The Depths of One Man's Homophobia

Before I start, I would just like to say that the anti-gay industry's nastiness to Mary Cheney and her partner Heather Poe over the birth their son just goes to prove that these groups are solely interested in forcing us to acknowledge the lie that the only family unit that counts is the one they advocate. No one is immune to their mania.

Peter LaBarbera has made a name for himself by attending gay subcultural events and reporting on the alleged sexual activities he sees there.

Today he and his group, Americans for Truth (in name only) posted pictures from the International Mr. Leather convention.

The pictures are very interesting to say the least. But something else Peter said when he was describing the events caught my eye:

International Mr. Leather (IML) serves as an annual excuse for “leathermen” — mostly homosexual men but some “straight” SM couples — to engage in vile orgies that would make Sodom blush.

So where are the pictures of these "straight" couples? They aren't anywhere to be seen.

Peter tries to link International Mr. Leather to other gay events such as the Gay Games in an attempt to cast an image the "depraved homosexual" attempting to destroy American society but he seems to have listed the fact that heterosexual couples are as "depraved" as a mere afterthought.

And that is the best way to describe LaBarbera's prejudice.

He and others like him are always whining that they don't hate gay people and they are unfairly called homophobic for allegedly speaking the truth.

But what do you call denigrating gays for an interest in a sexual behavior (SM/bondage) while making light of the fact that heterosexuals are interested in the same sexual behavior.

Just where is the truth in that?

And for that matter, where are Peter's exposes on heterosexual events such as swinging conventions? Or how about SM and bondage clubs and conventions attended by heterosexuals.

Peter won't take up this challenge. No one in his group will.

And why?

Because they are homophobes. Pure and simple.


Misrepresentation: It's not just Janet Folgers' job

I joyfully give Janet Folger hell for misrepresenting current events in order to demonize the lgbt community.

But I am wrong if I inferred in any way that she is the only one in the anti-gay industry who engages in this type of behavior.

Case in point is a column today by Ed Vitagliano of the American Family Assocation.

It is the same nonsensical mantra about how the lgbt community is trying to keep Christians from speaking out against homosexuality.

Vitagliano engages in the standard anti-gay industry tactic in his column: distorting examples of incidents that allegedly prove his point. Many of his examples happen in foreign countries and therefore have nothing to do with the laws of this country. In one American example, he infers that the Repent America situation in Philadelphia was a case of Christians arrested merely for handing out pamphlets which call homosexuality a sin?

This is a lie that has been refuted time and time again. I cannot believe that it is accidental that Vitagliano, who has access to much information on the matter, continues to lie about this matter.

Another example he lists from this country is the following:

Regina Rederford and fellow city employee Robin Christy posted the announcement after a general e-mail to city employees publicizing the formation of a pro-homosexual employee association. But in a world where one view is promoted and another condemned, Rederford and Christy were told by city officials that the flyer announcing the forum was "homophobic speech" and promoted "sexual-orientation-based harassment," even though homosexuality was never specifically mentioned.

As to be expected, Vitagliano omits several details. Here is the true story. You can link to the other site and read the entire article. I bolded points that I felt were important:

Promoting their Good News Employee Association, the flier urged people to "preserve our workplace with integrity" and said their association "is a forum for people of faith to express their views on contemporary issues of the day with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values."

Another CEDA worker who is a lesbian complained to supervisors that the flier made her feel targeted and excluded; supervisors reviewed the flier and removed it, encouraging Rederford and Christy to revise and repost it.

Rederford and Christy sued, claiming their rights were violated by an Oakland anti discrimination policy that promotes homosexuality and denounces Christian values. A federal judge dismissed the city as a defendant in March 2004, and in February 2005 granted summary judgment in favor of then-City Manager Robert Bobb and CEDA Deputy Executive Director Joyce Hicks. Senior Circuit Judge Betty Fletcher on Thursday asked Lively whether his clients realize they have "a rather low level of protection" on potentially incendiary or discriminatory language in the workplace, and should "keep away from words that'll rile people up."

"But shouldn't that go both ways?" Lively replied, noting his clients hadn't complained about the National Coming Out Day e-mail.

Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta noted that e-mail had invited readers to "a rally against hatred and bigotry -- is that disparaging to your clients?"

Circuit Judge Richard Clifton said he believes "there are eggshells on both sides" of this argument, yet he doesn't see what the e-mail had done to vilify Rederford and Christy while it's not hard to see how their flier vilified gays and lesbians. "It's hard to avoid the inference, 'We lack ethics, we lack integrity because these people are here.'"

So was this a case of women getting into trouble for speaking out against homosexuality?

No. It was not the words but the context of the words that got these two women into trouble.

They had a right to form their group and put a flyer out. But in their choice of words, they attacked the company's gay and lesbian employees. They were told that they could revise the flyer but apparently chose not to.

These women should not be able to encourage a hostile work environment simply because of their Christian beliefs. Sorry, it's not fair.

But even more to the point, how Vitagliano listed this example proves yet again that members of the anti-gay industry will lie and misrepresent to get their agenda served.