'Iowa legislator on witch hunt against lgbt youth group' & other Fri midday news briefs

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NOM's Brian Brown - use religious liberty laws to undermine marriage equality

Brian Brown

Supporters of religious liberty laws contend that these laws protect the businesses, livelihoods, and integrity of Christians by keeping them from facing possible legal consequences of discriminating against married gay couples.

However, some of us believe that these laws have a more sinister purpose than merely "protecting Christians," and thanks to National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown, we have a bit of confirmation about this.

Where else but yesterday at the World Congress of Families (i.e. Legion of Homophobia) conference did Brown put his foot in his mouth.

From Right Wing Watch:

Brian Brown from the National Organization for Marriage followed (Cathy) Ruse (of the Family Research Council) and matched her tone of defiance against “our unelected masters.” The Supreme Court didn’t change the definition of marriage, he said, it “put a lie into the law” — just like slavery and the Dred Scott decision. Brown said that there’s no time for activists to be depressed. Citing the history of Christian martyrs, abolitionists and civil rights activists, he mocked people who don’t want to take a stand because some of their Facebook friends might say mean things about them.

“Instead of being depressed, we should savor the fact that we live at a point in history, like those times before, in which we can stand for the truth, make a difference, and God has put us here for some reason. This fight is not over. It has just begun.” 

 Brown proposed four goals for the anti-marriage-equality movement:

Affirm continually and publicly that marriage is by nature a union of a man and a woman.

 Reject the Supreme Court’s decision as illegitimate

Overturn the decision, perhaps through decades of struggle or perhaps with new Supreme Court justices appointed by a Republican president elected in 2016

Contain the damage in the meanwhile by passing laws that allow public officials and businesspeople to refuse to have anything to do with gay couples’ marriages.

Brown's goals are laughable, but number four is the one we should pay attention to because it confirms all of the negatives lgbts and allies have been saying about religious liberty laws.

Religious liberty laws are not about protecting faith. Faith has nothing to do with it but be a diversionary ploy. When you strip the diversion away, you are left with the same message segregation gave African-Americans, i.e. that they are inferior and have no right to dignity.

By that same token, religious liberty laws are not to designed to keep a bakery or a flower shop from participating in something that's against the owners' faith.  Rather, these laws are designed to send a message to gay couples that their marriage is and will always be inferior or nonexistent in the eyes of some people.  Now anyone can have this personal opinion about marriage equality, but attempts to enshrine this nastiness by way of law is just plain wrong.

And exploiting faith to undermine any couple's love and legal rights is simply ugly.

'Peter LaBarbera admits anti-gay movement sees him as a liability' & other Thur midday news briefs

LaBarbera

Peter LaBarbera Laments That He's Too 'Anti-Gay' For Rest Of The Politically Correct Anti-Gay Movement - I've heard rumors about this for a long time and now "Porno Pete" just confirmed it. To a movement attempting to drift away from blatant homophobia and a direct reliance on junk science and cherry-picked science to  very false portrayals of "persecuted Christian family advocate victims," activists like LaBarbera are now liabilities. Much like racists claimed not to be "anti-black, but pro-white," the anti-gay industry is now claiming that they aren't "anti-gay, but pro-family," but LaBarberas of that bunch are helping to ruin the game because they are too stubborn to change or move out of the way." Stand your ground, "Porno Pete!" 

Dear Ben Carson: Actually, You Are a 'Homophobe' If You're Opposed to Marriage Equality Now - An answer to Ben Carson's mea culpa that the lgbt community has heard SO MANY TIMES from anti-gay folks.  

Spotted: Ben Carson’s PAC Joins Anti-LGBT World Congress of Families Conference - And then there is this teaming up with the "Legion of Homophobia" which NO ONE in the media will probably EVER ask him about.

 Wherever does Robert George find the time to do anything for Princeton University? - Speaking of well connected anti-lgbt groups and personalities, while we fix too much attention on public faces, people like Robert George are building nasty alliances behind the scenes. We need to pay attention to stuff like this.

Lesbian Couple Files Lawsuit After Hawaii Cop Arrested Them For Kissing - Not the last we will be hearing of this case.

GOP presidential candidate's father - LGBTs want to legalize pedophilia

Who else but Rafael Cruz, father of Sen. Ted Cruz:



The above video comes from the duo efforts of Right Wing Watch and Political Research Associates:

Ted Cruz’s father and campaign surrogate Rafael Cruz addressed today’s convening of the anti-LGBT World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City, where he told one attendee following his remarks that one of the goals of the LGBT community is to legalize pedophilia. The elder Cruz, who has previously claimed that gay members of the Boy Scots are “potential sexual predators” and criticized gay rights as a demonic, dangerous and anti-American agenda, said in a video posted by Political Research Associates that “the thing that they’re going to push is to try to legalize pedophilia.” He made the comments while speaking to J. Lester Feder of BuzzFeed News, who asked him about similar statements he had made linking the gay rights movement to pedophilia earlier that day. When the questioner asked if he thought “the LGBT community is going to push that,” Cruz replied, “Yes I believe so.” PRA told us that the question initially posed to Cruz was: “During the panel, several speakers alluded to a connection between LGBT people and pedophilia. Do you think that’s true?” 

And it gets better. According to Feder, WCF attempted to distance itself from Cruz's statements:

 In a statement, Janice Shaw Crouse, the executive director for the World Congress for Families IX, distanced the organization from Cruz’s remarks, writing, “While Pastor Cruz’s remarks may represent his opinions, they are not those of the World Congress of Families. Collectively, the World Congress of Families’ agenda advocates for life and the natural family in a civil, constructive and transparent way.”

The grand irony of this incident is that yesterday, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and FRC spokesman Peter Sprigg were claiming that lgbts want to "silence" the WCF conference.

Are they kidding? I haven't had this much fun spotlighting the anti-gay right in a long time. Let them talk some more.

'Flashes of truth plague anti-gay conference' & other Wed midday news briefs

Another truth bomb from yesterday's session of the anti-gay World Congress of Families (i.e. Legion of Homophobia) conference courtesy of  Brian "The Weasel" Camenker from the anti-gay hate group Mass Resistance. When I'm done, WCF are going to be so sorry they invited him to speak.  

Meet The Anti-Gay Foundation Behind The Utah World Congress Of Families - Surprise! The World Congress of Families receives funding from the same source which paid for the discredited Regnerus study. If I had no scruples, I would declare that I am in the wrong business. Yes, I'm on the right side of history, but this queen has a fascination with faux fur coats and those suckers don't come free. 

Editor's note - The Human Rights Campaign has an entire page devoted to WCF. Check it out. 

 Utah Agrees To Pay $24,000 To Same-Sex Couple It Denied A Joint Birth Certificate - Give it up! Turn it loose!

 Justice Kennedy: Public officials who refuse to follow the law should resign - That means you, Kim Davis! 

 Former Major League Baseball Player Brags He Paid Investigators So He Could Blackmail Gay Umpires - Put this fool UNDER the jail!

World Congress of Families conference participant - It's okay to insult and degrade the gay community

The World Congress of Families, a "supergroup" of anti-gay organizations who are attempting to globalize homophobia (which is why I call them the "Legion of Homophobia") is having their ninth conference in Utah even as I write this.

Thank goodness I don't have to cover it. I'm very thankful for sites like Right Wing Watch for having the stamina to deal with these idiots.

Thus far the conference is sparsely attended by the same anti-gay participants collecting the same big paychecks by repeating the same junk they have repeated for pver the past decade. I especially despise the "love the sinner, but hate the sin"  self-righteousness they attempt to push

But through every veil of nonsense always comes a degree of truth in terms of how these folks feel about us. In this case, we should point to Brian Camenker of the anti-gay hate group Mass Resistance for providing it when he says it is okay to be insulting and degrading to lgbts.

I had the "luck" of meeting Camenker publicly once and just so you know, he is more weaselly looking and acting in person.

To paraphrase "Star Wars," we will be observing his homophobia this week with much interest.

For more about the WCF conference, see Right Wing Watch.

The anti-gay right and their exploitation of children

As many of you already know, I am working on an update of my 2013 online booklet, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America.

I had wanted How They See Us to be a booklet that anyone could pick up and begin to understand the inner workings of anti-lgbt propaganda. I'm of the opinion that our community and leaders have not fully done the right job of educating the masses (instead of our cliques and circles who seem to approach this material with an annoying jadedness) as to what exactly is anti-gay propaganda and how do the purveyors of this propaganda exploit people of faith.

I think I accomplished just a little of this. My booklet was a huge smash with over 50,000 hits and downloads. With this update, I hope to excise some things, add new things, and in general talk about marriage equality and the religious liberty farce.  I'm not going for shock with this update, but I don't intend to hold anything back. I make NO promises that I won't offend some folks on our side of the spectrum with some of the images I will show. Nothing violent, mind you. But I want a reaction. Anything which can yank some of us out of our apathy about anti-lgbt propaganda.

Don't worry regarding Kim Davis. I'm trying not to include much of her because we've seen enough of THAT woman already. However, one thing we haven't talked about enough is how anti-gay groups, personalities, and their supporters exploit people's fear of lgbts around children. That's one subject we really need to discuss because the hallmark and center of almost every anti-lgbt campaign is the lie that gays want to recruit, indoctrinate, have sex with, or basically harm kids.

One of the additions to the update will be an entire page devoted to images over the years of this  lie. Below are just a few of the images I will be presenting, as well as some words of truth from an anti-lgbt leader himself about how the folks on his side are clearly lying. But I won't tell you about those words. Just look at the images. Even in rough draft form, they make me ill. And about that last image from the Equality Ordinance fight in Houston? The image which demonizes the transgender community? Oh, it will be used.

 

'Gay comedian of color talks about lack of diversity in comedy' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Funny Is Funny: Homophobia, Misogyny and the Lack of Diversity in Comedy - My favorite lgbt comedian, Sampson, makes it on the front page of Huffington Post Gay Voices!

Court sides with transgender widow in fight over estate - Wonderful!

Someone Needs To Tell These Struggling Guys That Being Gay Is Amazing - So many of us have been at this point when we needed some assurance.

 New Law Would Make It Illegal To Come Out As Gay In Russia - Just a mess and check out my last post to see who is helping to foster this junk.

World Congress of Families spreads homophobia on a global scale

As the anti-gay World  Congress of Families (or as I call them, the Legion of Homophobia) is set to begin their "conference" in Utah today, the following video shows just how damage it has done to the livelihood of the global lgbt community thus far:

'Legion of Homophobia' hate group looks to criminalize gays on global scale

This group is DEADLY to the lgbt community

I've said it before and I will say it again. Homophobia is more insidious than a bunch of idiots saying ridiculously anti-gay things. There is a movement afoot to enshrine anti-gay policies on a global scale. I've talked about the World Congress of Families and the groups which are a part of it on several occasions recently.  I refer to WCF as the "Legion of Homophobia" and based on the Media Matters report on a conference it will be having beginning tomorrow, WCF more than earns my moniker:

On October 27, mainstream political figures, members of right-wing media, and domestic and foreign anti-LGBT extremists will gather in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the World Congress of Families' (WCF) ninth international gathering. While the World Congress of Families bills itself as a global coalition of "pro-family" organizations, it has deep ties to extremist anti-LGBT movements abroad, and its gathering will serve as a meeting point for well-known US anti-gay extremists to interact with mainstream US politicians and conservative media figures, along with international anti-LGBT activists who support efforts to criminalize homosexuality. 


WCF Describes Itself As A "Pro-Family" International Alliance.  From the group's website:

Organized by the Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, the World Congress of Families was founded by Dr. Allan Carlson in 1995 as a pro-family advocacy group and a way to forge an international alliance of organizations of goodwill which celebrate and affirm the natural family as the fundamental unit of society. We now have 42 organizations in 14 countries, on five continents, affiliated with us as Partners and work with pro-family leaders in more than 80 countries. [World Congress of Families, accessed 10/6/15]

WCF Is Based In The US, And Its Entire Board Is American. [Human Rights Campaign, July 2015]

WCF Has Been Identified As An Anti-Gay "Hate-Group." In February 2014, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) added WCF to its list of anti-gay hate groups. SPLC designates certain anti-gay organizations as hate groups based on their "propagation of known falsehoods" and "groundless name-calling" about LGBT people. [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 10/21/15; Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 9/10/15]


WCF's Anti-LGBT Activism Has Been Linked To Russia's Wave Of Extreme Anti-Gay Legislation. WCF's work in Russia has been attributed to the country's rise in anti-LGBT legislation, most notably the controversial anti-gay "propaganda" law passed in 2013.

 WCF Has Also Been Linked To A Rise In Anti-LGBT Sentiments And Legislation In Africa. WCF's Nigerian coordinator, Theresa Okafor, has been influential in advancing anti-LGBT legislation in Nigeria and Uganda.

'VIDEO - SC Pride rocks the Carolinas in a good way' & other Mon midday news briefs

SC pride festival brings hundreds to Main street - Gotta brag on my people. South Carolina Pride happened last week and the festival Saturday was "off da chain" as usual. It's amazingly sad how much progress us Southern lgbts can make happen, yet we get ignored until an anti-gay character shows his or her figurative ass.

Letter to the Editor: Daily Gamecock Pride article offensive, unacceptable - Unfortunately there was ONE minor thing needing to be taken care of. Sometimes journalists have to be corrected when it comes to telling our stories. 

 How Hillary Clinton's and Bernie Sanders' DOMA Revisionism Harms LGBT Rights - Love 'em both but they have to come correctly about lgbt history. That being said, I still got my mind on the big picture and my shoulder to the grindstone when it comes to 2016.  

POLAND: Anti-LGBT Right Wing Party Takes Parliament - Because, as you can see, it don't look good for us in some areas of the world. 

 Texans Owner Demands Houston’s LGBT Opponents Refund His $10,000 Contribution - Just in case you aren't aware, THIS wonderful incident happened over the weekend.

  New Anti-Gay Initiatives In Europe Backed By American Religious Right - Meanwhile, the "Legion of Homophobia" continues its work. If doesn't prove that lgbtq equality is a global struggle, nothing else will.

Anti-gay hate group leader tweets to remind me how much he despises me

Austin Ruse

Austin Ruse is the president of Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam), a religious group which purports "to defend life and family at international institutions and to publicize the debate."

That's a fancy way of saying that C-Fam is an anti-gay group working to push homophobia on a worldwide scale. It is considered to be an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ruse has a very public role with C-Fam:

 Ruse -- C-Fam’s most visible spokesman -- has made many inflammatory statements over the years, including a claim that a priest from the Holy See delegation at the UN guaranteed him absolution if he “took [Hilary Clinton] out -- and not on a date.” . . . He has also publicly voiced support for Russia’s draconian anti-LGBT laws and called “‘the homosexual lifestyle’ harmful to public health and morals.”

 According to Right-Wing Watch, the organization had a HUGE role in endangering the rights and lives of lgbts in Africa and Russia with its rhetoric and approval of lgbt persecution in those areas.

C-Fam is also a part of The World Congress of Families, a "supergroup" of various American anti-gay organizations. It's a group which I today dubbed the "Legion of Homophobia."

As you can see above, Ruse isn't exactly a good friend of mine. He blocked me after an incident last year in which I helped certain comments of his to go viral, thereby causing him much humiliation and scorn.

Hey, it's not my fault. It's not like I used powers of mind control to make Ruse say that “the hard left, human-hating people that run modern universities” should “all be taken out and shot.”

But, since he made the comment, I felt it was my job to put him on blast. After which, he canceled his twitter account.  Naturally when he came back, I was on the top of his hate list.

For some reason tonight, though, Ruse took it upon himself to remind me that he still bears his grudge. Maybe that "Legion of Homophobia" comment caught his ear and his goat.

Whatever the case, I'm so touched that Ruse has been thinking about me.

 It make my heart swell to know that common people still care.

UPDATE: Apparently Ruse has been sending other unsolicited tweets to other lgbt activists via twitter. That bitch! I thought I was special. Ain't that JUST like a man!! LOL

'Subtle attacks on transgender men, The Legion of Homophobia' & other Fri. midday news briefs

Opponents Of LGBT Protections Are Clueless About Transgender Men - Zack Ford points out that when transgender women are portrayed as "predators," transgender men are generally portrayed as invisible. 

World Congress of Families Culture Warriors Battle Repro, LGBT Rights In Europe With Help From US Friends - More about how a "supergroup" of anti-lgbt organizations are taking the war against women and lgbts overseas. I said the World Congress of Families are like a JLA of homophobia. I take that back. The acronym JLA has the word "justice" in it and there is NOTHING "just" about this vile group. I will now refer to the World Congress of Families as "The Legion of Homophobia."  

Muslim caller to radio show host: Gay people should all die - This fool DOES NOT represent all Muslims. Remember that.  

Florida Lawmaker Proposes Expansive Bill To Allow Discrimination Against LGBT People - Can you say overreach? They just don't learn.

 New York Governor Plans To Ban Transgender Discrimination - Wonderful! Do it!

Video of how Fox News helped the anti-gay right's bogus 'religious liberty' argument

I don't remember if I posted this before or not, but whatever the case,it bears repeating. It sticks in my craw how easy it was for the anti-gay right to pivot the country to the bogus "religious liberty" argument. But then I remember that they had an entire propaganda news network helping them.

'Parents go anti-gay ape@!&# over ELECTIVE sex ed class' & other Thur midday news briefs

In today's news briefs, Chris Kluwe sticks up for lgbts.

WATCH: Screaming conservative parents ignite chaos at Omaha meeting on optional sex-ed class - This awful incident in Omaha is for all of you jaded folks who claim that if we ignore religious right groups, figures, and their lies, these things will suddenly go away. Take lgbt students, bad information about Planned Parenthood, an ELECTIVE class about sexual education (which means parents can opt their children out) and some ignorant, highly excitable parents concerned about purity and whether their children will be taught sexual positions and you've got yourself a PUAAARTY!!!!! (and NOT in a good way). 

Everything you need to know about the anti-LGBTQ World Congress of Families (WCF) - I sent this out on its own, but it bears repeating. The anti-gay right has a veritable homophobic "Justice League of America" here. We could have a pro-lgbt  Justice League if we could get along to trust each other. So many lessons from this article . . . 

 Kluwe Rips Texans Owner Bob McNair - THIS is what an lgbt ally looks like and does.

 How Did A Gay, Married Actor End Up In An Anti-Gay TV Show? - The only reason why I am posting something about this is because the situation is complex and it would do our community well to take that into account rather than turn on the cannons . . . YET. 

 Dad Rips Haters Who Called Son 'Faggot' Over His Homemade Kitchen Playset - THIS is called sticking up for your child. There is NOTHING wrong with a little boy wanting to play in a kitchen playset. There IS something wrong with folks who will attack a child.  

Where Are All The Queer Superheroes? - As a fan of superheroes, I ask this question, too. My hero would be a bald androgynous black man in a leather suit (of course with matching boots) whose intellect AND Machiavellian skill of planning, karate, sword and gun play makes him formidable as hell. Of course his name would either be Hades or The Countess.

Anti-gay activists gather to make stale homophobia sound new

Editor's note - I owe my readers an apology. As some of you may have noticed, I have been going slow on the posting. My push to update my booklet, How They See Us combined with a certain weariness after nine and a half years of posts is tiring me out. Stay with me as I pop that spark back up. Thanks, y'all.

Next week promises to be "fun" as a bunch of familiar anti-lgbt activists get together to trade stale information and attempt to make it sound new:

When Michelangelo Signorile coined the phrase "It's Not Over," this is part of the mess he was talking about. This conference is called
:

 And it will feature probably the same old homophobic tripe wrapped in new packages, like so:

 God help me, I'm actually interested in learning about the "censored medical and social science research."  My guess is that the "research" they talk about hasn't been censored, but  refuted. Inaccurate information generally is.

Far be it from me to be bitchy, but the only thing new I see coming from this conference are the online hook ups.

Ode to the hypocritical religious person consumed with lgbts and sex . .

Editor's note - A very good friend of mine, Jennifer Barber, wrote this short, very on-point poem about how some religious folks are consumed with gays and sex. I personally like it so I want to feature it:

WTF?Hypocrite

You sayin we need to be straight . . .

But in your spare time, do you masturbate?

That's what I though! Another hypocrite!

Full of his lies and religious bullshit!

Wake up people & see what they are doin . . .

Cuz they callin' you out while they in the back screwin!

 

'Anti-gay hate group FURIOUS that the press called them an anti-gay hate group' & other Wed midday news briefs

Mat Staver, anti-gay hate group leader

Kim Davis' Attorneys Attack Associated Press For Identifying Them As A "Hate Group" - Awwww! The poor babies! How DARE the Associated Press tell the truth! 

Survivors Open Up About Trauma Of Gay Conversion Therapy - One of these poor souls was even forced to through a "gay exorcism." 

 10 Examples Of Nonbinary Genders Throughout History - Listverse is a trivia site I like to read every morning. This morning featured a list very apropo to the lgbtq community. 

 Let's not wait to combat homophobia, transphobia - Some folks objected to this piece I posted yesterday, which is my call for some type of national conversation on anti-gay propaganda. Only one objection - a concern about safety - was plausible. Folks, we have to stop pretending this junk is going to go away if we ignore it. IT WON'T! When  the anti-gay right reaps success using anything to denigrate us, they use it to death.  

Mormon leader speaks out against Kim Davis, urges balance in religious freedom disputes - I'm as shocked as you.  

New Federal Lawsuit Is Potentially Bigger Than Obergefell For Gay Rights - Hot damn! That headline is NOT clickbait. It tells the truth. 

 World Congress of Families In Denial Over Promoting Homophobia Globally - Another group insisting they aren't homophobic, but with a paper trail which contradicts their mea culpas.

Let's not wait to combat homophobia, transphobia

My last post, which featured on that awful anti-transgender ad in Houston depressed the hell out of me.

The droll comedian in me, however sees a bit of humor in how anti-gay groups and their spokespeople demonize the transgender community. In the nine plus years which I have run this blog, they have gone from claiming that transgender men and women want to corrupt children in the classrooms:

 to claiming that transgender women want to invade women's bathrooms and locker rooms:

My guess is that they will be soon claiming that transgender women will be wanting to inject pregnant women with some type of formula which will make their infants come out of the womb as transgender.

However, one thing won't change. The anti-gay will continue to smear transgender women as predators as long as they can get away it, just like they attack gay men the same way. There is that fear tactic about a "man victimizing a woman" that they cling to. And it depresses me because I have to remember that no matter how many times I work to refute it, there is still work to do.

'Houston homophobes dial up crazy with extreme anti-transgender cartoon' & other Tues midday news briefs

Trailing In Polls, Houston Equal Rights Opponents Continue Desperate Anti-LGBT Ad Campaign - Folks who want the pro-lgbt ordinance in Houston to pass would do good to turn up the heat. We've seen this before. When the opposition is behind in the polls, they dial UP the crazy as the above video shows. And when the crazy is dialed up, ANYTHING can happen.

 LGBTQ Prisoners Are Routinely Targeted For Beatings, Rape, And Harassment, Report Finds - Just because some folks are in correctional facilities does not forget we don't forget them. Justice for all. 

Court upholds reprimand for airman who opposed gay wedding - This article highlights that often times when anti-gay groups bring up anecdotal stories of attacks on "religious liberty," they never tell us the entire story.

 Ted Cruz Welcomes The Endorsement Of Anti-Gay Hate Group Official And Radio Host Sandy Rios - Basic politeness keeps me from commenting on this one. . .

Bryan Fischer - Anti-gay hate groups don't HATE gays

Bryan Fischer

"Disagreement is not hatred, and the truth is not hate speech. Somebody needs to tell that to President Obama."

When I read the above quote from the American Family Association's spokesman Bryan Fischer, I nearly choked with laughter. It comes from an awful column in which Fischer is claiming that President Obama and the Southern Poverty Law Center is declaring war on Christians because of the lgbt community. He is especially raising a fuss that his group, AFA, and the Family Research Council were designated at anti-gay hate group by SPLC.

Of course being an egotistical self-righteous boob like Fischer, he defines the Christian community as folks who believe as he does, particularly about the lgbt community:

The plain truth is that we at FRC and AFA don't hate a living soul. We love homosexuals enough to tell them the truth about the physical and spiritual dangers of the homosexual lifestyle. We want something better for them than the darkness and disease associated with homosexual behavior. We want them to come out of that darkness into the light of the gospel of Christ. We are for the homosexual, and so we must be against the normalization and promotion of homosexuality. Note the SPLC is no longer accusing FRC and AFA of hate or of violence based on some objective standard. They have simply made a purely subjective assessment that our beliefs about human sexuality and our defense of natural marriage are so offensive to them that we must become the target of the unlimited resources of the federal government. Do we disagree with the homosexual lobby about homosexuality? Of course. Do we hate them? Absolutely not. Do we advocate violence against them? Never have, never will. We are simply determined to tell the moral, spiritual, and physical truth about non-normative sexual behavior.

The comical thing about  the above passage is that Fischer is so oblivious to the fact that he, AFA, and FRC have a paper trail more than a mile long which contradicts his ridiculous mea culpa. In all fairness, neither group has advocated violence against lgbts, but their rhetoric is no better than the rhetoric of anti-Semites talking about the Jewish community or racists talking about the African-American community. As you can see by the following videos, Fischer and his "pals" have more than earned the "hate" designations they have been given:

'Ted Cruz accidentally shows ugliness of 'religious liberty' argument' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Sen. Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz Plans ‘Religious Liberty’ Rally At College That Claimed Bible Backing For Racist Policies - LOVE that "religious liberty" card.

Twitter Attacks Mets Star Infielder Daniel Murphy Over Anti-Gay Comments - Whine about lgbts not showing "tolerance" for anti-gay opinions till the cows come home if you want. People generally object to the dignity of their lives reduced to a talking point about a "lifestyle." 

Right-Wing Pastor Tells Christians To Boycott Same-Sex Weddings. These Christians Disagree. - Another example of right-wing evangelicals attempting to bogart the discussion of marriage equality.

 On Being Black and Gay - WONDERFUL post. 

  'Simpsons' Executive Producer Opens Up About The Show's Legendary Gay Episode - What the hell. It's a slow news day.

Hate group - Give us money or the 'homosexuals' will take over and persecute Christians

Tony Perkins and FRC scaring up the money.

One of these days, supporters of the Family Research Council will realize that its "give us money or the homosexuals will take over" requests are simply bull.

Unfortunately, I don't necessarily see that day coming soon. You have to give FRC points for pushing the "fear card," but none for truth. The following is a little snippet via an email signed by its president, Tony Perkins:

Emboldened by the Supreme Court decision, President Obama, the IRS, Justice Department, Department of Defense, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and even corporate America, are saying with one voice that sexual liberty trumps religious freedom.

Affirming same-sex marriage and accommodating the so-called transgendered will become an official litmus test. The religious organizations that refuse to get in line with this new "morality" will face devastating financial consequences. If radical activists get their wish, many churches, Christian colleges, missions, and other faith-based institutions could lose their tax-exempt status and may have to close their doors!

Think what our country would be like without churches ministering to the spiritual and physical needs in our communities.

It would be a sad day for America.

But that is where we are heading as a nation if we don't act now. A bill backed by the far-left Human Rights Campaign was recently introduced in Congress that would protect sexual orientation and gender identity in virtually every federal law -- all at the expense of religious freedom.

If passed, this sweeping legislation could be used to punish Christians who uphold traditional marriage and adhere to the biological fact that a person is created male or female.

The Human Rights Campaign has even pressured corporate giants to coerce the federal government to target those of us who refuse to surrender their biblical values to those sexual revolutionaries who want to redefine God's established order.

As I said recently in Kentucky outside the jail where Clerk of Court Kim Davis was being held, "Given the crisis our nation is facing, the time for being a spectator is over! It is time for all God-fearing Americans to take a stand!"

If we think there's nothing we can do and sit on the sidelines, their radical agenda for your family and mine will become a reality!

I believe God has positioned FRC for "such a time as this." No other organization in Washington, D.C., does more to further the American values of faith, family and freedom -- and we will continue to do so.

If God has positioned the Family Research Council for anything, I envision that He did it with the same droll sense of humor He used when "He told" Michelle Bachmann to run for president.

Anti-gay hate group doubles down on clueless defense of Rand Paul's homophobia

Sen. Rand Paul

Yesterday, I posted how presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul made an ignorant comment conflating being gay to strictly sexual behavior in answer to a question about lgbt equality:

"I think, really, the things you do in your house, just leave those in your house and they wouldn't have to be a part of the workplace, to tell you the truth,  . . .I think society is rapidly changing and that if you are gay, there are plenty of places that will hire you."

I also pointed out that while he is being justifiably criticized for his absolutely ridiculous comment dehumanizing lgbts lives and familes, Paul has been attempting - and failing - to backtrack and clarify. At the same time, the anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council has been defending him exploiting his original comments as an ongoing part of its continued mission to demonize lgbts.

Today, FRC continues to double down on its clueless "defense," thereby continuing to keep the issue in the limelight:

 . . .Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who took an outspoken position against gender confusion bills, is being blasted by the media and a handful of college kids. According to a Des Moines newspaper, some students left the speech where Paul urged people to leave their sex lives at home and started peeling Rand Paul 2016 bumper stickers off their cars.

"I thought, 'What century does this guy live in?'" said one LGBT activist. "He exhibited such bias, real homophobia and transphobia," she said. All Senator Paul suggested is leaving employers alone to make the decisions that are best for their businesses -- not what's best for the gender confused. And somehow conservatives are the intolerant ones? It's ironic. Liberals want to be free to visit the public restroom of their choice, but they don't want to extend that freedom to people to express their choice in public policy!

If I didn't despise FRC so much, I would give the group props for audacity. As you can see in above comments by its president, Tony Perkins, FRC is attempting to tie Paul's statement with the fight in Houston to keep the city's pro-lgbt ordinance as law. And like all other anti-gay groups when talking about lgbt equality laws, FRC has reduced the ordinance to unproven fears about the transgender community as bathroom predators.

It's kinda sad how the vile can attempt to make the vile sound reasonable rather than the bigoted hogwash that it is.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton rubbed salt in the wound by a simple but stunning tweet to Paul

The feeling when a GOP candidate says it's acceptable to be fired for being gay. https://t.co/cF9mw5k8fq pic.twitter.com/cYFvcW27mQ

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 14, 2015

Say what you will about Hilary Clinton, that was pretty damn cool. And if I were Paul, I would have a serious talk with FRC. I don't forsee him gaining any advantage in his faltering campaign with this controversy. The more the organization "defends" him, the harder it is for him to recover the controversy.

'TX Attorney General cooking up ugly plans for lgbt community' & other Fri midday news briefs

TX Attorney General Ken Paxton

More Than 6 Million Americans Have Come Out on Facebook - That's because we love our technology. Lgbts are one of the fastest groups to adapt. That's how we have survived. 

The Texas Attorney General’s Thorough Plans To Discriminate Against LGBT People - Geez! What is HIS problem? It's not we are the reason why he is under indictment. 

Here’s Why Major Corporations In Indiana Are Now Pushing To Expand LGBT Rights - The lesson Indiana Gov. Mike Pence learned when he pushed his anti-gay nonsense should come through to Texas. I hate it when some people choose to learn the hard way. "To willful men, the injuries they procure must be their own schoolmasters." (Bet you didn't know I could quote Shakespeare).  

NFL Owner Donates $10K to Repeal Houston's LGBT Discrimination Protections - This is NOT good. The Houston Texans are at the top of my @^!# list.

 Robertson: Don't Let Your Gay Grandson Bring A 'Friend' To Thanksgiving Dinner - Dear grandfather listening to Pat Robertson, your grandson is gay. He is not "coming out of that lifestyle." However, YOU will miss a lot of magic moments that you shouldn't and in the future, you will be blaming yourself for being so bullheaded.  

Mormon Church Bleeding Members Over Gay Marriage - That's what you get for pushing Prop 8.

While Rand Paul backtracks from his bigoted boo-boo, anti-gay hate group tries to defend him

Sen Paul backtracks from a bigoted statement while an anti-gay group tries to defend it.

When President Obama won a landslide re-election in 2012, some commentators were quick to jeer at right-wing outrage. Until the time his victory was announced, various folks on the right, including Fox News pundits and people like Karl Rove, were sure that his opponent, Mitt Romney would be the one to have the landslide. They firmly believed this in spite of the fact that polling clearly showed that Obama would win.

The commentators jeering at conservatives blamed a "right-wing bubble" for their embarrassing depart from reality.  A "right-wing bubble" is when conservatives create their own reality because their own stubbornness will not allow them to see the truth. If Rush Limbaugh tells them that they are in the middle of a blizzard even though it's 100 degrees outside, they will bend over backwards, including deliberately lie to themselves, instead doing the right thing and declaring that Limbaugh is full of shit.

It would seem that this bubble includes anti-gay groups. Take the recent controversy with presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul for example

On Wednesday, Paul made an absolutely stupid statement regarding lgbt equality.During a talk with Iowa college students, he said the following about gays being fired for their sexual orientation:

"I think, really, the things you do in your house, just leave those in your house and they wouldn't have to be a part of the workplace, to tell you the truth,  . . .I think society is rapidly changing and that if you are gay, there are plenty of places that will hire you."

It was an infuriating statement which implied that being an lgbt is all about sexual intercourse and facts such as gays leading families, raising children, and caring for loved ones don't exist.

Fox News has some serious #SpiritDay hypocrisy to work out

The webpage Media Matters noted that some Fox News personalities have been supporting our lgbt youth  from bullying during Spirit Day by wearing purple.

Media Matters also noted that the news channel pushes homophobic smears about LGBT History Month. I guess the point of the following video is don't pretend as if you support lgbt youth for one day out of the year when the way you cover LGBT History Month contributes to the problems they are facing:

'Government report calls for end of 'ex-gay' therapy for children' & other Thur. midday news briefs

U.S. report calls for end to 'conversion therapy' for LGBT youth - BOOM! 

 Texas Experts Debunk The Transgender "Bathroom Predator" Myth Ahead Of HERO Referendum - Good. And again. These days, you have to scream the truth a couple of times to get any attention. 

Top Psychiatrist Calls For “Radical Solutions” To Address Mental Illness In LGBT Community - Article acknowledges that it is a problem which is directly connected to homophobia and discrimination. Remember that because when some in the anti-gay right cite this article, they will omit that part. They generally do. 

 Kim Davis’s Lawyers Have Said Things That Are Literally Unbelievable - This article looks at pretty much all of the distortions and lies Kim Davis' lawyers at the Liberty Counsel have spewed. In other words, it is the gay version of 'War and Peace,' i.e. one long ass article.

 Wisconsin Lawmakers Have A Plan To Let People Sue Schools That Respect Transgender Students - Go ahead. Walk into the hole you are digging.

 Rand Paul Says LGBT Discrimination Laws Are Unnecessary - It's times like this when I regret retreating from vulgar language. 

Photo taken from Frontiers Media.

Happy #SpiritDay! Be sure to wear your purple!

Anti-gay right, fake Christians exploiting children to attack transgender community

Earlier today, I posted the following ad from an anti-gay Houston group seeking to overturn that city's lgbt ordinance:

As I said before, for all of their talk about "Biblical values," some right-wing evangelicals never seem to have an argument to oppose lgbt equality, so they are always quick to exploit fears via the demonization of lgbts as predators. And believe it or not, as shocking at this ad is, it was not the first time. In 2008, an anti-gay group in Gainesville, FL



The sad irony is that nothing like what you have seen has ever happened. Twice, the group Media Matters has proven this. Last year, the organization consulted law enforcement officials, government employees, and advocates for victims of sexual abuse in 12 states. All of them debunked the above scenarios.

Most specifically last year, Media Matters debunked the fear tactics of exploiting transgender-inclusive bathrooms and included this handy graphic:

What would Jesus do, indeed? Certainly not this. The next time folks like Mike Huckabee or Franklin Graham or any of these evangelical handwringers start about the "decline of values in America," I suggest they look in the mirror if they want to find the culprit.

'Houston anti-gay group run video labeling transgender community as sexual predators' & other Wed midday news briefs

The ghost of Anita Bryant's "Save Our Children"  campaign rises in Houston. You ever notice that when anti-gay forces can't come up with any logical explanations for their homophobic positions, they pull the "lgbts are out to harm children" card. It happens over and over again. Proving that no matter how you clean up a pig, you just can't keep it from rolling around in the mud and crap. More about this monstrous ad at Think Progress.

Mike Huckabee Got Pretty Racist While Live-Tweeting The Dem Debate - Apparently nothing says "warrior for Christ" better than a seriously racist tweet.
 

Kim Davis' Lawyers: No Need to Change Marriage Licenses After Controversy - Is Kim Davis silently giving up her crusade? Who knows but after the double embarrassment of lies her own lawyers at the Liberty Counsel put her through, who can blame her?

Kicked Out of the Closet: How Two Letters Changed My Life - Wonderful story of how you always can use family support when others attack you for coming out. 

 Rafael Cruz Joining Anti-Gay World Congress of Families At Utah Conference - I've been reluctant to call out Sen. Ted Cruz's father no matter how homophobic and crazy he has gotten. But this is BEYOND the pale. This isn't just words. He is actively joining a group whose global mission is lgbt persecution.

Anatomy of an anti-gay lie - Day three

FRC is now fully embracing the anti-gay distortion I posted about on Sunday.

For three days, I have been tracking an anti-gay distortion regarding the SCOTUS ruling for marriage equality.

To recap - Last week,  statement from a right-wing think tank, the Americans Principles Project, claimed that over 60 "prominent scholars" signed a statement claiming that Obergefell v. Hodges , the case which legalized marriage equality, should be ignored because it was inaccurately decided.

The Americans Principles Project omitted to say that many of these "prominent scholars" were individuals aligned with groups who have opposed marriage equality from the beginning, such as:

 Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University, Founder of American Principles Project (George is one of the founders of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes marriage equality. And he was also one of the main arranger of the funds given to Professor Mark Regnerus to conduct a study on gay parenting study, which has since been discredited. The study was created as an attempt to sway the Supreme Court against marriage equality. )

John C. Eastman, Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service, Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University (the present chair of the National Organization for Marriage)

George W. Dent, Jr., Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University School of Law (Dent supplied the discredited information which the defenders of DOMA used in court to unsuccessfully defend that law.)

 

I have been tracking this distortion not out of concern that it will do any damage, but simply because I want to see how long will it take before it becomes a widely repeated falsehood by members of the anti-gay right.

Today, it just took another step in that direction. In my last post concerning this distortion, I related how the Family Research Council retweeted it from another source, CNSnews.

As of now, FRC has the distortion as a full article on its webpage. An excerpt follows as such:

Last week, a number of scholars and law professors released a statement calling on all officeholders to resist -- within the grounds of their own constitutional authority -- the Supreme Court's illegitimate and groundless ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. The scholars' statement points to the grave consequences of letting this decision continue to be treated as legitimate and binding precedent on the entire nation, and urges public officials to exercise their independent authority to follow the Constitution regardless of Obergefell's dubious claims:

One lacking anything remotely resembling a warrant in the text, logic, structure, or original understanding of the Constitution must be judged anti-constitutional and illegitimate. Obergefell should be declared to be such, and treated as such, by the other branches of government and by citizens of the United States.

The authors of the statement remind us that the Supreme Court is not the only branch of government granted authority by the Constitution. While the Supreme Court has the authority and responsibility to decide cases and controversies between parties, it does not have the authority to declare entirely new doctrines of law binding on parties not before the court.

Conveniently, FRC doesn't even include the names of the statement's signers (Not to worry, though. I left a comment on its webpage giving a short description of why the statement is a distortion.)

So in the past week, the distortion has moved from the Americans Principles Project to the National Organization for Marriage's webpage to the vile anti-gay Barbwire webpage to the CNSnews webpage and has stopped for now at the Family Research Council's webpage.

And that's not counting pit stops at other right-wing sources such as Free Republic and various other conservative blogs.

If it ever breaks through to Fox News, either by television or online news site, I think I will create a chart.

Related posts:

Anti-gay right sloppily dredge up 60 'legal scholars' to oppose Obergefell decision

Anti-gay right continues to push the anti-marriage equality 'scholars' distortion

Anti-gay activist turns drama queen in pulpit over marriage equality

In the video above, courtesy of Right Wing Watch, Vision America's Rick Scarborough  is STILL angry about marriage equality. He no doubt thinks that he is making a wonderfully dramatic statement in the pulpit. If you ask me, I think he is auditioning for an Ed Wood movie. Three points which I have to make about it, though. What's with the disrespect of the Supreme Court, when exactly did God define marriage, and what exactly is a "God hater?"

'Desperate Ted Cruz disrespects transgender soldiers' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Sen Ted Cruz disrespects transgender military.

Cruz blasts efforts to lift trans military ban - Sen. Ted Cruz is picking on transgender soldiers and he is using the phrase that anti-gay folks use when they want to create the false idea that our presence or existence is out of the ordinary - "social experiment." They said the same thing about same-sex families, even though lgbts have been raising children for YEARS. The semantics are so annoying. 

Gay Man Kicked Out Of His Church For 'Embracing The Homosexual Lifestyle' (Video) - A few years back, we had sort of the same situation at a church in my area. Some members came to the pastor wanting to kick out gay members. He told them to forget it because it was wrong to keep people away from God. And this was a black church. It's a shame that one hardly ever hears about these incidents of bravery.

 Transgender foster kids in California can now go to homes that match their gender identity - Wonderful!!  

Little Red Riding Hood And The Big Bad Gay Wolf - Proving how SOME people have too much time on their hands, an anti-gay activist transforms the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood into a cautionary tale about the lgbt community.  

Trans Activist On Keisha Jenkins Murder: 'It Feels Like I'm Next' - This is a spooky situation and needs more attention.