Anti-gay group's 'March 4 Confusing the Issue' is this Thursday

I am so looking forward to the National Organization for Marriage's upcoming March for Marriage this Thursday.

And I say that with tongue placed firmly in cheek and with a huge amount of sarcasm.

NOM has been decimated with a string of embarrassing public losses lately with regards to anti-marriage equality amendments being struck down in a number of states as well as losing lawsuits against the IRS and being made to paid for breaking Maine's nondisclosure law.

The organization is hoping that the march will give it some momentum. From the American Family Association's phony news source, One News Now:

The National Organization for Marriage's second annual March for Marriage is set for Thursday, June 19, in D.C. Given the climate in the country over the past months, spokesman Chris Plante tells OneNewsNow this year's march is all the more important. “It will be a huge statement to the U.S. Supreme Court, to the Congress and to the mainstream media that Americans still stand for marriage as one man and one woman and that every child deserves both a mother and a father,” he says. Thousands of marriage supporters from throughout the country will take to the streets after a rally where they will hear from noted speakers such as Senator Santorum, Governor Huckabee and many others. “It will be a day in which America actually takes a stand and tries to turn the clock back on marriage and turn back the tide of judicial activism that has been occurring where individual justices are imposing their own individual wills on entire states in redefining marriage,” he explains. For those who can't attend, National Organization for Marriage is conducting a virtual march on the event’s website. People can hold local marriage rallies or at state capitals to make it clear that they also stand for traditional marriage. 

 Virtual marches? Does that mean if I log onto the event's webpage even if I don't support their efforts, NOM will count me as one of its supporters?

Seriously though, I have a few predictions.

1. The march will be spun as a huge success. 

2. It will gain a good degree of media attention, particularly because - and this is my personal opinion - NOM will officially call for and begin working towards a constitutional amendment outlawing marriage equality.

3. But in the long run, it won't change a thing with regards to NOM's losses or the momentum swing towards marriage equality. That reason is simple. We are in the court phase of marriage equality. By attempting to push a constitutional amendment, NOM no doubt hopes to push this argument back to the phase where people will be voting after being influenced by horror stories of gays recruiting children, etc. It ain't going to happen. NOM obviously did not prepare for the court phase of the marriage equality fight, where coherent arguments always take the place over horror stories, unproven anecdotes, and mindbogglingly stupid arguments about marriage "uniting the two halfs of mankind."

It reminds me of a story I heard about when Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier teamed up to make the movie Marathon Man.  Apparently, Hoffman had stayed up all night because he was supposed to be do a scene in which his character looked tired and worn out. When Olivier heard about it, he simply told Hoffman, "you should try acting, dear boy. It's much easier."

Of course the story isn't true, but it speaks to the heart of NOM's folly with regards to this march. If the organization had any coherent arguments it could supply in the courtroom, this upcoming public ceremony of mass flagellation wouldn't have been necessary in the first place.

Know Your LGBT History - Lawrence vs. Texas - Sodomy laws overturned

It was the case which overturned the sodomy laws - laws which were used to persecute lgbts or keep us in check - and opened the floodgates. If someone writes a proper notation of American lgbt history, they would point to Lawrence vs. Texas as the case which led to many other fights, particularly the one over marriage equality:



Past Know Your LGBT History Posts: 

'First lgbts were 'Nazis,' now we are 'demonic'" & other Friday midday news briefs

BarbWire's Gina Miller Says The Push For Gay Rights Is Repulsive, 'Demonic,' And 'Born Of Hell' - Earlier this week, the anti-gay folks were labeling us as Nazis. Now we are "demonic." People get so angry when anti-gay talking heads say stuff like this. I think those who do aren't aware of their uses. I would love to see the writers and editors of the right-wing BarbWire testifying in front of a Congressional hearing. If anything, it would be a paaaarty! 

New Bill Calls For Creation Of First U.S. Special Envoy For LGBT Rights - I'm all for it. 

 LGBT activist wins Nevada house nomination - Sweet! If she wins the election, she would be Nevada's first transgender elected official. And she is Republican too. Not the scary kind. 

 US embassy in Tel Aviv faces internet backlash for raising pride flag - The brave generally face criticism from the ignorant.  

Hallmark Releases Gay Father's Day ECard - Not bad, not bad at all!

Mat Staver continues ugly rhetoric days after misleading Congress

Mat Staver

Definition of the phrase "totally devoid of shame" - lying to Congress and then returning to your radio program to repeat the rhetoric which led you to lie in the first place, complete with analogies to Hitler murdering Jewish people.

Or to save time, why not put a picture of Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver next to the phrase.
'
From Right Wing Watch:

On today's "Faith and Freedom" radio broadcast, Mat Staver and Matt Barber discussed the situation involving the baker in Colorado who is vowing to go to jail rather than comply with an order to stop discriminating against gay customers by refusing to provide them with wedding cakes, saying that forcing him to bake gay wedding cakes would be like forcing Jesus to build a bed for an adulterer or a gallows for Hitler upon which to hang Jews:

Transcript: 

 Barber: So, to make that comparison would be like saying the adulteress goes to Jesus and says 'you're a carpenter, I want you to make a frame for my adultery bed, for me and then men I'm committing adultery with to commit our sinful acts.' And it would be like some tribunal coming to Jesus and saying you're a carpenter, you don't have a right to refuse to make this bed for the adulteress because you make beds for people who are actually married ...

Staver: It's like a carpenter who [is told] you can build this house for this person or you can build this gallows for Hitler. And you can use your talents, we're going to force you to use the talents to build the gallows for Hitler and we're going to hang Jews on the gallows.

'Archbishop attending NOM rally, wants constitutional amendment' & other Thursday afternoon news briefs

Lawmakers ask S.F. archbishop not to attend anti-gay marriage rally - Not only is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone attending and probably speaking at NOM's rally but he also wants a constitutional amendment outlawing marriage equality. Pay attention folks because this is where NOM is headed. There is probably no other option for the organization. Don't take it lightly until we beat them back. 

Rick Perry's Comparison Of Homosexuality To Alcoholism Is Nothing New From The Anti-Gay Right - In case you didn't hear, Rick Perry compared homosexuality to alcoholism. These folks know nothing about originality.

 Rotten In Denmark?: AFA’s Fischer Distorts Danish Same-Sex Marriage Law To Scare U.S. Fundamentalists - Bryan Fischer would like about his ethnicity even if he couldn't get away with it. 

Watch: Anderson Cooper Holds Texas GOP Lawmaker Accountable For Supporting ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy - Whip his ass, Anderson! 

 Wisconsin AG Threatens to Prosecute County Clerks Over Same Sex Marriage Licenses - It's an empty threat.

Anti-gay right has disturbing fetish for labeling lgbts as Nazis

 An ugly comparison of gays and Nazis from the right.

Editor's note - today's news briefs may either be canceled or come later due to personal business. I encourage folks, after reading this post, to check out the post Did anti-gay spokesman Mat Staver lie to Congressional committee?

Yesterday, I posted how the Anti-Defamation League condemned the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins for implying that gays want to start a "Holocaust" against Christians.

The ADL's president, Abraham Foxman, demanded that Perkins apologize for trivializing the Holocaust. However, as Right Wing Watch tacitly pointed out, if Perkins were to recognize his error and apologize, he wouldn't be the only one who had to.

I've noticed that lately, there has been a lot of anti-gay groups and spokespeople who have compared lgbts to Nazis and conjured up visions of how they will harm Christians if given the chance. Thanks to Right Wing Watch, here are just a few:

Alan Keyes Warns Gay Marriage Leads To A 'Totalitarian' Nazi-Like Government 

Right-Wing Pundits Call Gay Rights Advocates 'Rainbowshirts,' 'Terrorists' And 'The New Nazis' 

Rick Wiles Warns Adolf Hitler's 'Race Of Super Gay Male Soldiers' Is Taking Over America

 ". . . it’s getting harder every day to tell our modern homo-fascists from the Nazis of the 1930s and 40s. “Gay”-stapo or Gestapo, could somebody please tell me the difference?" - Jeff Allen, editor of the right-wing BarbWire

 "In Hollywood’s recent theatrical release of The Monuments Men, the storyline follows an Army unit that was guided by a group of seven museum directors, curators, and art historians as they engaged in a gripping search to recover priceless pieces of art before they were destroyed by the Nazis. Likewise, the hostile homosexual goose-steppers are seeking to destroy marriage, the masterpiece of God’s handiwork. As dedicated Christians, we too must metaphorically endeavor to recover and restore this infinitely valuable work of art before it’s been marred beyond recognition by the “gay”-stapo."" - Jeff Allen of BarbWire (again)

Did anti-gay spokesman Mat Staver lie to Congressional committee?

Mat Staver

This was just brought to my attention and you bet your sweet bippies that I am going to push it.

It seems that Liberty University's Mat Staver's recent testimony in front of a Congressional committee has become more than he bargained for.  The online publication Raw Story is now asking did he tell the committee a lie:

At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, the head of a conservative legal group may have misled the committee when he said that he does not support the implementation of Russian-style antigay laws in the United States.

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice held a hearing on “The State of Religious Liberty in the United States” to study the rise of “religious freedom” laws in some U.S. states, under which people of faith cannot be compelled to perform their jobs or provide goods and services if to do so would conflict with their personal beliefs.

 . . .  Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) asked Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, “There are certain antigay laws they have in Russia. You, I believe, have advocated for something similar to that, have you not? Do you support the Russian antigay laws?”

Staver replied, ”What I am concerned about is having people of Christian, uh, Judeo-Christian beliefs be forced to participate in a ceremony or an event that celebrates something that is contrary to their religious beliefs.”

FRC's Tony Perkins comes under fire for implying that gays want to start a 'Holocaust' against Christians

FRC's Tony Perkins

Thank you Anti-Defamation League and Abraham Foxman for doing what should be done on more occasions - calling out Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council for their odious comparisons of gays to Nazis.

From Equality Matters:

On June 6, Perkins blasted a Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruling finding that a baker had violated the state's anti-discrimination law by refusing to bake a cake for a gay couple,  asking on his radio program Washington Watch,  "I'm beginning to think, are re-education camps next? When are they going to start rolling out the boxcars to start hauling off Christians?" Perkins' remarks echoed his statement in April that the LGBT movement "reminds me of Nazi Germany."

In a June 10 statement, ADL President Abraham Foxman denounced Perkins' comments, calling them "offensive and inappropriate":

Tony Perkins' invocation of the Holocaust in his statement referring to a judge's finding that a baker unlawfully discriminated against gay customers is offensive and inappropriate.

There is no comparison between contemporary American political issues and the actions of Hitler's regime during the Holocaust. Such inappropriate analogies only serve to trivialize the Holocaust and are deeply offensive to Jews and other survivors, as well as those Americans who fought valiantly against the Nazis in World War II. We urge Perkins to apologize and to refrain from using Holocaust imagery to make his point.

Don't count on Perkins to apologize. In his version of the Bible, humility and the admittance of wrongdoing have probably been crossed out. No matter. Tune in to this blog tomorrow morning because I'm working on something special with regards to Perkins, the religious right, and their love of comparing lgbts to Nazis.

'Anti-gay talking head's Congressional testimony faces more negative scrutiny' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

House Committee Invites Witness To Go On Anti-Gay Rant, Because Religious Freedom - The Huffington Post invites more scrutiny on Liberty University's Mat Staver's ridiculous testimony on 'religious liberty.' You know it used to be that anti-gay talking heads would get away with spouting distortions in front of Congress. Not anymore. But here is the sad thing. Will the lgbt community stop fighting itself to take advantage of this or will it be up to the bloggers (again) to raise awareness and sound the call? 

Beck: "Thought Police" Prevent Me From Saying 'Fag The New Nigger' - Oh my heart bleeds for that phony.

Oklahoma Candidate Says Gays Should Be Stoned - Uh say whaaaaat?!  

New Southern Baptist Convention pres. claims homosexuality is Satan's con job - And here we go again . . .  

Myrtle Beach passes far-reaching LGBT protections - I was saving the best news for last. THAT'S Myrtle Beach, SOUTH CAROLINA!!

NOM isn't happy over marriage equality in Wisconsin

To say the National Organization for Marriage isn't happy that marriage equality has come to Wisconsin is an understatement. From its president, Brian Brown:

"Again, an individual, activist judge is legislating from the bench and trampling on the sovereign will of the people of Wisconsin.This has got to stop, and the only way it will is for the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and protect the democratic process and the rights of the tens of millions of voters who have declared that they want their state's social policy to define marriage as it has been known for millennia — the union of one man and one woman." 

Oh stop whining, Brian. It's not anyone's fault that the horror stories and fake homilies you all used to pass these laws can't stand up in a court of law.

Anti-gay lies about 'threats to religious freedom' exposed in front of Congress

This post is dedicated to the intelligent but misguided colleagues of mine who complain when anti-gay spokespeople are given a platform to spread their homophobic lies.

You cannot stop lies by covering the mouth of those who tell them. You only give them power through pity. As the following post, courtesy of Right Wing Watch proves, by all means, give anti-gay spokespeople a platform to spread their lies. But not a platform which offers no challenge. Let people like Tony Perkins, or in this case, Mat Staver, speak. But make sure they are challenged by someone who knows their stuff such as Rep. Jerry Nadler:

Testifying before a House committee today about supposed threats to religious freedom in the U.S., Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver struggled to defend his support for allowing businesses to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

 New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler grilled Staver about his view that it would be wrong for a wedding photographer to discriminate against a Jewish couple because of a religious objection, but that the photographer is free to discriminate against a same-sex couple.

 First, Staver tried to avoid the question by saying a photographer wouldn’t refuse to work for a Jewish wedding, but ultimately agreed that such anti-Jewish discrimination is in fact a violation of the law.

 “I don’t see any difference at all” between refusing a Jewish couple and a gay couple, Nadler said.

He continued: “I’m holding out myself in commerce and my religious belief is that I don’t want black people or Jewish people or gay people in my restaurant and the federal government says that is discrimination, is that a violation of the freedom of religion?”

 “No,” Staver conceded.

Public condemnations are messy, but in the case of anti-gay groups and spokespeople, it is something which is very necessary. You see, even when their anti-gay propaganda is refuted on paper,  they tend to repeat it as if nothing happened. They tend to get away with this a lot.

Public condemnation and exposure is one of the only few actions which they have a difficult time ignoring. It not only exposes flimsiness of their arguments but also their lack of integrity. Don't think so? Ask Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family about the 2011 incident in which Sen. Al Franken called him out during his testimony for distorting a study.

I doubt he will want to talk about it.

'NOM supporter caught trying to deceive about upcoming march' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

NY state senator filling #March4Marriage buses without actually mentioning march itself - So a NOM supporter, State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., is pulling a fraud to get participation in its upcoming march. Not surprising but I seriously have to give props to the blogs who have been on top of this. The work that lgbt blogs have put in to expose anti-gay distortions should never be forgotten in the annals of lgbt history. 

Brace Yourselves: Marriage Equality’s Going To Have A Rougher Ride In The Courts From Here On Out - Bring it on. The fight for equality isn't supposed to be easy.  

New Jersey Judge: Ex-Gay Therapists May Be Liable For Damages To Former Clients - While the Texas Republican Party put support of ex-gay therapy in its plank, New Jersey could tear its playhouse down.  

Dispelling Myths, Misconceptions and Lies About Gender-Nonconforming Children - A very appropriate article and an excellent push back to anti-gay propaganda on the issue.

FRC's Tony Perkins exploits Bergdahl controversy to make tacky attack on judges

I've heard of throwing tantrums, but what the Family Research Council president Tony Perkins recently said about Wisconsin judge Barbara Crabb (the justice ruling against Wisconsin's anti-marriage equality law) was just plain nasty:

Tony Perkins

While Americans are glued to the story of one high-profile deserter, the courts seem packed with them -- lawless judges eager to walk away from the Constitution and the oath they swore to uphold it. Unfortunately, the country is all too familiar with one of those activists, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb, who's been tied to the National Day of Prayer, which she tried -- unsuccessfully -- to strike it down. Obviously, Crabb hasn't learned anything since her rogue days in 2010, when a higher court rebuked the ideologue for her obvious political agenda. Now, the Wisconsin judge is back to her old ways, ruling late Friday afternoon that natural marriage belongs in the same garbage pile as public prayer. Like her past outrages, this ruling makes a case for same-sex "marriage" absolutely devoid of religious or legal authority.

To make matters worse, we don't even know all of the facts behind the situation of the person Perkins compares Crabb to, i.e. Bowe Bergdahl.  To call Bergdahl a deserter without knowing all of the facts is vile and totally un-Christian. Clearly Perkins is exploiting a hot controversy in a pitiful attempt to smear Crabb.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Perkins and company, the case in Wisconsin is no different from the other cases in which anti-marriage equality laws have been struck down. It was easy for them to get people to vote for these laws by spreading vicious lies about lgbt or useless homilies such as "every child has a right to a mother and a father." However, none of these arguments can be used as a defense in the courts.

So when they lose in court cases, Perkins and company throw extreme tantrums, making sure to call the ruling judges everything BUT a "child of God" in a sad effort to obscure how empty their arguments against marriage equality were in the first place.

Even though it's enjoyable when fake Christians like Perkins show their true faces when things don't go their way, this act of feigned shock and outrage they put on when they lose marriage equality cases is beginning to become tiresome and redundant. And extremely offensive.

Take a look at the 'Christians' who support NOM and its upcoming march

With the National Organization for Marriage planning its big march (March4Marriage) and taking the guise of a group whose followers "supports marriage between a man and a woman," the flyer below, comprised by the site NOManiacs, shows otherwise.

'How NOM doomed itself to collapse' & other Friday midday news briefs

How the National Organization for Marriage Doomed Itself to Collapse - According to Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern, the National Organization for Marriage is imploding before us all for a simple reason which has nothing to do with homophobia. While I don't like to pronounce the end of any anti-lgbt equality group before they are in the grave, Stern makes an excellent point. However, I have to disagree with him on this point:

After its success in California, the group took its tactics on the road, successfully batting away marriage equality in Maine and North Carolina while exacting revenge on judges who dared to uphold legal equality. Through these campaigns, NOM rewrote the modern anti-gay playbook, demeaning the LGBTQ community as promiscuous, predatory, diseased, and disordered. 

That's simply not true. NOM merely followed the same playbook that Anita Bryant and others did when attempting to defeat pro-lgbt laws and such. It's an old playbook and I wish the community would get serious about analyzing it in a manner which can broken down in simple terms. Wait a minute. Some of us have.

In other news

  Seriously? What Marriage Equality Opponents Are Saying - Another reason why anti-marriage equality groups are losing is because you simply can't introduce these arguments in a court of law.

Tony Perkins Says Gay Rights Advocates Want Anti-Christian Holocaust, Will 'Start Rolling Out The Boxcars' - Have you ever heard of something so stupid that it refutes itself? Say hello to THIS argument.  

Edie Windsor Now Plans To Focus Her Efforts On Homeless LGBT Youth - The more I hear about Edie Windsor, the more I absolutely LOVE THAT WOMAN!

'Professional ex-gay industry' to hold 2nd 'awareness month'

Remember that lovely big flop of an event last year - 'Ex-Gay Awareness Month - which got canceled because of a lack of interest, and then rescheduled with the same disastrous results?

Guess what? It's back:

Say what you want, but with a line-up like this, I don't think they will have a lot of success, but lawd, the speeches will be  . . . . something

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper.

Video demonstrates why anti-gay activist is called 'Porno Pete'

If anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera hates it when we call him "Porno Pete" then why does he give us such juicy reasons such as what he said in the following video courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

'NOM loses suit against IRS' & other Thursday midday news briefs

US District Court judge essentially ends NOM's ridiculous IRS lawsuit - And I almost forgot. NOM also lost its lawsuit against the IRS. You will remember that the group accused the IRS of leaking its financial information. That's two losses in two days for NOM.

Another view of NOM's loss courtesy of The New Civil Rights Movement

Texas Republican Party Drafts New Platform Advocating For Ex-Gay Therapy - Next they will be supporting lobotomies.  

High School Principal Comes Out As Gay While At Pride Event With Students - Good for him! Now in terms of being truthful in the face of nonsense, this man is a role model. 

 Fox's Hasselbeck On Court Order To End Anti-Gay Discrimination: "Is That Freedom?" - Uh yesssssss.

 Audio: Richard Land equates serving a gay couple with serving a KKK induction ceremony - I won't say that I've heard everything because give these folks one minute and they always manage to top their present verbal nonsense with a new humdinger.

Anti-gay article refutes its own claim about pride parade

On the American Family Association's fake news site, One News Now, there is a story alleging about "immoral activities" during a gay pride parade.

The headline is provocative:

Where were police during vulgar 'gay pride' parade? In it, of course

The charge - that the police were present while gays during a pride parade were supposedly being vulgar but did nothing about it - is also there:

A traditional values leader in Ohio found out where the police are when immoral activities are happening in homosexual pride parades. At issue are homosexual pride parades in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio although they happen nationwide. Phil Burress, who heads Citizens for Community Values, tells OneNewsNow that what occurs in the parades shouldn't be described, and certainly children shouldn't be exposed to it, he says. "You have women and men parading around in their underwear, and in Cincinnati it's not near as bad as it is in Columbus," he says. "In Columbus, women have actually gone topless before, and the signs and things are just totally inappropriate."

And the article actually includes a video of a Cincinnati gay pride parade . . . and that's where everything goes south for the article in rapid fashion. The video doesn't show any supposed vulgarities during the gay pride parade. In fact, the video contradicts the claims.

After all, who would walk around in their underwear in the rain:



I live for refuting religious right lies about lgbts. But there is a special joy which comes when they do the job for me.

Supreme Court torpedoes NOM's Oregon marriage stay request

This just in from Buzzfeed:

The U.S. Supreme Court has given NOM's Brian Brown a new reason to cry

The Supreme Court denied the National Organization for Marriage’s attempt to stop same-sex couples from marrying in Oregon.

NOM has appealed the trial judge’s decision not to let the group, which is opposed to same-sex couples’ marriage rights, to intervene in the lawsuit challenging Oregon’s ban on such marriages.

The appeal of the intervention denial now continues at the 9th Circuit, but same-sex couples will continue to be able to marry during the time that is happening.

The 9th Circuit, which is hearing that appeal, denied NOM’s request to stop the trial court decision striking down the ban from going into effect during the appeal. NOM then went to Justice Anthony Kennedy to ask him to stop the marriages while that appeal is pending before the 9th Circuit.

Kennedy, who hears procedural matters brought to the court from the 9th Circuit, referred the request to the full court, which denied the request without comment on Tuesday. NOM’s appeal of the denial to intervene is the only matter left pending in the case because Oregon state officials had not fought the lawsuit, having agreed with the plaintiffs that the ban is unconstitutional. They had said that they would not appeal the decision if U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane struck down the ban.

''Christian' writer picking on transgender child' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

BarbWire Pundit Says Transgender Boy Is Possessed By Demons - Because the "Christian" thing to do is always pick on the transgender child.  

Um, not sure I'd use the phrase 'drive a wedge' when defending a NOM event - NOM's fake black civil rights group is getting serious pushback on its video comparing marriage equality to slavery and segregation. Good. 

Top Christian Activist: Gay Rights Transforming US Into ‘Totalitarianism’ Of Hitler’s Germany - Oh yeah. You can just see it by the way folks like Tony Perkins are free to make such evil comparisons. After all, the Nazis were always one for NOT viciously stamping out those who complain about them.  

Southern Baptist Minister Explains Why He Changed His Mind On Homosexuality - Progress! Sweet, sweet progress! 

 On Fox, The Gay Marriage Revolution Has Not Been Televised - Ignore marriage equality victories, but if Fox News can push a false story of gays supposedly "persecuting" folks, stand back!

FRC's Tony Perkins deserves special award for his latest anti-gay lie

Ken Blackwell

Ken Blackwell, a spokesman with the Family Research Council, recently caught a lot of heat for blaming marriage equality for the recent awful mass killings in Isla Vista, CA.

According to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch:

Family Research Council senior fellow Ken Blackwell yesterday linked the Isla Vista mass killings to marriage equality laws, which he claimed are destroying the culture. Speaking with FRC president Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch,” Blackwell blamed the shooting on “the crumbling of the moral foundation of the country” and “the attack on natural marriage and the family.”

“When these fundamental institutions are attacked and destroyed and weakened and abandoned, you get what we are now seeing,” Blackwell said, arguing that people who are “blaming the Second Amendment” are “avoiding talking about what is at the root cause of the problem.”

In the face of this controversy, FRC has chosen to ignore Right Wing Watch, and the with the help of a site called TruthRevolt, attack a second party who reported the story, Media Matters. The following is from an email sent by FRC president Tony Perkins as a part of his Washington Update:

If you can't beat 'em, smear 'em. That seems to be Media Matters's far-Left M.O. for intimidating people who make compelling cases for conservatism. Its latest target? FRC's Ken Blackwell. In an interview last week, Ken talked about the latest shooting spree at the University of California and pointed back to the "crumbling of the moral foundation of the country" as a contributing factor to the recent spate of violence. Media Matters, a pet project of multi-billionaire George Soros, went on the attack -- accusing Ken of blaming same-sex "marriage" for the murders.

TruthRevolt immediately fired back at the wild distortion. "Blackwell never mentions same-sex marriage. Not once. His discussion... revolves around the generalized breakdown and destruction of sexual values. Blackwell's main point is with the hyper-sexualized, porn-obsessed society that we live in, Elliot Rodger's perception of what a relationship between a man and a woman comes from the "development of human sexuality in our culture."

I don't know what the heck TruthRevolt is supposed to be, but both it and the Family Research Council are attempting to pull a fast one.  Let's look at what Blackwell actually said (and this exact quote is from Truth Revolt. The audio is from Right Wing Watch):

Transcript: 

When you see there's a crumbling of the moral foundation of the country, you see the attack on the -- on natural marriage and the family that has been a part of the, not only the moral foundation and the upbringing of our children but the teaching of sexual roles and the development of human sexuality in our culture. When these fundamental institutions are attacked and destroyed and weakened and abandoned, you get what we are now seeing and that is a flood of these disturbed people in our society that are causing great, great pain. And as opposed to dealing with the foundational problems, we look for ways of blaming the Second Amendment, or blaming knives or blaming cars when they are used. At the end of the day, you have just underscored the problem. This is a convenient way of avoiding talking about what's at the root cause.

So yes, Blackwell was talking about marriage equality or "same sex marriage," even though he didn't mention it by name.  And he was blaming it in part for the mass killings. To say otherwise when one has access to the original audio and the transcript is a bold-faced lie.

And to claim that Blackwell wasn't talking about marriage equality in his comments is an even bigger bold-faced lie if you just happened to have been there when he made the statement, isn't that right, Mr. Perkins.

You see, the other person on the audio with Blackwell was in fact Tony Perkins, i.e. the same person who is now claiming that Blackwell was not blaming marriage equality for the Isla Vista mass killings. And one has to ask why would Perkins cite a second party (i.e. TruthRevolt) in a sad attempt to absolve Blackwell when he was present at the time of Blackwell's statement?

I can't say much for his honesty, but Perkins deserves some type of special recognition to lie this brazenly.
 

While family accepts transgender child, ignorant folks just can't handle it

Excellent video, excellent family. More like them are needed:



Of course, according to Equality Matters, SOME people (such as Fox News' Keith Ablow) are being nasty about the situation:

“From a personal, not a professional standpoint, were my daughter to assert that she were a boy, not a girl, there is no chance we would be headed to a surgeon’s office without a trial of anti-psychotic medication,”

Equality Matters points out that Ablow has no expertise in sexuality issues.  Equality Matters also points out:

 According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, gender identity is usually established by the age of four. Medical professionals note that denying medical treatment to transgender children can be harmful; Dr. Norman Spack of Children’s Hospital Boston, for instance, states that many children who don’t receive treatment resort to self-mutilation in an attempt to change their anatomies. According to Spack, the earlier children deemed to need treatment start receiving it, the easier of a time they'll have passing as the gender with which they identify and the less likely they'll be to require more radical treatments later in life.

The American Psychological Association has stated that it is “not helpful to force [a transgender child]  to act in a more gender-conforming way.” Family rejection of transgender youth has been linked to a series of negative health consequences.

'16 heartbreaking confessions about coming out' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Transgender Man Sues New York City After Being Refused Access To Pool Locker Room - Folks like to claim that transgender men and women will cause disturbances in locker rooms. Seems to me that it's not the transgender men and women causing the problems. 

 16 Heartbreaking Confessions About Coming Out - These confessions will break your heart but they are necessary stories. 

 Gay Tea Party Group GOProud Definitely Shutting Down — Director Admits He Lied - Sorry but GoProud did nothing but suck up all of the good air in the room. If that organization accomplished ANYTHING, someone please let me know.  

British Judge Denies Catholic Parents’ Request To Block Their Children’s Adoption By Same-Sex Couple - Well MAYBE if these parents didn't have their children taken away because of abuse, they wouldn't have this conundrum. 
 

Pioneers In Illinois Gay Marriage Lawsuit Ready For Wedding Bells After 50 Years Of Waiting - Marriage or no marriage, 50 years together is a damn good thing.

Hey NOM! Are these the type of people you want at your 'marriage rally?'

The National Organization for Marriage is pushing their upcoming  "March for Marriage" extremely hard.

Of course, as I said before, if the organization could prove to the courts that gay couples shouldn't be married, such a march designed to gain headlines wouldn't be necessary.

However, one has to ask what type of people will be there. Certainly there will be some people who have an ignorant view of the situation because they have been brainwashed by slogans like "every child needs a mother and a father" (the irony being that NOM has done NOTHING to push adoption) and horror stories of being "called a bigot."

But then there will be these individuals who have supported NOM in the past. The following videos are courtesy of NOM Tour Tracker:

 

 

Granted, these videos were shot in 2010 but NOM continues to push the same message since 2010. Do you actually think the mindset of the organization's supporters have changed any iota?

Illinois couples celebrate first day of legalized marriage equality

The following video is tonic for a tiring day. Marriage equality became officially legal in Illinois yesterday and of course you know what that means - Mass wedding in Chicago!!:



According to the video's description:

On the first day of marriage equality throughout the state of Illinois June 1, 2014, Unity in Chicago hosted "Married in Unity," an all-inclusive, non-denominational group wedding ceremony in the Unity garden at the church. Rev. Heidi Alfrey, the church's senior minister, officiated the ceremony for 40 same- and opposite-sex couples. Among them were couples making commitments without legal documentation and married couples renewing their vows.

Go here to see other videos from this wonderful event.

'Bryan Fischer - gays are our new slavemasters' & other Monday midday news briefs

American Family Association senior analyst says gay activists have brought back slavery, refers to us as 'massa' - I think I'm going to be sick. Being called "massa" by Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association is SO not a turn-on!

 Is NOM's March for Marriage an anti-gay event? Let's turn to the facts. - All of the uglies about NOM's upcoming march. Be still your stomach. 
 

To be gay, Christian and black in Harlem - A fascinating and much needed article. 

 Anti-Gay Uganda Politician Will Soon Preside Over UN General Assembly - Well @%!#&;%!

 I Am Loveworthy: How a Transgender Woman Found Love - You better believe it! ALL of God's children are loveworthy.

Anti-gay activist furious over recognition of lgbt history

LaBarbera

We're going to teach our kids and our citizens that homosexuality is a civil rights issue when it's not," he laments. "It's a human misbehavior issue. It's just a sin movement – and we're elevating it to civil rights icon status. . . . I fear for our country, because when a nation starts celebrating sexual immorality as the norm and as a social good, then that nation cannot survive in the long run," he explains. "Every other civilization has been brought down for sexual immorality as part of the factors bringing it down, and I think the United States of America will not be an exception in that regard." - 'Porno' Pete LaBarbera

LaBarbera was reacting to the news that the National Park Service will now be identifying places and events associated with the history of lgbt Americans for inclusion in the parks and programs of the National Park Service as a part of its Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay,  and Transgender Initiative.

Maybe one of these days, people like LaBarbera will recognize that acknowledging lgbt history is not a part of a plot or a "sin movement" (which is a phrase I have NEVER heard before), but a way to recognize that lgbts exists and that we have a diverse history.

But that is the problem with folks like LaBarbera, isn't it? The fact the lgbts exist.

'Laverne Cox makes history by being on the cover of Time magazine' & other Friday midday news briefs

Why Time’s Profile Of Laverne Cox Is A Big Step Forward For Transgender Equality - History has been made as Laverne Cox becomes the first transgender person to make the cover of Time magazine. And the sets of articles in Time magazine in this issue are awesome, too.

'State And Union' Follows The Hardships Of Alabama's Lesbian-Led Families - VIDEO - Excellent! We need more focus on lgbt-led families.  

Audio: 'Unbiased researcher' (ha, ha, ha!) Mark Regnerus plays anti-equality pundit, adviser - History will remember how the lgbt community quickly and mercilessly dismantled the lies of Mark Regnerus as an example of us learning quickly about the dangers of allowing junk science study purveyors to spread their nonsense unchallenged. (After all, we are still cleaning up the lies of Paul Cameron decades later). 

 Alan Keyes Claims Gay Rights Will Lead To 'Self-Inflicted Genocide' And 'Suicide For Humanity' - And when history also remembers that it was Alan Keyes who President Obama thrashed in the race for the Illinois U.S. Senate seat and that victory helped pave his way to the White House, a huge cry of THANK GOOOOOOD!! will be heard from future generations. 

Texas Religious Right Leader Warns LGBT Protections Will 'Terrorize Women And Children' - OR how the religious right lies in the name of God.

Anti-gay talking head gives out inaccurate info on assaults in military to attack idea of gay Scoutmasters

Matt Barber

Former Secretary of Defense and new head of the Boy Scouts of America Robert Gates recently said he would have allowed openly gay Scoutmasters but does not wish to revisit the issue just yet.

And like they always do when it comes to issues involving lgbts, some anti-gay activists heard what they wanted to hear and proceeded to go ballistic about it:

Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action, and founder of Barbwire.com, says Gates should have seen the impact of repeal of the ban on open homosexuals in the military.

"With homosexual assaults on men in the armed forces particularly skyrocketing," says Barber. "Since 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' was lifted, upwards of more than a third increase in sexual assaults – male on male."

 . . . "I have said all along that they will eventually cave," says Barber, "because the homosexual activist juggernaut simply will not be daunted. And they are demanding nothing less than absolute affirmation and allowing fully, openly out and proud homosexual men to take your boys on overnight camping trips." 

There is just one problem with Barber's assessment of the situation. There has been no correlation between the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the rise of male-on-male assaults in the military. Notice that I said male-on-male assaults. Barber is of the inaccurate mindset that when a man assaults another man, the assaulter identifies as gay.

According to a June 23, 2013 New York Times article, the problem of male-on-male assault in the Armed Forces has been going on decades before DADT was repealed. What is going on now seems to be that more men are having the courage to report the incidents.

The article also says that ironically, the policy about gays being barred from the military was one of the reasons why men didn't report the incidents.

Last, but certainly not least, the article refutes Barber's ridiculous claim about gay military men assaulting other men in the Armed Forces:

Many sexual assaults on men in the military seem to be a form of violent hazing or bullying, said Roger Canaff, a former New York State prosecutor who helped train prosecutors on the subject of military sexual assault for the Pentagon. “The acts seemed less sexually motivated than humiliation or torture-motivated,” he said. 

It's a shame that Barber is so obsessed with fantasizing about gay men taking boy scouts on overnight camping trips that he exploits a genuine problem impacting our men and women in the Armed Forces in pursuit of his obsession.

Anti-gay 'news site' runs ridiculously biased poll about lgbts and children

How homophobic is the American Family Association's fake news site One News Now? In article about lgbts supposedly "recruiting" children (cue the spooky music), readers were invited to vote in the following poll:

I think it's safe to say that lgbts won't turn out the winners in this vote.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Gay couple kicked out of restaurant, told that 'f@!s are not served' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Texas Restaurant Bans Gay Couple Because ‘We Do Not Like Fags’ - You would be surprised that this sort of thing may be perfectly legal. If it blows up, count on groups like the Family Research Council to stand behind this restaurant, even to the point of defending the use of the anti-gay slur.

Audio: Sen. Hatch (R-UT) admits marriage equality inevitable, praises 'excellent judge' who ruled in favor of equality - Anti-gay heads will pop over this one.

 Family Research Council Prays To Stop LGBT Pride Month - So apparently FRC is having a big event during LGBT Pride Month and are all upset about it. I don't suppose a collaborative event is in the question.

Laverne Cox Talks to TIME About the Transgender Movement - Laverne Cox makes the cover of Time Magazine. SWEET watershed moment!  

Urgent Stop Ugandan Foreign Minister from Becoming President of UN General Assembly - Anyone leader from this awful country which freely persecutes lgbt has NO business in any leadership position anywhere.

Houston City Council beats back lies, fears and passes pro-lgbt ordinance

After a long, contentious meeting, the city of Houston, TX passed an ordinance protecting the rights of lgbts.

From the Houston Chronicle:

After nearly nine hours of discussion, punctuated by opponents chanting outside City Hall and by emotional supporters' personal stories of discrimination, the Houston City Council on Wednesday passed an ordinance extending equal rights protections to gay and transgender residents.

Public dissension has persisted for weeks, but the final vote was 11-6, a count that matched guesses made months ago when Mayor Annise Parker - the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city - said she planned to bring the measure forward.

The approval was greeted with applause from the audience, largely full of supporters by the time of the vote, and chants of "HERO," for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Opponents vow to gather the signatures needed to trigger a referendum to repeal the law this November, and others say they plan to seek recall elections against some council members who supported the measure.

 . . . The measure bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status. The ordinance applies to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. Violators could be fined up to $5,000.

The ordinance vote gained nationwide attention and even commentary from groups such as the anti-gay Family Research Council as opponents threw out the standard memes of "bathroom bills" and "religious liberty," such as:

but those supporting the ordinance were firm and had their facts together:



Still, this issue is far from over. My guess is that opponents of the bill will continue to be stirred on by their homophobia, fears, and outside groups such as the Family Research Council. However, I also believe that Mayor Parker and the supporters of the ordinance are going to dig in and give them one hell of a fight.

Who is NOM trying to protect by refusing to list its donors?

In the case of the National Organization for Marriage's huge loss today in front of the Maine Ethics Commission, I really miss lgbt investigative reporters. While it's awesome that NOM was embarrassed and fined record amount (more than $50,000) for its violation of Maine's election laws, the meat of the story lies in the organization's funders.

From LGBTNation:

 (The Maine Ethics Commission) ruled that the National Organization for Marriage failed to properly register as a ballot question committee and file campaign finance reports in the referendum that struck down same-sex marriage before it was legalized by voters in 2012. The decision could force the group to eventually disclose the names of its donors, which it has long sought to keep secret. But a lawyer for the National Organization for Marriage said it intends to appeal the decision in state court, and members of the Maine Ethics Commission said they expect litigation to continue for at least a year.

 . . . The group, which fought in Maine courts for more than four years to keep the names of its donors concealed, argues that it worked to ensure it was complying with Maine law by not raising any money specifically earmarked to influence the gay marriage question in the state. It says revealing the names will put its contributors at risk for harassment and intimidation and will chill future donations.

I say that's bull and I am extremely intrigued. NOM looks like it will go the ultimate limit to protect its list of donors. And I want to know why. I have a feeling that when we ultimately find out who is funding NOM, all hell is going to break loose.

 I also have to ask am I the only one who is wondering about this?  I'm curious to hear your thoughts and speculations.

'Maine Ethics Commission lowers the BOOM on NOM' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Like so many around the world, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters mourns the passing of legendary civil rights activist, poetess, and lgbt ally Maya Angelou. She left so much of a legacy but if there is one reason why I can say I admire Ms. Angelou, it's the fact that she didn't say you should love yourself, she DEMANDED that you love yourself.


Yesterday, I predicted that today would be the National Organization's day of reckoning for breaking Maine election laws. Today, it has happened:

#MaineEthicsCommission unanimous vote to fine @NOMupdate record $50,250 for not filing reports - money laundering! pic.twitter.com/zm3QEOAjfE
— Fred Karger (@fredkarger) May 28, 2014

.@nomupdate Chair John Eastman "We're not going to comply with release of names and fine by #MaineEthicsCommission"
— Fred Karger (@fredkarger) May 28, 2014

I hope you don't. Let's drag this sucker on just in time for your ridiculous upcoming march.

Meanwhile:

Wisconsin Governor Backs Down From Opposition To Same-Sex Marriage - A certain Wisconsin governor is scared about his re-election chances.

Was It First Annual Gay Night At FRC’s Watchmen On The Wall? - What does one say about a "Christian" organization having a huge meeting and only being able to talk about how "evil" gays are and how they "love" us in spite of it all. If I wanted love like that, I would pay my mother to pistol-whip me.

MassResistance Claims Gay-Straight Alliances Are 'Emotionally Poisonous And Physically Dangerous' - Criticism from an anti-gay hate group shows that you are doing something right.

NOM waging war on African-American lgbt couples with divide and conquer game

Last night, I wrote how the National Organization for Marriage's astroturfed black pastor group, CAAP, had put out a vile video comparing marriage equality to slavery and segregation.

This morning, I just want to show a video of the lgbt of colors who are hurt when NOM plays its divide and conquer game between the lgbt and African-American communities. It should speak for itself:

 

NOM video links marriage equality to slavery, segregation

William Owens, NOM's fake civil rights leader

In 2012, it was discovered that the National Organization for Marriage was planning to divide the lgbt and African-American communities on the subject of marriage equality.  According to a court document:

The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks - two key democratic constituencies. We aim to find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; to develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; and to provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party.

Even though they were caught red-handed in this cynical attempt to play both communities like chess pieces, NOM persisted to the point of teaming up with a group entitled the Coalition of African-American pastors (CAAP). CAAP is led by a man named William Owens who claimed that he is a veteran of the civil rights movement. He also claimed that the lgbt community was exploiting the civil rights movement.

However, there are certain things you need to know about Owens and CAAP:

 NOM was using CAAP in a failed attempt to sabotage President Obama's African-American support during the 2012 election after the organization (NOM) had endorsed Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney

Owens has admitted to being paid by organizations like NOM ($20,000), the Family Research Council, and the American Family Association to be a shill.

And to make matters worse, there have been serious questions - which Owens has never answered - as to whether or not he actually marched or participated at all in the Civil Rights Movement.

These are facts you should keep in mind when watching the following video by CAAP which connects slavery, segregation, and the indignities perpetrated on African-Americans to marriage equality in anticipation to NOM's upcoming supposed "March for Marriage:"

Never mind that this march is crap because the arguments are now in the courtroom and it would serve NOM and those who are against marriage equality better to bring up cohesive arguments which could sway judges.

They won't do that of course because they don't have any cohesive arguments to justify denying marriage to gays and lesbians. Therefore, they are going back to the standard plan of all demagogues, i.e. divide and conquer. And the potential victims will be the gay and black communities. Just how many news programs, specifically on African-American networks, will Owens be invited to in order to pitch the false division between the lgbt and black communities on marriage equality? How many will entertain his bombastic statements about not marching an inch in the civil rights movement to see gays marry instead of challenging the notion that he marched at all in the civil rights, much less scratched his nose when hearing that MLK was speaking.

Lastly, how many program will dissuade going for the "sexy angle" of conflicts between blacks and lgbts and instead focus on the following fact that marriage equality is an African-American issue. According to a study published last year:

 . . . there are more than one million African-American LGBT adults in the U.S. Of those individuals, 84,000 are in same-sex households with about 34 percent of couples raising children. These numbers come about a year after a Gallup report that found African-Americans make up the largest share of the LGBT community.

The report also said that 58 percent of the couples are female and the majority of all of these couples live in areas with high populations of black residents, but these areas have yet to have passed any laws which protect these couples.

These are the people whom NOM is hurting. African-Americans who just happen to be lgbt. If you ask me, it's people like Owens who are the real dangers to the African-American community, not marriage equality And certainly not the lgbt African-Americans who will most likely suffer because of pay-for-play pastors such as Owens and the others appearing in the above video and the coming march.

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper.

'NOM facing day of reckoning, Fox News guest gets sacked after mass shooting remark' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Maine’s battle with National Organization for Marriage is worth it - Tomorrow morning, the full Maine Ethics Commission will be voting on the punishment the National Organization for Marriage will receive for breaking its election laws. Will we finally see full disclosure of NOM's funders? Could be. 

WATCH: Fox News Guest Blames Mass Shooting On 'Homosexual Impulses' - An ugly mess took place over the weekend and it was exacerbated by this Fox guest. I report on this because I have just received a statement from one of her employers, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC (from Scott Wooledge who contacted the company via Facebook): 

Dr. Robi’s comments on the tragedy in Santa Barbara do not represent the opinions of Coldwell Banker. Therefore at this time we feel it best to part ways with her as our lifestyle real estate correspondent. 

 It's Time We Exposed the Media's Lies About Transgender Kids - Amen and about the transgender community in general.  

Extremely tacky NOM co-opts extremely reverent day for own extremely discriminatory cause - Good grief, NOM. On Memorial Day? Tacky! 

 Census to change the way it counts gay married couples - It's about time!

The Passion of Little Frankie Graham

It was a long weekend so by now, a lot of us have heard about the recent speech from Franklin Graham at the Family Research Council's Watchmen on the Walls conference in which he said that pastors must be willing to "get their heads chopped off" for opposing lgbt equality and that he loves gays so much he is willing to tell them to "stop what they are doing." He even added the old customary inference of "don't get angry at him because God said so."

There are so many things to be said that I think I shall comply a list:

1. Pastors are free to oppose lgbt equality and at no time will anyone have to fear getting martyred for it. Of course we all know this but that never seems to stop folks like Graham from conjuring up that image constantly.

2. What exactly are gays doing that Graham is opposed to. Is he talking about SEX? In that case, I haven't a thing to worry about. And I say that in a depressed tone of voice.

3. The last I checked, potential martyrs never sat in exquisite ballrooms, dressed in nice clothing, and listening to men in expensive suits and large bank accounts talk about how they will be persecuted.

4. SPEAKING of number three, I have never heard of a man dressed in an expensive suit and a large bank account (courtesy of his prominent family) talk of being a martyr. In fact, I have never heard of anyone make a speech about becoming an martyr to an unfair situation and then reaping the benefits of the speech without said "benefits" being arrest, torture, and execution.  Let's put it another way - John the Baptist, Simon Peter, and Paul of Tarsus were all executed for their faith. At the very least, Graham will receive a rebuke from blogs like this for his hubris. Oh yeah. THAT'S balance.

5. Most importantly, what is the deal with the Christianity practiced by Graham and the folks who applauded him? What's up with any type of religion in which making assumptions about the nuances of someone else's life before examining your own is acceptable? What type of Christianity encourages a person to condemn someone else to hell for supposed behavior in front of enthusiastic audiences while ignoring the things that Jesus actually talked about such as basic human kindness, forgiveness, and most importantly the type of love in which you give and expect nothing in return. The type of love Graham claims has for lgbts is the type which makes one see an analyst every week. It's a type of love we can all do without.