GAY TRUTH

The June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub shooting is, among other things, a searing indictment of the national press’ eagerness to believe the absolute worst about the Right and about Christians in particular. It was casually assumed that the gunman, Omar Mateen , targeted Pulse specifically because it was a gay bar. But even more than that, his avowed Islamic State affiliation was overlooked so that certain reporters, pundits, and editorial boards ( ahem, New York Times ) could claim that the shooting was motivated by conservative U.S. politics and "an effort to approve discrimination against gay and transgender people nationwide under the guise of religious freedom." So, this is how an Islamic terror attack was blamed on American conservatives and Christians. Some outlets went even further, concocting a conspiracy theory that the Pulse shooting had nothing to do with Islamic terrorism — that Mateen was an uncomfortably closeted homosexual and a regular at Pulse,

Margaret Somerville is Professor of Bioethics in the School of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia . Her most recent book is  Bird on an Ethics Wire: Battles about Values in the Culture Wars . It seems that the only issue in relation to same-sex marriage on which politicians can agree is that the debate which would surround a plebiscite must be civilized and mutually respectful. To have any chance of achieving that "tone", we need first to identify what the issues are and where we disagree. Homosexuality is not the issue in the debate. Sexual orientation is not a "life style choice" as some opponents of same-sex marriage argue. Whatever its origins, which is scientifically uncertain, it is an innate way of being and a matter of personal morality, not one attracting public or legal disapproval or disrespect. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a grievous wrong and must be prevented. And committed same-sex couples h

A Christian 's 14-year career is being threatened because he refused to watch a training video on lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, and queer "diversity and inclusivity." In April, the Social Security Administration announced all employees must be trained in LGBTQ "diversity and inclusively." Longtime information technology employee David Hall, whose Christian convictions do not consider sodomy healthy or normal or good for people, believed that the “training” was against his sincerely held beliefs. Specifically, Hall, 42, was told by his superiors to view a 17-minute video that includes "tips for increasing cultural awareness in a diverse and inclusive environment." Hall refused, explaining that the training endorses sinful behavior. "I'm not going to certify sin," he   explained   to WCIA-TV . Because he refused to participate in the LGBTQ agenda training, Hall was officially reprimanded and then suspended with