gay marriage
Bill Clinton urges Supreme Court to overturn gay marriage law he signed
By David Jackson — March 8, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) Former President Bill Clinton says the U.S. Supreme Court should strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, which he signed in 1996 during a "very different time."
White House takes stance against gay-marriage ban
By Richard Wolf — March 1, 2013
(WASHINGTON) The Obama administration came out forcefully Thursday against California's ban on same-sex marriage and, by extension, implicated similar bans in 37 other states.
Gay marriage opponents make their case to Supreme Court
By Richard Wolf — February 19, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) Foes of same-sex marriage are warning the Supreme Court that lifting state or federal restrictions would threaten their own economic and religious freedoms and lead to social and political upheaval.
Priest/Mayor reflects French divide over gay marriage
By Elizabeth Bryant — February 13, 2013
EREAC, France (RNS) Elie Geffray straddles both sides of a bitter French divide over gay marriage. As a retired Catholic priest, he will bow to a church that adamantly opposes same-sex unions. But as a small village mayor, he's also willing to marry gay couples in civil ceremonies.
Vatican backtracks on support for gay couples
By Alessandro Speciale — February 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A top Vatican official blamed the media for “derailing” his recent remarks on possible legal protections for unmarried couples, while reaffirming his support for British and French bishops who have been vocal opponents of same-sex marriage.
Vatican signals options for protecting gay couples
By Alessandro Speciale — February 4, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A high-ranking Vatican official on Monday (Feb. 4) voiced support for giving unmarried couples some kind of unspecified legal protection even as he reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to same-sex marriage.
Did a change of tune lead to a marriage loss in 2012?
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 4, 2013
A new report from a left-of-center advocacy group says conservatives changed their message on gay marriage in 2012, and lost four straight fights to stop it.
Obama extols a biblical vision of equality for all in second inaugural
By David Gibson — January 21, 2013
(RNS) A presidential inauguration is by tradition the grandest ritual of America’s civil religion, but President Obama took the oath of office on Monday (Jan. 21) in a ceremony that was explicit in joining theology to the nation’s destiny and setting out a biblical vision of equality that includes race, gender, class, and, most controversially, sexual orientation.
Vatican criticizes European religious freedom ruling
By Alessandro Speciale — January 16, 2013
(RNS) The Vatican blasted a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that rejected three claims of religious discrimination, saying personal freedoms are falling victim to the "dictatorship of relativism.'' By Alessandro Speciale.
As polls shift, gay marriage becomes a uniter, not a divider
By Chuck Raasch — January 14, 2013
(RNS) Millions of dollars have been spent on the fight over gay marriage, but beneath it, polls show that 36 percent of Americans say they had changed their minds about the issue. That figure represents millions of stories like Sean Carlson and his mother, Barbara. By Chuck Raasch / USA Today.
Pastor pulls out of inauguration over anti-gay sermon
By David Gibson — January 10, 2013
(RNS) The evangelical pastor that President Obama picked to deliver the benediction at his inauguration ceremonies withdrew from the high-profile assignment on Thursday following a furor over a sermon from the mid-1990s in which he denounced the gay rights movement and advocated efforts to turn gays straight. By David Gibson.
Activists mobilize around White House’s Catholic ‘hate group’ petition
By David Gibson — January 7, 2013
(RNS) The White House’s online petition service features a bid to designate the Catholic Church as a hate group for its opposition to gay rights, and has generated almost as many press releases as signatures. By David Gibson.
Years of tension yield to thaw between gays, Mormons
By Peggy Fletcher Stack — January 3, 2013
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) After years of tension between Mormons and gay rights activists -- with political action and theological pronouncements on one side, protests and pain on the other -- the gulf between the two groups has begun to narrow. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.
Chicago cardinal leads new fight against gay marriage
By David Gibson — January 2, 2013
(RNS) Chicago Cardinal Francis George has launched a last-ditch campaign to convince the lame-duck Illinois legislature not to legalize same-sex marriage, saying that government “has no power to create something that nature itself tells us is impossible.” By David Gibson.
Vatican newspaper compares marriage equality to communism
By Alessandro Speciale — December 20, 2012
(RNS) Faced with recent setbacks in the United States and in Europe, the Catholic Church has intensified its increasingly uphill battle against gay marriage, and embraced a theory that compares marriage equality to communism. By Alessandro Speciale.
