Below are the audio and transcripts of oral arguments made in the same-sex marriage case heard by the Supreme Court today (Obergefell v. Hodges). Justices heard each side present arguments in answer to two questions: 1. Does the 14th Amendment require states to issue marriage licenses to two people of the same sex? 2. Does the 14th Amendment require states to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states? The Court will render a ruling on these questions by the end of June. In the meantime, you can listen to or read the arguments from both sides below.
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The aftermath of the iconic image of the OKC bombing
The image from the Oklahoma City bombing that is etched in all our memories is the picture of that firefighter carrying the lifeless body of a 1-year old girl from the ruins of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The little girl’s name was Baylee Almon, and the firefighter Chris Fields had no idea their picture was being taken as he brought her up from the rubble. Nevertheless, that single image captured the scope of the tragedy and became the focal point for Americans trying to understand the horror of that day. USA Today reports that the lives of nearly everyone connected with that photo were in turmoil after its…
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The six daycare survivors from Oklahoma City bombing
I can hardly believe that we are about to mark 20 years since the Oklahoma City bombing, but tomorrow is the day. Much of the country has moved on, but there are survivors who are still living with the results of that day’s catastrophe. The six survivors from the daycare are among them. The video above and the caption below tell their story. From the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum: The six survivors from the America’s Kids Daycare don’t remember the explosion that killed 15 of their playmates. But they will never forget how the Oklahoma City bombing changed their lives forever. All of them are moving forward, some…
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Why do reports conceal radicalism of the pro-choice side?
I noticed two separate articles this week about abortion that have a basic error of fact regarding abortion law in the United States. This wouldn’t be surprising if didn’t appear on the websites of our nation’s two leading newspapers—The New York Times and The Washington Post. What’s amazing is that the two reports make the identical error. NY Times – April 7, 2015: I came across this one earlier this week in The New York Times report on the new Kansas law restricting dismemberment abortions. Erick Eckholm and Frances Robles erroneously report that abortion rights in this country end at 24-weeks of pregnancy. Here’s a screenshot:
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“Boycott Indiana” social-media mob closes Christian-owned pizza shop
I would have thought this was an April Fool’s joke if I hadn’t seen it on Rod Dreher’s site. But this is no joke. A small town pizza shop owned by Christians in Indiana is having to close its doors because of threats from the #BoycottIndiana crowd. Why? You’re not going to believe this. A local news station went trolling local businesses to see if any of them agreed with Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The reporters found the Memories Pizza shop and interviewed the owner and his daughter (see video above). The owner and his daughter said that they would serve anyone who came into their pizza…
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The Abortion Spa: Rebranding Infanticide
What do abortionists do when they are losing the abortion argument? When their “blob of cells” trope has collapsed under the moral weight of ultrasound images? When everyone can now see that the humanity of the unborn is as plain as the nose on their face? What do they do? They double-down on deception. In what will no doubt be the most disgusting thing you read today, The Washington Post reports on an “abortion spa” that has opened up in the “tony” neighborhood of Friendship Heights in Washington, D.C. The point of the facility is to destigmatize abortion by providing a spa-like experience to women seeking to end the lives…
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An exercise club allows men into women’s locker rooms, and vice versa
This is one that you will likely have to see to believe. So I encourage you to watch the video above. In short, here’s what the report says. Yvette Cormier was in the dressing room at her exercise club “Planet Fitness” last month when she saw a man enter the women’s locker room. Cormier was unsettled about this, so she immediately informed management. After hearing her concerns, Planet Fitness explained that the man is transgender and identifies as a woman. They told her that Planet Fitness allows any man who sincerely self-identifies as a woman to make use of the women’s locker room.
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New York Times Op-Ed agreeing with Judge Roy Moore?
I was reading an Op-Ed in The New York Times this morning about Alabama’s legal battle over gay marriage and was stunned to read this paragraph (underline mine): Since the United States Supreme Court will rule on gay marriage in June, it’s easy to dismiss the Alabama court’s ruling as quixotic. But it raises a real issue: not what state courts can do, but rather what they should do. Because state and federal courts operate on entirely separate tracks, the state court’s position that it need not follow lower federal court rulings is technically correct. Yet if our judicial system is to function smoothly, both court systems must, from time to time,…
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Researchers claim same-sex couples may soon be able to produce biological children together.
This seems kind of important. PhillyMag.com has the story: Researchers at Cambridge University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science say they have discovered a way to “create human egg and sperm cells from the stem cells in the skin of two adults.” Which means, for instance, an egg can be created from the stem cells of two men, and sperm cells can be created from the stem cells of two women… Researchers in the study say that we could be seeing same-sex couples producing children together in as little as two years. Read the rest here.
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Sam Allberry to speak at Southern Seminary, March 4
I’m really excited to welcome Sam Allberry to the campus of Boyce College and Southern Seminary next week. It’s a one-day only event in which he will be delivering a series of messages on “Homosexuality and Ministry.” The talks will focus on how to do faithful gospel ministry among those who are same-sex attracted. Sam Allberry has shared his compelling story in his watershed book Is God Anti-gay?, and he will be fleshing-out those themes in his talks on campus. The event is free for students and their families and will be held next week on Wednesday, March 4. For more information about the schedule and meeting room, visit here.