Archive for the ‘gay marriage’ Category

Below is a clip of the anti-gay sermon by the Rev. Charles Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, N.C., that’s whipping around the Internet via YouTube:

Look, it doesn’t matter what you think of gay marriage or Barack Obama. Should it ever come to pass, the inside of the Reverend Worley’s electric fence will be the only side to be on. And it’s a sin that anyone should have to say so.

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading Of gays, lesbians and an electric fence in North Carolina »

The qualifying period for candidates seeking a spot on the July 31 primary ballot began this morning.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp has promised live updates here. My AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin has a rolling blog going – plus an advance that focused on tea party ambitions:

[Debbie Dooley of Atlanta Tea Party Patriots] said a tea party candidate has already announced a challenge to state Sen. Jack Murphy, a Republican from Cumming and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. The movement is also hopeful, she said, to have a serious challenger for state Sen. Don Balfour, a Republican from Snellville and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee….

Dooley said if former state Rep. Clay Cox, R-Lilburn, doesn’t qualify to run against Balfour, she will — reluctantly.

While candidates are ponying up qualifying fees in the Capitol, the watchdog Common Cause will lead tea partyists – and state Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus – further down that frightful, liberal path to …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Local races will create climate for transportation sales tax vote »

If we’ve given the impression that Gov. Nathan Deal has only spoken up for a statewide transportation sales tax, we hereby apologize.

Deal’s not merely dipping a toe in the water. He’s hip-deep in the effort.

Click here to see the invitation for a May 23 fundraiser for the statewide arm of the campaign, hosted by the governor but held at the Atlanta home of former Cousins Properties CEO Tom Bell.

Just in case you’ve got some loose change in your pocket, you can become a “platinum” sponsor for only $100,000. Which is no big deal. The metro Atlanta sales tax campaign has a category for gifts of $250,000 and more.

Deal also hosted a fundraiser in Savannah this week. And will show up at yet another in Augusta next month.

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This is the upset that has Washington talking this morning. From the Lincoln, Neb., Journal Star:

In a dramatic, come-from-behind dash to the finish line late Tuesday evening, state Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine laid claim to the Republican Senate …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Nathan Deal raises big money for transportation sales tax campaign »

On Monday, Gov. Nathan Deal chose Savannah as a venue for one of his strongest endorsements yet of a penny sales tax to boost transportation spending. From Larry Peterson and the Savannah Morning News:

Deal acknowledged that people don’t like higher taxes.

“The question,” he added, “is what is the alternative to keep your area growing and progressive?”

…He said funds from the measure would help move goods more efficiently in and out of the port of Savannah.

Deal said the increase, which would boost sales taxes in Chatham County to 8 percent, is needed because other revenues haven’t kept pace with growth.

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On a similar note, Lori Geary of Channel 2 Action News draws a line between July 31 transportation vote and the burgeoning race between Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of Woodstock and Republican challenger Brandon Beach:

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Then we have the case of Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee, who took time from his re-election campaign last week to refer to …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Nathan Deal steps up on transportation sales tax »

A new Gallup Poll says a slight majority (54 percent) of American adults continues to say that same-sex relations are morally acceptable:

Public acceptance of gay/lesbian relations as morally acceptable grew slowly but steadily from 38% in 2002 to 56% in 2011 and is now holding at the majority level….

The 63% now saying gay relations should be legal nearly matches the record-high 64% of a year ago, which came after a long-term increase in support for legality from 32% in 1986.

That’s hardly the case in Georgia. A Landmark/RosettaStone poll of 600 likely voters, commissioned by Channel 2 Action News and released as the weekend began, shows that President Barack Obama’s personal endorsement of gay marriage is likely to harden support for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Georgia.

Read the cross tabs here. The automated poll has an MOE of +/- 4 percent. A summary:

– Romney leads Obama, 51 to 40 percent in Georgia. Support largely falls along racial …

Continue reading Gay marriage react good news for Romney in Georgia — but women voters a problem »

Just in case you couldn’t stay up last night — from NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”:

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.

Continue reading Last night’s ‘SNL’ opener: The secret in Joe Biden’s closet »

Some interesting paragraphs from an Associated Press report on African-American reaction to President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage:

Many black pastors have been reluctant to address same-sex marriage from the pulpit; the topic remains taboo in much of their community.

Now, “with the president taking such a clear stand on the issue, and his being such a beloved figure and historic symbol for African-Americans, I think it will advance the conversation,” said the Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

“As a pastor, I will have to say something about this on Sunday,” Warnock said.

The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a giant of the civil rights movement who delivered the benediction at Obama’s inauguration, said he agrees with Obama on gay marriage.

“I believe in equal rights,” Lowery said. “You can’t believe in equal rights for some. That’s an oxymoron.”

However: “Do I like it? I’m uncomfortable with it,” said Lowery, 90. “We grew up under boy-girl, …

Continue reading The Sunday sermon topic at Ebenezer Baptist? Gay marriage »

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed this evening said he’s not ready to follow President Barack Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage, declaring he was still “wrestling with my own personal beliefs.”

Here’s his statement:

“I respect President Obama’s decision to stand in support of marriage equality. I have fought hard for the rights of gays and lesbians my entire political career, from protecting adoption rights for gay and lesbian families, to voting against Georgia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage as a state senator, to serving as the state house sponsor for the only hate crimes bill ever passed in the state of Georgia.

“While I am still wrestling with my own personal beliefs on the issue of marriage, I deeply appreciate the contributions gays and lesbians make to our city every single day and I remain committed to Atlanta’s vibrant and diverse LGBT community.”

Local petitions like this one on Facebook, urging Reed to hurry up and “evolve,” are …

Continue reading Kasim Reed says he’s still ‘wrestling with my beliefs’ on gay marriage »

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney apologized Thursday to classmates he may have offended by “hijinks and pranks during high school” and insisted he didn’t know that some were gay.

The Republican presidential candidate issued the apology during a hastily arranged radio interview after The Washington Post reported Thursday that he had held down classmate John Lauber and cut off his bleached blond hair when they were students at a prestigious boarding school in the wealthy Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

The Post suggested Lauber was bullied because he was gay.

“The people involved didn’t come out of the closet until years later,” Romney told a Fox News radio show. “I had no idea that this person might have been gay.”

“I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school and some may have gone too far. And for that I apologize,” he added.

The report and Romney’s defense come as his inconsistent record on gay-rights — though iron-clad …

Continue reading Mitt Romney counters notion he bullied gay classmates »

Last week, out of the blue, a press release in the name of state Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers declared that the Cherokee County lawmaker had received re-election endorsements from every Republican in the north Fulton legislative delegation.

Brandon Beach, member of the state transportation board. AJC file

Now we know why Rogers felt the need to put the information out there.

This morning, Brandon Beach, president of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and a member of state transportation board, announced that he would challenge Rogers in the July 31 primary.

Beach, who was narrowly defeated by John Albers of Roswell in a 2010 race for the Senate, named jobs and transportation as his top two priorities – but apparently expects dissatisfaction in the local education community to provide much of the spark for his campaign.

Beach, from the press release:

“We have excellent schools in Cherokee County and North Fulton because of dedicated parents, teachers and principals. …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Brandon Beach to challenge Chip Rogers »