Religious right portrays Jason Collins as threatening black man who has 'butt sex'

Apparently the religious right are upset to the point of insane distraction by the fact that NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet. While the lgbt community, while still celebrating Collins' decision to be open about his life, have pretty much moved to other matters, the religious right continue to castigate Collins. The following are just a few examples:

There is this graphic which portrays Collins as a threatening black man:

Then there are several comments via several religious right figures:

Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel:

But, lest you worry about Jason Collins’ incredible act of courage going otherwise unlauded by this president and his mainstream media, I shall hasten to comfort you. For Mr. Obama also heaped spoonfuls of sparkly-sweet sugar upon Jason’s hate-tattered brow at a frenzied news conference. CBS News describes it thusly: “President Obama told reporters he ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of NBA player Jason Collins, who one day earlier announced he was gay. Mr. Obama said Collins is ‘a role model’ to be able to say, ‘I’m still 7-foot-tall and can bang with Shaq, and deliver a hard foul.’” Um, right, exactly. If we can’t be proud of sodomy, what can we be proud of?

Linda Harvey of Mission America:

As it turns out, [Jason] Collins is actually an ex-heterosexual. Since he had a relationship with a woman, his ex-fiancée, who told reporters she had no idea about this other side of him. Some might say that this is bisexuality but it really reveals an anything-goes sexual behavior that once again is an evidence of choice, not something inborn. Many in our politically correct media will of course refuse to see this and connect the dots. Let me refer to a couple of Christian commentators who had insights on the Jason Collins situation. Steve Nobel of Called2Action Ministries sent out an e-newsletter with his headline, “Why is this news and why did the President of the United States call him?” Noble went on to say, “I’m so tired of ‘gay this’ and ‘gay that,’ aren’t you?” Yes Steve, you’re not alone in thinking we’ve heard enough deceit about a sinful, high-risk behavior. It’s not like race, no one is born this way, and Jason Collins should feel shame and a desire to change, not pride.

But the blue ribbon has to go to anti-gay activist Dave Daubenmire who freaks out over President Obama calling a man who supposedly participates in "butt sex:"



So while America celebrates the fact that pro-athlete had the courage to come out of the closet thus be a role model to the millions of adults and children who are struggling to be able to accept their God-given sexual orientation, the religious right simply sees a threatening black man who has "butt sex."

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

NOM had better recognize that its supporters are going too far

The following comment was left on a recent post of the National Organization for Marriage's blog by a longtime NOM blog commentator and supporter Barb Chamberlan (comment 10):

It's always fascinating to Google the names of children in the grips of same-sex couples. You'll be surprised at how much information there is about them, despite their guardians' attempts to keep it a secret. You might even find the names of their real parents. Try it sometime. Of course, the opposition is too afraid to do so. 

I don't know what Chamberlan's reasoning for posting that mess but I would say that NOM had better get a hold of its supporters. 

Let's not even imply in the least that "seeking information" on children in same-sex households for whatever purpose is a decent or good thing. It's always fun to point out whenever NOM's phony mask of respectability slips off, but what Chamberlan seems to be implying here is downright spooky.

Hat tip to my Facebook friend Dale Spivey.

Marriage equality will come to Delaware!

Beating back what I can only describe as a "wall of crazy," marriage equality supporters in Delaware succeeded in making that state the 11th to legalize gay marriage:

The Delaware Senate passed a marriage equality bill Tuesday on a 12-9 vote, following the House's passage of the bill in late April.

Speaking in favor of the bill before the vote, Sen. Bryan Townsend said, "I hope we begin to treat as equals all those who wish to announce their love and commitment to the world."

Gov. Jack Markell will sign the bill, making Delaware the 11th state to recognize same-sex couples' marriage rights. The bill will go into effect on July 1, and all civil unions not converted to marriages or dissolved by July 1, 2014, will be automatically converted into marriages.

During the course of the afternoon, Sen. Karen Peterson came out publicly to her colleagues as a lesbian, discussing what the bill would do for her and her longtime partner.

Senator David P. Sokola, the bill's lead sponsor in the Senate, led debate for the supporters, including calling on Equality Delaware's leader, Mark Purpura. Purpura went through the bill, section by section, to explain its purposes.

From what I read on twitter, opponents of marriage equality seemed to employ a strategy of throwing mud on the wall and going with what stuck. At times,  their testimony seemed like a bad sketch from Monty Python as priests, pastors, religious right spokespeople, and legislators invoked portents of doom, spun inaccurate tales of anti-Christian discrimination, and even took to reading facebook comments.

But for the life of me, I don't know where Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor fit in it all because they even called her name.

It doesn't matter because the bill has passed and will most likely be signed today.

'South Carolina LGBT organizations to celebrate 'Give Out Day'' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

 Editor's note - The following press release is a simple reminder that while lgbt organizations in South Carolina get little notice in the national lgbt press, they are going above and beyond the call of duty for the cause of equality:

Did you know? Only 5% of LGBT people give to LGBT Causes!

On May 9th, 2013, we invite you to be part of history and participate in the 1st national Give OUT Day for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender  Queer community.

Give OUT Day is a new national initiative that aims to mobilize thousands of individual donors on a single day across the country to give in support of the LGBTQ nonprofit community. 406 organizations have joined together to celebrate Give Out Day. It will cover all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico.You can make history by joining the first ever LGBTQ national day of giving by directly supporting services and programs here in South Carolina through these participating organizations:

Harriet Hancock LGBT Center: http://tiny.cc/GIVE_HHC

SC Equality: http://tiny.cc/GIVE_SCE

We Are Family: http://tiny.cc/GIVE_WAF

Sean’s Last Wish: http://tiny.cc/GIVE_SLW

On Thursday, May 9th, your help and support will expand our outreach & services to those who are most vulnerable, while giving us the opportunity to win more funding through this nationwide event.

Please also join us at our live benefit events on May 9th at the Social Bar (918 Gervais Street) from 6-10pm, or at the Capital Club (1002 Gervais Street) -- both in Columbia, SC.  More info at Give Out Day page on FB.
 
100% of donations collected will directly support our vital programs at the Harriet Hancock Center:

Youth Outloud program for 15-20 year old LGBT or questioning youth

YEAH! Youth Empowered Against HIV program

Interpersonal Violence Task Force

The Transgender Group

Publication of an LGBT specific Resource Guide to provide to counselors and schools

http://giveout.razoo.com | http://lgbtcentersc.org/

For more information, contact: Lester Franzen
The Harriet Hancock Center Foundation, President SC Give OUT Day,

(803) 394-2333 | President@LGBTCenterSC.org

In other news:

 Rob Portman: ENDA Might Not Protect Anti-LGBT Religious Entities - And here I thought ENDA was supposed to protect the LGBT community. My mistake!

Delaware Gay Marriage Vote Coming, Would Make It 11th State To Allow Same-Sex Couples To Marry - Come on Delaware! I got my fingers crossed.

Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady resigns - Over the fact that he supported marriage equality. This is a hot shame!

Five Quick Facts You Should Know About Anne Paulk - Since John Paulk has renounced his 'ex-gay' mess, his former 'partner-in-crime' has been doubling down on the ugliness.


 

Anti-marriage equality forces in France stoops to racist images

This poster, announcing the latest anti-marriage equality march in France, is now the subject of a HUGE racial controversy.  According to Euronews:

The poster, designed by an anti-same sex marriage activist, depicts France’s Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira, who is black, as a raging gorilla/King Kong, overwhelmed by a flow of demonstrators from the “Manif Pour Tous,” the main anti-same sex organization. The slogan is a play on words: “manif monstre” can mean ‘giant demo.’

The picture, posted on Monday night, was retweeted and commented massively by anti-gay rights activists and by both outraged anti- and pro-same sex marriage activists.

 . . .  On Tuesday morning, the owner of the Twitter account where the picture was initially posted deleted it, before explaining: “I confirm that I acted on my own, without racist intention. Sorry if it has hurt. I withdraw the picture but it is a misunderstanding. I used an already existing monster picture.” To make further amends, he then retweeted a message from an official anti-same-sex marriage organisation stating “The only poster for the May 26 demo is this one.”

 . . .  French Guiana-born Christiane Taubira is, as François Hollande’s Minister of Justice, the main proponent of the bill legalising same-sex marriage. She has been the target of a large majority of the slogans and banners from anti-same sex marriage demonstrators.

I wonder will NOM comment on this latest development.

NOM stoops to nasty twitter attack on same-sex families, marriage equality

How low can the National Organization for Marriage go in attacking marriage equality and same-sex families? Apparently this low via Thomas Peters, its communications director.

Marriage equality does not deprive children of anything. Also, same-sex families give children a home with love. Peters' question is a straw man argument based upon the fallacy that the only family unit which matters or exists is the mother/father dynamic.

It's a nasty question which implies that gays are harming children. However, a benefit is that yet again the mask of respectability which NOM tries to front is slipping off.

Jeremy Hooper has already given an excellent answer to this ridiculous question. However, if you feel so inclined, by all means use the hashtag and give your own answer. Remember though that any nasty or profanity-laced answer will be used by NOM against us.

'Four mistakes Christians (and so many others) make in debating gay equality' and other Monday midday news briefs

4 Ways Christians Are Getting the Gay Debate Wrong - Excellent post which should have more attention. And I would venture to say that a lot more people besides Christians make these mistakes. 

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Anti-Gay Catholic Leader, Decries Rhode Island's Marriage Equality As 'Injustice' - Injustice my foot. It doesn't even affect him or folks who believe as he does except telling them that they don't get to mandate the law.  

Boy Scouts to vacate Center City Philadelphia headquarters - Sorry but you lost that one fair and square.

 Video: Illinois GOP Rep. pledges support for equality; anti-equality crowd boos him off stage - And who should be surprised at this?

NOM’s Attack On Iowa Supreme Court Hasn’t Thwarted Justice - Boom!

Rick Perry Urges Boy Scouts to Oppose Gay 'Pop Culture' Like Sam Houston Resisted Slavery - This just in - Ricky Perry is a joke.

Family Research Council - Save the Boy Scouts from the 'unclean' gays!

Last night, the Family Research Council held a telecast called "Stand With Scouts" designed to exploit fears about gays being allowed in the Scouts. I didn't watch but, thanks to Jeremy Hooper, we have a snippet of the event. And it gives an indication as to how low FRC and its supporters stoop to demonize the lgbt community. Nauseating as hell.

Religious right make 'propaganda -mentary' about gays in the Boy Scouts

Well I suppose this "documentary" about how gays will destroy the Boy Scouts was bound to happen. Religious right groups have been making all sorts of videos lately and none of them have been any good.

Editor's note - No doubt you all have noticed that the Know Your LGBT History segments have been on hiatus. That might become permanent. After over 100 segments, it may be time to put the series to rest. I will let you know what I decide at a later date.

'Religious right figures have hilarious twitter-fight' and other Friday midday news briefs

Labarbera, Barber, Mefferd twit-fight w/ Alan Chambers; I replenish popcorn bag - The twitter argument which proves that underneath it all, anti-gay spokespeople are really stereotypically dishy "old queens." And Warren Throckmorton - a sometime lgbt ally - should be ashamed of himself for instigating it. LOL!

Kelvin Atkinson, Gay Nevada State Senator, Describes Coming Out To Colleagues During Speech (VIDEO) - The African-American community NEEDS more men like Mr. Atkinson.

  Rush Limbaugh: Where’s The ‘Tolerance’ For People Who Come Out As Bigots? - At the end of my foot. Oh wait the hell, I'm feeling generous. Both feet.  

Bridal shop refuses to let transgender shopper try on gowns - Religious liberty my ass!  

NC GOP staffer: LGBT equality not a civil rights issue - Mess upon mess!  

Dumbest Real Estate Agent Ever Distributes Sales Flyers With Anti-Gay Propaganda - Learn about real estate and pick up some homophobia on the side.

How gay marriage can 'destroy' America - a video demonstration (yes, that's sarcasm)

This ad clarifies so much.

Gov. Chafee makes it official - Rhode Island is marriage equality state #10

Not a very good picture but still, a historic one taken from twitter (Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed) as Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signs the bill which makes the state the 10th in the nation to offer marriage equality.

Go here for the story of today's final vote.

'When the camera shuts off, the homophobic venom comes on' and other Thursday midday news briefs

What Opponents Of LGBT Equality Sound Like Off The Record: ‘You Are Twice The Son Of Hell’ - So many of us have said that religious right spokespeople are two-faced in what they really say about gays when the cameras aren't on and the pencils aren't writing. Yet more proof of that.  

Don't Use Jason Collins As an Excuse to Blame Homophobia on Black People - An article so damn good that I wanted to smoke a cigarette after I  finished reading it.  

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.

Homophobic tweets about Jason Collins' coming out

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.

 

Alvin Arreguin @AlvinArreguin

Jason Collins kill yourself bitch

 

★Jacob✝Quinton★ @iAmTheJay_cup v-vI'm so sick of hearin all this crap about how Jason Collins is a hero for admitting he's gay. He's just another faggot if you ask me.

  Bill Waggoner Crew @BobLafleur1 - Jason Collins is Being treated like some superstar hero for admitting he gets fucked in the ass

Rick @GhostfaceDealer - Jason Collins gonna burn in Hell and I can't fucking wait.

  Mega Man @Mega_Man_904 - Ayo real talk.... No one should get recognition for being an abomination.... Jason Collins is going to hell right... http://fb.me/257kKEPFV

The sad thing is that when some read this, they yawn and say "it's to be expected."  And sometimes these are the same folks whining about how gays are "intolerant" when we object to our lives being verbally reduced to "lifestyles."

In the words of Women's Post:

It is attitudes like these that make his coming out all the more important.

Hopefully someday soon a gay athlete, actor, politician, or person won’t require the fanfare, but until then every single gay person needs the reassurance of your love and support. Their life could depend on it.

 

Janet Porter's latest anti-gay video is both hilarious and pathetic

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.

According to Right Wing Watch:

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:

'Buster Wilson's big gay nightmare' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

African-Americans, the Last Democratic Holdouts on Gay Marriage? - Last holdout my tush! We have already crossed over.

 SAGE report looks at LGBT elders of color - Excellent report on a demographic who slips through the cracks. 

 Cleveland Plain Dealer Dehumanizes Murdered Transgender Woman - Simply awful!  

Colorado Same-Sex Couples Begin Obtaining Civil Unions - Sweet!! 

 Buster Wilson's Big Gay Dream Turns into a Nightmare - Personally, I'm spooked that a man named "Buster" has big gay dreams.  

Vivian Billings, 'The Gossip Game' Star, Embraces Transgender Son On VH1 Show - Nothing like some positive news.  

NOM's star speaker attacks me, says 'unrepentant' gays are 'perverts,' repeats belief that homosexuality is worse than bestiality - The next time someone whines about lgbts not having any 'tolerance' for opinions which brand them as sinners, etc. . .

The dumbest anti-gay 'study' you will ever read

Paul Cameron

Poor junk scientist researcher Paul Cameron. He thinks people still take his homophobic dreck and fake studies seriously:

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: 

·         Foster/adoptive fathers: 6 of 8 (75%)

·         Teachers (including librarians, aides); males 6/17 (35%); females 3/7 (43%)

·         Boy Scouts: 3/4; Boys/girls clubs: 2/2

·         Religious leaders: Protestant 8/11 (73%); Catholic 5/5; Jewish 3/4

·         Babysitters: 3/5; Daycare workers: 2/4

·         Coaches, instructors: 5/9 (56%); Policemen, firemen: 3/9

·         Relatives (moms, dads, grandparents): 2/10 

·         Stepfathers/Mothers' boyfriends: 1/10

·         Friends/Neighbors: 1/9

·         Others: 34 of 96 (35%)

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?

Stephen Colbert takes a 'stand' on Jason Collins and the gay community

 



Stephen Colbert "defends" heterosexuals from the so-called onslaught of Jason Collins and the "rabid gays." This is satire at its finest.

'Video: Jason Collins' first interview since coming out' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

Awesome interview on Good Morning America with Jason Collins! 

And in other news:  

Washington State Staffer: Gay People Should 'Just Grow Their Own Food' To Deal With Discrimination - I suppose they will telling us to create our own medicine if and when so-called Christian pharmacies deny us the right to any type of drugs because they don't "serve gays."  

Pat Robertson Praises ESPN Analyst For Attack On Jason Collins, First Openly Gay Active NBA Player - Maybe it's just me but if crazy Pat Robertson is praising something you said, then maybe you shouldn't have said it.  

Retired NBA Player: Homosexuality Doesn’t Belong In A Men’s Locker Room - One good thing about Jason Collins coming out is that all of this ignorance is coming to the surface so it can be discussed and refuted.

 NOM crowdsourcing its messaging - LAZY!!  

Truth In Action Ministries Criticizes Ex-Gay Leader for Apologizing and Recanting - Poor baby!

'Porno Pete' has some advice for Jason Collins

Peter LaBarbera

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. 

Oh yeah. The day that an out gay man starts taking advice from supposedly heterosexual man who takes pictures of half naked gay men and who also posts huge pictures of STD ridden- butts on his webpage would be an odd day indeed. Perhaps LaBarbera needs to put his own house in order before he starts critiquing Collins'. 

Jason Collins comes out - the good, the bad, and the ugly (i.e the religious right)

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

Jason Collins Comes Out: NBA Player Becomes First Openly Gay Professional Male Athlete In Major Sport
 
What NBA Player Jason Collins’ Coming Out Says About Equality In Sports

White House Praises Jason Collins For Coming Out 

Jason Collins Says 'I'm Gay' in the NBA: Why This Is Huge

First Lady has Jason Collins' back

Fellow athletes, stars, fans salute Jason Collins


The Bad - You know there is always someone trying to speak God or attempting to be snarky (and failing miserably) when these situations happen: 

ESPN Sportscaster Immediately Trashes First Out NBA Player: Jason Collins Is Not ‘A Christian’

Ben Shapiro's Jason Collins Tweet Leads Many To Question His Definition Of 'Hero'

Dolphins Player Mike Wallace Makes Homophobic Tweets Over Jason Collins News
 
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:

 Liberty Counsel attorney/Liberty Univ teacher likens Jason Collins to incestuous son

Fischer: No NBA Team Should Sign Jason Collins Because He Will Be 'Eyeballing' Players in the Shower

Religious right spokesperson makes vicious and untrue charge against Southern Poverty Law Center

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.

At what point will people say enough?

Fox News' bad reporting spins inaccurate story about middle school anti-bullying workshop

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.

'Todd Starnes - the anti-gay right's point man for Fox News' and other Friday midday news briefs

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.

Washington State Bill Would Allow Businesses To Discriminate Against Gays - Not churches, mind you, but businesses as in secular businesses. If passed, this is sure to be struck down by the courts.  

Oregon same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, federal judge says in employee discrimination case - All in all, it's been a VERY GOOD WEEK for those supporting marriage equality.  

NOM's new 'heroic marriage champion': RI senator who condemned our 'vile affections' and 'acts of sodomy' #ri4m - And NOM is caught again being shifty.

  Whoopi Goldberg Debuts 'I Got Somethin' To Tell You,' Film About Out Lesbian Comic Moms Mabley - That's right. Legendary comedian Moms Mabley was family.

What Megyn Kelly, Tony Perkins, and Fox News won't tell you about the Family Research Council

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.

'How do black gay men fit into the fight for equality?' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Hidden in the Open: A Photographic Essay of Afro American Male Couples - THIS will blow you away. 

Kids Say the Darndest LGBT Things - The saying "and a little child shall lead them" is gaining lots of poignancy this week.  

VIDEO: Are Black Gay Men Included in the "Gay Agenda?" - It's an excellent question to ask and an excellent point to discuss.

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.

NOM's Brian Brown not happy about marriage equality in Rhode Island

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.

AFA's Bryan Fischer - People should be fired for being gay

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.

Anti-gay group mocks 'coming out of the closet' in a hideously bad video

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.

Naturally, it ends with a clip from Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality comparing homosexuality to alcoholism.

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.

Don't you just love kismet?

'Anti-gay French legislators 'accidentally' voted for marriage equality' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

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.

Henri Guaino, Anti-Gay Politician, Accidentally Votes For France's Gay Marriage, Blames Wrong Button - And he is not the only one. 

Issak Wolfe, Transgender Student, Denied Chance At Prom King After Being Placed On 'Prom Queen' Ballot - What kind of mess is this? Issak would have been a shoe-in to win.

 Audio: RI anti-equality activist claims gay are going to jail families, kill priests, exterminate citizens (#RI4M) - And our opposition wonder why they are losing. They refuse to recognize how their rhetoric turns people off.  

FRC claims homosexuality exposes boys 'to predatory behavior'; says gays are 'morally aberrant to God' - And the group whines about being called a hate group. Poor babies. 

 After nasty attack on gay Iowans, GOP State Senator Dennis Guth plays the victim - And here is another phony victim.

  Iowa Republicans Threaten to Cut Salaries of Judges Who Backed Marriage Equality - And the mean spirited ignorance continues.

  Illinois Black Caucus Chair co-sponsors marriage equality bill - While WE are building bridges.

Why marriage equality opponents are losing - an audio demonstration.

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.

'France gets marriage equality, Rhode Island Republican caucus shocks with support' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

In less than 12 hours, the National Organization for Marriage suffered three huge blows to its worldwide crusade against marriage equality! Sweet!

1. BREAKING: French National Assembly Finalizes Passage Of Marriage Equality - Just now!

2. Rhode Island Republican Senators Unanimously Endorse Marriage Equality - The first time a Republican caucus unanimously supported marriage equality. Bam!!  

3. Kelvin Atkinson, Nevada Lawmaker, Comes Out In Gay Marriage Debate - During the debate to repeal the anti-marriage equality law in Nevada, an African-American legislator publicly comes out. Awesome! 

In other news (if you haven't passed out yet):  

AFA's top spokesman makes far-right animus perfectly clear - Meanwhile, Bryan Fischer spews bigotry in his inimitable fashion.  

Harvey: Homosexuality 'Hurts the Person Involved' and 'Hurts All of Society'- And then there is Linda Harvey who apparently needs a physical relationship more than me (if that's even possible).  

The Self-Flagellation Of A Self-Loathing Homocon - It's so sad to see a gay man turn against his own people.  

Todd Bieber Enlists Gay Comedians To Help Boy Scouts Earn Filmmaking Merit Badges (VIDEOS) - Funny!!

ENDA to be introduced, religious right geared to start lying

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:
 
Seven ways the Family Research Council have lied about ENDA

Family Research Council getting extremely 'scary' about ENDA

Andrea Lafferty - 'Won't someone PLEASE think of the children.'

Andrea  Lafferty: ENDA will lead to the molestation of disabled veterans
 
Traditional  Values Coalition stoops to lowest level of fraud in new attack on ENDA

Religious  business owners should not have the 'special right' to discriminate

Andrea  Lafferty spins lies against transgender teachers to hurt ENDA

The  30 Dirty? Why can't the religious right stop lying about ENDA?

Religious  right groups can't make up their minds when lying about ENDA

No  wonder the Traditional Values Coalition is considered a hate group

Family  Research Council exploiting Amanda Simpson's appointment to stop ENDA
  
Family  Research Council head misrepresents credible information to hurt ENDA

Bathrooms,  Church Exemptions, and Lies: Five ways the religious right  misrepresents ENDA 




 

Anti-gay Liberty Counsel proves the venomous pedigree of its rhetoric

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.

'Anti-gay group dishonestly ignores homophobic violence in France' and other Monday midday news briefs

NOM Denies Anti-Gay Violence In France After Praising Activist Who Called For “Blood” - How very "convenient." 

French Anti-Gay Violence Escalates As Parliament Leader Receives Death Threat - So much for a peaceful conversation. When some folks can't get their way, they abandon their lying fronts and show their true faces. 

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? 

5 religious leaders: Please, no more exemptions in R.I. gay-marriage bill! - Religious exemptions in marriage equality bills are pretty much a front created by folks who don't want a passage of marriage equality in the first place.  

FRC vs. 'homosexual activists and atheists' (a.k.a. their scapegoats and cash cows) - Okay are we trying to destroy the Boy Scouts or marriage? I forget.

Defender of anti-gay hate groups hurt their argument

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:

Know Your LGBT History - The Billy Douglas storyline on 'One Life To Live'

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. 

 



Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Boy Scouts may partly remove gay ban' and other Friday midday news briefs

Boy Scouts Proposing to Lift Gay Ban for Youth - Heck of a day to spring this one on us and I can guess that no one is going to be happy with it. 

Must you misrepresent everything, FRC? - And don't think for a second that the Family Research Council is going to be happy with this.

 NOM's Brian Brown Cheers France's "Peaceful" Anti-Gay Marriage Protesters - You might want to rethink that, Brian.  

France: MPs come to blows during equal marriage debate in parliament - I mean SERIOUSLY rethink that.  

Minnesota Marriage Equality Opponents: ‘Don’t Erase Moms And Dads’ - Can someone PLEASE give this lie a rest!  

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.)

Day of Silence 2013

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: