U.S. News

WASHINGTON, DC (AgapePress) – This week at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, pro-life supporters and other conservative advocates have been active in and around the convention center. Some are feeling their efforts are beneficial to their cause, while others are feeling they are being taken for granted.

(AgapePress) – A pro-family attorney says the recent Supreme Court decision in the Boy Scout case could have a trickle-down effect.

A state agency in Connecticut determined last May that the Boy Scouts were in violation of the state’s discrimination laws. As a result, they were dropped from a list of charities that state workers can support through their payroll deduction plan. The Scouts claim that it is because of their opposition to homosexuality. But a federal judge in Connecticut ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts, ordering that they be put back on the list of charitable organizations.

WASHINGTON, DC (AgapePress) – The major theme last night at the Republican National Convention seemed to be patriotism and the military, as speakers included an esteemed Gulf War hero and a former Vietnam prisoner of war. But there was only the slightest sign of protest as Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe, an open homosexual, addressed the crowd. Some members of the Texas delegation removed their hats and some were seen praying as Kolbe gave his brief speech.

(AgapePress) – Retired General Colin Powell took the spotlight last night at the Republican convention.

Powell used most of his time at the podium to sing the praises of Bush. As an example, he applauded what the governor has done in Texas to improve education.

(AgapePress) – A pro-family group in Virginia is blasting a school board’s proposed changes to school policy: one that would prohibit harassment of students based on sexual orientation, and a second that would alter employment guidelines to forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The proposed changes come up for a final vote on Thursday.

(AgapePress) – Colorado Congressman Bob Schaffer has been leading the charge in Congress to defend the right of government agencies to post our national motto. Today he is celebrating the overwhelming passage of House Resolution 548, which he introduced to encourage the display of the motto, “In God We Trust,” in all public buildings.

24 July 2000 (Newsroom) — Following a rejection of same-sex union rites by the Episcopal Church’s recent convention in Denver, Colorado, a gay advocacy group within the church is collecting an online list of gay and lesbian couples “waiting” for the denomination to bless formally their relationships.

22 June 2000 (Newsroom) — Seventeen resolutions concerning gays and lesbians will confront delegates to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when they gather for a week in Long Beach, California, beginning Saturday.

5 June 2000 (Newsroom) — Two United States courts have upheld judicial orders to remove wall displays with the Ten Commandments from a public school district and two county courthouses in Kentucky. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and a U.S. District Court denied motions to stay the preliminary injunctions issued last month by federal judge Jennifer B. Coffman.

24 May 2000 (Newsroom) — The United States House of Representatives approved a China trade bill on Wednesday that has divided human rights and religious freedom advocates. The House voted 237-197 to grant permanent normal trade relations to the communist nation, taking the place of Most Favored Nation (MFN) status, which required an annual review of China’s adherence to international standards. The Senate is expected to approve a similar pact in early June.

18 May 2000 (Newsroom) — A U.S. federal court in Kentucky has ordered state officials to remove wall displays that include the Ten Commandments from classrooms in a public school district and two county courthouses. Judge Jennifer B. Coffman issued three nearly identical preliminary injunctions on May 5, arguing that the wall displays amounted to government endorsement of a particular religion, in conflict with the First Amendment.

11 May 2000 (Newsroom) — Gay rights activists in the United Methodist Church have vowed to launch a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience in protest of three votes Thursday at the church’s general conference in Cleveland that maintained strictures against homosexuality.

25 April 2000 (Newsroom) – The Vermont legislature on Tuesday became the first in the United States to grant gay and lesbian couples all the benefits of marriage through civil unions. By a vote of 79-68 the state House of Representatives passed a final version of the bill, which Democratic Governor Howard Dean promised to sign perhaps by the end of the week. The Senate passed a version of the law last week.

18 April 2000 (Newsroom) – The Vermont Senate on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. A bill permitting civil unions that would grant all of the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples, the most comprehensive law of its kind in the United States, is scheduled for a vote today (April 19).

MEDFORD, Massachusetts, 2 May 2000 (Newsroom) – An undergraduate student judiciary board at Tufts University has stripped the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) of its affiliation with the college over the group’s refusal to consider an openly gay student for a senior leadership position.