Mount Laurel, N.J. - A church group that owns beachfront property discriminated against a lesbian couple by not allowing them to rent the locale for their civil union ceremony, a New Jersey department ruled last Monday in a case that has become a flash point in the nation's gay rights battle.

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights said its investigation found that the refusal of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to rent the oceanfront spot to the couple for their same-sex union in March 2007 violated the public accommodation provisions of the state's Law Against Discrimination...

A well-known entertainment critic says vigilance from Christians has resulted in more family-friendly movies coming out of Hollywood.

Ted Baehr is founder of MovieGuide and chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission. For more than 20 years, he has reviewed theatrical releases from a Christian perspective. He says while Hollywood still produces movies that are unsuitable for Christians, moviemakers are discovering a large market for films with a biblical message or theme...

Two New England states have already legalized same-sex marriage, and a Boston-based advocacy group wants to see the other four join them.

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, known as GLAD, has launched a first-of-its-kind regional campaign aimed at winning approval for same-sex marriage in the six-state New England region by 2012...

Avowed atheist Michael Newdow, infamous for his attacks against references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto, now wants to remove all religious references from Barack Obama's inauguration.

Newdow, who in past legal battles has tried to strip the United States currency of a reference to God and has sued to alter the pledge of allegiance in schools, now wants to alter history. Newdow wants the president-elect barred from a traditional reference to God in the oath of office -- "so help me God" -- because those words are not in the oath set out in the Constitution. He also wants two prayers by well-known Christian figures cancelled. Revs. Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery are scheduled to deliver inaugural prayers on January 20...

The pro-life movement saw both positive and negative events in 2008.

In Washington State, physician-assisted suicide was approved by voters in a lopsided majority, and it is due to go into effect soon. In Montana, a state judge legalized assisted suicide from the bench, although the attorney general plans to appeal and try to overturn the decision...

WASHINGTON -- Government officials overseeing a $700 billion bailout have acknowledged difficulties tracking the money and assessing the program's effectiveness.

The information was contained in a document, released Wednesday, of a Dec. 10 meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Board. The panel, headed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, includes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission chief Christopher Cox...

Planned Parenthood has been shut down in the Texas panhandle.

American Life League's (ALL) Stop Planned Parenthood, or Stopp International, says it took a long time, but their campaign against Planned Parenthood finally got some results. "For 12 years in the Texas panhandle, there has been a fight against Planned Parenthood," he notes. "Planned Parenthood, in 1997, operated 19 clinics in the Texas panhandle"...

The Minnesota State Canvassing Board meets again on Tuesday to allocate the very last of the withdrawn ballots that were not disputed by either Democrat Al Franken or Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in the still up-for-grabs Minnesota Senate race.

Those ballots are just a part of the 6,600 original challenged ballots that may be put back into the mix. Franken's unofficial lead over Coleman remains at 46 votes...

A probe is under way of an Indiana Planned Parenthood after an undercover video revealed alleged criminal actions.

Lila Rose of Live Action Films filmed visits to two Indiana Planned Parenthood clinics. She posed as a 13-year-old impregnated by a 31-year-old man. While at the clinic, she was advised on how to get an abortion without getting the boyfriend in trouble. The Indiana attorney general's office and one grand jury are now investigating...

The United States has refused to sign on to a United Nations declaration on sexual orientation.

In all, 67 nations have signed the declaration submitted by France. Piero Tozzi of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, or C-FAM, explains the document's assertions. "It basically called upon recognition of two new categories in human rights, one based on sexual orientation and the other one on gender identity," he notes...