Former Canadian Prime Minister Chrétien Warns Conservative Government Could Concentrate Of Repealing Same Sex Marriage Law And Abortion Rights, Newt Gingrich Defers To Anti-Gay Family Leader Pledging “Personal Fidelity,” Bishop Gene Robinson Condemns Rick Perry Anti-Gay Stance, Australian Foreign Minister’s Sister Quits Party Over Support For Same Sex Marriage

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien is warning Liberals that gun control and the Kyoto accord are dead because of Stephen Harper’s Tories, darkly noting that same sex marriage and abortion rights could be next on the Conservative government’s chopping block. He even raises the return of the death penalty as a possibility,reports The Globe and Mail. “Unless we are bold. Unless we seize the moment. Everything we built will start being chipped away,” he writes in a toughly-worded fundraising letter. “The Conservatives have already ended gun control and Kyoto. Next may be a woman’s right to choose, or gay marriage. Then might come capital punishment. And one by one, the values we cherish as Canadians will be gone.” This new Liberal fundraising effort hits some hot button issues – it doesn’t end there. Chrétien notes that he was first elected in 1963 when there was no Medicare or Canada Pension Plan, Canadian flag or Charter of Rights. Nor was there a Clarity Act – which his government brought in to define the rules around holding a referendum should Quebec contemplate separation. And he states that had the Conservatives been in power they would have “taken us to war” when the Liberals kept Canada out of Iraq – a defining moment and very popular one for the Chrétien government.

Newt Gingrich, seeking to assure Iowa social conservatives of his commitment to their issues, has pledged in a letter to "defend and strengthen the family," reports Bloomberg News. Gingrich's three marriages and the extramarital affair he had with his current wife, Callista, concern some evangelical voters as signalling ethical weakness. They also say they worry his personal life might hurt his electability in a 2012 race against President Barack Obama. In his letter to the Iowa group Family Leader, Gingrich said he would "uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for the marital bonds of others." Gingrich also said he would "vigorously enforce the Defense of Marriage Act, which was enacted under my leadership as Speaker of the House, and ensure compliance with its provisions, especially in the military." The 1996 act defines marriage as being between a man and a woman and prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages for purposes of taxes, Social Security and other federal programs. Gingrich to date has not signed a 14-point pledge that Family Leader has promoted this year that includes opposition to same- sex marriage and abortion rights, as well as putting women "in forward combat roles." It also calls for recognizing that "robust childbearing and reproduction is beneficial to U.S. demographic, economic, strategic and actuarial health and security." In his letter, Gingrich wrote that "life begins at conception," and that he would take federal funding away from Planned Parenthood and "transfer the money so it is used to promote adoption and other pro-family policies, and enact legislation that provides greater protections for the unborn." Three of the Republican presidential contenders seeking the group's endorsement have signed the pledge: U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Texas Governor Rick Perry and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Last month, the group said it had narrowed the field of candidates it might endorse to those three, plus Gingrich. "We are pleased that Speaker Gingrich has affirmed our pledge and are thankful we have on record his statements," Bob Vander Plaats, the group's president said in a statement. Social conservatives are a powerful bloc within the Republican Party in Iowa, where Jan. 3 caucuses start the party's nomination process.

The Associated Press reports that the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, says GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry has hit a new low with a campaign ad attacking President Barack Obama on gay rights and religion. The ad, intended to appeal to Christian conservatives who typically dominate the Iowa caucuses, features Perry saying there’s something wrong in America when gays can serve openly in the military but kids cannot pray in schools. Robinson responded Tuesday with an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he says Perry would be pathetic if he were not so infuriating. Robinson says someone who aspires to be commander in chief shouldn’t denigrate the gay and lesbian soldiers he would lead. Robinson is the Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary January 10.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd's sister has resigned from the Labor Party because of its support for same sex marriage. The Ninemsn reports that Loree Rudd sent a letter to her Nambour branch last week after the party voted in support of a policy shift at the ALP national conference earlier in December. "I couldn't work for a party that had endorsed homosexuals marrying," she told Fairfax on Tuesday. Ms Rudd did not resign from the party when her brother was dumped as prime minister in June 2010. "It is a horrible thing for them to be discriminated against and that's why my brother introduced laws so they are not discriminated against," she said. "But to make that huge leap from their rights to breaking a commandment of Moses, to say homosexuals' relationships is marriage, is utter nonsense." In July, Ms Rudd threatened to quit the party if it endorsed gay marriage, sparking outrage from the Jewish community when she accused some Labor Party members of being brainwashed by a "global gay Gestapo.” Labor MPs will have a conscience vote if a bill to change marriage laws comes before parliament. The opposition is opposed to any changes and will not grant its MPs a conscience vote.