GAY MARRIAGE POLL
Poll: Most American Catholics support gay marriage
NEW YORK (AP) β A majority of American Catholics now support gay marriage, according to a new poll.
The survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found that despite their church’s teachings, 58 percent of American Catholics favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, a position shared by 60 percent of white mainline Protestants.
Gay marriage was supported by only 35 percent of nonwhite Protestants and 29 percent of white evangelicals.
But 60 percent of white evangelicals said they favor laws that would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing. And 51 percent of white evangelicals said they support letting small businesses deny service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds.
The nationwide survey of 1,009 adults was conducted from June 3 to June 7. The researchers said the poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Sound:
271-v-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A majority of American Catholics now support gay marriage, according to a new poll. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (11 Jun 2015)
< US-CATHOLIC-BISHOPS US Catholic bishops discuss how to best follow pope’s lead ST. LOUIS (AP) β The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops have engaged in a public discussion about whether their priorities properly reflect those of Pope Francis, with one church leader urging an emphasis on helping immigrants that’s at least as energetic as the bishops’ focus on religious freedom. The issue arose Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ assembly in St. Louis, where church leaders considered their programming through the end of the decade. In recent years, American bishops have channeled significant resources toward securing religious exemptions from laws they consider immoral such as gay marriage, seeking carve-outs for the church, its massive network of charities and individual for-profit business owners. Francis has shown more concern for helping the poor. Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich noted efforts that U.S. bishops have made on behalf of “individual employers, secular employers,” with religious objections to some laws. He argued that church leaders should give equal ranking to changing U.S. immigration policy in their planning for the years ahead. ISLAMIC STATE-AMERICAN KILLED Pastor: Man killed in Islamic State battle gave life to God BOSTON (AP) β The pastor of a Massachusetts man killed while fighting with Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group in Syria says he had talked about “giving his life over to serve the Lord.” Pastor Gary Moritz of the Twin City Baptist Church in Lunenburg says Keith Broomfield attended church services three times a week. Broomfield is believed to be the first U.S. citizen killed while fighting alongside the Kurds against the Islamic State. His sister-in-law, Melissa Broomfield, recalls that “he said that God told him he had to go, and without a second thought, he went.” Westminster Police Chief Sam Albert says Broomfield’s mother described being unable to dissuade her son from going to fight the “persecution of Christians.” A Kurdish official says Broomfield’s body was handed over to his family Thursday at a Turkish border crossing. Sound: 247-a-04-(Melissa Broomfield, sister-in-law of Keith Broomfield, in interview)-“thought he went”-Melissa Broomfield, Keith Broomfield’s sister-in-law, says he felt called to join the fight against the Islamic State group. (11 Jun 2015) < 248-a-09-(Westminster Police Chief Sam Albert, in interview)-“persecution of Christians”-Westminster Police Chief Sam Albert says Keith Broomfield’s mother didn’t want him to join the fight against the Islamic State group. (11 Jun 2015) < 177-v-36-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)–The body of an American who was killed fighting the Islamic State Group has been given to his family. AP correspondent Rita Foley reports. (11 Jun 2015) < 178-c-20-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)-“Iraq war veterans”-AP correspondent Rita Foley reports that many people turned out to say goodbye to the American who died fighting with the Kurds. (11 Jun 2015) < 070-a-12-(Jeff Rathke (RATH’-kee), director, Office of Press Relations, U.S. State Department, at briefing Wednesday)-“of death abroad”-State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke says the department is doing what it can to assist the family of Keith Broomfield. (11 Jun 2015) < 068-c-20-(Jackie Quinn, AP correspondent)-“ground to fight”-AP correspondent Jackie Quinn reports it’s believed that Keith Broomfield, of Massachusetts, is the first American to die while helping Kurdish forces battle the Islamic State group. (11 Jun 2015) < GAY MARRIAGE-NORTH CAROLINA N. Carolina’s religious-exemption gay marriage bill now law RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β Under a law that took effect Thursday in North Carolina, government employees who issue marriage licenses can refuse to complete paperwork for gay couples by invoking their religious beliefs β a move that could mean longer waits at courthouses for all those who want to wed, especially in rural counties with small staffs. Gay rights groups and some Democrats said legal challenges were likely to come soon for the new law, the second of its kind nationwide. Utah passed one this year. North Carolina’s law took effect as the state House voted to override Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s earlier veto. The Senate already had voted for the override. McCrory said though he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, no state employee should be able to break his or her government oath. Under the law, some register of deeds workers who assemble licenses and magistrates who solemnize civil marriages can decide to stop performing all marriages β for both straight and gay couples β if they hold a “sincerely held religious objection.” Employees with a religious objection must stop performing all marriage duties for at least six months. Sound: 260-a-08-(State Representative Larry Hall, D-N.C., in legislative debate)-“of North Carolina”-North Carolina Representative Larry Hall says the governor was right to veto the legislation. (11 Jun 2015) < 261-a-05-(State Representative Larry Hall, D-N.C., in legislative debate)-“not be doing”-North Carolina Representative Larry Hall says state officials shouldn’t be exempt from accommodating same-sex couples who want to marry. (11 Jun 2015) < 259-a-12-(State Representative Paul Stam, R-N.C., in legislative debate)-“with the law”-North Carolina Representative Paul Stam says the House should override the governor’s veto of a bill exempting some state officials from accommodating same-sex marriages. (11 Jun 2015) < ADOPTION AGENCIES-DISCRIMINATION New Michigan law lets adoption agencies decline referrals LANSING, Mich. (AP) β Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a law letting faith-based adoption agencies with state contracts decline to participate in referrals that violate their religious beliefs. The Republican governor told The Associated Press Thursday that the legislation codifies existing state practice for private agencies with contracts to place children and ensures that as many organizations as possible are involved in helping kids be adopted. Critics say the law amounts to government-sanctioned discrimination against gay couples and compare it to a religious objections law in Indiana that triggered a backlash. Agencies with religious objections to a prospective adoption would have to refer an applicant to another willing and able agency or to a state website listing other providers. Sound: 230-a-10-(Governor Rick Snyder, R-Mich., in AP interview)-“all of us”-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says the bill allowing adoption agencies to turn away gay couples for religious reasons will keep the agencies from shutting down. (11 Jun 2015) < 231-a-07-(Governor Rick Snyder, R-Mich., in AP interview)-“of religious freedom”-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says Christian adoption agencies should be able to follow their religious convictions. (11 Jun 2015) < 232-a-06-(Governor Rick Snyder, R-Mich., in AP interview)-“turn someone down”-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says the law requires adoption agencies that don’t serve gay couples to refer them to agencies that do. (11 Jun 2015) < US-GOP-2016-CRUZ-TENNESSEE Cruz rejects call to drop anti-Shariah activist in Tennessee NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Republican Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is rejecting a call to drop an anti-Shariah activist as his state chairman for Tennessee. Kevin Kookogey, a former chairman of the Williamson County GOP, has criticized Republican Gov. Bill Haslam over the role of a Muslim staffer and a council that has advised two state departments on Islamic affairs. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says keeping Kookogey would serve as what the group called “an endorsement of anti-Muslim hate.” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier in an email called it “completely absurd to assert that defending American law under the U.S. Constitution is anti-Muslim.” Kookogey planned to mount a GOP primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander last year, but abandoned that bid when he failed to consolidate tea party support. NYC MAYOR-COMMUNITY AFFAIRS APPOINTMENT NYC mayor hires community affairs adviser on Muslim issues NEW YORK (AP) β An interfaith group director and former communications professor has been tapped to aid New York City’s work with Muslim communities. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that Sarah Sayeed will join his Community Affairs Unit as a senior adviser. Her $80,000-a-year position entails expanding the city’s efforts to reach out to Muslims and ensuring that services are culturally appropriate and accessible to everyone. The Community Affairs Unit has staffers representing various faiths, ethnicities, races and neighborhoods. Its Staten Island borough director has already been working with Muslim community groups and mosques. City public schools will begin observing two major Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha (eed al-AHD’-hah) and Eid al-Fitr (ayd ahl-FIH’-tur), in the next school year. Sayeed most recently served as director of community partnerships for the Interfaith Center of New York. SPAIN-SEPHARDIC JEWS Spain: Lawmakers approve Sephardic Jew citizenship plan MADRID (AP) β Spain’s lower house of parliament has given final approval to a law setting a citizenship path for descendants of Jews who were forced to flee the country after all Jews were told in 1492 to convert, go into exile or risk being burned at the stake. The law allows Sephardic Jews to start applying for Spanish citizenship in October, granting them a three-year window to seek a Spanish passport complete with the right to work and live anywhere in the 28-nation European Union. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon, praised Spain following the votes for finishing “its historic duty to the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain.” Spain’s vote followed Portugal’s March approval of a similar citizenship plan for Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were forced to leave that country.
