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Obama: Holder 'Opened Door' to Same-Sex Marriage by Refusing to Defend Law

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Photo Credit: AP / Evan VucciBy Terence P. Jeffrey.

President Barack Obama praised retiring Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday for advancing the cause of same-sex “marriage” in the United States by refusing to defend federal law.

“And several years ago,” Obama said in a joint appearance with Holder at the White House, “he recommended that our government stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act–a decision that was vindicated by the Supreme Court, and opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and federal benefits for same-sex couples. It’s a pretty good track record.”

In his own statement at the event, Holder praised Obama for advancing the “visions” he said he and Obama had “always shared.”

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Photo Credit: AP / Evan VucciJudge: DOJ Must Produce List of Fast & Furious Docs by Oct. 22

By Susan Jones.

Two days before Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation, a federal court ordered the Justice Department to produce, by October 22, a detailed list of Fast and Furious documents sought by a conservative watchdog group.

Judicial Watch requested the documents in a June 2012 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Three months later, in September 2012, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit, seeking all of the documents the Obama White House was withholding from Congress under a claim of executive privilege.

This week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Justice Department must submit a “Vaughn Index” of the requested documents by October 22 — a three-week extension of the earlier Oct. 1 deadline set by the court.

A Vaughn index identifies each document withheld; explains the legal basis for withholding the documents; and explains how their disclosure would be a problem. Basically, in this case, it forces the Justice Department to justify withholding the information that Judical Watch has sued to obtain.

On July 18, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered the Justice Department to produce the document list by October 1. In his ruling on Tuesday, Judge Bates denied DOJ’s motion to extend that Oct. 1 deadline to Nov. 3, one day before the midterm election.

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Nonprofit Loses Grant Over Gay Marriage Stance

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Photo Credit: Jim, the Photographer

Photo Credit: Jim, the Photographer

A Catholic organization has decided to cut off long-standing funding to a Portland immigrant rights group that works with day laborers over its affiliation with an organization that supports same-sex marriage.

Voz Workers’ Rights Education lost a $75,000 grant in June from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which is the national anti-poverty, social justice program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Catholic Campaign director Ralph McCloud said the group asked Voz to cut ties with the National Council of La Raza, a large Latino civil rights organization that endorses marriage equality, to be considered for the grant. Voz has been an affiliate of NCLR since 2009, primarily as a grantee.

After Voz refused to cut its ties, the organization “self-disqualified” itself from the funding process, McCloud said.
In June, the bishops approved more than $14 million in grants to 205 organizations. The bishops had supported Voz since 1994, via 10 grants, McCloud said.

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California Removes 'Husband' and 'Wife' from California Marriage Law

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Photo Credit: TownHall One word can make all the difference when it comes to definitions. Exhibit A: exchange the words “husband and wife” for a more inclusive term, and you have the phrase “I now pronounce you spouses.” In the state of California, they are paying special attention to keep their vernacular as progressive as possible.

Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill Monday to formally make marriage gender-neutral to reflect the state’s allowance of same-sex unions. According to Senate Bill 1306:

Under existing law, a reference to “husband” and “wife,” “spouses,” or “married persons,” or a comparable term, includes persons who are lawfully married to each other and persons who were previously lawfully married to each other, as is appropriate under the circumstances of the particular case.

The bill would delete references to “husband” or “wife” in the Family Code and would instead refer to a “spouse,” and would make other related changes.

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Obama Expands Government Benefits for Gay Couples

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Photo Credit: APBy AP.

A year after the Supreme Court struck down a law barring federal recognition of gay marriages, the Obama administration granted an array of new benefits Friday to same-sex couples, including those who live in states where gay marriage is against the law.

The new measures range from Social Security and veterans benefits to work leave for caring for sick spouses. They are part of President Barack Obama’s efforts to expand whatever protections he can offer to gays and lesbians even though more than half of the states don’t recognize gay marriage. That effort has been confounded by laws that say some benefits should be conferred only to couples whose marriages are recognized by the states where they live, rather than the states where they were married.

Aiming to circumvent that issue, the Veterans Affairs Department will start letting gay people who tell the government they are married to a veteran to be buried alongside them in a national cemetery, drawing on the VA’s authority to waive the usual marriage requirement.

In a similar move, the Social Security Administration will start processing some survivor and death benefits for those in same-sex relationships who live in states that don’t recognize gay marriage. Nineteen states plus the District of Columbia currently recognize gay marriage, although court challenges to gay marriage bans are pending in many states.

For Tim Fagen of Fort Collins, Colorado, the implications could be profound. A retired electrical engineer, Fagen receives higher Social Security payments than his 79-year partner, Ken Hoole. The two will celebrate their 47th anniversary in August but until now would have been prevented from accessing each other’s benefits.

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Transgender priest to preach at National Cathedral

By AP.

An openly transgender Episcopal priest is set to preach at Washington National Cathedral.

The Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, the Episcopal chaplain at Boston University, will be a guest preacher on Sunday. He’ll be the first openly transgender priest to preach from Canterbury Pulpit at the cathedral.

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Presbyterian Assembly: Gay Marriage Is Christian

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Photo Credit: PargonThe top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted by large margins to recognize same-sex marriage as Christian in the church constitution, adding language that marriage can be the union of “two people,” not just “a man and a woman.”

The amendment approved Thursday by the Presbyterian General Assembly requires approval from a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries, which will vote on the change over the next year. But in a separate policy change that takes effect at the end of this week’s meeting, delegates voted to allow ministers to preside at gay weddings in states where the unions are legal and local congregational leaders approve. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage.

The votes, during a national meeting in Detroit, were a sweeping victory for Presbyterian gay-rights advocates. The denomination in 2011 eliminated barriers to ordaining clergy with same-sex partners, but ministers were still barred from celebrating gay marriages and risked church penalties for doing so. Alex McNeill, executive director of More Light Presbyterians, a gay advocacy group, said the amendment was “an answer to many prayers.”

The Rev. Krystin Granberg of the New York Presbytery — in a state that recognizes gay marriage — said she receives requests “all the time” from friends and parishioners to preside at their weddings.

“They want to be married in the church they love and they want me to do it,” Granberg said during the debate. “I want pastoral relief.”

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Obama Administration to Announce More Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

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Photo Credit: Reuters The White House is set to announce the extension of more benefits to same-sex married couples Friday, including plans to give workers across America leave from work to care for same-sex spouses.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration will urge Congress to pass legislation to make certain provisions like Social Security benefits to apply to same-sex married couples.

Friday’s announcement will arrive at the end of a nearly yearlong review of federal regulations after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied benefits to legally married gay couples.

After the ruling, President Obama directed Attorney General Eric Holder to work with the cabinet to review relevant status.

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Benham Brothers, Fired By HGTV, To Speak At Conservative Gathering

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller David and Jason Benham — the two would-be reality stars who lost their planned home renovation show on the Home and Garden Television network last month after they came under attack for their past activism on marriage and abortion — are scheduled to address conservatives at a political gathering in Washington this week.

In a phone interview with The Daily Caller on Tuesday, the Benham Brothers previewed their remarks ahead of the Road to Majority conference and reflected on HGTV’s decision to cut ties with them because of their history of speaking out against gay marriage, abortion and divorce.

“I’ll be asking political leaders to stand strong in the face of opposition, and recapping a little bit of our history, our nation’s history,” David Benham told TheDC. “Why it’s important for us to be men and women of values and stand for those values.”

“Change happens from the inside out,” Jason Benham added. “True and lasting change will only happen from the inside out. Politics oftentimes feels from the outside in.”

The Road to Majority conference, sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, bills itself as the “premier event for people of faith and conservative activists.” It will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel from Thursday to Saturday.

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After 550 Homosexual Couples Wed, US Judge Stays Her Ruling

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Photo Credit: Andy Davis / The Stevens Point Journal / APA week after striking down Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, a federal judge in Madison, Wis., issued an order Friday postponing her decision pending the outcome of an expected appeal.

But US District Judge Barbara Crabb took the action only after more than 550 same-sex couples in the state cited her June 6 decision in order to get married over the past seven days.

Judge Crabb had been asked two weeks ago by state officials to issue a stay of any ruling striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban until the issue could be heard by an appeals court.

The officials expressed concern that same-sex marriages should not be performed until appellate courts have an opportunity to examine the underlying legal and constitutional issues.

On Friday, the judge acknowledged that there had been “much confusion among county clerks” regarding the legal effect of her decision last week.

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Baker Forced to Make Gay Wedding Cakes, Undergo Sensitivity Training, After Losing Lawsuit

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Photo Credit: AP / Brennan LinsleyA family owned bakery has been ordered to make wedding cakes for gay couples and guarantee that its staff be given comprehensive training on Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws after the state’s Civil Rights Commission determined the Christian baker violated the law by refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, in Lakewood, Colorado was directed to change his store policies immediately and force his staff to attend the training sessions. For the next two years, Phillips will also be required to submit quarterly reports to the commission to confirm that he has not turned away customers based on their sexual orientation.

Think of it as reverse conversion therapy (or straight man’s rehab) so that the state can mandate diversity through conformity.

The plight of Jack Phillips and his family is something I write about in my new book, “God Less America.” His story of religious persecution is one of many that I document.

Nicolle Martin, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, called the ruling Orwellian and said they are considering an appeal.

Read more from this story HERE.

Judge Rules Idaho Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriage

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A judge ruled that Idaho must recognize same-sex marriage.

According to a news release issued Tuesday, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Idaho Candy W. Dale ruled in favor of four same-sex couples who were challenging Idaho’s marriage laws.

Dale ruled the laws in question violated the rights of gays and lesbians under the 14th Amendment.

“If every individual enjoys a constitutional right to marry, what is the substance of that right for gay or lesbian individuals who cannot marry their partners of choice?” Dale asked in the memorandum decision and order. “Traditional man-woman marriage is no answer, as this would suggest that gays and lesbians can switch off their sexual orientation and choose to be content with the universe of opposite-sex partners approved by the state.”

Unless an appeal is filed in a higher court and that court issues a stay, Idaho must recognize the marriages starting Friday at 9 a.m.

Read more from this story HERE.