Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law - Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee on why he will sign the bill which will make his state the 10th to have marriage equality.
Is the Military Preparing to Court Martial Christians? - Not necessarily an lgbt-article per se, but you know how the religious right will try to tie this into gays and lesbians being allowed to serve openly. Also, it gives you another opportunity to explore the distortions of Todd Starnes.
I apologize for those who are offended regarding this post. But I feel that with regards of Jason Collins' coming out, there seems to be a loss of perspective. From the blog Women's Post comes the tweets of folks not happy with Collins' decision to come out:
Milky Cabrèra@Big_Sal17 - Listening to Jason Collins describe his gayness as "beautiful" makes me wanna puke. And kill him.
Batten down the hatches and hold your noses. Janet Porter and her Faith2Action group has come out with another ugly video repeating the same homophobic propaganda we have heard over and over again. The video is so bad that it was initially removed as hate speech. Luckily there is a back up copy for you to peruse.
Faith 2 Action’s Janet Porter has been releasing clips of her film which warns that gays and lesbians are out to criminalize Christianity and no different than adulterers.
In the latest segment, actors mock the books “Heather Has Two Mommies”
and “Daddy’s Roommate” by having a teacher read “Heather has Two
Cigarettes” and “Daddy’s Roommate has Lung Cancer,” while accusing a
non-smoking toddler of being a “smokerphobe.”
“Homosexual behavior is up to three times more dangerous than
smoking,” according to Porter’s film, “We don’t promote smoking in the schools, so why would we promote something even more dangerous.”
The film later interviews the head of the American Family Association’s Michigan chapter Gary Glenn, who favors the criminalization of homosexuality, who said that homosexuality should be discouraged in the same way we see campaigns against smoking.
“If you really care and love somebody you don’t want them to be
involved in behavior that’s going to make them die earlier,” Glenn said,
“if you love them you want them to stick around and encourage them to
get out of that lifestyle…. True Christian compassion is trying to help
people out of self- destructive behavior.”
This video pulls out all of stops, including citing that ridiculous Fox News story about the "forced middle school lesbian kiss," which I refuted.
The discredited idea that homosexuality is more dangerous than cigarette smoking is one which is derived from our favorite junk scientist, Paul Cameron.
Now with Janet Porter coming out with all of these recent videos, some of you have asked just who is she. Well I could go into a long expository of how strident and nauseatingly disturbed I see her as, but I think the following video of Porter praying to God - or rather demanding that God give her and folks like her control of the media - says it all. And by the way, it's not a joke:
Rush Limbaugh
said Penn State's Sandusky was gay. Bill O'Reilly retorted (1)
"homosexuality has nothing to do with the crime of pedophilia." Really,
O'Reilly?
We put "2012 Child Sexual Abuse"
through Google News from Feb 8 thru March 8, 2013. Counting same-sex
adult/child sex as homosexual; opposite-sex abuse as heterosexual, the
homosexual fraction for the 210 US perpetrators in Google-linked stories
was:
Women were 1 of 25 foreign, 22
(10%) of U.S. perpetrators (13 [59%]) engaged in homosexuality.
Homosexuality was also large among foreign clerics (Catholic 4/5;
Protestant 1/1; Jewish 3/3).
Child sexual abuse was excessively homosexual
as only 3% of adults admitted homosexual contacts in the U.S.
government random sample of 33,902.(2) In Jay &Young (3) 22% of
4,329 gays & 5% of 962 lesbians reported illegal sex with children
of their sex. And in Kinsey Institute (4) interviews with 671 San
Francisco gays, 23% admitted illegal sex with boys; of 288 lesbians, 4%
admitted illegal sex with girls. And these perpetrators said kids were
only 'half or less' of their sex partners -- the rest were adults.
Three centuries before Christ,
Aristophanes noted "when they grow to be men, they become lovers of
boys, and it requires compulsion to overcome their natural
disinclination to marriage and procreation." "Do some homework,
O'Reilly!" said Dr. Paul Cameron, who supervised the study: "Look at the empirical evidence, not pro-homosexual professional association statements."
What garbage. First of all, the premise is wrong. The gender of the victim has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the perpetrator. Secondly, the belief that child sexual abuse being "excessively homosexual" has been rejected by several groups including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of
Social Workers, the American Academy of Child Psychiatrists and the
Child Welfare League of America.
Thirdly, two of Cameron's sources - Jay and Young (The Gay Report) and the Kinsey Institute (Homosexualities) were published over 30 years ago. And both works have explicitly said that their conclusions are not meant to generalize about the entire lgbt community.
The Gay Report - We agreed at the outset not to pretend that these percentages
represented the practices and views of all gay people—they reflected
only our respondents.
Homosexualities - “. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage
homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that
any investigator will ever be in a position to say that this or that is
true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.”
Is it any wonder why Cameron is a laughing stock in the medical profession?
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality tells American Family News that Collins is actually struggling with homosexual sin.
“He was born with genes that made him tall. He wasn't born with a gay gene,” says LaBarbera. “I feel sorry for this man. He's being celebrated, which will encourage him to stay in his sin, and he needs to leave it like so many men and women have before him.”
The family advocate adds there is "a huge push to have homosexuality embraced in professional sports." Teams in the four major professional sports have special events to draw positive attention to the lifestyle – and LaBarbera contends that is not healthy for children.
“These professional athletes are models for children, whether we like it or not,” he says. “And so this will lead the children embracing homosexuality and saying, Hey, it's good enough for Jason Collins it's good enough for me.”
It is LaBarbera's hope that Collins will encounter Christians who will help him leave the lifestyle by embracing Jesus Christ.
In case you have been living in cave with your fingers in your ears, 12 year NBA veteran Jason Collins became the first openly active gay man in sports.
Now this story caught me flatfooted because I had two exclusives today. So I think it's better for me to give a news briefs recap just in case you couldn't catch all of the news - and there was a lot of it today - about Collins' landmark decision:
The Good - Collins has gotten a lot of support, which he richly deserves
And THEN there is the ugly, which is another way of saying the religious right. That leads me to ask a basic question. If these people detest homosexuality so much, then why are they always showing their asses:
The above video is the latest monstrosity from the group Faith2Action and Janet Porter (the entities behind several other ridiculously homophobic videos). It's the usual nonsense about how gays supposedly want to "silence" Christians and harm children.
I would have yawned and let it go by except for one vicious lie in it. At 1:02, the narrator - Folger - zeroed in on the Southern Poverty Law Center. Folger and other members of the religious right have been angry at SPLC ever since the organization designated several anti-gay organizations as hate groups due to their deliberate spread of untrue propaganda about the lgbt community.
Folger claims that SPLC published the personal information and address of Concerned Women for America's president Peggy Nance and invited people to "visit" her. Folger then connects this claim to last year's shooting at the Family Research Council headquarters.
But this is a lie. SPLC has never published Nance's personal information or address. I know that SPLC would have never stooped to such a tasteless and dangerous tactic. And I confirmed this via an email this morning with Mark Potok, SPLC spokesman and director of publications and information.
The shooting last year at FRC headquarters was awful and I am thankful that no one was seriously hurt. However, the attempt by Folger and other members of the religious right (particularly the Family Research Council itself) to exploit the shooting is simply nauseating.
It's bad enough to create a false connection between the obviously disturbed young man who attacked FRC and SPLC (particularly when there was no connection between the two), but now religious right spokespeople are stooping to distasteful inferences that SPLC is deliberately trying to create another tragedy.
The above story has been playing huge in religious right and conservative circles lately. The story, which not only includes the tale of a forced lesbian kiss but also boys being told to carry condoms in their pockets, has been the talk of several conservative sites from Free Republic to The American Thinker to World Net Daily.
The National Organization for Marriage referred to this story in three separate emails last week as an example of what will happen should marriage equality become legal across the country.
Not surprisingly, the story isn't necessarily true.
According to the school district, during the workshop at Linden Avenue Middle School, no female student was forced to engage in any lesbian kissing, male students were not told to carry condoms, and sexual activity between students was not condoned in any way. The district also said:
During the week of April 9, eighth grade communication sessions were held at Linden Avenue Middle
School. These sessions were designed by building leadership and the guidance department. The goals of
these sessions were to encourage students to treat one another
(and all marginalized groups)
with more
respect as well as to further develop an appreciation for personal dignity.
In response to parental concerns about these sessions Dr. Zahedi, the middle school principal, held an
evening informational forum on April 16. This session was well attended and the subsequent feedback
has been positive. In addition, the Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools, Paul Finch,
addressed the community at the April 24 board meeting on the topic of these sessions. Here again,
feedback from the community and students was overwhelmingly positive.
Here is an interesting fact you do need to remember - this story gained steam when it was picked up by Fox News reporter Todd Starnes. While Starnes did cite the area newspaper, The Poughkeepsie Journal, in his post, he choose to add more lurid detail about the alleged lesbian kiss. Also, while The Journal talked about the entire workshop as a whole, Starnes chose to take the "they didn't even notify the parents" route, thereby playing up a semantical tone that the school was trying to "indoctrinate" students.
On Monday of last week, the district sent Starnes an email asking that he update his story with correct information. It is not known whether or not Starnes chose to update his story but now the school district has to deal with what it calls "hostile and hateful emails" from many who don't even live in the area. It puts the blame for this solely on Starnes and the organizations - such as NOM - who chose to repeat Starnes' "inaccurate" story.
My guess is that Starnes had already made up his mind what the "true story" about the workshop was once he heard of the alleged lesbian kiss and condoms.
According to Equality Matters as the "culture reporter" for Fox News, Starnes uses his role as a mouthpiece to not only funnel information from several anti-gay groups, but also to push anti-gay information into the mainstream. Equality Matters points out several other incidents in which Starnes has made it a point to report stories which "depict LGBT equality as a threat to religious and personal freedom."
In the case of the Red Hook School District, the only threat was most likely Starnes himself. A reporter on a crusade to push a point of view instead of the facts is always dangerous.
Meet Todd Starnes, Fox’s Mouthpiece For Anti-Gay Hate Groups - Todd Starnes is the religious right point man for Fox News. If the lgbt community does not watch out for his biased and shrill way of spreading false stories about "gay oppression," it will cause us problems.
The Family Research Council has released footage of the FBI questioning Floyd Corkins, the shooter who targeted the organization last year. In this footage, Corkins says that he saw FRC listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Translation by FRC and its supporters will be that SPLC led Corkins to go on his attempted murder spree.
Rumor control has it that FRC president Tony Perkins will appear on Fox News with Megyn Kelly tomorrow to talk about this footage. Knowing Fox News, Kelly, and Perkins, it will be a biased, propaganda interview in which Perkins will do his best to attack SPLC for the actions of Corkins.
I will be highly surprised if someone from SPLC will be invited to come on the show and defend the organization from this barrage of propaganda.
While I am glad that no one was harmed by Corkins's absolutely stupid attempt at activism, the one thing which will also drive me crazy is how Kelly and Perkins will work together to change the subject of the issue and divert attention away from the fact that SPLC didn't start this entire mess.
The anti-gay propaganda and the demonizing homophobic rhetoric of FRC also had much to do with this mess. And I think that any conversation about the shooting must include the above video. Please pass it along.
The 20th Anniversary of the LGBT March on Washington: How Far Have We Come? - I was there 20 years ago during the march and I do not have good memories of it. I may write about it in the future but I can say that MUCH has changed. For one thing, we are more disciplined and attuned to what we must do.
Yesterday, the Rhode Island Senate passed a marriage equality bill. The bill now goes back to the House where it will be voted on again - a mere formality - and from there it will go to Governor Lincoln Chaffee who has said he will sign it.
Naturally, Brian Brown from the National Organization for Marriage is vocal about his disappointment:
"Lawmakers have allowed themselves to be fooled into thinking they have
protected people of faith when in fact they have put those who believe
in true marriage in the crosshairs of the law and gay 'marriage'
activists. It won't be long before the repercussions begin to be felt."
. . . "For the first time, the state of Rhode Island is saying to its children
they do not deserve both a mother and a father, and are backing a law
that is designed to intentionally deprive some kids of either a mom or a
dad," Brown said. "It's bad enough when families break down through
divorce or death, but it's unconscionable when a state encourages this
through policies that deprive children of the love of both a mother and a
father. This is a very sad day for Rhode Island."
Same old arguments, same old lies. That's the thing about using the same old arguments. Sooner or later, folks recognize how empty they are and begin to turn against them.
Sometimes, if you give bigots enough rope, they embarrass themselves so badly that you can't help BUT to put them up for display. Perfect example is Bryan Fischer whom I'm beginning to think is secretly working on our side. The above video is him defending an Ohio Catholic school for firing a lesbian teacher.
Remember that Bryan Fischer is a spokesman of the American Family Association, one of the groups designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-gay hate groups. But Fischer and the AFA - along with the other groups fitting that designation - claim that they are being attacked for their so-called Christian values.
I guess the above video is a vocalization of their so-called Christian values. Such a brazen admission of prejudice by Fischer is really nothing to get angry about. Getting angry at Fischer's need to vocalize his homophobia is the equivalent of a football team getting angry at another team for handing them the ball and allowing them to score points which will put them ahead with two seconds on the clock.
If homophobes are constantly complaining about being unfairly labeled as "bigots," when why do they make it so easy?
Allow Right Wing Watch to tell you about the above monstrosity:
Stooping to a new low, Janet Porter’s Faith 2 Action is mocking the
process of gay people coming out by releasing a video of a man revealing
to his family that he is an adulterer and demanding affirmation.
This is the latest in a series of hideously piss poor homophobic videos coming from Porter. Remember the past hits such as:
The Criminalization of Christianity:
And Don't Homosexualize The Boy Scouts:
One more thing you should know about Porter. In 1998, she was head of a national religious right campaign which sought to persuade Americans that homosexuality was a choice which one could allegedly "walk away from." The campaign focused largely on the visibility of a man named John Paulk who claimed that he was once gay but was presently happily married and heterosexual.
Today, Paulk has issued an apology for his involvement in that campaign and the ex-gay movement at large. Meanwhile, Porter has dropped down to making triple z-level videos so bad that famed director Ed Wood would have disavowed them.
Editor's note - no big calamity, folks. I am simply taking one of my half days off to deal with personal issues. I will be back tomorrow morning, full of fire, vinegar, and music. Or if something good happens later today, then you know I will be posting it.
I'm yanking this awesome exchange from Jeremy Hooper. It's from Delaware's House of Representatives hearing on the possible marriage equality law and it also demonstrates that probably one of the reasons why opponents of marriage equality are losing. Their arguments about the destruction "constitutional rights" and religious liberties" are one-note talking points which dissolve under questioning by folks who know their facts.
And this just in - the Delaware House of Representatives just passed marriage equality bill by a 23-18 vote. Now on to the Senae.
In a move which will send the religious right into orbit, ENDA will be introduced in Congress on Thursday:
The Employment
Non-Discrimination Act is set to be introduced in both chambers of
Congress on Thursday, according to multiple sources, but without major
changes that were previously under consideration.
The bill will be reintroduced in the House by Rep. Jared Polis
(D-Colo.), the most senior openly gay member of the chamber, who’s
taking over the legislation now that former Rep. Barney Frank has
retired. In the Senate, the legislation will be reintroduced by Sen.
Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). The lawmakers’ offices confirmed they would
introduce ENDA concurrently on Thursday.
The Senate version of the bill will have five original sponsors:
Merkley and lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) will be two Democrats,
Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) will be two
Republicans and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will round out the quintet.
The number of original co-sponsors in the House remains to be seen.
Conchita Cruz, a Polis spokesperson, said many House members have told
her boss “they want to make sure that they are included” as original
co-sponsors.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, said his organization
will push for a committee vote and movement on the Senate floor for ENDA
“as soon as possible.”
It's going to be interesting to watch religious right groups such as the Family Research Council spin false portents of doom about gays wanting to imprison Christians and how ENDA will lead to this happening. Of course it's not as if they haven't done this before. The following links of past religious right lies about ENDA is a hint as to what to expect come Thursday:
I found the above ridiculous conversation between the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber and Mat Staver to be very interesting. They were making a illogical comparison about how naming anti-gay groups is similar to what the Nazi party did to the Jews in German before World War 2. Staver lists a bunch of things he claims the Nazis did to stigmatize those of the Jewish faith.. I found it very telling when one makes a real comparison:
Staver - Nazis painted false straw man images of Jewish people. But isn't this was what Staver did in October 2011 when he said that gay rights will doom civilization:
Staver - Nazis dehumanized Jews. But isn't this what Barber, Staver's radio cohost, did to gays in September 2011 when he claimed that gays advance pedophilia:
And Staver himself did to gays in early April this year when he and Barber claimed that "tolerance" of gays is a cancer which destroys societies:
Staver - Nazis fanned an environment where people hated Jews. But by falsely labeling gays as sex-obsessed in the following clip, isn't Staver - and Barber - doing the same thing:
I generally don't like to pull out a reference to Nazis, but I also don't like unfair comparisons. And, truth be told, if we were to ask the question just whose rhetoric mostly resembles that of the Nazi party, I think Staver's and Barber's has the lgbt community beaten by a couple of miles.
NOM Openly Advocates For Anti-Gay Business Discrimination - I've said it once and I will say it again - if businesses can use the "religious liberty" argument to discriminate against gays, where does it stop? Who else can be discriminated against?
As evidenced by the above biased report from Pat Robertson's 700 Club, the Familly Research Council and the American Family Association are working hard to push the pseudo controversy of them being called hate groups by an army officer.
One thing though. If you whine about being called a hate group based upon rhetoric, perhaps its best that the main person responsible for your plight not be the main person defending you. I mean with all of the video around on youtube, having Bryan Fischer playing defense over charges of hate doesn't exactly seem all that credible:
Gay characters in soap operas are now more common place and that's because of good storylines and actors, rather than silly melodrama. The following is one of the first and best:
Ryan (Philippe) appeared on One Life to Live during the summer of 1992. Ryan's role was a breakthrough one: daytime television's first gay teenager. Ryan plays Billy Douglas, newcomer to the town of Llanview.
Billy is reluctant to tell anyone of his homosexuality, especially his parents. He is able, however, to confide in the town's pastor, Andrew. And then, due to the scheming of a woman Andrew scorned, rumors fly around town, that the pastor is a homosexual and has made advances on Billy.
The town quickly displays it's homophobia, with Billy's parents leading the way, demanding for the removal of Reverend Andrew from the parish. Upon witnessing the town's reaction Billy is now even more afraid to reveal his secret. Yet his silence only draws Andrew into deeper criticism.
It all comes down to a dramatic moment when the town meets at the parish where Andrew gives a riveting speech on the disease of prejudice and homophobia. Billy takes a public stand, against his father and in support of Andrew.
FRC Blames ‘Sexual Liberalism’ and ‘Family Breakdown’ for Mass Murders - The Family Research Council celebrates the defeat of background checks legislation in the Senate because apparently if Jesus had a gun, he wouldn't have been crucified (I'm being extremely snarky in the last part. In this day and age, you have to clarify everything, including a fart.)
As the situation in Boston reaches its crescendo, let's not forget our lgbt children. Today is GLSEN's Day of Silence across America's schools. What is the Day of Silence? Allow these videos to tell you:
Several religious right groups have been on a tear lately about the following:
A Fort Campbell lieutenant colonel’s email to subordinates regarding extremism and hate groups “inconsistent with Army Values” has raised the ire of evangelical Christians both locally and nationwide.
The message, which appears to have been generated by a single individual and not part of an Army-approved training program or command-generated memorandum, lists several state and national organizations with extensive support among the Christian conservative right – including the American Family Association and Family Research Council – as domestic hate groups.
The email that set off the controversy last week was actually sent by Lt. Col. Jack L. Rich to officer and non-commissioned officer subordinates on Friday, Aug. 10, 2012.
Now when the Family Research Council, the American Family Association (two groups mentioned in the email), and their allies (which includes Fox News "cultural reporter" Todd Starnes) complain about this letter - which they had been doing ad naseum, they claimed that the Rich was attacking "Christian" groups or ministries. Starnes even blames Obama and says he is "religiously cleansing" the military.
I have a feeling that we will be seeing and hearing more about this letter, so let's examine the crux of what it says. It talks about various hate groups, but I am willing to bet that the part which really gets FRC, AFA, and Starnes upset is as follows:
The religious right in America has employed a variety of strategies in
its efforts to beat back the increasingly confident gay rights movement.
One of those has been defamation. Many of its leaders have engaged in
the crudest type of name-calling, describing LGBT people as “perverts”
with “filthy habits” who seek to snatch the children of straight parents
and “convert” them to gay sex. They have disseminated disparaging
“facts” about gays that are simply untrue assertions that are remarkably
reminiscent of the way white intellectuals and scientists once wrote
about the “bestial” black man and his supposedly threatening sexuality.
For the life of me, I can understand why the Family Research Council and the American Family Association are upset. I mean it's not like they have used crude name-calling against the lgbt community:
Or linked gays to pedophilia:
Or spread disparaging and untrue assertions about gays:
I mean that's ridiculous:
Completely ridiculous:
Because if these things were true, then that would mean that their claim of being attacked because of their faith is a lie and a dodge created to obscure the point that Rich's letter was correct and they are anti-gay hate groups whose influence would damage the cohesiveness of our military force by exploiting the fears of heterosexual soldiers against their gay and lesbian fellow soldiers.
And it would mean that perhaps these groups and those who defend them (that especially includes Starnes) should worry less about Rich's letter and more about their definition of a "Christian" group or ministry because, unless I don't know my Bible, no Christian group lies, distorts, or bears false witness against any group, including gays.
French President Condemns Surge Of Homophobic Violence - As they move closer to passing marriage equality laws in France, homophobes are getting more and more violent and suddenly NOM is nowhere to be seen. I wonder why because Brian Brown and the group were all 'Viva La France' a little while ago.
Just damn humiliating. This recent anti-marriage equality protest in Minnesota was a huge failure and embarrassment for those in attendance. Even Focus on the Family's Glenn T. Stanton's appearance couldn't salvage it.
Just when you thought Dave Agema was bad enough when it came to state congressional legislators and leaders spouting off anti-gay propaganda, here comes another one. According to Radio Iowa, Iowa state Senator Dennis Guth of Klemme gave a speech which in part said the following:
“The media, for the most part, has bamboozled us into thinking that having a relationship outside of the boundaries of monogamous, heterosexual marriage is positive, happy and fulfilling,” Guth said. “Movies, television shows, articles and magazines abound with this theme, giving partial information to vulnerable audience: our children.”
Guth said there are “numerous” health and mental problems associated with homosexuality that “ultimately” shorten the lives of gays and lesbians.
“There are health risks that my family incurs because of the increase of sexually transmitted infections that this lifestyle invites. For example, there are more and more medical tests required before giving blood or giving birth,” Guth said.
Guth said “many civilizations have fallen” because the traditional family was not protected and he argued the homosexual lifestyle “is a lie.”
“If I saw someone going the wrong way on a one-way street, I would make every effort to stop and redirect them,” Guth said.
“Simply put, it saves lives to have honest communication not only about the sexually transmitted diseases that shorten lifespans, but also about the deep loneliness that accompanies a life based on youth, beauty and sex.”
All of what Guth said were lies. But before you get angry, please note that another state senator, Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, called him out:
“Much of what you heard today on the floor of the senate is warmed over
rhetoric that has been invented by the Christian right, extreme groups,”
McCoy said. “…What I heard today was ignorant and I know where it came
from and I think that I am not gay by choice. I am not gay by choice,
but I choose not to be ignorant.”
Just a small reminder that while McCoy was right on, the lgbt community must do more to call out anti-gay propaganda because a lot of the folks repeating it are those who vote on our very lives.
Activist Files Public Records Lawsuit Against UCF Trustees, Hitt - A good friend of mine and fellow lgbt blogger, John Becker, is has filed a public records lawsuit seeking more information on that fraudulent anti-gay parenting study by Mark Regnerus. I will definitely keep you posted on this situation.
Ever since basketball legend Magic Johnson's son, Earvin Johnson III, recently came out, there has been a somewhat flurry of conversation.
I call it "somewhat" because while his father and mother have been receiving many accolades as good parents who support their son, the young man - known as EJ - seems to not been able to get a word in edgewise about in the conversation about his life.
This to me is a shame, not only because he should be able to talk, but also because of the fact that it's rare in which an African-American gay male is seen in the public eye.
Via the above interview, EJ talks about coming out, his family, and the attention he has received.
Sh*t People Say is a series of parody videos exploring social and gender stereotypes using the phrasal template “ Sh*t X says.” The videos were inspired by a single topic blog and web series titled “ Sh*t Girls Say,” showcasing various cliches and verbal mannerisms that are commonly associated with teenage girls and young women . . .
With that in mind, the above video from Lambda Legal is called 'Sh*t Homophobic People Say.' And boy do I wish it were a parody.
No doubt the religious right will go into orbit over this but so what. If you allow discrimination based on religious beliefs, where does it stop?
A judge has ruled a Hawaii bed and breakfast violated the law when two women were denied a room because they're gay.
The Hawaii First Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of a Southern California couple who sued Aloha Bed & Breakfast for discrimination in 2011, Lambda Legal announced Monday. In 2007, Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford tried to book a room at the bed and breakfast because it's in Hawaii Kai, the same east Honolulu neighborhood where the friend they were visiting lived.
When Cervelli specified they would need one bed, the owner asked if they were lesbians. Cervelli responded truthfully and the owner said she was uncomfortable having lesbians in her house because of her religious views, the lawsuit said.
The bed and breakfast violated the state public accommodations law and is ordered to stop discriminating against same-sex couples, according to the ruling dated April 11. The public accommodations law prohibits establishments that provide lodging to transient guests from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, race, color, ancestry, religion, disability and sex —including gender identity or expression.
