Huckabee, Jindal, Cruz teaming up with 'gays should be thankful for AIDS' pastor

Kevin Swanson

It's not just that rabid anti-lgbt pastor Kevin Swanson made this vile statement above about how gays should be thankful that God punished our community with AIDS. And it's not just that he has made other incredibly vicious comments (catalogued here) about lgbts.

The giant problem is even after all of this is known, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, and Bobby Jindal will be joining him in a "religious freedom summit" while either the mainstream press won't bat an eye:

The organizer of the “National Religious Liberties Conference” in Des Moines, Iowa, announced today that Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Bobby Jindal have committed to speaking at the summit, which will take place next month. One speaker at the conference, Iowa radio host Steve Deace, has said that Ben Carson has also RSVP’d for the event, although Carson’s name was not included in today’s press release.

 Kevin Swanson, the conference’s chief organizer, is a far-right pastor and host of the “Generations Radio” program, on which he has frequently claimed that the government should put gay people to death, warned that the Girl Scouts and the movie “Frozen” turn girls into lesbians and blamed natural disasters on gay people and women who wear pants. (Update: Swanson is not the only activist speaking at the conference who backs the death penalty for homosexuality). 

 Or if questioned about it, those three bozos will instantly whine about how they are being "persecuted" because of their Christian faith.

Either conclusion serves to make me nauseous and die a little inside

'TX Gov push anti-transgender lie, smears Hillary Clinton' & other Mon midday news briefs

Editor's note - I apologize for not sending out this morning's post, Opponents of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance relying on an ugly lie to gain victory, to all the folks I usually send posts out to. Please take a look at it because it is very apropo to the story at the top of today's news briefs

@GregAbbott_TX @HillaryClinton how can u bear false witness like that and call yourself a Christian, Gov. Abbot?

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) November 2, 2015

What you are seeing here is the main reason why Christianity is getting a bad reputation and so many folks are abandoning it. Also, why so few trust politicians. It's sad when any elected official, much less a governor, caters to and spreads lies about a piece of legislation. 

 GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Urges “NO” Vote On Houston LGBT Rights: “No Men In Women’s Bathrooms” - Joe Jervis has more about this lie. Mark my words, if the pro-lgbt ordinance in Houston (HERO) loses because of this consistently refuted lie about "men in women's bathrooms," expect things to get "real." It's going to be the aftermath of the Prop 8 vote all over again (although I HOPE lgbts spend less time figuratively shooting at each other and instead, pushing for education and conversations about anti-lgbt propaganda. In the 70s, Anita Bryant derailed a pro-gay ordinance using the same fear tactic. The fact that it may still be successful over 30 years later is a damn shame.)

 If You Think You Understand Houston’s ‘Bathroom Ordinance,’ You Probably Don’t - HERO has NOTHING to do with "men in the women's restrooms." THIS is what it has to do with.  

Opponents of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance relying on an ugly lie to gain victory - Repeating this morning's post to give background on this mess.

Outraged Conservative Christians Claim Chick-fil-A 'Goes Gay' - Yes, I am as shocked as you are. 

Watch: HBO to Debut Vice Doc About the Quest for an AIDS-Free World - Good for HBO!

 Franklin Graham Praises 'Gay Propaganda' Law, Critizes US 'Secularism' In Russia Visit - Simply sad. We need that national conversation on anti-lgbt propaganda.

Opponents of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance relying on an ugly lie to gain victory

Lies like this have peppered the city of Houston

By consistently putting out the message that predators will invade women's restrooms (even after the claim has been repeatedly refuted by city officials, professionals who work with sexual abuse victims, and others), opponents of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) have closed the polling gap and some experts have predicted a win for them in Tuesday's referendum.

From The Washington Post:

The campaign to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, has become a priority for national gay rights groups and the city’s gay mayor — as well as for local business leaders, who fear an economic backlash similar to the one that hammered Indiana earlier this year if it is not adopted. But with an election set for Tuesday, polls show voters are divided on the measure — and some analysts are predicting defeat. 

One reason, they say, is the provocative claim that the measure would permit “any man at any time” to enter a women’s bathroom “simply by claiming to be a woman that day.” Opponents have dubbed the measure “the bathroom ordinance.”

“Houston voters do not want men in their women’s bathrooms,” said the Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors’ Council. “It’s an invasion of privacy, an invasion of a safe space for women and girls.”

It’s also completely untrue, supporters of the measure say. They accuse Welch and others of fearmongering, noting that the ordinance would not only protect the rights of transgender people, but also challenge discrimination on the basis of race, sex and a dozen other factors, including military status.

“I don’t care who you are, you belong in one of those 15 categories. This literally is going to protect everyone in the city,” said Lou Weaver, 45, a transgender activist who is working to pass HERO. “Trans women are literally being painted like boogeymen here, the monster under the bed.”

Whatever happens Tuesday, the lgbt community and its allies should take note. No matter how happy we are because we won marriage or how much we think this so-called culture war is over, now is not the time to ease up. And for God's sake, stop underestimating the organizations who fight against lgbt equality. They still have pull, influence, and as you can see, lies which they can exploit tremendously. Folks, we have to start a national conversation on anti-lgbt propaganda and those who push it.  And before things like this happen.

And as for the city of Houston, should HERO lose,  in the words of Shakespeare:

"To willful men, the injuries they procure must be their own schoolmasters."

'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.