WaPo: Raunchy Prince was actually a conservative Christian who reportedly opposed gay marriage

With the death Thursday of Prince Rogers Nelson, you may see a strange mix on your Facebook feed of sex and religion.

That’s because perhaps one of the raunchiest, steamiest pop culture figures in the past quarter-century was a conservative Christian. Religious and spiritual themes ran through a huge amount of his work, including this tiny sampling of lyrics:

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called Life,” he intoned, pastor-like, in “Let’s Go Crazy.”

“If God one day struck me blind, your beauty I’ll still see” – “Adore”

“We all have our problems, some are big, some are small. Soon all of our problems, y’all, will be taken by the cross.” – “The Cross”

Prince even appeared on a lot of playlists created for the U.S. visits of Pope Benedict (2008) and Pope Francis (2015) — yes, playlists for pope trips exist! That’s because of his classic “The Pope,” which included this line: “You can be the president, I’d rather be the pope. You can be the side effect, I’d rather be the dope.” (Then a few unpublishable words.)

Yet his faith was complex. Prince was raised a Seventh-day Adventist and later became a Jehovah’s Witness — two faith communities who have in different ways been rejected at times as Christian and seen by mainstream Protestantism as cults. However his beliefs and spirituality were his own, rooted in what his biographer Toure called “my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ” as well as a deep fascination with the afterlife and Judeo-Christian scripture, which he was constantly quoting.

continue at WaPo

I think "Christian" for Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons is generally disputed. As complex and eccentric as he was, despite his raunchiness I don't doubt he would have opposed gay marriage.

Also:
Video(Classic Prince: "Can you make it rain harder"): Prince Performs “Purple Rain” During Downpour | Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show | NFL

StarTribune Thousands of fans sing "Purple Rain" at downtown Minneapolis block party

WGN: How cities across the U.S. are honoring Prince

1 in 3 Minnesota marriage licenses since Aug. 1st go to same-sex couples

Same-sex couples received nearly 1 in 3 marriage licenses issued in Minnesota since they were allowed to wed, The Associated Press found in a statewide survey of the first month's impact of the new gay marriage law.

Since Minnesota became the 12th U.S. state to legalize gay marriage, at least 1,640 same-sex couples applied to be married. Counties aren't required to report such data to the state, so the AP built a database through calls to all 87 counties.

Millions of dollars were spent trying to block gay marriage in Minnesota, while many millions more were spent trying to achieve it. The rush by same-sex couples to take advantage of the new law likely reflects a pent-up demand by couples together for many years.

continue at Pioneer Press

HT MinnRay

Gay ‘marriage’ won’t be legal in Wisconsin ‘anytime soon,’ Governor Scott Walker says

The state of Wisconsin will not change its definition of marriage “anytime soon,” according to Republican Governor Scott Walker.

Although state voters enacted a constitutional marriage protection amendment in 2006 with 59 percent of the vote, and polls show a majority of state residents do not support redefining marriage, the media asked the governor to address the issue this weekend at the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee.

Changing the state constitution “requires two consecutive sessions of the legislature, and ultimately, a vote of the people. I just don't see that being an issue that's going to be addressed anytime soon,” he said.

During a break at the meeting, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat and a Catholic, called on the Republican Walker to support gay “marriage” in order to fit in with surrounding states.

But the states bordering Wisconsin largely do not same-sex “marriage.” Minnesota changed the definition of marriage to include homosexuals on August 1.

continue at LifeSite

Minnesota marriage amendment fails

A proposed constitutional amendment to write man-woman marriage into the constitution has lost.

With just less than 99 percent of precincts reporting, support for the amendment was at 47.65 percent.

The defeat is historic, making Minnesota the second state to turn back an attempt to write man-woman marriage into a state constitution.

The Associated Press said around 1:45 a.m. that the marriage amendment was defeated.

But Chuck Darrell of Minnesota for Marriage, the lead group supporting the amendment, wasn't giving up.

"No, we're not conceding. There's just too many counties out there," he said.

continue at Pioneer Press

The amendment was up big a few months ago but gay vote picked up a lot of steam as the election approached.  With success of three states redefining marriage last night, likely the core group will now push a gay marriage amendment in Minnesota.

Photo

St. Thomas U students show support for MN Marriage Amendment

I wanted to inform you that recently at St. Thomas, a group of students took a picture proudly wearing their "Vote No" shirts and holding their vote no signs, in support of MN United for All Families, in front of St. Thomas's famous arches. Our club decided to respond to this picture and take our own photo to show our support for the upcoming Marriage Amendment. I've attached a picture of a large group of St. Thomas students who support traditional marriage. I know our school has some issues when it comes many things, but seeing things like this (and the Catholic Studies program and our Students for Human Life Club) gives me great hope for the future of the Catholic community on our campus!

I continue to hear good things about St. Thomas, particularity the Catholic Studies program is top notch.  Thanks for sending this along!

NFL all-pro Matt Birk speaks in defense of natural marriage in MN

HT BBach

More vandalization against supporters of natural marriage in MN

Another vandalized sign picture emailed to Minnesota for Marriage. For simply understanding that marriage is the union between one man and one woman and that kids need a mom and a dad, these Amendment supporters were labeled "Fascists"--

Minnesota For Marraige

Minnesota Supreme Court removes deceptive marriage amendment ballot title

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Monday that two elected state officials overstepped their authority in changing the title of a marriage ballot initiative in support of traditional marriage against the will of its backers.

Supporters sued after Secretary of State Mark Ritchie changed the title from “Recognition of marriage solely between one man and one woman” to “Limiting the status of marriage to opposite sex couples.”

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and ActRight Legal Foundation attorneys represented numerous state legislators as well as the committee supporting the amendment in the suit.

“Minnesotans deserve to have free and fair elections, and they deserve to know precisely what they are voting for,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence, who argued before the high court as lead counsel in the case, Limmer v. Ritchie, last month.

“Because the Legislature wrote a ballot title for the marriage amendment, no official in the executive branch has any authority to replace or modify that title - especially not with one that incorrectly describes the amendment’s effect,” Lorence said. “Voters have the right to know that the amendment is designed to protect the ‘recognition of marriage solely between one man and one woman,’ as the legislature accurately specified.”

continue at LifeSite

Marriage amendment: Where Minnesota corporations stand

via Star Tribune (more over there)

Here's where Minnesota's major corporations stand on the marriage amendment. If approved by voters in November, the amendment would add a ban on gay marriage to the state constitution.
General Mills: "For decades, General Mills has worked to create an inclusive culture for our employees. We believe it is important for Minnesota to be viewed as inclusive and welcoming as well. We oppose the proposed constitutional amendment because we do not believe it is in the best interests of our employees or our state economy."

Medtronic: "Medtronic is proud of its strong record of support for its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees, however, the company has not taken a position on efforts in any state relating to the civil definition of marriage. We support our employees by way of market-leading programs, services and benefits that reflect our strong commitment to global diversity and inclusion, and the value of all employees and the unique perspective that they each bring to the workplace."

St. Jude Medical: "As a policy, St. Jude Medical does not provide financial support to state campaigns. However, we do not believe the proposed constitutional amendment is in the best interests of economic and job growth in Minnesota. We believe that it is important for the state and for St. Jude Medical to be viewed as inclusive in order to recruit and retain the best talent."

Target: "We are proud of Target's strong record on inclusivity and diversity in every aspect of our business, and have a long history of supporting the LGBT community through giving, volunteerism and event sponsorship. We will continue to build on this record by strengthening our support for policies and programs that encourage diversity in the workplace. We recognize that there is a broad range of strongly held views on the MN Marriage amendment. While Target has not taken a role in the public debate on this issue, consistent with our longstanding support of civic engagement, we strongly encourage our team members to exercise their right to vote in November."