Etheridge's Wife Defends Warren

Controversial pastor aims to dampen criticism, civilize discourse

(NEWSER) - Rick Warren continues to refine his stance on gays and gay marriage, saying he is “not opposed to gays having their partnership,” and that his anti-gay marriage stance doesn’t make him anti-gay, the AP reports. “I’m opposed to gays using the term marriage for their relationship,” the pastor, whose inauguration invitation raised hackles in the gay community, tells his church in a new video. More»

Robinson will speak Sunday, has been critical of Warren

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has asked Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the only openly gay Episcopal bishop, to deliver the invocation at the opening event of Inauguration Week, the Boston Globe reports. Robinson had been among those who criticized Obama for asking same-sex marriage opponent Rick Warren to deliver the main inaugural invocation. More»

Iconic lesbian sticks up for pastor called homophobic

(NEWSER) - Melissa Etheridge is Rick Warren’s new best friend. She met with the pastor last week, after finding out they were set to perform at the same event, and discovered he's not, as expected, a "hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist," one of those guys who has "his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know." In the Huffington Post, she urges fellow gay-marriage advocates not to protest or boycott the man Obama’s invited to do the invocation at his inauguration, but to reach out. More»

But has compared gay marriage to incest, polygamy, child abuse

(NEWSER) - Pastor Rick Warren "loves gays and straights," he said yesterday, in response to the uproar his invitation to Barack Obama's inaugural invocation sparked among gay rights groups. In a speech to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Warren emphasized that he has "many gay friends" and has "eaten dinner in gay homes," the AP reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Melissa Etheridge will wed her longtime girlfriend, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels, and they have a deadline: before next month's vote in California on amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. “We have four children and we’re trying to find the right time,” the rocker told Extra this week. More»