Joe.My.God. LGBT News

Via the Wall Street Journal: Mark your calendars: the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider its next steps on gay marriage when the justices meet for the first time since their summer break. The court on Wednesday listed gay marriage petitions from five states – Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin – for consideration at its Sept. 29 private conference. …

Via Reuters: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday begged Scots not to rip apart the United Kingdom’s “family of nations”, flying to Scotland to man the barricades against a surge in support for independence eight days before a referendum. Cameron appealed to Scots to use their heads and their hearts when they voted on Sept. 18. He reminded them …

“The idea that if you take religion out of the public square, if you take the Bible out of the classroom, that that’s neutral – well, no it’s not neutral! It’s a different worldview. I think we should start calling secularism a religion. Because if we did, then we could ban that too, because that’s what they’ve done. They’ve hidden …

According to a study issued this week, long-term use of anti-anxiety and insomnia drugs may dramatically increase the odds of developing Alzheimer’s. Regular use of benzodiazepines — which include medications such as Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam) — is associated with as much as a 51 percent increased risk for Alzheimer’s among people who use the …

Via Deadline: A new proposal for campaign finance reform would make Saturday Night Live’s political skits illegal, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has warned. The Senate is debating a bill that would add a constitutional amendment allowing Congress reverse a 2010 Supreme Court decision and restore limits on corporate campaign spending. Republicans say the bill, proposed by Dems, is an attack …

From Britain’s always bombastic Daily Mail: Wearing matching slippers and bow ties, Brian Davidson, 55, Britain’s consul-general in Shanghai, married his 33-year-old American boyfriend Scott Chang on the lawn of the home of Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood. New rules mean that British nationals in homosexual relationships can marry in British consulates in 24 countries around the world as the land …

Today the US House Veterans Affairs Committee voted 13-12 to reject an amendment to the Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act. The proposed change would align Veterans Administration policy with Department of Defense rules granting benefits to the legal spouses of active duty gay service members. Via Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade: Although the vote was a largely along party …

“This is an absolutely foundational, non-negotiable, bed-rock American principle: there is a Creator – with a capital ‘C’ (you could look it up) – and he and he alone is the source of the very rights the military exists to protect and defend. An individual who does not understand and believe this has no right to serve in the U.S. …

Via the Air Force Times: An atheist airman at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada has until November to change his mind and swear a reenlistment oath to God, the Air Force said. The unnamed airman was denied reenlistment Aug. 25 for refusing to take an oath that concludes with the phrase “so help me God,” the American Humanist Association …