through our policies that it’s O.K. to be immoral in any way.”

By yesterday, this story was running across the country and probably  
around the world.

And homosexual activists were demanding that he apologize. And Sen.  
John Warner (R) was rebuking him. What I found interesting was the  
little notice given to his next statement.

“As an individual, I would not want [acceptance of gay behavior] to  
be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if  
we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with someone else’s  
wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not. We  
prosecute that kind of immoral behavior.”

[...]

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness said  
that calls for an apology from Pace are “absurd,” in that the 1993  
Homosexual Conduct Law, which bans homosexuals in the military, is  
still in effect.

She said, “He doesn’t need to apologize for supporting the law.” She  
also said the ban on homosexuals serving in the military exists to  
protect good order, discipline, and unit cohesion in “conditions of  
forced intimacy” in which military personnel may have little or no  
privacy from others who might be sexually attracted to them.

Donnelly said, “The activists who are demanding an apology from  
General Pace have an agenda, an agenda that should not be imposed on  
the Armed Services, the Marine Corps or any branch of the military.”

I agree.

[More at URL]

[Editor's Note: The "Center for Military Readiness" is an  
organisation that mostly seems to exist to keep queers out of the  
military and to move the military towards kicking out women. They  
have other functions, reportedly, but the only place I see them  
showing up is in anti-gay and anti-women-soldier activities.]


----- 13 -----
Family Advocates Call COPA Ruling 'Troubling'
Court says federal law keeping kids from Web’s harmful material is  
unconstitutional.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
3-22-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004183.cfm

[Ed. Note: this story has a truly Colbertian "Families in DANGER"  
graphic, viewable here:
	http://www.citizenlink.org/images/07/03-22-07.jpg ]

A federal court in Philadelphia today declared unconstitutional a law  
that requires commercial pornography Web sites to deny access to  
children, a ruling pro-family groups called “troubling.”

Congress passed the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) in 1998 to  
force porn sites to hide harmful images behind an age-verification  
system. The law was immediately challenged and has been embroiled in  
a legal battle since – and therefore unenforceable.

[...]

“The court can't push Congress' duties to protect kids from  
commercial pornographers back onto the parents simply by pointing out  
the filters are somewhat effective at blocking harmful content,” he  
said. “Should Congress abandon its ‘compelling interest’ in this area  
merely because parents have some responsibility there as well? And  
how do filters protect minors when they are outside the home -- are  
parents supposed to follow their kids around all day?"

[More at URL]

[Editor's note: This story makes _no_ reference to Judicial Activism.  
I am surprised - except that he's a Reagan appointee, so presumably  
immune from such charges.]


----- 14 -----
Hate-Crimes Bill Would Give Gays Special Righs
The House is considering a measure that would make opposition to  
homosexuality a crime.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
3-22-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004181.cfm

A bill with bipartisan support in Congress would give the Justice  
Department power to investigate and prosecute “bias-motivated violence.”

Homosexual advocates who support the bill say violence against  
homosexuals is on the rise. They contend 14 percent of the 1,000 hate  
crimes reported in 2005 were due to sexual orientation.

“They claim that this is an epidemic, [but] one third of the ‘hate  
crime’s statistics’ are for ‘name-calling,’ ” Andrea Lafferty,  
executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, told Family  
News in Focus. “This is not a reason to bring in the federal  
government. The ultimate objective is to use the [prosecution] of  
hate speech against people of faith.”

Matt Barber of Concerned Women for America said the bill would favor  
one class of crime victims over another.

“It elevates a certain people group based on their chosen sexual  
behaviors—homosexuals and so-called transgenders—to a higher level of  
status in our society,” Barber said, “so that they are considered a  
more valuable victim.”

The Senate is expected to introduce a bipartisan companion bill next  
month.

TAKE ACTION
1. Please contact your representative and ask him/her to oppose hate- 
crimes legislation. For more about the bill, and help in contacting  
your lawmakers, please see the CitizenLink Action Center.

2. Send an e-mail to President Bush through the CitizenLink Action  
Center and ask that he veto any hate-crimes legislation that reaches  
his desk.


----- 15 -----
S.C. State House Approves Ultrasound Bill
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
3-22-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004182.cfm

In a landslide 91-23 vote, the South Carolina state House passed a  
bill Wednesday to require abortion-minded women to be given the  
chance to see an ultrasound of their preborn child prior to the proce

Denise Burke, vice president and legal director for American United  
for Life, said laws requiring doctors to offer ultrasound are  
important to ensure “women are getting true and complete, accurate  
information about their pregnancies and what an abortion actually does.”

[More at URL]


----- 16 -----
T-Shirt Case Highlights Viewpoint Discrimination
Focus on the Family
3-22-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004180.cfm

An Illinois high school student forbidden from wearing a T-shirt  
expressing her personal views on homosexuality has filed suit.

Heidi Zamecnik, a student at Neuqua Valley High School, wore a t- 
shirt that read, “Be Happy, Not Gay.” The dean told her to change her  
shirt or go home. After Zamecnik’s mother intervened, she was allowed  
to stay – but a counselor at the school forced her to cover the words  
“Not Gay.”

Zamecnik wore the message in response to the “Day of Silence” for  
which homosexual students and supporters wore shirts that bore  
messages in support of homosexuality.

[...]

Zamecnik suffered unlawful discrimination, humiliation and punishment  
at the hands of school personnel for expressing her views, Kellum said.

ADF has filed eight similar lawsuits across the country and is  
working to “enable Christian students to express a contrasting  
viewpoint on homosexuality.”

[More at URL]


----- 17 -----
Researcher Warns Against HPV Vaccine Young Girls
Expert says she doesn’t give the shot to girls younger than 18.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
3-21-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004177.cfm

Twenty-six states have considered legislation that would make it  
mandatory for girls as young as 11 to receive a controversial vaccine  
to protect them from a sexually transmitted disease, an idea that  
alarms a researcher who spent two decades developing the drug.

Dr. Diane Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention  
Center at Dartmouth Medical School, said her trials of the vaccine,  
marketed by Merck under the name Gardasil, involved girls 15 to 25.  
In her own practice, she does not recommend the shot until a girl is 18.

“This vaccine should not be mandated for 11-year-old girls,” Harper  
said. “It’s not been tested in little girls for efficacy.”

[...]

Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health at Focus on the Family  
Action, said governments should not be forcing young girls to take  
part in this “public-health experiment.”

[...]

While vaccines such as Gardasil may play an important role in  
protecting women’s health, Klepacki said, the best health practice  
for young girls is abstinence until marriage and fidelity within  
marriage.

[More at URL]


----- 18 -----
Coach Dungy Defends Family Values
“We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else, hate anyone else,” he  
tells supporters of an Indiana marriage amendment.
by Steve Jordahl, Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
3-21-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004178.cfm

Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts spoke strongly Tuesday  
night in favor of traditional marriage. Family advocates applauded  
his statement, homosexual groups expressed disappointment and the  
National Football League has remained silent.

Dungy made his remarks after receiving a Friend of the Family award  
from the Indiana Family Institute (IFI).

“We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else, hate anyone else, but  
we’re trying to promote the family, family values the Lord’s way,”  
Dungy said.

IFI President Curt Smith was pleased.

“Coach Dungy said, ‘I’m with God and I believe IFI has taken the  
biblical, godly position on marriage and so I’m pleased to stand with  
it.’”

[...]

Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action,  
said Dungy “is a good and brave man. To defend God’s truth so simply  
and strongly on what marriage ought to mean is to invite a blitz of  
hateful attacks from homosexual activists and others on the Left.”

Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com, a pro-gay group, didn’t criticize Dungy  
for speaking out, but he insists that Dungy has created a “hostile”  
work environment in the Colts organization.

“I’m afraid that he would not allow a gay player on his team because  
he did not follow the Lord’s way.”

Smith dismissed that thinking.

“It’s crazy,” he said, “to think that when someone takes a biblical  
position on a public-policy question, that it creates any kind of a  
hostile workforce at all.”

Melissa Fryrear, director of gender issues at Focus on the Family,  
said Dungy’s relationship with Christ should have a positive effect  
on his workplace.

[More at URL]


----- 19 -----
Utah Governor Signs Bill Tightening Rules for School Clubs
Focus on the Family
3-20-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004167.cfm

A bill in the Utah Legislature that will allow schools to exercise  
discretion in the types of student groups allowed may help  
administrators weed out those the community find objectionable, The  
Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Sen. Chris Buttars, sponsor of the Senate bill, said in addition to  
administrator discretion, parents must be fully informed and sign a  
consent form before a student can join a group.

“This gives 40 school districts the same rules and the ability to  
weigh in the balance a club they feel will not fit with their  
school,” he said.

The law reinforces current state Board of Education rules that allow  
officials to reject groups found to be offensive, but adds a line  
that requires clubs to stay within the “boundaries of socially  
appropriate behavior.”

The state Senate’s only openly gay member, Sen. Scott McCoy, said he  
is worried that students who haven’t yet told their parents they are  
gay will be denied the emotional support of a group such as a gay- 
straight alliance (GSA) because some administrators will consider the  
group outside the norm.

Buttars said GSAs aren’t as much support groups as conditioning clubs  
that are trying to make homosexuality socially acceptable. He said  
he’s glad administrators who reject the formation of such groups will  
have the law behind them.

[More at URL]


----- 20 -----
Clinics Recruit Surrogates to Provide Kids for Gay Couples
Homosexuals can pay extra to choose the sex of their baby.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
3-20-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004169.cfm

Several fertility clinics are recruiting surrogates to provide gay  
male couples with children.

Pamela Madsen of the American Fertility Clinic said her facility has  
catered to the homosexuality community for more than a year.

“We support all families,” she said, “all people who are interested  
in having families through birth and adoption.”

The average cost of surrogacy is $60,000. But it can get pricier for  
those who want to select the gender of their baby – which three- 
fourths of gay couples do. Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of  
issue analysis for Focus on the Family Action, said it’s all about  
the green:

“This is no doubt there are folks who want to spend money to try and  
have a baby in this way.”

[More at URL]


----- 21 -----
‘This is the Criminalization of Politics’
In a new book, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay takes aim at  
those who have spent more than a decade trying to ruin him simply for  
being a conservative.
by Gary Schneeberger
Focus on the Family
3-20-2007

(Part I - for Part II, see below)

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004170.cfm

Tom DeLay, author, is a lot like Tom DeLay, congressman:  
Straightforward. Unflinching. A man who can take the heat – and dish  
out a few degrees of it, too.

[...]

“I am not a man who apologizes for what he believes,” he writes.  
“This is because I did not create my beliefs, I received them: from  
the Bible; from great minds of the ages; from the experiences of  
nations; and from the principles of American freedom.

“Liberals may hate me for it, and weak-kneed Republicans may back  
away from it, but I cling to these ideas because I believe them to be  
true.”

_Before you even get into double digits in pages – it’s on page 3 –  
you make a pretty controversial statement. You say that today’s  
liberalism is a very early stage of what you describe as “communist  
thuggery.” What do you say to critics – and you know there are going  
to be critics – who respond, “Wow, this guy sounds paranoid?”_

Well, first of all, “liberal” by its very definition – by those on  
the Left – is socialist. Communists are socialists, and communists,  
as part of their agenda, are thugs. And I have witnessed, personally  
as well as professionally, that if the Left cannot sell its ideas or  
its agenda or its vision, then the Left is going to go after people  
personally.

And not just try to defeat them politically; it’s not even good  
enough to vilify them publicly. They carpet-bomb your life, and  
decide to disgrace you, bankrupt you, send you to jail, all for  
political reasons. And to get rid of people who think differently  
than they do.

[...]

_You also have some criticism for Dick Armey, your colleague of many  
years. You say that he was blinded by ambition. Lately, Mr. Armey has  
been taking shots at conservative evangelicals like Dr. Dobson for  
being too inflexible on social issues. Did you see that coming?_

Dick Armey was never comfortable with the social issues. He was never  
comfortable with those issues of abortion and marriage and things  
that were important to the Right. And because of him being  
uncomfortable, when Dr. Dobson would show up – as he is so inclined  
to do – and demand that we do more, Dick Armey didn’t appreciate it.

[...]

[END PART ONE]

[BEGIN PART TWO]

'The Lord Has Had a Major Part in Developing Who Tom DeLay Is'
The former House majority leader explains how Christ – and Dr. James  
Dobson – helped him become one of Congress' chief defenders of the  
family.
by Gary Schneeberger
Focus on the Family
3-23-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004195.cfm

Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson has called Tom DeLay  
"one of America's leading advocates of family values" and "a  
consistent voice of reason and clarity in America's moral debates."

But did you know Dr. Dobson not only played a pivotal role in DeLay  
dedicating his life to defending the family, but also in the former  
House majority leader dedicating his life to Christ?

How watching one of Dr. Dobson's early videos convicted him of  
neglecting his family and his faith is just one of the intimate  
anecdotes the former congressman shares in his new memoir, No  
Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight. In his trademark  
straightforward style, DeLay explains the degree to which his  
Christianity informs his politics.

"I soon came to understand that there was a whole movement of people  
like me who had for years been crying out to God for their country,"  
he writes of how he viewed his role as a lawmaker after returning to  
the faith of his youth. "They wanted to see healing in their land.  
They wanted to see the age-old covenants renewed and righteousness  
restored. They believed that America had a unique mission in the  
world, and it wasn't to be the largest exporter of pornography and  
abortion on earth.

[More at URL]

[Editor's note: _BOLD_ as in original]


----- 22 -----
Congressman Prefers Voluntary HPV Policies
His bill would block federal funds for states that mandate  
vaccinations for schoolgirls.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
3-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004160.cfm

Twenty-five states are considering mandatory vaccinations against the  
human papillomavirus (HPV) for schoolgirls. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R- 
Ga., prefers a voluntary program, and has introduced a bill that  
would block federal funds to states that don’t respect parental  
concerns.

“Now if a state implemented a voluntary program, then federal dollars  
could be used to implement that voluntary program,” said Gingrey  
spokesperson Becky Ruby.

Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health for Focus on the Family  
Action, said she supports the bill.

“It can’t prohibit states from mandating the vaccine, but what it  
will do is essentially do that, in that it will block states from  
receiving many federal funds that are necessary for states to  
implement mandatory vaccinations,” Klepacki told Family News in Focus.


----- 23 -----
New Mexico Governor Wants Gay Benefits
Your immediate attention is needed to see that the domestic  
partnership bill fails – again.
by Mona Passignano, state issues analyst
Focus on the Family
3-19-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004162.cfm

Although the regular session for 2007 had ended, on Saturday, March  
17, New Mexico Governor and presidential hopeful Bill Richardson  
called the New Mexico Legislature back into session. This special  
session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 20. That’s correct – tomorrow.

State law allows Richardson to limit debate, and he’s restricted the  
agenda to eight items.

Not surprisingly, one of those items is the domestic partnership bill  
– HB 603 – which passed 33-24 in the House but which failed in the  
Senate. If passed during the special session, the bill would grant  
homosexual couples the same rights, protections and benefits as  
spouses. These include child support, divorce proceedings, property  
and insurance rights.

The bill is a priority for Equality New Mexico, a vocal gay rights  
group that seeks to redefine marriage in New Mexico. The time to  
speak up in defense of traditional marriage is now.

TAKE ACTION
New Mexico residents, please contact your state legislators and urge  
them to vote NO on the domestic partnership bill during the special  
legislative session.  For contact information for your legislators,  
click CitizenLink’s "Action Center" button, and enter your 9-digit  
ZIP code.

If you do not know your 9-digit ZIP code, click here to get that  
information first.


----- 24 -----
Ex-gays Concerned about Proposed Law
Focus on the Family
3-16-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004152.cfm

A bill passed by the Brazilian House and headed for the Senate would  
impose long prison terms on anyone who denies a homosexual a job.

“This would mean that if you find out your nanny is a lesbian and  
she’s taking care of your children and you’re not in agreement with  
that, you would not be able to fire her without probably going to  
jail,” Esly Carvalho of Exodus Latin America told Family News in  
Focus. Exodus is an international ministry that offers freedom from  
homosexuality through faith in Christ.

[More at URL]


----- 25 -----
‘Born to Serve God’
President Bush just completed a tour of Latin America. The press  
focused on his adversaries in the region, but overlooked a rising  
star who’s pro-life.
by Stephen Adams, associate editor
Focus on the Family
3-15-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004143.cfm

Editor’s note: Sixto Porras is becoming a virtual household name as  
head of Enfoque a la Familia (Focus on the Family) in Latin America.  
His Nicaraguan mother struggled as a young wife in an unhappy  
marriage before accepting Christ as her Savior. Sixto, who came to  
the Lord at age 18, became a pastor, then a parachurch evangelist,  
when he found a calling working with teens on sexual purity, using  
Focus materials. Stephen Adams, associate editor of Citizen magazine,  
interviewed him recently in San José, Costa Rica, for an article to  
appear in the May issue of Citizen. Here are some excerpts from that  
interview:

[...]

Citizen: Did you ever think you would become the so-called “Dr.  
Dobson of Latin America”?

Porras: I wanted to be a lawyer focusing on international law. That  
was what I really liked. The first year in the university, I gave my  
life to Jesus Christ, and that changed all my life. In 1983, my  
priorities changed. I knew that I was born to serve God. I always was  
a good student. I enjoyed studying. I didn’t imagine myself doing  
another thing. And when Jesus Christ came into my heart, everything  
changed.

Citizen: Tell us about the great demand for sexual-abstinence  
material like Focus’ Sex, Lies and the Truth in Latin America.

Porras: That also changed my life and was a turning point. Because  
then I was spending 90 percent of my time teaching Sex, Lies and the  
Truth. This project led us to relationships with the First Lady of  
Costa Rica, the First Lady of Guatemala, the secretary of education  
of Paraguay and in that way with officials in 13 other governments in  
Latin America. Because of that, in September of 1998 we began the  
Focus office in Costa Rica.

In fact, more than 400,000 youths [all over Latin America] received  
Christ as a result of this. We have done this through partnerships  
with other ministries all over the region. This is the data that we  
have—we believe it is much more than this. About 1 million youths  
have been exposed to the materials, to Sex, Lies and the Truth.   
Teachers don’t have answers to talk about the issues regarding  
sexuality with the youth.

[...]

Citizen: And now Enfoque is reaching an entire continent.

Porras: Toda America Latina. Gloria a Dios! [All Latin America. Glory  
to God!]

[More at URL]


----- 26 -----
Ashamed of the Gospel in Jamestown
Focus on the Family
3-15-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004139.cfm

Recent visitors to Jamestown, Va., say they were shocked and upset to  
discover that tour guides at the Jamestown Settlement and Museum were  
not allowed to acknowledge the existence of “religious” items such as  
the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer.

California pastor and researcher Todd DuBord told WorldNetDaily.com  
that visitors are being told the settlers came only to make money,  
with no mention of their commission to spread the Gospel on orders  
from King James I.

[More at URL]


----- 27 -----
Mexican Abortion Proposal Stirs Opposition
Focus on the Family
3-15-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004140.cfm

The Mexico City Legislature is considering legalizing first-trimester  
abortions in the capital, which could be the first place in Mexico to  
allow the practice.

The city of 8.7 million people is a federal district like Washington,  
D.C., with its own Legislature.

The bill is supported by the Leftist Democratic Revolution Party,  
which holds the mayoralty and a majority in the Legislature,  
according to the Associated Press. It is heavily opposed by the  
Catholic church and officials of the conservative National Action  
Party of President Felipe Calderon, who claim it would violate  
articles in the Constitution protecting life.

The College of Catholic Lawyers in Mexico City promised to rally  
broad opposition.

[More at URL]


----- 28 -----
Gay Indoctrination Infuriates Chicago Parents
Mandatory class for freshmen includes section on accepting  
homosexuality.
by Steve Jordahl and Wendy Cloyd
Focus on the Family
03-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004132.cfm

Parents of freshmen at Chicago's Deerfield High School say students  
are required to attend lectures on gay sexuality, and then sign a  
contract forbidding them to talk about it afterward.

Ellen Waltz's son and his friends told her about the lectures --  
delivered by other students -- and the contract.

"[They said,] 'We had to sit there and listen to them tell us about  
their feelings and what it's like to be gay,' " Waltz said. "They  
make them sign a contract stating that they won't say anything that's  
in the room."

Lora Sue Hauser, a school-issues adviser for North Shore Student  
Advocacy, said a group of boys told her school officials threatened  
those who were reluctant to sign the contract.

"[They were told] 'You will sign this or you will go to the dean,' "  
Hauser said.

Dr. Sue Hebson, vice-superintendent of the school district, told  
Family News in Focus that there is no contract. She also denied that  
the classroom discussions involve sexuality.

"That's not part of the conversation," Hebson said.

But Hauser said that's just not so.

"During the semester they have a panel of gay, transgender (and)  
bisexual students who speak to these freshmen," she said. "Sometimes  
they talk about statistics and causality."

Parents complained last year when the school asked students to match  
sexually deviant terms with their definitions. The school responded  
by posting the curriculum information behind a password-protected  
page on the school's Web site.

Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women  
for America, said this year’s freshmen orientation is part of an  
aggressive plan to corrupt American sexual practices.

"If you can maintain control of undeveloped and impressionable youth  
and spoon-feed them misinformation -- lies and half-truths about  
dangerous, disordered and extremely risky behaviors -- then you can  
control the future and ensure that those behaviors are not only fully  
accepted, but celebrated," Barber told World Net Daily.

Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said  
it is important for parents across the nation to realize that this is  
not an isolated incident.

"Schools in many states are opening their doors to outside gay-rights  
groups who conduct so-called gay-awareness events or diversity days,"  
Cushman said. "And there are now more than 3,000 pro-gay clubs in  
high schools nationwide."

Parents in Deerfield must take a stand, she added.

"These public school officials are blatantly disrespecting local  
parents and students who hold different viewpoints," Cushman said.  
"But the good news is that parents and students can fight back by  
standing up for their equal access rights."

TAKE ACTION
Chicago residents can e-mail local school board members at Township  
High School District 113.


----- 29 -----
U.S. Senate May Vote on Embryo Research
Focus on the Family
3-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004129.cfm

The U.S. Senate may vote this week on a bill that would force  
taxpayers to fund destructive embryonic stem-cell research.  The  
House approved the bill earlier this year.

President Bush has promised to veto it.

"If history repeats itself, senators will hear some wildly inaccurate  
statements from their colleagues who are pushing this immoral  
legislation, including claims that the federal government 'bans' and  
refuses to fund embryonic stem cell research," said Carrie Earll,  
senior analyst for bioethics for Focus on the Family Action. "That's  
simply not true.  This research is underway and limited federal  
funding has been in place for six years to the tune of $600 million  
dollars. The issue before the Senate will be whether our tax dollars  
will be used as an incentive for scientists to destroy living human  
embryos in the process."
TAKE ACTION
Contact your two senators and urge them to oppose any bill which uses  
your tax dollars to support research that destroys human embryos.

For help in contacting your lawmakers, please see the CitizenLink  
Action Center.

To help you understand the embryonic stem-cell issue, we recommend  
Dawn Vargo's article, "What the Media Won't Tell You about Embryonic  
Stem-Cell Research."


----- 30 -----
School Finally Grades Student’s Paper
Focus on the Family
3-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004128.cfm

A college student whose paper on post-abortion syndrome was held  
hostage by a professor has received a grade after all.

Southern Illinois graduate student Christine Mize removed faith-based  
references from her paper, as her professor had requested, but the  
professor, Dr. Laura Dreuth-Zeman, still refused to issue a grade.

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a legal services group based in Arizona,  
sent Southern Illinois University (SIU) officials a letter demanding  
that the Mize receive a grade.

The university backed down and gave Mize her grade, which she needed  
to graduate.

“No student should be punished for exercising their constitutional  
rights, including the right to include faith-based opinions in their  
academic work,” said Amy Smith, an ADF attorney. “We are pleased  
that, upon receiving our letter explaining Christine’s constitutional  
rights, officials at SIU moved quickly to right this injustice and  
allow Christine’s paper to be graded.”

[more at URL]


----- 31 -----
Link Found Between Abortion and Child Abuse
Focus on the Family
3-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004127.cfm

Women who have had an abortion are more likely to mistreat their  
children, according to new study in the Internet Journal of  
Pediatrics and Neonatology.

Low-income women with a history of child mistreatment were the  
subjects of the study.

"We found that the severity of abuse was more pronounced among  
mothers with a history of abortion compared to those without a  
history," Dr. Pricilla Coleman, the author of the study, told  
Lifenews.com. "This makes sense since we do know that abortion can  
precipitate difficult to resolve anger issues."


----- 33 -----
Pope Says Catholic Lawmakers Cannot Compromise
Focus on the Family
3-14-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004126.cfm

Pope Benedicx XVI has called on Catholic politicians to support  
policies that show  “respect for human life, its defense from  
conception to natural death, the family built on marriage between a  
man and a woman, the freedom to educate one’s children and the  
promotion of the common good in all its forms.”

“These values are not negotiable,” he said. “Catholic politicians and  
legislators … must feel particularly bound … to introduce laws  
inspired by values grounded in human nature.”

[More at URL]


----- 34 -----
Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts 'Immoral'
Gay-advocacy groups demand apology for general's remarks about
Focus on the Family
by Stephen Adams
3-13-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004123.cfm

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the  
nation’s highest-ranking military officer, is taking unfriendly fire  
for calling homosexual acts "immoral" and likening them to  
heterosexual adultery.

“I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and  
that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace told the Chicago  
Tribune on Monday. "I do not believe that the armed forces of the  
United States are well served by saying through our policies that  
it’s OK to be immoral in any way.

“As an individual, I would not want [acceptance of gay behavior] to  
be our policy, just like I would not want it to be our policy that if  
we were to find out that so-and-so was sleeping with somebody else’s  
wife, that we would just look the other way, which we do not.

"We prosecute that kind of immoral behavior.”

[...]

Pace, apparently feeling the heat, issued a statement today, saying  
he regretted having stirred up the controversy and that he should  
have confined his remarks to official policy and “less on my personal  
moral views.” In the Monday remarks he attributed his views to his  
“upbringing.”

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said  
calls for an apology from Pace are “absurd,” noting that the 1993  
Homosexual Conduct law, which bans homosexuals in the military, is  
still in effect.

“He doesn’t need to apologize for supporting that law,” she said.

[...]

“The activists who are demanding an apology from General Pace have an  
agenda," Donnelly said, "an agenda that should not be imposed on the  
armed services, the Marine Corps or any branch of the military."

[More at URL]


----- 35 -----
Ninth Circuit Draws Fresh Criticism
Gingrich says liberal courts should be abolished.
by Stephen Adams
Focus on the Family
3-13-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004124.cfm

The list of detractors for the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals— 
arguably the most liberal court in America—continues to grow, with  
former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich flat-out advocating  
the court's abolition.

“The Ninth Circuit is so consistently wrong, it is so consistently  
radical, it is such a violation of the spirit of American history,  
that we’d be better off if we simply abolished it,” Gingrich told  
Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson in a radio broadcast  
last week.

[...]

Gingrich's plan is likely just a pipe dream, though. Supreme Court  
justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas have spoken recently  
about splitting the court into smaller circuits because of caseload  
-- but that won't solve the problem of how the judges on the court  
rules on cases.

[...]

Hausknecht indicated the only hope is for more appointments of  
conservative judges to overcome the current 16-11 dominance by  
justices appointed by presidents Carter and Clinton.

“The Ninth Circuit is the perfect example of why elections matter,”  
Hausknecht said. “When we have presidents who can appoint judges who  
value the Constitution and don’t legislate from the bench, you have  
decisions that are in line with the Constitution. If you have  
presidents who don’t believe that and who believe judges should make  
law rather than interpret it, then you get the Ninth Circuit.”

Josh Montez contributed to this story.

[More at URL]


----- 36 -----
New York Supreme Courts Upholds Same-Sex Marriage
Focus on the Family
3-13-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004121.cfm

The New York Supreme Court has upheld a county official’s recognition  
of a same-sex marriage performed outside the state.

Last year, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an order  
giving privileges to same-sex couples that had been available only to  
heterosexual couples.

[...]

Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, predicted  
the Supreme Court decision would be overturned.

[More at URL]


----- 37 -----
Episcopalians Reject Conciliation Proposal
Denomination refuses to back down from support of homosexuality.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
23 March 2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004193.cfm

The Episcopal Church has rejected a demand from the worldwide  
Anglican Communion that they provide conservative leaders for  
parishes that disagree with the U.S. church's liberal stance on  
homosexuality.

Episcopal priest Don Armstrong of Colorado Springs told Family News  
in Focus a denominational split is inevitable.

"The national leadership and the House of Bishops just have no more  
patience for classic Christianity," Armstrong said, "and are  
determined to drive it out sooner rather than later."

[More at URL]


----- 38 -----
Suit Against Faith-Based Marriage Institute Rejected
Focus on the Family
3-23-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004191.cfm

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to deny a  
Washington State faith-based organization access to government funds.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed the suit  
against the state's Department of Health and Human Services for  
giving money to the Northwest Marriage Institute, which provides both  
biblically based and secular marriage-education workshops.

The institute has been awarded three federal grants that allowed it  
to provide free workshops for low-income families.

[More at URL]