Tuesday, January 09, 2007

The AFA of Pennsylvania tries to scare people

It seems that the anti-gay industry has depleted their anti-gay marriage equality hysteria.

So whither where they fly? Or rather what's the next target for these folks.

A Pennsylvania incident may give an indication of where they are going. However, I don't envision them having as much success as they had scaring everyone about gay marriage:

According to Agape Press, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania is up in arms with school districts for working with the organization GLSEN.

GLSEN is an organization that works to make school climates better for our lgbt youth. Subsequently, that makes them public enemy number one in the eyes of the anti-gay industry:

According to (Diane) Gramley (President of the AFA of PA), many public school officials simply do not realize the danger of partnering with GLSEN or other groups like it whose primary goals, she insists, are to normalize homosexuality and to encourage students to experiment with same-sex partners. "That's what they want," she asserts. "They want the kids to believe that 'gay is okay,' and that if you feel that you are homosexual -- if you feel you're tugged in that direction -- [you should] go ahead and try it."

Gramley is partly right. We do want children to know that gay is okay because being lgbt is perfectly fine, regardless of the climate folks like her attempt to create. However, this idea that we want children to have sex is just "ignant."

That's right, I said "ignant." It's a new word describing an idea so stupid that it doesn't deserve three syllables to declare it dumb.

In her next statement, we get the gist of what Gramley is going for:

Gramley believes groups pushing the acceptance of homosexuality will eventually target the First Amendment rights of Christians who understand the Bible to prohibit sexual activity between people of the same sex. Therefore, she suggests, the homosexual agenda is a direct threat to the free speech and religious liberty of those who believe homosexual activity is sinful.

There they go again with the "dire consequences" propaganda technique. In the absence of truth, some members of the anti-gay industry spin the theory that gay people want to curtail the rights of those who think that homosexuality is a sin.

The "dire consequences" tactic is usually effective because it simultaneously appeals to the ego and the fears of the audience. Its usage is also a sign of desperation. Scaring people is the way to go for those who have depleted their logic.

Now it is here that I would make a joke that lgbts don't want to arrest Christians for believing that homosexuality is a sin because we want to send them to re-education camps where they will be strapped down and forced to watch 24 hours of Bette Davis movies or Larry Kramer speeches.

However, I have a feeling that our friends Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber would take me seriously and make my joke the subject of a new action alert/call to arms.

But I will say to Ms. Gramley, we don't want to cause you all trouble because some of us are enjoying watching you self-destruct.