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The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) released the following statement in regards to New York Governor David A. Paterson’s decision to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage:

“Gov. Paterson should not be pushing a divisive culture war on the people of New York as a distraction from his inability to lead on rebuilding New York’s economy and balancing its budget. The majority of New Yorkers and the New York Supreme Court reject same-sex marriage. When will politicians listen to we the people or to their political base?” stated Brian Brown, executive director of NOM.

“Marriage matters because children deserve a fair shot at a mom and dad. The government did not create marriage and has no business redefining it, or imposing a strange new definition of marriage on our children and grandchildren,” said Maggie Gallagher, president of NOM.

To schedule an interview with Maggie Gallagher, President, or Brian Brown, Executive Director of NOM, please contact:

Elizabeth Ray (x130), eray at crcpublicrelations dot com
Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), mhutchins at crcpublicrelations dot com
703-683-5004 x130

Courtesy: Christian Newswire

“We are pleased that we are making headway in our goal of establishing personhood for the pre-born” says Daniel Becker, President of Georgia Right to Life. “Gone are the terms designating the human child at an embryonic stage as property … devoid of rights.” says Becker.

The language of the bill stops short of declaring full personhood for the child but does introduce new terms that acknowledge for the first time that an embryo has “rights and responsibilities” that are owed to it under Georgia law. “Legal embryo custodian” replaces “embryo donor” throughout Georgia’s new code sections dealing with embryo adoption. No longer is an embryo described as being “donated” by its genetic parent.

“Gametes, cars, old clothes and other property are ‘donated’” says the bill’s author, House Rep. James Mills, “not children … they are adopted.”

It also clarifies that an embryo’s life begins “at a single-celled” stage. “This is an important distinction as we see the medical community attempt to lessen the personhood of an embryo by re-defining a zygote to be a ‘pre-embryo’” says Becker.

“Estimates are that over 40,000 cryo-preserved human embryos are abiding in concentration cans in our state,” says Becker, “this will allow them an opportunity to have a birthday.”

It is also possible that a Federal Adoption Tax Credit will now be available to parents to offset the legal costs of adoption. The limit under IRS guidelines is $11,500.

“We look forward next year to the passage of a companion bill, SB169, the Ethical Treatment of Human Embryos. This would effectively ban therapeutic and reproductive cloning, destructive embryonic stem cell research and human/animal hybrids.” says Becker. The Georgia Senate had passed SB 169 by a vote of 34 to 22.

Other pro-life initiatives passed this session include Senate Resolution 328, “that the members of this body recognize that the right to life is paramount and the need for protection of the lives of the innocent at every stage.”

Georgia Right to Life (www.grtl.org) promotes respect and effective legal protection for all human life from its earliest biological beginning through natural death. GRTL is one of the number of organizations that have adopted Personhood (www.personhood.net) as the most effective pro-life strategy for the 21st century.

Courtesy: Christian Newswire

CHICAGO – On Friday, April 3, 2009, The Thomas More Society filed a Hate Crime charge in an Amended Federal Civil Complaint against an abortion clinic proprietor and ally in Rockford, Illinois as part of an ongoing court battle.

Rockford resident Keith A. Sterkeson verbally attacked Eric Nelson and Kevin Rilott calling Nelson, “A nigger, a nigger. You are a worthless degenerate nigger. Oh, you are a nigger! You are a degenerate and empty skull, thinking Jesus is going to save you. You’re a Nigger. Your mother was a nigger.”

“Here, defendant Sterkeson, with support from clinic proprietor Wayne Webster, was spewing forth hateful rhetoric – accusing Nelson of being a ‘half breed’ whose mother was African-American – on the public sidewalk in a loud and raucous voice.” Stated Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel at the Thomas More Society. “Sterkeson’s uttering such hateful speech against racial minorities, while he was perpetrating violent crimes is precisely what Illinois has condemned as ‘hate crime.’”

On several occasions recorded on video, Sterkeson has hit Nelson and shoved Rillot, calling them “faggots.” Sterkeson went on to say, “You really you are f-ing butt baby, aren’t you? You’re a half breed f-ing nigger. You’re a half-breed Nigger.”

“Keith Sterkeson regularly harangues Nelson, Rillot and their peers with racist epithets, anti-religious bigotry and homophobic slurs on the public sidewalk outside the Rockford abortion clinic owned by Wayne Webster,” Brejcha said. The amended Federal Civil Complaint alleges that Webster monitors police radio calls and warns Sterkeson to leave the scene when Nelson and Rillot call the police, aiding and abetting Sterkeson.

According to the Illinois Hate Crime statute, someone commits a hate crime when they commit assault or battery for motivated by race, religion, ancestry, gender, and sexual orientation. A Hate Crime is a class 4 Felony for a first offense and up to a class 2 Felony for subsequent offense. The victim of the attack is entitled a civil action for damages, injunction and related relief. The Illinois State Court can award actual damages for both emotional distress and punitive damages.

After viewing the video footage, Brejcha stated, “This is explosive stuff but we mustn’t cover it up or look the other way. Instead, the best disinfectant is sunlight. Now that this egregious bias has come so glaringly to light, it must be condemned, punished, and suppressed.”

Contacts for the Media

Tom Brejcha, Esq.
Chief Counsel, Thomas More Society
312-590-3408 cell, 312-782-1680

Thomas Ciesielka
TC Public Relations
312-422-1333

Courtesy: Christian Newswire

LaBarbera, who is also on the board of Protect Marriage Illinois, issued the following statement regarding the court’s decision:

“Today Iowa becomes the first state not on either of the nation’s two liberal coasts to impose homosexual ‘marriage’ or its mischievous twin, ‘civil unions,’ on its citizens through judicial tyranny. To call this decision bankrupt is to understate its perniciousness. The evil genius of the pro-sodomy movement is that it targets noble institutions like marriage and adoption in the name of ‘rights,’ and then perverts them to normalize aberrant behaviors.

“Homosexual ‘marriage’ is wrong because homosexual behavior itself is wrong and destructive – as proved by its role in the early deaths of countless ‘gay’ men. We must shake loose of the secularists’ and libertarians’ amoral nonchalance regarding ‘same-sex marriage’ by asking questions like this: how exactly would two men consummate their ‘gay marriage’? Answer: by engaging in what one Founding Father, Noah Webster, writing in saner times, rightly defined as a “crime against nature.”

“‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,’ said abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and the evidence keeps pouring in that the entire homosexualist agenda is at war – not just with our nation’s Biblical heritage – but the freedoms that made the United States of America great and blessed among nations. When the courts order society to effectively pretend that changeable sexual misbehavior is a ‘civil right,’ the law itself becomes perverted by punishing people of faith for their proper opposition toward deviant sex. The battle between ‘gay rights’ and religious freedom is a ‘zero-sum’ game – as even lesbian Georgetown law professor Chai Feldblum admits.

I’m afraid that the pro-family movement – eager to provide secular, public-policy arguments against “gay marriage” – has failed to convey the monstrous evil of expanding, state-sanctioned homosexualism in our midst. Our Creator is pure, perfect and holy, and homosexual behavior is diametrically opposed to His will for people’s lives and His purpose for sex within the healthy boundaries of marriage, for the procreation of children. This same God graciously provides a way out of this sinful lifestyle through His son Jesus Christ, a path many former homosexuals have taken – including those now living in real (man-woman) marriages.

It is high time for pastors, in Iowa and across the land, to shake off their stifling, politically correct timidity and again become the prophetic voices for Truth they were called to be: by boldly warning Americans about the perils of our growing accommodation with the sins of proud homosexuality, and sex outside marriage in general.

Contact: Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth about Homosexuality, 630-717-7631, americansfortruth at comcast dot net

Courtesy: ChristianNewswire

On the morning of December 14, 2008, Liangren Church was raided by more than 50 officials from SARA and the Public Security Bureau (PSB) during a Sunday service. Authorities issued a “Notice of Administrative Penalty” charging Pastor Wang Dao with organizing an illegal gathering. Officials demanded that the household gatherings be stopped.

On December 18, Pastor Wang filed an administrative lawsuit against SARA, in Guangdong province, requesting the court to demand SARA to withdraw its Notice of Administrative Penalty. The court accepted the filing and on December 25, the court sent a “Notification of Acceptance of Administrative Case” to Pastor Wang. ChinaAid, as well as house church Christians across China, are watching to see how the court will respond in this case which could set a precedent for other cases of persecution.

Links:

Read SARA’s “Decision Statement of Administrative Penalty” against Pastor Wang Dao.

Read Haizhu District People’s Court of Guangzhou’s “Notification of Acceptance of Administrative Case.”

Read the List of Submitted Pieces of Evidence (Plaintiff)

Read the Notification of Administrative Penalty sent to Pastor Wang Dao.

Read Liangren House Church’s public statement on December 18.

Courtesy: ChristianNewswire

According to the Associated Press, the ruling does not end the case and an administrative law judge still must decide on a remedy for the parties.

New Jersey law prohibits discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation. The privately-owned camp ground, which is operated by United Methodists, points to The United Methodist Church’s official disapproval of same-sex unions.

New Jersey officials and newspapers have denounced the Ocean Grove Camp Ground Association for not allowing a same-sex ceremony at a boardwalk pavilion primarily used for worship oriented events. The camp ground was founded by Methodists in the 19th century as a place for spiritual revival.

IRD Director of UMAction Mark Tooley responded,  ”United Methodist Church leaders everywhere should stand up for Ocean Grove’s religious and civil liberties when it attempts to uphold United Methodist beliefs. Currently, United Methodist churches are prohibited by church law from celebrating same-sex unions. How much longer before the intrusive arm of government attempts to override church policies in the name of ‘tolerance’?

“The Ocean Grove Camp Ground Association has not limited the use of its boardwalk pavilion to any person; rather it has prohibited some behavior, according to the principles of the United Methodist Church.

“The Ocean Grove controversy is yet another example of how pleas for ‘tolerance’ too often morph into new and insidious forms of intolerance.

“Not just United Methodists but all persons concerned about religious and civil liberty should speak out in defense of the Ocean Grove Camp Ground Association.”

www.TheIRD.org

Courtesy: ChristianNewswire