An African-American Christian mother pens book on accepting her gay son

This story is a perfect example of just what we are missing when we make assumptions about the acceptance or lack of acceptance of lgbts in the black community. Deon Davis, a Christian woman in Florida has written and self-published a book chronicling how her child came out and how she grew to accept him as he is:

"I learned that our children have feelings, that the parent is not always right. I learned that the hard way," she says. "I'm learning all this through the blessing of Rashad being gay."

Now Davis is on a mission. She spent $1,300 to self-publish "I'll Find a Way: A Mother's Journey of Love and Acceptance for Her Gay Son" and is working tirelessly to promote it.

A sad but interesting part of the article tells about how lgbt children like Rashad are not accepted by their own families. Davis talks about several incidents where these children have been thrown out of their homes. Rashad talks about what his father refusing to accept him being gay:

Rashad's friends have spent many hours at Davis' home and she's often appalled by how their parents treat them. One father beat his gay son so badly, the boy was covered with bruises.

Another of Rashad's friends stayed with Davis for a week after his father threw him out. "He got kicked out because he was gay," she says. "This child was the smartest thing ever!"

A third friend "was living on the streets and selling his body," Davis says. "A 4.0 grade point average and he just got kicked out."

Rashad, who recently graduated from Piper High School in Sunrise, Fla., says his own father won't accept that he's gay.

"At my graduation, he told me he'd give me $1,000 if I'd get a girl pregnant," Rashad says. "He said he'd rather me go to prison for 20 years for drugs than be gay."

This is an excellent article about a mother who is not only accepting her gay son, but also educating folks on lgbt youth.

I wish Ms. Davis all of the success in the world.

The entire article is here.

Big hat tip to Box Turtle Bulletin for bringing the article to my attention.

The American College of Pediatricians and the Laundering of Junk Science

Two weekends ago, I was embroiled in an intense discussion about gay parenting on the webpage Truthwinsout.org

Comments had gone back and forth, spurred by someone who spouted what he thought was credible information proving that gay marriage was not a good idea.

The subject drifted to gay parenting. Naturally the person did not agree with the idea and he cited information by a group called the American College of Pediatricians (ACP) that supposedly proved his point.

I took a look at this group's webpage and from what I saw, it looked like a group masquerading as a legtimate medical organization while spouting religious right dogma about the lgbt community.

Mike Airhart, a writer employed by Truth Wins Out and a very good friend of mine, broke it down like this:

The “American College of Pediatricians” screens its membership according to a pro-life philosophy spelled out on its “Core Values” page and an anti-gay philosophy spelled out here. The organization’s Bible Belt charter members are listed here.

According to Concerned Women for America, ACP formed in retaliation against the American Academy of Pediatrics after AAP released scientific studies finding no significant harm to children in same-sex parenting. ACP accuses the AAP of “bad science” but does not say how AAP’s studies were flawed.

The ACP’s family resources page links primarily to religious-right organizations. In contrast to the scientific approach of the AAP, ACP employs what it considers a predetermined “moral” filter to pediatrics.

Translation: The American College of Pediatricians is a group masquerading as a legtimate medical organization while spouting religious right dogma about the lgbt community.

I pretty much said the same thing already, but didn't Mike say it much better than me?

Seriously though, I took a look at the work ACP put out about the lgbt community, particularly a piece called Homosexual Parenting: Is it Time for Change?

What I found was a hot mess of the usual lies put out by the religious right. I'm sure those who keep up with this blog have heard these before but I'm a stickler for consistency when it comes to religious right distortions, so bear with me.

The distortions of the ACP piece can be broken down in three brackets:

1. Outdated data

The paper says:

Homosexual partnerships are significantly more prone to dissolution than heterosexual marriages with the average homosexual relationship lasting only two to three years

As proof of this, the ACP paper cites sources from over 15 years ago:

David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison, The male couple: how relationships develop (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1984), pp. 252-253.

M. Saghir and E. Robins, Male and female homosexuality (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1973), p. 225; L.A. Peplau and H. Amaro, "Understanding lesbian relationships," in homosexuality: social, psychological, and biological issues, ed. J. Weinrich and W. Paul (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1982).

M. Pollak, "Male homosexuality," in western sexuality: practice and precept in past and present times, ed. P. Aries and A. Bejin, translated by Anthony Forster (New York, NY: B. Blackwell, 1985), pp. 40-61, cited by Joseph Nicolosi in Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991), pp. 124, 125.

To make matters worse, the ACP is inaccurately using the data to generalize about all lgbt couples.

The authors of The Male Couple said their book could not be used to generalize about the lgbt community:

“We always have been very careful to explain that the very nature of our research sample, its size (156 couples), its narrow geographic location, and the natural selectiveness of the participants prevents the findings from being applicable and generalizable to the entire gay male community.”

Another outdated source the ACP piece uses is:

A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: a study of diversity among men and women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 309

Homosexualities was published in 1978. And with it, the APC paper continues to inaccurately generalize about lgbt couples.

A passage in Homosexualities clearly says:

“. . . 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.”

Generally speaking, if you looked at all of the sources in the ACP paper, you see that the majority of them are over 10 years old. And many of the ones that can be construed as current are misused.

But that is the next section.

2. Misusage of studies

Many of the studies the ACP uses to claim that children will suffer adverse effects in lgbt households in fact did not have anything to do with looking at children in lgbt homes at all. They include:

A. Marie Xiridoui, et al., "The contribution of steady and casual partnerships to the incidence of HIV infection among homosexual men in Amsterdam," AIDS 17 (2003): 1029-1038. [Note: one of the findings of this recent study is that those classified as being in "steady relationships" reported an average of 8 casual partners a year in addition to their partner (p. 1032)]

As pointed out in a post two weeks ago , this study only looked at casual relationships between gay men. It had nothing to do with the lesbian population and certainly nothing to do with children in lgbt households. The ironic thing is that this study has been used to also claim that lgbts have no concept of monogamy in marriage even though the data was compiled before marriage was even legalized in the Netherlands.

B. Joanne Hall, "Lesbians recovering from alcoholic problems: an ethnographic study of health care expectations," Nursing Research 43 (1994): 238-244.

In my 2007 book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, I talk about how this article in Nursing Research was distorted. The author of the article, Joanne Hall, Ph.D. of the University of Tennessee’s College of Nursing, wrote me a letter outlining how it was being misused. She said that not only did the study have nothing to do with gay parenting but also:

“My study was an investigation of experiences of lesbians who ALREADY have self-identified as having ‘had an alcohol problem.’

They were not recruited as ‘alcoholics,’ ‘addicts’ or such terms, because I realized people have different understandings and preferences about ‘labels.’ These women were not necessarily under treatment at all, but living in the community. I did not ‘verify’ either their sexual orientation (that was also self-identification), nor a ‘diagnosis’ of substance abuse. They responded to a flyer. They all lived in the Bay Area. There were 35 women in the study. ONLY 35. They do not REPRESENT a population. My point was to try to get a handle on what they were experiencing—to UNDERSTAND their patterns . . . . "

C. Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, "Intimate violence in lesbian relationships: discussion of survey findings and practice implications," Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.

Again a study having nothing to do with children in same sex households. The original study was conducted in 1985 at a Michigan Women’s Music Festival. It included only 1099 participants and all were lesbian.

According to a reviewer of the study, Suzana Rose, Ph.D., of the 1099 lesbians participants, most were white and between the ages of 20-45. - Intimate Violence in Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice Implications, Journal of Social Science Research, 1991

D. "Sex survey results," Genre (October 1996), quoted in "Survey finds 40 percent of gay men have had more than 40 sex partners," Lambda Report, January 1998, p. 20.

Not only did this Genre article have nothing to do with children in same sex households but check out the entire citation. The Lambda Report was an anti-gay publication put out by an old friend of ours - Peter LaBarbera - before he began Americans for Truth.

So in all honesty, it can be said that the ACP paper does not misuse Genre article because it does not cite the article at all, but what LaBarbera (a man with an anti-gay bias) claims the Genre article says.

3. Researcher complaints

A consistent factor of religious right studies is how they inaccurately use studies even after complaints by the work's original author. There are two in the ACP paper:

A. It cites the infamous 1997 study Canadian study as proof that lgbts have a short life span even though the study's authors complained in 2001 of its misusage by the religious right. (This is getting to be a favorite citation of mine. In almost every religious right paper I've talked about on this site, the distortion of the Canadian study is included.)

B. Judith Stacey and Timothy J. Biblarz, "(How) Does the sexual orientation of parents matter," American Sociological Review 66 (2001): 174, 179.

Judith Stacey has said repeatedly that nothing in her work says that same sex parenting is a bad idea.

Finally, the most interesting thing about the ACP paper is that it is not original. Some of the citations and passages in the paper are identical to a Family Research Council paper, The Negative Effects of Homosexuality.

This is the same paper is considered "outdated" by the Family Research Council.

So basically, the American College of Pediatricians is a puppet organization that can do damage if no one researches its background.

The folks who founded this organization are clearly sacrificing the integrity of their profession by laundering religious right propaganda as credible medical research.

And it makes one wonder as to how many other "groups" like ACP are out there. And also what can we do to bring attention to these groups.

Monday midday news briefs

For those interested, I have updated the timeline on my Anti-Gay Lies and Liars webpage to include events happening in 1986, 2000, 2007, and 2009. Chief among them - Dick Hafer's hateful anti-gay comics, The "Fistgate" nonsense, the James Holsinger controversy, and various things happening this year including Carrie Prejean and NOM, Jim DeMint's lying letter, and various attacks on Kevin Jennings. Pan down to the timeline to see the new entries.

Her name is Candi, but her agenda couldn't be less sweet - Ugh. Another anti-gay spokesperson. The lgbt community seem to collect them like roaches. I don't have the strength so Jeremy, she is all yours.

Washington's Bishops: Repealing Domestic Partnerships is "Justified Discrimination" - Justified discrimination? Are they serious? Who gets to decide that sort of thing?

Sports Figure Latest Victim Of Ugandan Anti-Gay Offensive - Kudos to Box Turtle Bulletin for keeping this issue in the forefront.

FACT CHECK: The Right-Wing Smear Campaign Against Kevin Jennings - ThinkProgress to the rescue and not a moment too soon either.

Gay folks and the black church - shake your booty for Jesus

Sometimes I don't understand the perceived hell that the black church supposedly gives to gay folks.

Goodness knows there are so many of us in the church.

Now far be it from me to throw out innuendoes but the following clip sets off my gaydar as well as my eardrums (particularly a certain individual on stage and a certain individual in the audience. When you see it, you'll know.)

Talk about contradiction city:

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy is a brilliant comedian who has not really received his due but let's not forget how ugly his routine used to be.

In this clip (starting at .40 seconds), Murphy's comments about gay men and the audience's appreciation of those comments gives a perfect example of how just how far the lgbt community has come.

If some comedian would dare to say some this stuff now, he would be roasted.

Which goes to prove that so-called "political correctness" has its good points.

And by the way, I am not going to go into detail about that 1997 incident with Murphy being caught with a transsexual prostitute in his car. Nothing was proven and he was not arrested. Also, in all honesty, Murphy had already apologized for his nasty anti-gay humor long before the incident took place.

Should white women be teaching children?

Because of the recent Frank Lombard controversy, the case of the gay Duke University official who is accused of raping his adopted 5-year-old son, the religious right and conservative pundits in general have been accusing the media of playing down Lombard's homosexuality due to political correctness.

World Net Daily has even accused CNN, the Associated Press,and ABC News of not even mentioning the fact that Lombard is gay.

Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage says that we must ask questions about these things (i.e. how much did Lombard's orientation lead to him being allowed to adopt the child) and not let homophobia dissuade us.

I say they have a point and this why:

Ranee Sue Proper, a 42-year-old former music teacher, was arrested for allegedly having sex with two students in a classroom. She was sentenced June 3 to nine months in jail and years probation after pleading guilty to one count of criminal sexual conduct.

Melissa Weber, a 27-year-old New York City social studies teacher is accused of having sex in her classroom with a 14-year-old male student. She was arrested May 28.

Jennifer Rice, a 33-year-old former Tacoma, Wash., elementary school teacher was found guilty on April 20 of having sex with a 10-year-old student and his 15-year-old brother.

Kelsey Peterson, a former Nebraska middle school math teacher, was sentenced on April 23 to eight to 10 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a minor. Peterson fled to Mexico with a 13-year-old student in October 2007.

Wendie Schweikert, a 37-year-old former South Carolina elementary school teacher, pleaded guilty to having sex with an 11-year-old student. In June 2007, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Debra Lafave, a former Florida middle school teacher, was sentenced to house arrest and probation in 2005 after pleading guilty to charges that she had sex with a 14-year-old student.

That's six recent cases of teachers having sex with minors. And what's the similarities between all six cases? These teachers were white women.

So why is the media downplaying this? There does seem to be a problem with white women not being able to keep their hands to themselves in teaching environments. If one case of a gay man molesting a child should warrant an outcry, then six cases of white women molesting children should warrant at least a 20/20 investigation.

And we shouldn't let political correctness keep us from asking crucial questions that may protect our children.

Questions like:

Aren't white women potentially susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior? There could be a point in this. How many black or Latino women do you see on those "Girls Gone Wild" commercials?

Aren't there more white female porn stars than any other ethnic group?

Look at Paris Hilton. She is a white woman. Would you want her teaching your child?


You know what . . . stop.

If you are still reading and are somehow angry at what I have just written, then you need to understand sarcasm.

The fact of the matter is that white women are not susceptible to outrageous sexual behavior and should not be judged as a whole on the behavior of those who have gotten into trouble.

And what Frank Lombard possibly did (he has not been tried yet) was wrong. It was vile and nasty. But any attempt to judge all gay men on him is equally vile and nasty.

No matter how it is spun, that is what the religious right and other pundits are trying to do. They don't see this case as a child being victimized.

They see it as an opportunity to get their agenda across. They see it as an opportunity to get some face time on places like Fox News or get some money sent in by naive folks who read and believe their drivel.

For ever one Frank Lombard, there are thousands of adopted lgbt parents who love, protect, and nurture their children to the utmost of their ability.

I happen to know a few.

In the long run, it doesn't matter what sexual orientation, gender, or ethnic identity Lombard is.

A child has been potentially hurt; scarred for life.

His well-being is the only thing that truly matters in this case.

Anything, and I mean anything that distracts from that should be dismissed.

Friday midday news briefs

It's a slow news day so I figured I would get this out of the way. Also, I have a fraternity luncheon to attend (that's right - this little gay black duck was a member of a college fraternity).

But on deck for today's later installment of Know You LGBT History is a doozy. Trust me on that one.

Vaccine for HPV Effective in Men - Shhh! Don' t tell the religious right. It would devastate them.


Accusations continue in dispute over lesbian pastor's speech at Castro Valley school - This is a dumb lawsuit. Why is it when people hear that lgbts are making speeches, they think we are talking about sexual intercourse. And now they are trying to bilk the school district.

Pastor: Obama has no 'black experience' to speak of - Now One News Now is deciding who can talk about the "black experience." It is to laugh.

Black gay men, AIDS, and no community support

AIDS is killing off black gay men and lack of lgbt community support may an unfortunate factor:

Black gay men have less choice when it comes to sexual partners than other groups and, as a result, their sexual networks are closely knit. These tightly interconnected networks make the rapid spread of HIV more likely. In a study1 looking at social and sexual mixing between ethnic groups in men who have sex with men, H. Fisher Raymond and Willi McFarland, from the San Francisco Department of Public Health in the US, show that social barriers faced by Black gay men may have a serious impact on their health and well-being.

. . . Black gay men are the least preferred of sexual partners by other races. Black men are perceived to be riskier to have sex with, which can lead to men of other races avoiding Black men as sexual partners. They are also perceived as less welcome in the common social venues of gay men in San Francisco. As a result, Black men are three times more likely to have sexual partners that are also Black, than would be expected by chance alone.

In the authors’ view, the combination of attitudes on the part of non-Black gay men, friendships and social networks that are less likely to include Blacks, and the environments found in gay venues serve to separate Black gay men from other groups.

So the personal ad phrase "no fats, no olds, no fems, no blacks" is now taking on sinister proportions. It's not that I'm passing judgement on people's personal dating choices. But it does go farther than that. The lgbt community can sometimes be consumed with the gay ghetto clique mentality. And as you can see, it's killing those who are generally not allowed to be in the "clique."

But hey, at least the black community supports us . . . when we seem to be at death's door. That's when folks make these lovely speeches about "it's not just a gay disease," and "let's not stop until we find a cure."

I got an idea - how about giving us a little support while we are healthy. How about not isolating us or making our lives seem dirty by using the word "lifestyle" like it's a pooper scooper.

So both the lgbt and black community have work to do. I can only hope the work gets done before too many lgbts of color suffer.

Support Sean's Last Wish and Kevin Jennings

The Fourth of July holiday is almost upon us and I am going to accomplish something during my time away from work.

I will be updating my Anti-Gay Lies and Liars webpage. The update is sorely needed because I haven't put anything new in the timeline since before the Ms. California/Perez Hilton nonsense.

But there are two things that I ask that you do for me.

The first is to look at the following video featuring Elke Kennedy, head of Sean's Last Wish.

Elke began this organization after her son, Sean, was murdered in a vicious hate crime in 2007. She travels the country educating people on the need for the lgbt addition to hate crimes legislation as well as ways to stop violence against lgbt youth.



Unfortunately, the man who murdered her son, Stephen Andrew Moller, was released from his 5-year suspended sentence today; a week before he was supposed to be released.

He was indicted for only involuntary manslaughter and sentenced on June 11 2008 to a 5 year sentence suspended to three years.

His sentence had already been reduced by two months after receiving a good behavior credit for receiving his GED while in prison.

I've said it once and I will say it again: that's some bull@!*&

The second thing involves Kevin Jennings.

Goodness knows I've talked enough about how the religious right is playing the game of character assasination against him since his appointment as Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

The organization that Jennings founded, GLSEN, has an online petition that you can sign thanking US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for Jennings's appointment and asking that he hold firm against these attempts by the religious right to smear Jennings:

Dear Secretary Duncan,

We are thrilled that you have selected Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), as the new Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education for the Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. This appointment is a tribute to Kevin’s many contributions to education and his commitment to the safety and well-being of all students.

Having worked in education for more than 20 years, first as a teacher and then as an advocate for student safety, Kevin has devoted his life to improving the educational environment for all of America's youth. His nearly 20 years of work with GLSEN has helped propel the issue of student safety to the forefront of education reform efforts, and we are delighted that he will be able to continue his groundbreaking work in this new capacity.

With gratitude,

I've already signed it. Please sign it too. We can't let the right impugn Jennings or the good work he has done for lgbt youth.

Other HB/HM posts on Kevin Jennings and the religious right:

The religious right thinks that character assasination is a Christian virtue

The war against Kevin Jennings - now it's getting pathetic

Attacks on Kevin Jennings sleazy, un-Christian

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act''

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

Thursday midday news briefs

My Post-Pride Dream: Memories, Observations and Hopes for a Fragmented Community - The single best piece I have ever read on the state of the lgbt community. And I am not talking about our fight for equality. When that is over (after we have won), the lgbt community will have to face just how homophobia has damaged us as a people in terms of how we relate to each other.

X-Factor Comic Gets First Gay Kiss - Rictor and Shatterstar kiss. Makes me sorry I got rid of my action figures of the two.

As gay discharges continue, sailor is murdered - This ain't good at all.

Obama White House Not Appealing Transgender Ruling - Good.

KC volunteer assaulted at Omaha Gay Pride - I'm all for "killing with kindness," but if someone puts me in a headlock, I'm kicking his ass.

Maggie Gallagher Just Doesn't Trust Men Who Want Children - Gee Maggie, why don't you just say it directly instead of hemming and hawing. Yet another religious right figure exploiting the Frank Lombard situation.

And because I believe in a diet rich in fiber, a bit from One News Now:

'FistGate' tapes go public; GLSEN doesn't deny - Another attempt to attack Kevin Jennings. Long story short - of course GLSEN did not deny the accuracy of the tapes because neither GLSEN nor Jennings had anything to do with the so-called Fistgate incident.

Famous lgbts of color

With all of the efforts to play the divide and conquer game on the gay and black communities, it's important to remember those who intersected both identities:

The rights of a child

This is somewhat of a respost but I like it so much that I want it to stand alone:

It galls me how religious right groups try to undermine every type of parenting except for the one they approve of.

It especially drives me crazy how they try to reduce the complexity of parenting to a single irrelevant talking point of "every child has a right to a mother and a father."

Well here is what I feel a child has a right to:

A child has a right to have a home full of love and support.

A child has a right to clean clothing, good hygiene, and a full satisfied stomach every day.

A child has a right to be able to laugh for no reason at all.

A child has a right to good advice and good discipline.

A child has a right not be feel loved or unwanted.

A child has a right not to be kicked, slapped, verbally, or sexually assaulted by anyone; especially a so-called loved one.

A child has a right to have his or her tears wiped away with a soft hand and a kind word.

A child has a right to as many good Christmases and birthdays as possible.

A child has a right to be applauded to the point of embarrassment for his or her participation in a sport event, a school event, or just for the hell of it.

A child has a right to be indulged every now and then by adult participation in water balloon fights, pillow fights, and imaginary tea parties.

A child has a right not to tolerate any type of bullying.

A child has a right to have someone there to tell him or her not to be afraid of thunder or the dark.

Lastly a child has a right to be nurtured into a responsible adult.

I have absolutely nothing against "two-parent mother and father" households. But until someone can tell me that those households have the patent on these things that a child needs, I refuse to give them precedent over any other household, especially same-sex households.

Feel free to spread this to as many folks as possible.

Death watch for Mark Sanford's career in Columbia

Okay this is not necessarily an lgbt issue per se, but it's interesting to watch nonetheless.

You all have heard the speculation and polls wondering when or if Mark Sanford will resign as South Carolina's governor.

But let me tell you how it is in the fair city of Columbia.

We have a death watch going on for Sanford's governorship. It's like waiting outside a palace for the news of the king's death. To us, it's not a question of whether or not Sanford will resign, but when.

And no one can figure this man out. The majority of the comments I have received has to do with his Tuesday interview with the Associated Press.

Why didn't he keep his mouth shut?

He just made it worse.

Talk about putting your foot in your mouth.

It's like what I said earlier - it's never the original revelation of wrongdoing that brings down a politician, but the other details that seem to come out.

Who would have thought Sanford was a player and dumb one at that?

Another thing about this entire situation is how Jenny Sanford is fastly becoming everyone's hero.

Rumour control is that she is being advised by a friend named Sheniqua. Sheniqua was the one who told her not to not to accompany Sanford at his original press conference:

Girl, he must be crazy. He dogs you for some Argentine ho' and then he wants you to to stand by him in public? If it were me, I would stand by him alright and when his back was turned, I'd break my foot off in his ass. That nasty @!$%

I hear that after Tuesday's interview with the Associated Press, Sheniqua was trying to convince Jenny to set Mark's clothes on fire.

Okay I made that last part up. But the fact of the matter is this: Sanford's tenure as governor is over. But because of his plain stubborness that has gotten him into trouble so many times, Sanford seems to be the only one who is not aware of this fact.

Many of us in Columbia are wondering when will he catch a clue and just give up the ghost.

But according to a friend of mine, it could be worse:

"Mark had better hope Jenny hasn't watched one of those Tyler Perry Madea movies."

The rights of a child and news briefs

Let me apologize first of all for those expecting to read Wednesday midday news briefs. Please indulge me for a little while or pan down to see them.

This morning's post has gotten me angry. It's just unbelievable to me that anyone would exploit the Frank Lombard situation to demonize lgbt parenting.

But it's not surprising. It's par for the course as to how religious right groups try to undermine every type of parenting except for the one they approve of.

It especially galls me how they try to reduce the complexity of parenting to a single irrelevant talking point of "every child has a right to a mother and a father."

Well here is what I feel a child has a right to:

A child has a right to have a home full of love and support.

A child has a right to clean clothing, good hygiene, and a full satisfied stomach every day.

A child has a right to be able to laugh for no reason at all.

A child has a right to good advice and good discipline.

A child has a right not be feel loved or unwanted.

A child has a right not to be kicked, slapped, verbally, or sexually assaulted by anyone; especially a so-called loved one.

A child has a right to have his or her tears wiped away with a soft hand and a kind word.

A child has a right to as many good Christmases and birthdays as possible.

A child has a right to be applauded to the point of embarrassment for his or her participation in a sport event, a school event, or just for the hell of it.

A child has a right to be indulged every now and then by adult participation in water balloon fights, pillow fights, and imaginary tea parties.

A child has a right not to tolerate any type of bullying.

A child has a right to have someone there to tell him or her not to be afraid of thunder or the dark.

Lastly a child has a right to be nurtured into a responsible adult.

I have absolutely nothing against "two-parent mother and father" households. But until someone can tell that those households have the patent on these things that a child needs, I refuse to give them precedent over any other household, especially same-sex households.

On to news briefs:

Burger King ad shoves seven-incher in her face so she can have it their way - You have to see this. It defies all description.

Video: Just wait until he really does something for us. That's when the real anti-gay 'fun' begins - Apparently President Obama is "selling homosexuality." I wonder does he accept lay-a-way. A friend of mine told me to ask if he accepts food stamps.

Chicago Tribune Goes "Beyond Boystown" and Looks at Black LGBTs on the South Side - An excellent article.

Judge Declines to Stay Law on Gay Marriage - It's always a good day when Harry Jackson gets smacked down.

Kern Longs For The Good Old Days When Homosexuality Was Illegal - This just in - Sally Kern is nuts.

And now, two doses of fiber brought to you by One News Now:

'Hate crimes' bill would federalize criminal law, revive double jeopardy - They just love to think of new lies about hate crimes legislation.

'No truth' in Obama's speech before homosexuals - They are still angry at President Obama's speech.

Michelle Malkin, Mike Adams, and One News Now exploit a molested child

Yesterday, I featured an awful story in my news briefs about a gay adopted father who has been accused of molesting his adopted five-year-old African-American son and offering him up for sex with strangers on the Internet.

Discredited researcher Paul Cameron was exploiting the situation to push one of his junk science studies about gays molesting children.

Other than Cameron and Mike Adams, a columnist with the conservative Town Hall, the "gay angle" of this awful situation has not been getting much play.

But that has changed. This is a One News Now article:

A professor of criminology at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington says the outrage over a homosexual statutory rape case at Duke University is a deafening sound of silence.

Frank Lombard, associate director of Duke University's Center for Health Policy, has been accused of molesting his adopted five-year-old African-American son and offering him up for sex with strangers on the Internet. Lombard's homosexual partner, who resides in the same house with Lombard, was allegedly unaware of the activities.

The professor is columnist Mike Adams by the way. The angle of the article seems to be that the media isn't covering this case with the same fervor as they covered the infamous "Duke Lacrosse team rape case" a few years ago.

The Duke Lacrosse team rape case was when several white students were on the college's lacrosse team was unfairly accused of raping a black stripper.

And now conservative columnist Michelle Malkin has taken up the charge.

Let's be honest about this mess. Neither Michelle Malkin nor Mike Adams and especially not One News Now care that a child may have been hideously victimized. None of these folks care one iota about the little boy in the center of this mess.

They only care that a gay man has been charged with the crime. And now they are trying to spin an angle into this situation as a way of both demonizing the lgbt community and dividing black heterosexuals and gays at the same time.

For the record, various newspapers and media services have been covering this situation. Of course it's easier to describe the media as a politically correct singular boogeyman when you are trying to drive a wedge between blacks and gays.

This is what Adams said about the situation:

The Associate Press (AP) did not mention the fact that the five-year old offered up for molestation was black. Bringing that fact to light might be damaging to the political coalition that exists between blacks and gays. Nor did the AP mention that the adopted child is being raised by a homosexual couple. Bringing that fact to light might harm the gay adoption movement.

I wrote this column because I believe that certain coalitions must be broken. And certain movements must be harmed. Let the political fallout begin.

I suppose it would be beating a dead horse to say that not one word in Adams's piece voiced any concern for the child. He seems to be so busy with attempting to destroy "certain coalitions," coalitions that he is too chickenshit to go into detail about.

But we all know what coalitions he is alluding to.

No one in their right minds (and I know I am stretching by saying that considering some of the readers of Town Hall and One News Now) will buy the claims put forth comparing the Duke Lacrosse case to this mess.

And very few (except the extremely homophobic) will use this case to claim that gays shouldn't adopt.

But here is the thing that bothers me.

A child has possibly been victimized. His innocence has been taken from him.

But to some people, pointing out the sexual orientation of the person accused of the crime is more important than the child's welfare.

That's the real sad story here.

Mark Sanford, Al Franken, religious right comments are going to make my head explode

At this rate, I am never going to post that piece on the American College of Pediatricians.

It's written and ready to go but I keep postponing it because of better posts.

Last night, it was the religious right's newest attack on Kevin Jennings. This morning, it was Peter LaBarbera's venture onto youtube (which by the way has a new update. Peter has turned coward and made the video private.)

And now, it's a multitude of stuff. I'm having an information overload.

First on the list is my philandering Governor Mark Sanford.

Just when I thought he couldn't make things worse for himself, he has an interview with the Associated Press which he reveals:

- His Argentine mistress is his "soulmate" but he is going to try and reconcile with his wife. I can hear Jenny Sanford putting the grits on the stove. If she calls asking you to come home Mark, you had better stay where you are.

- He not only met his mistress more times than he claimed but he also "crossed the line" with a few other women. However, Sanford says, he did not have sex with them.

What the hell does that mean?

And above it all, he keeps apologizing. Sanford doesn't have to apologize to me. I didn't vote for him. But then again, visions of him "doing the nasty" have invaded my sleep several times. So maybe I do want an apology.

This situation is worse than the Trent Lott apology tour after his comments at the late Strom Thurmond's birthday.

I'm convinced that Sanford is going way beyond trying to come clean. Mark Sanford is engaging in excruciating slow political suicide. Really, the entire thing left soap opera territory a long time ago.

Now we are steadily moving towards the territory of the torture porn movies that seem to be so popular nowadays.

We are now witnessing the political version of the movie "Saw."

How bad will it get? How long will it be before we start hearing about whips and chains and candle wax on the nipples?

And the other issues that are driving me crazy?

Senator Al Franken. Who would have thought? What's next? Governor Eddie Murphy?

Lastly, I hear that a bunch of religious right groups have formed into a single mindhead called the Freedom Foundation.

The usual cast of lying characters are there. It works for me personally. I like big targets when it comes to exposing liars.

I don't know what's worse; this silly group or the constituency of values it claims to represent. Check out these lovely comments from so-called Christian folks reacting to One News Now's article about the White House reception on Gay Pride Month:

The President cannot be a true Christian!

Obama is so anti-Christian that it's scary! He is fastly ripping this country to shreds and taking the foundation on which our country was built with him. We Christians have got to band together and stand up for what is right and Biblically sound to save us from ourselves! Too many people have lent their faith to a FOOL instead of relying on God. I believe Obama thinks he is a messiah, when in fact he is the Anti-Christ! Amen!!

It appears that Obama's main direction for his Administration is to do the work of satan. Don't know if Obama is even aware of this. So many things that he pushes/stands for are against Biblical Principles, God's instructions for us.

I think Obama "has issues" with America and is intentionally out to destroy it.

Why can't you see what Obama wants to do to this great nation. We will no longer be a nation where everybody else wants to live but where we are all trying to get away from. God made us a great nation and if we turn our back on God then He will turn His back on us and Satan will have his way with the United States.

The New World Order, where perversion is normal, normal is perverse, good is evil and evil good. And tolerance is praised and worshiped above all.

Nobama is a liar, a thief, a murderer, a sexual deviant, and an antichristian! Anyone who supports the evils Nobama is doing is guilty of the same sins Nobama is guilty of doing. It is one thing for a Christian to battle and fight against sin, but it is a totally different thing for someone to CLAIM to be a Christian then teach others to embrace and support sin. Anyone who thinks that a Christian can embrace and support the sin of homosexuality, and still CLAIM to be a Christian is not a TRUE CHRISTIAN at all! Be not deceived, GOD IS NOT MOCKED! Anyone practicing or supporting homosexuality is mocking God and spitting in God's face!!!

Obama is an example of what's wrong with American values. They've all sold their souls to Satan, yet many of them profess to be "Christian"...but in name only. An authentic Biblical Christian will yield only to God's laws and directives and not to the voice of a mere man...especially a personally and spiritually conflicted man as Obama. He does have an anti-christ spirit...it is way too obvious.

Tuesday midday news briefs

That didn't take long.

The comments and ratings for the Americans For Truth youtube video (talked about in this morning's post) have been disabled.

What's the matter, Peter? Did you expect to demonize lgbts without us registering some type of commentary on how you lie?

Also, the video has been viewed over 300 times and has received a rating of 1.

Good work folks!

On to newbriefs:

When do we think the AP will start caring about this? - Gasp! You mean One News Now likes to doctor Associated Press headlines? Why we must be on planet Earth.

Right Wing Hastens to Hold Up Gay Adoptive Dad, Alleged Pedophile, As Typical of All Gays - Paul Cameron is a sick sonofabitch. And this article proves it. My prayers go out to everyone in this situation, especially the child.

Labor Chief Deplores Defacing of Gay Pride Posters - Handle your business Mrs. Solis!!

POTUS to LGBT: "Welcome to Your White House" - Thank you for that, President Obama. Now how about backing up the speech.

Michigan: Kalamazoo approves inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance - Way to go Kalamazoo!

Peter LaBarbera 'enters the youtube era'

Again that piece on the American College of Pediatricians is going to have to wait because the following is just too juicy not to comment on:



Somedays I hate technology.

Like this morning for example when I logged onto the Americans for Truth webpage (some people drink coffee to wake up, I like to laugh) and saw that Peter LaBarbera has posted footage from the 2009 Chicago Pride on youtube.

Interestingly enough, unlike LaBarbera's past photo footage of prides, the Chicago event seems relatively tame.

LaBarbera even has to manufacture some ridiculous claim that gays marching in the parade are anti-police via footage of a sign by some of those marching. Of course LaBarbera didn't think to question those holding the sign as to what it meant.

I guess he figured why take a chance on ruining a good innuendo.

LaBarbera's "entry" into youtube has both negative and positive repercussions.

The negative being we can expect to see more footage from other events posted on youtube complete with LaBarbera's "editorial comment" and innuendo.

The positive repercussions are that now we have another avenue to point out LaBarbera's blatant homophobia. And we also have the opportunity to tell him know what we think about his demonization of the lgbt community via ratings and comments just like we did with NOM's "Gathering Storm."

That is until we scare him so bad that he disables both.

I say let's start now. I've already given my rating and comment.

UPDATE - First Peter disables the comments and ratings. Now he has made the video "private," which means it is only viewable to those he chooses to show it to. But you can still watch the monstrosity on youtube.

I view this as a success. We made him pull a full retreat. And please bear in mind that no one tried to keep him from showing his video. But if he is man enough to demonize the lgbt community videowise then he should be man enough to put up the comments and ratings. (Editor's note - By saying this, I am not defending any ugly or threatening comments directed towards LaBarbera.)

The religious right thinks that character assasination is a Christian virtue

That piece I was going to write, The American College of Pediatricians and the Laundering of Junk Science, is going to have to wait until tomorrow morning due to the above ad.

The Family Research Council have now pulled out the big guns in its pitiful attempt to get GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings removed as head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the Dept. of Education.

The organization has begun a huge campaign complete with a webpage along with the above monstrosity as an ad.

First it was the "Jennings is teaching our children how to have gay sex" lie. Then it was "Jennings did not report the sexual abuse of a child" lie. Now FRC is jumping on the reliable "Jennings is trying indocrinate America's children into homosexuality" lie.

Through this campaign, FRC is manipulating Jennings's words against him. Of course they are being taken out of context.

Jeremy from Goodasyou.org have broken down this lie in an excellent post.

Some of us may find the entire situation funny. However to me, it's disgusting that FRC is trying to destroy Jennings simply because he is a gay man who believes that lgbt children should be protected.

That's what this is all about. Jennings scares them.

Jennings is helping to create a world where lgbt children are not afraid to come out of the closet and heterosexuals are not afraid of lgbts.

In this world, fear and ignorance cannot take root.

And we all know that the religious right thrive on fear and ignorance. They rely on scaring America's families with lies that aggressive lgbts will be invading their homes and schools and snatching away their children like some boogieman in old fairy tales.

Jennings via his work with GLSEN reminds folks that this country and its schools belong to lgbts as well as heterosexuals. He reminds folks that we have families too and our families deserve protection and respect.

Let's not allow FRC to take Jennings down, PERIOD.

Other HB/HM posts on Kevin Jennings and the religious right:

The war against Kevin Jennings - now it's getting pathetic

Attacks on Kevin Jennings sleazy, un-Christian

More right wing lunacy on Kevin Jennings courtesy of Kevin McCullough

More attacks on GLSEN'S Kevin Jennings - Now the Family Research Council gets in the act'

'Fistgate' and President Obama - religious right pushes a pitiful attempt of guilt by association

Monday midday newsbriefs

Stonewall In 2009? Police Raid Texas Gay Bar, Arrest Patrons for “Public Intoxication” - No "witty" comments from me until this situation is fully evaulated.

House Leaders Plot Gay Rights Agenda - It's about time.

Wingnuttery From WingNutDaily: "See the impact of 'birth certificate' billboards nationwide" - Shades of how Obama will most likely stay in office - lunacy on the other side.
Catholic agency to cease new adoptions over gay parents - The birth of a new religious right talking point - "gays made the agency do it."

Now because we all need fiber in our diets:

'Gays' in the military - bad idea then, bad idea now - I asked it a while ago and I will ask it now. How is that Barber didn't tell the story of the gay man with "roaming hands" before, especially when Elaine Donnelly got destroyed in front of Congress. The most she had was a specious anecdote from the 1970s. I don't believe Barber's anecdote.

One last thing - I am currently working on piece that I hope will be widely read. It gives a view on yet another way the religious right tries to push bad information.

It's called: The American College of Pediatricians and the Laundering of Junk Science.

I hope to have it done and posted by either this afternoon or tomorrow morning.