Open letter to Christians who claim that they are being 'persecuted'

Dear  Christians who think they are being persecuted,

I don't expect you to be swayed by my open letter. I don't expect to change your mind with my words. But certain things have to be said.

Now I understand how some of you don't agree with marriage equality (some of you call it gay marriage, I call it marriage equality) and I respect your opinion. I have tolerance for your opinion.  I even have tolerance for your opinion that homosexuality is a sin.

However, please note - and don't take this the wrong way -  that every time you gripe about being persecuted for simply for being ordered to treat gay couples like you would heterosexual couples by the rule of law, you make damn fools of yourself.

I'm serious. I don't say this to be mean or nasty. I mean no malice intended.

But don't you think that automatically seizing the "persecution card"  simply because you have to treat gays the same as heterosexuals in accordance to the law is just a bit too much? Don't you think that you are taking dramatic license a little too far?  Or at least overacting just a little?

Let's talk about this. When I think about "religious persecution," I think about the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witchcraft Trials, how Mary I of England had over 280 people burned at the stake for supposed heresy, the mass slaughter of the Huguenots.

When I think of persecution in general, I think of mutilated corpses littering the streets, screaming victims being dragged away by brutal soldiers to suffer harsher fates.  I think about vandalized places of business, burning homes, mobs throwing rocks at innocent folks, the smell of death, violence, and anarchy in the air.

I fail to see how having your day in court and losing your case fairly as a result of due process and then being interviewed on the most watched news programs in the country by a leggy - if slightly scatterbrained - blonde in a tight dress fits amongst the images of violence, death, and the general mayhem which comes with religious persecution.

I fail to see how being the cause celebre of various multi-million dollared morality groups (and getting a decent income with a speaking gig if you can get a good "Christian" agent) ranks up there with being slaughtered.

Come on guys. In the early days of your faith, the Romans fed you to lions. They crucified several of you. They dipped you in tar and set you on fire. They even distorted the words of the Holy Communion to claim that you practiced cannibalism (which kinda reminds me to later mention how some of you distort science to demonize gays, but that's for another time.)

Do you think God will punish you for simply making a cake for a gay wedding or even marrying a gay couple if you are elected to do such a job?

After all, it is gay tax dollars who is paying the police force to keep your business safe or the fire department to save your business if it should catch on fire.

And it is gay dollars which is paying your salary as an elected official who oversees weddings.

So it seems to me that you are already deep with us as it is. Do you hear any voices above asking you to cease?  Have you been struck by lightning yet?

Well then that should tell you something.

Lgbts aren't out to persecute you. We aren't asking that you like us or that you "endorse" us. All we ask is fairness in accordance to the law.  After all, this is our country too. And when we appear in public with partners or families or when we talk about issues that affect us, we certainly aren't shoving anything in your faces. We are merely acting like normal human beings going through the regular process of existing on this Earth. You know that process, don't you? It's called having a life.

I hope I haven't bored you or gotten you so upset that you don't consider what I'm saying.

Because next time, I want to talk to you about this "War on Christmas" thing.

Yours truly,

Alvin McEwen

'Fairness vs. so-called religious liberty' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Presenting both sides of the religious liberty argument. In one corner we have:

Discriminatory cake baker posts editorial on bakery's website; goes after 'illegal' weddings that are 'contrary to biblical teachings' - A bakery owner who thinks he has the to discriminate in accordance to his personal religious beliefs. 

And in the other corner:

It Was Never About the Cake - The mother of the man who sued a bakery who points out that it's not about a cake, but about dignity and fairness. 

Fox News: It’s ‘The Death Of Free Enterprise’ If Bakery Can’t Discriminate Against Gay Couples -  And speaking of  the 'Christian' baker, he is now on his 'I'm being persecuted' tour with the first stop being 'Fox and Friends.' Maybe it's just me but baking a cake for a gay couple doesn't exactly rank up on the persecution chart next to being burned at the stake by Mary I of England.
 
Georgia Falls In Line With Providing National Guard Same-Sex Benefits - And Mississippi is all alone in NOT doing the right thing for our fighting men and women.  

Klingenschmitt Kindly Informs Us That He Recently Obtained A Concealed Carry Permit - After losing in his attempts to ban Right Wing Watch's videos of him acting like a fool from youtube, anti-gay activist Gordon Klingenschmitt (forgive me but I just can't get the desire to call him Klingenshitt out of my head) now informs us all that he recently obtained a concealed carry permit. In street terms Mr. Klingenschmitt, allow me to put it this way - "ain't nobody want you."

Elton John denounces Russia's anti-gay laws during Moscow concert

I'll be honest.

 I have on many, many occasions railed against the extensive fascination of celebrities in the lgbt community. I have called out how many of us don't seem about important issues until someone like Lady Gaga or Ellen DeGeneres talks about it. And there is a reason why this blog will not talk about the alleged relationship between a certain young Olympic athlete and an older, Oscar-winning screenwriter.

But I also believe in giving credit where its due and for Elton John to speak out against Russia's anti-gay laws during concert in Moscow took a lot of chutzpah.

Why I Get a Nagging Feeling Every Time I Hear the Phrase 'Religious Liberty'

Editor's note - From time to time whenever the opportunity presents itself, I like to repost pieces I published. In light of the discussion regarding those who feel that discrimination against lgbts should be allowed on the grounds of "religious liberty," I am resposting this piece from 2011:

Those who are my friends know that I am a serious fan of the 1970s detective drama Columbo. The thing I really love about this show is how police detective Columbo never considers a murder case completely simple. He never buys into the idea of an "open-and-shut" case if he has a nagging feeling, no matter how insignificant it is.

That nagging feeling is what I get when I hear about marriage clerks, hotel owners, Catholic adoption agencies, and, recently, cake bakers who refuse to serve gay couples. No doubt you have heard about them and will probably hear a lot more as religious right groups trying to hinder marriage equality canonize these folks as "saints and martyrs" besieged by so-called radical gay activists supposedly trying to force them to choose between their livelihood and religious freedom.

In fact, they have a term for this sort of thing. They call it "religious liberty."

There is a certain simplicity to these cases, which garners them a degree of support. Some of these folks (excluding Catholic charities, who have no right to taxpayer money if they discriminate, and marriage clerks, who should put the needs of constituents over their own desires) seems to have a right to serve whomever they wish. And one could even make the case that they are in fact forced to choose between their livelihoods and their "religious liberty."

But then there goes that nagging feeling again. These cases aren't as simple as they are made out to be. What about the rights of couples refused service? No matter how you attempt to soften the blow, the idea that someone will not serve you because of how they inaccurately view you still hurts. It's dehumanizing, it's cruel, and it's embarrassing.

In a recent situation in Iowa, a cake baker scheduled an appointment with a lesbian couple who desired her services, only to use that time to not only tell them "no" but also criticize their sexual orientation.

Then that same cake baker made several news appearances to complain about how she was a victim, backed by several religious right groups spinning the same talking points.

And I haven't even talked about what a message of "I will not serve you" would send to a child in a same-sex family who may be present at the time. Nor have I mentioned the unnecessary inconvenience same-sex couples will have to endure if they live in an area where the so-called religious martyr is the only one who can address their needs.

Then you have to consider just how gay couples will tell who will or won't serve them. How would they be able to tell without the courtesy of signs saying, "We don't serve gays." Of course, if such signs did exist, I'm sure those who put them up wouldn't think that they were being cruel -- just like folks who put up "No Irish Need Apply" signs didn't think they were being cruel.

And then you have to ask yourself just how far the argument of "religious liberty" will go. Today it's hotels and cake shops. Tomorrow it may be restaurants or apartment rentals.

So I almost understand the "religious liberty" argument, but then comes that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that just won't go away, the feeling that "religious liberty" is just another way of saying "allowed discrimination," and that some folks will use the phrase "religious liberty" to deflect attention from the victims of this "allowed discrimination."

Lastly, the thing that bothers me the most is the sad fact that the phrase "religious liberty" has less to do with religion or liberty and more to do with telling gay couples that they are inferior.

Judge: 'Baking cakes is NOT religious conduct' and other Monday midday news briefs

Colorado Judge: Bakery That Refused Wedding Cake To Same-Sex Couple Broke The Law - Even if you already read this awesome post, read it again. "Baking Cakes Is Not Religious Conduct" should be put on a t-shirt. 

The Ruth Institute: Photographing a same-sex marriage like tattooing a swastika - The above ruling will have consequences for other rulings and the anti-gay Ruth Institute is working on an argument against it. It kinda stinks if you ask me.

 Lawyer: Murdering A Transgender Prostitute Not Such A Big Deal - And then the judge went OFF on his trifling ass.  

Our YouTube Page Has Been Restored And Klingenschmitt Has Been Warned To 'Cease And Desist' - Anti-gay activist took on Right Wing Watch and got nailed for his lies.

North Carolina's Myrtle Grove Christian School To Refuse State Money Over Anti-Gay Policy - That's right. You discriminate then you get NO tax dollars.

Reminder - Peter LaBarbera has NO problem knowingly using junk science against lgbts

According to Buzzfeed, anti-gay activist "Porno Pete" LaBarbera was invited to a rally in Jamaica where he encouraged the country to keep its anti-gay law (against "buggery") illegal.

The article said he and another spokesperson at the rally made much use of the discredited claim that homosexuality and pedophilia are connected:

LaBarbera, a longtime activist opposing LGBT rights in America, said he was working on a book on the connection between “homosexual activism and pedophiles.” He said that after winning rights like marriage and protection for gay kids in schools, U.S. activists were now championing the rights of MAPS, or “minor-attracted persons.” “Homosexuals are always on offense,” he said. “It’s another secret that American activists don’t like to tell is that NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, used to march in gay pride parades.” 

If LaBarbera is truly working on a book - rather than boosting his credentials by claiming to be "working on a book" - one could only guess what information he would use to connect homosexuality and pedophilia. Several medical groups, including the American Psychological Association, have proven that the two aren't connected.

However, as the above audio interview from 2010 demonstrates, LaBarbera has been known to not only ignore information that doesn't match his worldview, but also embrace information that backs up his beliefs no matter how discredited the source. In an interview with Concerned Women for America's Martha Kleder, LaBarbera freely admits to using the discredited research of Paul Cameron in order to demonize the lgbt community.

 Cameron is a researcher who has made a name for himself by creating studies designed to demonize the lgbt community.  These studies for the most part have been published in "vanity" or "pay-for-publish" journals and they are not "peer-reviewed" in the normal sense. No "peer" who objects to Cameron's work has the right to remove it from the journal.

He is a major proponent behind many wild arguments such as gays will molest their fellow soldiers in the military, lesbians get into more car accidents, gay men stuff gerbils up their rectums, and - of course - the false link between pedophilia and homosexuality.

He has also been discredited and censured by many group and individuals on the left, the right, and in the middle due to his bad research techniques. Several of his studies have been criticized for such errors as having small sample sizes, showing an anti-gay bias in interviews, and not having enough responses to establish a suitable analysis.

Even Barbera's claim in the interview that another researcher proved Cameron's thesis about children in same-sex households is also incorrect. LaBarbera failed to mention that the researcher, Walter Schumm, used the same bad methodology Cameron used to come to his original thesis.

Of course who needs facts when you are "working for Jesus," right Peter?  LaBarbera obviously doesn't care about stoking the fires of homophobia in a Jamaica, a country where lgbts are viciously attacked and murdered by anti-gay mobs,  so why should he care that the information he uses to stoke those fires is wrong.

If LaBarbera is truly writing a book, then it deserves to be in the fiction section.

Know Your LGBT History - Culture Club

Back in the 80s, I loved me some Culture Club, an English band fronted by George Alan O'Dowd, or rather Boy George, whose androgynous appearance and incredible voice set many tongues wagging but also created a multitude of teen imitators.

If you want to read the history of Culture Club, go to Wikipedia. I prefer to post several of their videos and enjoy my memories:

  
 

And let's not forget when Culture Club won the 1993 Grammy for Best New Artist:



Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Family Research Council's credibility problem needs more attention' and other Friday midday news briefs

16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group - Past reference material to go with this morning's post about the Family Research Council's latest deception. It all goes to question FRC's credibility. A Christian organization has absolutely no business using such tactics and lies. 

Credible science vs. Peter 'I'd prefer to export homosexuals from the United States' Sprigg - And speaking of FRC distortions, their spokesman Peter Sprigg is a former actor and present-day pastor. He has no business having as much credibility on any issue as the American Medical Association.  

FRC's Sprigg Desperately Tries To Justify Discriminating Against Gay Blood Donors - More on Sprigg's lack of expertise from Equality Matters.

 Gay Weddings Now Make Up 17 Percent Of Marriages In Washington State - Not bad at all for the first year of its legality.  

Transgender cop in Conn. files complaint - And I hope she wins.  

Truth Wins Out Praises Congresswoman Jackie Speier For Reintroducing Resolution Protecting Minors From ‘Reparative’ Therapy - This would be so awesome if we get it through Congress.

Anti-gay group distorts researcher's work a decade after he demanded a retraction

Simple question. If the Family Research Council's opposition to lgbt equality is rooted in Biblical foundation rather than animus, why does the organization distort scientific data to attack the lgbt community.

On the FRC webpage is an original "study" entitled Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse. This piece of "work" was published by former FRC employee Timothy Dailey.

It puts forth the theory that:

Pedophiles are invariably males: Almost all sex crimes against children are committed by men.

Significant numbers of victims are males: Up to one-third of all sex crimes against children are committed against boys (as opposed to girls).

The 10 percent fallacy: Studies indicate that, contrary to the inaccurate but widely accepted claims of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, homosexuals comprise between 1 to 3 percent of the population.

Homosexuals are overrepresented in child sex offenses: Individuals from the 1 to 3 percent of the population that is sexually attracted to the same sex are committing up to one-third of the sex crimes against children.

Some homosexual activists defend the historic connection between homosexuality and pedophilia: Such activists consider the defense of "boy-lovers" to be a legitimate gay rights issue.


Pedophile themes abound in homosexual literary culture: Gay fiction as well as serious academic treatises promote "intergenerational intimacy."

These points are junk.  More credible sources, i.e. the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Child Psychiatrists and the Child Welfare League of America, all say that gay men are not more likely to molest children than heterosexual men.

I'm glad that Nelson Mandela was here

Nelson Mandela

Today the world mourns one of our greatest heroes.

Nelson Mandela died today at the age of 95. Mandela's fight against the awful system of apartheid in South Africa led to his 27-year imprisonment after which in 1994, he became the first black president of the country, helping to dismantle apartheid and inequality.

Mandela never gave in to the demons of revenge or resentment, choosing to use his time as president as well as his status to be a statesman for peace and equality for all, including lgbts.

The Human Rights Campaign issued the following statement:

Nelson Mandela tore down oppression, united a rainbow nation, and always walked arm-in-arm with his LGBT brothers and sisters—and with all people—toward freedom. Though every man, woman and child who seeks justice around the world mourns this loss, his vision of an equal future lives on undimmed. Mandela, who was South Africa’s first post-Apartheid president, was an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality. He appointed an openly-gay judge to South Africa's High Court of Appeal and during his presidency, South Africa became the first nation in the world to constitutionally prohibit sexual orientation-based discrimination. Mandela will be remembered for his social justice activism and commitment to equality for all people. 

While there is sadness over Mandela's passing, I'm not really mourning. I never met him but I am so glad that he wasn't taken from the world before he could fully impact it like other leaders such as John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mandela lived a long life and leaves a great legacy. And now he is at peace, taking his well-deserved rest. So while there is a void in our hearts, let there also be a bit of contentment and gladness. Let's not waste so much time mourning the fact that Mandela is gone that we forget how thankful we should be that he was here in the first place.

Magic and Cookie Johnson's unconditional acceptance of their gay son is wonderful

The following snippet is from an interview that former basketball superstar Magic Johnson and his wife, Coookie, had with Oprah Winfrey. I was very happy to see this because we don't hear conversations about African-American lgbts and our families. Instead we hear the lazy narrative about how the African-American community is supposedly more homophobic than other communities.

That's really not the truth. What Magic Johnson said about accepting his son is not an anomaly in the black community. In fact, it mirrors how I came out to my father and I'm sure it mirrors experiences of other African-American lgbts.

While it is true that some African-American families do not accept their lgbt children, let's not forget that many others do with no conditions at all.

That's something which should always be kept in mind

The saddest anti-gay letter you will ever read

Police detective Kat Cooper was in the news earlier this year because of an ugly incident which took place regarding her family. Her family was asked to leave their Tennessee church because she helped to pass legislation which would give benefits to same-sex couples in her town.

Now comes something a bit more alarming and almost amusing if it weren't so disturbing. She received the following very nasty letter which she posted on her facebook page:

 

Oh Lawd, did the writer say he/she is in college? 

 UPDATE - A commentator just informed me that the writer isn't saying that he/she is in college. Collegedale is actually the name of a city in Tennessee, which to me is even more embarrassing. For the city that is.

Hat tip to the Huffington Post.

''Stand your ground' group pushed vile anti-gay propaganda' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Newly Uncovered Documents Expose ALEC's Anti-Gay Past - Decades before pushing those awful "Stand Your Ground" laws and restrictions to voting rights, ALEC was pushing extremely homophobic nonsense like such:

ALEC classified all gay people into six categories: “the blatant, the secret lifer, the desperate, the adjusted, the bisexual and the situational.” The “blatant” gay person was "obvious and ‘limp-wristed’” . . . . Yet no matter what category a gay person fell into, ALEC argued, the most dominant practice within “the homosexual world is pedophilia, the fetish for young children.” This tendency, the group claimed, was the product of the fact that “the homosexual cannot reproduce themselves biologically, so they must recruit the young.”

Ah yes. No homophobic propaganda is complete without an inference to the following image, the constant lying monkey on the back of lgbt equality:

Editor's note - This image is not from the report on ALEC but originally from a book entitled Deathstyle

In other news: 

 How Junk Science and Anti-Lesbian Prejudice Got Four Women Sent to Prison for More than a Decade - And this is one of the end results of people believing the above crap.

 Meet Alliance Defending Freedom, Fox's Favorite Anti-LGBT Legal Organization - A major news network (even if it is Fox) giving an anti-gay group an unrestricted and unchallenged forum is going to spell worse problems for our community. Trust me on this one. 

 Rep. Karen Clark plans to introduce bill banning ex-gay therapy - And this is Minnesota. What would Marcus Bachmann think?  

Dick Cheney Was 'Surprised' By 'Attack' On Liz Cheney Over Anti-Gay Marriage Stance - This is giving me flashbacks to childhood when sibling friends of mine would fight so viciously that their parents had to break it up. What did I say back then? "OOOOOOOO! Somebody's gonna get it!!"

Dear One Million Moms, not all black drag queens are RuPaul

One Million Moms think that all black drag queens are RuPaul.

Religious right groups seemed to determined to milk this phony "Kinky Boots performance at Macy's Thanksgiving parade" controversy to its fullest.

If you ask me, they should quit while they're ahead. The latest so-called morality group to register "anger and shock" is that bastion of failed protests, the American Family Association's One Million Moms.

There is no need to rehash the group's entire faked outraged email but I wanted to point out two very interesting parts:

"Raise You Up" was not suitable for families for many reasons. The inappropriate act starred Kinky Boots, referencing a musical written to celebrate the differences in each other and included: (all) the men and women in thigh-high boots [mostly red pleather while others were sparkly "hooker" boots], a man in boxer shorts and men in burlesque and Moulin rouge costumes prancing around expressing themselves, RuPaul (famous drag queen) along with several men dressed in drag, transgender and transvestites, singing and dancing as an expression of "diversity" and honoring whatever sexuality you want.

Okay, first of all, the "drag queen" in question was not RuPaul, but Tony-award-winning Broadway actor Billy Porter. Now I've heard the offensive adage that to some folks, us black folks all look alike, but never would I have ever thought it meant black drag queens, too.

But that's not all. One Million Moms made it a point to print some of the supposed "sexualized" lyrics from the song the Kinky Boots crew sang:

The performance was sexually charged and quite offensive. Here are some, but not all of the lyrics to the song they chose to sing, to give you a better idea:

Celebrate you to elevate you! Ladies, Gentlemen, and those who have yet to make up their minds. Instill the truth… learn something new. Accept yourself and you'll accept others too. Let love shine… let pride be your guide. Change the world when you change your mind. Just be who you wanna be. You're beautiful; it's beautiful! 

Now I feel comfortable in confessing to you all, my dear readers, that it has been a long time since I've had "relations" (a long, long time, which if we to believe religious right propaganda puts me way under the quota for sexual intercourse for gay men), but I'm sure that things haven't changed so much that the above lyrics about accepting yourself can be taken to mean a hot and steamy roll in the hay.

This controversy was a false flag of moral outrage from the start and we should thank One Million Moms for finally proving it.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'30 moments from Hawaii's first day of marriage equality' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

30 Moments From Hawaii’s First Day Of Marriage Equality That Prove It Really Is The Aloha State - A little antidote to the anti-gay crazy. Buzzfeed shows us 30 moments from Hawaii's first day of marriage equality. It's all about love, y'all. 

Virginia Tax Policy To Punish Same-Sex Couples And Businesses That Recognize Their Marriages - I'm beginning to think that Virginia isn't exactly approving of marriage equality (snark). 

 PFOX Tricks Parents by Getting Listed In Phone Book as ‘Help Line’ - An 'ex-gay' group with as a "helpline?" Mercy.  

WND: What If Mary Cheney Were A Pedophile? - Eeeeeew! I hope Dick Cheney is paying attention. If there is anytime I wish the Republican Palpatine would strike somebody, it's now.  

Sasha Fleischman, Agender California Teen, Speaks Out After Having Skirt Set On Fire On Bus - You have to read this story!

'Marriage equality exorcism' a bizarre comedy of verbal contradictions

Paprocki

On the same day last month in which Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed that state's marriage equality bill into law,  Illinois Bishop Thomas Paprocki held what was called an exorcism of the law at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

To tell the truth, I really didn't pay attention to this event because I found it silly. However, I read a snippet from what a site, Catholic Vote, highlighted what it called "12 Must-Read Quotes" from his homily.

If Catholic Vote meant to highlight these quotes in order to praise Paprocki, the site failed miserably. Let's look at some of the "must-read" quotes along with a few comments of my own:

The fact is that a “minor exorcism” takes place in every Baptism and Confirmation ceremony when we renounce Satan and all his works and empty promises. This prayer service will be along those lines. I’m not saying that anyone involved in the redefinition of marriage is possessed by the devil, which, if that were the case, would require the remedy of a “Major Exorcism,” but all of us are certainly subject to the devil’s evil influences and in need of protection and deliverance from evil.

Whew!

Our prayer service today and my words are not meant to demonize anyone, but are intended to call attention to the diabolical influences of the devil that have penetrated our culture, both in the state and in the Church. These demonic influences are not readily apparent to the undiscerning eye, which is why they are so deceptive.

Okay, now I'm confused.

The deception of the Devil in same-sex marriage may be understood by recalling the words of Pope Francis when he faced a similar situation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010. Regarding the proposed redefinition of civil marriage in Argentina, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote on June 22, 2010, “The Argentine people must face, in the next few weeks, a situation whose result may gravely harm the family. It is the bill on matrimony of persons of the same sex. The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy. . . . Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a ‘move’ of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.”   The Pope’s reference to the “father of lies” comes from the Gospel of John (8:44), where Jesus refers to the devil as “a liar and the father of lies.” So Pope Francis is saying that same-sex “marriage” comes from the devil and should be condemned as such.

Okay, so it is a major exorcism . . .

The work of discouragement by the Devil in same-sex marriage is apparent in the message being conveyed to defenders of traditional marriage that the universal redefinition of marriage is unstoppable, so we might as well just stop trying. But the legalization of abortion on demand forty years ago did not silence those who believe that abortion is contrary to God’s law. On the contrary, Roe v. Wade only heightened the need for more concerted efforts to protect all human life from conception to natural death. So, too, the legal redefinition of civil marriage does not put an end to the need for discourse and action to defend natural marriage in accord with God’s plan, but only serves to heighten the need for greater efforts in this regard.

Are you surprised? Of course he was going to tie abortion in this sucker somehow.

Politicians responsible for enacting civil same-sex marriage legislation are morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin.

That's right. Paprocki is even exorcising civil marriage which has nothing to do with the church because . . . well what the hell. 

We must also affirm the teaching of the Catholic Church that homosexual persons “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.

I checked Paprocki's homily in its uncut version and confirmed that yes, after talking about the Devil and implying that marriage equality is Satanically influenced, he included this lovely CYA statement of how lgbts must be "treated with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." Paprocki probably felt that talking nice about lgbts before throwing out all of that stuff about Satan would have seemed hypocritical instead of what it looks like now, which is . . . hypocritical. Okay wait a minute . . .

Paprocki's attempt to play both sides of the fence leaves me conflicted about his "exorcism. And more importantly, it makes me wonder will laughing at it cause me to look like Linda Blair in The Exorcist and spit pea soup? Because not only do I despise pea soup, but green is not my color.

Anti-gay talking head gets downright hysterical over 'Kinky Boots'

Austin Ruse

As we all know, a certain performance during Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade of the Tony-award-winning musical 'Kinky Boots' sent some conservatives and religious right talking heads into orbit.

But hands down, the most hysterical response regarding this non-controversy had to come from Austin Ruse, president of The Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM). According to Right Wing Watch, as he guest-hosted on the American Family Association's radio show today, Ruse went on and on about how children will be hurt by this performance. On second thought, that's putting it mildly:


There is pathologically homophobic and then there is hysterical and when I say that Ruse crossed both lines, I am not exaggerating. Ruse, who obviously has not even seen the show, made the performance segment sound less like what it was and more like an alien invasion out of the Twilight Zone. 

It really wasn't that bad. In fact all of the controversy actually worked out in favor of 'Kinky Boots.' According to the Huffington Post, it "smashed ticket sale records."

And I wouldn't be shocked if Ruse comes around looking for a cut of the proceeds.

'The Passion of Dan Choi' and other Monday midday news briefs

The Passion of Dan Choi - As easily the most recognizable face in the fight to overturn DADT, Dan Choi became an lgbt icon. This is the price he paid for his activism and fame. 

Olympic diver Tom Daley is 'dating a guy,' 'couldn't be happier' - Olympic diver Tom Daley is dating a man. Okay, who is Tom Daley. Just kidding.

 How The Pacific Justice Institute Plans To Continue Demonizing Transgender Children - No one can tell me that this is Christian behavior.  

On This World AIDS Day, I Celebrate Black Gay Men - Awesome post which should receive more exposure.

 The 2013 POZ 100: Celebrating Unsung Heroes Fighting To End HIV/AIDS - Easily some of the most awesome people I've read about.

LGBT community should call out anti-gay propaganda instigators instead of their pawns

I received a response to a comment I made in July on a Charisma Magazine online article entitled Why Gays Hate Christians by a writer named David Aikman. The following is the original comment:

Gays do not hate Christians but we are alarmed by the false information put out about us by some folks who call themselves Christians. Mr. Aikman's piece is a perfect example of this.

For example, this sentence - "Life expectancy can be up to 20 years shorter than for the heterosexual population, almost entirely as a result of sexually transmitted diseases." This is a false statement based upon two studies. One is by a discredited researcher by the name of Paul Cameron. The other is from a 1997 Oxford study. In 2001, the authors of the study publicly complained that their work was being distorted to push the false notion that gays live 20 years less than the heterosexual community.

Another distortion is the following - "Depression, attempted suicide and drug abuse are significantly higher among gays and lesbians." Mr. Aikman practices the sin of omission there. The Centers for Disease Control has said when gays suffer from these defects, it is because of a homophobic society and the lack of a support system to deal with the homophobic society.The other claim Mr. Aikman makes about the Netherlands comes from a cherry-picked study by Dr. Theo Sandfort.

The problem is that a lot of well-meaning Christians are being bamboozled by people putting out junk science and cherry-picked research about the gay community. That's the problem here.

Imagine how surprised I was when I received a reply on Saturday (November 30) from someone calling himself  "Sam Spade"

According to the center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS rate was at 63% among MSM (men who have sex with men) in the USA in 2010. Another one-third are also infected, but won't know it until they become chronically ill. This is an 81% infection rate. I wonder what it will be in another ten years or so? As unprotected sex is common among MSM, how many other people are being unknowingly infected? MSM are 44 times more likely to acquire the virus than heterosexuals, with the highest risk group being young men between the ages of 13 to 19. Think about that. Who is infecting 13 year old boys with HIV/AIDS? The CDC has further stated that most college-age males will be dead before they reach 50. Other diseases and infections seem to affect MSM more than any other group. Anal cancer is spreading among MSM by 3% per year, and MSM in Vancouver, Canada, are responsible for 95% of all syphilis cases. This is quite simply horrifying, given their tiny numbers. Indeed, most MSM are lucky to reach 65. Even in countries where GBLT rights are fully protected, they still suffer from a higher percentage of mental health issues, addiction problems and shortened lifespans than do heterosexuals. How many gays and lesbians over 80 do you know? The Bible has made it explicitly clear: To engage in unnatural sexual relations has serious, even deadly consequences (Romans 1:27). But quoting from scripture is almost a hate crime these days, isn't it?

Apparently, Mr. Spade didn't read my original response as he should have. But there was something I found interesting in his response and told him so:

It's a matter of seeing what you want, Sam. According to the same Centers for Disease Control, the lgbt orientation is not the root cause of these things. The CDC has said that the root cause of these things, particularly in lgbt youth, is a homophobic society and lack of decent support systems. Lgbt youth who are bombarded with negative images without any positive reinforcement are more likely to engage in bad behaviors. I really think you should come clean. You did not receive your information from the Centers for Disease Control, but rather a supposedly religious webpage or organization which cherry-picks CDC information. I recognized the phrase "Even in countries where GBLT rights are fully protected, they still suffer from a higher percentage of mental health issues, addiction problems and shortened lifespans than do heterosexuals."

That phraseology exists in many anti-gay studies but strangely NO objective studies regarding lgbt health. In addition, there are NO studies which claim that gays have a shorter lifespan than heterosexuals. The CDC has acknowledged this and don't EVEN try to pull out that 1997 Canadian study because the authors have steadily complained about how it has been distorted by the religious right. - http://www.politifact.com/virg...

While the Bible is not as clear as you think about homosexuality, it is VERY clear about false information and bearing false witness. Perhaps you need to consult objective sources before putting stuff out here.

The problem was that "Sam Spade" (and Mr. Aikman for that matter) seemed to have derived their data, not from objective sites, but religious right sites which freely cherry-pick information, making sure to highlight negative lgbt information and eliminate the information which refutes the negativity they are trying to illuminate.

 It has always been my belief that the lgbt community's roadblock when it comes to reaching equality is not necessarily religious folks who believe that homosexuality is a sin, but rather the organizations (i.e. the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage, etc) who exploit the beliefs of these individuals by giving them inaccurate, negative information about lgbts. This information is designed to cater to their ego and exploit their beliefs about homosexuality.

Refuting Aikman and "Sam Spade," while gratifying, doesn't get us to the root cause. When we begin to take the initiative to call out the instigators of propaganda rather than their pawns, that's when we will begin to see more progress. 

'British Supreme Court tanks 'religious liberty' argument in ruling' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

British Supreme Court Rules Against Discriminating Bed & Breakfast Owners - Boom! The phony "religious liberty" argument fails in Great Britain. 

INDIANA: Mary Cheney To Host Fundraiser To Fight Proposed Gay Marriage Ban - Oh snap! Dick Cheney's little girl is catching an attitude. Personally I totally approve. Now I know there are some lgbts who will be "where the hell was she when . . ." but I disagree. There is a time to talk about that sort of thing but now isn't the time. In a war, you don't read potential allies the riot act . . . at least not yet.  

Texas National Guard to allow same-sex couples to register for benefits - Score one for the good guys. 

Oregon Family Council Compares Gays to Neo-Nazis - Oh come on! No gay man alive would be caught dead in those tacky uniforms.

Family Research Council continues to post inaccurately bad studies on lgbt community

Last week, I wrote about how the Family Research Council was posting an outdated and flawed study, Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples to denigrate same-sex couples.

This week, I am now reporting that the organization has done even worse by posting yet another flawed study. However, this study denigrates the lgbt community as a whole

The study, The Negative Effects of Homosexuality,  was actually removed from FRC's webpage in 2008. An employee of the organization, Kathy Athearn, told me that the study was one of a few removed because it contained outdated sources.

But it has now returned to FRC's webpage and it has not been updated.

The study is supposed to show the so-called “dangers of homosexuality" and all of the religious right talking points about lgbts are touched on including:


Gays have a short life span,
Gays and lesbians don’t know how to be monogamous,
Gays and lesbians have high rate of domestic violence.

But strangely enough, this study includes the same inaccurate information as the study I talked about last week:

- A citation of the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women by Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg as a correct generalization of lgbt sexual habits despite the fact that it was published in 1978 and was not meant by the authors to be a correct assessment of the lgbt community in general.  A passage from Homosexualities clearly says:

“. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that any investigator will ever be in a position to say that this or that is true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.”

- A citation of the book The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop by David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison despite the fact that the book was written 1984 and was not meant to be a correct assessment of the lgbt community in general.  A passage from The Male Couple says:

“We always have been very careful to explain that the very nature of our research sample, its size (156 couples), its narrow geographic location, and the natural selectiveness of the participants prevents the findings from being applicable and generalizable to the entire gay
male community.” 

But there is more:

Gay Bowel Syndrome (GBS): The Journal of the American Medical Association refers to GBS problems such as proctitis, proctocolitis, and enteritis as "sexually transmitted gastrointestinal syndromes." Many of the bacterial and protozoa pathogens that cause gbs are found in feces and transmitted to the digestive system: According to the pro-homosexual text Anal Pleasure and Health, "[s]exual activities provide many opportunities for tiny amounts of contaminated feces to find their way into the mouth of a sexual partner . . . The most direct route is oral-anal contact."

"Gay bowel syndrome" is a term no longer used because it is considered outdated and many physicians  no longer use it.

Then there is this citation:

Reduced Life Span. A study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on the mortality rates of homosexuals concluded that they have a significantly reduced life expectancy:

In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age twenty for gay and bisexual men is eight to twenty years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged twenty years will not reach their sixty-fifth birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.

In 2001, the researchers of this study complained that religious right groups were distorting their work. As a matter of fact, as recent at last year, one of the researcher, Julio Montaner, was still complaining about how the study was being distorted:

"To use my report to support the notion that gay and bisexual sex is somehow the reason why people die early is misusing the data," Montaner said.

Montaner noted that his group’s original report was conducted at a time when the HIV epidemic was poorly controlled and treatments were ineffective. Since then, there have have been great strides in treating the disease and preventing its spread, Montaner said. In British Columbia, annual diagnoses of new infections have dropped from 900 in the mid-1990s to 300 in recent years, he said. Deaths from HIV also have fallen sharply, he said.

Let me take a guess. It's all about "religious liberty," isn't it, FRC?

THIS is what the American anti-gay right did to Uganda

The trailer of this documentary 'God Loves Uganda' is easily the most heartbreaking thing I have seen in a long time. This is what the American anti-gay right did to this country and it's awful.

Go here to Political Research Associates to read an interview with the creator of this documentary, Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams.

'Anti-gay right rally to defend supporter of Russia's homophobic laws' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Religious Right Piles On To Defend Proponent Of Russia Anti-Gay Laws - To the American religious right, a secular bakery owned by "Christian" making a cake for a gay couple = persecution but a country which forbids your freedom to assemble or to express yourself, and whose police will do nothing while homophobes beat the hell out of you in their presence = "preservation of morality and Christian values." Things have certainly changed since Jesus was crucified. 

Correction: Greeks are not giving themselves HIV to get government benefits - That's one urban legend shot to pieces, thank goodness. But why oh why couldn't they handle the lies about black men on the "down low" as swiftly? 

 Arkansas Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Preventing Gay Man’s Partner From Sleeping Over When Son Is Present - Good news part 1!

 Judge Orders Expedited Marriage For Gay Couple - Good news Part 2 but for a bittersweet reason.

Truth Wins Out catches the 'attention' of anti-gay news source

It looks like one of my mentors, Wayne Besen, and his group Truth Wins Out has hit the "big time."

The organization has the American Family Association's One News Now spinning horror stories about it:

A radical homosexual group, "Truth Wins Out," is calling for the termination of Dr. Mike Rosebush, who has been named as the chief of Character and Leadership Coaching at the Colorado Springs school. Air Force cadets at AF Academy.

Rosebush is a former homosexual who has successfully come out of the lifestyle and has been an advocate for reparative therapy. Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, calls "Truth Wins Out" a "vicious homosexual activist group."

 "Ex-gays are now one of the most politically incorrect groups in American, one of the most persecuted groups," says LaBarbera, noting that reparative therapy counseling is being banned in two states, California and New Jersey.

Homosexuals want so badly to convince the public that their lifestyle is acceptable, they want to do damage to those who have left because it proves their spin is simply not true, LaBarbera claims. He adds: "For the homosexual movement that demands respect, it's pretty odd that they are leading the hateful charge against ex-gays and ex-lesbians, people who are mostly Christian, who left the homosexual lifestyle through the grace of God. But, boy, do they catch the hatred and the intolerance from the liberal left and the homosexual lobby."

Despite the claims of groups like "Truth Wins Out," many people have come out of the sinful homosexual lifestyle and now live normal healthy lives. 

Isn't always so "odd" how religious right groups and activists seem to brand every gay group as "radical." And of course One News Now didn't even seek out any comments from Besen or Truth Wins Out.  If One News Now had acted like an actual news organization, it would have been informed of the following, which is included in Truth Wins Out's press release on the matter:

Rosebush served as a vice president for Focus On The Family, as a professional member of NARTH, and was the director of the Professional Counselors’ Network for Exodus International. He also co-authored a handbook on “unwanted homosexual attractions” with NARTH’s Joseph Nicolosi and George Rekers, the longtime “ex-gay” activist who was infamously caught taking rent-boys on European vacations. Rosebush has devoted his life to disproven, harmful junk science, and with such credentials, has no place serving in a counseling role in the United States Military.

 . . .  Rosebush’s former employer, Exodus International, closed its doors this year, acknowledging that “reparative therapy” and other efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation do not work and often do damage. Every major professional medical and mental health organization concurs with this assessment. However, NARTH and Focus On The Family have not taken steps to acknowledge this truth, and there is no evidence that Dr. Rosebush has decided to embrace real science and ethical counseling methods. As such, cadets at the Air Force Academy are in danger of being counseled in ways that violate all the accepted tenets of the counseling profession. Though the Air Force Academy claims that Rosebush does not directly counsel cadets, the organizational nature of his job — which seems very similar to his role with Exodus International — puts them at risk just the same.

The fact of the matter is that with  gays and lesbians being allowed to serve openly in the military coupled with the fact that "ex-gay" therapy has no basis in truth or accuracy, Truth Wins Out's concern in this matter is genuine and sincere. In other words, this is not a case of a so-called radical gay group targeting an man because he is supposedly ex-gay. This is a case of a group bringing attention to the fact that a man with a long history of embracing anti-gay junk science now being put in a position where he could potentially place the well-being of some of our service members in jeopardy.

Homophobic, racist haters will hate (because that's all they can do)

I was looking for a video of President Obama awarding Bayard Rustin's partner, Walter Naegle, with Rustin's Medal of Freedom.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find video footage of it. However, check out what I did find. Some bozo who doesn't even deserve to be identified attacking Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement.

So why am I posting it? Simple. Bayard Rustin got his due last week and he will be remembered as one of the greatest men this country has ever known.

This fool on the video won't be remembered even if his name was on the Hollywood sign.

So I take GREAT satisfaction in watching this video. Haters will hate because that's all they can do:

'After repeal of DADT, rough patches still confront gay troops' and other Monday midday news briefs

After Repeal Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Pockets Of Difficulty For Equality - After the repeal of DADT, we still have rough patches to smooth out.  

Calif. trans law ‘unlikely’ to qualify for referendum - Keep your fingers crossed but it's looking for our transgender children.  

School Board Member: Trans Students Should Be Castrated Before They Can Use Restrooms - Vile, disgusting woman to say this.

Wisconsin Governor Defends Ban On Same-Sex Marriage As ‘Healthy Balance’ Of LGBT Rights - Is Scott Walker for real? Unfortunately yes.  

Alex Newell, Actor Who Plays Transgender Character On 'Glee,' Responds To Bill O'Reilly - Handle yo' business, my friend!

Lgbts should start calling the shots against the anti-gay right

Maybe it's just me but the following debate on Crossfire between S.E. Cupp and Ralph Reed depresses the hell out of me:



Ralph Reed's talking points drives me crazy like nails on a chalkboard and find myself asking why does the issue continue to be danced around?

Ultimately the issue of lgbt equality goes beyond marriage. If lgbts do attain marriage in all 50 states, we will continue to deal with the lies and distortions thrown at us by folks like Reed. My question is why is this never part of the conversation?

Why can't we ask folks like Reed about the myriad of times they have compared gay men to pedophiles or why they have claimed that "homosexuality is an unhealthy lifestyle?"

Why isn't there some type of national conversation regarding the constant times people like Reed have cherry-picked actual science or relied on junk science to give a false view of the lgbt community?

But no. We are constantly fighting this battle on their terms, using their words and phrases even though we know words like "religious liberty" and "religious freedom" are a cynical dodge.

We will never fully attain equality unless we combat the anti-gay right, not on their terms, but the terms they refuse to address.

Know Your LGBT History - The Story of Miss Atlanta Lively

Professional wrestling has had a lot of strange storylines and angles, many of them covered here because of how they exploited or played off of the lgbt community.

However, probably the strangest and most violent had to be the story of Miss Atlanta Lively.

This is the story. The bad guys in this angle was manager Jim Cornette and his team, the Midnight Express (Loverboy Dennis and Beautiful Bobby):

In 1985 in the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association, the three kept attacking the Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant and his girlfriend, Big Mama:

That is until a very mysterious woman, who never spoke a word came, in and knocked out members of the Midnight Express with one punch. Who was she? She was called Miss Atlanta Lively. This led to a trio of Valiant, Big Mama, and Miss Atlanta Lively vs. The Midnight Express in an Atlanta Street Fight at Starrcade 85: The Gathering. Two things you need to know about this match: It was not a comedy match and this was the old days of pro wrestling where they bled extensively. The match in question begins at 1:48:22

Of course you probably realized that although Miss Atlanta Lively didn't break character, she was a man. This man in fact - "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin:



No commentary here. Just an observation. Isn't pro wrestling strange?

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Useless anti-gay group angry over Jingle Bells commercial' and other Friday midday news briefs

One Million Moms Reacts to the 12 Balls of Christmas - And the 2013 edition version of the ridiculous "War on Christmas" has an opening salvo as this useless religious right group complains about the above commercial. I personally fail to see what the problem is. And where was this group when the following commercial ran:

 

Come on. A white guy forced to show the size of his butt to his African-American boss. They could have blamed it on the election of President Obama. Megyn Kelly and Fox News would have. 

And in other news:  

Air Force Academy Defends Employment Of Ex-Gay Therapist - This ought to be an epic defense. At least it had better be.  

Ugandan Minister of Ethics Conjures Up GAYS in Schools to promote Anti-Gay Legislation - Oh God. A witch hunt!  

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin Cuts Off All Spousal Guard Benefits In Stunning Display Of Childish Bigotry - I fail to see how being mean-spirited is a Christian value.

Stephen Colbert takes on, annihilates Russia's anti-gay laws

Comedy can sometimes be the best weapon against homophobia

Michele Bachmann deliberately excluding same-sex families from adoption resolution

Bachmann

Someone should ask Rep. Michele Bachman does the exclusion of lgbt families in the adoption resolution she is working on a part of her "religious liberty?"

From Buzzfeed:

New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney — the out gay father of three — said in an email to supporters Thursday that Rep. Michele Bachmann is “intentionally excluding families like [his]” from an adoption resolution she introduced.

In a message sent to supporters Thursday, Maloney says Bachman is excluding families with gay or lesbian parents by declining to include LGBT-inclusive language in the resolution.

When he found out that Bachmann and Rep. Karen Bass would be introducing a resolution for National Adoption Month and Day, he asked the pair to include language supportive of LGBT parenting in the resolution . . .

. . . .Bass, a Democrat from California, said she was receptive to the language. Writing of the children he is raising with his partner, Randy, Maloney sent a letter to Bachmann, asking her “to recognize the contributions of LGBT families with adoptive children” in the resolution by including the language. Bachmann’s office said the congresswoman would not support the language’s addition, according to Maloney’s office.

Bachmann’s office did not immediately respond to a question Thursday about her views on LGBT parenting or adoption, or about the resolution itself.

Update: Rep. Michele Bachmann spokesman Dan Kotman told BuzzFeed, “The resolution honoring National Adoption Month is a bipartisan effort sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans. The focus of the resolution is on helping vulnerable children, as has always been the case when we have introduced it in previous years.”

Okay, this is bull. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make the argument that when lgbts adopt children, we are doing what we can to help the vulnerable. The question I have is why do we even have to make that point?

And if this controversy blows up - which it needs to do - and some fool even attempts to make the semantic argument that lgbts are being "intolerant" because we aren't "respecting" Bachmann's beliefs that lgbt families should be excluded in this resolution, THIS QUEEN RIGHT HERE is going to go into orbit!!!!!

'Report: Conservative media helping to further transphobic violence' and other Thursday midday news briefs

The Conservative Media’s Responsibility For Transphobic Violence - Yet another report which should get mainstream attention. Equality Matters nails how the conservative media has contributed to a transphobic atmosphere. Just like the post I published this morning, the lgbt community and our media should demand focus on important issues and Alec Baldwin throwing out a slur to a reporter is NOT as important as this issue or the issue of anti-gay scientific misconduct.
 

When research is really "research": A look at the Michigan Four - So Michigan will defend its anti-marriage equality law by having four discredited researchers testify in court, including Mark Regnerus. How much popcorn will I need for this one?  

8 Highlights From The Illinois Marriage Equality Exorcism - Aw man, I missed the exorcism!

 Equal Marriage Passes Crucial Vote In Scotland - Two more votes to go.

The anti-gay right needs to be exposed for their scientific misconduct

Today is "Throwback Thursday," but rather than focus on a kooky, fun fact, I want to focus on something which I find to be sad and disturbing.

Over the years, I have pointed out at least 12 times in which physicians and researchers have pointed out how the religious right have distorted their work to fuel anti-gay propaganda. Allow me to recap:

Last year, Seton Hall professor Dr. Theodora Sirota complained that Rick Fitzgibbons of  the NARTH (the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) misused her work to make the case that children in same sex households are not raised better than children "in stable homes with a mother and a father."

National Institute of Health director Francis Collins, who rebuked the right-wing American College of Pediatricians for falsely claiming that he stated sexual orientation is not hardwired by DNA.

Six researchers of a 1997 Canadian study (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter), who complained in 2001 that religious right groups were distorting their work to claim that gay men have a short life span.

The authors of the book Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall, and Ronald O. Valdiserri), who complained that their work was being distorted by Focus on the Family.

University College London professor Michael King, who complained that the American Family Association was distorting his work on depression and suicide in LGBT individuals

University of Utah professor Lisa Diamond, who complained that NARTH (the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality), a group which also share board members with the American College of Pediatricians, distorted her research on sexual orientation.

Peter LaBarbera fails to ruin the party for Illinois marriage equality bill signing

There are times when you must admit that you have lost and fade away with a smidgen of dignity.

Apparently no one told this to "Porno" Pete LaBarbera.

Even as we speak, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has just signed the state's marriage equality bill, thus making Illinois the 16th marriage equality state.










Meanwhile, poor LaBarbera is outside of the party looking like the world's most pathetic wallflower:

Photo courtesy of Waymon Hudson

'Bayard Rustin, Sally Ride receive Medal of Freedom' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Bayard Rustin (left), Sally Ride (right)

From Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed - Walter Naegle, Bayard Rustin's partner, & Tam O'Shaughnessy, Sally Ride's partner, sat together at today's ceremony

Obama Awards Medal of Freedom to 16 Americans - Including the late Sally Ride and my personal hero, Bayard Rustin. Two lgbts who made history with their achievements.

Illinois governor expected to sign gay marriage into law - Number 16 with a thunderbolt! 

Oklahoma Drops National Guard Benefits For All Couples To Avoid Serving Same-Sex Couples - This here is some repugnant #@$%!

 Despite Klingenschmitt's Efforts, Our YouTube Account Has Been Restored - Nice try, "Pastor Chaps," but Right-Wing Watch will still be able to show your homophobic rants.  

Truth Wins Out Calls On Air Force Academy To Terminate ‘Ex-Gay’ Charlatan Hired As Cadet Counseling Chief - Now watch how Fox News's Todd Starnes and the rest of that bunch whine about "religious liberty." Sorry but they have no case here.

Top picture courtesy of The New Civil Rights Movement.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance 2013

From GLAAD:

The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence that year and began an important memorial that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

"The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people -- sometimes in the most brutal ways possible -- it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice."
- Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Let us all, lgbt and heterosexual alike, strive for the time where we are able to celebrate the lives and contributions of our transgender brothers and sisters instead of their deaths through ignorance and hate.