Will God 'nuke' America for having gay ambassadors?

Dear Vision America's Rick Scarborough,

If God hasn't destroyed America because of slavery, segregation, the stealing of land from Native Americans, the subjugation of women, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Fox News, and Nikki Minaj's upcoming album (I'm just playing with that last one), I think He won't nuke us for having gay ambassadors:

'Former 'ex-gay' leaders unite to help ban 'ex-gay' therapy' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Exclusive: 9 Former Ex-Gay Leaders Join Movement To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy - Can you say "major kick in the ass to the religious right and the 'ex-gay movement," boys and girls? Good. I knew you could. 

Rick Santorum Presents Latest ‘Religious Persecution’ Movie - Because apparently his last one was soooo successful (snark). But seriously I noticed something about these events in which folks push the "persecution" meme. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that I never hear them tell people to pray to God or not to worry because "God is in control." It's always the push for panic of potential martyrdom for these folks. How odd is it that they are supposed to be fighting for values given to them by the God while at the same time implying that He has abandoned them when they fight for those values.  

Meet the LGBT activists fighting Uganda's anti-gay law - Or as they should be called, some of the bravest people in the world.  

Video: Tony Perkins for politically-driven pastors to test (if not run afoul) tax exempt status - Any church leader who listens to Tony Perkins deserves the disaster they are courting.

How A Hate Group Lost Influence On (Most Of) Cable News - And speaking of Tony Perkins (and the Family Research Council), I am happy to say that I, in an extremely minor way, contributed to this taking place.

Proposed bill could allow adoption agencies to discriminate against gays while taking taxpayer money

Bill could harm gay couples seeking to adopt.

This newest tripe, I mean action alert by the Family Research Council has gotten me a bit angry. The organization is pushing a bill which could allow adoption agencies and foster care providers to engage in anti-gay discrimination under the guise of religious freedom (see the bill here):

In California, Massachusetts, Illinois, and D.C. religious adoption and foster care providers have had their government funding pulled and have been forced to end services, simply because they continue to believe in the importance of a child having a mom and a dad. It's a sad sign of the times that some states have preferred to sever longstanding partnerships with faith-based providers rather than allow them to continue caring for and placing children informed by traditional moral beliefs about the family. This important legislation sponsored by Congressman Mike Kelly in the House and Senator Mike Enzi in the Senate will ensure that the interests of children are placed ahead of political correctness.

Specifically, this bill will prohibit discrimination against faith-based child welfare service providers by the federal government and by states receiving federal funds for adoption and foster care services. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act will prohibit such discrimination against faith-based child welfare service providers and will threaten states continuing such discrimination with a loss of federal funding. This important legislation will ensure that the maximum number of child welfare service providers can continue to advocate for children and will ensure that many adoptive families can continue to work with a provider which shares their core beliefs.

For the record, adoption agencies, religious based or otherwise, are allowed to place children in homes with mothers and fathers. What this proposed monstrosity could do is to allow religious based adoption agencies and foster care providers to discriminate against gay  households while using our tax dollars.

No doubt, FRC and other supporters of this bill will attempt to paint the lgbt community as selfish if we raise any objections about this bill. It's definitely by intention that the organization uses vague code words and phrases about "core beliefs," children doing better with a mother and a father,"  "traditional moral beliefs" and all of the other board room talking points which are usually voiced by those seeking to deny the existence of same-sex households with children.

I don't think it's wrong or selfish for the lgbt community to assert our rights and dignity as taxpaying American citizens here. And I definitely refuse to believe that in doing so, we are hurting children.

It's been proven in study after study (the most recent being earlier this month)  that we can raise children just as well as two-parent heterosexual households. This view has also been validated numerous times by the courts, including the Supreme Court when it overturned DOMA last year. . Therefore, in the case of adoption agencies and foster care providers who want to discriminate against gay couples, we are talking about organizations who want to assert their personal religious preference instead of what's best for the child.

If religious-based adoption agencies  and foster care providers don't think that gay  households are suitable enough to raise children then they shouldn't be so eager to have their hands out in order to receive gay tax dollars.

It's bad enough when it is asserted that we are not good enough to raise and nurture children. Having to pay for that non-privilege  further reduces the gay community to the level of slaves in a masochistic relationship with our government . . . and all under the guise of "religious freedom."

Photo courtesy of HRC

Bryan Fischer can't decide who/what will 'destroy America'

Bryan Fischer

Today, Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said that if President Obama isn't impeached, it means the end of America:

America has a political problem. But it also has a political solution: impeachment. In fact, it’s impeachment or nothing. In the end, Republicans will have absolutely no other alternative if they wish to keep this president from transforming this once great nation into a banana republic. Lawsuits won’t work, because the president has already shown a cavalier disregard for the rule of law. Defunding won’t work, because the president has already shown a cavalier disregard for budgetary restraints of any kind. In the end, it will be impeachment or the ruin of America.

But Mr. Fischer, won't Islam destroy America? That's what you said in 2011:

Let us be clear: the goal of Islam is to destroy America. We don’t have to infer it; they are declaring it in no uncertain terms.

Come to think of it, in that same year, you said marriage equality will destroy America

Transcript: Our survival as a civilization, as a culture, depends on protecting the institution of marriage, everything is at risk here: our economic prosperity, our survival, our national security, all of it hinges on our willingness as a culture to protect monogamy and to protect the institution of marriage. You know, George Washington says 'In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labor to subvert these two great pillars,' you push these pillars over, you undermine the foundation of these pillars, you cause them to weaken, you cause them to crumble, you are not a patriot. So George Washington would have no hesitation of looking at groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, ACLU, Freedom From Religion Foundation, all of these gay rights groups, George Washington would have absolutely no hesitation saying these groups are unpatriotic, they are un-American, in fact they are anti-American because they are laboring to subvert the pillars which this civilization rests.

Such is the problem with the overuse of hyperbole. Sooner or later, people will realize that you are full of shit.

'Anti-gay personality Todd Starnes creating victims of anti-Christian persecution' & other Thursday midday news briefs

The Right-Wing Agenda Propelling False Claims of Christian Persecution - As much as I hate to be one of those queens who like to say "I told you so" (yeah, right), I predicted a while back how Fox News personality Todd Starnes would emerge as one of the head figures in the "anti-Christian persecution" meme spreading. Apparently his Bible says "thus I say unto you, if there are no victims of anti-Christian persecution, create some."

Trans in America - I love this photographic portrait!

Head of Virginia's anti-equality org: 'open season to discriminate against anyone who believes that children deserve a mom and a dad'- One of our biggest strengths is the opposition's love of hyperbole to make their points. I mean nobody likes a consistent and eternal drama queen.

Michael Sam Focuses On Making the Rams, Not History - And THAT, my friends, is the right frame of mind to have. Good luck, Mr. Sam.  

Rick Santorum Angry That Marriage Equality Supporters 'Devalued' Marriage - Let's make him angrier just to see what happens.

Anti-gay right are picking on the judiciary again

Sorry for featuring such hyperbolic tripe so early in the morning but we can't afford to be blase about this sort of thing. This "documentary" reminds me of the propaganda films the Nazis used to show about Jewish people.

I mean really. Blaming the judiciary for the progression of marriage equality and claiming that they are "imposing their will" (of course without giving specific details as to which judges are doing so or any proof at all of these charges) is simply vile.

And it serves to cover up a simple fact about why judges are ruling for marriage equality. If - and I hope that if becomes a reality soon - marriage equality becomes legal across America, history will tell us that the folly of those against marriage equality played a huge part.

In 2004 and after, they voted to pass all of those anti-marriage equality laws with such abandonment that they seemed to have forgotten that the laws would be challenged in court.  The tactics they used to get these laws on the books were useless in the courts.

After all, you know what courts are, don't you? That's the place where ridiculous arguments such as  "marriage 'unites the two halves of humanity" and "marriage socializes men" don't fly. That's the place where anecdotes and horror stories about lgbts and children are like bullets to Superman's chest. That's the place where you can't sit in the studio of a fake newsroom and repeat your talking points without challenge. You will be challenged frequently and thoroughly.

It all comes down to a simple principle - don't pass laws you can't defend in court. 

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Former 'ex-gay' spills details about religious right, Pat Robertson: gays demanding Christians have open, wild sex' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men" - WOW! Not only is former 'ex-gay' activist Yvette Schneider denouncing the 'ex-gay' movement but she is giving some good details on what does on in religious right circles. It's a long interview but trust me, it is a good one. 

Pat Robertson Warns Gays Threaten Christians: 'Have Open Sex With Anybody Or Else You Leave' - Damn u nasty, Pat Robertson. And trust me, no gay will be asking YOU to have open sex. 

BarbWire.com: When A Hate Group Creates Its Own Conservative "News" Site - I've long since thought of the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber as a hack who is perpetrating solely for the money. Equality Matters gives some interesting details about his online publication BarbWire which may justify my thinking.  

How The Alaska Supreme Court Is Circumventing The State’s Ban On Same-Sex Marriage - THIS is interesting, to say the least.

Straight White Guy Festival' Fliers In Ohio Park Spark Local Controversy - Ain't nobody going to that #@!*. What's a festival without drag queens?

Another former 'ex-gay' denounces the movement, apologizes to lgbt community

Schneider

In all of the excitement and happening involving yesterday's Virginia decision, something else the lgbt community should be celebrating got lost in the shuffle. According to Jeremy Hooper, GLAAD Special Projects Consultant:

Yvette Cantu Schneider has one of the most robust pedigrees of anyone who has ever worked in the so-called "ex-gay" movement. From the late nineties right through to the second decade of the twenty-first century, Yvette managed to find herself laboring for and with just about every top anti-LGBT group and activist you've heard of. From her high-profile start at the Family Research Council to her work with California's Proposition 8 campaign—with many stops, at many different groups and campaigns along the way—Yvette became one of that movement's most visible faces and certainly one of the most known women in a line of "work" known mainly for its male spokespeople. To this day, Yvette remains one of the key people who anti-gay voices like to cite in order to prove that "change" works. In a December 19, 2013, press release concerning the Duck Dynasty brouhaha, notorious anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who was a colleague of Yvette's during their shared time at the Family Research Council, cited Schnieder as an example of a person who has "ovecome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ." "Ex-gay" websites continue to list her as among their ranks and push her story as a source of inspiration. The American Family Association continues to sell a video, "It's Not Gay," in which Yvette appears as a talking head. They all still claim Yvette as being both an example and a worker bee for their side.

That all changes today. Yvette has reached out to GLAAD, exclusively, to share her story—one that will come as a shock to her former colleagues and allies.

In a nutshell: Yvette no longer wishes to identify with the "ex-gay" or anti-LGBT movement; is sorry for the pain she caused as part of that world; is highly questioning of the idea of "ex-gay" itself; and is now fully supportive of LGBT people, our truths, and our families. Yvette has made her sincerity clear to me, saying "as opposed to when I was doing things for the Christian Right out of duty and obligation, I'm doing it because I want to and feel it's the right thing to do." She hopes that by speaking out, she can start to undo any damage she might've helped to impart.

\Go to this link to read the first of a two-part story in which Schneider explains how an encounter with the child of a gay man and her own daughter's illness led her to question the path she was on.

But first, a little note. There are some who will probably say  "f#ck her," or "she hurt too many people to be begging forgiveness."

To those folks, I would like to quote Tyler Perry as Madea Simmons and say shut the hell up!

Forgiveness is a good thing. Not just for the piece of mind of the person you are forgiving but also your own soul.

Who wants to hold on to bitterness when it's so much easier - and healthier -  to forgive and open your heart?

VA marriage equality victory provides positive repercussions for NC . . . and hopefully a cellphone

Unless you have been living in a cave with your fingers in your ears, you have heard about today's marriage equality victory in Virginia which has repercussions in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Unfortunately, SC is determined to still defend its marriage equality ban. However not so much North Carolina:

NC AG Cooper says it's time to stop defending state's marriage ban: "There are really no arguments left to be made." pic.twitter.com/0HIQCS8OK1
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) July 28, 2014

Regardless, this is rather sweet particularly when one remembers the depths the opposition stooped to in North Carolina to get the ban passed in 2012. Isn't that right, Pastor Patrick Wooden?

You will remember that during the campaign, Wooden, a NC pastor , claimed that gay men have so much anal sex that we wear diapers. He later made a claim that a gay man had to have a cell phone removed from his rectum.

To make matters worse, on the night that his side won, he was filmed holding a cellphone in triumph:

While of course this battle is far from over, I will give you one guess what Wooden can now do with HIS cellphone.

'NOM wants international anti-gay group' & other Monday midday news briefs

The Rise Of Europe’s Religious Right - The American religious right is making interesting progress in Europe. Amongst the revelations in this article, Brian Brown of NOM is attempting to create an International Organization for Marriage. So just in case stuff starts coming down, don't act as if you weren't told beforehand. 

Texas Children’s Home Fires Employee Just For Being Gay - And it's perfectly legal.

 8 Things Straight People Get Wrong About Gay Men - Just eight?  

Gordon Klingenschmitt Scores An Exclusive Interview With Sen. Mike Lee - Terrible news. Two homophobes close to each other in a room does not cause spontaneous combustion.

BAD ANALOGIES: Gay Marriage is Like 2 + 2 = 5 - Ben Carson, a man who took the Steve Miller song "Take the Money and Run" to heart.

'Gaystapo' is now a Christian term

Bob Eschliman is a former Newton Daily News editor who is suing the publication for violating his Christian beliefs. According to the Huffington Post:

Former Newton Daily News editor Bob Eschliman dumped from his job after a blog post he wrote which criticized what he called "the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo" for trying "to reword the Bible to make their sinful nature 'right with God.'" Jim Romenesko first reported on the blog in April. Eschliman was later suspended with pay, and the newspaper's owner eventually terminated his employment, the Des Moines Register reported.

Allegedly, Eschliman wrote this piece, criticizing a website which rewrites the Bible to make it friendlier to lgbts,  on his own blog. Now this fact will probably spark discussions on free speech and its boundaries.

After his firing, the newspaper following in an editorial:

 . . .  the Newton newspaper published an editorial by Shaw Media President John Rung.
"Last week, he expressed an opinion in his personal blog that in no way reflects the opinion of the Newton Daily News or Shaw Media," Rung wrote. "While he is entitled to his opinion, his public airing of it compromised the reputation of this newspaper and his ability to lead it."

However, the interesting thing to me is how some in the religious right  are bending over backwards to say that Eschliman was fired for "expressing" his Christian beliefs without say exactly what he said. The American Family Association's One News Now, in its version of the story, made mention about Eschliman was a "Christian," and how he was "persecuted," but the publication never talked about his exact words. The framework of the article went about like this:

Eschliman's attorney is Liberty Institute-allied lawyer and former federal prosecutor Mat Whitaker, who tells OneNewsNow the journalist was an "exemplary" employee. "He had won many awards as a journalist and by all accounts he had outstanding performance as an employee," says the attorney. Eschliman ran into a problem, though, after he wrote about his personal religious beliefs on his blog and expressed his belief in traditional marriage. On April 30, he was placed on "indefinite paid suspension" while the company investigated his blog post. A few days later, the journalist was called into his boss's office and immediately fired and escorted from the building. 

The problem I have is this - so some folks set up a webpage making the Bible friendlier to lgbts. Big deal. That's their right, just as others may feel that it was Eschliman's right to slur all lgbts because of it. What's with the ugly language he used and why do some folks say that it was "mere expression" of his Christian beliefs?"

It doesn't make lgbts look as bad or intolerant as it does Christians who have no problem with smearing gays in that manner.

And one more thing. Substitute the word "Jew" or "black" for the group Eschlimann attacked and I hardly think that his firing would be seen as a controversy.

Why is that?

'Bachmann: Gays want to let adults sexually prey on children' & other Friday midday news briefs

Michele Bachmann: Gays Want To Let Adults 'Freely Prey On Little Children Sexually' - And they tell us that when we object to such character assassinations, we aren't showing "tolerance." Modesty precludes me from publicly commenting further, but needless to say, it's a good tirade.

Michael Sam Delivers Perfect Reaction To Tony Dungy’s ‘Distraction’ Claims - The irony about Michael Sam is that all of these folks claiming that he will provide a distraction are the very ones PROVIDING the distraction. Sam is busy practicing his craft.

Super Model Andreja Pejic Comes Out As Transgender - Good for her!!  

Fox’s Erickson Agrees That “The Homosexual Movement Is … Destroying America” - The day I take Christian instruction from an odious, bigoted, chauvinistic twitter troll who lucked into a media gig with Fox News, America IS heading on the road for destruction

Bill Maher speaks basic truth about marriage equality

This is an old clip but talk show host and comedian Bill Maher gives truth about opponents of marriage equality:

Sen. Rubio, speeches are cheap. Let's hear you denounce anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council

Take as much time as you need, Sen. Rubio.

Dear Sen. Marc Rubio,

If you are going to whine about marriage equality supporters being "intolerant," perhaps you need to take a look at those who defend your rhetoric. I have said this twice and now will make the third time. But this time is really special because the Family Research Council is defending your comments:

 The Senator then went where many of his colleagues fear to tread -- the very nature of marriage itself. "The union of one man and one woman is a special relationship that has proven to be of great benefit to our society, our nation and our people, and therefore deserves to be elevated in our laws." However, he said, "there is a growing intolerance ... towards those who continue to support traditional marriage ... and I promise you that even before this speech is over, I will be attacked as a hater, a bigot, or someone who is anti-gay. The intolerance in the name of tolerance is hypocrisy."

Just for the edification of my readers, this is the SAME Family Research Council who has been called an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center  in 2010 for its insistence of spreading hateful lies about the lgbt community:

 Headed since 2003 by former Louisiana State Rep. Tony Perkins, the FRC has been a font of anti-gay propaganda throughout its history. It relies on the work of Robert Knight, who also worked at Concerned Women for America but now is at Coral Ridge Ministries (see above for both), along with that of FRC senior research fellows Tim Dailey (hired in 1999) and Peter Sprigg (2001). Both Dailey and Sprigg have pushed false accusations linking gay men to pedophilia: Sprigg has written that most men who engage in same-sex child molestation “identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual,” and Dailey and Sprigg devoted an entire chapter of their 2004 book Getting It Straight to similar material. The men claimed that “homosexuals are overrepresented in child sex offenses” and similarly asserted that “homosexuals are attracted in inordinate numbers to boys.”

That’s the least of it. In a 1999 publication (Homosexual Behavior and Pedophilia) that has since disappeared from its website, the FRC claimed that “one of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the ‘prophets’ of a new sexual order,” according to unrefuted research by AMERICAblog.

'Sen Rubio's lie about 'tolerant debates' Part 2' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Sen. Marco Rubio no doubt won the news cycle yesterday with his deceptive whine that those who oppose marriage equality are the so-called victims of intolerance. I really wish folks would look into this man's background to see how much his claim is indicative of the false tone of victimhood of those who make the same claim. It only takes a little googling. For example, according to Right Wing Watch, in November of last year:

The Florida Family Policy Council announced today that it will host Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at its 2013 Annual Dinner. The FFPC is led by John Stemberger, the anti-gay activist who most recently helped launch a Boy Scouts splinter group that will ban openly gay youth, and the fundraiser will honor Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver.

 Stemberger and Staver are far outside of the mainstream, but with Rubio preparing for a possible presidential run in 2016 he may use this event, much like his speech at the Values Voter Summit, to soothe any doubts about his right-wing credentials. Stemberger previously chaired Florida for Marriage, which spearheaded the campaign to pass a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, and founded the anti-gay Boy Scout alternative Trail Life USA.

Stemberger has a long record of incendiary anti-gay rhetoric. He:

Claimed that being gay is an “artificial, social construct” that is “dangerous.”

Warned that the Boy Scouts will experience widespread sexual abuse as a result of including gay members under the age of eighteen.

Said that people are gay because they think it is “hip” and “cool.”

Alleged that affirming LGBT youth is “tantamount to abuse” and “an abuse to that child.”

And let's not forget Staver:

Mat Staver is the head of the Liberty University School of Law and its legal affiliate, Liberty Counsel, a sponsor of the Values Voter Summit. . . .  At a previous Values Voter Summit, Staver claimed that progressives are using LGBT rights and secular government in order to “ultimately implode America” and that the “agenda of the homosexual movement” is to destroy freedom and western civilization.

Through his role at Liberty Counsel, Staver has:

Argued that President Obama “does not respect America” and wants to intentionally cripple America so he can have global power and create his own personal army of Brownshirts.

Defended Malawi’s law criminalizing homosexuality and said U.S. opposition to criminalization was “immoral.”

Urged schools to prohibit students from holding a “Day of Silence” to protest anti-gay bullying and said teaching LGBT history in schools amounts to “sexual assault.”

Alleged that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will lead to child molestation, sexual assault, and even death and “harm women and children” if passed. 

The sad thing about all of this is not what was said, it's that the Beltway media will most likely exclude any talk of the circles Rubio runs with in their attempt to gain "access." 

In other news:

Don't fall for Sen. Rubio's fake cry for 'tolerance' in marriage equality debate

Sen Marco Rubio

One of the most transparent tactics opponents of marriage equality will attempt is to claim that supporters of marriage equality are intolerant of their opinion.

It's not only a transparent tactic but highly cynical. And apparently it's the tactic that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is attempting:

While Rubio has consistently held conservative positions on abortion and gay marriage, his current emphasis appears to be an effort to appeal to social conservatives who have yet to settle on a favored candidate for 2016. "Even before this speech is over, I will be attacked as someone who is a hater or a bigot," Rubio said.

  .. . In his remarks, Rubio acknowledged the United States has a history of discrimination against gays and lesbians. But he said he could not support such unions despite a quick-moving shift in public opinion in support of allowing same-sex couples to marry. "There is a growing intolerance on this issue," Rubio said of those who back same-sex marriages. He then urged his opponents to show civility: "Tolerance is also a two-way street."

No doubt, the folks at Fox News and members of the media who care more about attaining "access" than getting the story correct will fall for Rubio's junk.

But I agree with him that there needs to be civility on the issue. And let's start with addressing the following:

Staver: Gay Marriage Is 'A Direct Attack On Who God Is' 

 Klingenschmitt: Jesus Will Overrule The Supreme Court And Toss Gays Into Hell 

 Ben Carson Explains How Gay Marriage Is A Marxist Plot To Impose The 'New World Order'  

Barber: Gay Marriage Is 'The Brainchild' Of Satan 

 Renew America Pundit Warns Gay Marriage Will Turn Us Into Marxist Slaves 

If Sen. Rubio was honest with his cry for "tolerance," he would address those on his side of the argument with as much vigor as he attempts to place onus on us.

After all, we aren't the ones conjuring up images of Marxism, Satanism, or slavery. 

'Hobby Lobby fight divides lgbt leadership but the community can rescue it' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Fighting the religious right exacts a toll: How LGBT groups got secretly divided - So the Hobby Lobby decision is causing problems for lgbt groups. If you forgive this anonymous black Southern blogger for "not knowing his place," this situation is indicative of how lgbt groups (I love them so) are like the proverbial fox in the fable of the Fox and the Cat. So much intelligence, so many avenues to consider that they are losing sight of the one thing which MUST be stressed. This "religious liberty" argument is merely a tactic, like so many others from the right, which while seemingly innocent, is merely a covert way to sway the argument in their favor by playing the victim. Perhaps a first step in our fight back is to remind people of this because goodness knows there is a LOT of history of the right pretending to be martyrs in pursuit of their goals of marginalizing the lgbt community. Just a thought from the Underworld of lgbt activism.

Editor's note - I interrupt these news briefs because the last one just reminded me of a crucial bit of news. On the new web page, my booklet, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America, is merely 22 downloads away from hitting 1,000. I have never asked for money or donations on my blog in the seven plus years I have been in existence and I don't plan to. BUT I will ask that (if you haven't already) to either check out the new How They See Us web page and download the booklet or if you don't want to go through all of that, just click here to download the free adobe acrobat copy of How They See Us. And by all means, please send it to your friends, family, Congressional leaders, acquaintances, enemies, (I think you get the gist of what I am trying to say). Our problem as a people is that we fail to seize the argument. We fail to remind people of the true history and face of the anti-gay industry. That's a crucial reason why they have success with framing the argument of lgbt equality on their terms. I am hoping that my booklet, in its own way, can remind people of that face. I NEED you to make it a success. And again, remember I don't get ANY money for this. Equipping the lgbt community and our allies with what we need to fight the religious right is all the reward I need. One day, I may tell you all why I do this stuff. 

Okay, back to news briefs:

Social Conservatives Unload On Obama LGBT Order - So the religious right is angry at Obama for his recent lgbt executive order. I haven't been THIS shocked since Clay Aiken came out of the closet. 

Right-Wing Media Pretend Religious Liberty Protects Anti-LGBT Employment Discrimination - So the right wing media claims that the "free market" would solve the problem of anti-lgbt discrimination. Didn't they once say that about racial discrimination?

 An Open Letter to Former NFL Coach Tony Dungy - Tony Dungy catches flack for his absolutely stupid comments about Michael Sam.

Anti-gay spokesman - transgender women shouldn't go to church so they shouldn't use the ladies bathroom

When you are listening to this, keep remember that this man, Gordon Klingenschmitt, wants to be serve as a Colorado state representative:



 If you ask me, I think Klingenschmitt just "winged" that one off of the top of his head.


Hat tip to Right Wing Watch

'Former Coach Tony Dungy chooses the way of the coward about Michael Sam' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Former NFL Coach Tony Dungy Says He Wouldn't Have Drafted Michael Sam - Mr. Dungy, if you can take Michael Vick under your wing after his dogfighting conviction, you should have no problem with Michael Sam, who has done nothing wrong. I simply don't buy your "things will happen" explanation. No shit. Pioneers usually have to endure so others who come after them don't have to endure. But you would be in a perfect position to steer the situation. There is no either/or in this situation. You are either a guiding light or a coward.

The Malaysian Plane Crash May Be A Major Blow To AIDS Research - Even if it may not have, it's still a sad situation. Let's remember and pray for all involved.  

Regnerus Shoots His Own Foot - At this juncture, Mark Regnerus is simply a joke.

GLAAD co-chair on Huffington Post: 5 Things Not to Say to a Transgender Person (and 3 Things You Should) - Something we ALL should pay attention to. 

GOP Representative Goes From Christian Revival Meeting To Supporting Marriage Equality - Heck, let's have more meetings like this one!

Obama signs executive order, anti-gay right nail themselves to their crosses

Yesterday, President Obama signed an executive order expanding protections for lgbt federal workers and prohibits contractors dealing with the federal government from discriminating against lgbts. There were no religious exemptions.

It's not a total ENDA, but it will do for now.

However, to hear some members of the anti-gay right tell it, Obama just gave the go ahead to begin "anti-Christian" persecution across the country.

Matt Barber, no stranger to hysterical hyperbole, had this to say:

Here we have this president acting and ruling as the imperialist president – circumventing Congress, circumventing the separation of powers in order to force his radical, leftist agenda on the rest of America – and targeting and discriminating specifically against Christian companies in order to do so.

Not to be undone, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council reached waaaay back and brought up stereotypes about lgbts:

This order gives activists a license to challenge their employers and, expose those contracted employers to threats of costly legal proceedings and the potential of jeopardizing future contracts. The order further burdens contractors by stripping away their right to set dress and grooming standards. All this amounts to viewpoint blackmail and bullies into silence those contractors and subcontractors who have moral objections to homosexual behavior. 

In spite of the false weeping and portents of doom, what President Obama did was legal and very appropriate. And it shouldn't have to come through executive order.

It should be a given that if you have business with THIS country, you shouldn't be allowed to discriminate, period.

Anti-gay activist Matt Barber has FINALLY gone too far

No one has ever claimed that the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber has ever observed simple rules of good taste and decorum in his attacks on lgbt equality. However, it is extremely safe to say that the image below, accompanying his post on The Coming Christian Revolt goes way beyond anything - a rainbow flag superimposed behind a photo of African-American protestors being sprayed with water hoses during the Civil Rights Movement:

It's not only a personal insult to me as an lgbt but also an African-American that Barber would exploit what I consider sacred images in order to make a false point.

There will be no "coming Christian revolt," Mr. Barber because no Christian in this country is being discriminated against. Being told to treat everyone the same is not discrimination.  Providing goods and services to people whose taxes pay for the safety of your business is not discrimination.

Your disagreement with the fact that lgbts should have the same rights as heterosexuals is just that - YOUR disagreement. You have a right to believe that, but you don't have a right to codify it into law, particularly if your codification involves junk science, cherry-picked science, or out-and-out lies.

You are not entitled to anything, Mr. Barber. If you are, please educate me. And by all means, please tell me how the elimination of your entitlements ranks next to being denied the right to vote, segregation, lynching, being called "boy" or "gal" as a deliberate sign of disrespect. And if that's too difficult for you, then answer me this:

'Religious liberty' the latest buzzword for homophobia

The more I think of this bogus argument of  "religious liberty" or "religious freedom," the more angry I become about how the entire debate is being conducted with no perspective. "Religious liberty" is merely a new anti-gay buzzword. It is the latest in a long line of concepts and claims used to justify anti-gay animus and discrimination.  It's nothing new and it shouldn't be debated as if it is a new concept. Allow me to elucidate with the use of words and visuals from various anti-gay spokespeople in debates throughout the years:

1970s: Gays are pedophiles - "As a mother I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children. Therefore, they must recruit our children." - Anita Bryant

1980s - The AIDS crisis  ''The poor homosexuals -- they have declared war upon nature, and now nature is extracting an awful retribution.'' - columnist and Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan

1990s: Gays in the Military -  "Homosexuals are a very unstable group . . . They are restless in their contacts, lonely, jealous, and neurotic depressive. As a category of people, homosexuals have a greater indiscipline problem than heterosexuals . . ." - Robert (Bob) McGinnis, columnist, present employee with the Family Research Council

 

2000s: Marriage Equality - "Same-sex unions are not marriages. Political regimes based on lies about human nature cannot last. Same-sex marriage takes a sacred institution, with deep roots in human nature, and tries to turn it into the plaything of politicians, a creature of the state, a bundle of rights to be tossed about between adults. Something so feebly rooted, so fragilely constructed and imposed cannot last." - Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage

2010s:  Religious liberty - “I’m beginning to think, are re-education camps next? When are they going to start rolling out the boxcars to start hauling off Christians?” - Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council

NOM's best argument against marriage equality is just TOO sad

Thank you everyone for having patience with me and my lack of posts due to my attendance at Netroots Nation. I should also tell you that I have been "going through it" with other matters so this particular trip was a figurative "fire baptism" of all sorts of problems including a lost I.D., a mistaken canceled prescription, and a break down.

It's not all bad though. Due to my personal issues, I have approached by producers to star in a  new production of Bette Midler's The Rose.

Seriously, please bear with me as I continue to post intermediately about several things.

Today, thanks to Jeremy Hooper, I caught attention to a pitiful argument by your - and mine - favorite organization, NOM.  If one wonders why anti-marriage equality forces are losing in the courts (and now in Oklahoma), consider the fact that this is probably their strongest argument:

Okay. In the face of the couples harmed by not having marriage equality, stand up in a court room and make THAT argument.

If the judge begins laughing, those that mean it's okay for others to laugh, too?

Lgbts 'bossing around' Bryan Fischer is just giving him FITS!

Knee deep in the middle of sessions at Netroot Nations, I wasn't going to post until later day.

But Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association is one of the only people who can divert me momentarily from the sessions. Fischer is pitching a hissy fit because he is so tired of lgbts of "bossing him around:"

According to a survey released by the Centers for Disease Control today, less than three percent of the US population identifies as gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual, which prompted Bryan Fischer to declare that it is bizarre that American society has allowed itself to be forced into accepting homosexuality by a "tiny little minority" of belligerent, intolerant bullies.

 "They are belligerent, they are intolerant, they are bullies," Fischer declared, "and we have been meekly capitulating to this tiny little cluster of belligerent bullies now for a couple of decades and it's time that we stop with all of that!"

Fischer says Christians need to stand up and declare that they will not accept this "sexual deviancy" by urging gays "to turn yourself over to God." "It's almost comical," he continued, "that we have allowed these people to have so much power in our culture where they can force their deviant lifestyle into the public sphere and compel so many sectors of society to recognize this and to celebrate it as some kind of normal lifestyle":

Is this fool for real? Fischer accusing lgbts of being "intolerant belligerent bullies," is like Satan kicking a lesser demon out of hell for being too mean to the "inmates."

In other words:



To put it Fischer's hypocrisy in even simpler tones:

'Group planning 40-day fast against marriage equality' & other Monday midday news briefs

Editor's note - beginning tomorrow, my postings will less on schedule than usual due to my attending the Netroots Nation conferences. But I will have things up, so please check back now and then when you can.

Christian Group Plans 40-Day Fast Against Marriage Equality - Oh for Pete's sake! I am not against this sort of thing (Gandhi would fast for a cause) but don't you think that fasting so that lgbts and their families don't receive rights defeats the noble notion of the practice?

  The Woman Who Helped Change How Police Treat Transgender People - A genuine hero gets her due.

 Former Congresswoman Apologizes For Requesting Religious Exemption From LGBT Protections - Fine. Just don't let it happen again.

 Comic book icon Archie to be killed off while protecting gay friend - Sorry but I simply DO NOT agree with this. 

 Will criminalization of HIV transmission hinder or help prevention efforts? - And Uganda shoots itself in the foot with its homophobia.

The new anti-gay argument - marriage equality will lead to incest

Just preparing folks for the newest anti-marriage equality argument that you will most likely hear:

An Australian judge will be investigated for his "appalling" comments on incest, in which he reportedly said sex between siblings was gaining social acceptance just like homosexuality, authorities said on Friday.

New South Wales state Attorney General Brad Hazzard said he was "extremely concerned" about District Court judge Garry Neilson's alleged comments in a case where a man was accused of repeatedly raping his younger sister, which were reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"In my view the community would be rightly appalled at his reported comments," Hazzard said in a statement.

"Incest is completely reprehensible, unacceptable, disgusting and criminal." 

Neilson was quoted as saying communities might no longer see sex between siblings as "unnatural" or "taboo", likening a change in mindsets to how homosexuality was now socially accepted despite being criminalised in the past. 

That last sentence (highlighted by me) is what unfortunately connects this awful situation to us. I have already read references to it on many anti-gay sites and more are sure to follow.

Granted, the case has nothing to do with lgbts or our fight or marriage equality, except for in the mind of one foreign judge.

But to a crop of desperate anti-gay groups and spokespeople who have been on the losing end of the marriage equality fight for quite a while now, any case or offhand quote coming from the case is fodder.

'Brian Brown reduced to sad anti-gay conspiracy theories on twitter' & other Friday midday news briefs

Poor Brian Brown of NOM. To paraphrase Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show, "we are beginning to get to him."

I have never seen Brown answer back on twitter until this morning but it was both a treat and tragedy to see him attempt to defend the discredited Regnerus study by claiming that some of its challengers (the 200 researchers who signed a letter against it, the American Sociological Association, and the Michigan federal judge who ruled for marriage equality in that state) of being motivated by politics:

.@NOMupdate …disgraced. All of the prominent people know what #Regnerus did & why he did it. http://t.co/gDl37bn8Wr pic.twitter.com/zqia9bWYCM
— Memeographs (@memeographs) July 10, 2014

@briansbrown @memeographs 200 researchers, the American Sociological Association, a Michigan federal judge. Any questions?. #Regnerus
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) July 11, 2014

RT @holybullies: Yes! I suppose the Michigan federal judge and the American Sociological Association were ruled by politics.
— Brian S. Brown (@briansbrown) July 11, 2014

Conspiracy theories - the last refuge of a scoundrel.

In other news:

Photographer to Matt Barber's website: Stop using my copyrighted image or face lawsuit - Looks like Matt Barber is caught being tacky again. Strange what homophobia does to someone.

Watch A Child Dismantle Fox's Panic Over Gender-Neutral Restrooms - When a child can your homophobic argument, that should be a signal to you. But we are talking about Fox News here.

Hobby Lobby Wants To Control Which Bathroom A Transgender Woman Can Use, Too - But ... but religious liberty . . .

Obama Is 'Obsessed' With Homosexuality, According To Peter LaBarbera - 'Porno Pete' LaBarbera claims that President Obama is 'obsessed' with homosexuality. Let that sink in for a while . . .

Inside the American Family Association, an anti-gay hate group

Bryan Fischer of the AFA

Anna Wolfe of the Jackson Free Press has written a very good article on the anti-gay group, The American Family Association. While not "hard-hitting," one could hardly call her article one that panders to the group. In her own style, Wolfe shows how disturbingly vast the AFA empire is (over $20 million a year), how it wages war on lgbts and businesses who support lgbts, and how potentially disconcerting AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer is even to his co-workers:

Fischer, AFA's director of issue analysis for government and public policy, stands by the accusation that local businesses who display the anti-discrimination stickers are bullying Christians. "Apparently, you have a little bit of difficulty grasping the concept that this is what the gay lobby is really all about," Fischer says in a matter-of-fact tone. Fischer speaks with a deep, kind of gargled voice and, sitting at the Jackson Free Press with the receiver to my ear, I can picture his sagged, slightly artificially tanned-looking face. (Maybe it's just the contrast to his bright white hair). His condescension in speaking to a young female reporter is emblematic of AFA's overall tone and image toward anyone the group feels is standing in its way of promoting biblical ideals through condemnation of the LGBT community. This isn't just how AFA officers speak with reporters, but through its press releases and all communication with the

 . . . Fischer, nonetheless, said in an AFA blog post that when it comes to discrimination, "[I]t's time for conservatives to unhesitatingly reclaim the "D" word, dust it off, and use it without apology. A rational culture that cares about its people will in fact discriminate against adultery, pedophilia, rape, bestiality, and, yes, homosexual behavior."

 . . . Fischer admits that religious conscience is personal and depends entirely on individual experience, saying, "His conscience and his standards may be different than the baker down the street."

That is certainly true for Mitchell Moore, the owner of Jackson's Campbell's Bakery. He is a heterosexual, a Christian and a Republican who does not consider same-sex marriage offensive to his religious beliefs.

In May, AFA publicly attacked a campaign Moore helped start in Jackson in opposition to SB 2681. The campaign urged business owners to post stickers reading "If You're Buying, We're Selling" in their windows to ensure customers know they will not discriminate, drawing national attention and requests for stickers from around the country.

In response to the effort, Fischer tells me that gay activists, whom he assumes are responsible for the stickers, are the "most intolerant bullies and bigots on the block."

Since the religious-freedom bill received flack just as the failed Arizona RFRA did, Mississippi business owners including Moore and Eddie Outlaw of William Wallace Salon—both occasional Jackson Free Press columnists—started the sticker campaign to demonstrate their and other businesses' aim to serve everybody. (Outlaw is gay and married his husband, Justin, in California last year.)

The AFA is unhappy about that, saying the campaign illustrates the "homosexual agenda" the AFA is hell-bent on destroying. It sent out alerts to supporters, claiming that the campaign displays hatred toward Christians, despite the fact that Moore is a straight, Christian conservative.

Fox News gives misinformation on the First Amendment to smear lgbts

It's not that the folks on Fox News don't know what they are talking about. They know exactly what they are doing. If you ever look at Fox & Friends, take a look at how many times the hosts look down at the notes in front of them.

I would kill to know what those notes are telling them to say.

From Equality Matters:

On July 10, Fox News host Steve Doocy interviewed Jason and David Benham while an on-screen graphic declared they had been "fired for faith." Doocy argued, "You were fired for having an opinion. I mean, there's this thing called the First Amendment where people are entitled to their opinion and their Christian beliefs as well."

But the First Amendment does not protect individuals from being fired by private employers, as it does not limit the actions that private employers may take based on employees' speech. The First Amendment Center explained:

The First Amendment does not limit private employers. The Bill of Rights -- and the First Amendment -- limit only government actors, not private actors. This means that private employers can restrict employee speech in the workplace without running afoul of the First Amendment.

HGTV did not violate the First Amendment rights of the Benhams by dropping their show. As Columbia Law's Suzanne Goldberg pointed out in an interview with CNN, it was most likely a decision to protect the business' brand following widespread outcry against the Benhams' comments. Even David Benham told CNN that he does not hold a grudge against the network, telling Erin Burnett, "It was too much for them to bear and they had to make a business decision."

 

'Another judge destroys anti-marriage equality arguments' & other Thurs. midday news briefs

The one where Regnerus, most criticized researcher in recent memory, criticizes others' research - And the pathetic attempt to rehash Mark Regnerus and his discredited anti-gay study continues. 

5 Ways A Colorado Judge Destroyed Conservatives’ Arguments Against Marriage Equality - But the right will continue to push these points. The only thing we can do is continue to strengthen the brick wall they keep smashing themselves into.  

Is 'Orange is the New Black''s Laverne Cox the First Trans Person To Get an Emmy Nomination? - Just in case you didn't hear, Laverne Cox received an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy. Sweet!

  The Legacy of the Hobby Lobby Case: Protecting Anti-Gay Discrimination? - Bring it on, bitches.

 Police arrest five Ugandans, accuse them of trying to turn kids gay - What America has created . . . 
 
Obama’s Evangelical Gravy Train - . . . it can't kill. Why is the Obama Administration still funding overseas anti-gay groups and other organizations giving out inaccurate information on HIV and pregnancy.

Anti-gay group attempts to trick Pride attendees into 'converting'

During a recent pride event in Minnesota, an evangelical group attempted  to infiltrate in an attempt to "bring lgbts to Jesus:"



Like the video said, the group, Trinity Works, was bragging about its so-called victory on Facebook, claiming to have "converted" 80 people. While there is no way to verify this, according to Andy Birkey of The Colu.mn (a statewide lgbt publication), the group was engaging in some tactics which can be seen as highly un-Christian:

Trinity Works’ tactics were indeed deceptive. When TheColu.mn approached the evangelical outreach teams, they refused to acknowledge Trinity Works or the mission to encourage LGBT people to leave “the lifestyle.”

Some of the outreach workers posed as medics and evangelized to people who sought assistance. The Trinity Works group created fliers to mimic those being handed out by OutFront to warn the community about the groups efforts to evangelize.

Outfront also notes that Trinity Works’ outreach workers appeared to have started wearing coral colored shirts to mimic OutFront Minnesota support team members in an attempt to confuse Pride attendees.

Trinity Works held a corn feed at 11th Street and Hennepin Avenue along the Pride parade route. According to OutFront, the support team had to counsel dozens who mistakenly thought it was part of Pride activities.“Pride-goers who went in, assuming it was LGBTQ-friendly, were surrounded by Trinity works people who said they would burn in hell because of their sexual orientation,” OutFront’s Monica Meyer said in a statement.

Surprising? No. Outrageous? You better believe it.

How come I never get approached at Pride by folks like that? I got some choice words for them that I haven't used in YEARS.

'Family Research Council's persecution list is laughably pathetic' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Tony Perkins' Christian-Persecution Report Highlights Persecution of Tony Perkins - The Family Research Council not only embarrasses itself this time, but also minimizes the terrible practice of persecution via a silly report featuring anecdotes of what the organization deems is "the persecution of Christians in America." According to Miranda Blue of Right Wing Watch:

Some anecdotes highlighted in the report are troubling incidents that FRC admits were later rectified. Others are incidents that we might not all count as examples of religious hostility — for instance Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean being “mocked and ridiculed” for her answer to a question on same-sex marriage in 2009.

Still others are stories of dubious accuracy — for instance, the story of a girl in Florida supposedly punished for praying at school, who just so happened to be the daughter of the man in charge of promoting Todd Starnes’ book on Christian persecution.

And then there was this:

Minister’s Invitation to National Prayer Luncheon Revoked because of His Comments on Homosexuality in the Military – February 2010*

 An ordained minister and Marine Corps veteran was punished for speaking out on a topic unrelated to his planned comments at the National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington, D.C. The minister criticized President Obama’s call to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, resulting in his invitation to speak at the National Prayer Luncheon being rescinded. The minister criticized the action as “black-listing” to suppress unwanted viewpoints.

Who is this unnamed minister who was disinvited from the National Prayer Luncheon? He wasn’t just a minister who had criticized “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal. He was none other than the Family Research Council’s own president Tony Perkins.

OMG! Tony Perkins was "persecuted!" Let's make him a saint! Modesty and good taste keeps me from saying just of what. Personally, I wouldn't invite Perkins to give the eulogy at the funeral of my pet dog. But that's just me.

In other news:

Religious Right Denies Claim Evangelicals Embracing Same-Sex Marriage – With A Regnerus Study - Guys, the Regnerus study is DEAD. It is a rotting corpse. But if you insist on bringing it up, then the lgbt community will just have to remind everyone of why it died a deservedly nasty death. 

Six LGBT groups: No you can't refuse our cake and fire the gay baker too! - In which the religious right actually does us a favor. This version of ENDA was tainted from the start and thanks to Hobby Lobby, it is done for. 

 Russian MP: Naked Apollo on Banknote Threatens Children - Well now in Greek mythology, Apollo WAS a freak. It could have been worse though. His father, Zeus, could have been on the bank note and Zeus was a Super freak. Who do you think Rick James was talking about? The god messed with any and everything and loved to do so with disguises. A shower of gold, a bull, an ant, a cuckoo bird, a swan. . . .  Talk about your strange imaginations.

The anti-gay mind is a stupid mind

Of course we know that many anti-gay spokespeople freely lie and demonize the lgbt community, but have you ever heard their rationalization for their behavior?

Here are two examples, courtesy of Right Wing Watch. The first is from Robert Reilly, an author of a new anti-gay book (which I refuse to mention) on a radio show with Jesse Lee Peterson. They both agree that lgbts are so "full of guilt" that we act out:

For the record, as a gay man I haven't done anything I should feel "guilty" about in over a year. And I say that with the utmost sorrow. Now the second clip is the Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver at a recent "celebrate America" event. Staver proceeds to explain how "sexual sin" is worse than other sins in a word salad so convoluted that Sarah Palin was calling him for tips:



It's a good thing that Staver doesn't feel the same about lying as he does about "sexual sin." Otherwise, he would be in enormous trouble.

Anti-gay groups chomping at the bit to limit lgbt equality after 'Hobby Lobby'

Well it's like I always say - never say a war is over until the other side totally and completely surrenders. It looks like the Hobby Lobby decision is giving the religious right encouragement to get crazy.  Let's get ready to fight and fight hard. These folks will go overboard. They always do.

From Talking Points Memo:

Religious leaders in Kansas view the U.S. Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision last week as an opportunity to revive legislation that would protect their "religious freedom" -- measures that gay rights advocates warn would legitimize discrimination against LGBT people.

The Associated Press reported this weekend that social conservatives believe they have an opening to bring the state's religious freedom bill back in 2015. The legislation failed this spring; it passed the House, but stalled in the Senate after significant backlash from business groups. It would have prevented businesses from being sued if they refused to serve LGBT people for religious reasons.

"We are not going to let it die. We are very committed," Rev. Terry Fox, a leading Southern Baptist minister, told the AP. "The Body of Christ is a powerful movement when it comes together."

 . . . Gay rights advocates don't seem to be fretting yet. First, they see the Hobby Lobby decision, and Kennedy in particular, on their side. Second, the forces that doomed the Arizona and Kansas bills -- namely, the business community -- are still in place. They aren't surprised by the renewed push in Kansas, but they don't believe it poses a danger to their cause.

 . . . 

'Conservatives trying to fix anti-gay study's credibility problem' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Without his bad magic, there wouldn't have been a 'Mark Regnerus witch-hunt' - Family Research Council's sad attempt to rewrite history about Mark Regenerus's discredited study on same-sex families was just a prelude. According to Jeremy Hooper, right-wing big wig magazine National Review is getting in on the act. Both are pushing the same false theme, i.e. Regnerus was the victim of a "witch-hunt." Well they get points for audacity, that's for sure. But it would be best for the lgbt community to take this seriously instead of laughing this off. It's an insane plan for sure but the difference between insane plans and clever plans is the rate of success. We got the facts on our side (goodness knows I've stated them enough times) about the Regnerus study and since the opposition likes to use the metaphor of us "ramming things down their throats" (figuratively of course), let's indulge them with the facts about Regnerus's discredited study until they upchuck. 

No, JPMorgan Chase Doesn't Have An "LGBT Loyalty Test" For Employees - Speaking of which, this lie has been heavily pushed via right-wing circles. Thank you, Equality Matters for refuting it.  

Same-sex marriage in the UK: A look at how far we’ve come - Not bad. Not bad at all.  

Uganda On Their Anti-Gay Legislation: It Was All For The Children - Anita Bryant's lie will NEVER die it seems.

  Todd Starnes Warns Of Anti-Duck Dynasty Violence, Links Same-Sex Marriage To Healthy Food Initiatives - Todd Starnes -  just trying to "get paid."