'Anti-bullying movie receives ratings flack' and other Thursday midday news briefs

I give my brothers and sisters hell sometimes for the love of the "celebrity culture." However there are times when it pays to have out celebrities to bring attention to important issues such as the problems that the motion picture Bully is having with the Motion Picture Association of America:



Check here for more information about the situation. Go here to sign the Human Rights Campaign petition.

In other news:

Homeless LGBT Youth: The Next Battle For Equality - Excellent article. I urge you to read and pass it around.

Today in NC: @Vote4MarriageNC rallies the 'gay men lodge cellphones in their anuses' vote - Patrick Wooden, North Carolina's diaper pastor, strike again.


NC Libertarians take strong stand against Amendment One - Meanwhile, more reasonable people in North Carolina are taking a stand.

Catholic Diocese Defunds Homeless Group Over Director’s Gay Marriage Views - Religious liberty my tush. This was just cold-hearted.

Note to Kirk Cameron: If you don’t want a fight, then don’t start one - Warren Throckmorton breaks down this Kirk Cameron controversy in a simple-to-understand way - if you don't want any trouble, then don't start any trouble.

Joseph Farah Explains 'What Same-Sex Marriage Advocates and the Terrorists of the Gaza Strip Have in Common' - Joseph Farah claims that lgbtqs unfairly cast ourselves as victims of homophobia. This from a man whose publication features a columnist who refers to us as the "sodomy lobby."

Islamic And African Nations Walk Out Of UN’s LGBT Equality Hearing In Protest - Ugh. Well no fight worth fighting for is ever easy

Anti-gay group giving up JC Penney boycott

And it's over.

The American Family Association's sub organization One Million Moms (yeah right) has officially admitted that it failed in its boycott against JC Penney. The organization was demanding that the department store remove Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson because she is openly gay.

However JC Penney refused to do so and folks - especially the lgbtq community - rallied around DeGeneres.

So One Million Moms took the hint:

The leader of a pro-family advocacy group says only time will tell whether JC Penney's decision to have a high-profile homosexual entertainer as its spokesperson was a good business decision.

Despite opposition from the American Family Association's advocacy group OneMillionMoms.com, the retailer is backing its commitment to the Ellen DeGeneres (see earlier story). Director Monica Cole tells OneNewsNow that other issues require her group's attention, so OMM is moving on.

"But we have heard back from so many of our members," she shares. "We have heard back from men and women -- not just moms -- saying they will no longer shop there at JC Penney, as long as Ellen DeGeneres is their spokesperson."

Cole believes OneMillionMoms has done its job by educating members about the retailer and urging them to take their business elsewhere. She says only time will tell how business goes for JC Penney.

This makes the second high profile embarrassment for One Million Moms. Earlier this year, the organization threatened to boycott the national chain Toys R Us if it ran an issue of Archie Comics featuring a gay wedding.

Toys R Us pretty much ignored the threat and the comic sold out

MSNBC won't run ad against hate group leader Tony Perkins

For the longest time, many of us have been raising hell over the fact that MSNBC hosts hate group leader Tony Perkins (the Family Research Council) as authoritative voice without asking him about his organization's history of lying in order to demonize the lgbtq community.

Well now Faithful America has come out with an awesome ad which best speaks to the point. Only MSNBC rejected this ad. Therefore, I guess it's up to us to spread its message:



My guess is that Perkins will whine about how supposedly the left is trying to silence him and other people of faith. In actuality, I don't want him silenced. I want there to be a conversation about the entire issue.

And the first place we should start is with the charges in the ad.

PLEASE spread it around. Let's make this thing very viral!

Related post -  16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

'Fox News personality slurs Obama's transgender former nanny' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

One of the main reasons why some facets of the American news media are abominable is because they have no standards regarding their personalities. When you hear some of these folks, you wonder just how they got in the door of a major new service, even if its Fox News.

Perfect case in point - Fox News personality Andrea Tantaros. Listen how she reduces the plight of President Obama's transgender former nanny (she is an outcast in her own country) into an attack on the president, making sure to slur the poor woman for good measure:



In other news:

North Carolina Baptists Gather to Defeat Amendment One - The lesson here? Not all members of churches support those anti-marriage equality amendments.

WV 'family' guy: Gay kids attempt suicide because of 'homosexual agenda' - Heaven forbid that this guy would take responsibility for the drivel coming out his own mouth.

Horrifying Wave of Brutal Anti-Gay Murders in Iraq - We need to pray for our brothers and sisters trapped in repressive countries.


LaBarbera Says it is 'Tragic' that Paul Babeu is Gay, Accuses Gays of 'Political Terrorism' - You gotta love "Porno" Pete LaBarbera.

Michele Bachmann has memory loss about her homophobia

Piers Morgan seems to be making a name for himself by exposing the homophobic nature of famous people.

Fresh from the Kirk Cameron controversy, he begins a new one with former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann:

MORGAN: Yes. But you see, I was also taught to respect and be tolerant towards people who didn’t agree with those beliefs. And I think that America, with this movement on gay marriage and so on, just has to come a time when people who have strong religious beliefs, like you, like Kirk Cameron, actually show people like the gay community tolerance and a bit of slack, and say, I don’t agree with it, but nor am I going to demonize you. That’s all I’m getting at.

BACHMANN: I would like to see the lack of demonization for those of us who stand on sincerely held religious beliefs. It’s overtime. That’s where you see the demonization of people who stand on their beliefs.

MORGAN: So respect on both sides is what we need to get to?

BACHMANN: Of course.

Bachmann, like Cameron before her, is obviously playing the victim. I really wish Morgan had asked her about the following comments she made in 2004:



Transcript:

And again, don't misunderstand. I am not here bashing people who are homosexuals, who are lesbians, who are bisexual, who are transgendered. We need to have profound compassion for the people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and sexual identity disorders. This is a very real issue. It's not funny, it's sad.

Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle—we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It's a very sad life. It's part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It's anything but gay. "

It's profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female. There's been profound hurt and profound things that have happened in almost all of their lives.

This new legal enforcement of a new status—homosexuality, lesbianism, bringing it into the mainstream, if you will, giving it a legitimacy if you will, that will impact not only the gay community, but every man, woman and child, particularly the schools.

It's like a friend of mine said. You have every right to say what you want, but if you publicly call out a group of people as "disordered" or "sinful," you simply cannot expect those people to be silent and allow you to do it.

Sooner or later, people like Bachmann (and Cameron) are going to have to understand that they can't hide their ugliness behind their so-called religious beliefs.

Right involves transgender community in new Sandra Fluke attack

By now, EVERYONE has heard and commented on the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy.

Personally I think that Limbaugh, who was never a nice person anyway, got a bit egotistical and thought he could say anything about anyone, even a college student whose only "offense" was to testify at a Congressional hearing.

His comments sends a chilling message to those private citizens who may testify in the future that if their view does not jive with his or those on the right, they will be investigated and vilified.

We have seen how Limbaugh handles the vilifying part. Now, according to Equality Matters, in an attempt to defend Limbaugh's indefensible comments about Ms. Fluke, the right has targeted her via a 2011 paper she wrote which did nothing more than describe discrimination in employer coverage of transgender medical care.

The conservative Media Research Center’s Stephen Gutowski “discovered” the essay on March 5 and claimed it demonstrated that Fluke “is being sold by the left as something she’s not. Namely a random co-ed from Georgetown law who found herself mixed up in the latest front of the culture war who was simply looking to make sure needy women had access to birth control.” Gutowski claimed Fluke is “pushing some rather radical ideas. Keep that in mind as the left holds her up in the spotlight”

 . . . The MRC post was quickly promoted by right-wing media outlets, including the Drudge Report and Fox Nation:

And then as if by coincidence:

And Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham brought the attack to Fox during this morning’s Fox & Friends:

INGRAHAM: Now we find out there was a law journal article written by this particular woman that seems to indicate that she believes that if you don't pay for sex change operations, gender reassignment, it's called – operations -- you also could be described as a discriminatory employer. So today the pill. Tomorrow sex reassignment surgery, perhaps. And then down the road, what other things should be covered for free?

Equality Matters quickly points out that:

Fluke’s essay is a fairly comprehensive study of various types of employment discrimination against LGBT individuals but, ironically, the one charge that Gutowski chose to highlight as an example of the “radical ideas” that Fluke is “pushing” is not controversial at all.

Check out Equality Matters to read the full post if my condensed one wasn't sufficient enough. But the gist is this - these people are sad. They aren't journalist. They are highly paid wolves who seem to enjoy destroying someone's reputation as if its a high-stakes game of Monopoly.

'Gay students win settlement from school district' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Four Gay Bullied Students Win Settlement From MN’s Anoka-Hennepin School District - The school district which allegedly declared war on gay students has war declared on its pocketbook. How very appropriate.

GOP Senate Candidate Claims LGBT Protections Threaten ‘Privacy Rights Of Women In Public Restrooms’ - Oh for Pete's sake, Gary Glenn! Glenn is yet another phony religious right "expert" who is now running for public office. Ugh. Glenn and I had a very interesting run-in two years ago. Read what happened when he tried to spout his nonsense to me.

Bachmann Plays Victim Card: ‘The Rhetoric Is Far Worse Against People Who Stand Up For Traditional Marriage’ - I would have been angry if the interview had actually helped Bachmann. It's not called dodgeball, girlfriend.

Tony Perkins at First Baptist-Charlotte: Faith & Freedom, a straights-only exclusive country club - Ugh, I say! Ugh!

Personal Experiences Persuaded GOP Legislators On Gay Marriage -  Never forget that telling our personal stories helps us tremendously.

National Organization for Marriage gloats at African-American church's troubles

Generally, the National Organization for Marriage calls itself an ally of the black church when it comes to stopping marriage equality.

But how does NOM treat black churches who support marriage equality? In the case of one black church in Minnesota, the organization is poking fun at what happened when the minister stood up for gays:

Minnesota Church Loses 3/4 of Its Members For Abandoning Marriage

The left-leaning Religion News Service tries to create sympathy for a Minnesota pastor that lost most of his congregation over abandoning the great truth of marriage, even as the pastor maligns his predominantly African-American flock for "homophobia"

The article in question was actually titled Minn. Church finds the high price of supporting gays and had less to do with marriage equality and more to do with how prejudice potentially harmed a church.

Family Research Council lies, cherry-picks to defend Kirk Cameron

I've tried not to weigh in on the Kirk Cameron situation because I think that sometimes my lgbtq brothers and sisters get wrapped up in the words of a celebrity, or in this case, a has-been celebrity more than more important issues.

But to paraphrase Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III, they pulled me in.

The "they" in this case being the Family Research Council.

Cameron, former star of the television series Growing Pains and a devout Christian criticized marriage equality  last weekend during an interview with Piers Morgan. Cameron also called homosexuality "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive."

Since that time, the gay group GLAAD and several other celebrities have been commenting. As for me, I could care less. Cameron doesn't know me so his opinion of who I am doesn't matter to me.

But leave it to the Family Research Council to attempt to score some easy points by weighing in on the controversy. And guess whose side the organization came out on:

Where is the tolerance? You won't find any on display with homosexual activists who are determined to attack and silence anyone who dares to disagree or challenge their political or social agenda. Their latest target is actor Kirk Cameron. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is attacking Cameron for remarks he made in an interview with Piers Morgan last Friday, in which he said that the definition of marriage should be, "One man, one woman for life till death do you part." Cameron, a born-again Christian who starred in the movie Left Behind and the pro-marriage film Fireproof, also said he considers homosexuality to be "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive." Perhaps it's GLAAD, not the 1980s teen star, who's out of step, since a 2011 poll showed that 62% of Americans agree with the statement, "I believe marriage should be defined ONLY as a union between one man and one woman." Another 2011 poll found a substantial majority of Americans (56%) believe that "sex between two adults of the same gender" is "morally wrong." 

First of all, anyone labeling any group as "unnatural," "detrimental," and "destructive" shouldn't be surprised if some members of said group publicly raises hell over the labeling.  The outcome is no different than it would be had Cameron made negative comments about African-Americans or Jewish people.

Maggie Gallagher's doublespeak on same-sex couples and children

Remember what Maggie Gallagher (supposedly formerly of the National Organization for Marriage) said last year when confronted by the fact that her organization's blog links to junk science (i.e. the discredited work of Paul Cameron) and information which portrays gays as harmful to children:

I would like to say personally that nothing in any argument I've ever made on gay marriage, rests on the idea that same-sex couples harm their own children at any higher rates than any other family form. (If there is data that shows this, I've never seen it.)

Of course those of us who have followed NOM knew that Gallagher was playing damage control and nothing more. And today, Equality Matters proves it:

In a March 3rd blog post, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) promoted a column headlined: “Love Isn’t Enough: 5 Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriage Will Harm Children.” The column – originally published in 2007 –was written by Dr. Trayce Hansen, whom NOM described as “a licensed psychologist with a clinical and forensic practice.”

Hansen’s five reasons are, unsurprisingly, riddled with anti-gay talking points that have been widely discredited by mainstream medical organizations, including the harmful myths that children of same-sex parents face developmental problems and are more likely to identify as gay:

A father teaches a boy how to properly channel his aggressive and sexual drives. A mother can’t show a son how to control his impulses because she’s not a man and doesn’t have the same urges as one. A father also commands a form of respect from a boy that a mother doesn’t––a respect more likely to keep the boy in line. And those are the two primary reasons why boys without fathers are more likely to become delinquent and end up incarcerated. 

[...] 

Fourth, same-sex marriage will increase sexual confusion and sexual experimentation by young people. The implicit and explicit message of same-sex marriage is that all choices are equally acceptable and desirable. So, even children from traditional homes—influenced by the all-sexual-options-are-equal message—will grow up thinking it doesn’t matter whom one relates to sexually or marries. Holding such a belief will lead some—if not many—impressionable young people to consider sexual and marital arrangements they never would have contemplated previously. And children from homosexual families, who are already more likely to experiment sexually, would do so to an even greater extent, because not only was non-traditional sexuality role-modeled by their parents, it was also approved by their society. [emphasis added]

What's even more annoying is that Hansen provides no citations to prove this theory, which is not surprising.  Equality Matters calls out Hansen as somewhat of a fraud:

She’s a member of the American College of Pediatricians, a right-wing, anti-gay organization notorious for misrepresenting and misusing research to demonize LGBT people. In 2009, she testified in defense of an “ex-lesbian” who was trying to deny her former partner access to their children, but her testimony was roundly dismissed for being unqualified: 

Dr. Hansen never had been qualified as an expert witness by any court. Dr. Hansen never had been retained by any party as an expert witness. Dr. Hansen's psychology practice involved geriatric patients. Dr. Hansen conceded that she currently did not work with children and had fewer than four years of professional experience after earning her Ph.D. She had worked as a research assistant and had published one article in the journal Personality Assessment in a forensic-type situation. [emphasis added] 

Hansen has written multiple articles arguing that marriage equality “will increase the prevalence of homosexuality” and claimed that LGBT-inclusive curricula encourage children to engage in destructive and unhealthy behavior.

But here is the thing which really annoys me. If Gallagher claims that she does not believe same-sex couples harm their children at a higher rate than "any other family form," then why does her organization push the work of people who do make that claim?

My guess is that she will probably say something along the lines of the following:

Some in the gay blogosphere are trying to assert that NOM--or me--endorses the view of every blogger/article NOM links to, by the act of linking to it.

This would lead to the absurd conclusion that NOM endorses the editorial positions of the New York Times, because NOM links to them--or The Advocate for that matter, as we often link to stories in the gay press.

If you want to know what NOM's message is, there are abundant videos and press stories (including our own press releases) with me, or Brian Brown, or other NOM personnel actually speaking. Fair enough to criticize us for what we actually believe and say.

The standard "a link constitutes an endorsement" would cut off the free flow of ideas at the knees.

That's all well and good, but NOM doesn't simply link to Hansen's post. NOM publishes an abridged version of Hansen's piece on its blog.

So what does that mean?

It means that Gallagher and NOM are speaking out of both sides of their mouths and are expecting the rest of us to let them do it.

'Religious right 'expert' caught lying again' and other Monday midday news briefs

For @vote4marraigeNC, Sunday church service = tour stop -  It stands to reason that if you are doing something in the middle of church services, you will get a big crowd, but they aren't necessarily there to see you. You are just an added on.

Focus On The Family’s Minnery Peddles Distortions About Colorado's Civil Union Bill - After the public embarrassment he endured from Sen. Al Franken after caught lying during a Congressional hearing, one would think that Tom Minnery had enough. He hasn't.

More on Minnery's lies courtesy of Think Progress.

Evie, Obama's Transgender Ex-Nanny, Reveals Lifetime Of Torment In Indonesia - We need pray for our sister.

City opens new senior center for LGBT New Yorkers - This is good news, indeed!

Conservative 'Pro-Family' Groups Silent on Rush Limbaugh's Sexist Outbursts - Surprising no one, of course.

Maine victory continues to haunt National Organization for Marriage

It's going to be a wild 2012 election season, particularly with marriage equality on the ballot in several states including North Carolina, Minnesota, and Maine.

Maine, however, is probably the most interesting battle. The National Organization for Marriage and its allies actually defeated marriage equality via a referendum in 2009. There will be another referendum this year after supporters of marriage equality got enough signatures to the question on the ballot.

With that mind, I have two things to say - Remember how they lied in Maine to defeat marriage equality there in 2009 AND make sure everyone not only knows it but NEVER forgets it.

Remember the words of Marc Mutty, head of the 2009 anti-marriage equality campaign (from the documentary Question One: the Battle for Same-Sex Marriage in America):



It's all about hysteria and fear.

And here is something else to keep in mind. According to writer Ned Flaherty, the Roman Catholic Church has announced that it will not be taking an active role in the marriage equality fight in Maine. Flaherty writes:

Bishop Richard Malone, the sect’s top-ranking official in Maine, said on 2 March that his goal now is only to re-train the wayward 25% of Maine’s 187,306 Catholics.  He said that the church “doesn’t want to impose a law or belief on anyone,” especially non-Catholic citizens, who comprise 86% of Maine residents, and 77% of all Americans.  Maine voters will decide by ballot in November whether to write same-gender marriage into state law.    

Historically, Roman Catholic officials have opposed virtually every regulation, policy, and law proposed to protect LGBT people nationwide.  Toward that end, the church spent $1.9 million to repeal Maine’s new marriage equality statute in 2009, after the legislature and governor had already enacted it.

Friday’s historic retreat is the first of its kind for this religious sect, and is profound.  Such changes are not made independently, and are always coordinated with higher church officials.  The Diocese of Maine, located in Portland, is a corporation sole which reports to the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston, located in Boston, Massachusetts, which includes the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

How convenient that the Catholic Church makes this announcement after the Supreme Court refused to hear the National Organization for Marriage's challenge of Maine campaign finance disclosure laws. 

Odds are that Maine is one victory that NOM is beginning to regret.

Related post - How NOM wins - Creating doubt and fear about children 

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

The network TV-One has an outstanding television program called "Unsung" which celebrates R&B artists who have not gotten the acclaim they deserve.

Naturally TV-One had to do an episode on one of the greatest singers of all time, Sylvester.

It's probably one of the best documentaries on the life of Sylvester which you will ever see:




Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Anti-gay boycott backfires BIG TIME' and other Friday midday news briefs

Archie gay marriage comic sells out in face of boycott call - I do love it when a religious right boycott backfires.

AFER’s Chad Griffin selected as the next president of the Human Rights Campaign - My fellow lgbtq bloggers are extremely pleased with this new pick.

Video: Maggie stumps for Rick, further connects her marriage advocacy to far-right politics - So Maggie Gallagher is now campaigning with Rick Santorum. Where does that leave Romney?

Ken Mehlman: ‘I Am Sorry’ For Helping Bush Exploit Anti-Gay Sentiment, ‘I Wish I Had Spoken Out’ - Awwww thank you Ken. Now cut a BIG check AND get your ass out in the field to change what you helped to create.

Fischer: Like Slavery, America 'Cannot Exist Half-Gay and Half-Straight' - Reading the homophobic Bryan Fischer is good for my high blood pressure. He makes me laugh EVERY time.

The Family Research Council deserves a media platform . . . with caveats

There is a school of thought floating about in my community that since the Family Research Council is an SPLC-designated hate group, the media shouldn't give its spokespeople a platform to spread the organization's views.

I understand that school of thought, but don't agree totally with it because I think that media should give FRC a platform . . . with caveats.

The first caveat is that interviewers don't act as if FRC spokespeople such as Tony Perkins and Peter Sprigg are "pure as the driven snow" experts. I for one would like to see these two questioned on their ugly comments or the organization's usage of junk science studies.

The second caveat is that more often than not, FRC spokespeople not be given a free and open field to spout their lying rhetoric. I would like to see more debates between their spokespeople and spokespeople from organizations having to do with lgbtq equality.

It's my belief that in a free and open debate, FRC's so-called experts would be revealed to be empty vessels spouting nonsensical talking points having more to do with bias and homophobia than fact.

A perfect example of what I am talking about is this recent debate between Peter Sprigg and Emily Hect McGowan of the Family Equality Council. The two appeared on WUSA-9 to discuss an adoption bill being debated in the Virginia General Assembly.

Personally I think Ms. McGowan mopped up the floor with Sprigg. But what do you think:

Principal resigns after controversy regarding anti-gay comment to student

She told a lesbian student that she was going to hell. Now she can go to the unemployment line. From the Human Rights Campaign:

Haywood High School principal Dorothy Bond has resigned, according to Tennessee media outlet the Jackson Sun.

We told you earlier today how Bond came under fire after recently telling a lesbian student she was going to hell because of her sexual orientation. You responded quickly - in just four hours, more than 5,000 of you signed our petition calling on the Haywood County School District to investigate the allegations. This afternoon, Bond announced her resignation.

In a statement, the school district said:

"The Haywood County Board of Education acknowledges its student body’s right to free speech. Further, the Haywood County Board of Education strives to provide an atmosphere of tolerance and diversity while maintaining high academic standards."

Thank you for your swift action in standing up to homophobia!

Of course the question is how long will it be before she is presented as a victim of alleged gay bullies by the National Organization for Marriage or the Family Research Council?

I hope soon. I'm just itching for a fight.

'North Carolina gaining momentum against Amendment 1' and other Thursday midday news briefs

THIS is how you break down the dangers of an anti-gay amendment:



Protect All NC Families, the campaign to stop North Carolina's Amendment 1, which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage, is clearly bringing its A-game to this fight! According to Protect All NC Families:

117 partners have joined the coalition — including the NAACP, Southerners on New Ground, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, and numerous faith congregations.

We have 30 staff and seven field offices across the state.

We have raised more than $600,000 — more than $150,000 of that has come in online, with more than $80,000 of that number coming in the last three weeks.

We have more than 2,000 donors who have given $92 on average — the grassroots donors are with this campaign. We have raised our money in $10, 100, 250 and 1,000 chunks and we are ahead of schedule with what we have raised from that category.

We have more than 15,000 volunteers at this point and we are making 20,000 voter calls per week.

Important validators such as Senator Kay Hagan, Lt. Governor Walter Dalton, the conservative Carolina Review, libertarian thinker Michael Munger, Myers Park Baptist and others have come out in opposition to the amendment in recent weeks.

In other news:

NOM, ADF protect sanctity of church/state marriage - So churches should stand against marriage equality even though it's not necessarily an issue pertaining to them because no churches are forced to marry same-sex couples. Okay.

Tennessee Principal Condemns Gay Students To Hell - I absolutely DARE the religious right to defend this woman.

Perkins Claims that Gay Rights Advocates 'Want to Silence the Church' - I DESPISE Tony Perkins but even I'm astounded here. Read how he connects the lgbtq community to an issue having ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with us.

Russia: Don't Go There (VIDEO) - Russians counter mind-boggling homophobia (yes it's an oxymoron) by their public officials.

National Organization for Marriage's anti-gay project is a colossal failure

 

From Equality Matters comes proof that the National Organization for Marriage's "big project," the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, is not only tanking but also revealing the duplicity of NOM's claims gays being bullies:

Last September, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) launched the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, a website dedicated to documenting Americans who’ve had their “rights and dignity” denied by supporters of marriage equality.

 . . .  As of today, however, it’s been nearly two months since NOM’s Marriage ADA has posted a new video. The site has posted a total of nine videos since September -- roughly two a month -- and few if any of those videos depicted instances of actual defamation.

 . . .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.” It should come as no surprise that NOM had such a difficult time finding any compelling evidence that opponents of marriage equality were having their “rights and dignity” threatened and denied. NOM’s “gays as bullies” narrative has already been exposed and rejected by a number of judges and courts across the country. Though the group hailed Marriage ADA as a “huge new step” to restoring civility to the debate over same-sex marriage, the project seems to have sputtered into little more than an expensive example of how dishonest NOM’s self-victimization meme really is.

Carlos Maza breaks down the lies of each case with incredible detail. Check it out.

Three reasons why religious right groups are bigoted - a visual exercise

To hear religious right groups (i.e. the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage, the American Family Association, etc.), they are unfairly attacked because they are standing up for the so-called Biblical view that homosexuality is a sin.

Of course this is a lie and I have used their words to demonstrate this time and time again.

So how about a different tactic.

I have it narrowed down to three reasons why religious right groups are bigoted and rather than use their words, I am going to use graphics, specifically their own graphics which they created to visualize and scare up opposition of the lgbtq community.

1. Stigmatization

As visualized by this awful doctored picture of openly gay Congressman Barney Frank as a leering TSA agent (courtesy of Peter LaBarbera from Americans for Truth), religious right groups have this need to define lgbtqs solely by sex acts.

Whether it be pathological or deliberately planned, to religious right groups such as the Americans for Truth or the Family Research Council, our lives are consumed with sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Never mind that we form long-lasting relationships and have thriving families because those facts don't fit in the mindset they want to push on American about us.


2. Lies

And as these two flyers demonstrate, religious right groups aren't above lying about the legislation which would benefit the lgbtq community. Both of these flyers claim that lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation would lead to pastors being arrested for calling homosexuality a sin.

President Obama signed lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation into law in 2009. Since that time, not one pastor - or anyone else for that matter - claiming that homosexuality is a sin has been brought up on charges of committing hate crimes. Not one.


3. Fear tactics

Now comes the fear. Religious right groups channel actor Kevin McCarthy at the end of the motion picture Invasion of the Body Snatchers. For those not familiar with that scene, that's when McCarthy runs out in the middle of busy traffic screaming at the top of his voice that the aliens are here and "You're Next!" if you ignore his warning.

But rather than telling adults that they are next, religious right groups tell adults that their children are "next," i.e. that they are being "targeted" by the lgbtq community.  The implication is that gays need the young to freshen up our ranks, so to speak. It's a tactic which has worked repeatedly whether done by Anita Bryant in the 70s, or in its more sophisticated form now by Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, and the folks at the National Organization for Marriage as well as other groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition and Concerned Women for America. It's really no different than when racists said that integration would lead to black men "rutting" on white women.

 So there you go. Three simple reasons why religious right groups are bigoted.

Any questions?

'NOM's push for money includes 'censored' pastors' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

 The following picture is what Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage is pushing in his latest "we need money" push:

It truly boggles the mind and it gives me an idea for a nauseating afternoon post. Don't eat before 5:30 folks.For more info about this picture, go to Jeremy Hooper's blog.


And in other news:

Harry Jackson Embarks on Campaign to Repeal Marriage Equality in Maryland - Not accidental of course. Jackson will naturally exploit Maryland's black churches.

Transgender (Mis)Education - Excellent piece which speaks to something missing (including by myself) - proper education regarding the transgender community.

‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Sponsor: Students Shouldn’t ‘Be Exposed To Alternative Lifestyles’ - If "alternative lifestyles" is defined as same-sex households, then this bill is more nasty and mean-spirited than originally thought.

Archdiocese of Baltimore: Having their tax-exempt cake, eating our rights too - It's amazing how some people abuse their tax-exempt status.

Lesbian Couple Told to 'Get a Room', Asked to Leave Phoenix Restaurant After Kiss: VIDEO - What the hell?

Religious right continue to slander judge for DOMA decision

It seems that so-called traditional values groups are highly selective when it comes to which parts of the Bible they follow.

While they thunder from the mountains about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, by their words against U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White (the judge who recently declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional), these groups seem to ignore the verse prohibiting bearing false witness against one's neighbor.

I've already mentioned how the Family Research Council called White a "San Francisco judge," thereby making a sly implication about his sexual orientation.

Mat Staver and our favorite homophobe, "Porno Pete" LaBarbera accused White of "helping Obama sabotage marriage."

Now Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia is getting into the act:

"Judge White is out of order. He is unconstitutional by ruling DOMA unconstitutional," Thomasson contends.

Of course not one of these folks will talk about the following:

White was confirmed to the federal bench by a voice vote in the Senate after being nominated by President George W. Bush in 2002. He’s the only judge confirmed to California federal courts during Bush’s two terms. After being nominated, White was approved by a bipartisan judicial selection committee and received praise from Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Nor will they even comment on the evidence used to defend DOMA:

White’s decision is remarkable for the extent to which it debunked the evidence presented by (Paul) Clement (the lawyer hired to defend DOMA by the Republicans in the House of Representatives) in opposition to same-sex marriage. Long before the decision was released, Clement’s defense was plagued with accusations of distorting research, avoiding cross-examination, and relying on widely discredited junk science. White’s ruling further demonstrated the lack of credible evidence presented in opposition to marriage equality.

Notably, he rejected the claim that same-sex couples were unfit to raise their own children, declaring:

More than thirty years of scholarship resulting in over fifty peer-reviewed empirical reports have overwhelmingly demonstrated that children raised by same-sex parents are as likely to be emotionally healthy, and educationally and socially successful as those raised by opposite-sex parents.

White went on to criticize the evidence Clement provided on same-sex parenting, criticizing his sources as “questionable,” “non-scientific,” and “without peer review.” 

These facts don't matter as long as these supposed Christian groups gain points by slandering Judge White.

And apparently these attacks are working.  Republican lawmakers will be appealing Judge White's decision.

Good luck on that, guys.

Black leaders should not ignore same-sex families of color

From Think Progress comes the following needed information:

Today, a coalition of public policy and family advocacy organizations released “LGBT Families of Color: Facts at a Glance,” which sheds light on the disparate impact of outdated laws and family policies on LGBT families of color and their children. The publication explores the challenges that LGBT Families of color face on a daily basis and dispels the myth often perpetuated in the media that LGBT families are largely white and middle class.

According to “LGBT Families of Color,” there are roughly 2 million children in the United States being raised in LGBT families and 41 percent of these families are people of color. Both black and Latino same-sex couples are more likely to raise children than white same- sex couples. Black lesbians for example are twice as likely to be raising children as their white lesbian counterparts. The report also notes that:

Children of color, in particular, are more likely to be raised in diverse family configurations that include de facto parents and are more likely to be raised by LGBT parents. Therefore, antiquated laws have a disproportionately negative impact on children of color.

An alarming number of LGBT families of color are living in poverty. For example, 32 percent of children being raised by black same-sex couples are living in poverty compared to 7 percent of children raised by married heterosexual white parents. Yet many of these families, simply because they are LGBT, are denied access to safety net programs and federal and state tax benefits that would improve their economic situations.

The report gives a number of good solutions to this problem. I have a solution also.

How about the power brokers in the black community give this report some attention.

I'm talking to Roland Martin.

I'm talking to Tavis Smiley.

I'm talking to every organization claiming to speak for the black community, particularly those who publish annual "State of Black America" reports.

This is the time where we need true black leadership. These families need support but unfortunately they don't seem to get it.

What they do get are charlatans turning cute phrases against marriage equality in public while getting their palms and egos greased in private by mostly white-led religious right groups eager to play the black and gay communities against one another.

I get so tired of hearing about a coalition of black pastors standing at a press conference whining - at the behest of the National Organization of Marriage or what ever other religious right group - that one "can't equate sin with their skin" or  "that homosexuality cannot be equated with being black."

It saddens me that these pastors are deliberately ignoring the fact that they know same-sex families of color who would benefit from their support. These families aren't going to disappear no matter how many Biblical verses are spoken.

It pains me that these supposed men and women of the cloth are fooling themselves into thinking that God somehow smiles upon them as they spew rhetoric which makes life difficult for these families and their children.

And it angers me that folks like Smiley, Martin, and many other black leaders will most likely cling to their Bibles as an excuse to ignore these families, as an excuse do the wrong thing rather than a reason to do the right thing.

These pastors and these leaders need to acknowledge same-sex families of color because until they do, they are stabbing their own people in the back.

'Mega-church pastor wants lesbian mayor to resign' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

More information at http://www.children-matter.org/

And in other news:

NH Republican Lawmaker: Push To Repeal Marriage Equality Will Create ‘Backlash Against Republicans - Word to with wise: you lay down with the National Organization for Marriage, you will come up with fleas.

Mega Church Pastor Calls On Houston Mayor Parker To Resign For Promoting Marriage Equality - Oh Puleeeeaze!

The Top 10 Ways You Can Help the Global Gay Movement - Every last one of these ideas are excellent suggestions.

Franklin Graham: Political Correctness is 'Persecuting Men and Women of Faith' - Apparently, "persecution" now means giving an assload of radio and television interviews to talk about how "persecuted" you are.

Family Research Council's new website is pathetic

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

The Family Research Council has launched a new webpage and I say that its a victory for the work that has been done to call out the organization's lies.

From Equality Matters:

Family Research Council (FRC) president Tony Perkins sent an email to supporters warning about “The Commitment Campaign,” an effort launched in November by Third Way to reframe the debate over same-sex marriage by discussing the value of commitment between gay spouses. According to Perkins, the campaign is a “deceptively-named” attempt to affirm “fake ‘marriage,’ ” and FRC needs donations to stop it.

Perkins then pushed the following webpage called "Stop Fake Marriage."

Now when this page was first premiered, it was rather sloppy with huge spelling errors. Of course FRC has corrected those spelling errors.

However it's too bad that the organization neglected to correct the errors when it comes to pushing reasons why marriage equality is so-called fakery. FRC makes the following three claims:

Children will be indoctrinated:

If same-sex "marriage" is legalized, sex-ed classes from K-12 will be required to teach that same-sex relationships are virtuous, and that anyone who disagrees "such as parents or pastors" are bigots. One homosexual opinion leader, Daniel Villareal, admitted, "Recruiting children? You bet we are! We wanted to deliberately educate children to accept queer sexuality as normal." FRC experts have documented this agenda, and your donation will help us inform more lawmakers, courts, and parents.

Leave it to FRC to take one point by one gay author and use it to generalize about the entire community. Villareal of the online blog Queerty was merely making a point - albeit in a fashion more suited to shock rather than logic - that the lgbtq community must not allow the right to define the argument when it comes to children and learning about same-sex relationships because not only are these relationships positive but also there are children being raised in same-sex homes. FRC took only paragraph out of his piece. You can read the entire piece here.

You will lose religious freedoms

Same-sex marriage at the local level has already been used to shut down Christian adoption agencies in Boston and the District of Columbia. Consider that. If same-sex marriage is imposed nationally, church facilities, family ministries, Christian officials "like county clerks and justices of the peace" and Christian-run wedding businesses and more will be pressured to compromise their views or face crushing legal consequences. Your donation will help FRC experts expose these dangers.

These agencies were receiving tax dollars to provide services but they refuse to allow same-sex couples to adopt the children in their care. Church facilities are not forced to hold same-sex weddings. Clerks and justices of the peace are elected to follow the law, not their own religion. And if the law says that same-sex couples should be allowed to wed, those officials should either follow the law or resign. Finally "Christian-run" business generally have to follow non-discrimination laws, just like every other business. One wonders if FRC would be so favorable to said business if the owners specifically wouldn't cater to Christians.

Lives will be ruined by deception

Decades of social science research shows that same-sex relationships do not have the same level of commitment as traditional marriages. Promiscuity, mental and physical health problems, and other turmoil in same-sex relationships vastly exceed that of heterosexual relationships. That is not message of hate, as homosexual activists claim. Ours is a message of fact-based, loving concern for all, including those trapped in homosexuality. Silence is not loving. Your donation will help FRC speak the truth in love.

Here lies our victory. Usually when FRC pulls the "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" lie, the organization supplies links to studies and research - albeit the studies are fraudulent pieces written by FRC members such as Peter Sprigg or studies taken out of context. But there is nothing here. FRC doesn't even bother to post any proof of its claims.

Who knows? Perhaps being declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the constant stream of truth-telling by bloggers like myself is making FRC reluctant to put its phony proof on the table.

Finally.

All in all, FRC's "Stop Fake Marriage" page is amusing. The only reason why anyone should donate to this page wouldn't be out of righteous indignation, but rather pity in hopes that with more money, FRC could come up with a less pathetic website.

National Organization for Marriage slapped down by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court just gave Brian Brown and NOM something to really cry about.

According to Think Progress, the National Organization for Marriage continued its losing streak in front of the courts with a huge loss at the U.S. Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court has decided not to hear the National Organization for Marriage’s challenge to Maine’s campaign finance laws:

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a constitutional challenge to a Maine law that requires those seeking to raise and spend money in state election campaigns to organize as a political action committee for that activity, and make significant disclosures about their financial operations.   That was challenged in a petition, National Organization for Marriage v. McKee (11-599), after the state law was upheld by the First Circuit Court.

Though this may be perceived as a non-event, it represents a huge defeat for the anti-gay organization’s secrecy and as well as its self-victimizing claims that supporters of “traditional marriage” are persecuted for their beliefs. NOM was one of the top fundraisers supporting Maine’s Question 1 in 2009, a people’s veto of marriage equality legislation that ended up passing. For three years, NOM has used this lawsuit to keep the sources of its funding hidden, but now the organization has no other avenues to appeal, having lost every step of the way.

Though their identities remain unknown, NOM has a select group of donors that fund most of its operations. In the meantime, it purports to have a broad base of “members,” even though it doesn’t collect any money from membership dues. It is particularly fortuitous that NOM faces this loss in addition to its similar setback in Washington state, as both states are planning for referenda to approve marriage equality this year. Unfortunately for Brian Brown, John Eastman, Maggie Gallagher, and the rest of the NOM crew, free speech does not come without the cost of accountability, and the world might soon see just how NOM has paid for its.

Just in time for the 2012 marriage equality fights. How very fitting. Now instead of jeering, how about we take some action. We all know where NOM's money is probably coming from. The Supreme Court has set up the coup de grace for us.

Now we need to deliver it.

'Santorum whining about religious persecution' and other Monday midday news briefs

Santorum Embraces the Religious Right's Latest Lie - Give a bigot a shot at getting a presidential nomination and watch him lose his mind.

Vote For Marriage NC courts the 'all gay men need diapers' vote - "Diaper Pastor" Patrick Wooden is heavily involved in the effort to stop marriage equality in North Carolina and Jeremy Hooper has the pictures to prove it. So much for that "intelligent and reasonable" conversation.

Conservatives Livid at Bush-Appointed Judge who struck down DOMA - Geez. What took them so long.

Nebraska Churches Buy Full-Page Ad To Oppose LGBT-Friendly Nondiscrimination Protections - 214 churches are destroying their own integrity here. This is a secular issue having nothing to do with them.

Know Thine Enemy: The Worst Anti-Gay Moments Of The Week, February 19 - February 26 - Last but not least, a hot mess of crazy.

Washington Post publishes poor article on marriage equality

The Washington Post published an article last week sure to make the National Organization for Marriage squeal with happiness.

It focuses on the Maryland black pastors who stand against the newly passed marriage equality law in the state:

Nathaniel Thomas spent decades as an administrator in Howard University’s student affairs office, counseling young people not only about their course work but also about their personal quests for justice. He came to the ministry at the dawn of middle age, eager to help people, and especially fellow black men, discover in the word of God a path out of despair.

Over the past couple of years, as Thomas and dozens of other black clergymen in Prince George’s County have stood on the front line of the campaign against same-sex marriage, he has come to see the revolution at hand — in his view, a rebellion against religion and tradition — as an assault on the sustainability of the black family.

Which is why Thomas and his friend Reynold Carr, director of the Prince George’s Baptist Association, are gearing up for the next battle, a statewide ballot referendum in November to challenge the legalization of same-sex marriage, which the state House of Delegates approved last Friday. The state Senate passed a measure Thursday evening; Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said he will sign the bill. The pastors are not predicting victory in a referendum, but they think they stand a better chance among voters than politicians.

. . . He knows that some gay activists are incredulous that black ministers could oppose a civil rights initiative. “ ‘How dare a black preacher take this position,’ they say, ‘because you’ve felt this pain,’ and I have,” he says. Over the decades, he has marched for voting and housing rights and fought for equal protection for blacks.

But Thomas and the 77 other Baptist ministers in the association do not see same-sex marriage as a civil rights matter. Rather, they say, it is a question of Scripture, of whether a country based on Judeo-Christian principles will honor what’s written in Romans or decide to make secular decisions about what’s right. In Maryland, as in California and New York, opinion polls have shown that although a majority of white voters support recognition of same-sex marriage, a majority of blacks oppose it, often on religious grounds.

Unfortunately the article reads like a NOM press release. Allegedly the pastors are "being picked on." The pastors are allegedly "called bigots." I say allegedly because the article offers no proof of this other than what the pastors claim. The article didn't even talk about black pastors in the state, such as Delman Coates, who supports marriage equality and have actually spoken out for it.

And the worst part? The article doesn't even talk about lgbtqs of color. Nor does it quote any lgbtqs of color. The article pushes the false notion that the gay and black communities are diametrically opposed when we all know that there is some serious overlapping of the two - particularly when it comes to same-sex households.

In 2000, the Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Black Justice Coalition came out with a groundbreaking study which looked at African-American same-sex households. The study found that:

According to the 2000 Census, there are almost 85,000 Black same-sex couples in the United States. Some 14% of all same-sex couples who self-identified on the US Census were Black same-sex couples. These couples and their families will be disproportionately harmed by proposed state and federal anti-gay marriage amendments. Despite the prejudice they may face due to racism and anti-gay bias, Black same-sex couples create and sustain stable families, many of them with children, and defy hurtful stereotypes of both Black people and gay and lesbian people.

. . . Black men and women in same-sex households in the U.S. are about 25% more likely than White men and women in same-sex households to hold public sector jobs (16% of Black same-sex partners hold public sector jobs, vs. 13% of White same-sex partners). Many municipalities and state governments now offer domestic partner health insurance to employees in same-sex relationships (along with spousal health insurance to married employees). Because most of the anti-marriage amendments currently under consideration in the U.S. go beyond banning same-sex marriage and either ban or threaten domestic partner health insurance, such initiatives are a disproportionate threat to Black men and women in same-sex households.

You see the passage of marriage equality is an important issue for the black community. It's not about religious beliefs, but fairness for all families.

Unfortunately you will never hear about that nor will you hear about the presence of black same-sex couples from these pastors who are supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the entire black community.

And unfortunately that same degree of silence seems to be echoed by The Washington Post.