Six ways the religious right groups lie about the gay community

This a repost which has been updated. We know that religious right groups peddle distortions designed to demonize the lgbt community.

However we really should do more than simply declare them bigots. The lgbt community needs to follow the advice of high school math teachers and "show our work" in proving what needs to be known about these so-called pro-family groups, i.e. that they lie intentionally to create a phony picture of the lgbt community. So I have compiled a pattern of religious right deception which can be broken down to six techniques:

1. Using nonrepresentative or out-of-date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions

Example 1 - Religious right talking point: According to the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women, 43 percent of white male homosexuals had sex with 500 or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more sexual partners. Therefore gays have no concept of mongamy and certainly can't be trusted to raise children.

Truth - Homosexualities was a book written in 1978 that only looked a certain portion of the lgbt population (gay men in the city of San Francisco). It also did not look at same-sex households. In addition, the authors of Homosexualities (Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg) said that their book should not be used to generalize about all gays in general:

“. . . 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.”

Example 2 - Religious right talking point: Same sex marriage and gay adoption are bad ideas because research shows that the best places to raise children are in homes with a mother and a father.

The truth - The research only looked at heterosexual two-parent households as opposed to single parent heterosexual households. Same-sex households were never included.

Point of fact - The following researchers, physicians, and Ph.D.s have complained about how the anti-gay industry has misused their work:

A. Nicholas Groth,

the six researchers of a Canadian study (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter),

Dr. Robert Garofalo (see Gays as Diseased),\

Lisa Waldner,

Dr. Kyle Pruett,

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc,

Carol Gilligan,

Dr. Robert Spitzer,

Dr. Francis Collins,

Gary Remafedi,

Professor Michael King,

Professor Lisa Diamond,

Judith Stacey,

Angela Phillips,

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),

Theo Sandfort, and

John Horgan.

2. Repetition - Despite the fact that several physicians and researchers complain about the distortion of their work, corrections are usually not made. In fact, you can still find the work of the six Canadian researchers, Judith Stacey, A. Nicholas Groth, and Robert Garofalo, as well as many others being distorted on various religious right webpages.

3. Conspiracy Theory - Claiming that gays and lesbians are consistently plotting to "erode traditional values"

Example - “The agenda of homosexual activists is basically to change America from what they perceive as looking down on homosexual behavior, to the affirmation of and societal acceptance of homosexual behavior. It is an agenda that they basically set in the late 1980s, in a book called After the Ball, where they laid out a six-point plan for how they could transform the beliefs of ordinary Americans with regard to homosexual behavior—in a decade-long time frame." - Craig Osten, Q&A: The Homosexual Agenda, Focus on the Family, July 25, 2003

4. Dire Consequences - Claiming that a pro-gay law or ordinance will lead to negative consequences without proof that the consequences will take place.

Example 1 - “Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

Example 2 - “H.R. 254 elevates one group of Americans above others, creating a special class of victims. All things being equal, it means that if a 5-foot-2-inch grandmother is violently attacked on the street, she is less worthy of justice than the 6-foot-4-inch homosexual man who is attacked by the same assailant.” - Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America, 2007

5. Phony Experts - Creating their own "experts" on the lgbt community. One such "expert" is Linda Harvey of Mission America. According to her bio, she is a former ad executive who became a born again Christian. Another phony expert is Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family. He is considered an "expert" on the subject of homosexuality but has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities with an emphasis in philosophy, history and religion. And this also includes organizations. In a recent appearance on the news program Hardball, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins cited the  "work" of the American College of Pediatricians as proof that "homosexuality poses a danger to children." However Perkins neglected to mention that the American College of Pediatricians is not a legitimate group but a sham organization laundering religious right distortions as scientific fact.

6. Dehumanizing Semantics - Consistently using language (i.e. demonstrative verbs and adjectives) in their talking points, sound bites, and press releases to deliberately make gays and lesbians seem like impersonal, threatening outsiders. These verbs and adjectives include such phrases as:

• promoting homosexuality
• marketing homosexuality
• endorsing homosexuality
• teaching homosexuality
• homosexual activists
• radical gay agenda
• forcing their agenda on us
• pro-homosexual
• sodomy advocates
• sodomy lobby
• sexual anarchists
• special rights
• homosexual behavior
• legitimizing their lifestyle
• lifestyle
• deadly lifestyle
• redefining marriage
• counterfeit marriage
• aggressive minority of sexual deviants
• homosexual indoctrination
• ramming their agenda down our throats
• gay militants
• they are after our children
• homosexuals can’t reproduce so they have to recruit
• normalizing homosexuality
• marketing their lifestyle to children
• indoctrinating children

If the lgbt community is going to get any headway with combating religious right groups, the labeling of these groups as bigots without any discussion or knowledge of their techniques of deception  must stop. The lgbt community must roll up its collective sleeves and do the hard work not just to educate those in the mainstream, but also itself.

DADT editorial cartoons in bad taste and other Monday midday news briefs

Cagle syndicates tasteless, offensive ‘Don’t Ask’ cartoons following historic repeal signing - Satire is one thing. But these cartoon are downright rude. They make light of the struggles and sacrifices of lgbt soliders.

Familiar Pattern in Newark Park Slay - A tragedy crying for answers.

Vets Group Blasts 'Social Deviant' Farah's Anti-Gay Column - A homophobic column gets its just desserts.


Gay caregivers 'seriously under-researched' - Well duh!

Religious right scared that California youth will learn about gays in history

One thing is sure about religious right groups. Just mention the word "gay" in any form regarding the schools and watch them bloviate about how children are going to be "indoctrinated into the homosexual lifestyle." Case in point:

A California senator is proposing a bill that would radically promote the lesbian, "gay," bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement in schools and wouldn't allow parents to take their children out of discussions concerning the alternate lifestyles.

State Senator Mark Leno (D) has introduced a measure that would require public school textbooks to be re-written to contain information about the LGBT movement. Under the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act, textbooks must highlight key LGBT figures who contributed to the history of the United States and include details about the homosexual movement.

But Penny Harrington, Concerned Women of America's (CWA) legislative director of California, says the bill mandates certain instruction in social sciences and removes safeguards from communities.

"This bill will prompt open discussion in classrooms of all ages about sexual practices, and these are conversations that most parents are going to consider inappropriate," she notes.

In other words, to merely mention the contributions of lgbts in history automatically means that children will be talking about sexual intercourse and parental guidance is needed.

Of course such notions are ridiculous. Talking about gay figures throughout history doesn't necessarily mean that there will be discussions about sexual intercourse, just like a child from a same sex household reading an essay about a family trip doesn't mean that there will be talk about sexual intercourse.

But the religious right will emphasize this false notion in a cynical attempt to appeal to ignorance and fear. Fox News has already talked about this issue of gay history and has called it as "propaganda" and "blackmail."

There is a practical reason why talking about lgbts in history is important to the upbringing of lgbt children. According to Media Matters:

The California Safe Schools Coalition surveyed California students and school administrators in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to determine whether curriculum that includes attention to LGBT people "promote[s] safer school climates." According to their research, "students who report learning about LGBT issues in school... report fewer mean rumors or lies spread about them, fewer reports of being made fun of because of their looks or the way they talk, and less LGBT bullying at school." The California Safe Schools Coalition also concluded that not only did more LGBT students feel safer at schools with LGBT issues in the curriculum, but "[m]ore straight students report feeling safe if they learned about LGBT issues." The report concluded:

Finding 1: Individual students feel safer at school when LGBT issues are included in the curriculum; this is true for LGBT students and for their straight peers.

[...]

Finding 2: School climates are safer when LGBT issues are part of the curriculum.

[...]

Finding 3: Many California school districts already include LGBT issues in the curriculum and many more are interested in doing so. [California Safe Schools Coalition, Safe Schools "LGBT Issues in the Curriculum Promotes School Safety", 2006]

In layman's terms, it's like this - when lgbt children realize that the gay community has made positive influences throughout history, they are more likely to have more self-esteem about themselves. It's pretty much the same reason why there is a Black History Month and a Women's History Month.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with it. We are a people with a rich history and have played a huge role in society which have nothing to do with bathroom encounters or sticky fumblings in open fields in the dead of night. Among our number are such historical giants as Alexander the Great, James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein, Socrates, Michelangelo, Herman Melville,  and Bayard Rustin. It's time America stop thinking that being an lgbt is an issue solely about sexual intercourse.

Senator Leno put it best:

“Most textbooks don’t include any historical information about the LGBT movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history,” said Senator Leno. “Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of LGBT people and leads to increased bullying of young people.” He added, “We can’t simultaneously tell youth that it’s OK to be yourself and live an honest, open life when we aren’t even teaching students about historical LGBT figures or the LGBT equal rights movement.”

Of course you can't tell that to members of the religious right. To push the fact that there is more to being an lgbt than fevered sexual encounters leading to despair, death, and disease puts a huge chink in their argument regarding the supposed "negative effects" of homosexuality.

In their world, lgbts are not people, but sideshow freaks in cages to be pitied and pointed at. Granted, the world of the religious right in no way resembles the real world, but don't count on that little detail to stop them from trying to defeat this needed bill.

Happy Holidays from Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Barring a huge controversy occurring, I will not be posting anymore today and also won't be posting on Christmas day.

I just want to wish everyone a very joyous holiday season and thank you for all of your support.

And I want to leave you with this:

Christian love = anti-gay lies?

No matter how much members of the religious right claim that they "love" the lgbt community, their actions reveal them to be unprincipled liars.

Take, for example, the latest purveyor of the "we stand against homosexuals because we love them" meme, John-Henry Westen of the right-wing LifeSite News:

"They're not opposed out of any kind of hatred or animosity. In fact, they're opposed out of love," Westen contends. "Christians care enough about those men and women who are in these destructive lifestyles to tell them that it's hurtful -- and it is hurtful. God designed us so that a man and a woman fit together in complimentarity."

You know what is more harmful? Lies pushed to make it seem that homosexuality is a "deadly lifestyle."

Which, according to one of my facebook friends, Wendy Equal Leigh, is what Lifesite peddles.

She pointed out to me a recent article pushed by the online publication:

75% of sexually active homosexuals are carrying Human Papiloma Virus, study suggests

Preliminary results from a Spanish study of sexually-active homosexuals indicates that seventy-five percent are carrying the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV), according to a report by Europa Press.

Sounds terrible doesn't it? Except for two things:

1. Lifesite News fails to give a link to the study, which can be argued as not a big deal. But the second point can't.

2. Lifesite News went into detail about the study. I highlighted the important part:

The study, which is seeking to follow sexually active homosexuals who normally use condoms, has so far followed 40 subjects over a period of several months, and has arrived at a preliminary figure of 75 percent HPV infection.

Just how in the world can a study which only looked at 40 subjects be used to make a generalization about all gay men? You see that's why its important for there to be a link to the original study. It could be that Lifesite News is distorting this study to make a conclusion that doesn't even exist.

Based on its past track record (see related posts below), it's not a farfetched conclusion to make about this publication.

If lying on the lgbt community is the type of love Westen pushes, I would hate to see his definition of hate.

Related posts: 

Porno Pete LaBarbera embraces Paul Cameron

Lifesite News and Tony Perkins team up to bash gay marriage with bad research

Look out! Here comes a new distortion about changing sexual orientation

More bad news for religious right: Chai Feldblum appointed to EEOC

And the Christmas season keeps getting worse for the religious right:

Lesbian lawyer and longtime activist Chai Feldblum was confirmed as a commissioner of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a Senate vote Wednesday, theFederal Times reports.

Feldblum, who has been the target of much criticism by conservatives, had been serving under a recess appointment by President Obama since April, along with another commissioner, the commission’s chair, and its general counsel, who also were confirmed Wednesday in one of the Senate’s last actions before the holiday break.

As the piece says, conservatives don't like Feldblum. The religious right in fact HATE Feldblum, claiming on more than one occasion that she will lead an onslaught on the "rights of Christians."

Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality:

Who could put it any better than lesbian legal activist Chai Feldblum, former law professor at Georgetown University and President Obama’s recess appointee to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC)? Regarding what she calls the “zero-sum” game that exists between homosexual legal “rights” and the freedom of religious/moral Americans to oppose homosexuality, Feldblum stated: “Gays win. Christians lose.” We hope her prediction is wrong, but the lesbian prof’s secular “rights” formula is clearly advanced every time the noble institution of “marriage” is perverted to legally sanction ignoble, sinful conduct.

Editor's note - Feldblum never said that.

Traditional Values Coalition:

"Feldblum wants the government to promote every type of relationship as equal to traditional marriage, including ‘polyamorous’ relationships (those involving three or more sexual partners).

“Feldblum also believes that sexual liberty trumps religious liberty. She rejects the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.

“Feldblum has criticized the Supreme Court for its Boy Scout decision. She opposes the Boy Scouts right to exclude gay (LGBT) Scout leaders and gay Scouts from its organization.

Family Research Council:

Ms. Feldblum is one of the architects of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which seeks to give special protections to homosexuals and crossdressers, with no regard for the religious objections of those who see such practices as wrong. In fact, when questioned about instances when religious liberty and homosexual "rights" conflict, Ms. Feldblum brazenly stated she would have "a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win." There seems to be little doubt, even in Ms. Feldblum's mind, about how she will rule in cases involving religious liberty that come before her.

The statement these religious right groups are gaining the most mileage out is from a piece she wrote entitled Moral Conflict and Liberty: Gay Rights and Religion.

Ensuring that LGBT people can live honestly and safely in all aspects of their social lives requires that society set a baseline of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. If individual business owners, service providers and employers could easily exempt themselves from such laws by making credible claims that their belief liberty is burdened by the
law, LGBT people would remain constantly vulnerable to surprise discrimination. If I am denied a job, an apartment, a room at a hotel, a table at a restaurant or a procedure by a doctor because I am a lesbian, that is a deep, intense and tangible hurt. That hurt is not alleviated because I might be able to go down the street and get a job, an apartment, a hotel room, a restaurant table or a medical procedure from someone else. The assault to my dignity and my sense of safety in the world occurs when the initial denial happens. That assault is not mitigated by the fact that others might not treat me in the same way.

Thus, for all my sympathy for the evangelical Christian couple who may wish to run a bed and breakfast from which they can exclude unmarried straight couples and all gay couples, this is a point where I believe the “zero sum” nature of the game inevitably comes into play. And, in making the decision in this zero sum game, I am convinced society should come down on the side of protecting the liberty of LGBT people. Once an individual chooses to enter the stream of economic commerce by opening a commercial establishment, I believe it is legitimate to require that they play by certain rules. If the government tolerated the private exclusionary policies of such individuals in the commercial sector, such toleration would necessarily come at the cost of gay people’s sense of belonging and safety in society. Just as we do not tolerate private racial beliefs that adversely affect African Americans in the commercial arena, even if such beliefs are based on religious views, we should similarly not tolerate private beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identity that adversely affect LGBT people.

In other words, Feldblum believes that a business should not be allowed to discriminate against lgbts no matter the so-called "deeply held personal beliefs" of the owner.

She does not believe owners of an apartment building should have the right to deny lgbts housing even if they have a so-called "deeply held personal belief" that homosexuality is a sin.

And she does not believe that the beliefs of service providers should override the needs of those they are supposed to be serving.

I personally can't think of a better choice. And not just because Feldblum sends the religious right into orbit.

That fact is merely icing on the cake.

Anti-gay 'poo-poo pastor' Martin Ssempa charged with conspiracy

Martin Ssempa, a pastor in Uganda infamous for being a chief pusher of the country's "Kill the Gays" bill and also for his penchant for showing "scat porn" in church is among eight people  who was either detained or sought after an "alleged conspiracy to injure the reputation of Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral, Kampala."

According to the site Box Turtle Bulletin:

The eight are being charged with filing false accusations against Kayanja, in a bizarre conspiracy to accuse Kayanja of sodomy. As we reported last year, the conspiracy unfolded this way:

Other pastors are jumping onto the “outing” bandwagon to settle scores as well, and the rivalries are so complex that it takes some diagramming to keep it all straight. Here goes: Pastor Solomon Male of Arise for Christ Ministry accused Pastor Robert Kayanja of the Rubaga Miracle Center Cathedral of being a homosexual, along with “a group of other pastors.” Kayanja’s Rubaga Miracle Center is a very large and prosperous megachurch in Kampala. (Controversial American faith healer Benny Hinn will present a “Fire Conference” at that church on June 5th and 6th.) But an apparent friend of Kayanjka, Pastor Joseph Serwadda of the Victory Christian Centre, another megachurch in the Ndeeba section of Kampala which operates two FM stations, accused Male of of being an impostor, saying that he doesn’t even have a church.

Kayanja’s personal aide, Chris Muwonge, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by armed men and held for five days. His captors allegedly wanted him to make a video statement accusing Kayanja of molesting young boys. Kayanja accused his rival, Pastor Michael Kyazze of the Omega Healing Center of being behind the plot. Kyazze’s assistant, Pastor Robert Kayiira was arrested earlier for trying to sneak a laptop computer into Kayanja’s Miracle Center. His close friend? Pastor Solomon Male. Kayanja reportedly believes that Martin Ssempa is involved in the allegations against him as well.

Regarding Ssempa, the Daily Monitor said he is:

accused of hiring Robson Matovu to blackmail Pastor Kayanja. Court heard that Pastor Male reportedly gave Mr Matovu a signed and stamped affidavit implicating Pastor Kayanja while Samson Mukisa was reportedly promised necessities on condition that he would speak publicly on how Pastor Kayanja had sodomised him.

A police report indicates that complaints of sodomy against Pastor Kayanja did not reveal any evidence the offences. “In retracting their statements, the complainants said they had been mobilised to make false accusations against Pastor Kayanja in order to tarnish his name,” reads a report.

The controversy definitely throws a monkey wrench into the claim of those who support the anti-gay Ugandan bill. Supporters, such as Ssempa, have said that the bill was created to protect Ugandans, particularly children, from "gay recruitment."

However, Box Turtle Bulletin said the following:

Public charges of sodomy are a common way to settle political and other scores in Uganda. Should the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law with its death penalty and other heightened penalties for advocacy on behalf of LGBT people or failure to report gay people to police, such conspiracies will increase and carry far greater dangers.

Besides Ssempa, the others who have been detained or sought after are city advocate Henry Ddungu, pastor Moses Solomon Male, Bob Robert Kayiira, Michael Kyazze,  lawyer David Kaggwa, Deborah Kyomuhendo, and David Mukalazi.

UPDATE -  According to the Ugandan newspaper New Vision, the police are now looking for Ssempa, but so far, he has eluded them.

Related posts:

Martin Ssempa claims to be misunderstood

Martin Ssempa celebrates his homophobia via a blog

'Kill the gays' bill supporter reduced to showing gay porn in church

Martin Ssempa talks about 'poop' to demonize lgbts 

Martin Ssempa's obsession with gay sex . . . and poo?
 

DADT repeal 'traps limp-wristed enlistees' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Fischer: DADT Repeal Means "Limp-Wristed Enlistees" Now Stuck In the Military - AFA's Bryan Fischer strikes again.

FRC staffer likens U.S. to Sodom and Gomorrah; we wonder if Biblical city had universal healthcare - There is nothing like the classic homophobic condemnations.

Parents of gay Rutgers student who committed suicide may sue school - This continues to be a sad story.

Alberta Delists Homosexuality as a Mental Disorder - What took them so long?

The 'evil, radical, nefarious' gay agenda revealed by Barney Frank

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) reveals our "agenda" for America. Dammit! I'm calling National Headquarters because he wasn't supposed to do that!

Family Research Council defends itself with distorted studies . . . again

It's a regular comedy of errors with the Family Research Council.

In the organization's zeal to defend itself from the charges of being an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, it continues to make huge missteps.

And the latest just happened today.

Now SPLC contends that FRC - and other so-called morality groups - either deliberately rely on junk science, distort legitimate science, or push propaganda to make the lgbt community seem like the dreaded "other" out to destroy American values.

FRC contends that SPLC is unfairly attacking them because they stand against gay marriage even though SPLC has made it clear that this isn't the case.

FRC spokesman Peter Sprigg, who has gone on record wanting gays and lesbians exported out of the United States and  "homosexual acts" to be made illegal, said the following about SPLC's charges in a blog post today:

For the record, FRC believes that every human being, including those who experience same-sex attractions and those who engage in homosexual conduct, is created in the image of God and is loved by Him. How this qualifies as “hate” is a mystery.

We will be preparing a more detailed response to Cohen’s charge that FRC spreads “falsehoods” in our well-documented research, which does show that certain harms are associated with homosexual conduct. Those wishing to examine that research in the meantime can refer to the FRC book Getting It Straight: What the Research Shows About Homosexuality or to our recent pamphlet, The Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality.

For Sprigg's information, I have done just that several times in the past and have found a bunch of errors in both works he cited.

I've talked about these errors in several blog posts, but they bear repeating.

Let's look at the brochure The Top Ten Myths of Homosexuality.

What's the deal with the religious right and gay sex anyway?

This nonsense from conservatives and the religious right about the DADT repeal "forcing heterosexual men to shower with gay men" has me thinking. What is the deal with the religious right and "gay sex" anyway. Truth be told, I wish I was having as much sex as they accuse gay men of having:

"One study determined that homosexual males have from between 20 to 106 sexual partners per year. It's no wonder that homosexual men account for over 50% of all hepatitis cases, and still account for over 50% of all AIDS cases despite the fact that they only make up 1-3% of the population." - The Gay Agenda vs. Family Values, Matt J. Barber

"Fidelity is almost unheard of in homosexual relationships; the average number of partners for each person is eight. These relationships are not open--they are wide open. A homosexual publication, The Advocate, reports that 57 percent of its homosexual readers claimed they had sexual relations with 30 or more partners. Twenty-nine percent of their readers had anonymous bathhouse sex. A 1991 study of homosexual men in New York revealed an average of 308 sexual partners per man." - Supremes Ruled Wisely: Arizona Can't Afford Same Sex Marriage, The Arizona Conservative

An article in USA Today in November 1984 reported that homosexuals have an average of 50 different sexual partners each year. - Offering Hope to Homosexuals - http://www.firststone.org/articles/topic/homosexuality/offering_hope_to_homosexuals.htm

"Homosexual activists claim their lifestyle, which in some cases includes thousands of sexual partners, should be sanctioned, protected, and granted special rights by society. Would you critique this stance?" - a biased question on the Focus on the Family web page

I have an idea. Why don't they just show the following:



Idiotic, isn't it? Trying to reduce the lives of millions into fevered thoughts of sex acts is the very height of idiocy. But it's a tactic which has served the so-called Christian right well on many occasions.

You will remember that they claim to oppose ENDA and other anti-discrimination laws because it might lead to "men dressing up as women and harassing ladies and children in locker rooms and restrooms."

These tactics are not rooted in logic, but fear and prejudice - two very un-Christian characteristics.

Why is Senator McCain teaming up with a hate group? and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Just in case you missed it:



McCain Joins FRC Against DADT Repeal – The Politics of Slander Are Now His Values - It's sad how low Sen. John McCain has fallen.

Family Research Council: We'll Sue To Stop DADT repeal - speaking of which, the hate group's single-minded pursuit of fighting the DADT repeal will do wonders for convincing Americans just how homophobic they are.

The Catholic Church's $400,000 Fax Machine - Being a homophobic SOB certainly pays well.

Gay advocates win victory at UN - Let's end Wednesday's news briefs with some excellent news.

Religious right strategize to undermine DADT repeal

There has been a lot of talk regarding the Southern Poverty Law Center either declaring certain religious right groups as anti-gay hate groups or profiling them for their tendency to demonize the lgbt community.

The groups claim that they are simply trying to show "Christian" opposition to homosexuality and gay marriage in general. This of course is a lie and what better way to prove it than to showcase the words of members of these organizations.

In today's issue of the *American Family Association's One News Now, Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel - one of the groups profiled by SPLC - had this to say about the DADT repeal:

"As we move forward in 2011, we're going to ask the House of Representatives to de-fund any implementation of this repeal," he reports. "We believe that Congress, the House of Representatives, can de-fund any implementation, and thus the repeal would essentially be meaningless. Then we also believe that as we move forward in 2011 [and] 2012, we're going to remember those individuals in the House and the Senate who betrayed our military and America."

You got that? Who cares if Congress voted to end DADT. Staver and company are determined to undermine the will of this vote simply because it benefits the lgbt community.

And then there are the words of Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, which was declared  an official hate group by SPLC:

"Obama and gays have shown that they care more about the sensitivities of gay and lesbian soldiers than they do about the privacy rights of the majority of normal soldiers."

You see that's hatred. That's homophobia so stark that no one can call it anything different. To LaBarbera, the sacrifice of soldiers like Eric Alva, who became the first American wounded in the war in Iraq and lost his leg because of the wound, mean nothing.

And why?

Because to LaBarbera, soldiers like Alva aren't "normal." They are "dirty homosexuals."

How is this any different than the mindset of those who opposed President Truman's desegregation of the Armed Forces in 1948? 

I don't think these efforts will be successful but they do reveal a lot about those behind them. These aren't Christian people. These are pathetic haters who mask their lies and homophobia behind Christian beliefs.

The only thing good about their words is that they clearly show these haters so filled with hubris that they don't realize how deep they are cutting their own throats.


*The American Family Association was also declared an anti-gay hate group by SPLC.

Watch Live: President Obama Signs DADT Repeal Act of 2010

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Last ditch attack on DADT repeal fails, reveals Republican flaw

One thing is assured in politics.

When the Democrats take over Congress, they face criticism of not knowing how to govern. But when Republicans take over, they tend to overdo things, going too far with the tactics which got them into power to the point of either alienating or scaring folks.

We saw it with the Clinton impeachment trials and the case of Terri Schiavo. And we are seeing it again in the case of the DADT repeal. In an absolutely silly attempt to stop the repeal of DADT after the Senate voted, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell makes an ass of himself:

A last-ditch effort by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to complicate the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was blocked Tuesday night after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) objected, Senate aides said.

McConnell attempted to add an amendment to the so-called stripped-down defense authorization bill that would have required the consent of the military service chiefs to proceed with "don't ask" repeal. Under legislation passed by the Senate last week, certifications are required from the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. All the incumbents in those positions support repeal.

"It was a McConnell proposal," a GOP aide confirmed. "There was an attempted to get unanimous consent for it to be included in the defense bill and someone objected."

McConnell's amendment, which Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other GOP senators have been urging for months, called for certifications from the four service chiefs. All of the incumbents in those positions have expressed at least some reservations about repeal at this time.

Repeal advocates have long viewed such an amendment as a poison pill. Presumably, this is what prompted Lieberman's objection. A spokesman for the senator did not immediately respond to an e-mail query Tuesday night. The stripped-down defense bill is proceeding on a unanimous consent basis after most of the controversial aspects were stripped out. Even if such a bill somehow passed with an amendment that threatened "don't ask" repeal prospects, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would likely refuse to bring it to the floor.

Of course, any such amendment, or even the prospect of it, could be seen as an effort to upstage President Barack Obama as he prepares to sign the conditional repeal bill into law on Wednesday morning.

Geez guys. Can you wait to get into power before you mess yourselves up. At least that's what Republicans did in the past.

Barney Frank knocks down idiotic question about DADT and men in the showers

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) is awesome. The right-wing Media Research Center-owned website CNSNews.com tried to trip him up with a question about the repeal of DADT. Of course the question had to do with "straight men being forced to shower with gay men." And Frank made the questioner look like a dummy. From Media Matters:

Frank saw this coming from a mile away. As CNS reporter Nicholas Ballasy slowly got out the words “shower with homosexuals,” Frank let out an exaggerated gasp and responded, “What do you think happens in gyms all over America?” After calling it a “silly issue,” Frank added, “What do you think goes wrong with people showering with homosexuals? Do you think it’s the spray makes it catching? ... We don’t get ourselves dry-cleaned.”

Frank then turned the tables on his interviewer by quizzing Ballasy: “I know you’re looking for some way to kind of discredit the policy. Do you think that gyms should have separate showers for gay and straight people? I’m asking you the question because that’s the logic of what you’re telling me. You seem to think that there’s something extraordinary about gay men showering together. Do you think gyms should have separate showers for gay people and straight people?” Ballasy wouldn’t answer, insisting that he was “just quoting the recommendation.” Frank responded: “Don’t be disingenuous. You’re quoting those you think may cause us some problems. You’re entitled to do that, but you shouldn’t hide behind your views.” Frank again asked the question of Ballasy, who again wouldn’t answer, trying to change the subject: “So that’s the question you would pose to people who have an issue with that part of the report, the recommendation?” Frank made his point one more time, and that’s where the CNS ends the video.

Say what you will about Frank but I for one am glad he is on our side.

Gay community CANNOT let the religious right take over the word 'family'

I want to post something I read from the Southern Poverty Law Center's webpage which speaks to what this so-called culture war about lgbt equality is all about:

The Family Research Council (FRC), a hate group that spreads demonizing lies about gay men and lesbians, claims that it’s simply a pro-family organization.

But don’t gay men and lesbians have families, too? Don’t their families count?

We recently received an email from a supporter that raised just this issue. With his permission, we’re sharing it here. It’s one of the many letters, emails, postings and tweets we’ve received in support of our work since we’ve exposed the FRC’s hateful lies.

-Richard Cohen


Dear SPLC,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for finally branding the Family Research Council a hate group. I am a 36-year-old gay man and when I hear these people say they are "pro-family" or for "family values," I want to scream at the top of my lungs, "I have a family too! I have a mother and father and brother and sister and a partner, and they love me and I am part of that family! I am not a threat to that family; I am a full-fledged, cooperating member of that family!"

These hateful groups have so appropriated the idea of "family" we barely blink when we hear their exclusionary discourse; they are timeworn at this point. But when you sit and think about this way of describing gay people (a threat to "family"), it starts to sink in that this is one of the most intimate and emotionally violent forms of social oppression. Homophobia seeks to literally wedge itself between gay people and their parents and siblings. It also seeks to second-guess and demonize the loving relationships that gay people form between each other.

I have been lucky enough to find the love of my life. It's a rare gift in this world, to find another person who feels like home, who makes you smile, just by being themselves. There is so much more laughter and joy in my life because of him. I feel so blessed to have found this man. And how frightening that the FRC would call that love "sickness," "disorder," "perversion" and "sin." Not only would they label it as such, they would try to convince me to put myself through a process of self-denying psychological torture ("conversion therapy") that could endanger my long-term mental health in order to pry me apart from my partner and destroy what they call "sickness."

I'm writing to you in hopes that my words show you the emotional impact your heroic defense of gay people has on the lives of actual gay people. Homophobia literally seeks to strike "close to home," and because of your actions my home and my family feel a little bit safer. Tonight I'll give an extra hug to my boyfriend on your behalf.

Sincerely,
David Hanbury

Mr. Hanbury say it all, doesn't he? 

'Porno' Pete LaBarbera and his hate group gets called out by Chicago news station report

Anti-Gay Chicago Groups Make 'Hate List': MyFoxCHICAGO.com

The national media doesn't seem to get it when it comes talking about anti-gay hate groups and the Southern Poverty Law Center. But the local media seems to be getting it.

The local media in Chicago, Fox Chicago News, recently presented an excellent report about our friend, (and Paul Cameron enabler) Peter LaBarbera and his hate group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. Words can't do this report justice but I will try. The report is clear, concise, and gets to the heart of  the matter. Just watch it and spread it around online.

Editor's note - Another reason to love this report? LaBarbera is NOT happy with it.

Religious right plan to reinstate ban on gays in the military and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Yea NOM? It's just about marriage? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight - Because you know the National Organization for Marriage don't like same-sex households either.

False Equivalence in Media Debate over Antigay Military Ban - Just more proof that if the media won't do the job in exposing anti-gay liars, it's up to us to do it. And we must do it every chance we get without apology.

Staver Lays Out Religious Right's Plans for Fighting DADT Repeal - Okay this is a DUMB move by the religious right. The American people aren't on their side with this one.

Cupcakegate: The finale - Another religious right cause celebre is shut down.

Robert Knight: DADT was repealed because Republicans wouldn't get gross about homosexuality

For some, the need to stigmatize the lgbt community based on their constant desire to remind folks about gay sex never goes away.

Robert Knight of Coral Ridge Ministries has made a career out of spreading anti-gay propaganda and lies, even to the point of citing the discredited Paul Cameron in front of Congress. And in a recent piece in The Washington Times - one of the only places that will publish his nonsense -  Knight is claiming that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed because Republicans refused to get nasty about homosexuality:

Instead of using the military debate to bring to light many suppressed facts that could cripple the homosexual juggernaut if Americans only knew, they played by their opponents' rule book.

In "After the Ball," a 1989 gay-strategy manual, two Harvard-trained public relations experts warn that "the public should not be shocked and repelled by premature exposure to homosexual behavior itself. Instead, the imagery of sex per se should be downplayed, and the issue of gay rights reduced, as far as possible, to an abstract social question." Elsewhere, the authors say, "first, you get your foot in the door by being as similar as possible; then and only then ... can you start dragging in your other peculiarities, one by one. You hammer in the wedge narrow end first ... allow the camel's nose beneath your tent, and his whole body will soon follow."

For the record, the majority of lgbts never heard of After the Ball, but for some reason, the religious right continues to claim that the lgbt community is using this book as some sort of manual to take over America by utilizing tactics, i.e. planning groups, money, secret organizations, that the religious right themselves are guilty of.

Knight then proceeds to catalog a bunch of things he feels Republicans should have brought up:

* Flawed science has been misused mightily. From Alfred Kinsey's fraudulent research in the 1940s to UCLA Prof. Evelyn Hooker's cooked psychological studies in the late 1950s to misreported "genetic" studies of the 1990s, the public has been browbeaten into ignoring biology, common sense and thousands of years of moral teaching about human sexuality.

* The obvious threat to the military blood supply. According to the Centers for Disease Control, men who have sex with men are 44 times more likely to have HIV and 46 more times to have syphilis. Even if gay men enter the services testing negatively, they're going to have sex in the most likely pool in which to become infected.

* Data compiled by the Family Research Council showing that homosexuals commit a disproportionate number of sexual assaults in the military, even with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Notice how he never says just how the studies of Kinsey and Hooker were flawed, how he gives himself an out in talking about the blood supply by the "even if" addendum, and how he cites the Family Research Council's useless study, which no one else cited. Knight conveniently forgot to mention the "coincidence" of the discredited Paul Cameron coming out with the same type of study a week before FRC did.
 
The irony of Knight's position is the realization that 17 years ago, Republicans and those who didn't support gays and lesbians serving openly in the military did pull out the horror stories. They talked about "gay sex," "the gay agenda," "fisting," and even pulled the "gay assault" card.

But things have changed.  Homophobia still exists but for the most part, more of us are out and unashamed of who we are despite the efforts of those like Knight. Americans know more of us and the lies about us being an invading horde of Godless creatures just isn't resonating like they used to.

The sad thing is that no one told Knight. But I don't think he would care if anyone did tell him. He seems to be willfully stuck in the past.



Editor's note - In the Southern Poverty Law Center's profile of anti-gay hate groups, Robert Knight's name comes up many times.