Jim and Beth Walder, the owners of Timber Creek Bed & Breakfast near Paxton, Illinois, have been fined $80,000 by the state Human Rights Commission after being singled out in 2011 by homosexual men demanding their same-sex ceremony be officiated in the Walder's facility. The Commission ordered the Walders to "cease and desist" from quoting the Bible to same-sex couples and welcome ceremonies of abomination in their facility in accordance with the Human Rights Act and pay the homosexuals $30,000 plus another $50,000 to the ACLU for legal fees.
"To be absolutely clear, we cannot host a same-sex wedding even though fines and penalties have been imposed by the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Our policy will not be changing. . . . We are not looking for a fight, but when immoral laws are purposely passed (or deemed constitutional) that blatantly conflict with God's Word and when the heavy hand of government tries to force us as Christians to embrace sinful behavior, we have a moral obligation to resist and stand for Biblical truth: 'It is better to obey God than men.' Acts 5:29." -- Jim Walder
[Michael R. Robinson, an] administrative law judge with the [Illinois] commission ordered TimberCreek Bed & Breakfast to pay $15,000 each to Todd and Mark Wathen for emotional distress.
TimberCreek, located about 100 miles south of Chicago, must also pay $50,000 in attorneys' fees and $1,218.35 in costs.
The Wathens had contacted TimberCreek in 2011 as they looked for possible locations for the ceremony.
TimberCreek owner Jim Walder had responded to the Wathens' inquiry with an email that said "homosexuality is immoral and unnatural," according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
In September, [Judge] Robinson ruled that Jim Walder violated the civil rights of the Wathens when he denied them the opportunity to hold their civil-union ceremony at the B&B he co-owns with his wife — the TimberCreek Bed-and-Breakfast west of Paxton.
The landmark ruling marked the first time that the Human Rights Commission made clear that businesses in Illinois must serve the entire public and cannot pick and choose based on their personal religious views.
Following a public hearing held last November in Springfield to consider damages to be awarded to the couple, ACLU attorneys for the Wathens filed briefs to support the couple's request for a "cease and desist" order and for Walder to pay damages for emotional distress, attorneys' fees and costs. Lawyers for the B&B failed to respond in a timely matter, leading to the judge's ruling.
The Wathens said they never contacted another B&B [other than Walder's]. They ended up being wed in a small ceremony on June 4, 2011, in their back yard . . .
Walder said in an emailed statement Tuesday that his B&B will not host civil-union ceremonies or same-sex weddings, regardless of last week’s ruling.
“Evidently, religious freedom does not exist within the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act or the Illinois Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.
“In our opinion, neither the state of Illinois nor the U.S. Supreme Court has the authority to tamper with the definition of marriage. God alone created marriage and declared thousands of years ago that it was to be between a man and a woman. Not two men. Not two women. We may be out of step with an increasingly anti-Christian culture, but we are in compliance with God’s design, and that is what ultimately matters.”
University of Illinois law Professor Robin Wilson, an expert on the intersection of religious freedom and same-sex marriage, said the penalties the state could impose upon TimberCreek Bed-and-Breakfast owner Jim Walder include placing a lien on his personal estate.
"Every time he refuses," Wilson said, "the state can fine him again."
If Walder opts to fight the state ruling, Wilson said, he must file an appeal within 14 days. Since it was made by a single judge, Walder could request a rehearing by either a three-person panel or the full commission within 30 days. If six of the 13 commissioners grant a rehearing, the original order is nullified, pending the results of the rehearing.
If that doesn't go well, Walder "can jump right back over to the appellate court," Wilson said. In either case, though, "he's got hanging around his neck factual findings that they are going to assume are true," she said.
We politely disagree. God is not confused. His Word clearly illustrates and declares that marriage is between one man and one woman. It also labels homosexuality as an abominable sin throughout the Old and New Testaments. God's Word is the ultimate authority, infallible, and unchanging. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word cannot be changed by a vote of the Illinois General Assembly when it passed the Civil Unions Act or the Gay Marriage Bill. Marriage is only appropriate God's way. Sexuality is only appropriate God's way.
Consequently, we cannot host civil unions or gay marriages at TimberCreek Bed & Breakfast. It is not an issue of fairness or equality, but an issue of right and wrong. We cannot be part of what God condemns. Be assured that we are not lawless, hateful, judgmental, bigoted, or activists by any definition. We did not initiate the present controversy. We are not the ones who voted to change the 6,000 year-old definition of marriage. We are just small business owners trying to be consistent in following God's Word and living it out practically in our lives. And we are not alone. . . .
Paul Wolscht, abandoned his wife Maria and seven children, then subsequently was "adopted" into a sexually-deviant family of a polyamorous woman with her male partner (a homosexual pedophile who sodomizes Wolscht as if Wolscht were a young boy), so Wolscht, believing he's a prepubescent girl named Stefonknee, claims the label of "trans-aged transgender" — and this is being embraced as legitimate!
“Well, I have a mummy and a daddy… adopted mummy and daddy who are totally comfortable with me being a little girl. And their children, and their grandchildren, are totally supportive. In fact, her youngest granddaughter… When I was eight. A year ago, I was eight, and she was seven. And she said to me, ‘I want you to be the little sister, so I’ll be nine.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t mind going to six.’ So I’ve been six ever since… But, we have a great time. We color, we do kids stuff. It’s called play therapy. No medication, no suicide thoughts. And I just get to play.” -- Paul Wolscht
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Paul was married to his wife and was a father to their seven kids for 23 years
She says the older couple accept her chosen identity and she spends her time wearing pretty dresses and playing with their grandchildren.
After splitting from Maria, she moved to Toronto to live as woman and began hormone replacement therapy in 2009.
But then her life began to fall apart. She lost her job as a mechanic after customers couldn't accept her being transgender, slept in a homeless shelter and attempted suicide.
Wolscht says: “I can’t deny I was married. I can’t deny I have children.
“But I’ve moved forward now and I’ve gone back to being a child.
Aged 46, after 23 years of marriage, Stefonknee decided she was transgender.
Stefonknee’s wife told her to either “stop being trans or leave,” prompting her decision to move out of the family home, reports The Sun.
Stefonknee now has a job ploughing snow and says she is being accepted in a way she never expected before after her “fresh start” now she can finally be “exactly who she is”.
Stefonknee, who previously went by the name Paul, worked as a mechanic and was a dedicated member of the Catholic church, says she was trans before she got married to Maria after high school, but wasn’t educated about what that meant, and was terrified of being different.
. . . Stefonknee said she first realized she was different from other boys as early as age six, because she was always jealous of the girls at school who got to wear new dresses on picture day.
Stefonknee, who then went by her given name Paul, began dating a woman named Maria in high school, and they later married. Maria was surprised by Paul’s love of women’s clothing, but was initially supportive, and even bought him an outfit.
‘The next day, she bought me a black pleated skirt, a white blouse, and a grey camisole… so then I had an ally.’
But while Maria was supportive of her husband’s cross-dressing, she did not accept him as transgender.
. . . Stefonknee has now found acceptance at Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where much of the congregation is made up of LGBT members who have formed a special support group just for her.
Once again, the liberal western media came away disappointed from Pope Francis' trip to several African nations after he ignored the din of their appeals to condemn Ugandans' rejection of the Gay Agenda and condemnation of homosexual behavior. Alas, the media cried as their first "gay pope" dashed their sexual revolutionary hopes.
"I see this particular pope as more progressive but I wouldn't call him an ally like Obama." -- Frank Mugisha, Ugandan homosexualist
. . . In Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal and where attacks against gays have forced many to seek refuge abroad or lead secret lives at home, gay leaders nevertheless hope Francis when he comes on Friday will weigh in with a firm message of tolerance.
Simon Lokodo, a Ugandan ethics minister who publicly condemns homosexuals, said any statement on tolerance for homosexuals would be unpalatable to most Ugandans.
At a recent Vatican meeting on family issues, African cardinals were at the forefront in blocking the church's overtures to gays and in insisting that the Catholic Church as a whole denounce this "ideological colonization," saying wealthy countries have no right to impose their ideas on poor countries with different cultural views.
Stronger anti-gay legislation [in Uganda] was supported by local church leaders who said it was necessary to protect poor African children from Western homosexuals who lure them with money.
Pope Francis traveled to Uganda's holiest shrine on Saturday, paying tribute to 19th century Christian martyrs killed for their faith, including for protecting young boys in the royal court from [homosexual] abuse by the king.
Twenty-five Anglicans and 22 Catholic converts where killed during the persecutions, mostly by being burned to death, between 1884 and 1887 on the orders of King Buganda Mwanga II.
The most famous of the Catholic converts was Charles Lwanga, a prefect in the royal court who was in charge of the boy pages and was killed because he tried to protect the children from the sexual advances of the king.
"They did this in dangerous times," the pope said during a Mass celebrated from a concrete island on an artificial lake on the shrine complex outside the capital Kampala.
The story of the 45 [19th century] martyrs is relevant to tensions over gay and lesbian rights in several African nations, including Uganda, because according to one version of the story, these young Christian men were executed after spurning the advances of a traditional king.
What’s beyond dispute is that between 1885 and 1887, on the orders of King Mwanga II, 22 young Catholics and 23 Anglicans were killed after being ruthlessly tortured. Some were burned alive, while others were ripped apart with a spear, savaged by feral dogs, or viciously dismembered.
At a press conference in Kampala on Friday, the relationship between the martyrs’ legacy and the current situation vis-à-vis gays and lesbians was addressed by local organizers of the papal trip.
Instead of any reference to gay rights, Francis used Saturday’s homily to praise the martyrs for their willingness to pass on the faith in times of difficulty.
The Pope was leaving after a three-day official maiden visit to Uganda on his trip to Africa. His visit started in Kenya, where he was for three days, and will end in Central African Republic (CAR) where he will be for another two days.
But how did the Western media cover Pope Francis' visit to Uganda?
CNN seemed to focus on the gay issue and one of their stories was: Pope faces challenge in Uganda, where gays are under attack [see excerpt below], a headline that left many Ugandans wondering why the channel trivialised what many called a historic visit.
Other media seemed to pick up on that line with The Guardian of UK saying: Pope Francis passes up chance to condemn Uganda's anti-gays, and The Independent of UK writing: Persecuted Ugandan gays call for help from Pope Francis on visit.
"[Pope Francis'] stand is simply hypocritical. He must take a stand as a leader. I don't believe in being lukewarm," says Pastor Solomon Male. "You tell the people that this is the truth, this is the way. Homosexuality is dangerous."
Ugandan [homosexual] rights groups watched in horror as a version of the anti-gay bill was passed in parliament in late 2013. And despite intense pressure from the international community, President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill into law in February of the following year.
Shortly afterward, Museveni told CNN that homosexuality is "unnatural" and not a human right.
"They're disgusting. What sort of people are they?" he said. "I never knew what they were doing. I've been told recently that what they do is terrible. Disgusting. But I was ready to ignore that if there was proof that that's how [a man] is born, abnormal. But now the proof is not there."
In the end the law was thrown out on a technicality by the constitutional court -- a move many see as an effort by the President to avoid donor withdrawals while saving face domestically.
But the main sponsor of the bill, MP David Bahati, said lawmakers are planning to bring it back to parliament in a new form.
Yesterday, the Vatican fired Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa of the International Theological Commission at the Vatican for publicly "coming out as gay" on the eve of a 3-week synod of bishops from across the globe. Today, Pope Francis again, for the umpteenth time, reaffirmed the Roman Catholic opposition to any redefinition of marriage.
"The decision [by Charamsa] to make such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the synod appears very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod assembly to undue media pressure." -- Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Francis presided at a solemn Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to open the meeting, known as a synod, on the theme of the family in the modern world.
"This is God’s dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self," he said.
He also spoke of the "true meaning of the couple and of human sexuality in God's plan," a clear reference to heterosexual marriage.
One key topic at the synod will be how to reach out to Catholics who have divorced and remarried in civil ceremonies.
The Vatican took action after Krzysztof Charamsa, a mid-level official in its doctrine office, came out in newspaper interviews in Italy and Poland saying he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and that he was in love with a man whom he identified as his boyfriend.
Charamsa, 43, initially planned a press conference in front of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith's office, but moved it to central Rome after the Vatican action. He was joined by his companion, identified only as Eduard.
Charamsa told reporters that the timing of his disclosure was not related to the bishops meeting on the family, but said he hoped it might add "a Christian voice" to the synod that is expected to address how the Church can better minister to the homosexual faithful.
"I have to say who I am. I am a gay priest. I am a happy and proud gay priest," he told Gazeta Wyborcza.
A first meeting of bishops ended last October with no consensus on how to better welcome gays and divorced and civilly remarried Catholics in the church. Conservatives insisted that Catholic doctrine is clear and unchanging. Progressives acknowledged the doctrine but sought wiggle room in pastoral practice.
Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican's finance manager who is firmly in the conservative camp, predicted little more than a reaffirmation of the status quo would emerge in Round 2, albeit with perhaps better explanation as to why the status quo exists.
"It's quite impossible for there to be any change in the church's teaching on Communion for the divorced and remarried," Pell said on the sidelines of a conference last week about helping gays overcome their homosexual tendencies.
The conference was one of many initiatives launched by conservatives in the run-up to the synod aimed at reasserting traditional Catholic teaching on homosexuality, which holds that gays are to be respected but that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered."
During a mass to mark the three-week meeting of Roman Catholic bishops, the pope delivered a homily on "solitude, love between man and woman, and the family".
He referred to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, as a bedrock for understanding human relationships.
"God," the pope said, "joins the hearts of two people who love one another... (and) joins them together in unity and indissolubility."
Homosexuality is just one of a wide range of topics to be discussed at the synod, and some prelates have called for it not be included in the programme, according to Church sources.
"Gay rights" attorneys knew the likely result of jailing Rowan County (Kentucky) Clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. They explained to reporters why they were NOT asking the judge for jail time: "We don’t want to make her a martyr."
Satan himself knows that Christianity grows and is strengthened through the persecution of those who stand strong and faithfully endure suffering in Christ's name.
"She [Kim Davis] won't bow, I promise you. I'm just an old, dumb, country hillbilly, but I know God." -- Joe Davis, husband
"What we end up having is the first example of the criminalization of a Christian for believing in the traditional definition of marriage." -- Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate
For the second straight day, Kim Davis awoke in the Carter County Detention Center, put there by U.S. District Judge David Bunning for her refusal to follow a court injunction requiring her to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Carter County Detention Center in a "Free Kim Davis" rally on Saturday and prayed for jailed Rowan County clerk, who was locked up just a few hundred feet away.
As Davis' mugshot flew across the Internet, it became clear that the gay rights movement must confront the idea that Christianity is under siege, said Kenneth Upton, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, a law firm specializing in LGBT issues.
"This is what the other side wants," Upton said, pointing to an image of Davis in handcuffs. "This is a biblical story, to go to jail for your faith. We don't want to make her a martyr to the people who are like her, who want to paint themselves as victims."
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing couples she turned away, asked that she be fined rather than imprisoned, in part to avoid "a false persecution story," said Dan Canon, one of the attorneys. But U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning ordered her to jail anyway, reasoning that she would be unmoved by monetary penalties.
"I think he was trying to make an example of Kim Davis, and he may well do so," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which lobbies against gay marriage. "Courage breeds courage, especially when it comes from unlikely places. She may be the example that sparks a firestorm of resistance across this country."
. . . Perkins and others on the religious right promise there are dozens of Kim Davises ready to go to jail in defense of their religious freedoms.
Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver said after meeting with Davis in jail Friday that "she is a prisoner of her conscience." He quoted the letter King wrote from his Birmingham jail cell in 1963, rallying civil rights activists to challenge unjust laws and pay the consequences if necessary to force peaceful change.
He described Davis as the first American imprisoned for a religious objection to gay marriage.
I understand the sense of vindication [by homosexualists] in having the power of law finally behind the judge's ruling. But it also does more to hamstring the advancement of marriage equality than it does to help it. After all, it is the law of the land now; the next effort should be to help normalize the idea of marriage equality within the culture and to mend the damaged relationships between those of us who advocated for it and those who did - or even continue to - resist it.
But perhaps the most important reason this is not good for the cause of marriage equality is that it's precisely the kind of fuel fundamentalists have sought to feed the fires of Christian persecution and martyrdom. Just today, Davis' lawyer compared her jailing on contempt charges to the mass imprisonment and genocide of Jewish people in Nazi Germany.
It's the job of the rest of us, however, who don't feel as the fundamentalists do to help create the climate in which it can be not only imagined; it can be experienced, contrary to any rhetoric being spewed from any pulpits or pundit outlets. As I see it, living out a different reality and choosing the path of Jesus is the best possible way to help neutralize the continued efforts of some to throw themselves on the ideological pyre, even if none actually exists.
Same-sex "marriage" was imposed on the nation by a 5-4 Supreme Court judgment authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy. The arrest of Kim Davis on "contempt of court" charges was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning, a George W. Bush appointment who is the son of former moderate Republican senator and baseball great Jim Bunning of Kentucky.
"Those who are persecuting Kim Davis believe that Christians should not serve in public office," [Texas U.S Senator Ted] Cruz said.
His analysis is shared by former Sen. Rick Santorum. He warned, "More and more people of faith will face the penalties Ms. Davis is now encountering if we do not make the necessary accommodations so people can not just worship but live out their faith in their lives."
"I think it's absurd to put someone in jail for exercising their religious liberty," Sen. Paul, R-KY, told CNN on Thursday afternoon. "I think it's a real mistake to be doing this."
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida agreed, “There should be a way to protect the religious freedom and conscience rights of individuals working in the office.”
“Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith,” Cruz began. “This is wrong. This is not America… I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to choose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court opinion.”
Additionally, the Republican presidential candidate attacked both Republicans and Democrats that are calling for Davis’s resignation. “They are defending a hypocritical standard. Where is the call for the mayor of San Francisco to resign for creating a sanctuary city? … Where is the call for President Obama to resign for ignoring and defying our immigration laws, our welfare reform laws, and even his own Obamacare?”
Finally, he called “upon every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty to stand with Kim Davis” and oppose the state-encouraged “persecution” of Christians.
Huckabee has seized on the issue, setting up a petition on his campaign website calling for Davis's release that has already drawn more than 55,000 signatures, and has called Davis's case an example of the "criminalization of Christianity in our country."
"We must defend religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny," he said in a statement. "I am proud of Kim for standing strong for her beliefs. Who will be next? Pastors? Photographers? Caterers? Florists? This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty."
Huckabee also slammed the judge's decision to remand Davis to custody "reckless" and "appalling," saying it undermines the Constitution.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said on Wednesday that a Kentucky county clerk had a right to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite an order from a federal judge to do so.
"I don't think anyone should have to choose between following their conscience and religious beliefs and giving up their job and facing financial sanctions. I think it's wrong to force Christian individuals or business owners. We are seeing government today discriminate against whether it's clerks, florists, musicians or others. I think that's wrong. I think you should be able to keep your job and follow your conscience," he said. "I absolutely do believe people have a First Amendment right, a constitutional right. I don't think the court can take that away."
"The United States didn't create religious liberty. Religious liberty created the United States of America. It's the reason we are here today. This is an essential freedom and an essential right and I don't think you give up this right by simply taking a job."
Jindal's comments differ from those of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another Republican presidential contender, who said that Davis should comply with the law or resign.
From "Persecuted" sermon by Dr. Charles Stanley, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta, Georgia 10/20/13
Why does Christianity elicit such a negative reaction? [Because a] righteous life is a threat to a dark world. Christians who live in obedience to God are lights who expose the darkness of sinful practices.
Although persecution is meant to hurt and silence Christians, God uses it to accomplish His good purposes by the way it:
Tests our loyalty. The evidence of our faithfulness to Christ is not found in what we say but in what we do when fiery ordeals come our way. That’s when we either stay true to God, or we seek the world’s acceptance.
Enables us to encourage others undergoing persecution. When we’ve been mistreated and yet have experienced God’s help and strength to endure, we’re able to encourage others who are presently walking that same road of suffering.
Demonstrates our faith in God’s Word. When we truly believe the Scriptures, we’ll willingly suffer persecution knowing that God will make us adequate for every situation.
Jesus accurately predicted that His followers would be hated, yet they would stay and endure if it meant being true to Christ (Matt. 10:22). No matter how bad opposition becomes, we have a promise that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not even persecution (Rom. 8:35-39). When the Lord calls us to stay in a difficult situation, we can respond properly by:
Standing strong. The strength to withstand persecution comes from the Lord. We stand strong in Him, based on everything He’s said in His Word (Eph. 6:10).
Enduring opposition. This means we abide under the persecution. Or in today’s language, we hang in there and rely on God’s strength until He moves us out of the situation.
Loving and praying for our enemies. This is perhaps the most difficult assignment, yet it’s what Christ commands (Matt. 5:44). We’re to pray that Jesus might be made known to our enemies through our responses to mistreatment. Unbelievers can’t understand why Christians exhibit strength, love, and forgiveness in the midst of ill treatment. Wherever the church has endured persecution, it has grown because people see how believers respond, and want that kind of life as well. The worst way to react to persecution is to stop talking about Jesus for fear of upsetting people. However, we need to unsettle them by courageously and clearly sharing the truth because without Christ, they’re on their way to everlasting separation from God. One day all their enjoyments and pursuits will vanish, and they’ll have to stand before a holy, righteous God. We want them to know the only One who can change their lives — both now and for all eternity.
A newly-published study by homosexual advocates, funded by the Pentagon, estimates that only 188 of the 2,136,779 Active and Selected Reserve personnel currently serving — less than a hundredth of one percent — will be in need of medical treatment annually for sexual confusion. However, as President Obama was forcing acceptance of his transformed, Gay Agenda military, claims were made of several tens of thousands of transgenders secretly serving. For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
The cost to provide transition-related care to transgender people serving in the military will be “too low to warrant consideration in the current policy debate,” a new report published in The New England Journal of Medicine found.
Dr. Aaron Belkin, founding director of the Palm Center, a research institute that’s focused on LGBT issues, estimates the cost of offering transition-related care will amount to $5.6 million annually, or 22 cents per transgender service member per month.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced last month that the military would be lifting its ban on transgender service members. . . .
The sum amounts to just 22 cents per service member per month, said Aaron Belkin, an academic at San Francisco State University, adding that the military's annual healthcare budget is currently $47.8 billion.
Last month, defense chief Ash Carter backed the admission to the U.S. military of openly transgender people for the first time, setting up a working group to study the issue "with the presumption that transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact".
Some criticized Carter's decision. "I'm not sure how paying for transgender surgery for soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines makes our country safer," Mike Huckabee, a presidential candidate, said in the first Republican debate last Thursday.
By estimating how many closeted transgender people currently serve in the military, and looking at what has happened in Australia, which already funds transition-related care, Belkin predicts around 188 service members would get care annually.
The article, "Caring for Our Transgender Troops — The Negligible Cost of Transition-Related Care," was written by Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, which researches issues regarding sexual orientation issues in the military.
The relatively cheap treatment should allay concerns about the cost of rescinding the ban, Belkin said in an interview.
"I was particularly surprised at the number in the context of what the military overall spends on health care," Belkin said.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a think tank which focuses on LGBT issues, authored the paper. At its inception, the Palm Center was called the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military before changing its name in 2006. . . .
In August 2013, Lee Stafford and Jared Ellers filed a complaint against Betty and Richard Odgaard, owners of Görtz Haus Gallery gift shop and bistro in Grimes, Iowa, because the Odgaards said it would be against their Mennonite faith to rent their building for Stafford's and Ellers's same-sex "wedding." The Odgaards paid the homosexuals $5,000 to settle the complaint and the Odgaards filed a lawsuit against the Iowa Civil Rights Commission over the state's anti-Christian laws, but the homosexualists' publicity hate campaign against the Odgaards has chased away virtually all customers.
“They didn’t come in because the people who are against us are more vocal than the people who are in our court.” -- Richard Odgaard
Betty Odgaard said after the complaint was publicized that the gallery's gift shop and bistro have always served gays and lesbians, but that hosting a same-sex wedding would be against the family's religious beliefs.
Odgaard said the Gortz Haus has typically hosted 15 to 20 weddings on a yearly basis. Additionally, the couple will stop catering and providing flowers to all weddings. The couple made the decision voluntarily because continuing to hold weddings could make them a target for future discrimination lawsuits, Odgaard said.
The Odgaards have dismissed a lawsuit they filed against the Iowa Civil Rights Commission that claimed their religious freedom was being violated, said Eric Baxter, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who represented the Odgaards. After refusing to host a wedding for Stafford and Ellers, the Odgaards became a target for "hateful and threatening emails," according to the lawsuit they filed. Betty Odgaard told the Register in October 2013 that people were boycotting the gallery.
[The Odgaards religious liberties] were overruled, based on a 2007 change to Iowa law that made it illegal for a business that's open to the public to discriminate based on sexual orientation. . . .
A religious belief defense could have been helpful for the Odgaards, who've seen the lunch crowd at the Gortz Haus' bistro cut by half, which they attribute to the notoriety over their stance. . . .
The Odgaards' case was publicized internationally, and they say they got "venomous" mail and phone calls from people labeling them as bigots. The media firestorm erupted just before the Iowa State Fair, and Betty Odgaard remembers fearing that people would recognize the couple and lash out as they strolled the fairgrounds. She fell into a deep depression for eight months, she said.
The publicity sometimes left Dick Odgaard looking over his shoulder.
In 2002, Betty and Richard Odgaard remodeled an old Lutheran church in Grimes, turning it into the Gortz Haus Gallery. Their troubles began in 2013, when the couple refused to host a homosexual wedding at the gallery.
"We got a lot of phone calls in the beginning," Mrs. Odgaard recalls, "and they said, Heard what you did. We'll never be back again because you're haters and bigots. So, yes, we saw a decrease in our business immediately."
But the couple is undeterred and now has a ministry called God's Original Design. Their plan is to use billboards to proclaim natural marriage as God's design.
Richard Odgaard and his wife, Betty, the owners of Görtz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa, say they will close their business completely by the end of August, about two years after they told a gay couple from Des Moines their facility cannot be rented for the wedding.
The Odgaards see a 2009 decision of the Iowa Supreme Court as the beginning of their violation of religious freedom. "I think if people in Iowa would have had a chance to vote on this, it would have never have been this way. People in Iowa are pretty conservative," Betty was quoted as saying.
The Christian couple also plans to use the building for its original function, by turning it back into a church. "That would be the most wonderful option," Betty said.
The couple says that’s because pending litigation prevented them from being able to speak out, further isolating them from their community.
The Odgaards also feel they never got their day in court, and had the case turned out differently, they might not have been driven out of business.
“Now the precedent has been set,” Richard said. “The administrative process has demonstrated what it will do if this happens [again], so it’s a matter of setting somebody up and collecting money. It’s that simple. It’s all they have to do.”
Gay Agenda advocates who set out to persuade 12,000 Californians to favor same-sex "marriage" via face-to-face canvassing now admit that a study proving their effectiveness was bogus, and have asked the journal Science to retract its publication of the highly touted, but fraudulent propaganda.
"To encourage participation in the survey, respondents were claimed to have been given cash payments to enroll, to refer family and friends, and to complete multiple surveys." -- Marcia McNutt, Science editor-in-chief
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Following weeks of academic scrutiny, Science magazine is retracting an article it published five months ago on a study that claimed people’s minds can be changed about same-sex marriage after a brief conversation with someone who is gay.
Science said that the attorney for Michael LaCour, the UCLA graduate student who was the paper’s lead author, told the publication that he made false claims about the study, including misrepresenting survey incentives and sponsors.
Columbia political science professor Donald Green, who was the other author of the study, has already published his own retraction of the article.
The study, published by the journal Science in December, came under question this month when a pair of graduate students trying to follow up on the work found evidence that the data had been misrepresented.
The study’s senior author, Donald P. Green, a prominent political scientist at Columbia University, asked that the study be retracted last week, after his co-author, Michael J. LaCour, a graduate student in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, declined to furnish the raw data he had used to reach his conclusions.
The students who flagged possible problems with the research, Joshua Kalla and David Broockman, then at the University of California, Berkeley, had tried to conduct their own version of the original study.
They asked canvassers with a personal stake in a contentious gay rights issue to try to sway voters’ opinions. But the researchers could not get the same level of participation from voters that Mr. LaCour had reported.
The [Science] article received widespread news coverage from most major outlets, including The Associated Press, The New York Times and the Washington Post.
The article detailed a study which concluded that openly gay canvassers were far more effective than straight canvassers in shifting voters’ views toward support for same-sex marriage.
The study claimed that opinion changes produced by the straight canvassers tended to fade within a few weeks and those voters reverted to their previous, less favorable views of same-sex marriage. It said that the changes in viewpoints produced by the gay canvassers persisted nine months later.
As national mentoring coordinator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Leadership Lab, [Laura Gardiner] and her colleagues had toiled to train 1,000 volunteers who had fanned out across Los Angeles and beyond, lobbying voters in precincts that had cast ballots against gay rights [in the 2008 Proposition 8 referendum].
The idea was to push back against prejudice, house by house — and over the years, the group's internal evaluations indicated, the Leadership Lab had gotten quite good at changing voter minds.
The study had excited readers well beyond Gardiner's circle for its surprising conclusion that a single doorstep chat could prompt a skeptic to embrace marriage equality. It even reported a “spillover” effect that extended to household members who didn't talk to canvassers.
Although the findings contradicted a body of research that said firmly held opinions weren't easily swayed by lobbying and political advertising, they seemed to confirm an idea people were happy to embrace — that honest conversation and open minds could bring people together.
The [now-fraudulent] study results purported to show that after speaking with canvassers, people were more inclined to support same-sex marriage, an increase from 39% to 47%. One year later, support for gay marriage was 14 percentage points higher among people who were lobbied by a gay person and 3 percentage points higher among those who were canvassed by a straight person, the study said.
The mainstream media always give top billing to the sexual orientation of news makers, except when the news reflects poorly on sexually deviant minorities. A case in point is the fact that Amtrak's homosexual engineer Brandon Bostian, responsible for this week's train derailment in Philadelphia, is documented as a Gay Agenda activist.
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
The Midtown Gazette in Manhattan interviewed Bostonian in 2012 at a rally for equal rights in New York.
That article said,
Brandon Bostian, a recent transplant to New York, attended the event. Bostian was active in the [California] Proposition 8 fight, which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, in San Francisco. While he is still interested in working for marriage equality, Bostian admitted that he is less enthusiastic this time around. “It’s kind of insulting to have to beg people for my right to marry,” he said. “I feel like we shouldn’t even have to have this fight.”
Tasha Bartholomew, the spokesperson for Caltrain and Sam Trans confirmed that 32-year-old Brandon Bostian did operate Caltrain trains several years ago, as an Amtrak employee.
The Tennessee native used to live in Memphis, and graduated from University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006 with a degree in business management and administration.
During his studies he was a member of the Acacia fraternity, according to his Linkedin page, which allegedly has ties to Freemasonry.
He also worked as a cashier at Target between 2005 and 2006.
Bostian is a gay-rights activist who previously lived in San Francisco before moving to New York. In 2012, he was interviewed by the Midtown Gazette, which covers parts of Manhattan, during the campaign for marriage equality.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Mutter responded to the National Transportation Safety Board briefing on Wednesday evening by saying that it proved 'reckless driving by the engineer' in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
After Brian Klawiter, owner of Dieseltec in Grandville, Michigan posted on Facebook that he wouldn't tolerate overt homosexuality in his diesel repair shop, his building and vehicles were vandalized and the city cited his business for non-compliance.
"Well, folks, as we predicted, it didn't take long for the ugly face of the homosexual movement to present itself. What started out with 'mere' death threats against myself and my family and homosexuals spamming my Facebook page with gay porn shots, has escalated to physical violence. See the pics below. We called police to file a report this morning, and City of Grandville Officer John Davis responded.The officer arrived, looked around, took a few notes, chuckled, and said 'turn it in to the insurance company.' He gave us a Police Report number 15-2779, but did not take the rock which has a fingerprint on it.The homosexual agenda is evil, and is prepared to destroy anyone who gets in its way, or who calls homosexuality a sin. Today it's us; tomorrow, it could be you." -- Brian Klawiter, Christian citizen
"We're not intimidated by it," said Klawiter on Tuesday. "I think it's childish behavior. I think for a community of people that want to display tolerance, I don't think that's the right way to do it."
In an interview, Klawiter said, "I feel anti-gay is what lead every to all of this hate. And make no mistake, this is no back-pedal.
"What this is, is a Christian business owner standing on principles. Nothing has changed from my original statement. I still won't tolerate certain behavior in my shop. And that's never going to change."
Klawiter said he feels he should be able to run his automotive diesel engine repair shop how he'd like to, and that includes running it under his religious beliefs.
"No, I'm not going to inquire into every secret, personal sin of all my customers. The Lord knows I have many of my own sins, and that he has forgiven me much," owner Brian Klawiter wrote on a new post on Dieseltec's Facebook page.
"What I meant by my original statement, was that I am drawing a line in the sand: where someone is engaging in overt displays of homosexual behavior, I don't have to tolerate it in my place of business, just like I don't have to tolerate overt displays of immoral heterosexual behavior in my shop (hypothetically speaking)."
"I mentioned it in my post because I am tired of the constant media drumbeat in favor of it. For my own sake, the level of reaction certainly has been unpleasant. No one likes gay porn, death threats, and vile speech directed their way. But for the country, it is hopefully an eye-opener. This is the 'tolerance' of a homosexual community on display, and it will only get worse as they feel emboldened."
"So while I won't allow any immoral behavior in my shop, I have clarified my previous statement: sinners - homosexual or heterosexual - are welcome in my shop, but if I can see by their behavior on my premises what their personal shortcoming is, I reserve the right to point it out to them (in a loving way, of course) and point them to the One who can take them and change them into who they were designed by Him to be."
[In an interview with a TV reporter,] Klawiter also played a [phone] message that he says is one of many threats he has received against his life.
“You will be killed,” the voice on the message said before the call ended.
Klawiter says he feels that some of those who say his views are intolerant have shown that they won’t show tolerance for his beliefs and convictions.
“I would love to sit down and have coffee with anyone and discuss the Gospel and what I believe and I would also lend an ear to their opinion. But I certainly wouldn’t vandalize their shop or attempt to put them out of business just because they had a viewpoint,” Klawiter said. “I think that’s the most ridiculous of this whole situation.”
[After ignoring the issue for months,] City Clerk Mary Meines said the city sent Dieseltec another notice last week, after Klawiter posted to the business' Facebook page that he would not serve openly gay customers. The latest notice gave the business until May 15 to get a city license, she said.
Brian Klawiter, owner of the auto shop, submitted forms Monday, April 20, to come into compliance with local licensing rules. Following a pre-printed statement on the application form about agreeing to conduct business in compliance with city ordinances, Klawiter added this handwritten addendum:
"With the exception of Sec. 12-14 due to its wording. An inspection of my business can be achieved with a warrant in accordance with constitutional law."
The ordinance section states that the city has "authority to enter (licensed businesses), with or without search warrant, at all reasonable times."
