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Arizona destination resorts woo gay couples planning to marry
PHOENIX — Destination resorts across Arizona are broadening their marketing strategies since same-sex marriage became legal last month.
Hotels in Phoenix, Sedona and elsewhere are offering discounts or tweaking their advertising to lure same-sex couples, reports the Arizona Republic.
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8 men convicted, sentenced to 3 years in jail for alleged gay wedding in Egypt
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Saturday convicted eight men for “inciting debauchery” following their appearance in an alleged same-sex wedding party on a Nile boat, sentencing each of them to three years in prison. The Internet video shows two men exchanging rings and embracing among cheering friends. The eight were detained in September…
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ACLU: Idaho chapel a religious corp., falls under religious exemption
BOISE, Idaho — The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho says it will not challenge a northern Idaho wedding chapel’s refusal to conduct same-sex marriages because the chapel falls under a religious exemption. Interim Executive Director Leo Morales said in a news conference Thursday that the Hitching Post became a religious corporation…
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Almost everything you’ve been told about the Idaho wedding chapel story is a lie
The religious right is spewing hate and lies, claiming that two ministers are being forced to marry same-sex couples — even claiming the ministers have been arrested. How is this possible? Two ministers, Donald and Evelyn Knapp, own a for-profit wedding chapel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, but say they cannot marry same-sex couples because of their faith…
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Wedding chapel files lawsuit claiming non-discrimination ordinance is unconstitutional
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — An Idaho wedding chapel has filed a lawsuit against the City of Coeur d’Alene, claiming the city’s LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance is forcing them to violate their religious beliefs by performing same-sex marriages.
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Elvis, other Las Vegas wedding chapels refuse to marry same-sex couples
LAS VEGAS — Even though same-sex marriage is now legal in Nevada, a number of Las Vegas wedding chapels are refusing to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples, despite a state public accommodations law that prohibits them from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
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Couple gets ‘do over’ wedding, this time without the homophobic hecklers
CORONADO, Calif. — The first wedding of Oscar de Las Salas and Gary Jackson was interrupted by hecklers yelling homophobic slurs. Now, two months later, the renewal of their vows was attended by some 300 strangers at an exclusive waterfront hotel near San Diego — and not a heckler in sight.
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Methodist clergy escape sanctions over blessing of same-sex wedding
Dozens of United Methodist ministers who blessed a same-sex wedding in Philadelphia will face no discipline for breaking church law, but acknowledge they could be punished if they do it again, according to a settlement announced by the denomination. A total of 36 Methodist clergy blessed the Nov. 9 ceremony at …
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Methodist church to hear appeal of pastor who officiated gay son’s wedding
PHILADELPHIA — The Methodist church’s highest court will decide later this month whether a minister who officiated his gay son’s wedding can keep his pastoral credentials. The Rev. Frank Schaefer was defrocked following a church trial in southeastern Pennsylvania last year, then re-instated by an appeals panel in June. That decision was appealed …
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La. church gives AA group the boot out of fear of having to host gay weddings
KEITHVILLE, La. — A local Alcoholics Anonymous group is looking for a new place to meet after being booted from a Louisiana church over the pastor’s fears he might be forced to accommodate same-sex weddings. KSLA-TV reports that Pastor David Venable of the Westwood Baptist Church in Keithville, La., said …