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Showing posts with the label Ohio

Christian minister challenges county ordinance forcing her to officiate gay ‘weddings’

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A Christian minister has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that a local “anti-discrimination” law will effectively force her to officiate same-sex “weddings.” Kristi Stokes owns Covenant Weddings, which offers marriage services as well as homilies, vows, and prayers for unions “between one biological man and one biological woman.” Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she is suing to block an ordinance adding “sexual orientation and gender identity” to local non-discrimination rules, which she says will not only force her to unite same-sex couples but forbid her from explaining why she only believes in heterosexual unions. The ordinance penalizes violating businesses starting at $1,000 per violation, plus additional costs such as attorneys’ fees. Stokes says she has not faced such a suit yet, but realized she was in danger in December 2019, when she turned down a request to officiate a same-sex union and realized she could have been sued for doing so – despite the fact

Student group demands mandatory ‘LGBT safe zone’ training for residential advisers

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Students interested in becoming residential advisers at Ohio State University should be forced to undergo training geared toward LGBT “inclusion,” according to a resolution passed last week by the student government. The body of undergraduate student leaders voted November 29 to recommend that all RAs be required to submit to “Safe Zone” training before interacting with students on their floors, student newspaper  The Lantern   reports . RAs are already required to take “Open Doors” training, which is about “bias” in general, but Safe Zone specifically “aims to create a more welcoming and more inclusive campus environment,” and better facilitate the “goal of supporting the diverse individuals and communities with minorized sexual and/or gender identities.” “We found a gap in safety for students because not every LGBT student has a resident advisor who knows about LGBT issues or is comfortable advocating for that student who needs help,” said Ose Arheghan,  the resolution’s  c

Homosexuality: When ‘Discernment’ Leads to Disaster

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English: Furman University - old campus, Greenville, South Carolina Postcard - cropped (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The historic First Baptist Church of Greenville, South Carolina , announced in May that it would declare itself be “open and welcoming” to all people and that it would allow same-sex marriage and ordain openly homosexual ministers. The move came after the church had undergone a “discernment” process under the leadership of a “LGBT Discernment Team.” That team brought a report to the church’s deacons, who then forwarded it to the congregation. The church then approved the statement by standing vote. The statement is very clear: “In all facets of the life and ministry of our church, including but not limited to membership, baptism, ordination, marriage, teaching and committee/organizational leadership, First Baptist Greenville will not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.” The   Greenville News   told of the congregation’s discernment proc

One of the leading gay ‘marriage’ activists in Ohio faked his own abduction: police

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CINCINNATI, OH ,  – One of the leading activists for gay “marriage” in Ohio faked his own abduction this week, causing an uproar that threatened to drain away precious resources from real emergencies, police say. Adam Hoover, 20, is co-president of Marriage Equality Ohio, an LGBT pressure group promoting the redefinition of marriage in Ohio. Hoover left his job at Chipotle on Monday evening. Hours later, around 12:30 Tuesday morning, he posted messages on his Facebook page and Twitter feed claiming that he had been kidnapped, stuffed inside the trunk of his car, and his captors were threatening to murder his entire family. “Please help me I’m in the trunk of my ford escort red 2000,” he said, sending his license plate number, as well. “They said they are going to kill my family please call 911.” Hoover said he had not called 911, because he was afraid his kidnappers would hear him talking and kill him. "Please, please call,” he implored. “I don't want to die.

Adult children of gay parents testify against same-sex ‘marriage’ at 5th Circuit

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As the 5 th  Circuit Court of Appeals considers whether to strike down laws in three states banning same-sex “ marriage ,” four adult children of homosexual parents have filed court briefings arguing that government-sanctioned homosexual unions could lead to disaster for thousands of kids. Katy Faust, Dawn Stefanowicz, B.N. Klein, and Robert Oscar Lopez, who were all raised by homosexual parents, each submitted briefs to the 5 th  Circuit opposing the legalization of same-sex “marriage.”  Recounting childhood memories of households made deeply dysfunctional by their parents’ sexual appetites and the radical subculture that went along with their “gay” identities, all four argued that redefining marriage to include homosexual couples will likely lead to the exploitation and abuse of countless children for political and personal gain. “I grew up with a parent and her partner[s] in an atmosphere in which gay ideology was used as a tool of repression, retribution and abuse,”  wrote

Same-sex ‘marriage’ begins in Florida because one judge said so

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U.S. Supreme Court building. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Florida became the 36 th  state to legalize same-sex “marriage” Tuesday, after an injunction blocking enforcement of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ’s ruling that the state’s marriage protection law unconstitutional expired without intervention from a higher court. Most counties in Florida proceeded as if the issue had been decided, but state officials are still pursuing appeals with the 11 th  Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court .  While the 11 th  Circuit is unlikely to overturn Hinkle’s decision, the entire nation awaits a possible decision from the Supreme Court, which has so far refrained from directly ruling on the constitutionality of laws that define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Meanwhile, officials in at least three counties refused to participate in same-sex “wedding” ceremonies Tuesday, including in Duval County , where Court Clerk Ronnie Fussell closed down the courthouse chapel ent

6th Circuit judge asks gay activists: why use the courts to redefine marriage?

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Same Sex Marriage (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What the  New York Times  correctly calls “the steady march of judicial approval for same-sex marriage over the past year” hit a speed bump, if not a road block, this week as the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard arguments in six same-sex marriages cases appealed by four states. Judges have been marching in lock-step to overturn democratic laws which define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. More than more than two dozen lower courts and two appeals courts have ruled that gay couples have a right to marry. Some states have fought back, including Kentucky, Michigan , Ohio and Tennessee, whose cases came before three judges of Sixth Circuit this week. “Who gets to decide what the definition of marriage is?” asked Aaron D. Lindstrom, solicitor general of Michigan. And for once, it seems, a judge thought it was a good question.  The Times  reports: Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton , one of the B