Ethics/rights

Dr. Alveda C. King, the niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., has expressed dissatisfaction with the NAACP's affirmation of gay marriage and rejects claims that the fight for such unions is linked to the civil rights movement. King claims the anti-traditional marriage community wants "a world where homosexual marriage and abortion will supposedly set the captives free."

Dr. King, who is also the Sr. Pastoral Associate and Director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries, said in a statement that she opposes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage.

"Neither my great-grandfather an NAACP founder, my grandfather Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. an NAACP leader, my father Rev. A. D. Williams King, nor my uncle Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced the homosexual agenda that the current NAACP is attempting to label as a civil rights agenda," the civil rights leader expressed. more >>

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was recently criticized by political commentator Bill Maher for counting the 16.5 percent of the income he and his wife earned in recent years as charitable giving, because the bulk of the estimated $7 million either went to the Mormon Church in the form of tithes or to charities affiliated with the Church. This has begged the questions: is it "charitable giving" when the faithful donate or tithe to their churches; and should a church even be considered a "charity" if it is not directly aiding the poor or doing similar work?

"That's the strict interpretation of the law, so from a legal standpoint, there's nothing wrong with what he said – that 16 percent of his income went to charity, under the legal definition," said Ole Anthony, president of watchdog ministry the Trinity Foundation, known for its investigations of popular evangelists like Benny Hinn and Eddie Long.

"I would think, however, that integrity would want you to say just as it was because the public's view of charity is helping feed the poor. So I would hope that there would be a distinction made, at least if you're a presidential candidate, that you would make a distinction between the tithes to your church and giving to charity," he told The Christian Post. more >>

An investigative report has found that the state of Texas wrongly sentenced to death and executed 27-year-old Carlos DeLuna in 1989, a grave mistake that has been described as "emblematic" of a failed legal system.

The case involves the Feb. 1983 killing of Wanda Lopez, a single mother who was stabbed in the gas station where she worked in the Texas coastal city of Corpus Christi.

DeLuna was accused of the murder and executed more than two decades ago after eyewitnesses identified him at the scene of the crime, but Columbia School of Law professor James Liebman and five of his students have found that the case had many signs that pointed to DeLuna, 27, not being the guilty man. According Liebman's report, DeLuna shared the same first name of, and physically resembled, the real killer – but their identities were mistaken. more >>

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland has passed a motion upholding marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The motion, passed on Saturday, affirms Canon 31, which states that marriage is "a union permanent and lifelong, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity."

The Synod, which met at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, agreed that the Church recognized "no other understanding of marriage." more >>

Queen's former front man Freddie Mercury will appear at a performance beyond the grave as an "optical illusion" and not a hologram, according to a bandmate this week.

Since rapper Tupac appeared as a hologram at Coachella music festival last month, the hologram technology has received worldwide attention. However, Brian May of Queen clarified that the band would be using an optical illusion and not a hologram to display Mercury.

"It's a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we've been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite awhile," explained Queen's guitarist, according to BBC. more >>

The organizers of a marriage conference in Britain have been told they can no longer hold the event on their regular hired premises because they support the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

The Law Society in England has revoked its permission for "Christian Concern" to hold the conference on its premises saying that the event would breach its "diversity policy" due to the Christian group's religious beliefs that there should be no redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples.

In an email to Christian Concern, the Law Society's Adam Tallis said the event was "contrary to our diversity policy, espousing as it does an ethos which is opposed to same-sex marriage." more >>