Why can't NOM stop lying about gays and children?

Brian Brown, NOM's president

In spite of Maggie Gallagher's assurance that she believes that same-sex parenting does not harm a child, the organization she began, the National Organization for Marriage, is doing its utmost best to push this fallacy.

In a blog post, Gay Activists Promoting "30 Ways to Make a Baby" Children's Book, NOM makes it seem that the lgbtq community is pushing a book about the creation of children.

NOM linked this story from a right-wing publication, Lifesite News (no friend of the lgbtq community. The headline on this site clearly says Book to teach elementary students 30 ways babies made slammed by pro-family culture critics. As you can see, there is nothing about the lgbtq community in the title.

The reason why NOM is linking this book to the lgbtq community is because of one paragraph in the Lifesite article which states:

The homosexual rights community is getting behind the book for its positive portrayal of the dozens of alternative methods that can be used to create a new human life (about 30 according to the author). The author intends that his “book for kids about sex,” aimed at pre-schoolers through to 8-years-olds, will also be accompanied by a teacher’s resource to assist its implementation in a school setting.

But here is the problem. No one from the lgbtq community is quoted as saying that they support this book or will promote this book. In fact, no gay activist is quote in the article at all.

And I venture to say that most likely, the vast majority of us - if not all - have never even heard of this book. So basically, NOM is lying. It's not anything we haven't seen before, but this time it's so unabashedly blatant that it should be criminal.

In actuality, the book has less to do with the lgbtq community and more to do with educating people that not all children come from the traditional manner. Author Cory Silverberg says this:

What Makes a Baby is my response to the fact that books about where babies come from leave many of us out. They tell a nice story (mommy + daddy + intercourse = you!) but the truth is that more and more of us are acknowledging the help we get to bring children into our lives. That help might be a doctor, fertility clinic, adoption or foster agency; it might be a turkey baster and a friend; it might be a sperm donor or a surrogate. What Makes a Baby helps parents tell children a story about where they came from that isn’t just true for them, but true for everyone.

Crafted for children roughly from pre-school to 8-years-old, What Makes a Baby is written and illustrated to include all kinds of kids, all kinds of adults, and all kinds of families - regardless of how many people were involved, what the orientation, gender identity, or other make up of the family is, or how it came to be that way. It's a social justice approach to sex education. Like all picture books, it's meant to be read to a child and gives the adult reader the opportunity to fill in as much detail as they would like.

Written by a certified sexuality educator, Cory Silverberg, and illustrated by award-winning Canadian artist Fiona Smyth, What Makes a Baby is being designed and produced with the help of Zab Design & Typography and will be an exquisitely made hardcover picture book. 32 pages and full color, it will be as fun to look at as it is useful to read.

It's an interesting concept to say the least. But to exploit this book to push a notion that gays are declaring war on the so-called traditional way of creating children? Not so interesting. In fact, it's downright foul.

SPLC's newly designated anti-gay hate groups deserve the 'honor'

Linda Harvey

How could I have missed this?

Last week, the Southern Poverty Law named 11 new anti-gay hate groups, including one which you may recognize. From Think Progress comes the list:

• United Families International (Gilbert, AZ): This group backed the sodomy laws ruled unconstitutional in the Lawrence v. Texas case and has argued “No one is ‘born that way.’ Policies that would normalize homosexuality by equating homosexual behavior with innate characteristics such as race or ethnicity should be opposed.”
• Save California (Sacramento, CA): The group is leading the charge to repeal California’s FAIR Education Act, hoping to stop teachers from “kidnapping the brains of kids” by teaching about the contributions of LGBT Americans. Save California’s head, Randy Thomasson, blamed a bullied and murdered gay teen for his own death.
• Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church) (Luthersville, GA): The church’s website feautures a “sodomites can be saved” section which claims “ALL HOMOS ARE: SICK, BRAIN DAMAGED, PERVERTS!”
• You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide (Annandale, MN). Bradlee Dean, the group’s president and CEO, has said, “The gay ‘movement’ is part of a sexual revolution that has stripped sexuality of all moral significance for an entire generation. We cannot accept the physical prosecution of homosexuals and we cannot accept the proposal that homosexuality is either private or moral,” but notes he is opposed to actually executing LGBT citizens.
• Parents Action League (Champlin, MN): A small group of parents in the bullying-riddled Anoka-Hennepin School District want to require schools to teach that AIDS is a gay disease and to promote harmful and ineffective ex-gay therapy.
• Jewish Political Action Committee (Brooklyn, NY): This group claims that marriage equality in New York State has created a “surge” of child molestation and distributes signs that say “G-d sent AIDS to punish male gays.”
• Windsor Hills Baptist Church (Oklahoma City, OK): The church’s pastor, Tom Vineyard, argued against an employment non-discrimination proposal by making the bizarre claim that half of all murders in large cities are by gay people.
• True Light Pentecost Church (Spartanburg, SC): On the church’s blog, it warns that “The sub-human culture created by the anti-christ and magnified by the Sodomite/Lesbian movement,” has “brought end-time prophecy to a final state,” and encourages followers to “fight the great sodomite/lesbian army.”
• Tom Brown Ministries (El Paso, TX): Pastor and exorcist Tom Brown led the charge in El Paso to rescind an employment non-discrimination law he felt was “condoning immorality.” He also preaches that “homosexuality is actually an emotional, psychological disorder brought on early in childhood.”
• Public Advocate of the United States (Falls Church, VA): Run by Loudoun County, Virginia Supervisor Eugene Delguaido (R), this group is infamous for its over-the-top anti-gay fundraising letters, including comments like, “As homosexuals die off due to AIDS, the remaining AIDS carriers prey on children to replenish the ‘Homosexual Community.’”

Even as I write this, You Can Run But You Can't Hide is embroiled in an ugly controversy in which it was invited to speak at a Dunkerton, IA high school assembly. Apparently the principal was not aware of the group's reputation. However, he - and the students - became swiftly aware when Dean began spinning lies about the lgbtq community, i.e. the usual Paul Cameronesque nonsense about us not living past 42. And that itself is ironic seeing Dean once conducted an interview with the discredited Cameron in which they traded homophobic conspiracies.

Needless to say neither the principal, nor the students, nor some parents were appreciative of Dean's homophobic vigor. (For video footage of this hot mess, see the site of one of my favorite bloggers, the Arn Anderson to my Tully Blanchard, Jeremy Hooper)

However, these groups are simply cocktail canape to the last group named by SPLC as an anti-gay hate group. We all knew it was coming sooner or later:

 Mission: America (Columbus, OH): Lead by Linda Harvey, who has been dubbed “the most homophobic woman in America,” this group has discouraged the hiring of gay and lesbian employees and claimed that “there is no proof” that gay, lesbian or bisexual or transgendered people even exist.

Oh Linda, Linda, Linda. You finally made the big-time so to speak. You now are in company with the huge homophobic groups such  as the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.

And if you ask me, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving individual. I leave you with probably the main reason why Harvey got the designation, i.e. her admonition against gay and lesbians health practitioners:

Transcript:

How do you feel about open homosexuals tending to your child in a health care setting? Do you think these folks provide good role modeling at a time when your child is very vulnerable? I was thinking about this recently when I heard that Children’s Hospital in Columbus has a homosexual employees group called NCHARGE, which stands for Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Advocates Representing Gay Employees. The meeting minutes of this groups reveal that they participated in last June’s gay pride parade, that they participated in a health expo on adolescent health this summer and that they’re concerned about same-sex partner benefits. They’re also planning to be identified with rainbow lapel pins.

But let’s say your eleven year-old has broken her leg rather badly and needs to be in the hospital a few days, which would you prefer: a nurse who’s proud of her lesbianism, who has rainbow identifiers on her work clothing, or a nurse who does not?

I would like to suggest that parents think long and hard about this. If you want your children to admire people who proclaim a homosexual lifestyle, they’re involvement with your child during a hospital stay is sure to be an influence. And let me be clear that folks involved in these behaviors can be certainly competent workers but they are tacking on to their workplace identity one that is highly offensive to many people and can be erroneously influential to children who won’t, or shouldn’t, see the whole picture of how this behavior really manifests itself.

Here’s what parents can do: select your pediatrician very carefully, first of all. There are a few homosexual doctors treating kids, there are far more nurses, LPNs, technicians and other health care workers in these lifestyles so you may want to consider writing a letter that you file with your pediatrician that should your child ever be hospitalized, you do not want your child to be treated or cared for by one of these members of the Children’s Hospital gay employees group except in the case of an emergency situation. But for routine in-hospital care where contact with your child would be required, your values should be respected. 

I know what you are all thinking because I am thinking it, too. PLEASE Family Research Council, come to the rescue of these groups. I double dare you!

'Homophobic priest punished for behavior at funeral' and other Monday midday news briefs

Priest Who Denied Communion to Lesbian Woman Is Removed from Parish Ministry - Score on for the good guys.

Perkins Labels LGBT-Rights Initiative a 'Radical' Push for 'Special Rights for Homosexuals and Homosexuality' - Awwww poor phony Christians in other countries. It's a crying shame when they can't jail lgbtqs and their families or "correctively rape" lesbians. I swear it's just a shame.

Related post - Rejected ad on anti-gay hate group becomes massive hit - I cannot emphasize this particular post enough. The post above is a perfect reason to call MSNBC to the carpet for featuring Perkins without directing attention to the homophobia he espouses and the junk science his group - FRC - pushes. If you haven't written to MSNBC expressing your displeasure, click on this link to find out how to. And if you have written to MSNBC already, do it again and get your family and friends to do it. It's not about censorship. It's about the integrity of the news media.

Blinded by his Hatred of the SPLC, Barber Defends Patriot Militias - Trash is as trash does.

Cardinal Dolan Rewrites History: Catholic Church Leaders Were ‘Burned’ In New York Marriage Vote - I don't believe a word the Cardinal says and frankly he needs to get over it.

Rejected ad on anti-gay hate group becomes massive hit

I happy to report that the Faithful America ad which calls MSNBC to task for its featuring of Southern Poverty Law Center -designated hate group leader Tony Perkins has gone viral in big way. Check it out here:



With over 28,000 hits in just a few days, it's obvious that the ad's message is resonating

Meanwhile, Perkins has shown that he is aware of the ad and is playing the familiar role as victim. During an interview with the American Family Association president Tim Wildmon (AFA is another SPLC-designated hate group), Perkins had this to say:

Perkins: You might remember the Episcopal Bishop Eugene Robinson who split the Episcopal Church because he’s openly gay and wanted to marry his lover or whatever you call it, and he gathered 20,000 signatures and presented them to MSNBC demanding that they keep me off of MSNBC because you know I’m on there you know talking about politics or whatever and usually it’s nothing to do with homosexuality, they just don’t want anybody who does have views that are counter to theirs.

Wildmon: I’ll tell you what, you’re in good company, the other day Kirk Cameron went on Piers Morgan on CNN, and man, Piers Morgan asked him a question about homosexuality, he said it was ‘unnatural,’ he just got torched.

Perkins: I talked to Kirk, I talked to him yesterday actually I was actually interestingly enough I was coming out of MSNBC where I was on yesterday with Martin Bashir, and I would actually encourage folks to go watch that interview that I did with him—they have it on their homepage; at least they did this morning on MSNBC—and thank them for allowing a balanced discussion. Obviously Martin did not agree with me but we had a very civil discussion on the issues and I tell you what I have to respect MSNBC for allowing debate and not buckling under the pressure of a loudmouth, Soros-funded group that is simply trying to silence the public debate over important public policy issues, so I will have to come to the defense of MSNBC for not buckling under that pressure.

The fact that Perkins isn't talking about gay issues per se only proves the point that maybe MSNBC doesn't necessarily see him as an expert on the subject.

But the entire issue is about news integrity. Would MSNBC have David Duke on its program talking politics even if he wasn't commenting on African-American issues? Would it have a Holocaust denier talking political issues?

The irony is that for all of his talk about a "debate," Perkins has had the luxury of not debating the issue his organization is famous for defaming - i.e. gay equality.

Other than one debate with Mark Potok of SPLC (in which he was caught citing a sham medical organization) and extremely friendly question-and-answer sessions on Fox News, neither Perkins nor other FRC spokespeople have been taken to task for their attacks on the lgbtq community or their usage of junk science and cherry-picking of legitimate science.

At the most, there should have been a roundtable discussion on it conducted by someone like Rachel Maddow or Howard Kutz and at the very least, it would have been nice for Keith Olbermann to devote a commentary on it.

The lack of attention to this issues sends a negative message to my lgbtq brothers and sisters; that those who cause us problems through lies and junk science are handled with kid gloves by the news media.

Therefore, I propose that we take the homophobic bull by the horns and slam it down.

For all those who are interested (and I hope everyone reading this is interested), this link is the contact page to MSNBC.

The subject line allows you to contact any show featured on MSNBC. I suggest that you go to either Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow. When writing your comment, please be polite but firm. Ask why does MSNBC give Tony Perkins a platform or demand that more attention be paid to how his organization demonizes the lgbtq community.

If you need citations of these lies go to the SPLC page on the Family Research Council or cite anything from my post 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

For those seeking more direct contact with the powers-that-be at MSNBC, the following people are the best targets:

Jeremy Gaines, Vice President for Communications at MSNBC, at (212) 664-5133

Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, at (212) 664-2456. 

Ann Klenk, producer for MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. To reach Ann, call (202) 885-4030 and ask for her extension.

Religious right bearing false witness against Sandra Fluke

The religious right are attacking Sandra Fluke

For all of their talking about morality and following God's laws, religious right groups seem to throw these things out of the window when it doesn't suit their purposes, particularly the commandment about not bearing false witness.

The lgbtq community know this hypocrisy very well since we tend to be the recipients of the religious right's lying vitriol.

But now they have a new target - Sandra Fluke. Fluke, who was venomously attacked by Rush Limbaugh two weeks ago for her testimony in front of Congress regarding contraception, now have members of the religious right smearing her name.

According to Equality Matters:

Spokespersons from groups like the American Family Association, Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel and the National Organization for Marriage have come to Rush’s defense while continuing to demonize Fluke as an immoral and promiscuous “sexual anarchist.”

These groups include:

The American Family Association:

AFA’s Bryan Fischer: Fluke “Sleeping With So Many Guys That She Can’t Keep Track.” During the March 7 edition of his Focal Point radio show, American Family Association (AFA) spokesman Bryan Fischer said:

FISCHER: To think that you would have a leftist like the President of the United States saying that the parents of a woman who goes on national TV, admits that she’s sleeping with so many guys that she can’t keep track, doing it three time a day, running out of money, driving me to the poor house, and to think that parents, he’s saying that parents ought to be proud of that. You know, I just wonder if he would be proud if his daughters were doing the same thing. Would he be proud of his daughters going on national TV to say the same thing? [AFA’s Focal Point, 3/7/12]

Know Your LGBT History - Billy Preston

My post last week featuring the Unsung documentary on Sylvester was such a hit that I wanted to post another Unsung documentary on another gay artist.

Billy Preston was a legendary keyboardist who at one time was called The Fifth Beatle. He embarked on a monumentally successful solo career before being sidetracked and unfortunately destroyed by drug abuse.

And yes, as the documentary pointed out, he was openly gay:



Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'SPLC takes aim at the creators of anti-gay junk science' and other Friday midday news briefs

In newest issue of the Intelligence Report, the Southern Poverty Law Center has focused on the purveyors of anti-gay junk science - i.e. the shell groups and sham organizations created to give these inaccuracies a veneer of credibility. These articles are required reading for all of us in the lgbtq community as well as those interested in exposing the tools used by the religious right to demonize the lgbtq community:

NARTH Becomes Main Source for Anti-Gay ‘Junk Science’

The Ministries: Key ‘Ex-Gay’ Groups

American College of Pediatricians Defames Gays and Lesbians in the Name of Protecting Children

In other news:

A 9-Minute Clip of Nutty, Homophobic 'Christianist' Testimony on the Omaha LGBT Non-Discrimination Bill: VIDEO - Watch at the risk of your own sanity.

Marriage Amendment -- a Hindu perspective - Fascinating but pertinent reason why the anti-marriage equality amendment in Minnesota should be rejected.

Pope denounces U.S. political push to legalize gay marriage - With respect to the Pope, this is a secular issue and he should be advised that we are no longer in the Middle Ages where the church, particularly the Catholic Church, had a say in secular laws.

Video: Roland Martin hosts good MD marriage debate (really) - Roland Martin? Really? Well I vouch for Jeremy Hooper and if he says it was a good debate, then it was a good debate.

Religious right supports bad policy over the needs of students

Peter Sprigg

A recent article in the American Family Association's One News Now more than illustrates how the organization bends over backwards with other so-called morality groups to obscure the truth about a critical issue.

The Anoka-Hennepin school district in Minnesota has been in the media because its negative treatment of gay students and its inability to combat the bullying of these students. Recently, the district settled a brought by six students.

From The Slate:

Until Tuesday, the Anoka-Hennepin school district, north of Minneapolis, was known for a virulent clash over the rights of bullied gay students. Now the district has agreed to change its approach to handling anti-gay harassment and to teaching students about gender and sexuality in the classroom. It’s a local shift that’s also about something bigger. The growing recognition that students should be protected from bullying is forcing schools and communities to make space for students to be themselves—whether they are gay or perceived as gay or just don’t act the way other people expect a boy or a girl to behave. The Anoka-Hennepin schools, like some other districts, are making that space in the face of heated opposition from local conservative Christians.

Here’s the history: In the last few years, LGBT and gender-bending students in the Anoka-Hennepin district have reported being mocked, urinated on, and physically harmed by their classmates, and nine students, four of whom identified as gay, took their own lives. In 2011, six students represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sued the school district, which serves 39,000 students and is represented in Congress by Michele Bachmann. The students’ lawsuit described an “epidemic of anti-gay and gender-based harassment within District schools” that was “rooted in and encouraged by official District-wide policies singling out and denigrating LGBT people.” The Obama Justice Department investigated and found that sex-based harassment was creating a “hostile environment,” because the physical and verbal bullying was severe and pervasive.

At first, the school board stood by a curriculum policy passed in 2009, which on paper instructed teachers to “remain neutral” about sexual orientation and in practice operated as a gag order. Teachers were required to refrain from saying that being gay is not a choice, even if they were quoting the position of the American Psychological Association. When history teachers included gay rights in a unit about how the strategies of the black civil rights groups influenced subsequent movements, the district deleted the reference. For a staff diversity training session, the district rejected a book called How Homophobia Hurts Children   because it did not “include an opposing viewpoint.” The schools also scrubbed LBGT support services, like a gay and lesbian helpline, from the list of health resources given to students. And a conservative Christian parents’ group called the Parents Action League pushed for teaching gay students about “reparative therapy”—how to root out their homosexuality—by promoting groups that treat it as a sin against the will of God. In 2010 the head of the group told the Minnesota Independent that LGBT students had killed themselves not because of bullying, but because of “homosexual indoctrination” and their own “unhealthy lifestyle.” (The statewide sponsor of the Parents Action League is a group called the Minnesota Family Council; last spring, Bachmannn and Newt Gingrich were the headline speakers for an MFC fundraiser.)

So how did One News Now cover this issue? Did the publication focus on the students? Did it go into detail like Slate?

Enjoy the Prop 8 Unconstitutional highlight reel

Just something to remind all of my readers (Thank you all so much by the way!My blog is swiftly headed towards 1,000,000 hits!) that I don't always focus on religious right groups. The following is intended to lift your spirits as well as remind you that no fight worth fighting for is going to be easy. But the benefits always outweigh the costs:

'Anti-bullying movie receives ratings flack' and other Thursday midday news briefs

I give my brothers and sisters hell sometimes for the love of the "celebrity culture." However there are times when it pays to have out celebrities to bring attention to important issues such as the problems that the motion picture Bully is having with the Motion Picture Association of America:



Check here for more information about the situation. Go here to sign the Human Rights Campaign petition.

In other news:

Homeless LGBT Youth: The Next Battle For Equality - Excellent article. I urge you to read and pass it around.

Today in NC: @Vote4MarriageNC rallies the 'gay men lodge cellphones in their anuses' vote - Patrick Wooden, North Carolina's diaper pastor, strike again.


NC Libertarians take strong stand against Amendment One - Meanwhile, more reasonable people in North Carolina are taking a stand.

Catholic Diocese Defunds Homeless Group Over Director’s Gay Marriage Views - Religious liberty my tush. This was just cold-hearted.

Note to Kirk Cameron: If you don’t want a fight, then don’t start one - Warren Throckmorton breaks down this Kirk Cameron controversy in a simple-to-understand way - if you don't want any trouble, then don't start any trouble.

Joseph Farah Explains 'What Same-Sex Marriage Advocates and the Terrorists of the Gaza Strip Have in Common' - Joseph Farah claims that lgbtqs unfairly cast ourselves as victims of homophobia. This from a man whose publication features a columnist who refers to us as the "sodomy lobby."

Islamic And African Nations Walk Out Of UN’s LGBT Equality Hearing In Protest - Ugh. Well no fight worth fighting for is ever easy

Anti-gay group giving up JC Penney boycott

And it's over.

The American Family Association's sub organization One Million Moms (yeah right) has officially admitted that it failed in its boycott against JC Penney. The organization was demanding that the department store remove Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson because she is openly gay.

However JC Penney refused to do so and folks - especially the lgbtq community - rallied around DeGeneres.

So One Million Moms took the hint:

The leader of a pro-family advocacy group says only time will tell whether JC Penney's decision to have a high-profile homosexual entertainer as its spokesperson was a good business decision.

Despite opposition from the American Family Association's advocacy group OneMillionMoms.com, the retailer is backing its commitment to the Ellen DeGeneres (see earlier story). Director Monica Cole tells OneNewsNow that other issues require her group's attention, so OMM is moving on.

"But we have heard back from so many of our members," she shares. "We have heard back from men and women -- not just moms -- saying they will no longer shop there at JC Penney, as long as Ellen DeGeneres is their spokesperson."

Cole believes OneMillionMoms has done its job by educating members about the retailer and urging them to take their business elsewhere. She says only time will tell how business goes for JC Penney.

This makes the second high profile embarrassment for One Million Moms. Earlier this year, the organization threatened to boycott the national chain Toys R Us if it ran an issue of Archie Comics featuring a gay wedding.

Toys R Us pretty much ignored the threat and the comic sold out

MSNBC won't run ad against hate group leader Tony Perkins

For the longest time, many of us have been raising hell over the fact that MSNBC hosts hate group leader Tony Perkins (the Family Research Council) as authoritative voice without asking him about his organization's history of lying in order to demonize the lgbtq community.

Well now Faithful America has come out with an awesome ad which best speaks to the point. Only MSNBC rejected this ad. Therefore, I guess it's up to us to spread its message:



My guess is that Perkins will whine about how supposedly the left is trying to silence him and other people of faith. In actuality, I don't want him silenced. I want there to be a conversation about the entire issue.

And the first place we should start is with the charges in the ad.

PLEASE spread it around. Let's make this thing very viral!

Related post -  16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'Fox News personality slurs Obama's transgender former nanny' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

One of the main reasons why some facets of the American news media are abominable is because they have no standards regarding their personalities. When you hear some of these folks, you wonder just how they got in the door of a major new service, even if its Fox News.

Perfect case in point - Fox News personality Andrea Tantaros. Listen how she reduces the plight of President Obama's transgender former nanny (she is an outcast in her own country) into an attack on the president, making sure to slur the poor woman for good measure:



In other news:

North Carolina Baptists Gather to Defeat Amendment One - The lesson here? Not all members of churches support those anti-marriage equality amendments.

WV 'family' guy: Gay kids attempt suicide because of 'homosexual agenda' - Heaven forbid that this guy would take responsibility for the drivel coming out his own mouth.

Horrifying Wave of Brutal Anti-Gay Murders in Iraq - We need to pray for our brothers and sisters trapped in repressive countries.


LaBarbera Says it is 'Tragic' that Paul Babeu is Gay, Accuses Gays of 'Political Terrorism' - You gotta love "Porno" Pete LaBarbera.

Michele Bachmann has memory loss about her homophobia

Piers Morgan seems to be making a name for himself by exposing the homophobic nature of famous people.

Fresh from the Kirk Cameron controversy, he begins a new one with former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann:

MORGAN: Yes. But you see, I was also taught to respect and be tolerant towards people who didn’t agree with those beliefs. And I think that America, with this movement on gay marriage and so on, just has to come a time when people who have strong religious beliefs, like you, like Kirk Cameron, actually show people like the gay community tolerance and a bit of slack, and say, I don’t agree with it, but nor am I going to demonize you. That’s all I’m getting at.

BACHMANN: I would like to see the lack of demonization for those of us who stand on sincerely held religious beliefs. It’s overtime. That’s where you see the demonization of people who stand on their beliefs.

MORGAN: So respect on both sides is what we need to get to?

BACHMANN: Of course.

Bachmann, like Cameron before her, is obviously playing the victim. I really wish Morgan had asked her about the following comments she made in 2004:



Transcript:

And again, don't misunderstand. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgendered. We need to have profound compassion for the people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders. This is a very real issue. It's not funny, it's sad.

Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle—we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It's a very sad life. It's part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It's anything but gay. "

It's profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female. There's been profound hurt and profound things that have happened in almost all of their lives.

This new legal enforcement of a new status—homosexuality, lesbianism, bringing it into the mainstream, if you will, giving it a legitimacy if you will, that will impact not only the gay community, but every man, woman and child, particularly the schools.

It's like a friend of mine said. You have every right to say what you want, but if you publicly call out a group of people as "disordered" or "sinful," you simply cannot expect those people to be silent and allow you to do it.

Sooner or later, people like Bachmann (and Cameron) are going to have to understand that they can't hide their ugliness behind their so-called religious beliefs.

Right involves transgender community in new Sandra Fluke attack

By now, EVERYONE has heard and commented on the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy.

Personally I think that Limbaugh, who was never a nice person anyway, got a bit egotistical and thought he could say anything about anyone, even a college student whose only "offense" was to testify at a Congressional hearing.

His comments sends a chilling message to those private citizens who may testify in the future that if their view does not jive with his or those on the right, they will be investigated and vilified.

We have seen how Limbaugh handles the vilifying part. Now, according to Equality Matters, in an attempt to defend Limbaugh's indefensible comments about Ms. Fluke, the right has targeted her via a 2011 paper she wrote which did nothing more than describe discrimination in employer coverage of transgender medical care.

The conservative Media Research Center’s Stephen Gutowski “discovered” the essay on March 5 and claimed it demonstrated that Fluke “is being sold by the left as something she’s not. Namely a random co-ed from Georgetown law who found herself mixed up in the latest front of the culture war who was simply looking to make sure needy women had access to birth control.” Gutowski claimed Fluke is “pushing some rather radical ideas. Keep that in mind as the left holds her up in the spotlight”

 . . . The MRC post was quickly promoted by right-wing media outlets, including the Drudge Report and Fox Nation:

And then as if by coincidence:

And Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham brought the attack to Fox during this morning’s Fox & Friends:

INGRAHAM: Now we find out there was a law journal article written by this particular woman that seems to indicate that she believes that if you don't pay for sex change operations, gender reassignment, it's called – operations -- you also could be described as a discriminatory employer. So today the pill. Tomorrow sex reassignment surgery, perhaps. And then down the road, what other things should be covered for free?

Equality Matters quickly points out that:

Fluke’s essay is a fairly comprehensive study of various types of employment discrimination against LGBT individuals but, ironically, the one charge that Gutowski chose to highlight as an example of the “radical ideas” that Fluke is “pushing” is not controversial at all.

Check out Equality Matters to read the full post if my condensed one wasn't sufficient enough. But the gist is this - these people are sad. They aren't journalist. They are highly paid wolves who seem to enjoy destroying someone's reputation as if its a high-stakes game of Monopoly.

'Gay students win settlement from school district' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Four Gay Bullied Students Win Settlement From MN’s Anoka-Hennepin School District - The school district which allegedly declared war on gay students has war declared on its pocketbook. How very appropriate.

GOP Senate Candidate Claims LGBT Protections Threaten ‘Privacy Rights Of Women In Public Restrooms’ - Oh for Pete's sake, Gary Glenn! Glenn is yet another phony religious right "expert" who is now running for public office. Ugh. Glenn and I had a very interesting run-in two years ago. Read what happened when he tried to spout his nonsense to me.

Bachmann Plays Victim Card: ‘The Rhetoric Is Far Worse Against People Who Stand Up For Traditional Marriage’ - I would have been angry if the interview had actually helped Bachmann. It's not called dodgeball, girlfriend.

Tony Perkins at First Baptist-Charlotte: Faith & Freedom, a straights-only exclusive country club - Ugh, I say! Ugh!

Personal Experiences Persuaded GOP Legislators On Gay Marriage -  Never forget that telling our personal stories helps us tremendously.

National Organization for Marriage gloats at African-American church's troubles

Generally, the National Organization for Marriage calls itself an ally of the black church when it comes to stopping marriage equality.

But how does NOM treat black churches who support marriage equality? In the case of one black church in Minnesota, the organization is poking fun at what happened when the minister stood up for gays:

Minnesota Church Loses 3/4 of Its Members For Abandoning Marriage

The left-leaning Religion News Service tries to create sympathy for a Minnesota pastor that lost most of his congregation over abandoning the great truth of marriage, even as the pastor maligns his predominantly African-American flock for "homophobia"

The article in question was actually titled Minn. Church finds the high price of supporting gays and had less to do with marriage equality and more to do with how prejudice potentially harmed a church.

Family Research Council lies, cherry-picks to defend Kirk Cameron

I've tried not to weigh in on the Kirk Cameron situation because I think that sometimes my lgbtq brothers and sisters get wrapped up in the words of a celebrity, or in this case, a has-been celebrity more than more important issues.

But to paraphrase Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III, they pulled me in.

The "they" in this case being the Family Research Council.

Cameron, former star of the television series Growing Pains and a devout Christian criticized marriage equality  last weekend during an interview with Piers Morgan. Cameron also called homosexuality "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive."

Since that time, the gay group GLAAD and several other celebrities have been commenting. As for me, I could care less. Cameron doesn't know me so his opinion of who I am doesn't matter to me.

But leave it to the Family Research Council to attempt to score some easy points by weighing in on the controversy. And guess whose side the organization came out on:

Where is the tolerance? You won't find any on display with homosexual activists who are determined to attack and silence anyone who dares to disagree or challenge their political or social agenda. Their latest target is actor Kirk Cameron. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is attacking Cameron for remarks he made in an interview with Piers Morgan last Friday, in which he said that the definition of marriage should be, "One man, one woman for life till death do you part." Cameron, a born-again Christian who starred in the movie Left Behind and the pro-marriage film Fireproof, also said he considers homosexuality to be "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive." Perhaps it's GLAAD, not the 1980s teen star, who's out of step, since a 2011 poll showed that 62% of Americans agree with the statement, "I believe marriage should be defined ONLY as a union between one man and one woman." Another 2011 poll found a substantial majority of Americans (56%) believe that "sex between two adults of the same gender" is "morally wrong." 

First of all, anyone labeling any group as "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive" shouldn't be surprised if some members of said group publicly raises hell over the labeling.  The outcome is no different than it would be had Cameron made negative comments about African-Americans or Jewish people.

Maggie Gallagher's doublespeak on same-sex couples and children

Remember what Maggie Gallagher (supposedly formerly of the National Organization for Marriage) said last year when confronted by the fact that her organization's blog links to junk science (i.e. the discredited work of Paul Cameron) and information which portrays gays as harmful to children:

I would like to say personally that nothing in any argument I've ever made on gay marriage, rests on the idea that same-sex couples harm their own children at any higher rates than any other family form. (If there is data that shows this, I've never seen it.)

Of course those of us who have followed NOM knew that Gallagher was playing damage control and nothing more. And today, Equality Matters proves it:

In a March 3rd blog post, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) promoted a column headlined: “Love Isn’t Enough: 5 Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Will Harm Children.” The column – originally published in 2007 –was written by Dr. Trayce Hansen, whom NOM described as “a licensed psychologist with a clinical and forensic practice.”

Hansen’s five reasons are, unsurprisingly, riddled with anti-gay talking points that have been widely discredited by mainstream medical organizations, including the harmful myths that children of same-sex parents face developmental problems and are more likely to identify as gay:

A father teaches a boy how to properly channel his aggressive and sexual drives. A mother can’t show a son how to control his impulses because she’s not a man and doesn’t have the same urges as one. A father also commands a form of respect from a boy that a mother doesn’t––a respect more likely to keep the boy in line. And those are the two primary reasons why boys without fathers are more likely to become delinquent and end up incarcerated. 

[...] 

Fourth, same-sex marriage will increase sexual confusion and sexual experimentation by young people. The implicit and explicit message of same-sex marriage is that all choices are equally acceptable and desirable. So, even children from traditional homes—influenced by the all-sexual-options-are-equal message—will grow up thinking it doesn’t matter whom one relates to sexually or marries. Holding such a belief will lead some—if not many—impressionable young people to consider sexual and marital arrangements they never would have contemplated previously. And children from homosexual families, who are already more likely to experiment sexually, would do so to an even greater extent, because not only was non-traditional sexuality role-modeled by their parents, it was also approved by their society. [emphasis added]

What's even more annoying is that Hansen provides no citations to prove this theory, which is not surprising.  Equality Matters calls out Hansen as somewhat of a fraud:

She’s a member of the American College of Pediatricians, a right-wing, anti-gay organization notorious for misrepresenting and misusing research to demonize LGBT people. In 2009, she testified in defense of an “ex-lesbian” who was trying to deny her former partner access to their children, but her testimony was roundly dismissed for being unqualified: 

Dr. Hansen never had been qualified as an expert witness by any court. Dr. Hansen never had been retained by any party as an expert witness. Dr. Hansen's psychology practice involved geriatric patients. Dr. Hansen conceded that she currently did not work with children and had fewer than four years of professional experience after earning her Ph.D. She had worked as a research assistant and had published one article in the journal Personality Assessment in a forensic-type situation. [emphasis added] 

Hansen has written multiple articles arguing that marriage equality “will increase the prevalence of homosexuality” and claimed that LGBT-inclusive curricula encourage children to engage in destructive and unhealthy behavior.

But here is the thing which really annoys me. If Gallagher claims that she does not believe same-sex couples harm their children at a higher rate than "any other family form," then why does her organization push the work of people who do make that claim?

My guess is that she will probably say something along the lines of the following:

Some in the gay blogosphere are trying to assert that NOM--or me--endorses the view of every blogger/article NOM links to, by the act of linking to it.

This would lead to the absurd conclusion that NOM endorses the editorial positions of the New York Times, because NOM links to them--or The Advocate for that matter, as we often link to stories in the gay press.

If you want to know what NOM's message is, there are abundant videos and press stories (including our own press releases) with me, or Brian Brown, or other NOM personnel actually speaking. Fair enough to criticize us for what we actually believe and say.

The standard "a link constitutes an endorsement" would cut off the free flow of ideas at the knees.

That's all well and good, but NOM doesn't simply link to Hansen's post. NOM publishes an abridged version of Hansen's piece on its blog.

So what does that mean?

It means that Gallagher and NOM are speaking out of both sides of their mouths and are expecting the rest of us to let them do it.

'Religious right 'expert' caught lying again' and other Monday midday news briefs

For @vote4marraigeNC, Sunday church service = tour stop -  It stands to reason that if you are doing something in the middle of church services, you will get a big crowd, but they aren't necessarily there to see you. You are just an added on.

Focus On The Family’s Minnery Peddles Distortions About Colorado's Civil Union Bill - After the public embarrassment he endured from Sen. Al Franken after caught lying during a Congressional hearing, one would think that Tom Minnery had enough. He hasn't.

More on Minnery's lies courtesy of Think Progress.

Evie, Obama's Transgender Ex-Nanny, Reveals Lifetime Of Torment In Indonesia - We need pray for our sister.

City opens new senior center for LGBT New Yorkers - This is good news, indeed!

Conservative 'Pro-Family' Groups Silent on Rush Limbaugh's Sexist Outbursts - Surprising no one, of course.

Maine victory continues to haunt National Organization for Marriage

It's going to be a wild 2012 election season, particularly with marriage equality on the ballot in several states including North Carolina, Minnesota, and Maine.

Maine, however, is probably the most interesting battle. The National Organization for Marriage and its allies actually defeated marriage equality via a referendum in 2009. There will be another referendum this year after supporters of marriage equality got enough signatures to the question on the ballot.

With that mind, I have two things to say - Remember how they lied in Maine to defeat marriage equality there in 2009 AND make sure everyone not only knows it but NEVER forgets it.

Remember the words of Marc Mutty, head of the 2009 anti-marriage equality campaign (from the documentary Question One: the Battle for Same-Sex Marriage in America):



It's all about hysteria and fear.

And here is something else to keep in mind. According to writer Ned Flaherty, the Roman Catholic Church has announced that it will not be taking an active role in the marriage equality fight in Maine. Flaherty writes:

Bishop Richard Malone, the sect’s top-ranking official in Maine, said on 2 March that his goal now is only to re-train the wayward 25% of Maine’s 187,306 Catholics.  He said that the church “doesn’t want to impose a law or belief on anyone,” especially non-Catholic citizens, who comprise 86% of Maine residents, and 77% of all Americans.  Maine voters will decide by ballot in November whether to write same-gender marriage into state law.    

Historically, Roman Catholic officials have opposed virtually every regulation, policy, and law proposed to protect LGBT people nationwide.  Toward that end, the church spent $1.9 million to repeal Maine’s new marriage equality statute in 2009, after the legislature and governor had already enacted it.

Friday’s historic retreat is the first of its kind for this religious sect, and is profound.  Such changes are not made independently, and are always coordinated with higher church officials.  The Diocese of Maine, located in Portland, is a corporation sole which reports to the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston, located in Boston, Massachusetts, which includes the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

How convenient that the Catholic Church makes this announcement after the Supreme Court refused to hear the National Organization for Marriage's challenge of Maine campaign finance disclosure laws. 

Odds are that Maine is one victory that NOM is beginning to regret.

Related post - How NOM wins - Creating doubt and fear about children 

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

The network TV-One has an outstanding television program called "Unsung" which celebrates R&B artists who have not gotten the acclaim they deserve.

Naturally TV-One had to do an episode on one of the greatest singers of all time, Sylvester.

It's probably one of the best documentaries on the life of Sylvester which you will ever see:




Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Anti-gay boycott backfires BIG TIME' and other Friday midday news briefs

Archie gay marriage comic sells out in face of boycott call - I do love it when a religious right boycott backfires.

AFER’s Chad Griffin selected as the next president of the Human Rights Campaign - My fellow lgbtq bloggers are extremely pleased with this new pick.

Video: Maggie stumps for Rick, further connects her marriage advocacy to far-right politics - So Maggie Gallagher is now campaigning with Rick Santorum. Where does that leave Romney?

Ken Mehlman: ‘I Am Sorry’ For Helping Bush Exploit Anti-Gay Sentiment, ‘I Wish I Had Spoken Out’ - Awwww thank you Ken. Now cut a BIG check AND get your ass out in the field to change what you helped to create.

Fischer: Like Slavery, America 'Cannot Exist Half-Gay and Half-Straight' - Reading the homophobic Bryan Fischer is good for my high blood pressure. He makes me laugh EVERY time.

The Family Research Council deserves a media platform . . . with caveats

There is a school of thought floating about in my community that since the Family Research Council is an SPLC-designated hate group, the media shouldn't give its spokespeople a platform to spread the organization's views.

I understand that school of thought, but don't agree totally with it because I think that media should give FRC a platform . . . with caveats.

The first caveat is that interviewers don't act as if FRC spokespeople such as Tony Perkins and Peter Sprigg are "pure as the driven snow" experts. I for one would like to see these two questioned on their ugly comments or the organization's usage of junk science studies.

The second caveat is that more often than not, FRC spokespeople not be given a free and open field to spout their lying rhetoric. I would like to see more debates between their spokespeople and spokespeople from organizations having to do with lgbtq equality.

It's my belief that in a free and open debate, FRC's so-called experts would be revealed to be empty vessels spouting nonsensical talking points having more to do with bias and homophobia than fact.

A perfect example of what I am talking about is this recent debate between Peter Sprigg and Emily Hect McGowan of the Family Equality Council. The two appeared on WUSA-9 to discuss an adoption bill being debated in the Virginia General Assembly.

Personally I think Ms. McGowan mopped up the floor with Sprigg. But what do you think:

Principal resigns after controversy regarding anti-gay comment to student

She told a lesbian student that she was going to hell. Now she can go to the unemployment line. From the Human Rights Campaign:

Haywood High School principal Dorothy Bond has resigned, according to Tennessee media outlet the Jackson Sun.

We told you earlier today how Bond came under fire after recently telling a lesbian student she was going to hell because of her sexual orientation. You responded quickly - in just four hours, more than 5,000 of you signed our petition calling on the Haywood County School District to investigate the allegations. This afternoon, Bond announced her resignation.

In a statement, the school district said:

"The Haywood County Board of Education acknowledges its student body’s right to free speech. Further, the Haywood County Board of Education strives to provide an atmosphere of tolerance and diversity while maintaining high academic standards."

Thank you for your swift action in standing up to homophobia!

Of course the question is how long will it be before she is presented as a victim of alleged gay bullies by the National Organization for Marriage or the Family Research Council?

I hope soon. I'm just itching for a fight.

'North Carolina gaining momentum against Amendment 1' and other Thursday midday news briefs

THIS is how you break down the dangers of an anti-gay amendment:



Protect All NC Families, the campaign to stop North Carolina's Amendment 1, which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage, is clearly bringing its A-game to this fight! According to Protect All NC Families:

117 partners have joined the coalition — including the NAACP, Southerners on New Ground, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, and numerous faith congregations.

We have 30 staff and seven field offices across the state.

We have raised more than $600,000 — more than $150,000 of that has come in online, with more than $80,000 of that number coming in the last three weeks.

We have more than 2,000 donors who have given $92 on average — the grassroots donors are with this campaign. We have raised our money in $10, 100, 250 and 1,000 chunks and we are ahead of schedule with what we have raised from that category.

We have more than 15,000 volunteers at this point and we are making 20,000 voter calls per week.

Important validators such as Senator Kay Hagan, Lt. Governor Walter Dalton, the conservative Carolina Review, libertarian thinker Michael Munger, Myers Park Baptist and others have come out in opposition to the amendment in recent weeks.

In other news:

NOM, ADF protect sanctity of church/state marriage - So churches should stand against marriage equality even though it's not necessarily an issue pertaining to them because no churches are forced to marry same-sex couples. Okay.

Tennessee Principal Condemns Gay Students To Hell - I absolutely DARE the religious right to defend this woman.

Perkins Claims that Gay Rights Advocates 'Want to Silence the Church' - I DESPISE Tony Perkins but even I'm astounded here. Read how he connects the lgbtq community to an issue having ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with us.

Russia: Don't Go There (VIDEO) - Russians counter mind-boggling homophobia (yes it's an oxymoron) by their public officials.

National Organization for Marriage's anti-gay project is a colossal failure

 

From Equality Matters comes proof that the National Organization for Marriage's "big project," the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, is not only tanking but also revealing the duplicity of NOM's claims gays being bullies:

Last September, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, a website dedicated to documenting Americans who’ve had their “rights and dignity” denied by supporters of marriage equality.

 . . .  As of today, however, it’s been nearly two months since NOM’s Marriage ADA has posted a new video. The site has posted a total of nine videos since September -- roughly two a month -- and few if any of those videos depicted instances of actual defamation.

 . . .out of NOM’s nine Marriage ADA stories, three weren’t about marriage, three were from a different country, and zero demonstrated an instance of actual “defamation.” It should come as no surprise that NOM had such a difficult time finding any compelling evidence that opponents of marriage equality were having their “rights and dignity” threatened and denied. NOM’s “gays as bullies” narrative has already been exposed and rejected by a number of judges and courts across the country. Though the group hailed Marriage ADA as a “huge new step” to restoring civility to the debate over same-sex marriage, the project seems to have sputtered into little more than an expensive example of how dishonest NOM’s self-victimization meme really is.

Carlos Maza breaks down the lies of each case with incredible detail. Check it out.