South Carolina lgbts of color have serious discussion on identity

Even as the unfortunate zaniness of the Hobby Lobby decision grips our community with uncertainty, we still manage to make progress on other fronts. Check out this very excellent segment of the Columbia, SC African-American Sunday morning talk show, Awareness, where three very good friends of mine have a pleasant and thought-provoking discussion on being an lgbt of color:

'SCOTUS sends mixed messages but guts 'ex-gay' industry' & other Monday midday news briefs

In a decision today which has the potential of far reaching negative effects for lgbt equality, the Supreme Court ruled for family-owned stored Hobby Lobby against ACA's birth control mandate:

The Bait-And-Switch Behind Today’s Hobby Lobby Decision

Six Groups Other Than Women On Birth Control Who Have Something To Lose In Hobby Lobby

BUT in another ruling which we are sure to hear negative things about from the religious right once they are done with their Hobby Lobby euphoria, the Supreme Court also put another nail in the "ex-gay" industry:

 Supreme Court Upholds California's Ex-Gay Therapy Ban

In other news:

Bobby Jindal Courts Religious Right With His Eye On 2016 - Oh this OUGHT to be so much fun!

Barber: Gay Marriage Is 'The Brainchild' Of Satan - Oh stop. We all know that cellphones are the true "brainchild" of Satan.

NOM's march participants contradict group's message of 'love'

The truth is a delightfully strange thing. No matter how you try to hide it, it always comes through. Case in point - those who led the recently unsuccessful March for Marriage claimed that it wasn't against gays nor did it espouse any type of hatred.

I guess they forgot to tell the few folks who participated:

Don't be fooled by the whinings of a 'gay witch hunt' because it's all a big con game

To hear folks like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage, Bryan Fischer, Matt Barber, and the rest of the religious right tell it, folks like them (they like to appropriate the word 'Christian' but I'm not going to abide by their fantasies of entitlement) are the "victims" of the successes of the lgbt equality.

They claim that their views will cause them to be  "unfairly" labeled as bigots, their views are going to be shunned, and their voices are going to be forcefully silenced:

“This New McCarthyism demands, ‘Do you now think or have you ever thought that marriage should remain the union of a man and a woman?’ Answer incorrectly, and watch your career be taken from you and your reputation smeared on a thousand websites. . . .That is the fear, that traditional American values are being criminalized as opposed to simply being out of fashion, ” - Tony Perkins

“Even supporters of abortion don’t go around saying that people who believe that life begins at conception are evil people. But this is not the case here, and the problem is that the establishment gay marriage groups have not condemned this view that those of us who favor traditional marriage are bigots and therefore should be abolished.” - Brian Brown

It's a clever move for these individuals to slyly shift to victim mode. In doing so, they can conveniently avoid mentioning their past endeavors to hinder lgbt equality. 

When Perkins, Brown, and the rest of that ilk nail themselves to the cross of false victimhood, they can avoid mentioning all of the nasty comments, lies, and distortions they have propagated against the lgbt community over the years. They don't have to talk about the many times they accused of us being pedophiles and all around public health menaces. They don't have to talk about the anti-gay propaganda they have pushed and have inspired others to push. Propaganda like this below:

You see, this entire so-called culture war, this argument over marriage equality and lgbt equality in general didn't happen in a vacuum. Nor has it been attempts of an overly aggressive minority of folks to force their views against "traditional morality" on the majority as Perkins and Brown will have you to believe.

It's merely an unfairly maligned group of people slowly but surely attaining justice and rights after being dogged, scorned, beat upon, and stepped on for a long period of time.

Perkins, Brown and company are counting on the fact that people will forget all of these things, but it ain't going to happen. I, for one, won't forget it. And I'm going to make it my mission that people remember it. All of it.

And by all means, please don't think any silencing of Perkins and company will be going on. The way I see it, they have a LOT of explaining to do with regards to their past behavior.

Editor's note - For a good history of anti-gay propaganda over the years and how it reflects on today, read 'How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America'

Latta town council rehires lesbian police chief

Crystal Moore has been rehired

This just came in and it is a must post. Crystal Moore has been rehired as Latta, SC's police chief:

Latta Town Council met Friday at a special meeting where they voted to rehire an employee its mayor fired. The meeting was the first since Tuesday's special referendum where residents voted to change the way the town's government works, striping some powers from the mayor.

Council unanimously  voted (6-0) to rehire previously fired Latta Police Chief Crystal Moore. Mayor Earl Bullard, who originally fired Moore, was not at the town council meeting on Friday evening. After she was re-hired, Moore was sworn in around 7:30 pm.

"Thank you for your hard work and dedication. I will see y'all on the streets,"  Moore told the town council and some residents at the meeting after she was sworn in.

 . . . The vote from Tuesday was certified on Friday afternoon and now, hiring and firing of key positions are done by the council and not by the mayor.

Earlier this week, Bullard hired a replacement police chief, Freddie Davis. However, on Friday evening, before re-hiring Moore, the town council voted that Davis' contract was not valid and asked him to step down as police chief The town council also voted 6-0 to expunge 7 reprimands from Moore's record. Those reprimands, which were all delivered to Moore on her firing day by Bullard, were the reason Bullard gave for firing her.

 Moore was appointed police chief before being fired by Bullard. The speculation was that Bullard fired her because she was lesbian. Bullard denied this, but a taped conversation in which he made rude comments regarding the lgbt community and children contradicted his claim. Since that time, Bullard and the Latta town council have been feuding over his actions

Related post:

Was a SC police chief fired because she is lesbian? The proof is in the mayor's statements

Know Your LGBT History- 'Night Warning'

The motion picture Night Warning (1982) is from the time when movies were gritty instead of stylized pulp and it is a surprisingly good little thriller. First, take a look at the trailer:

I should reveal that the trailer is extremely deceptive. The plot involves Jimmy McNichol portraying a high school student who lives with his aunt (portrayed by the late Oscar-nominated actress Susan Tyrell in one her infamously throw all caution to the wind performances). She has been taking care of him ever since an ugly auto accident took the life of his parents when he was an infant. Things begin to get strange when McNichol, a basketball star at his high school, has the possibility of receiving a scholarship to college. Needless to say, his aunt is furious because she doesn't want him to leave.

In fact the possibility of him leaving makes her so screwy that she tries to seduce the television repair man and ends up murdering him when he turns her down. Claiming that he tried to rape her, Tyrell is backed by McNichol who came in right after the murder. As the motion picture continues, Tyrell continues to become more unhinged.

However, for the purpose of this blog, let's talk about the policeman investigating the murder. Detective Joe Carson (portrayed with venomous glee by Bo Svenson) is right to believe that there is more to the story. However, his conclusions are not only wrong, but also fueled by a vicious degree of homophobia. At first, he accuses Tyrell of being a lesbian. Then, after he discovers that the murder victim and McNichols' coach were lovers, he suspects that McNichol was involved in a gay love triangle and subsequently committed the murder himself. Oh and he also forces McNichol's coach to resign in an ugly scene.

To say that Carson is homophobic is an understatement. His dialogue is frequently peppered with anti-gay slurs and regardless of the fact that another policeman attempts to convince him of another theory involving the murder, he is bound and determined to work the gay angle.

As the movie continues, Tyrell takes even more drastic steps to keep McNichol at home and we find out that her mental state has never really been secure. Needless to say as the movie reaches its climax, she begins to get a little "knife happy" (as all unhinged women did in thrillers back in those days). Night Warning reaches its crescendo as we find out unsettling things about the auto accident which orphaned McNichol as well as his aunt's relationship with him.  Of course there is the requisite bloody fight at the end, but just when you think its over, Night Warning throws a curve at you.

Detective Carson's homophobia, which was lurking throughout the movie, fuels an explosive climax which will leave you both sad and breathless at the same time. This movie is offered in its entirety on youtube so what the hell, here it is under its other name Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker. But is is NSFW:



Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Religious leaders spooked about Obama's pending LGBT executive order' & other Friday midday news briefs

Editor's note - Unfortunately, a mishap with my home computer kept me from publishing a morning post today. I hope to take care of it when I get home via a little history erasing (okay a lot of history erasing) and rebooting several programs. This mishap took place at a bad time because I am super psyched about this afternoon's edition of "Know Your LGBT History." It will be posted come hell or high water because I've been waiting for almost a week to put it out. But on to today's news briefs:

140 Religious Leaders Petition For Exemption From Obama’s Pending LGBT Executive Order - Oh come on, guys!

Why I Outed Gay Republicans - A good friend of mine, Michael Rogers, reminisces about the justifiable chaos he caused by outing gay Republicans and I totally agree with his reasoning.  

For NC banquet, FRC assembles one of most anti-gay crews imaginable - For a North Carolina banquet, the Family Research Council is assembling a homophobic version of the "Legion of Doom" If there is a God, the entire wait staff will be gay folks.  

Majority Believe Marriage Equality And Religious Liberty Are Perfectly Compatible - Yet more proof that those who are the loudest about this issue aren't necessarily correct. They just know how to boggart.

  Ben Carson Explains How Gay Marriage Is A Marxist Plot To Impose The 'New World Order' - See post above this one.

'Anti-gay groups have a strange definition of 'sex parades'' & other Thursday midday news briefs

It would seem that several anti-gay spokespeople and groups, specifically the American Family Association, are sending out emails accusing Macy's department store of not just sponsoring "gay pride" events but rather sponsoring "sex parades." There is just one problem with that accusation as seen by the AFA email below. See if you can guess:

Now, I haven't performed my rendition of the "beast with two backs" in almost a year but I know things haven't changed so much that the above scene constitutes a "sex parade."

As a matter of fact, according to blogger extraordinaire Jeremy Hooper, AFA pilfered the above photo from a personal blog showcasing a 2010 West Hollywood gay pride parade and as it happens, there is absolutely NO SEX of any kind going on in those photos.

By the way, I am taking tremendous personal risk in revealing my lack of a sex life. If anti-gay groups are to be believed about the number of times us gays have sex in a year, I am waaaay below my quota, which means if the Gay Mafia finds out, I'm going to go up for re-education. Oh God, I just can't take anymore marathons of "Queer as Folk."

In other news:

William Owens: 'We Must Be Willing To Die' In Fight Against 'Abnormal' LGBT Rights - Willie, you know damn well you are not prepared as long as NOM is giving you $20,000 to act like a fool.  

Susan Collins Becomes Fourth Republican Senator To Support Same-Sex Marriage - Hot damn! Part 1  

Colorado County Clerk Begins Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses (Updated)- Hot damn! Part 2

 UN Human Rights Council Adopts Resolution On “Protection Of The Family” - This is dangerous because of the potential omission of lgbt couples.  
Bryan Fischer Can't Understand Why Anti-Gay Bigots Are Demonized For Living In The World Of Common Sense - You ever had one of those questions which makes you swoon in anticipation of giving an answer?

Homophobic mayor blocking rehiring of lesbian police chief

Moore

Unbelievable. I am speechless with regards to how the situation with Crystal Moore in Latta, SC has turned. From the Huffington Post:

Crystal Moore was easily the happiest person in Latta, South Carolina on Tuesday night.

Residents in the town of 1,400 people had just overwhelmingly voted to reinstate her as their police chief and to strip the mayor, Earl Bullard, of some of his powers. Bullard fired Moore from her post in April for reasons that many residents believe had to do with her being a lesbian. Tuesday's vote, which came in direct response to Moore's firing, changed the governing structure of the town from “mayor-strong” to “council-strong," which meant the town council could and would put Moore back in her job as soon as possible.

But that all changed on Wednesday, when Bullard unexpectedly announced that he had just hired someone else for the post. WPDE NewsChannel 15 reported that Bullard hired someone named Freddie Davis on Monday, in what appears to be a final show of power by the mayor before he loses it at the end of the week to the council. Bullard's carefully timed move falls just outside a 60-day waiting period the council imposed in April to specify when another police chief could be hired.

 . . .  Latta council member Jarett Taylor said Wednesday night that it appears Bullard broke local laws by writing up a contract unilaterally with Davis."He needed council approval to do that," Taylor said in an interview on MSNBC's "The Last Word."

"We're going to test his ability to put the new chief under contract. The council supports Crystal 100 percent," Taylor said. "I've spoken to all six council members and we're still behind Crystal."

Moore was appointed police chief before being fired by Bullard. The speculation was that Bullard fired her because she was lesbian. Bullard denied this, but a taped conversation in which he made rude comments regarding the lgbt community and children contradicted his claim. Since that time, Bullard and the Latta town council have been feuding over his actions. With this latest move, the feud doesn't look like it will be over any time soon.

Marriage equality rulings destroy years of Gary Bauer's anti-gay propaganda . . . and he ain't happy

About the rulings today for marriage equality (Indiana and Utah; Utah's ruling being more far reaching and coming through after I published today's news briefs), let's forget the deliciously negative reaction from Brian Brown and NOM and Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council.

For my money, I am enjoying the sad reaction from old school anti-gay spokesman Gary Bauer:



A lot of you young folks don't know who Gary Bauer . He was the head of the Family Research Council from 1988 - 1999. It was under his auspices that the group specifically and without apology pushed anti-gay propaganda and created false research papers citing junk science studies to demonize lgbts - propaganda and false research papers which caused me more mental harm than I care to admit.

So it is satisfying as well as gratifying to watch the body of junk Gary Bauer helped to create over the years to hurt the lgbt community crumble into dust right before his very eyes.

There is an old saying about giving someone you love "their flowers" while they are living. In the case of Gary Bauer, I enjoy watching him being figuratively pricked by the thorns which he richly deserves.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Indiana gets marriage equality, Colorado may get mega-homophobe in legislature' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Judge strikes down Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage, says it violates equal protection - BREAKING!!! 

Town Votes To Give Fired Lesbian Police Chief Her Job Back, Strips Mayor Of Power - In Latta, SC, the controversy involving former - and hopefully soon-to-be reappointed police chief Crystal Moore - is almost over. The first crucial step has been done. Now all the town council has to do is to restore her position.

Gordon Klingenschmitt, The Demon-Obsessed Anti-Gay Exorcist, Wins GOP Primary In Colorado - Meanwhile, apparently those who voted in the Colorado Republican primary may have fallen the victim to "bad pharmaceuticals." Of all the people to win ANY primary or any election to serve in any state legislator, why does it have to be this guy, Gordon Klingenschmitt - the man who has led me to coin the new term "mega-homophobe." The following video showcases one of his "greatest hits." Right Wing Watch has more: 



Pastor Says 'Dismal Turnout' At NOM's March For Marriage Helps Satan, Seals America's Doom - FINALLY someone from the opposite side of the spectrum is admitting how much of a failure NOM's march was. Although, if I may be so presumptuous, I think it proves how much God loves lgbts.

North Carolina Republican Leader Compares Homosexuality To Fetishes And Disorders - Anti-gay propaganda never dies. It's just recycled.

Anti-gay group humiliates itself with NY primary loss

The National Organization for Marriage interjected itself in a recent primary for New York Congressional seat by endorsing Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney in her race to unseat incumbent Richard Hanna.

The organization bragged about sending "tens of thousands direct mailers" to people in Hanna's district:

How did work out for NOM and Tenney? According to the Post-Standard:

U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna managed to hold off a Republican primary challenge from the right Tuesday, defeating Tea Party favorite Claudia Tenney in the 22nd Congressional District. With no Democrat on the ballot in November, the win assures Hanna of returning to Congress for a third term. Hanna defeated Tenney 53 percent (15,135) to 47 percent (13,503) in the district that covers eight counties to the north, east and south of Syracuse, according to unofficial election returns with 100 percent of the vote counted. 

Way to go, NOM. You're batting a thousand . . . strikes.

THIS is what happens when you allow anti-gay folks to speak their minds . . .

The below video accentuates what I've always said. Sometimes you should let those who profess anti-gay beliefs to get all their feelings out. It's good for us all:



According to my buddies at the GLAAD Award-winning The New Civil Rights Movement and Ed Brayton of Free Thought Blogs :

 The self-proclaimed leader of what he claims is a group called the Vanguard of Christ the King spent seven and a half minutes last week yelling to the Sterling Heights, Michigan city council about why he opposes a non-discrimination ordinance. The elderly man, who identified himself as Don Lobsinger, appeared angry as he delivered his diatribe against equality for LGBT people, or, as he calls them, people who have "the gay condition" and exhibit "gay behavior."

Lobsinger proceeded to make a complete ass of himself during his testimony so much so that he was escorted out by law officials. By the way, the non-discrimination ordinance passed unanimously.

'Jail & concentration camps - anti-gay folks turning up rhetorical heat' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Texas Values' Jonathan Saenz: Gay Activists Are Trying To "Put People In Jail" - And in the middle of this discussion, another "Christian" host pulled the "concentration camp" card. Between these people and Tony Perkins claiming that gays want to start an 'anti-Christian Holocaust," I'm just a little overwhelmed with the hyperbolic rhetoric. 

Ben Carson Unveils Grand Compromise On Marriage: Gay People Can't Get Married - Ben Carson has the dishiest compromise to the marriage equality argument. First, gays can't get married. That's it. Oh and we shouldn't accuse people of bigotry.

 Liberty Counsel head: LGBT advocates are doing 'bidding of the devil' - Okay which one of you gossipy queens let the cat out of the bag on this one? I swear THIS is why we can't get nice things. Someone is always blabbing our secret plans!  

Mayors Take Stand Against Their States' Anti-Gay Policies - Good for them! 

 Top Conservative Links Gay Marriage Opposition To Slavery - And guess what? He is supposedly lobbying on Capitol Hill for MSNBC. . . pick yourself off of the floor and get someone you trust to fan you as you attempt to recover.

Anti-gay group pulling the ' won't someone think of the children' card against ENDA

Recently, an article in the Huffington Post said that President Obama has quietly been making progress pushing for the rights of the transgender community. Now add this to the news that he will soon be pushing an executive order keeping companies who do business with the federal government from discriminating against lgbts.

Separately, the two items enough to get the anti-gay groups upset. Combine the two bits of news together, and you will receive evil nonsense like this from the Liberty Counsel, home of Congressional misleader Mat Staver and the increasingly unhinged Matt Barber:

A mother calls Liberty Counsel after her six-year-old little girl is assaulted by a gender-confused, adult male exposing himself in the swim team locker room. Another child cries that she doesn’t want to go back to school because she doesn’t like sharing the bathroom with a gender-confused boy. A teacher calls after her freshmen girls’ soccer team complains of a boy in the locker room.

These are the faces of ENDA-like legislation that is sweeping the country.  Disguised under the term “employment nondiscrimination,” ENDA singles out and targets childhood innocence. No one wants discrimination, least of all against children.

Now, President Obama is reportedly going to sign an executive order to add ENDA protection to employees of federal contractors.

Liberty Counsel is encouraging its members to speak up and debunk the ENDA myth. Tell your family and neighbors that ENDA hurts children. Encourage members of Congress to speak up on this issue. Thank House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for standing steadfast against the assault on childhood.

Exemptions for religious people are not broad enough. They do not protect children from gender-confused adults.

I seriously question the truthiness of these two anecdotes. What's happening is always what happens when any thoughts of ENDA rolls around - religious right groups and spokespeople begin spinning lies about children being exposed to "burly men with five o'clock shadow in short skirts," or even worse:

 

Like always, these so-called Christians, marketing propaganda, spin needless fear of ENDA. It's an old tactic but we shouldn't be surprised.

Anti-gay groups are totally devoid of any credibility or new ideas. That's the reason why they are losing the fight against marriage equality. And it will be the reason why they will lose the fight against ENDA.

'Family Research Council caught distorting pro-gay poll' & other Monday midday news briefs

FRC is an extremely deceitful org: Example #1,234,234,921 - At this point, catching the Family Research spinning distortions against the lgbt community is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. However, as long as the group has credibility in D.C. as a "traditional values" group, let's continue to hit those fish.  
FRC Claims Majority Oppose LGBT Workplace Protections, Cites A Poll That Says The Opposite - More about that FRC deception. 

Republican Senator Says Republicans Must Abandon Same-Sex Marriage Issue To Win Elections - Good luck with that one. How long will it be before we get a harangue from those talking about "standing up for principles and values at the cost of elections" even with those "principles and values" have no grounding in fairness or integrity.  

Obama Administration Sanctions Uganda for Anti-Gay Legislation - Well it's about time. No money for nations who will persecute my people.

 AFA Wants Libraries To Dump 'Sexually Perverse' Gay Children's Book - No surprise that the book is not "sexually perverse." I wonder how Brown feels about the story about one little girl living in a forest with seven "questionable" little men or a girl who haven't had a haircut since she was born getting pregnant by a prince who visits her tower, or two children abandoned in the forest by their parents and nearly become cannibalized by a witch. And I won't EVEN MENTION what the prince did in the original version of 'Sleeping Beauty;' a version which is in some libraries.

Sorry guys, you are anti-gay bigots. Own up to your righfully called name

I am not sure what type of publication the Daily Signal is, but one thing is clear about it.

It's definitely not an accurate one. The National Organization for Marriage is using it to deflect from the piss poor march it held last week:

There's little doubt that the mainstream media is complicit in the effort to redefine marriage, one only has to sit through prime time television or subscribe to an internet news service to have same-sex marriage messages bombard your senses. But when several thousand American's descend upon our nation's capital to defend and march for true marriage and every child's right to experience the love and nurture of both a mother and a father, the media is deaf and dumb. Daily Signal reporter Kelsey Harkness, writes, "Yet, as thousands gathered in the sun today on Capitol Hill to rally behind the historic and tradition views of marriage — as the union of one man and one woman – relatively few reporters were in sight. The advance of same-sex marriage, in contrast, has been much in the media spotlight." She then asked three prominent speakers for their opinion of this issue. 

Obviously, Harkness is either lying or she doesn't know how to count. At the very best, march had 2,000 participants and at the very least, 1,500. It's hardly the throng she makes it sound.

But her interviews with the three speakers, particularly Mike Huckabee, because they represent a talking point which the lgbt community must recognize and overcome:



Huckabee obviously spoke at a different march. In truth, he is applying a diversionary tactic, i.e. whining so loudly about being falsely labeled as a bigot, folks are distracted as to why such designations are appropriate.  And he is not the only one. NOM has built its entire movement on this distraction. Also, when the Southern Poverty Law Center declared the Family Research Council and other anti-gay organizations to be hate groups, they whined extensively about folks not wanting to debate them on lgbt issues, making sure that the volume of their whine drowned out those who did want to debate their tactics with regards to lgbt issues.

Unfortunately to Huckabee, we all aren't as deliberately oblivious as he wants us to be. I would love for him to defend the following signs from NOM supporters during the march as examples of tradition:

 

No matter how Huckabee attempts to spin it, very few people are stupid enough to fall for his whine. Maybe it's just my traditional values, but I believe that if you attend a march with signs talking about how "gay sex leads to adult diapers," how "gay marriage is Satanic," and other signs about "sodomy," that makes you either a bigot, a very, very money conscious vendor, or maybe a very persistent Jehovah's witness. And somehow I doubt Huckabee and company fall under those last two categories.

Thank you Right Wing Watch and Bilerico Project for the pictures.

'Flop marches, rude signs, & adult diapers? What a week in GAY AMERICA!'

Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg Advises Mother To Pursue 'Ex-Gay' Organizations For Daughter Who Came Out - Uh that's the SAME Peter Sprigg seen in the video below saying that the United States should export gays:

 

And just think. The head of Sprigg's group, Tony Perkins, recently claimed that THEY are in danger of being victimized and persecuted by lgbts.

Photos: Animus at #March4Marriage - Now the folks at NOM's flop march yesterday claimed that they don't hate gays. So the explanation here has to be someone obviously hypnotized them and put these signs in their hands.  

Inside NOM’s Second Failed “March For Marriage” - And it gets funnier . . . or scarier . . .  

Crucifixes, Gorillas, and Adult Diapers: My March Against Gay Marriage - Let me do one more about the march. A Daily Beast attended and let participants speak for themselves about why they were there. Mercy, it was good!  

Nation’s Largest Presbyterian Denomination Embraces Same-Sex Marriage - EXCELLENT! 

 Obama To Extend Family Leave Rights Of Married Same-Sex Couples - Even better! But always more work needing to be done to protect our families.

 12 Kick-Ass Gay Women In Comics And Graphic Novels - And now for some mindless frivolity because I like comic books and graphic novels and I've been too serious this week.

NOM's 'March 4 Marriage' a big fat HONKING flop

After MONTHS of hype, planning, and preparation, the National Organization for Marriage held its March 4 Marriage rally in Washington.

And it was a big fat HONKING failure.  Generous estimates put the crowd at 2,000 attendees, but other sources have said that it was barely 1,5000. Many sources said that many in the crowd were bussed in from New York via the help of state senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. who advertised a "free sight seeing" trip to DC. Diaz received criticism for not telling potentially interested parties that they would also be attending an anti-gay rally.

This sentence from a sponsor of the march, the Family Research Council, says it all:

More than 150 buses, filled with the marriage supporters the media insists do not exist, cheered through the passionate speeches of Republicans and Democrats, blacks and Hispanics, and the young and old -- all united in the belief that marriage is “our very nature. 

When a march sponsor brags about the number of buses rather than the number of attendees on the buses, you know there was a problem.

NOM meant to show via the march that there was large number of Americans still wanting to fight for what they call the "traditional definition of marriage." However, it seems that their march showed the opposite.

But don't just take my word for it.  Check out the video from a NOM ally, the Catholic News Service. Even they can't put enough icing on this mess to make it palpable:

Five Acts of Anti-Gay Bigotry NOM Wants You to Forget

NOM president Brian Brown

Today is the day in which the National Organization for Marriage tries to turn a page on a thus far disastrous year for the organization and get back to its original goal of denying gays the right to marry while pretending to be the "victims" of "lgbt oppression."

In Washington, NOM will be holding its March4Marriage, a sure-to-be astroturfed event in which anti-gay spokespeople, such as Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum will attempt to trick Americans into believing that marriage is in danger from "the gays."

All of those involved in this monstrosity will also claim that they are not bigoted for wanting to deny the gay community the right to marry and that their opposition to marriage equality isn't fueled by a personal animus of the lgbt community.

It's going to take a lot of chutzpah on their part as well as a hope that we will forget the homophobic acts which NOM has committed over the years to supposedly save the "sacred union between a man and a woman."

Good luck on that last one, particularly as I present Five Acts of Anti-Gay Bigotry NOM Wants You to Forget:

5. NOM has attempted to create 'fake victims' of marriage equality -  On several occasions, NOM has tried to create a narrative that marriage equality will lead to the unfair demonization of those opposing it, only to have the narrative blow up in its face.  In 2011, NOM began what it called the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance  This was an attempt to spotlight Americans who had their religious liberties and rights threatened simply for opposing marriage equality.  It failed badly. Equality Matters, in 2012, had this to say about the spotlighted examples:

 . . . out of NOM’s nine Marriage ADA stories, three weren’t about marriage, three were from a different country, and zero demonstrated an instance of actual “defamation.” It should come as no surprise that NOM had such a difficult time finding any compelling evidence that opponents of marriage equality were having their “rights and dignity” threatened and denied. NOM’s “gays as bullies” narrative has already been exposed and rejected by a number of judges and courts across the country.

In addition, in 2013, the site Politifact gave NOM's Rhode Island branch a "pants on fire" (which means basically you are lying out of your ass) rating for a claim it trotted out that religious groups have been forced to hold same-sex marriages in their facilities. 

4. NOM has implied that gays want to use marriage equality to "indoctrinate" children - No anti-gay group's arsenal is complete without the claim that gays want to "recruit" or "indoctrinate" children. And NOM is no different:

Prelude to NOM's anti-gay march & 'Five acts of anti-gay bigotry NOM wants you to forget'

Today will be a very short post because I am presently working on a piece to commemorate the National Organization for Marriage's anti-gay march.

It's called 'Five Acts of Anti-Gay Bigotry NOM Wants You To Forget.'  I'm not going to reveal the list until tomorrow morning (and I implore you to read, share, and comment), but I encourage you to guess which five did I pick from all of the acts of homophobia NOM has engaged in over the years.

I will give you a little clue. The following graphic will be included. Guess which number it comes in at:

'Anti-gay group's key figures planning more anti-gay mischief' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Exclusive: Key NOM figures scheming behind the scenes ‘action plan’; called The Princeton Group - In an exclusive by Jeremy Hooper, we find out that key figures behind NOM are planning an 'action plan.' Read this, folks. Read, study, wait. Patience is the key. Let's not get caught unawares again. 

Why Is Allen West Angry At 'Liberal Progressive Socialists And Radical Gay Lefties' This Time? - Allen West thinks that Obama overturned DADT through an executive order. Uh no. Congress voted to repeal it. I loath homophobes but I CANNOT STAND dumb ones.

 Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, Texas Gay Fathers, Denied Legal Parenthood Of Twin Sons - This story will break your heart and hopefully motivate you. 

 Obama: Keep Pressure On Congress To Pass ENDA - You better believe it.

NOM's anti-gay march gains equally anti-gay media sponsor

As the National Organization for Marriage's anti-gay march draws nearer, the organization has gained an "official media sponsor" - the right-wing Washington Times.

Apparently the Times can actually deviate from its busy schedule of  publishing racist junk from Ted Nugent, writing vicious screeds about immigrants, Hilary Clinton, the transgender community, and the lgbt community in general to not only host a live stream of NOM's march but also publish a "commemorative issue" the day after.. One can receive this "commemorative issue" by subscribing to the Times.

How convenient.

And, hanks to an email I received from a facebook buddy who is on NOM's mailing list, take a look at the organization's latest beg for funds (click on letter to read):

The letter claims that the Supreme Court will be watching the march. I seriously doubt it. And I know I won't be, either.

Certainly there will be many of my colleagues watching the live stream and reporting about the nonsense. I will be doing some reporting and posting myself, but as for watching any live stream, it's times like this when I am glad that I have a regular job to attend to.

Religious right 'persecution' deception slammed in new report

Todd Starnes

The most prolific manufacturer and promoter of apocryphal stories of American Christian persecution working today is Fox News reporter Todd Starnes. If a story emerges about a service member punished for his or her Christian beliefs or a schoolchild banned from talking about Christmas, it most likely originated with or was promoted by Starnes. And there’s a good chance the facts have been either severely distorted or completely fabricated.

For an example of how the Starnes myth machine works, take the story of Air Force Sgt. Phillip Monk, “relieved of his duties,” according to Starnes, “after he disagreed with his openly gay commander when she wanted to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality.”

“Christians have to go into the closet,” Monk told Starnes. “We are being robbed of our dignity and respect. We can’t be who we are.” Starnes added: “[I]n essence, Christians are trading places with homosexuals.”

It appears that Monk’s story was being shopped around by his attorneys at Liberty Institute, one of several Christian Right legal groups that devote themselves to digging up and publicizing alleged cases of persecution. The Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Center for Law and Justice have played a similar role, cheered on by allies in groups such as the Family Research Council (FRC) and the American Family Association (AFA).

The Monk story hit a nerve in a movement still reeling from the 2010 repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay service members.

After Starnes reported Monk’s tale in August 2013, the story spread like wildfire in the Religious Right. Liberty University official Shawn Akers cited the story to claim that Christians were now the victims of a new “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The AFA’s Bryan Fischer pointed to Monk’s commander to claim that “homosexuals that are in the military” could now “get away with absolutely anything.” Monk was invited to share his tale at a Values Voter Summit panel on the alleged trend of anti-Christian persecution. The Family Research Council produced a tearful video in which Monk told of how he was “reassigned by his commander because of his belief that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.”

But Monk’s story just wasn’t true. In Starnes’ very first report on Monk, he quoted an Air Force spokesman who explained that Monk hadn’t been punished but had simply come to the end of his assignment. A subsequent Air Force investigation found, according to the Military Times, that “Monk was not removed from his position, but rather moved, as scheduled, to another Lackland unit, an assignment he was notified of in April.”

taken from The Persecution Complex: The Religious Right’s Deceptive Rallying Cry by People for the American Way. The entire report is a must read for those concern with how the religious right is exploiting the ideas of "persecution" and "religious liberty."

'Things the media (and YOU) should look for in NOM's anti-gay march' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

What The Media Should Know About This Week's Anti-Gay "March For Marriage" - Equality Matters comes out with this short, handy guide of what the media (and YOU) should know about NOM's anti-gay march. Let's summarize to wet your appetite to read: 

NOM Grossly Overestimating Attendance 

Church Groups Bussed In To "Visit The Monuments!" 

Anti-Gay Race Baiting 

 Extreme Anti-Gay Speakers 

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Defends His Plans To Speak At Anti-Gay Rally - Speaking of the march, the archbishop claims to be speaking there because of "love." His letter is a hoot. 

 Video: Archbishop Cordileone says gay people should ‘avoid harmful effects’ of homosexuality - Particularly because he seems to forget a little thing called a "paper trail."  

BarbWire Editor Calls Gay Rights Movement A 'Malignant Cancer' Destroying America - Matt Barber and his BarbWire magazine: almost singlehandedly making the case for lgbt equality.

Republicans Remain Silent As Obama Plans To Extend LGBT Employment Protections - They are waiting for their orders from the religious right.

NOM's anti-marriage equality march a serious 'weapon of mass distraction'

As we get closer to the National Organization for Marriage's ridiculous "March 4 Ignoring That We Can't Think of Any Reason To Oppose Marriage Equality in the Courts" on Thursday,  I want folks to remember something.

In spite of all of the flowery words and phrases about "standing for marriage," "religious liberty," and opposing tyranny." In spite of all of the spin from Rick Santorum (when he is not busy trying to "bang the President") or Mike Huckabee, or any of the rest about "children having a right to a mother and a father" (while of course ignoring children in orphanages.) In spite of all you hear, see, and process, I want you to remember one thing:

We are still talking about an organization which peddles lies in order to stop marriage equality; lies which cannot be used in court. Hence the reason for their recent losses and the reason why they are putting on this march to distract.

But don't take my word for it. Remember the words of Marc Mutty, head of the 2009 effort to repeal marriage equality in Maine (an effort which unfortunately succeeded, but was thankfully overturned by the voters in 2012):



Transcript:

We use a lot of hyperbole and I think that's always dangerous," says Mutty during a Yes on 1 strategy session, at the time on leave from his job as public affairs director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine.

"You know, we say things like 'Teachers will be forced to (teach same-sex marriage in schools)!' " he continues. "Well, that's not a completely accurate statement and we all know it isn't, you know?"

"No," interjects a woman off-camera. "We don't say that."

"Let's look back at our ads and see what we say," Mutty persists. "And I think we use hyperbole to the point where, you know, it's like 'Geez!' "

NOM funded $2 million of the $3 million raised by Mutty's group. It's one of the things which caused the Maine Ethics Commission to fine the organization $250,000.

Yet another thing the organization will want you not to remember on Thursday.

Psssst! Here is the new lie the anti-gay right will spin about marriage equality

Matt Barber lies about gays (again.)

Arch-homophobe and wannabe mogul of an online "Christian publication" (BarbWire, which can be best described as an extension of his vile psyche) Matt Barber has a column out predicting that churches in America will soon be forced to marry gay couples.

Never mind reading the entire thing because its his usual psycho wannabe John The Baptist babble. However, the first sentence caught my attention and should catch yours:

Churches in Denmark are now compelled, by law, to host same-sex "weddings."

Even on a technical basis, Barber is wrong. I recognized that sentence from an earlier article I posted in my news briefs. At the time, it was Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association spinning this lie:

According to the London Telegraph, a new law passed by the Danish parliament "make(s) it mandatory for all churches to conduct gay marriages." No options, no exceptions, no choice. Homosexuals are to be married wherever they want, regardless of whose conscience is trampled and whose sanctuary is defiled in the process. 

Sarah Jones for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State refuted Fischer:

 While it is certainly true that in Denmark, same-sex couples have a legal right to be married in a church in some cases, Fischer neglects to mention the reason why that is so: Denmark has a state church. The law applies quite specifically to that state church.

“With the legalization of gay marriage, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark [which is the state church], is required to allow same-sex couples to marry in churches,” the Pew Research Center notes in a 2013 explainer on same-sex marriage laws around the world.It’s hardly a blanket rule: Pew goes on to state that other religious groups are exempt from the law.

Catholic churches, for example, aren’t required to host same-sex marriage ceremonies, a fact the Vatican noted just this week. “For the moment we [the Catholic Church] are not worried,” Niels Messerschmidt, a representative of the Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen, told Vatican Radio.

Fischer omitted this crucial fact in his fear mongering, as did Matt Barber.

And how much do you want to bet that if any speaker at the National Organization for Marriage's silly march later this week brings up this law (because they probably will), the truth behind the meme they will spin about "churches are being forced to marry gay couples in Denmark will magically elude them?

The sad part about the entire lie is that in the comments section of One News Now where Barber's mess is published, the true story is pointed out. However it still doesn't dissuade the notion from some folks that gays are plotting to force churches to marry them.

On that note, the entire blame for this lie can't be shouldered by Fischer or Barber.

When you have people so willing to scared in spite of being told that their fears are groundless,  who can blame Barber, Fischer, or any anti-gay spokesperson for taking advantage of their stupidity?

'Obama to sign executive order protecting lgbt employees of federal contractors' & other Monday midday news briefs

President Obama To Sign Executive Order Protecting LGBT Employees Of Federal Contractors - This came in! About time.

 CNBC Anchor Confronts Rick Perry About Remark Comparing Gays To Alcoholics - Proving yet again that those who make anti-gay statements just can't handle it when questioned on their comments. 

Ingraham: I Don't Know How Courts Could Possibly Allow Gay Marriage Without Allowing Polyamorous Marriage - Someone should ask her does she feel that way about her gay brother's relationship?

  'Old school prude' AFA president calls Michael Sam kiss 'gross,' 'immoral, unhealthy and unnatural' - Good grief, is the American Family Association's Tim Wildmon still mad at the Michael Sam kiss? One wonders if he is just upset that no one ever kissed him like that.

 Regnerus Study Backer Acknowledges That Marriage Equality Creates Family Stability - I love my lgbt brothers and sisters but I hate it when we let gold plate items like this pass without comment.  

Federal Employees’ Insurance Will No Longer Be Required To Exclude Transgender Coverage - Nice! 

 Transgender Activist Joanna Blackhart Recalls The Challenges Of Coming Out In College - An excellent article.

Anti-gay group's 'March 4 Confusing the Issue' is this Thursday

I am so looking forward to the National Organization for Marriage's upcoming March for Marriage this Thursday.

And I say that with tongue placed firmly in cheek and with a huge amount of sarcasm.

NOM has been decimated with a string of embarrassing public losses lately with regards to anti-marriage equality amendments being struck down in a number of states as well as losing lawsuits against the IRS and being made to paid for breaking Maine's nondisclosure law.

The organization is hoping that the march will give it some momentum. From the American Family Association's phony news source, One News Now:

The National Organization for Marriage's second annual March for Marriage is set for Thursday, June 19, in D.C. Given the climate in the country over the past months, spokesman Chris Plante tells OneNewsNow this year's march is all the more important. “It will be a huge statement to the U.S. Supreme Court, to the Congress and to the mainstream media that Americans still stand for marriage as one man and one woman and that every child deserves both a mother and a father,” he says. Thousands of marriage supporters from throughout the country will take to the streets after a rally where they will hear from noted speakers such as Senator Santorum, Governor Huckabee and many others. “It will be a day in which America actually takes a stand and tries to turn the clock back on marriage and turn back the tide of judicial activism that has been occurring where individual justices are imposing their own individual wills on entire states in redefining marriage,” he explains. For those who can't attend, National Organization for Marriage is conducting a virtual march on the event’s website. People can hold local marriage rallies or at state capitals to make it clear that they also stand for traditional marriage. 

 Virtual marches? Does that mean if I log onto the event's webpage even if I don't support their efforts, NOM will count me as one of its supporters?

Seriously though, I have a few predictions.

1. The march will be spun as a huge success. 

2. It will gain a good degree of media attention, particularly because - and this is my personal opinion - NOM will officially call for and begin working towards a constitutional amendment outlawing marriage equality.

3. But in the long run, it won't change a thing with regards to NOM's losses or the momentum swing towards marriage equality. That reason is simple. We are in the court phase of marriage equality. By attempting to push a constitutional amendment, NOM no doubt hopes to push this argument back to the phase where people will be voting after being influenced by horror stories of gays recruiting children, etc. It ain't going to happen. NOM obviously did not prepare for the court phase of the marriage equality fight, where coherent arguments always take the place over horror stories, unproven anecdotes, and mindbogglingly stupid arguments about marriage "uniting the two halfs of mankind."

It reminds me of a story I heard about when Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier teamed up to make the movie Marathon Man.  Apparently, Hoffman had stayed up all night because he was supposed to be do a scene in which his character looked tired and worn out. When Olivier heard about it, he simply told Hoffman, "you should try acting, dear boy. It's much easier."

Of course the story isn't true, but it speaks to the heart of NOM's folly with regards to this march. If the organization had any coherent arguments it could supply in the courtroom, this upcoming public ceremony of mass flagellation wouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

Know Your LGBT History - Lawrence vs. Texas - Sodomy laws overturned

It was the case which overturned the sodomy laws - laws which were used to persecute lgbts or keep us in check - and opened the floodgates. If someone writes a proper notation of American lgbt history, they would point to Lawrence vs. Texas as the case which led to many other fights, particularly the one over marriage equality:



Past Know Your LGBT History Posts: 

'First lgbts were 'Nazis,' now we are 'demonic'" & other Friday midday news briefs

BarbWire's Gina Miller Says The Push For Gay Rights Is Repulsive, 'Demonic,' And 'Born Of Hell' - Earlier this week, the anti-gay folks were labeling us as Nazis. Now we are "demonic." People get so angry when anti-gay talking heads say stuff like this. I think those who do aren't aware of their uses. I would love to see the writers and editors of the right-wing BarbWire testifying in front of a Congressional hearing. If anything, it would be a paaaarty! 

New Bill Calls For Creation Of First U.S. Special Envoy For LGBT Rights - I'm all for it. 

 LGBT activist wins Nevada house nomination - Sweet! If she wins the election, she would be Nevada's first transgender elected official. And she is Republican too. Not the scary kind. 

 US embassy in Tel Aviv faces internet backlash for raising pride flag - The brave generally face criticism from the ignorant.  

Hallmark Releases Gay Father's Day ECard - Not bad, not bad at all!

Mat Staver continues ugly rhetoric days after misleading Congress

Mat Staver

Definition of the phrase "totally devoid of shame" - lying to Congress and then returning to your radio program to repeat the rhetoric which led you to lie in the first place, complete with analogies to Hitler murdering Jewish people.

Or to save time, why not put a picture of Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver next to the phrase.
'
From Right Wing Watch:

On today's "Faith and Freedom" radio broadcast, Mat Staver and Matt Barber discussed the situation involving the baker in Colorado who is vowing to go to jail rather than comply with an order to stop discriminating against gay customers by refusing to provide them with wedding cakes, saying that forcing him to bake gay wedding cakes would be like forcing Jesus to build a bed for an adulterer or a gallows for Hitler upon which to hang Jews:

Transcript: 

 Barber: So, to make that comparison would be like saying the adulteress goes to Jesus and says 'you're a carpenter, I want you to make a frame for my adultery bed, for me and then men I'm committing adultery with to commit our sinful acts.' And it would be like some tribunal coming to Jesus and saying you're a carpenter, you don't have a right to refuse to make this bed for the adulteress because you make beds for people who are actually married ...

Staver: It's like a carpenter who [is told] you can build this house for this person or you can build this gallows for Hitler. And you can use your talents, we're going to force you to use the talents to build the gallows for Hitler and we're going to hang Jews on the gallows.

'Archbishop attending NOM rally, wants constitutional amendment' & other Thursday afternoon news briefs

Lawmakers ask S.F. archbishop not to attend anti-gay marriage rally - Not only is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone attending and probably speaking at NOM's rally but he also wants a constitutional amendment outlawing marriage equality. Pay attention folks because this is where NOM is headed. There is probably no other option for the organization. Don't take it lightly until we beat them back. 

Rick Perry's Comparison Of Homosexuality To Alcoholism Is Nothing New From The Anti-Gay Right - In case you didn't hear, Rick Perry compared homosexuality to alcoholism. These folks know nothing about originality.

 Rotten In Denmark?: AFA’s Fischer Distorts Danish Same-Sex Marriage Law To Scare U.S. Fundamentalists - Bryan Fischer would like about his ethnicity even if he couldn't get away with it. 

Watch: Anderson Cooper Holds Texas GOP Lawmaker Accountable For Supporting ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy - Whip his ass, Anderson! 

 Wisconsin AG Threatens to Prosecute County Clerks Over Same Sex Marriage Licenses - It's an empty threat.