Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
The video for Olivia Newton John's smash hit 'Physical' was one of a kind and very daring in 1981 . Not only was it homoerotic but the ending highly controversial. According to Wikipedia:
MTV frequently cut the ending when it aired the video, and the sometimes
sensuous nature of the video also led to it being banned outright by
some broadcasters in Canada and the United Kingdom.
The controversy didn't hurt the song at all. It ended up as the number one song of the decade.
Some may view the ending as either insulting to gay men (the ending was played off like a big joke) or very misogynistic. Others may view it as empowering. But I think us gay men who were growing up as youngsters back then would agree on my last point.
This video just upsets me so. If President Obama is unleashing white gay men on black men then where the heck are mine!!?? Oh wait a minute, I'm one of the black gay men President Obama is unleashing on white men. Wait a minute . . . maybe I shouldn't have told you that. Oh God. Michelle Obama is going to drop me in the piranha tank now.
Jon Stewart rightfully takes Fox News to task for its fear mongering regarding supposed attacks on religion and its 180 degree turn on the now failed Arizona anti-gay segregation bill which one could say partly resulted from that fear mongering
If you need a simplified way to explain the impact of Scott Lively's homophobia in Uganda as well as the case against him, then thiscomic from Andy Warner at the Center for Constitutional Rights explains it more than adequately. Below are just a few images:
Lively: Anti-Gay 'Revolution' Needed To Stop Demonic 'Conspiracy' To 'Homosexualize The World'- Scott Lively is getting just a little bit morbid about the need to stop lgbt equality. Saying that anti-gay activists must be ready to “give up our lives if necessary" is a bit much. And it's gets really spooky when you realize that if some folks would be willing to die, others will take it to the other extreme and will be willing to kill if given the right encouragement.
CNN hosts Peter Sprigg twice in as many hours - Unfortunately CNN demonstrates that anti-gay figures aren't challenged as they should be by the media about their anti-gay statements and slurs.
This video of Southern Baptist Robert Jeffress, flanked by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and pastor Rafael Cruz, the father of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at a National Religious Broadcasters convention press conference underlines a point I made earlier this week about the religious right fetish for being persecuted.
Not only is Jeffress' comments totally ridiculous but they take on a special degree of inanity when one realizes that anti-gay pastors, spokespeople, and organizations threw out the SAME horror stories when lgbt-inclusive hate crimes legislation was passed.
And to date, no pastor has been arrested in America for speaking out against homosexuality in the pulpit. The sad thing is that people like Jeffress will continue to spin the same false predictions and gullible folks will continue to believe them.
BREAKING NEWS: Religious Freedom vetoed in Arizona! Let the persecution of Christians begin! #SB1062
— Conservative Arizona (@ConservatAZ) February 27, 2014
So if you're a Christian and you live in Arizona, your governor just told you the First Amendment doesn't apply there.
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) February 27, 2014
Too bad for the people of Arizona, Brewer caved to the bullies and is allowing discrimination against Christians. Another Republican cave.
— UnitedStatesAmerican (@U_S_American) February 27, 2014
In a short announcement, AZ Gov. Jan Brewer has announced that she has VETOED the anti-gay segregation bill. Details will be forthcoming, but let's just have a short dance!!
After watching Tucker Carlson throw a hissy fit during a debate in which he is supporting Arizona's awful anti-gay segregation bill, I don't feel guilty about starting the rumor that every time he passes a mirror, he looks at a photostat copy of his Fox News paycheck so he doesn't have to look at his reflection.
Two thing of special note. Notice how he conflates inappropriate behavior such as being naked in a public place or using vulgar language to be an lgbt. Also, I am so sick and tired of folks like him who complain about being attacked when it's pointed out that their position doesn't hold water.
Stop blaming everyone else because you can't defend your position. Maybe it does stink. Maybe it's an undefendable point of view.
Thank God Carlson doesn't play football. Every time his team loses, he would probably blame the referee.
Breitbart.com's Desperate Anti-Equality Gambit: Driving A Racial Wedge - Uh for the benefit of the future, if you are going to use an African-American group to exploit the alleged division between blacks and gays on the subject of civil rights, make sure that it's not a group which everyone KNOWS is a group bought-and-paid for by those who oppose marriage equality. It's just so tacky.
Seems to me that if you support or vote for a law, you should be able to explain that law. With that thought in mind, check out the following videos of those supporting that Arizona anti-gay segregation bill having tremendous problems explaining the bill and its repercussions.
You've probably seen these videos before but they take a new and sad meaning when seen back-to-back:
Rather than a long post today, I have a simple request.
Most like Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will veto that awful anti-gay segregation bill. It would be an awesome victory for us but the war over lgbt equality isn't over yet. Knowing anti-gay groups, they will view this as a minor setback and while we are celebrating, they will planning new mischief. Today, I read various facebook messages from my fellow lgbts and they got me depressed. The messages ranged from "woe is us. what are we going to do" to "let's get rid of those bigots."
They were too simplistic and depressing. Worst of all, none encouraged intelligent pushback. And just what is that intelligent pushback? It's acknowledging that we need to change this scenario because it plays over and over again. The right comes at us with something and we are caught off-guard because we have failed to study them and their methods. We don't know who many of them are, their ways of lying, their phraseology, or their semantics. All we know is that they are "bigots."
We simply must be more nuanced and aggressive in how we fight the anti-gay right. We need not wait for them to attack our equality but put them on the defensive for a change. We need stop allowing them to question our ability to love and live in peace. We should be making them explain why, if they are supposed to standing up for traditional morality, do they stoop to methods which would make Satan blush.
Nothing fancy. No complex words that would leave members of our community scratching their heads in confusion. No over intellectual terminology. Just simple and straight ahead attacks on the veracity of these so-called pro-morality, pro-family groups.
I've emphasized the following point till I'm blue in the face and you are all tired of hearing it and I'm going to emphasize it until it is fully taken in, dammit. The lgbt community has to stop acting like a dog constantly chasing its tail.
We get into the situations on being on the defensive with the religious right because we are slack. We wait until they get our backs against the wall before we react. I'm tired of it. You should be tired of it. So do something about it. Educate yourself and others about these people and groups.
This is a war, yes. But it is a war of rhetoric, semantics, and position. And I for one am tired of the lgbt community entering into battles willingly unarmed.
How Fox News Helped Promote State Anti-Gay Segregation Bills - I predicted this crap about Fox News years ago. Via the false claim of initiating debate, the network gives anti-gay groups free reign and support to push their propaganda without any pushback. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council likes to accuse his opponents of not wanting a debate. We see his definition of debate when watching him being coddled by Megyn Kelly or anyone else on this poor excuse for a news network.
A Ugandan newspaper published a list Tuesday of what it called the
country's "200 top" homosexuals, outing some Ugandans who previously had
not identified themselves as gay one day after the president enacted a
harsh anti-gay law.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday's
signing of the bill by President Yoweri Museveni marked "a tragic day
for Uganda and for all who care about the cause of human rights" and
warned that Washington could cut aid to the government of the East
African nation.
"Now that this law has been enacted, we are beginning
an internal review of our relationship with the Government of Uganda to
ensure that all dimensions of our engagement, including assistance
programs, uphold our anti-discrimination policies and principles and
reflect our values," Kerry said in a statement.
The Red Pepper tabloid published the names — and some
pictures — of alleged homosexuals in a front-page story under the
headline: "EXPOSED!"
The list included prominent Ugandan gay activists such
as Pepe Julian Onziema, who has repeatedly warned that Uganda's new
anti-gay law could spark violence against homosexuals. A popular
Ugandan hip-hop star as well as a Catholic priest are also on the list.
My comment about Uganda getting "biblical" was not meant to be a joke. Throughout past controversies regarding the anti-gay bill, many knew that it would come to this.
It's bad enough that the law punishes lgbts simply for being who they are, but with today's news, the law carries a more sinister purpose.
Let me put it this way - for a country claiming to be Christian, it amazes me that Uganda seems to forget the Biblical story of Naboth's vineyard.
Naboth was a man who owned a vineyard which a king wanted. But Naboth wouldn't sell it to him. So the queen sets up "conditions" in which Naboth found himself accused of a capital crime and executed. With his death, the king took control of the vineyard.
I've already written a post about another supporter of Uganda's anti-gay bill, Rev. Martin Ssempa, attempting to use the law before it became official to destroy other pastors and increase his finances and power base.
Now with law being official, we most likely will see more of this. How many Ugandans will accuse their neighbors of being gay for purposes of greed or maybe simply to settle a grudge?
We have yet to see how this thing will end but I have a feeling that for some who welcomed this anti-gay law, it won't end well.
This is a HUGE loss for the anti-gay right. They threw everything at this attempt to repeal the CA law protecting transgender students, including the usual lies about men invading women's restrooms and locker rooms. The following is from Karen Ocamb of Frontiers LA:
On Monday, Feb. 24, California’s Secretary of State reported that after a full count of the 619,381 votes submitted by (Frank( Schubert and Karen England’s Privacy for All Students coalition (PFAS), there were insufficient valid signatures to qualify a referendum to repeal AB 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law and that went into effect in January. Despite their best public efforts, the coalition has so far been unable to find a parent or student to complain about the law in their public school environment. Indeed, AB 1266 was essentially a law clarifying an existing law in the Education Code.
The Secretary of State reported that the coalition only submitted 487,484 valid signatures; 504,760 valid signatures were needed to qualify. In the largest of California’s 58 counties—Los Angeles—PFAS submitted 130,978 signatures, of which 100,315 were valid.
“I’m certain this won’t be the last attempt by anti-LGBT extremists to roll back advances in equality for LGBT people, but I’m relieved this attempt has clearly failed,” said L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “All kids deserve the opportunity to do well in school, including transgender kids, and we know this law works because the L.A. Unified School District reports that for eight years it has offered transgender students the same protections guaranteed by AB 1266 and there have been no registered complaints by students or adults.”
I think it's safe to say that the "turn the gays away" bill passed by the Arizona State Congress is an unmitigated disaster for the anti-gay right and its supporters with more and more people - both liberal and conservative - urging Gov. Jan Brewer to veto it.
One has to not only ask "what were they thinking," but also what mindset would actually believe such an extreme bill would be passed without the any of the flack that it is receiving.
Look no further than Fox News' Todd Starnes. Recently he appeared on the radio show of American Family Association's Bryan Fischer where he made an outrageous prediction that the government will outlaw the Bible because it supposedly speaks against homosexuality:
Starnes' lies has gotten so bad that evangelical writer, Alan Noble, blasted him for deliberately spinning phony tales of anti-Christian persecution.
But as you can see by the video clip, being refuted and called out hasn't stopped or deterred Starnes from his lies.
And why is that? Why does Starnes, even after being proved wrong, continue to spin false tale after false tale of anti-Christian persecution?
Do you think that it's a clinical thing? I am not a psychiatrist, but the way Starnes carries on, it does make one wonder. Do you think that while other children played baseball, tag, or hide and seek, Starnes busied himself, as a youngster, pretending that he was tied to a burning stake in the Middle Ages or chased by a bloodthirsty lion in classical Rome?
Does Todd Starnes want to be a Christian martyr so much that it's becoming a fetish for him which controls everything he writes?
Regardless of what the case may be, Starnes should be aware of a few things.
1. The Bible will never be criminalized in any form in America. We love that amendment which guarantees freedom of and from religion.
2. It always amazes me how people like Starnes think that their version of Christianity is the only one. As it is, you can be an lgbt - a sexually active one, even - and a Christian. We can argue back and forth over this one but the only voice that matters in that case is God's.
3. Regardless of points one and two, I can assure Starnes that the lgbt community have more important things to do than to fulfill the seemingly sadomasochistic fetish of victimhood perpetrated by a man whose couldn't even report accurately on an episode of Sesame Street.
Might I suggest to Mr. Starnes that if his desire for victimhood is that strong, perhaps he should buy a gigantic cross and nail himself to it.
Since Western societies do not appreciate politeness, let me take this opportunity to warn our people publicly about the wrong practices indulged in and promoted by some of the outsiders. One of them is “oral sex”. Our youth should reject this because God designed the human being most appropriately for pleasurable, sustainable and healthy sex. Some of the traditional styles are very pleasurable and healthy. The mouth is not engineered for that purpose except kissing. Besides, it is very unhealthy. People can even contract gonorrhea of the mouth and throat on account of so-called “oral sex”, not to mention worms, hepatitis E, etc.
Sad news to report this morning according to the Washington Blade:
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed a bill into law that
imposes a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex
sexual acts.
Ofwondo Opondo, a spokesperson for the Ugandan government, said on Twitter
that Museveni signed the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill at his
official residence in Entebbe. Opondo noted the Ugandan president was in
an “upbeat mood.”
. . .Opondo noted on Twitter that Arizona lawmakers last week approved a
bill that would allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians
based on their religious beliefs.
“What is [President] Obama saying to Arizona state law just passed to deny gays services on religious grounds,” said Opondo.
. . . Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a Ugandan LGBT advocacy group, blasted Museveni.
“President Museveni’s scientific inquiry is a smokescreen for what is
truly going on: political homophobia at its worst,” Mugisha told the
Washington Blade. “Last month the President said he would not sign this
fascist bill. But now, it seems he has sold us out for the votes of his
party. It is politics – plain and simple – all at the expense of LGBTI
Ugandans.”
President Obama has already harshly condemned the possibility of the bill becoming law. Now that it is, the ball is now in his court as to what is to be done.
But one more thing to consider. Museveni signed the bill five years to the day that many of us began to learn about the bill and arch homophobe Scott Lively's trip to Uganda, which caused this legislation to be passed. We learned about this thanks to an excellent article via the blog Box Turtle Bulletin.
Speaking of Lively, on Friday, he and another anti-gay leader Peter LaBarbera announced the launching of a new international group which would encourage other countries to pass anti-gay laws.
In Arizona lawmakers passed a law which would allow businesses to refuse services on the grounds of "religious liberty" - a law expressly written targeting lgbts - and is awaiting Governor Jan Brewer's signature.
This law is being considered in several other states.
It's safe to say that the opponent of lgbt equality seem to be casting off the veneer of morality and are slowly but surely declaring open season on the lgbt community.
However, unlike forest animals caught in the middle of an open season, the lgbt community have the power and means to fight back. And we will (in a peaceful but definitive manner).
Mark my words, if Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signs that awful anti-discriminatory bill, the backlash against Arizona will be immense. Former aide to President George Bush, Matthew Dowd spoke out this morning against the bill and he also had some very harsh words for anti-gay Christians:
“This is one of those problems when people use religion as a way to sort of enforce discriminatory practices,” he continued. “People used religion back in the 1860s when they defended slavery. They used religion to defend slavery. We’ve used religion to go to war. People have criticized Islam because they use religion to fight people and kill people. This is the problem with that [bill].”
Count the minutes before Fox News' Todd Starnes, Tony Perkins, and the rest of the anti-gay right start whining about being victims. Whatever the case may be, I never thought I would see the day when I am cheering on a former aide to President Bush.
I am predicting it. In their zeal to hinder lgbt equality, anti-gay groups and their supporters have finally gone too far. The video above shows a protest in Arizona over the passage of that awful bill which would allow business to discriminate against lgbts on the grounds of "religious liberty." All it needs is Gov. Jan Brewer to sign it.
If she does, expect there to be a rocket-like attempt to push other bills throughout the nation. Granted, there is already a failed attempt going on, but if this particular bill becomes law in Arizona, it will give a sense of momentum to anti-gay groups.
And it will be a false momentum. If that bill becomes law in Arizona, not only will you see a raising of hell by the lgbt community at large to rival anything done in the past, but America in general will finally be able to see anti-gay groups without their masks of religious piety.
This country will finally see the face of hypocrisy that the lgbt community has known about too well. Granted, anti-gay groups will still have their supporters but they won't be able to fool unsuspecting Americans into thinking that they are Christian groups fighting for tradition and morality.
To many Americans, the pushing of Jim Crow-like legislation against the lgbt community will be their introduction to groups like the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council. And these Americans will NOT like what they see.
So proceed at your own risks, guys. The next move you make may begin your funeral dirges.
. . . if we asked you to name the first openly gay member of Congress,
could you? Members of older generations may. But younger people --
including more than a dozen political operatives we tested -- could not.
Perhaps that's because this story of coming out was so shrouded in
scandal, so drenched in professional embarrassment, that its broader
significance may forever be overshadowed.
This is the legacy of
Gerry Studds, the long-serving Massachusetts Democrat who was, for those
who followed his lead, every bit the historical figure as the first gay
athlete, movie star and politician, but is best known as the
congressman censured by his own colleagues in 1983 for a sexual
relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page.
"I
think that people in politics and especially people like me who are in
politics and lived through that will remember him as being a real hero,
because he was willing to be first," said Richard Socarides, a longtime
Democratic operative who served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton
for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. "Even though he was
forced into it a little bit by circumstances, I think that people think
of him as a hero and someone we look up to and someone who was a
trailblazer."
Looking back at Studds' story three decades later,
Socarides and others marvel at the circumstances that surrounded it.
Certainly, the congressman was chiefly responsible for the drama -- he
admitted missteps, though insisted that his relationship with the page
was consensual. But the turbulence that accompanied his coming out seems
more like a relic of the past. Part of the reason Michael Sam's highly controlled outing portends a smooth breaking of NFL barriers, they argue, is because Studds forged the way.
Michael Dunn verdict and the civil rights schism between blacks and gays - Former American Idol contestant and lgbt of color Frenchie Davis has gotten some in the lgbt community upset recently with her comments about the schism between blacks and gays. I for one support her comments, although I may not agree with the extreme direct way she says them. It's been a problem for a while because while we talk about homophobia in the black community, we also need to talk the inability to see the lgbt identity as a multi-ethnic one rather than one of a "white identity" and the false impression that white lgbts are exploiting black folks. Unfortunately, the lgbt community plays a part in exacerbating this problem.
This nonsense over "religious liberty" is having an interesting effect on Fox News, causing two of the network's personalities to engage in an ugly public twitter feud.
So an unintended but positive consequence of this awful "religious liberty" argument is that it allowed Powers to expose Starnes as a self-righteous bully hiding behind Biblical Scriptures.
And it's not just about Russia. Remember that Lively is also partly responsible for the homophobic madness in Uganda. He even bragged that he set off a "nuclear bomb in that country.
Are you angry? Good. Now what do you do? First of all, tell the story of what's going on. Make sure it is emblazoned in history. Don't talk about Russia without talking about Uganda or Nigeria, or the Gambia. This is a man-made crisis created by hate and evil and no amount of lies about "morality" and the "family" can bury that fact. That is IF we don't allow it to be buried.
Disclosure alert - one of the books,Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio, has a piece I wrote on the deceptions and propaganda of the religious right. How very appropriate:
South Carolina legislators want to punish two public colleges for assigning books on homosexuality to freshmen. The House budget-writing committee on Wednesday tentatively approved a
spending plan for 2014-15 that would cut $52,000 from the College of
Charleston and $17,142 from the University of South Carolina Upstate.
Last summer, the College of Charleston assigned the Alison Bechdel
book, "Fun Home," to incoming freshmen. Bechdel's book describes her
childhood with a closeted gay father and her own coming out as a
lesbian.
USC Upstate assigned "Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio," referring
to South Carolina's first gay and lesbian radio show, for a required
course for all freshmen, which included lectures and other
out-of-classroom activities meant to spark discussions about the book.
Social conservatives complained about the colleges' selections.
The proposed reductions in the budget equal what the colleges spent on the programs. Rep. Garry Smith said he made the proposal after college officials
refused to give students an option to read something else. Making a
point requires impacting colleges' wallets, he said.
"I understand diversity and academic freedom," said Smith,
R-Simpsonville. "This is purely promotion of a lifestyle with no
academic debate." He said he wouldn't oppose the books if they were part of an elective course, rather than a campus-wide requirement.
. . . The House Ways and Means Committee defeated by a vote of 13-10 an effort
by Republican Rep. B.R. Skelton to restore the money. He argued such
retribution is inappropriate.
. . . Democratic Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said legislators have no right
pushing their own personal beliefs onto colleges. Such censorship can
set a troubling precedent, she said. She warned Republicans who voted
against Skelton's amendment that the punishment could negatively affect
the state's image and job recruitment efforts.
Since when does a legislator butt in class curriculum? Since when should
a legislator use the power of a budget as if he or she is a dictator to
demand what teachers should assign students to read based on some false argument of "academic freedom" and "debate" which is no doubt defined by said legislator?
And please don't lay that junk on me about "taxpayers' money." The last time I checked, lgbt South Carolinians also pay taxes. Make no mistake about it. This issue has NOTHING to do with forcing students to
accept a lifestyle.That phrase is just made up junk propagated to make
homophobia sound more palpable. Nor does this issue have to do with "debate" or "academic freedom."
This issue is about a legislator misusing the power of his office. This issue is about yet another attempt to symbolically emblazon a symbolic scarlet S (as in "sinner") on the persons of lgbts. This issue is about yet another attempt to communicate to lgbts that no matter who we are or how far we go in life, the self-worth of ourselves and our families (even if our families include children) should be reduced to the false white-hot fevered, fumbling imaginations of sexual intercourse and misappropriated Biblical verses disguised as legitimate moral concerns.
It's all a bunch of bull.
Way to go, Rep. Smith for allowing the Palmetto State to be embarrassed again!
Fox News' Kirsten Powers is a mixed bag as far as I'm concerned. Some days she makes sense and other days, she allows the Fox ill na na to take her over. Today was one of the good days. In a recent USA Today column, she nails down the fallacy behind the "religious liberty" argument used by anti-gay groups in order to create backdoor anti-lgbt discrimination:
Powers
. . . double standards abound. Christian bakers don't interrogate
wedding clients to make sure their behavior comports with the Bible. If
they did, they'd be out of business. [Evangelical pastor Andy]
Stanley said, "Jesus taught that if a person is divorced and gets
remarried, it's adultery. So if (Christians) don't have a problem doing
business with people getting remarried, why refuse to do business with
gays and lesbians." Maybe they should just ask themselves, "What would Jesus do?" I think he'd bake the cake.
And of course other Fox News personalities just had to weigh in with less than two cents. You just know Todd "I'm proud to lie for Jesus" Starnes with some nonsense about churches being forced to marry gay couples. Of course this isn't true but you know telling the truth seems to be a big problem for Starnes.
Dear Congress, if you want to make up for being totally useless these last two years, then pass a law which would prohibit Pat Robertson to talk about sex whether it be gay or heterosexual. Just putting the words "sex" and "Pat Robertson" in a sentence is bringing me down.
In other news:
Kirkwood: Michael Sam's 'Penchant For Penis' Is No Cause For Celebration - And in what self-respecting "Christian magazine" would you see the sentence "A dude, proudly proclaiming to his team and then the world that he prefers a** to vagina is now a presidential moment and enough to inspire the first couple to recognize him as an “inspiring,” “courageous,” trail-blazing “sportsman?”" Why in a new magazine created by Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber, a man whose constant comments about gay sex makes him seem as a bizarro version of Jack McFarland on Will and Grace. And the kicker? The "Christian magazine" - BarbWire has the same name as that very interesting 1996 movie in which Pamela Anderson portrayed a stripper/assassin. Now I am not saying that Barber got his idea from this movie because I'm not one for passing rumors. However, IF you feel like the taking the poster from the movie (or these pictures) and inserting - oh I don't name - Matt Barber's face in place of that of Pamela Anderson, well that would be your right. I'm not saying that you should but it IS America and satire is protected.
Make no mistake about it. The situation in Uganda with that awful anti-gay persecution bill (reports are now saying that the country's president has signed it into law) should be laid on the doorstep of the American religious right. The folks on the progressive show, Young Turks, breaks it down for you.
With the awful situation in Uganda with that country's president poised to sign the anti-gay persecution bill, (UPDATE - there are unconfirmed reports that he signed the bill) a reminder of how one of the proponents of the bill, Martin Ssempa, persuaded people to support this bill is in order. I should warn you that while the video below does not show graphic images, the lies coming from Ssempa's mouth are nauseating as he talks about gay men supposedly eating feces:
Ssempa was heavily involved in pushing this bill. However, it would seem that he had more than an evangelical notion of being an anti-gay crusader. According to certain accounts, Ssempa was using the bill and his notoriety of speaking out against lgbts to gain power and clout by attacking other pastors with accusations of homosexuality.
In 2012, he and five others ( Pastors Solomon Male, Michael Kyazze and Robert Kaira, Deborah Anita Kyomuhendo, and David
Mukalazi) were found guilty of a conspiracy to falsely accuse another pastor, Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral, Kampala, of having sexual relations with men in his congregation.
According to Box Turtle Bulletin:
The guilty verdict stemmed from a May 2009 incident in
which Ssempa and the others engaged in a conspiracy to coerce a male
church member at Robert Kayanja’s Rubaga Miracle Center Cathedral to
claim that the parishioner had had sex with Kayanja.
The six were sentenced to a fine of one million Shillings each (about US$390) and one hundred hours of community service.
It is also alleged that through various unscrupulous means, Ssempa and company were attempting to get other men to claim that Kayanja was sodomizing them.
AFA attacks Chevrolet for remembering that gay people have families, buy cars - And there, brothers and sisters, is the crux of anti-gay dishonesty. It's not enough for them to believe that we are base creatures unconcerned with things like love, morality, and family. They want to force others to push that belief.
When it's all said and done, the discredited study by University of Texas professor Mark Regnerus will be seen as a pathetic last attempt by anti-gay groups to stop marriage equality via a nasty attack on same-sex families.
But for now, not many people - particularly in the lgbt community - know about this $800,00 flop or the effects it continues to have on the marriage equality fight. Nor are they aware that in spite of the fact that it has been discredited time and time again, anti-gay groups are determined to wring as much usage out of it as possible.
However, an excellent webpage gives you all you need to know.
I have to commend the Human Rights Campaign for The Regnerus Fallout, which looks at the junk science study, the players involved, how it has been discredited, and how anti-gay groups continue to misuse it, as well as an excellent timeline:
On Friday, I raised holy hell against 'Porno' Pete LaBarbera and a gay man, Walter Lee Hampton, III because of a video pushed by Hampton saying if he had children, he would not allow his sons around gay men because supposedly a lot of us "go after" boys between the ages of 13-17.
My anger was at LaBarbera for doing what he usually does - attacking the lgbt community via lies and distortions - and Hampton for using his unfortunate personal experiences to demonize all gay men, many of whom are excellent fathers to their children and would not even think of harming a child.
Today, I discovered that Hampton's claim and LaBarbera has a defender. Supposed ex-gay D.L. Foster took it upon himself to not only make a poor attempt to correct me but also imply that I want some harm to come to LaBarbera
Grab your mask, your hazmat clothing, and your wading boats because the crap this child throws is deep.
For the benefit of you who do not know, Foster is yet another "true believer" in the lie that there is supposedly a "homosexual agenda" afoot. That being the case, he thinks that anything coming out of his mouth scourging the lgbt community is somehow positive. He likes to invoke Satan a lot when talking about lgbts and has expressed the desire for America to criminalize homosexuality.
Michael Sam, the former Mizzou Tigers football player and top NFL draft pick who recently came out as gay, returned last week to his college campus with his teammates to accept the 2014 Cotton Bowl Championship Trophy at halftime of the Mizzou vs Tennessee basketball game.
It was an awesome moment as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Slowly but surely, we are entering a brave new world.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has decided
to sign a law imposing up to a lifetime jail sentence for homosexuality,
announced government spokesman Ofwono Opondo via Twitter on Friday. NRM
caucus spokeswoman Evelyn Anite confirmed Opondo’s announcement to
BuzzFeed.
. . . Museveni made his announcement during a retreat with members of his
party, the National Resistance Movement, which has primarily focused on
the party’s leadership as it prepares for elections in 2016. Museveni
had been facing stiff pressure from his colleagues to accept the bill. The deciding factor may have been that a panel of party members with
medical backgrounds Museveni convened to study the cause of
homosexuality presented a report concluding homosexuality is not an
inborn trait. Museveni had told lawmakers he would sign the bill if “I have got confirmation from scientists that this condition is not genetic.”
The committee co-chairman Chris Baryomunsi told BuzzFeed on Thursday,
“Speaking as a medical doctor … homosexuality is just deviant behavior.
It can be learned, and it can be unlearned.”
There is a tweet which underscores Museveni's claim about the "medical experts"
This comes after 14 medical experts presented a report that homosexuality is not genetic but a social behaviour
— Ofwono Opondo (@OfwonoOpondo) February 14, 2014
I want to see this report and also want to know just what information was used. If there was truly a report and if anything in that mess includes American anti-gay group citations then it is ON as far as I am concerned on this blog when it comes to the religious right.
How An Extreme Anti-Gay Law Could Hurt Straight Couples - If Kansas passes that "turn away the gays" law then what would stop folks from turning away interracial heterosexual couples, or heterosexual couples in general. Oh this is going to get good.
Fox News' Starnes upset that civil rights can't be unchecked popularity contests - Fox News' Todd Starnes just doesn't use simple common sense. You shouldn't get to vote on rights but if you can weasel your way to doing such, you had damn better be able to defend that vote in the courts. If you can't you have no business blaming the judge.
Sometimes Peter LaBarbera's homophobia can be amusing. Other times, it can get annoying.
This is neither of those times. This time, it is downright infuriating, repulsive, and just plain sickening.
What's even worse is that this time, LaBarbera is aided and abetted by a gay man. I read the following on his webpage:
A lot is to be learned about the homosexual subculture from honest “gay” men like Walter Lee Hampton II [see his Facebook Page and YouTube site].
In this video, Hampton explains that pederasty–older men pursuing sex
with underage teen boys–is some thing he has seen a lot of in his life
as a homosexual. Here is his own description of the video, published
February 8, 2014.
“Based upon my life experiences
..if I had Teenage sons I would NOT allow them around GAY MEN!..because
over the years I have seen many GAY MEN pursue TEENAGE BOYS (ages 14-17)
for SEX. and I have seen this VERY OFTEN.”
What Hampton is revealing helps us understand how teenage boys are
contracting HIV. You might want to check out the comments at the YouTube
page for his video HERE. Thanks to Jason Salamone, AFTAH’s Research Associate and our Facebook Page administrator, for spotting this.
LaBarbera is pathetic. He will stoop to using anyone and anything to further his nonsensical attack on the lgbt community. He seems to think that what he does is moral and perfectly in line with Christian principles. However it's times like this when I wonder if LaBarbera is truly fighting the lgbt community or himself.
But I want to talk further about LaBarbera's tool of the moment, Walter Lee Hampton.
I absolutely refuse to link to this man's video. You can feel free to watch it via the link provided above. When I first heard Hampton's words, my first thought was "how dare he." How dare he judge the entire lgbt community based upon his narrow "life experiences." How dare he demonize millions of loving lgbt parents whom he doesn't know based upon some experiences he may have had with some awful people, particularly in light of the fact that he doesn't even have children.
How is he any different from a racist who would say "based upon my life experiences, many black women want to collect welfare." or "based upon my life experiences, many black men are uneducated thugs."
But then I began to pity Hampton. He doesn't realize that instead of allowing the experiences he may have had with gay men to define his outlook, he should be the one defining his outlook.
Hampton himself is a gay man and a very uneducated one at that. He really should take it upon himself to do some actual research on the subject of homosexuality and pedophilia done by real experts. If he did, he would know that there is no link between homosexuality and pedophilia. And if he is aware of anyone pursuing children, then perhaps Mr. Hampton should alert his local authorities rather than attack an innocent segment of society.
Or better yet, Mr. Hampton should look in the mirror and ask himself critical questions regarding just what and whom he is attracted to. In other words, Mr. Hampton should use his goddamn common sense. The ignorance he shows and the words he use won't help anyone. Most likely it's going to come back and figuratively burn him because as a gay man, he is not immune to the brush of lies he has unleashed via his video.
My God, the ignorance that some people choose to cloak themselves up in is disgusting. And I would sincerely hope that some read this piece won't play that game of silly semantics, i.e. accusing me of being "intolerant" of Mr. Hampton's opinion in an attempt to make him seem like a "victim."
The fact of the matter is you better believe that I am intolerant of his madness. Like any reasonable gay man, I am generally intolerant of being implied to be or inferred to be a pedophile. Furthermore, I know many gay men who are excellent fathers to their female and male children. They don't deserve this. They don't deserve to called out, implied or inferred to be pedophiles. They don't deserve to have their lives and families disrespected and dehumanized because of the ignorance of one gay man and the predatory, drooling nature of a twisted homophobe.
Editor's note - It's come to my attention that a certain anti-gay activist is spreading a tale that by this post, I advocated some sort of violence. To get the truth about that, go here .
Editor's note - Thank you those who sent me kind messages expressing wishes that I get better and defeat this nasty cold/flu that I am stricken with.
Why is the above so important? Because of junk like below:
There Are Two Christian Right Movies Called ‘Persecuted’ Coming Out This Year - Maybe it's just me but I've always thought that so-called persecuted people wouldn't be able to put out movies about being persecuted. It kinda defeats their talking point when their so-called persecutors don't nip the films in the bud, doesn't it?
