Just three years? That's some bull@*&$

Hate crime or not, this fool deserves to serve more than just three years:

The Taylors teenager who threw a single, fatal punch at Sean Kennedy outside an Eastside bar was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison after an impassioned argument about the role Kennedy’s sexual orientation may have played.

Stephen Andrew Moller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, admitting he punched 20-year-old Kennedy in the face in the parking lot of the former Brew’s Pub on Pelham Road in May 2007 after a night of drinking.

Kennedy’s head hit the pavement, causing fatal brain damage.

Moller, who turns 20 on Friday, originally was charged with murder and faced the possibility of life in prison until Greenville County’s chief prosecutor offered the alternate involuntary manslaughter charge after a grand jury found "no malicious intent." The lesser charges carry a maximum sentence of five years.

In the year since Kennedy’s death, his mother, Elke Kennedy, has decried her son’s killing as a hate crime. Shortly after the death, a warrant alleged that the assault was motivated by the fact that Kennedy was gay.

However, in court Wednesday, prosecutor Mark Moyer read a statement Moller gave to an investigator in which he said he didn’t know Kennedy was gay until after he punched him and that he hit him because he was angry that Kennedy had inadvertently brushed his face with his hand.

No evidence was presented during the hearing that Moller acknowledged Kennedy’s homosexuality before the attack.

Shortly after Moller hit Kennedy, Moller called a girl that Kennedy was with outside the bar and left a voice message mixed with laughter, profanity and anti-homosexual epithets bragging about the assault, Moyer said.

The prosecutor read a transcript of the message in court, which Kennedy’s mother pleaded unsuccessfully with the judge to listen to the actual recording before sentencing Moller.

In his statement to the investigator, Moller said that he was sitting in the back seat of a car reaching to turn the radio station as Kennedy reached in with a cigarette and inadvertently brushed his face with his hand. Moyer said the car with Moller had driven over to some girls and that Kennedy came up and hugged one of the girls.

Moller’s attorney, Ryan Beasley, told Circuit Judge Ned Miller that Moller didn’t realize that Kennedy was gay until the driver of the car saw a bleeding cut on Moller’s hand and told him.

"You know that dude is gay," the driver said, according to Moller’s statement. "What are you going to do if you have AIDS now?"

"Everybody thought that this was maybe a hate crime, but it was not," Beasley told the judge. "Stephen had no idea that he was gay until afterwards."

Beasley called the killing a "tragic and freak incident with devastating results" and offered another possible explanation for the brain damage Kennedy suffered, telling the judge that a friend of Kennedy’s, who was drunk, dropped him after trying to lift him up.

"Oh, please!" a member of the crowd of Kennedy’s family and friends present in the courtroom said in response.

Before sentencing, Moller turned to apologize to Kennedy’s family.

"I live with it every day," Moller told the family. "I wish it had never happened. I never thought this would happen. I’m sorry."

In October, Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail said that his office prepared the alternate charge of involuntary manslaughter after "realizing the possibility of no indictment on the murder charge ... would result in Moller’s release." Ariail said that while the charge would result in an inadequate punishment, it was the only charge that applied to the case.

Moller was later released on bond.

Judge Miller said that "the easy thing to do would be to give him five years and move on," but that he wanted to try to rehabilitate Moller with three years of probation after the sentence is served. Miller also ordered Moller to undergo anger management and substance abuse counseling, submit to random drug tests and perform 30 days of public service.

Miller gave Moller credit for the seven months he served in jail before he was released on bond in November.

Beasley told the judge that during his release Moller has been working and supporting a 9-month-old daughter.

Beasley told the judge that a prison sentence would "only hurt him" and that "there are some bad people in that place, and he’s going to be exposed to things he’s never seen."

Moller’s uncle, Steve Moller, spoke on his nephew’s behalf and said that "we wouldn’t be here today" if alcohol wasn’t involved, and he asked Kennedy’s family to work together with him to help curb underage drinking.

The audacity of nonsense - The One News Now and The Peter version

From an online buddy, Pam Spaulding, I discovered something very interesting regarding One News Now.

The phony news source didn't exactly eliminate its comments section.

It has the comments section as a forum where you have to register to become a member.

Apparently allowing people to comment on articles backfired on One News Now because some folks (myself included) took it upon themselves to correct the inaccurate spin the phony news source placed on some articles.

I am undecided on whether or not I will register. I'm tempted because I know that the forum will be a mass of bad studies regarding the lgbt community.

But I am getting a kick out of just reading the comments.

One thing that I did notice: these so-called Christian folks are scared of Barack Obama.

I have never in my life seen so much homophobic, racist, and xenophobic language coming from a webpage outside those of white supremacists.

Really though, it's par for the course for these folks. They are so annoyingly manic about elections.

To them, every election is an episode of McGyver where they have to manipulate and finagle the outcomes because the "wrong" outcome will bring the United States closer to the lake of fire complete with monsters out of the Book of Revelations.

Talk about dramatic.

When Bush was elected, I didn't freak out (of course in hindsight maybe I should have). When the Republicans won the House and the Senate in 1994, I didn't run in the streets screaming and crying about the end of the world.

I made the best of it. Why do these folks who cater to One News Now and this entire bullshit about them being the "chosen people" and the United States being the "chosen country" flip out when elections don't go their way?

Why do they see every election as a make or break situation where if their choice don't win, God is going to part the skies and make the destruction of Sodom and Gommarah seem like a picnic on a sunny day?

Who knows with these folks?

And while I am on the subject of audacity, I have to talk about my friend Peter LaBarbera (i.e. Porno Pete, The Peter, He With the Chunky Butt and Disappearing Hairline - I know I am going to get it for that one.)

Peter seems to be on a tear with Soulforce because the group "dares" to want to have conversations with various churches regarding their positions on homosexuality.

And Peter seems to be upset at one church in particular:

Would Willow Creek have agreed to a (forced) meeting with activists claiming that using pornography is not a sin, or that the “swinging” lifestyle is OK with God? No way. I think they bowed to Soulforce’’s pressure to “dialogue” because this particular sin, as Greg aptly calls it, enjoys a certain worldly favor that most others do not. Christ said His followers would get persecuted for following Him, and these days that includes being smeared as a “bigot” or a “homophobe” — and being accused of “spiritual violence” by the savvy activists at Soulforce — merely for agreeing with God that homosexual behavior is a sin that can be overcome through Jesus Christ.

I'm not going to go into intricate details about this. If Willow Creek wants to have a discussion with Soulforce, that is their right.

As I understand it, Peter is not a member of the church. What right does he have to interfere with their Biblical interpretations? Granted he does have a First Amendment right to criticize but the fact that he would only reveals his ego trip.

Apparently it's not enough for Peter to believe that homosexuality is a sin. He feels that it is his place to make sure that all churches believe this way.

Tell me again, Peter. Just who is trying to force their beliefs on whom?

News from Irmo: School Board postpones decision regarding GSA

Yesterday, a commentator asked about the situation in Irmo regarding the GSA.

I have gotten news that the school board has postponed their decision regarding curricular and non-curricular clubs:

Lexington-Richland 5 trustees postponed a vote on a controversial plan to add more regulations to noncurricular student clubs.

The proposal would add stringent rules to such clubs, including requiring parental consent for participation, banning those clubs from fundraising on school campuses and prohibiting clubs from using the school’s name.

The board is expected to take up the measure again June 23.

Eddie Walker, principal of District 5’s Irmo High School, said last month he would step down at the end of the next school year because a planned Gay-Straight Alliance club conflicts with his beliefs and religious convictions.

Officials had said the district couldn’t stop the alliance from forming because federal law prohibits discriminating against a club based on its purpose.

At first glance, I don't think this is a bad thing. The postponement gives area lgbt groups more time to educate the community on the importance of GSAs.

And I have a feeling that they will take advantage of the opportunity.


The audacity of nonsense

Now that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee for president, all of the mess is coming out of the woodwork.

From emphasizing his middle name to calling him the Anti-Christ to overanalyzing his fistbump with wife Michelle, too many people are obviously demonstrating that they have too much time on their hands.

But this article from One News Now takes the cake:

Televangelist Bill Keller, founder of an interactive Christian website, says while only God knows the hearts of men, he has his doubts about Barack Obama's claims of being a Christian.

Keller is the founder of Liveprayer.com. Last year the evangelist challenged former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's claim to be a Christian, due to the fact that he was a member of the Mormon Church, which holds beliefs in opposition to orthodox Christianity. Now Keller is questioning Obama's Christian credentials, based on some statements the Illinois senator has made.

"A lot of the things that he is saying really call into question whether he really is a Christian," says Keller, offering up as an example Obama's statement that there are many roads that lead to God. "He has consistently been on record that he's willing to give away part of the land that God himself gave to the children of Israel directly to their enemies," he adds.

A campaign brochure titled "Faith. Hope. Change." describes Senator Obama as a "committed Christian" who visited a local church one Sunday, "felt a beckoning of the spirit and accepted Jesus Christ into his life." But Keller says Obama has views on social issues that most evangelicals regard as unbiblical.

"He has consistently voted to uphold a woman's right to kill babies," Keller points out. "He has consistently voted to support the gay agenda, gay 'marriage,' gay adoption, special rights for gays."

So apparently to Keller, the only true Christianity is the one he pushes. No discussion, no nothing.

And so many Christians like Keller wonder why folks think of them as self-righteous and overreaching.

I keep hearing that there is a problem with the perception of Christianity in this country. If this is true, then people like Keller is the problem.

There seems to be more than a personal belief going on here. Too many Christians in this country have an incorrect sense of entitlement. Not only that, but this sense of entitlement seems to be consistently stroked by people like James Dobson, Pat Robertson and the last James Kennedy.

"This is a Christian nation," they say. "This country needs to get back to its Biblical foundation."

Translation - "This is our country. The rest of you Godless people, especially you homosexuals, are here because we let you be here. You exist at our pleasure and you are overstepping your bounds."

I never knew Christianity was about having power and a sense of entitlement.

I thought Christianity was a belief in the goodness and mercy of God.

Of course I'm probably going get responses about "loving the sin and hating the sinner," or "God has rules for us to follow."

That's all well and good. But historically when people took it upon themselves to "enforce God's rules," the world ended up with lots of chaos and death.

Christianity, like all religions in their true and uncorrupted forms, teaches us that no matter how bad things get, we are the children of a living God who will never leave us. Everything else, especially interpretations of Biblical verses, is ballast.

At least, that's what I believe. Apparently I was wrong.

Whatever you do, don't tell my mother. She would be crushed to know that what she taught me is incorrect.

Thank you Mass Resistance for furthering our cause

It is always gratifying to see those who are our opposition spin their heels so much that they actually help us out.

I've talked about the group in Massachusetts, Mass Resistance (the organization behind the David Parker mess) a few times.

Mass Resistance and its head, Brian Camenker, consider themselves as a "pro-family" group working to stop the "gay agenda."

To wit, they have done a lot of "interesting work." Aside from the David Parker incident is the following:

In 2000, MassResistance entered unauthorized into a statewide conference, called "Teach-Out," that was sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, held at Tufts University. Included among the conference-goers were preadolescents, some as young as 12, who were (like the rest of Teach-Out's attendees) allowed to ask questions about sex in a safe environment.

One student asked what fisting was, and was answered with an explanation. This led the incident to be dubbed "Fistgate" by Camenker and others. A person working for Camenker's organization, Scott Whiteman, taped some of the students without their knowledge. As a result of the outcry that was generated when parents heard tapes of the event, Margot Abels, a state employee who participated in the discussion, and two other state employees were fired. One of the state employees was later re-instated to her job.

Abels filed suit against Camenker as a result of his distribution of the tape recordings. The case was settled out of court; the results of a second lawsuit is unavailable .

Then comes this interesting incident from last year:

On Saturday May 12, 2007 Amy Contrada, the writer of MassResistance, finally revealed herself to the LGBT community. For the first time she put herself out there, willing to be photographed and interact with our supporters.

Amy, wearing an ill-fitted tan blazer and sporting greasy unkempt hair, began her day at the Youth Pride Celebration on the Boston Common where she (and a man wearing a red cap) lurked around taking photographs of our youth and adult leaders. She carried both a video camera and digital camera to capture as much "depravity" as possible. Amy especially focuses on the young people who are brave enough to express their gender in a way that deviates from societies rigid binary gender norms so that she can "shock and appall" her misinformed readers.

After Youth Pride Amy headed over to the BAGLY Prom where she showed her true colors. When Trevor Wright, organizer for the Prom and blogger for QueerToday, yelled at her to move she became infuriated. During their interaction, Amy hastily asked Trevor if he knew what "cum vomit" was. She insisted she read about "cum vomit" on the GLSEN web site, and that we were brainwashing young people to be "crazed homosexuals."

This is par for the course for Mass Resistance. Because of their efforts, the group was given the designation of a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

And I can't think of a group (okay maybe one or two - hello Peter and Matt) who deserve it more.

But I noticed something from their webpage, which I go onto from time to time when I need a good laugh.

Mass Resistance has been losing big time.

They are presently complaining about the following things:

The Mayor of Boston has raised the pride flag over City Hall to commemorate Gay Pride Week

The Massachusetts Legislature recently approved $850,000 in state funding for gay programs in schools. Apparently even some legislatures the group thought of as "pro-family" approved the monies.

Major corporations and top politicians are actually supporting Gay Pride Week in Boston.

Mass Resistance is crying bloody murder over all of these incidents, but it seems to me that the group's behavior contribute to Massachusetts's embracing of lgbts.

After all, would you align yourself with a group that mentions the word "cum vomit' in front of a bunch of children?

And besides, they seem to have this "throw the baby out with the bathwater" attitude with anyone who doesn't support their efforts.

This is what they claimed a "pro-family" legislator sent to a constituent explaining his vote for the approval of the $850,000 funding:

Below is an email Moore sent to a constituent who complained about his support for the funding for homosexual programs in the schools. Note that:

Moore tries to split hairs by saying he "didn't support" the money but didn't oppose it because he believes it is needed. Huh?

He repeats the gay lobby's big lie that this is for "violence prevention", ignoring the actual content of these "programs." We've challenged legislators to find a single legitimate violence prevention or suicide prevention aspect of any of this.

He insults parents by saying that if parents don't present homosexuality in a positive way at home, then "it must be taught or reinforced in other settings" - i.e., the schools. In other words, he believes that the state knows better than parents.

Sounds like he should be reprimanded, huh? Well Mass Resistance had the stupid presence of mind to print the letter. I ask you, does this sound insulting:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx:

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by supporting "the increase in funding for the homosexual lobby." I certainly did not support any amendment to any lobby group. I did not oppose an amendment by Senator Wilkerson of Boston for an increase in the Department of Education's Administrative Account to earmark and additional $100,000 about the Ways and Means Committee recommendation of $200,000 to fund a Gay and Lesbian Violence Prevention Education Program. I don't agree with the Gay/Lesbian lifestyle, however, I believe that violence against students who profess to be, or appear to be Gay/Lesbian is wrong and that students should be taught to be tolerant of all people race, creed, gender, age, sexual preference or whatever. Children usually learn prejudice from adults, sometimes even from parents. We don't have to agree with others or condone their behavior however children need to be taught tolerance of differences. Tolerance of difference is, in my opinion, a family value that should be sustained and, especially when that lesson is not learned in the home, it must be taught or reinforced in other settings. If that is the amendment to which you refer, I am sorry if you disagree with my position, however I do not share the view of some others that we should ignore attitudes that engender violence in our schools or among our youth.

I think the group that monitors Mass Resistance, Mass Resistance Watch, puts it in a nutshell:

Do you think the Massachusetts Legislature is now aware that MassResistance is a recognized hate group? YES! And I'm sure our State Legislators just experienced a little of bit the hatred that these bigots spew forth daily at GLBT people. I imagine that they overwhelming approved the increase in funding for at risk youth knowing that dangerous people like MassResistance are out there.

Thank you Brian and Amy. Keep up the good work.

It never hurts when anti-gay folks work diligently to make themselves laughing stocks.

If at first you don't succeed, lie lie again

I will say one thing for the anti-gay industry: when they can't get over with lies, they continue to push and push until they tire people out.

Take the case of David Parker:

David Parker's Boston law firm, Denner Pellegrino LLP has filed a "cert petition" with the United States Supreme Court, formally asking the Court to review the ruling this past January by the Federal Appeals Court in Boston.

David Parker, his wife Tonia, and Rob and Robin Wirthlin have been attempting to bring a federal Civil Rights lawsuit against school officials and others in Lexington, Massachusetts. However, with the help of well-funded national homosexual groups, the school has persuaded judges in the Boston Federal District Court and Federal Appeals Court to deny the lawsuit the right to go to trial. Thus, the plaintiffs are appealing to the US Supreme court for the right to allow the lawsuit to be heard.

I've talked about David Parker so many times and I will keep bringing him up as long as the anti-gay industry continues to try and make him into a martyr:

In 2005, after a long series of meetings with Estabrook Elementary School officials regarding about teaching homosexual issues to his son in kindergarten without parental consent, David Parker finally told the principal and the city's director of education that he would not leave until the school agreed to negotiate some agreement on the matter. Rather than negotiate, the officials had Parker arrested and brought to jail, where he spent the night. The next morning he was led into Concord District Court in handcuffs.

That explanation by the anti-gay industry group Mass Resistance skirts over the facts in the case:

In January 2005, Jacob Parker brought home a diversity book bag from his kindergarten. Included in the bag was books about other cultures and traditions, food recipes, and a book called Who’s in a Family. The illustrations included various family constructions: single parents, mom-dad-kids, grandparents, mixed-race families, and same-sex parents.

David Parker, his father, decided that young Jacob was entitled to ignorance of the existence of same-sex headed families. He set out to change school policy so that his child not be exposed to that fact. He extended his demands to include any discussion of same-sex parenting, regardless of the context or setting - including any conversations of children of gay or lesbian parents.

Because the school district has a large number of same-sex families, many with children attending the school, the administration deemed Parker’s request to be nearly impossible.

This resulted in a string of emails and eventually Parker showed up in the administrative offices and refused to leave until his demands were met. At the end of the day, police were called and, when Parker refused the police requests to leave, he was arrested for trespassing.

Dr. Paul Ash, superintendent of Lexington Public Schools, said the school tried to be accommodating.

“The school department said, ‘Look, we’ll work with you, but we cannot assure you what a child is going to say and that we can immediately stop a discussion that you find objectionable,’” said Ash. “One of the central units in kindergarten is the discussion of families and we show families of all different types.” Ash says the discussions “ended up in an irreconcilable difference.”

In June 2006, the Parkers sued the school in federal court for civil right violations.

They were joined by the Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, parents of a second grader in the same district. On a day in which the school discussed marriage, a teacher read King and King, a book in which a prince doesn’t fall for a princess but for another prince instead. Although marriage laws in Massachusetts include same-sex couples, the Wirthlins believe that such marriages should be excluded from discussion about marriages in the classroom.

A few days after filing their suit, David Parker’s credibility came under question. He spread a story that his child, Jacob, was beaten by students for David Parker’s anti-gay stance and suggested that school teachers or the administration were behind the beating.

After much press in the anti-gay conservative Christian media, the facts were released. It turned out to be nothing greater than a schoolyard scuffle over who sat next to whom in the cafeteria.

In February 2007, U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf dismissed the lawsuit.

In his 38-page decision, Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of US District Court said that under the US Constitution, public schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

“Diversity is a hallmark of our nation,” he said.

The Parkers and Wirthlins appealed the decision. A three judge appeals panel unanimously upheld Judge Wolf’s decision.

Hopefully the Supreme Court will recognize bullshit when they see it and not pursue the Parker case.

Then finally, this monster will die.


Watch the semantics

What exactly are sincere religious beliefs?

I have read on too many occasions that laws protect lgbts from discrimination would interfere with someone's "sincere religious beliefs" that homosexuality is a sin.

That phrase has no basis in truth, only semantics.

Whenever I hear an anti-gay industry head say this, I want to ask:

"So if a restaurant manager has sincere religious beliefs that homosexuality is a sin, does he have the right to fire an employee?"

"Or what about an apartment renter? Does his sincere religious beliefs give him the right to discriminate against lgbt renters?"

When you break down this so-called cultural battle, you will see that it's all about lies and semantics. Expose the lies and make the opposition clarify the semantics.

It makes it easier not to fall for their bullshit.

Sakia Gunn - More important than Peter's mess

I see that our friend Peter LaBarbera is getting a little traction from the anti-gay industry regarding his bestiality mess.

Whoop te do. I was going to write a little on it but I saw something more important:

Five years ago, Sakia, a 15-year old girl who "dressed like a boy," was attacked while waiting for a Newark, New Jersey bus after a night out with friends. The girls were approached by two men in a car who made uninvited sexual advances. When the girls declined, stating that they were lesbians, 30-year old Richard McCullough fatally stabbed Sakia while shouting homophobic slurs. She bled out at the intersection of Broad and Market during the wee hours of Mother's Day morning.

This May is the fifth anniversary of the murder of Sakia Gunn. She would have just celebrated her 20th birthday.

The rest of the article is here.

Let Peter and the rest of the rest of the anti-gay industry ruminate and bullshit. They are irrelevant.

Our lgbt children, such as Sakia Gunn, matter more.

Meanwhile, down here - South Carolina Black Pride

Forgive me for this short post.

I know there is a lot going on in California and with Obama very close to getting the Democratic nomination, but I thought I would talk a little bit about what's going on in South Carolina.

We are three weeks away from the third annual South Carolina Black Pride and things are beginning to hop.

I am secretary of the group (although I prefer the title Prime Minister of Information - eat your heart out, Stokely Carmichael), so tonight, I get to send out over 1500 emails to various individuals.

Big fun.

But I'm looking forward to it for one reason.

A week ago, I was told an interesting story. A certain political official was talking to a group of South Carolina black pastors and she made a point to ask about lgbts of color.

From what I understand, these pastors pulled an Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and said that there are no lgbts of color in South Carolina.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little.

They said they didn't know where she could find any.

Of course if they were truthful, these pastors would have invited the political official to their churches and pointed at the usher board, the deacon board, the choir, and in some cases, themselves.

But the fact that these pastors claimed not to know any lgbts of color is a perfect reason to have a South Carolina Black Pride.

We have had two South Carolina Black Prides and over 1,500 folks attended. I have a feeling that we are going to have double that number this year.

And I'm looking forward to it and the repercussions thereof.

There is an intentional wall of silence when it comes to the visibility and needs of lgbts South Carolinians of color.

It's time for that wall to come down.