Know Your LGBT History - The Best Way To Walk

The Best Way to Walk (1976) or La Meilleure Façon de Marcher, as it is known in France is a motion picture which is screaming for an American remake.

It's a complex story about closets, intimidation, and possible secret wanting.

Patrick Bouchitey portrays a summer camp counselor who is caught one night by another counselor (my dreamboat, Patrick Dewaere) wearing make up and in drag.

Dewaere does not tell the other counselors but for some reason - which is not known to the viewer, but we can guess - decides to subtlely humiliate Bouchitey on several occasions via anti-gay jokes, intimidating actions, and even flashing himself (in a very, very open scene involving frontal male nudity) in front of Boutchitey.

Finally, at the end of the movie, Bouchitey decides to turn the tables on Dewaere during a costume ball.

While a very vanguard movie for its time, The Best Way To Walk, was also very guarded. At no time do either of the characters say that they are gay. But there is an underlying tension that is just fascinating. Dewaere - whom I was very upset to learn committed suicide decades before I discovered him - gives a performance which should be watched, memorized, and copied by any actors. Especially the full frontal scene.



Past Know Your LGBT Posts: .

'Family Research Council gives 'pro-family' honor to deadbeat dad' and other Friday midday news briefs

Anyone who thinks that the Family Research Council is either a Christian or "pro-family" group obviously has not done their homework on the group.

The group just anointed Congressman Joe Walsh as a pro-family leader in spite of the fact that he allegedly owes over $100,000 in child support:

“Congressman Walsh and other ‘True Blue Members’ have voted to repeal Obamacare, de-fund Planned Parenthood, end government funding for abortion within the health care law, uphold the Defense of Marriage Act, and continue support for school choice. I applaud their commitment to uphold the institutions of marriage and family.”

At the same time, FRC has been saying ugly things to say about the following same-sex wedding officiated by Conan O'Brien on his show:



And the biggest irony? The praise of Walsh comes days after FRC publicly prayed that God stop gays from adopting children.

Pro-family? My tuckus! Christian? Forget about it!

In other news:

Senate panel advances gay judicial nominee - Excellent news!

Transgender, victimized and black - An issue which deserves a lot of attention.

You can't shake a marriage amendment without hitting an 'ex-gay' advocate (NC edition)- And speaking of FRC, resident junk scientist and spokesperson Peter Sprigg is attending a huge convention of the anti-gay group NARTH. That's the live bunch in which George Rekers used to be a member. I told him not to allow Rekers to lift his luggage should HE show up.

Family Research Council has a quiz for you

Information is from Family Research Council's team of "Capitol Hill experts" 

1. Due to religious exemptions, same-sex “marriage” would not harm the rights of parents, schools, churches, or religious ministries.

2. Science indicates that homosexuality is likely inborn and unchangeable.

3. Homosexual activists have grossly overstated the number of homosexuals in the population as being 10%, when surveys actually show it is only half that number, at about 5%!

4. Members of Congress from both parties support a pro-homosexual law that could force Christians to remove family photos from their workplace.

5. The proposed federal ENDA law would force all employers to hire transsexuals, cross-dressers, and “drag queens” and “drag kings” for any job—including customer service jobs and ones with children, such as teachers and day care workers.

Now if you really loved that quiz, you can send for a copy of the Family Research Council's ridiculously inaccurate booklet, The Top Ten Harms of Same-Sex Marriage.
Written by FRC spokesman and resident junk science specialist Peter Sprigg, this booklet containing the following errors:

1. distorts the work of Harvard professor Dr. Kyle Pruett and Judith Stacey. Both have complained on more than one occasion about how folks like Sprigg distort their work.

2. In page 10 and 11 of the pamphlet, Sprigg cites a study done by Maria Xiridou as proof that marriage will not stop alleged promiscuity amongst gay couples.

However, none of the couples in Xiridou's study were married. Her study did not look at gay marriage but was designed to "access the relative contribution of steady and casual partnerships to the incidence of HIV infection among homosexual men in Amsterdam and to determine the effect of increasing sexually risky behaviours among both types of partnerships in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy."
 
For this study, Dr. Xiridou received her information from the Amsterdam Cohort Study of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS Among Homosexual Men. To gain this information, researchers studied 1,800 gay men between the years of 1984- 2000.

Same sex marriage was legalized in the Netherlands in 2001, thus making the information irrelevant to points about gay marriage. Information for the Amsterdam Cohort Study is found here.

Furthermore, lesbians were not included in the study

3. Sprigg recounts the story of Massachusetts parent David Parker who was arrested for trespassing for not leaving his son's school after a meeting with school officials. Parker claimed that the school would not "allow him to opt his child out of discussions about homosexuality."  Supposedly the school was breaking state law that said parents have a right to opt out their child when it comes to discussions of human sexuality.

Of course Sprigg inaccurately condensed the story. The school had already assured Parker that discussions of human sexuality were not a part of his child's curriculum, but - and they checked with district policy on this - discussions about differing families was not a human sexuality issue AND  since several students in the school came from same sex households, they couldn't control these students talking amongst themselves about their families.

Sprigg also omitted the fact that the entire Parker controversy was conjured up by Parker and a Massachusetts anti-gay group Mass Resistance, i.e. Parker's goal was to be arrested in order to create  controversy.

By the way, Mass Resistance is also designated as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

I'm sure Sprigg and FRC are aware of these errors, but what's a few distortions when you are fighting in God's name?

Lesbian couple humiliated at the Florida DMV

The religious right would have us to jump through hoops just to get simple validation of our relationships. As this story proves, those hoops don't mean a thing:

'This just in - Satan did not create gays' and other Thursday midday news briefs

House GOP Continues To Misuse Research Of Pro-Gay Rights Psychologist To Argue That Gay Is A Choice - Apparently Republicans are learning from folks in the religious right. Who cares if a researcher complains. Distort the research anyway.

Senate passes ‘license to bully’ legislation - You smell the religious right's smelly hand in this travesty, you would be right. Ain't that so, Gary Glenn?

BREAKING: Bishops’ “Marriage Guy” Retracts Statement That Homosexuality Comes From Satan - Well that's a relief, I guess.

Minnesota For Marriage solicits votes with tantalizing gift card offer - Now I've heard of everything!

NOM hires controversial attorney to fight disclosure laws

Cleta Mitchell

The following just came in from the Minnesota Independent:

The National Organization for Marriage has tapped tea party attorney Cleta Mitchell as the organization’s Minnesota lobbyist during the state’s contentious 2012 battle over a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Mitchell’s expertise is in campaign finance law and Minnesota for Marriage—of which NOM is a member—has already announced plans to challenge Minnesota’s finance law surrounding ballot initiatives.

Mitchell registered as a lobbyist with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board last Wednesday, according to board records. She’s the only lobbyist that NOM has currently registered in Minnesota, although NOM President Brian Brown was registered for a month earlier this year.

Mitchell is a rising star in conservative politics, mainly for her efforts in opposing campaign finance laws and helping candidates and groups exploit loopholes in existing laws. She’s represented a slew of tea party candidates including Sharron Angle in Nevada, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Joe Miller in Alaska, Sen. Jim DeMint in South Carolina, Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio in Florida and Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire.

However, even with all of that expertise, Mitchell is repeating the same claptrap which NOM unsuccessfully repeated in California and Washington State:

Mitchell was the author of a letter to the campaign finance board in protest of the state’s disclosure guidelines. In it, she reiterated the complaints offered by NOM, claiming that members of the LGBT community will attack donors if they’re publicly disclosed.

“The board’s sudden attempt to change the law in order to subject the source(s) of NOM funds used to support the Marriage Referendum puts a bullseye squarely on the forehead of every NOM donor, supporter and member if disclosed and any alleged ‘informational interest’ is purely artificial,” wrote Mitchell. “In sum, this newly concocted disclosure and regulatory scheme is unlawful, is not constitutionally sound, threatens NOM members, donors and supporters with personal injury and harm and the Board should cease immediately its efforts to rewrite Minnesota law to achieve this unlawful purpose.”

NOM continues to lose court cases because the organization has yet to show proof of these threats. And no matter how well-connected Mitchell is, she can't make the proof appear out of thin air.

Speaking of which, Mitchell's appearance is yet another reason for NOM's finances to be disclosed. High-powered attorneys never come cheap.

Also, according to a webpage of an NRA (National Rifle Assocation ) watchdog group, Mitchell's past actions will ensure that she fits in well with NOM:

Mitchell led opposition to a decision by the American Conservative Union (ACU) to allow GOProud, a gay conservative group, to participate in the 2011 CPAC conference. GOProud Board Chairman Chris Barron called Mitchell a “nasty bigot” in response to her efforts to shut out his organization.

Mitchell served as an “attack attorney” for many Tea Party Congressional candidates during the 2010 elections, including Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell and Joe Miller. She has suggested that the Democratic Party’s “tricks” include widespread engagement in voter fraud. Mitchell famously wrote a fundraising letter on behalf of Angle where she accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of attempting to steal the election. Mitchell also accused the Democratic party of stealing the 2002 South Dakota senate election, where Senator Tim Johnson was victorious over Senator John Thune. Both Angle and Miller have been involved in high-profile controversies surrounding guns and the Second Amendment.

In 2009, Mitchell spearheaded an initiative to overturn the legalization of gay marriage in the District of Columbia.

Mitchell served as the attorney for the American Issues Project, a group that ran a television ad falsely accusing President Barack Obama of having a close personal relationship with former-Weather Underground member Bill Ayers in the months prior to the 2008 presidential election. Because AIP’s tax-exempt status makes it illegal for the organization to have a mission that is primarily political, the legality of the ad was questioned by elections experts. Laura MacCleery, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, called the ad a “clear abuse of federal election law.” Fox News declined to air the spot.

In May 2005, Mitchell served as the Master of Ceremonies at an ACU event honoring U.S. Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), who was embroiled in ethics investigations (and has since been convicted of money laundering). After telling those in attendance that she and other conservatives “love” DeLay, Mitchell claimed he was under investigation only because he is “effective.” She also declared, “The tribute is a statement to him: You're not alone. We'll stand by you. And it's to say to people in this town: If you pick a fight with him, you've got us to contend with.”

Family Research Council wants God to stop gay adoptions

Over the years, I have blogged about many several nasty, underhanded, and mean-spirited things done by the Family Research Council in the name of God.

But the following prayer by the group simply has to take the proverbial cake:

Homosexual Adoption -- Building upon Congress' passage of a pro-homosexual federal hate crimes law, the overturn of the law against homosexuality in the military, and the legalization of homosexual marriage in her home state, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has introduced the Every Child Deserves A Family Act. The Act would end all federal funding for adoption agencies that refuse to place children in LGBT "families." It will punish public and private agencies that act on their view that traditionally married couples are the best candidates to adopt. It will trounce on adoption agencies in the 31 states that have passed marriage amendments. It will put some Christian groups that take federal funds out of business altogether. Moreover, it will subject foster and adoptive children to the homosexual indoctrination and behavior of LGBT "parents"

• May God intervene and stir Americans to resist and stop this effort to advance the radical homosexual agenda and literally to possess our nation's children. May God open our eyes! (Gen 1:26-28; 2:21-24; Lev 18:22-30; Dt 26:7-8; Pr 28:4; Lk 17:1-2; Acts 5:29; Eph 5:31-6:4)

Bear in mind that FRC never even bothered to ask God that children in need of adoption be placed in good homes. The organization didn't even push the phony talking point of "all children need a mother and a father."

It's all about keeping children away from "The GAYS."

There is no other way to put it. That's some coldhearted shit.

And it underscores something vital which very few have ever mentioned. In all of the years in which FRC has attacked same-sex households or gay adoption, the organization has never pushed, suggested, or even slightly initiated any type of  plan encouraging folks in what it claims to be "perfect family units," i.e. heterosexual mother/father households into adopting children.

Again, it's all about keeping children away from "The GAYS."

To FRC, it's all about "The GAYS."  Children are merely collateral damage in its attempts to stamp out lgbtq equality.

And now through virtue of the organization's prayer, God has become collateral damage.

What do you all think? Should this be considered as the 17th reason why the Family Research Council is a hate group?

'NOM's latest victim is another fraud' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Archbishop Dolan Wields Victim Card: Church Should Not Be Criticized For Opposing LGBT Equality - The smallest violin in the world is playing for them.

NOM's latest 'Anti-Defamation' star: Previously Focus on the Family's star, for completely other 'issue' - NOM's latest "victim of the supposed gay menace" is a fraud. Surprise, surprise.

Dan Savage Gets Glitterbombed By Trans Activist During MTV Taping - Sorry but this glittering thing has become stupid. Has become? It was dumb from the beginning. It devotes lots of undeserved attention to frivolous shit. Furthermore it trivializes the lgbtq equality movement as a bunch of kooks doing anything to gain attention.
  
Stop SB 48 campaign: “We’re working on an initiative” - For Pete's sake, guys . . .

CWA: Same-Sex Parents Use Children As "Guinea Pigs" - As offensive as it is, I think it's good when the anti-gay industry shows its animus for same-sex families. Such hatred cannot be hidden behind the guise of "upholding Christian principles."

I get VERY frustrated with the gay community - Apparently the rant I wrote this morning has attained a degree of popularity. Because of such, I am running it again.

I get VERY frustrated with the gay community

I'll let you in on a little secret.

There are times when I get extremely frustrated with some who fight for lgbtq equality.

Yesterday, I was reading an excellent piece on Equality Matters (a really good site), which detailed the fact that Fox News was relying on the supposed expertise of religious right "experts" to comment on a situation involving a seven-year-old transgender girl who was allowed in the Girl Scouts.

The piece pinpointed two of the phony experts - Judith Reisman:

Reisman is actually a long-time peddler of anti-LGBT propaganda. She is a full-throated proponent of the claim that gay people are more likely to engage in pedophilia, as well as the myth that the Nazi party was run by gay men. She has railed against the media for failing to acknowledge “that homosexuality is correlated with disorder.” She’s also accused those who support transgender youth of “chemically violating and numbing the nation’s cruelly and unnaturally traumatized youth.”

And the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg:

FRC has been labeled as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Sprigg is a good example of the reasons why. Sprigg is the author of some of FRC’s vilest anti-LGBT propaganda, including a pamphlet that links homosexuality to pedophilia, mental illness, disease, and violence while promoting “ex-gay” therapy. He’s stated that he would prefer to “export” gays and lesbians from the U.S. and condemned anti-bullying initiatives for trying to “indoctrinat[e]” children.

Here is the thing, though.

The piece failed to mention that Reisman is a failed researcher who was given a federal grant of more than $784,000 to study 30 years worth of Playboy magazines. These findings were dismissed as "paranoid pseudoscientific hyperbole." Or that she wrote a book accusing sex researcher Alfred Kinsey of child abuse. When the Kinsey Institute easily batted down her charges, she sued it for defamation and emotional distress, claiming that it tried to censor her book. Not only was the case dismissed, but it was dismissed with prejudice, which means Reisman could not re-file it.

The piece also failed to mention that Sprigg's pamphlet in question - The Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality - is filled with distortions, cherry-picked work, and quotes taken out of context created to justify homophobia.

Marine accuses nurse of anti-gay lecture at VA Hospital

I post this entry with an extreme caveat. We don't know the entire story as of yet but if this turns out to be true, it's an awful thing to happen. And I'm just itching to hear how the religious right - particularly NOM - will defend this nurse's actions:

A wounded lesbian Marine veteran who sought mental health treatment at the Dallas VA Medical Center claims she was subjected to an extended anti-gay tirade by a nurse practitioner.

Esther Garatie, 28, a former Marine lance corporal who lives in Dallas, has filed complaints against the nurse practitioner, Lincy Pandithurai of Cedar Hill, with both the VA Medical Center and the Texas Board of Nursing.

Garatie and her friend, Jessica Gerson, have also launched an online petition at Change.org calling for Pandithurai to be fired. By Thursday, Oct. 27, the petition had more than 1,300 signatures.

 . . .  In a three-page written statement about the incident, Garatie alleges that Pandithurai inquired about her sexual orientation at the outset of their meeting. After Garatie responded that she was a lesbian, Pandithurai told Garatie she was living in sin and said that was the reason for her mental health issues, according to the statement.

“She sat down and looked at me, and her first question was, ‘Are you a lesbian?’” Garatie wrote in the statement. “Her second question to me was, ‘Have you asked God into your heart? Have you been saved by Jesus Christ?’ This is when I realized that I was no longer a United States veteran in her eyes, I was just a homosexual.”

The session lasted for more than three hours, with Pandithurai citing the Bible and repeatedly telling Garatie she was living in darkness and would be doomed to hell if she didn’t “come back to ‘the light,’” according to the statement.

Pandithurai told Garatie she could change her sexual orientation. Pandithurai also told Garatie homosexuality was a diagnosable condition until President Barack Obama changed that, the statement alleges.

Penny Kerby, a spokeswoman for the VA Medical Center, confirmed that Garatie’s complaint is under investigation.

More at The Dallas Voice. 

'11 ways to 'cure' homosexuality' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

11 Ridiculous, Strange, And Terrifying Gay Conversion Therapy Methods For 'Curing' Homosexuality - Self explanatory like crazy. Wait until you see the exorcism.

Chick-fil-A Gave Almost $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2009 - THIS is a hot mess. No more waffle fries or freshly squeeze lemonade for me.

Lonely Planet Names Uganda Best Travel Destination for 2012 - Cause you know gay folks should always travel to a country trying to imprison us.

US Catholic Church’s Policy Advisor for Marriage: Homosexuality Caused by the Devil - Yep. The gig's up. LOL

NOM - 'It doesn't matter if we stole the photos'

So the National Organization for Marriage is FINALLY commenting on the controversy regarding its theft of photos from Obama rallies. NOM's president, Brian Brown had this to say on its blog:

Rachel Maddow and her friends on the left are all atwitter about a photo collage created for the www.NHforMarriage.com website that NOM is sponsoring with allies in New Hampshire who are working with us to repeal same-sex marriage there.

. . . It's no accident that Maddow and her allies in the gay activist community chose Tuesday to issue their breathless "expose" about NOM's photo "controversy"—on Tuesday the New Hampshire House Judiciary Committee voted overwhelmingly to repeal same-sex marriage! Neither Maddow nor her friends at the Human Rights Campaign can defend imposing same-sex marriage on New Hampshire with no vote of the people. So they issue "reports" and press releases criticizing NOM over a photo collage! They object to us using a photo of a crowd scene, which symbolizes the tens of thousands of New Hampshire voters who are part of our effort. They're upset that the photo was not taken at a NOM rally. Seriously?! NOM using a common use photo in the public domain is considered a great scandal, yet they can redefine marriage—the most important social institution of society against the wishes of New Hampshire voters—and nobody is supposed to object? It's as if the institution of marriage gets mugged, and they complain about speeding in the neighborhood when someone rushes it to the hospital!

Naturally Brown ends this post with a request for money to "save marriage."

Brown, if you haven't caught on by now, is lying through his teeth and I almost wish that the old adage about "getting struck by lightning would apply here."

NOM did not use a common use photo. It used a photo specifically taken at a rally for Obama:

You can even see Obama in both photos.

Never have I seen such incredible arrogance. NOM gets caught stealing photos to boost up its number of supporters and its response to being called out is to play the victim.

That's like a thief crying foul because a homeowner hit him too hard in the middle of a break-in.

But that's the caliber of NOM.  It's the level of underhanded hypocrisy which the gay community has come to expect from the organization.

Related posts:

NOM continues to embarrass itself in photo scandal

NOM photo scandal heating up

'NOM condemned from all sides for photo stealing' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Just when you thought NOM couldn't stoop any lower . . .

School crowns gay homecoming couple, gets backlash

An awesome incident happened recently a San Diego high school:

 

Unfortunately some ignorant people are now trying to taint this event.

A local high school is being bombarded with phone calls and emails after students elected a lesbian couple to be homecoming king and queen this weekend, the district superintendent said Monday.

"I am disappointed that this happy and positive event has recieved national media coverage," Superintendent Bill Kowba said in a statement, "Which has attracted what I can only call a slew of hate calls and emails."

Friday, students at Patrick Henry High School elected senior Rebeca Arellano homecoming king. Then on Saturday night at the school's homecoming dance, Arrellano's girlfriend, Haileigh Adams, was crowned homecoming queen.

The non-traditional choice for homecoming king attracted international attention. Stories about it on online websites have attracted hundreds of comments. They have also prompted some very ugly responses directly to the school, which is in San Diego's suburban San Carlos neighborhood, San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Bill Kowba said.

Many of the adults who contacted the school are not residents of San Diego, and their comments were hateful and showed a lack of tolerance, Kowba said.

It's a semi-sad story. Sad in the fact that there are so many ignorant people with too much time on their hands. However, the fact remains that the couple had the support of the school from the get-go and continues to have the support of the school.

When you do something great, there is always pushback but generally this is because you are breaking barriers. These two young ladies, their peers, and the school in general should be commended not only for what they have done but for their courage in the face of such ignorance.

Hey NOM! What about Kim Kardashian?

No doubt everyone has heard of Kim Kardashian's divorce announcement.

Right after one asks just who is Kim Kardashian, one should ask what the National Organization for Marriage say about it or will it say anything at all. From NOM Exposed:

The National Organization for Marriage should be putting out a statement today, right? After a $10 million wedding, TV personality Kim Kardashian and New Jersey Net Kris Humphries are ending their two-month marriage. The starlet apparently cites ‘irreconcilable differences.’ Wow. She dated this guy for a while and it took two months of marriage to figure that out? That’s the ‘sanctity of marriage’ for you!”

My guess is that NOM will be conveniently silent on the Kardashian affair, choosing to devote time to continuing to needle NY Senators for their part in passing marriage equality in the state, like so:

Priorities, don't you know.

'NOM's 'victim' coming up short' and other Monday midday news briefs

Rick Perry Endorses New Hampshire’s Marriage Repeal Effort During Awkward Speech To Anti-Gay Group - I don't think folks really care about the speech, but rather than did Perry "indulge" before making the speech.

Charges Dropped Against Pastor Linked To Miller Kidnapping - Keep your eyes on this one my friends. Someone is about to sing like a canary and I don't think that the religious right will like his tune.

Belforti and willing allies continue to feign ignorance towards obvious - If you can't do your elected job, then you need to resign. Period. You are NOT a victim no matter how NOM tries to make you one.

Ex-Gay Therapist Offers Duplicitous ‘Apology’ To Attract New Gay Clients To Harmful Treatment - Richard Cohen is the only member of the religious right who honestly freaks me out.

Report: Fox News Downplays Stories About Anti-LGBT Bullying, Suicide - And we are surprised? Why?

Catholic Church making deal with the devil to stop marriage equality in Minnesota?

Earlier this month when Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt sent out a letter urging every Catholic church in the state to create ad-hoc committees which would work to pass a constitutional amendment against marriage equality, he caused a deserved uproar regarding the idea that a tax-exempt entity would take such an aggressive role in a political issue.

However, there is another issue in this situation which needs more attention:

According to Nienstedt’s letter, the church captains will be organized by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Catholic church, which will in turn report to the Minnesota for Marriage coalition for statewide efforts. Minnesota for Marriage is made up of the Minnesota Family Council, MCC and the National Organization for Marriage.

We all know the exploits of the National Organization for Marriage - how the group moves from state to state scaring up the populace against marriage equality via lies and scare tactics such as claiming that gays are "corrupting" children while fighting state laws demanding that it reveal its donors.

However, let's focus more on the Minnesota Family Council. People should be reminded that group has a sordid history of homophobia. According to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch:

Tom Prichard, the MFC’s president, maintained that LGBT youth commit suicide because they live an “unhealthy lifestyle” and that anti-bullying programs are ways to have children “indoctrinated in homosexuality.” Prichard also criticized Gay Straight Alliances, saying “it’s sad and harmful for kids to celebrate homosexuality when in fact it’s not a healthy lifestyle;” he went on to claim that Matthew Shepard’s murder wasn’t a hate crime and that his “death served an important ideological purpose for homosexual activists.”

Earlier this year, MFC was called out for having materials on its webpage which accused gays of pedophilia, bestiality, and the consuming of bodily wastes. Prichard later actually defended the inaccurate data.  However after much outcry, the materials were removed from the webpage without any comment.

The Minnesota Family Council is scum. It is a group devoted to demonizing and stigmatizing the gay community through junk science and ugly propaganda.

Yet it is the same group which Archbishop Nienstedt sees no problem in teaming up with in order to stop marriage equality in Minnesota.

There is a great deal more at stake than talk of tax-exempt status. The question has to be is Nienstedt ready to barter the integrity of his Catholic diocese in order to stop marriage equality?

Could it be that Nienstedt is so concerned with the verses of the Bible which supposedly speak against homosexuality that he is abandoning the ones which speak against lying and bearing false witness?

How NOM wins - Creating doubt and fear about children

The National Organization has a mantra which it likes to repeat. It goes like this:

"When the people lend their voice to the issue of marriage by voting, they will stand up for traditional marriage every time."

At first glance, NOM does have a point. The track record is on their side because when people have voted in referendums on the subject of marriage equality, they have rejected it.

However, as the old saying goes, the devil is always in the details. The end result is all that matters, not what shaded, dirty, and underhanded things it took to get the end result.

And in the case of NOM, this is definitely true. Question One, a documentary about how NOM aided in defeating marriage equality in Maine in 2009, thoroughly points that out:

[Marc] Mutty, who took leave from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine to help lead the campaign to overturn the Legislature’s 2009 law legalizing same-sex marriage, granted the filmmakers nearly unrestricted access in the “Yes on 1″ war room.

Mutty, featured prominently in a production shot over the three months leading up to the election, is interviewed during the campaign and at home. He appears as a reluctant participant in the campaign. He expresses discomfort with the tactics deployed by Schubert Flint, a California public relations firm hired by the National Organization for Marriage.

Mutty, who said he had to step outside of himself to run the campaign, is shown telling volunteers that their message need not convince people they were right about the issue.

“All we have to do is create doubt,” he said.

And how do they create doubt? Simply by claiming that marriage equality is damaging to the family, especially the children:

However, Mutty grows increasingly troubled by Schubert Flint television ads stating that gay marriage will lead to homosexuality being taught in public schools.

“We all use a lot of hyperbole and I think that’s always dangerous,” Mutty said. “You know, we say things like ‘Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage in schools)! Well, that’s not completely accurate and we all know it, you know?”

In other words - and these are words which need to be repeated consistently and continuously - when people vote against marriage equality, it's not because they are standing up for traditional marriage. It's usually because organizations like NOM make them fear that gays are trying to corrupt their children.

It's nothing new or original. And it's certainly not noble. It's the same homophobic game Anita Bryant played in 70s when she led the charge against gay rights in Florida - i.e. if gays get equality, they are going to want your children next.

If you aren't convinced by my words, allow the following montage of NOM flyers to prove my point:

The only thing about "traditional" about NOM's tactics is how those without an clear cut argument always stoop to lies and fear mongering.

My fellow blogger Jeremy Hooper pretty much nails what we must do to combat this mess:

 . . . if we are going to win, we are going to have to become even better about knowing groups like NOM better than they know their own efforts. And I don't mean just know them in an anecdotal, "Yeah, yeah, they talk about school books -- now can we go have a cocktail?" sort of way: I mean we must truly KNOW what the organized marriage opposition movement is doing in this country to stop or chip away at our existing rights, as well as UNDERSTAND how and why they are doing it. 

Related post:


NOM exploiting children to stop gay marriage in New York

NOM President Claims Marriage Equality Will “Normalize Pedophilia”

NOM Still Promoting Bogus Link Between Pedophilia And Homosexuality

Know Your LGBT History - The Jackal

For today's Know Your LGBT History post, I've selected The Jackal (1997).

The Jackal is a remake of a 1973 movie entitled The Day of the Jackal. Both movies are about an unnamed assassin paid gobs of money to kill a high ranking official. In the original movie, the assassin's target was French president Charles de Gaulle. In the remake, it was the First Lady.

What makes both movies so interesting is how the assassin covers his identity, moving from person to person and murdering whomever to keep said identity secret.

In both movies, he takes up with a gay man, making sure to dispose of the man when he no longer needs him.

The remake is viciously direct when it comes to this. The Jackal, played by  BruceWillis, takes up with a gay man in order to hide out. There is a small hint that the two had sex, seeing that the gay man thinks that they are beginning a relationship.

Of course that ludicrous notion dies out in a scene so ridiculous that you can't get mad at what happens.

One could almost look at it as a parody of the many times in the movies where they create a gay character, only to kill him off:



Next week - Something nice and foreign that's just begging for an American remake. I would have posted it this week but I had forgotten about it until this post was half written. I'm not telling you what it is. Tune it next Friday.

Past Know Your LGBT Posts: .
 

'Catholic Bishops worry about being thought of as bigots' and other Friday midday news briefs

Catholic Bishops Fear That Support For DOMA May Mark Them As Bigots - Not with just DOMA but all laws and potential amendments outlawing marriage equality. Here is a tip - if you don't want to be thought of as bigots, then maybe it's not a good idea to team up with groups who claim that gays rape children, have sex with animals, and eat bodily wastes - that one was for you, Archbishop Nienstedt.

LGBT: Domestic Violence Became Even Greater Problem Last Year - BEFORE the religious right distorts this news - and they will - read the entire post. Domestic violence is not indicative of gay relationships any more than it is indicative of heterosexual relationships.


Gillibrand: Open Adoption To Gays, Lesbians - Way to lead on this issue, Senator Gillibrand!

Liberty Counsel: SPLC Doing To Us Just What Nazis Did To Jews - Sorry guys, but your claims are trash and you yourself provide all of the proof we need for that.

NC NAACP President to present open letter against anti-LGBT constitutional amendment at Equality NC’s Conference Keynote Panel - Excellent news. However, I am sure that there will be a group of bought-and-paid-for, I mean "concerned pastors and black leaders" who will try to count this.

Some Catholics not happy with Minnesota archbishop's anti-gay marriage push

Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt

Earlier this month, Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt sent out word to every church in his diocese to start ad hoc committees in order to push for the state's constitutional amendment against gay marriage. At the time, I wrote that he was going too far in devoting the Catholic Church's tax-exempt resources to an arena  - i.e. politics -  which may put his integrity and that of the church's in question.

According to a recent issue of the Minnesota Independent, I am not the only one who seems to have a problem with Nienstedt's push:

One lay Catholic who works for a church-affiliated organization, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing their job, told the Minnesota Independent that the organized campaign in support of the marriage amendment was “offensive, divisive and against the image of Christ we see in the Gospels.”

“But honestly after the sex abuse scandal and the cover-ups made by the hierarchy, nothing they do shocks me anymore,” the source said. ”After watching the Catholic Church use funds to pay for their lawyers, pay off victims and now shove through this amendment, I’ve decided to withhold my tithe from the church. I do not want to provide them more money to defend themselves or lobby against me and those I love. Instead, I will give that money directly to services in Minnesota that provide food and housing for the poorest among us.”

The puzzlement that Nienstedt would devote resources to the amendment fight was a constant theme in the article:

Scott Alessi, writing for U.S. Catholic, which is published by a Roman-Catholic community of priests and brothers called the Claretian Missionaries, said Niensted’s decision was “unusual.”

“Nienstedt has made clear that for priests in his archdiocese, fighting to ensure that the state defines marriage in the same way as the church is today’s top priority,” Alessi wrote.

Alessi wondered if anti-gay marriage amendment was the most appropriate use of resources: ”If an archbishop can call upon all his pastors to form grassroots committees, appoint parish leaders, and organize a large-scale effort, is this the issue on which to do it? What if every parish developed an unemployment committee dedicated to helping out of work people in the parish community find jobs?”

The answer to why Nienstedt made this "unusual push" lies in a document which he signed two years ago - The Manhattan Declaration.  The Manhattan Declaration was signed by over one hundred and twenty-five members of the religious right and leaders from the Catholic church and it says that signees will not abide by any laws which support abortion or marriage equality.

NOM continues to embarrass itself in photo scandal

The National Organization for Marriage finally admitted that it did wrong in the recent photo-stealing scandal. However, the way NOM admitted wrongdoing was in an underhanded way which totally backfired yet again.

According to Jeremy Hooper from Goodasyou.org, they replaced the lying photo with this one:

However according to Hooper, this photo is yet another misdirection:

Even though the text clearly identifies the "we" as a "collation of Granite State Citizens," what you see is the NYC march that NOM held on the very day same-sex couples began marrying in the city and state. That same rally at which the majority of marchers were bussed in from other places. 

So instead of a comment admitting wrongdoing, NOM tries to cover up its lies by making yet another easy-to-detect error.

Damn. I am sooo jealous of the fun Jeremy is having right now.

Gay student viciously brutalized on video. Where the $#! is HIS anti-defamation alliance?

For all of those "people" who will defend teachers who attack gay students and same-sex families, for all of those "people" who will engage in an extreme media blitz to obscure a situation involving a student possibly harassing a gay teacher, this video is a reminder on who the real victims are. When you defend things which fosters ignorance, situations like this are expected to occur. Where is this young man's defense fund?:



More information about this situation on Towleroad.

In other news:

SLDN Files DOMA Challenge, Seeking Equal Benefits for Same-Sex Military Spouses - Good news.

Linda Harvey: I Should Sue Wayne Besen - I WISH she would. I really do. I got so much stuff in my "Linda Harvey archives" which needs to be used.

Guest column by Ron Hill: Feds Help Anti-Gay Hate Groups Raise Cash - A post for the ignorant people who say that we shouldn't give any of the religious right groups attention.

Illinois Republican Senators Unanimously Support Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples - How long will it take for NOM to trumpet this futile gesture while ignoring the pictures it stole?

How dare Target help to keep gay youth from committing suicide!

From Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God. comes this monstrosity:

Earlier this week, I wrote about how the "Florida Family Association" was complaining about how MTV was supposedly  "promoting homosexuality" by airing a public service announcement from the Trevor Project during one of its shows, Degrassi.  The Trevor Project is an organization devoted to preventing suicide amongst lgbtq youth.

There was specific anger towards Target because it is a main advertiser during Degrassi.

Now it seems that the American Family Association has now undertaken a campaign against Target via its group One Million Moms.

The Trevor Helpline promotion aired during the "Beat It" episode of Teen Nick's Degrassi series when teen Riley, the openly gay football captain and starting quarterback, declined reparative therapy for his homosexuality. Not only is Teen Nick now featuring a show that encourages the nation's youth to embrace alternate lifestyles, but the family retail chain Target Corporation is helping through sponsorship. Upon discovering that Target Corporation is one of the main advertisers during the shameful and inappropriate program Degrassi, OMM is disappointed and the retail chain needs to be held accountable. At least three Target advertisements appeared during each episode of Degrassi this past weekend. They are openly recruiting teens and children to become 'gay' on a program that also promotes the transgender and homosexual lifestyle.

The idea that the AFA's campaign is vile and disgustingly homophobic is a given. What gets me is the group the organization is using to promote it. No doubt by pushing this campaign via astroturfed One Million Moms, AFA is pushing the implication that mothers are concerned by the so-called promotion of homosexuality.

Seems to me that any true mother would be more concerned with keeping her child from committing suicide, no matter if that child is gay or heterosexual.

NOM photo scandal heating up

Brian Brown, NOM's president

The National Organization for Marriage has YET to comment on getting caught stealing photos from Obama rallies to misrepresent its number of supporters, but others are commenting.

Today, the Human Rights Campaign made a statement:

HRC to NOM: Fess Up About Stolen Photo

Anti-​LGBT organization manipulates crowd photo to create illusion of support

WASHINGTON – Today Joe Solmonese, the president of the Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization – sent a letter to the so-​called National Organization for Marriage (NOM) calling out the group’s deceitful tactics in New Hampshire. NOM is using a photograph from an Obama campaign event in Ohio to mislead New Hampshire voters into believing they have more supporters than they actually do. The news was broken by Jeremy Hooper on his Good as You blog; Hooper is also a contributor to HRC’s NOM Exposed.

The photo debacle comes on the heels of news from the nonpartisan University of New Hampshire Survey Center who recently released a poll showing 62% of Granite Staters oppose repealing the popular same-​sex marriage law.

Read Solmonese’s letter to NOM President Brian Brown below:

Dear Mr. Brown:

Your organization has sunk to a new level of deception by manipulating photographs from an Obama campaign event in Ohio to trick Granite Staters into believing support for the National Organization for Marriage is much greater than it really is. And while I know that NOM has never been above misleading the public to further its cause, this new phoniness is an example of just how far you will go to make people believe your pursuit – the denial of equal treatment under the law — is supported by New Hampshire voters and Americans in general. 

There’s no mistaking the facts: 62 percent of Granite Staters oppose repealing marriage equality. In addition, polls reflect that a majority of Americans support marriage equality nationwide. And it’s no secret that support is growing as Americans from all walks of life come to the understanding that all that gay and lesbian families seek is to have our love and commitment recognized and legally protected. Yet NOM futilely and painstakingly attempts to convince otherwise. 

The fact that you had to “steal a crowd” from someone else’s event to create the illusion that people support your cause is evidence that you and your cohorts are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Americans want the truth. And the truth is voters in New Hampshire want the legislature to leave the popular marriage law alone and focus on the economy and budget matters.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese

Meanwhile Clarknt67, a blogger at Daily Kos, has come out with a list detailing the fact that photos aren't the only items NOM has pilfered:

Gosh for such God-fearing Christian people, those folks over at National Organization for Marriage sure seem to have a problem following the 8th Commandment.

They stole music from John Mellencamp music.

They stole video from a gay blogger.

They stole an image from Reuters earlier this week.

Seems they need to go back to Sunday School, before the Baby Jesus cries.

Let's refresh the Exodus 20:15 for them, shall we?

If NOM comments on this, I will be surprised. No doubt, they are hoping that this controversy will die out.

But it shouldn't. Not if we have anything to say about it.

'NOM condemned from all sides for photo stealing' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

The National Organization for Marriage is being condemned in many areas for using photos from Obama rallies to misrepresent its number of supporters. 

From Rachel Maddow:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

To a blog from from its ally in the Prop 8 trial (FamilyScholars.org, the "pro-family" blog for the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values):

NOM’s Unethical Swiping of Obama Rally Photos

Meanwhile NOM has yet to comment on being caught red-handed. A little tip, NOM. Ignoring the fact that you were caught in unscrupulous, underhanded, and totally immoral behavior won't make it go away.

And in other news:

Reports: Uganda Brings Back Anti-Homosexuality Bill - This ain't good at all. It's like a monster who keeps getting killed and returning in sequels.

Katherine Kersten: Opposing marriage equality is like opposing Jim Crow South - Sometimes when you let the opposition talk, their hyperbole makes our case for us.

Is Exodus Leader Raising Money for U.S. Hate Group? - I always knew someone was assisting crazy Linda Harvey.

NOM make sly attack on same-sex parenting

The National Organization for Marriage constantly tries to pass itself off as an organization created to solely protect the "so-called" special institution of marriage.

The mantra of "Don't mess with marriage" has been heard constantly in its talking points and when its spokespeople - Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher - are interviewed concerning the organization's goals and such.

Gallagher herself has said that she thinks its unfortunate how sometimes people misinterpret the things she says as a condemnation of "gay parenting skills."

Don't believe Brown, Gallagher, or anyone from NOM when they come with that spin. It's not necessarily the things that Brown or Gallagher may say about same-sex families, but how they present the issue and allow their supporters to ruminate over it.

Case in point, a recent post on the group's blog featured a piece on a from the UK Daily Mail over two gay couples fighting over custody of two children.

It's an ugly situation but would NOM have given a damn about it if the couples involved where heterosexual? Of course not.

But here is the tricky part. NOM doesn't make a comment on the situation. The organization merely posted the article verbatim. It merely allowed its responders to comment - making sure of course to moderate comments. Here are just some:

Of course the players in this travesty, the so-called adults, have never given a moment's thought to the best interests of the children. They seem incapable of doing so, being children themselves. They are totally caught up in their own narcissistic desires. The judge is understandably frustrated.Children are not pets.

  . . . this begs the question, "What is a human?" It is rational animal whose existence requires the unity of male and female whose sexual powers are ordered toward such a union. When a heterosexual couples adopts a child, it tries to replicate, as close as possible, what has been lost: a mother and a father. Gays simply cannot do this. To pretend that they can do this is to lie to oneself. Mothers and fathers are not interchangeable. What's more, only if there is a natural family--that which by its orderliness produces the children that you want to adopt--can you even mimic it. But as you move further away from a memory of the natural family, and it because more difficult to morally plagiarize from it, you are literally without guidance on what to do. Hence, we have this case in the UK. People playing with counterfeit money for so long they forget how the real thing feels like. And who gets harmed? Those who were supposed to receive a different inheritance.
SOME true marriages harm kids. ALL same-sex "marriages" harm kids.

This shows the evil of homosexuality. Part of the evil is their utter disdain for children.

NOM will probably say that posting this UK article is not the same as generalizing about same-sex couples, but the comments of its responders speak for themselves. The organization gave them red meat and like rabid wolves, they chewed on it like it was their last meal.