Focus on the Family displays its ignorance and false 'religious entitlement'

This video by Focus on the Family (which by the way does not allow you to rate it or leave comments) is bad, but it makes several points as to problem of some people who think that their religion absolves them from accepting the rules which the rest of us have to abide by:




As inane as this video is, it underscores the audacity and entitlement that some feel that their religion should grant them.

If you own a secular business, you should have to abide by the same rules that others who own secular businesses should.

And if your church owns a business which rents out events which may not necessarily be religious in nature, then you should abide by the same rules that other rental properties should, specifically if you are receiving tax breaks on said property. 

If not, where does one draw the line with this? I know of churches who own rental properties where people live. Is is right for the church to deny someone the right to rent their property if said person is lgbtq or a part of another religion?

And I won't even talk about the little blip about public schools.

It's truly sad when some folks' religious beliefs blind them to the simple fact that they are not the only people existing in this world.


Hat tip to Right Wing Watch

'Supposed ex-gay pens awful letter to gay youth' and other Monday midday news briefs

One of the most reprehensible 'advice' columns you'll ever read. For shame, Matt Moore - This is an awful lie to tell a gay child. If I had read this when I was young, I hate to think what I would have done to myself. And I am not saying that simply for shock value.


Hate Group Leader Bradlee Dean Ordered To Pay Rachel Maddow's Defense Fees - This just in. Looks like somebody got smacked down in his lawsuit.

Arizona Governor Asks Supreme Court To Strip Same-Sex Domestic Partner Benefits - To what purpose would it serve to be so nasty to same-sex families.

Lou Engle Dreams Of 100,000 Ex-Gays And Ex-Lesbians Curing AIDS - There is a reason why I never talked that much about Lou Engle. Religious right liars is one thing. Religious right crazies is something entirely different.

“Ex-Gay” Leaders Resentful Of, Threatened By Alan Chambers’ Honesty - The 'ex-gay' industry is having serious problems right now. Good.

Catholic Church has no room to attack same-sex parenting

Bishop Cordileone

In spite of the myriad of problems with the Regenerus study on gay parenting (over 200 professors and therapists have complained about its errors), the National Organization for Marriage and members of the Catholic Church are busy pushing it to defame marriage equality and same-sex families:

The legalization of “gay marriage” in America, even on a civil level, is unjust to children and poses a threat to religious liberty, warned Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif.

“Marriage is the only institution we have that connects children to their mothers and fathers,” he said. “So really, the question is, do you support that institution?”

In a June interview with CNA, Bishop Cordileone, who leads the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, explained that Church teaching against the redefinition of marriage on a civil level as well as a sacramental level is a matter of justice.

“Marriage is about fundamental justice for children,” he said. “Children do best with a mother and a father.”

... Based on sound social science, this [New Family Structures] study complements common sense and “demonstrates what we’ve always known,” Bishop Cordileone said. “Children do best with a mother and a father.”

The bishop explained that this issue is of crucial importance because “we cannot have two different definitions of marriage simultaneously in the country.”

“Only one definition of marriage can stand,” he said. “This is not expanding the right of marriage. It’s changing the definition, or taking away something is essential to marriage – that it’s the union of a man and a woman for the purpose of the binding of the two and the procreation and education of the next generation of offspring.”

I know what you are thinking. Based upon the problems the Catholic Church has been having with pedophile priests, it is the height of hypocrisy for the bishop to attack same-sex families.

Recently, it was alleged that Cardinal Timothy Dolan (who has been very outspoken against marriage equality) paid suspected pedophile priests to leave the church while he was head of Diocese of Milwaukee.

And even more recent than that, Monsignor William Lynn was found guilty on one count of endangering the welfare of a child because he allegedly covered up a case of abuse.

With all due respect because I am not attempting to disrespect anyone of the Catholic faith, if we compared the two entities, just who has less credibility when it the harming of children:

An entity pushing a bad study while it's not covering up the activities of priests exploiting children as sex objects

OR

Same-sex couples, many who open their homes to children who need love and support:

Let me repeat that I am not trying to disrespect anyone's faith, but I simply don't think it's right for the Catholic Church to accuse same-sex parents of harming children when it has many skeletons in its closet when it comes to pedophiles in the priesthood.

Know Your LGBT History - New York passes marriage equality law

A little over a year go, New York passed a bill allowing gay couples to marry. It was a long fight and the victory was well earned by those fighting for it:



So why am I posting this? Because it is a historical moment in gay history and also, just a few hours ago, this happened:

A state appeals court rejected a challenge to New York's year-old same-sex marriage law Friday, ruling closed-door negotiations among senators and gay marriage supporters, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, did not violate any laws.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Rochester ruled against gay marriage opponents who argued that Republican state senators violated New York's open meeting rules ahead of the law's passage last year.

The marriage law was given final legislative approval by the state Senate after weeks of intensive lobbying and swiftly signed by Cuomo, making New York the largest state to legalize same-sex weddings. Same-sex couples began marrying by the hundreds on July 24, 2011, the day the law became official.

"The court's decision affirms that in our state, there is marriage equality for all, and with this decision New York continues to stand as a progressive leader for the nation," Cuomo said after the court's ruling.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office argued for the state, called the decision "a great victory for marriage equality."

New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms said Cuomo and another gay marriage supporter, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, met behind closed doors with the Senate's Republican majority in violation of the open meeting law.

The appeals court heard the case after acting state Supreme Court Judge Robert Wiggins in Livingston County ruled in November that he didn't have enough facts to rule on whether the open meetings law was violated. Wiggins dismissed other grounds for the legal challenge brought by the group.

New York's open meeting law requires public access to the deliberations of legislative bodies, but Schneiderman argued that the Republican caucus with invited guests was exempt, even if the guests aren't in the same party. In a 5-0 ruling, the court agreed.

BOOM! A frivolous lawsuit bites the dust and gay couples enjoy another victory lap!

Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Religious right head - Anderson Cooper coming out might make her listeners vomit' and other Friday midday news briefs

Janet Mefferd Warns Listeners They Might Vomit from Story about Anderson Cooper Coming Out - And that's not the most infuriating part of this story. Read what she says about what she does when her child tells her that he/she has a stomach ache. I would NEVER say that to my child.  It just illustrates the point that some folks who call themselves Christian are anything but.
  
Push to Ban Gay Marriage Flagging in Iowa - Let me tell NOM, PLEASE!
  
  Why Frank Ocean's Coming Out is More Significant than Anderson Cooper's - An excellent piece by my online buddy Rod McCullom (yes I am name dropping)  

Maggie tells us 'not this, not now' as if we're spoiled teenagers seeking a later curfew - Maggie Gallagher has to be on "that stuff" if she thinks we will let her determine when we should seek our rights.

 Essex: Head praises ‘greatly loved’ trans teacher - A story like this proves that religious right lies don't always win the day. 

NOM keeps pushing phony victim Damien Goddard

On NOM's blog is the following:

if you have a chance, take a look at this video of NOM's Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance spokesman Damian Goddard speaking about his "re-conversion" to faith, and his decision to stand up for marriage. He's paid a bigger price for it than most of us will ever be able to equal:

That's the story. Now here is the reality of the incident in question:

Rogers Sportsnet fired Damian Goddard as an on-air host last month following his tweets on a debate sparked by New York Rangers forward Sean Avery's support of same-sex marriage.

Goddard tweeted in support of hockey agent Todd Reynolds, who used Twitter to voice his opposition to Avery's position.

Dave Rashford, Sportsnet's director of communications, said Goddard was fired because "it had become clear that he is not the right fit for our organization."

Labour lawyer William Gale calls Goddard's firing a "clear violation" of his freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

Gale says it gives the impression that Goddard's Catholic beliefs are grounds for dismissal and sets a dangerous precedent for all Canadians.

"I completely and whole-heartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and true meaning of marriage," Goddard, a lifelong Roman Catholic, tweeted from his personal Twitter account on May 10.

. . . Rashford said Goddard is aware of the "well documented" reasons why he was terminated by Sportsnet.

"Out of respect for our employees we do not discuss personnel issues in the press," Rashford said Thursday in an email. "We will, however, bring forward the facts during any proceeding initiated by Mr. Goddard."

I personally would love to hear about those other reasons. It appears that Goddard may be another phony victim that NOM is pushing as a part of its failed Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance. NOM started the endeavor to show how marriage equality would supposedly cause some Christians to be discriminated against. But so far, the majority of examples NOM pushed has backfired on the organization:

According to Equality Matters:

 . . . out of NOM’s nine Marriage ADA stories, three weren’t about marriage, three were from a different country, and zero demonstrated an instance of actual “defamation.”

Equality Matters documented all Marriage ADA stories and regarding Goddard, it said the following:

 . . . the decision to fire Goddard was made long before his tweet. Goddard himself admitted that it was “absolutely” possible that his tweet had nothing to do with his termination. Moreover, Goddard’s entire ordeal took place in Canada, which has significantly tougher standards against anti-gay speech than the U.S.

And that's the truth of the matter, not that NOM cares. The organization has never let truth get in the way of a good story.

Do the religious right care about same-sex parents and their children?

The following story has a happy ending, but I am still angered by it.

 From Think Progress:

Same-sex couples Will Trinkle and Juan Granados had purchased a family membership to the Roanoke Athletic Club so they could take their 2-year-old son to its outdoor pool. Less than two weeks later, their membership was revoked because, the club claimed, they were not a “family” under Virginia law. A viral Change.org petition and lawsuit from the couple received national attention, and now the club is changing its ways, announcing today on Facebook that it was changing its policy from a  “Family Membership” to a “Household Membership”:

In keeping with this goal, and in recognition of the many contemporary households that can benefit from our facilities through discounted membership fees, we are pleased to announce that we have expanded our Family Membership into a new Household Membership with the following criteria:
A household consists of a primary member and up to one additional household member that permanently lives in the household, and any of their dependent children under the age of 22 who also reside in the household on a permanent basis.

All I can say is thank God that child was two-years-old, so he probably won't remember this.

But what if he was of an age where he could understand what transpired? What if he could understand that some people don't think of his family as equal?

It gets me angry to think about it and it should get you angry too. Because you see, when organizations like the  National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council and people like Maggie Gallagher and Tony Perkins whine about "the rights of parents" and "family values," they seem to always omit the simple fact that same-sex families exist.

And it's not by accident. On NOM's blog is this tripe about children supposedly being forced to learn about marriage equality in Great Britain:

Schools could be required to teach children about gay marriage, Government documents seen by the Daily Mail reveal.

Officials at the Home Office and the Department for Education concede that teachers may be under a legal obligation to inform children about same-sex marriage once it has passed into law.

Under the Education Act 1996, pupils must learn about the nature of marriage and its importance for family life in sex education classes.

Critics said the documents, released under freedom of information laws, demonstrate that plans to introduce civil marriage ceremonies for gay couples in addition to existing civil partnerships, could have far-reaching and unintended consequences.

The article sounds so alarming that some folks may be fearful to ask what's wrong with children learning about marriage equality? If children in same-sex households attend public schools - which they do - then odds are their fellow classmates already know about these homes.

So learning the fact that same-sex couples can marry wouldn't "force" school children to learn something they already know about.

But what bothers me is the message stuff like this sends to children in same-sex households. That's a subject that Maggie and company conveniently (and deliberately) never want to talk about.

However, I think our community owes it to these households and these children to force the issue. Otherwise there will be incidents like what happened in Roanoke but this time it will involve children old enough to notice that some people don't like their families.

And I cringe to think what it could do to their self-esteem.