How the Family Research Council exploits religion to justify discrimination, bigotry

Tony Perkins exploits religion.

One thing which helps the anti-gay right push the false notion of private religious freedom is their usage of language.

For example, I present to you a portion of a recent fundraising email from Family Research Council president, Tony Perkins:

As predicted, sexual revolution extremists are answering the question, "After they get national same-sex 'marriage,' then what?" Within four days of the U.S. Supreme Court decision imposing same-sex "marriage" on all of America, James Obergefell, one of the plaintiffs in the case, was part of press conferences of LGBT activists who proclaimed the Supreme Court victory was not enough.

He said, "Friday's historic ruling is a victory, but it's just the beginning."

I believe they are wrong . . . if people like you unite and take action now.

One article called the activists' plans "the next frontier."

This "next frontier" includes taking away your religious freedom. Obergefell and the activists called for laws that would:

• Abolish protections for religious employers to hire according to their sincere beliefs . . .
• Erase protections of religious employees to have a workplace not hostile to their beliefs about marriage . . .
• End protections for religious landlords to rent rooms or other property without violating their religious beliefs.

What's interesting about the last part of this excerpt is how Perkins uses dog whistles and evasions to make discrimination against lgbts sound like a noble and religious cause, i.e. religious liberty.

And bear in mind that he isn't talking about churches or religious organizations. Perkins is clearly talking about secular businesses run by people who may have a religious belief that homosexuality is a sin.

 Allow me to put it another way. Perkins is pushing the idea that

• Businesses should have the right to hire and fire employees on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Businesses should have the right to discriminate against lgbt employees if these employees are married. This means not allowing them to post pictures of their loved ones or invite them to company gatherings.
• Landlords should have the right to practice housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Doesn't sound so appealing without the exploitation of religious liberty thrown in, does it? The sad thing is that we are clearly talking about discrimination. If Perkins was talking about discrimination against African-Americans, people of the Jewish faith, or any other group, his exploitation of religion couldn't hide his prejudice or animus.

It is a pity that when it comes to lgbts, Perkins has an available mainstream audience ready to at least take to heart what he has to say even though he is clearly in the wrong.

'SC State Senator who went on wild anti-gay tirade affiliated with Ted Cruz' & other Tues midday news briefs

Just in case you missed or hadn't heard this lovely tirade from SC State Sen. Lee Bright yesterday, here it is. It's interesting how he conflates the issue of keeping the Confederate flag up with that of  stopping marriage equality. Not surprisingly, he is affiliated with Senator Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz: America Facing Destruction Over Gay Marriage, A Hollywood Propaganda Effort – VIDEO - Who you can tell by this video, isn't marriage equality's best buddy. Two things lgbts should think about if they chose to support Cruz.  Neither your money nor your status will protect you. Those who know what I'm talking about know what I'm talking about.

This Is What Happens To Court Clerks Who Refuse To Issue Same Sex Marriage Licenses - They will be fined. It may seem harsh, but clerks are government officials and SHOULD do their jobs. 

Family Research Council, right-wing media caught lying about 'gag order' in anti-gay bakery controversy - Reposting last night's blog entry because we may have won marriage equality, but it hasn't kept the religious right and other folks from lying about us.

‘I deserve relief': County clerk wants taxpayers to help him avoid job duties on same-sex marriage - Actually his idea of filing for marriage licenses online isn't a bad idea, that is if we could trust some folks to not cause the requests to "disappear." 

 Ohio firefighter defends hateful rant against ‘delusional’ gay child: ‘This is Facebook’ - Because picking on gay child scared about his future is the "Christian" thing to do.

 Kobach: Adoption By Gay Couples 'Certainly Not Good For The Kids' - Pay attention. He is the Kansas Secretary of State and a "rising star in the Republican Party." Can you picture someone like him in national office?

Family Research Council, right-wing media caught lying about 'gag order' in anti-gay bakery controversy

Tony Perkins, FRC, right-wing media caught spreading a lie.

It never ceases to amaze me how the anti-gay right will blatantly lie.

According to a recent Family Research Council email:

No wonder people like Cokie Roberts don't think same-sex "marriage" has "tangible, identifiable victims." The victims are being ordered not to talk about it! That's the latest twist in the long and bitter suit against Aaron and Melissa Klein, the young Christian bakers who turned down a lesbian wedding cake order in Oregon -- and have been paying for it ever since.

As prepared as the Kleins were to hear their $135,000 fine had been finalized, nothing could have prepared them for the Bureau of Labor's second punishment: forced silence. Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian decided to put his own stamp on the punishment by ordering the parents of five "to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published... any communication to the effect that any of the accommodations... will be refused, withheld, or denied to..."

His order made the Kleins speechless all right -- but not for long. Once the shock wore off, Aaron and Melissa made it quite clear that they wouldn't stop speaking out about their case, no matter what the government threatened. "We will not give up this fight," Aaron wrote on their Facebook page, "and we will not be silenced."

For those who are not aware of the situation, Aaron and Melissa Klein owns a bakery in Gresham, Oregon and they refused to bake a cake for a gay couple in 2013. In accordance to Oregon's non-discrimination law, they are now ordered to pay a $135,000 fine because of the mental and emotional stress their action caused the couple..

The Kleins claimed that baking a cake for the couple would have been against their religious beliefs and as such have become a cause celebre for the idea of "religious liberty," i.e. the belief that businesses can use religious beliefs as an excuse to deny services.

This supposed idea of a gag order only adds to the hysteria propagated by organizations, such as the Family Research Council,  as well as other groups and personalities on the right as they attempt to push the notion that marriage equality and lgbt equality in general will lead to the so-called  persecution of those who believe that homosexuality is a sin.

But the claim about a gag order is a lie. 

Anti-gay activist wants SCOTUS to rehear marriage equality case

It will be a couple of years before the anti-gay right is over our marriage equality victory. Until then, expect to hear stuff like the following from folks like anti-gay activist Janet Porter (creator of a recent and extremely outlandish homophobic documentary):

Janet Porter

Are you upset about what the Supreme Court did to marriage? Now, there’s something you can do about it. We can ask the court to rehear the case because two justices violated the federal law which states, “Any justice… of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Justices Kagan and Ginsburg both officiated homosexual so-called weddings, which disqualifies them from ruling on the case. Ask Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to file a motion for rehearing the marriage case . . .  because it was illegally rendered. Ask him to call for a motion for rehearing the case.

The belief that Justices Kagan and Ginsburg should disqualify themselves because they officiated gay weddings is a cry which has been floating out there in the extreme right-wing bilgewater  for a while now without much momentum (even with an assist from Fox News).

I don't expect Porter's pathetic cry will amount to much. She would probably object to me calling her an anti-gay activist. Porter would like to refer to herself as a "pro-family" "Christian"  activist. However, based on the video below of her five years ago praying to God for total media control (I am not making this up),  one wonders if her type of Christian "activism" is actually helping the religion:

''Gay' Iwo Jima photo becomes subject of false outrage' & other Monday midday news briefs

Iwo Jima Marines, gay pride and a photo adaptation that spawns fury - Anatomy of a fake outrage. Paging Todd Starnes . . .

Gallery: Minnesota's first same-sex couple known to apply for a marriage license are still married today - Sort of puts a damper on the "gays don't have long relationships" lie, don't it?

Oops! Ballot Initiative Attacking Same-Sex Marriage Would Inadvertently Ban All Marriage - Please don't give the opposition ANY ideas.

The New Post-Homophobic Christianity - Wonderful piece by Sally Kohn.

AND because you know you love it, a potpourri of crazy over marriage equality decision:

Alan Keyes: Gay Marriage Decision Is Treason, Worse Than Dred Scott 

Dobson: 'I Fear That God's Judgment Will Befall This Once Great Nation' Because Of Gay Marriage Ruling

 

Staver: Gay Marriage Ruling Has 'Brought Sin And Judgment Upon ... The Court And On The Country'

 

Fischer: 'The Day Is Coming When It Will Be Against The Law For Christians To Hold Public Office'

NOM still smarting over SCOTUS marriage equality loss

The recent SCOTUS decision has given Brian Brown lots to cry about.

The National Organization for Marriage and its president, Brian Brown, had a special message for the Fourth of July which demonstrated that the organization is still angry and defiant about the recent SCOTUS decision on marriage equality:

On this Independence Day, we celebrate: The men and woman who sacrificed everything for Liberty. Those who founded this nation upon the radical notion that our rights come not from a benevolent government, but are unalienable, granted us by the Creator. Who recognize that the Creator endowed us with the institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. And who understand that marriage has served a great public good, bringing men and women together to provide the ideal environment for any children born of their union. And we are grateful for the tens of millions of Americans who, despite the grave error of our US Supreme Court in presuming that they have the power to redefine marriage, continue to revere the truth of marriage as serving a profound public good for families, children and society itself. May God continue to bless our nation and remind us that his plan for marriage is perfect.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a sore loser.

'Anti-gay right attempts to stop marriage equality becoming just plain SAD' & other Thur midday news briefs

Matt Barber

Barber: 'Wipe Out' The 'Immoral Scourge Of Same-Sex Marriage' - As much as I despise the viciously homophobic Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel, he does have his uses. For example, today he reminds us that all of this junk we are hearing about some clerks refusing to sign marriage licenses for gay couples have less to do with their personal beliefs and more to do with an attempt to do away with marriage equality all together. Sorry Matt, but it's a constitutional right, but thanks for the needed information. 

 Bobby Jindal says Louisiana government won't recognize same-sex marriages for now - Case in point. You have no choice, Bobby. Deal with it.

Local officials drag their feet on gay marriage despite supreme court ruling - Folks, give it up and turn it loose. You lost. However I do have a complaint. We need to be reminding people that its about the couples being denied their constitutional right to marriage, not the clerks who should be either doing their jobs or resigning.

 5th Circuit Court: Obergefell Is ‘Law Of The Land,’ ‘Should Not Be Taken Lightly’ - The 5th Circuit Court to these folks trying to delay and stop marriage and equality - "All right. OUT of the pool!"  

Episcopal Church Overwhelmingly Votes To Allow Religious Weddings For Same-Sex Couples - Sweet!!!! 

 Mormon Church Makes First-Ever Donation To Utah LGBT Center - This is NOT a typo.

You DO NOT speak for African-Americans, Mike Huckabee

Nobody asked Huckabee to speak for black folks.

Dear Mike Huckabee,

I heard your recent comments about how comparing the gay civil rights movement to the African-American civil rights movement is offensive to black people. I want to get right to the chase with my questions about those comments.

From me, a gay black man, to you - just who in the hell do you think you are and who in the hell designated you as the spokesman for black people in terms of what offends us?


Furthermore, how dare you appoint yourself the person who decides what is or isn't discrimination. How dare you conjure images of the nightmarish past of segregation,  water hoses, and racial beatings as sort of a whip to beat lgbts in some type of psychological mindset that it's not "real discrimination" when our families are devalued or our lives are reduced to caricatures.

 Who gave you the right to disrespect the spirit of the African-American civil rights movement by using it as a tool to justify discrimination another group? How dare you besmirch the memories of all the nameless, faceless lgbts of color who had to deal with the double stigmatization of racism and homophobia.

Mr. Huckabee (thank God in Heaven I will never have to call you "President Huckabee"), I am a 44-year-old gay black man. I've been called a "nigger" and I've been called a "faggot." I've been threatened because I'm black and chased down the street by thugs wanting to beat my head in because I'm gay.

Since you know every damn thing to the point where you can speak for folks, please inform me as to what is the difference between those incidents.  Was I supposed to be less fearful of those who called me "nigger" than those who called me "faggot?"  Would have I had less to worry about regarding those who wanted to harm me because I am black than those who wanted to harm me because I'm gay?

I think I speak for a great majority of lgbts of color when I say don't you dare take it upon yourself to be so presumptuous about black people and especially us. We are not specimens on a lab table. You can't dissect, detach, or eliminate the "gay" from me nor any other lgbts of color so don't pretend as if we don't exist.

I am proudly black and gay, but one thing I am not is stupid. I know your type. You care about neither the black or gay communities. Based on your past history, you despise the lgbt community and you only care about the black community when you can use them for your own purposes.

Seriously, where are you on black issues? Don't think black people forgot your non-answer regarding the Confederate flag. On that same note, what is your record on other issues regarding the African-American community?

Don't use the black community and the gay community as pieces on a chess board. That IS offensive. And in the future, educate yourself about the common history of being black and gay in America.

But really the next time you feel the need to speak FOR black people, don't. Please don't. We have enough folks speaking out of their asses in an attempt to talk on our behalf.

'Gay couple recount foster care, adoption controversy 30 years later' & other Wed midday news briefs

Regrets Linger 30 Years After Gay Couple Had Their Foster Children Taken Away - Wonderful story (in spite of the title) about gays being foster parents and adopting children 30 years ago. It shows that people can change their ignorant behavior. And I have to commend one of the former antagonists in this situation. He could have easily said his feels about gays adopting and fostering children was once his "deeply held beliefs." Instead, however, he calls it for what it was - bigotry. 

Pat Buchanan doubles down on 1983 column claiming AIDS is nature's punishment - So Pat Buchanan isn't happy that gays can now marry. The "bitch" in me is very happy that he lived to see this day because, as this post notes, a column he wrote about gays during the beginning of the AIDS crisis is still cited today by the lgbt community as an example of how nasty and callous people were to us back. It's not pretty. 

 Pastor Who Said He'd Set Himself On Fire Over Same-Sex Marriage Now Saying He Loves The Gays - I know what you are going to say - "if he really loved us, he would kept his word."

  6 Truths About LGBT Lives That 4 Members Of The Supreme Court Won’t Accept - And unfortunately, they probably never will.  

After Marriage: How To Ask Smart LGBT Questions In 2016 - Is there any way we can drill this into the media's head?  

Conservatives Urge Facebook Users To Use American Flag Filter To Fight Against Rainbow Pics - Oh lighten up, guys!

  Tom DeLay Knows Of Secret DOJ Memo To Legalize '12 New Perversions,' Including Bestiality And Pedophilia - Tom DeLay is full of @!%^. End of story.

Huckabee continues to hide his homophobia behind religion

Mike Huckabee (right) meeting with Brian Camenker, leader of the anti-gay hate group Mass Resistance in 2009 during a conference. Camenker later claimed that Huckabee said he receives the group's emails. Just one more thing the media won't ask Huckabee about.

Folks who read my blog know that I have a special dislike for Mike Huckabee.

No I have never met him but I still regarding him phonier than most anti-gay activists. With Peter LaBarbera, Brian Brown, Linda Harvey, and most other anti-gay activists, the lgbt community know where we stand.

Huckabee is that certain type of noxious homophobe who attempts to make his bigotry seem perfectly sound even though he is saying and doing some of the most offensive things against the lgbt community. He attempts to use his "Christianity" as an excuse for all of his homophobia. Take the following he put on his facebook wall for example:

I'm willing to bet that Huckabee will gets lots of press for this. Of course the press won't ask him about his history of demonizing the lgbt community

'Girl Scouts return transphobic donation' & other Tue midday news briefs

Girl Scouts stand up for the transgender community.

‘I don’t stand alone': County clerks invoke religious freedom to ignore law on same-sex marriage - So what if you "aren't alone." Gay couples have the law and the Constitution on their side. Actually we could easily sidestep this petulant diversion by, while agreeing some clerks may have religious objections to issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, demanding that there be a mechanism or procedure in place which will still allow gay couples to receive licenses with the same ease as their heterosexual counterparts. We shouldn't surrender the fact that we are the most important element in this factor and our rights rank right up there with the rights of opposing county clerks. 

Girl Scouts Return $100,000 Donation from Transphobic Donor - Huge kudos to the Girl Scouts. THIS is standing on principal.  

Asking Hate Groups About Marriage Equality Isn't Balance, It's Bad Journalism - I totally agree with this. I don't think they should be kept off the air. I do think that they should not be mis-identified as a "traditional values" group. I also think they should have to debate lgbt-oriented spokespeople more often. And at the very least, there should be some focus on THEIR deceptive tactics  for a change.  

These Religious Leaders Are Celebrating Marriage Equality - ANOTHER thing the media could do is to stop letting the religious right be the only religious voice heard on television. There are plenty of lgbt-friendly clergy out there being ignored. 

 Religious Right Pundit: 'Victims Of Homofascism' Will Take To The Streets Against Gay Marriage - have you noticed that those calling for 'civil disobedience' over marriage equality aren't even TRYING to lead by example?

 Conservatives Explain Why They Lost On Marriage - Notice how quickly they shift to new talking points.

Jon Stewart, Daily Show exposes conservative nonsense regarding marriage equality decision

On one hand, I love how Jon Stewart and The Daily Show calls out conservative hypocrisy and talking point babble over the recent SCOTUS decision on marriage equality. However, on the other, it demonstrates just had bad American journalism is. It's a shame when a comedy show does much more quality work to educate the American people than the folks who are paid handsomely to do so.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

And the winner for the most insane anti-marriage equality comment goes to . . .

What does this pic have to do with this post? Keep reading

When I was a child, I remember a certain horror movie hyping itself by claiming that it was so scary and shocking that viewers would be constantly repeating to themselves the mantra "it's only a movie, it's only a movie."

The reason that I recall this now is because for the past few days, I've been reading the responses on anti-gay sites with regards to the recent SCOTUS marriage equality ruling. As to be expected, the comments have bordered on ludicrous, Biblical, and downright angry.

However, the following comment from the viciously anti-gay news site Barbwire (and emanating from an article by anti-gay activist Michael Brown)  is so insane that it had me constantly repeating "this is why we are winning, this is why we are winning." 

 It was the only thing I could do to keep from screaming.

FlyEagleVA • 6 hours ago 

My thoughts harken to those alien movies where humans are harvested as food. Surrogate babies and invetrofertilization will be the new heroin for homosexual "addicts." Soldiers will steal heterosexual wives from their true marital beds in the middle of the night and place them in birthing tanks. Abortion clinics will turn into adoption clinics for the ruling sodomite class. Only after the children meet the "criteria," of course; the rest will be disposed of. Sadly, that is not the plot of a science fiction movie, but a prophecy if our nation does not repent and rebel.

I wish I could add something to that but I simply can't.

Photo taken from http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-icon-of-the-week-aliens.htm#

'Photographer loses client because of marriage equality support. Does not care' & other Monday midday news briefs

FRC's Peter Sprigg trying to smile in spite of lgbt victories

Jewish Group, With Hired Protesters, Opposes the Parade - Without a doubt, the single most ghetto anti-gay protest you will EVER hear about. Outsourcing your anti-gay protest to Mexican day laborers? I "ain't mad" at the day laborers. Heck, a buck is a buck.

 A Photographer Lost A Client For Supporting Marriage Equality. His Response Shows Why #LoveWins- That's okay about losing the client because you will get lots more. 

'It's Sad LGBT People Are Unwilling To Be Gracious Winners': FRC Calls For Anti-Gay Religious Law - Whatever. If we had lost, they would still be plotting but it would be to destroy the marriages already made legal. 

We won on marriage. Hiring and housing discrimination are next. - Why, after we have won marriage, the battle for lgbt equality isn't over. Still more to do, folks.  

Everyone should watch John Oliver's segment on transgender rights - And last but certainly not least, we NEED to get together on this one.

  This Is What Happened When Christian Groups Tried To Shut Down Korea Pride - A happy ending to the Seoul pride which began with protestors basically bogarting the event. The protestors  ended up losing.

Repost - Message to the religious right - this isn't about marriage. It's about history

Editor's note - I wrote the following on Nov. 17, 2008  just days after we lost the fight against Prop 8, the bill which would ban marriage equality in California. In light of Friday's final victory for marriage equality (who knew it would take seven years), I am reposting this resonating battle cry as a reminder for us to celebrate this well-earned victory, but never slack off in fighting for equality:




I keep hearing all of this nonsense about us lgbts attacking people, about us using intimidation and violence to oppress people, about us somehow being ugly aggressors. Newt Gingrich (who wrote the book on deceptive messaging during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives) actually accused us of being "secular fascists." Gingrich's attack on us seem to be the prevailing theme with those on the other side of the Proposition 8 argument.

And I think there needs to be some historical perspective on this matter.

 True, Proposition 8 has galvanized our community. We have become a bit more politically engaged in our anger. That is a good thing. However, any display of violence on either side of the argument should never be tolerated.

Nor should letting the religious right frame the moment. I have a few questions to people like Newt Gingrich, Bill O’Reilly, Chuck Norris, Gary Bauer, Peter LaBarbera and the rest who are trying to push this "gay intimidation" image.

Where were you in the late 1970s when Anita Bryant accused us of trying to “recruit” children?

Where were you in 1983 when Paul Cameron accused gay men of stuffing gerbils up our rectums and castrating children? Or afterwards when he went from state to state pushing his phony research papers all designed to make us the boogiemen of American society?

Where were you when Jerry Falwell exploited the AIDS crisis to generate more money for the Moral Majority? Or when those dying of AIDS were cast out of their communities and excommunicated from their churches?

'The Good, The Bad, and The Country Fools' - Reactions and news briefs to SCOTUS marriage equality ruling

Today's victory at the Supreme Court with regards to 50 state marriage equality is victory for not only the present but particularly the future as we craft a world in which the lgbt community (particularly our children)  know that our choices are not dictated by what we are NOT allowed to do, but what we have the ability to do.

You have to be living in a cave with your fingers in your ears to not hear what happened this morning at the Supreme Court. Below are several news briefs to help you understand this most awesome victory:

Gay Marriage Backers Win Supreme Court Victory - With a 5-4 victory like so many predicted. 

Obama Praises Supreme Court's Decision To Legalize Gay Marriage Nationwide - Obama should be especially pleased. With the decision on ACA yesterday and today's decision, his legacy is secure. Now about that Jimmy Carter comparison the right likes to make . . . 

The Beautiful Closing Paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s Gay Marriage Ruling - And another prediction which came true. It was Justice Kennedy who provided the pivotal vote.

 A New Right Grounded in the Long History of Marriage - Let's examine how we got here.

 Frequently Asked Questions about the Supreme Court’s Marriage Ruling - And what happens next. 

However, let's not celebrate too much. There are very pissed-off conservatives:

 Scalia Dissent: SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling Represents ‘Threat to Democracy’ - Making personal potshots at your fellow justices, Scalia? Tacky!

 Huckabee: Obama and SCOTUS Stink Worse than My Grandson’s Diapers - So what have we learned from this . . . I will NOT make any jokes about Huckabee smelling his grandson's diapers.  

'Satan Dancing With Delight': The Religious Right Reacts To The Legalization Of Gay Marriage - AND the rest . . .

Right-Wing Media Respond To Nationwide Marriage Equality: "We Should Weep For Our Country" - Oh yeah. "They mad." 

Map courtesy of  The Movement Advancement Project

Clinton campaign unveils wonderful video on marriage equality

Say what you will about Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign, its video on marriage equality is still absolutely STUNNING:

'Ex-gay' group found guilty of consumer fraud, must refund thousands of dollars

Ex-gay group JONAH  found guilty of consumer fraud

And another nail has been hammered into the coffin of "ex-gay" therapy.

 From The Washington Blade:

A New Jersey jury on Thursday found a group that promotes so-called “conversion therapy” guilty of committing consumer fraud under state law. The verdict came in a case brought against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing in 2012 on behalf of four men who underwent “conversion therapy.” The Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed the lawsuit, argued JONAH violated New Jersey’s consumer fraud law with its claims that gay men could become straight. The Associated Press reported jury awarded the remaining three plaintiffs and two parents $72,000.

“This verdict is a monumental moment in the movement to ensure the rights and acceptance of LGBT people in America,” said Southern Poverty Law Center Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “Conversion therapy and homophobia are based on the same central lie — that gay people are broken and need to be fixed. Conversion therapists, including the defendants in this case, sell fake cures that don’t work and can seriously harm the unsuspecting people who fall into this trap.”

And Buzzfeed:

Filed in 2012, the complaint said that the young men were required to stand naked as part of their therapy and, in one exercise, were told to wrestle away oranges representing testicles from each other. In another exercise, a client said he beat an effigy of his mother with a tennis racket until his hands bled.

In February, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso Jr ruled in a pre-trial decision that the jury could not hear testimony from conversion therapy proponents, including Joseph Nicolosi and Christopher Doyle, who argued that homosexuality is a disorder.

“[T]he theory that homosexuality is a disorder is not novel but — like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it — instead is outdated and refuted,” Bariso ruled at the time.

The jury’s verdict found that JONAH must refund thousands of dollars paid by former clients for violating New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, NJ.com reported.

'Plantiff couples await SCOTUS marriage ruling' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Bayard Rustin

Plaintiff couples on pins and needles awaiting ruling - Still no ruling from SCOTUS on marriage equality and we are ALL - including the plantiff couples - on pins and needles.

 Iowa's Görtz Haus Learns That Refusing To Host Gay Weddings Is Bad For Business - Of course we will probably be blamed for this. Sorry but you can force folks to use a business.  

Logo Honors Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin At 2015 Trailblazer Honors - That's right! And keep those honors coming! Bayard Rustin should be honored continuously! 

Stonewall Inn granted landmark status by New York commission - Sweet! Now we need some Southern lgbt landmarks thrown in the mix.

  Kyrgyz Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Support Moving “Gay Propaganda” Ban Forward - Ugh. This isn't good! 

 Barber: Gay Rights Activists Are 'Pawns' Of Satan - Ah yes. There is that repulsive homophobia which I miss . . .

When gays say 'equality,' some conservatives can't help but to think of sexual intercourse

You ever notice how so many times when we talk about lgbt equality, anti-gay figures always try to make the conversation about gay men having sex?

Check out this snippet of an interview between Al Jazeera America anchor David Shuster and Cathie Adams, former Texas GOP head. Adams is attempting to justify the discredited the idea of "ex-gay therapy."

The portion beginning at 3:55 simply boggles the mind. Shuster is biting his lip so hard to keep from laughing that he should have just done it :

Editor's note - I apologize for the fact that the video has been taken down. Please try this link, courtesy of my buddy, Richard Sparrow:

 http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/Ali-Velshi-On-Target/2015/6/why-i-endorse-gay-conversion-therapy.html