When homophobes are reduced to picking on families they see on the subway

FOF's Glenn T. Stanton

To say the NY vote for marriage equality has thrown conservatives for a loop is an understatement.

All of the high-brow bullshit and self-righteous verbiage about traditional morality seems to have gone out of the window and is replaced by just basic meanness.

Take Focus on the Family's pseudo expert Glenn T. Stanton for example.

In an online issue of the conservative National Review, he told of an incident of a mother on a subway - who he probably thought was lesbian even though it makes no difference - playing an innocent game with her child:

My daughter and I were in Manhattan over this weekend so I could do some research at the Met. Waves of people were coming into the city for Sunday’s big gay-pride march, where they could celebrate the Empire State’s new same-sex-marriage law. We sat behind some of them on the train, three young women with a precious, excited toddler girl in tow. The very evident leader of the clan was the patriarch. Adorned as if she might be an actor portraying a hip-hop teen from Cleveland, she had her meticulous corn-rows tucked under a backwards navy-blue flat-billed ballcap, a matching wife beater revealing a mural of tats on her arms, shoulders, and back. Baggy jeans rode low, leading to her construction boots with untied laces dangling free.

She was the only one of the adult threesome that interacted with the child, mindlessly uttering reassuring words like “Daddy will be right back” or “Sit over here by Daddy.”

You see, this is one of the things that most concerns me about the legal institutionalization of genderless marriage and parenting. We are told that nothing will really change with such laws; people who really love each other will just be able to enter really meaningful, legally protected relationships.

My God, that was stupid.

I know I should be more mature here in my criticism of Stanton's absolutely ridiculous tirade on this subway incident and the subject of marriage equality, but I can't.

In the first place, Stanton didn't even know a thing about the child or the parent.

Secondly I don't recall anywhere in his piece did Stanton identify himself as the father of the child nor any indication that he was kicking in child support for this family.

To put it mildly,  it really wasn't his business what the two were doing.

It's just the basic essence of right-wing self-righteous idiocy which is channeled throughout Stanton's piece. And for that matter, almost all of their arguments against marriage equality.

The cynic in me suspects that Stanton wrote the piece to get some easy money. After all,  it is extremely lucrative to be a conservative "critic" or "senior analyst," or  "expert" on morality.  There are plethoras of organizations, magazines, and radio shows just begging to dole the money to any Tom, Dick, or Glenn out to wave the banner of morality, even if that banner is tattered and moth-eaten.

But between you and me, Glenn, I hope you spend whatever money you made on that piece of garbage on something good for your own family.

Why bother denigrating other families if yours can't benefit?

'It Gets Better' because members of Congress told me so

TELL me this is not progress. I dare you. This is just too awesome when members of the United States Senate comes together for our lgbtq children:



Members of the Senate participating:

Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

I wish there was something like this around when I was young. But that doesn't matter. The video exists now for our children and that's all that matters.

Religious right should denounce Barber's attacks on same-sex families, children

Matt Barber

The Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber is the lgbtq community's best ally in our fight for equality.

Forget the pseudo piss- elegance of Maggie Gallagher and the National Organization for Marriage because Barber simply won't play that game.

He is from the old school where the David Dukeish turn of a phrase "we aren't anti-gay, but pro-family" won't apply.

Barber is simply homophobia defined. Pure, unadulterated, and very vindictive. He never misses a chance to demonize the lgbtq families, including our children.

Witness this monstrosity of a statement courtesy of People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch:

Matt Barber and Deryl Edwards of Liberty Counsel dedicated Faith and Freedom to discussing the dangers of allowing gay and lesbian couples adopt children. Barber, who previous said that the high suicide rate among LGBT youth is due to the fact that they intuitively know that being gay is wrong, said that his “heart breaks” for children adopted by same-sex couples who are using them as “propaganda photographs” and “props on their lap.” He elaborated that same-sex couples don’t actually care about the welfare of children but only want to further “post-modern sexual anarchy.”

Barber's heart doesn't break. If anything I would suspect that his heart skipped at yet another moment to demonize the lgbtq community. He certainly has a twitter history of doing so.

Like his tweet about the death of Osama Bin Laden:

Let's play the National Organization for Marriage drinking game

We all must recognize just how the National Organization for Marriage uses empty and repetitive talking points against marriage equality.

But let's also have a little fun with it. From various press conferences and interviews, I have gleaned a little drinking game which can be played whenever an interview is conducted NOM's Maggie Gallagher or Brian Brown, or when the organization holds a press conference. It's a minor drinking game - goodness knows that NOM has probably caused enough lgbtqs to drink as it is - so bear with me and feel free to add more categories (but no being mean).

Enjoy

1 Drink

When Maggie Gallagher interrupts the interviewer or the person she is debating

When either Gallagher or Brian Brown claim that marriage has meant the same things to all civilizations throughout history.

When Maggie Gallagher wears red.

When the phrase "marriage is unique and special" is used. Or when the statement "only marriage can connect parents with children" is used.

When the phrases or words  "redefine marriage, "profound consequences," or "Massachusetts" are mentioned.

When either Gallagher or Brown introduces the word "bigot" into the conversation.

When there is one African-American or Hispanic participant at a NOM press conference.



2 Drinks

Gallagher uses "jazz hands" to illustrate her point

Brown or Gallagher talks about children being "taught" homosexuality

When Brown or Gallagher sidesteps any questions asking them about same-sex households, particularly same-sex households with children.

When there are two or more African-American or Hispanic participants at a NOM press conference

When an anecdote about "religious persecution" because of marriage equality is brought up by Gallagher or Brown without any other information as to the truth of said anecdote.

When Gallagher refers to the work of "legal scholars" without mentioning that said "legal scholars" are affiliated with either NOM or the Catholic Church.

When it is mentioned that the "overwhelming majority of Americans in over 30 states voted against marriage equality." Editor's note - you do not have to take a drink if it is acknowledged that many of these votes took place in 2004 or 2006 when people did not full understand marriage equality or that propaganda was used to scare parents about gays "recruiting" children during these votes.


Related posts:
 
NOM's Brian Brown vs. Rev. Al Sharpton - it's not even a contest

NOM astroturfed 'legal scholars' in New York