Hate site label has Peter LaBarbera running scared

I usually check out Peter LaBarbera's anti-gay Americans for Truth web page for either a good laugh or information for a good post. LaBarbera's eager plunges into homophobia has given me plenty to write about over the years.- so much so that I venture to say that LaBarbera's naked stridency has done more to help the lgbt community demonstrate the hatred and utter hypocrisy of religious right groups and their supporters.

But today, I am noticing a tone on his page which I haven't seen before - fear.

Ever since the Southern Poverty Law Center designated his web page as a hate site (a long time overdue), LaBarbera has been on what be called as a psychological bender, devoting six posts over the past week to pleading his case.

It's unbelievable to contemplate but the SPLC has actually taken LaBarbera's mind off of gay sex, at least for a while.

From challenging the SPLC's Mark Potok to a debate to whining about how SPLC is ignoring gay blogs which he claims preach hatred (and he lists his favorite whipping boys - Joe.My.God. and Truth Wins Out), LaBarbera seems to be disturbed (more than usual that is) that his "Christian assessment" of the lgbt community is receiving so much criticism.

He has even taken to posting comments from pro-gay blogs in an attempt to smear the blogs in general. Evan Hurst of Truth Wins Out was the unfortunate victim of such a smear.

Then again, I take that back. If I know Evan, the only unfortunate party was LaBarbera for daring to take him on.

It amazes me that a man who has made his life's work the demonizing of an innocent group of people can suddenly whine that he is the victim when his attempts garner him the attention he truly deserves.

Amazing, yes but oh so fun to watch.

The fact of the matter is no matter how he tries to disguise his homophobia as basic Christian beliefs, no one is buying LaBarbera's whines (except for the truly ignorant - yes that means you, Linda Harvey). SPLC's designation  and his labored defenses of his position represents another depth which LaBarbera has sunken in his campaign to vilify the lgbt community.

And it represents the plain sad fact (well not so sad to some of us) that while LaBarbera has long since lost all credibility as an anti-gay activist, he is gaining credibility for a new designation - circus clown.

Related posts:

Wayne, Evan, Joe, Rea: Do any of you mind if I go first?

10 reasons why Americans for Truth is a hate site

Peter LaBarbera - the self-destruction of an anti-gay activist

With defenders like Bill Donohue and the Catholic League, the Pope is in trouble

The Times continues to editorialize about the "pedophilia crisis," when all along it's been a homosexual crisis. Eighty percent of the victims of priestly sexual abuse are male and most of them are post-pubescent. While homosexuality does not cause predatory behavior, and most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesters have been gay. - The Catholic League, 2010

We all know  the inaccurate belief that if a boy is sexually abused by a man then that makes the perpetrator gay.

Anita Bryant used this lie extensively in her anti-gay campaign in Florida during the late 1970's.

Paul Cameron distorted credible research to make this case a myriad of times in his bad work.

From time to time, members of the religious right will push this falsehood.

And now we can add the Catholic League to that dubious list of liars.

The Catholic League and its leader, Bill Donohue has taken it upon themselves to defend Pope Benedict and the Vatican from charges of complicity in child sexual abuse, most specifically the abuse of over 200 deaf boys.

In an ad in today's New York Times, Donohue runs the gambit of diversion. In addition to attacking gay men, he also attacks  the media and even the victims of the abuse:

Here's what's really going on. The Times has teamed up with Jeffrey Anderson, a radical lawyer who has made millions suing the Church (and greasing professional victims' groups like SNAP), so they can weaken its moral authority. Why? Because of issues like abortion, gay marriage and women's ordination. That's what's really driving them mad, and that's why they are on the hunt. Those who doubt this to be true need to ask why the debt-ridden Times does not spend the same resources looking for dirt in other institutions that occurred a half-century ago. 

And if he thinks that this defense will somehow help the Vatican, he is wrong. Whether Donohue is aware of it or not, his hateful and hysterical defense has done nothing but exacerbate the situation.

And this is a good thing.

Better links to the situation:

Bill Donohue: the Catholic Church's problem is about homosexuality

TWO Appalled By Catholic League’s Misleading Ad Smearing Gays

The Papal predator priest protection PR nightmare proliferates

Watch: survivors of abuse point the finger of blame directly at Benedict

Gays blamed for Catholic church abuse scandal and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Ex-general Sheehan apologizes to Dutch former Chief of Staff over anti-gay remarks - Bet you won't read about this in One News Now.

The Catholic League Strikes Back At NYT, Blames Sex Abuse On Gays - Sure. The Pope allows the molesters of children to get away and it's all the fault of THE GAYS.

Anti-Gay 'Dr. Shock' Busted on Sex Charges - Shock therapy. Why didn't I think of that?

TWO Exclusive: Linda Harvey’s Extremism On Display In Michigan - Phony gay expert Linda Harvey supports the Ugandan anti-gay bill.

Gay student settles lawsuit against NY district - Protect our lgbt children or pay the price.

Religious right attacks Feldblum's appointment with more lies

As to be expected, religious right groups aren't happy at all with President Obama's recess appointment of Chai Feldblum as commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

But their objections probably say more about their bias than it does about Feldblum. First let's look at the organization who is never at a loss for degrading terms and images when it comes to the lgbt community - the Traditional Values Coalition.

“On Friday, President Obama recess appointed 15 of his languishing nominees including radical professor Chai Feldblum to serve as a Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

"Feldblum’s extensive paper trail, showing how out of the mainstream she is, kept her from being confirmed. Fortunately, she can only serve without confirmation through the rest of the current session of Congress, which is the end of 2010.

“What does Chai Feldblum believe?

"Feldblum wants the government to promote every type of relationship as equal to traditional marriage, including ‘polyamorous’ relationships (those involving three or more sexual partners).

“Feldblum also believes that sexual liberty trumps religious liberty. She rejects the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom.

“Feldblum has criticized the Supreme Court for its Boy Scout decision. She opposes the Boy Scouts right to exclude gay (LGBT) Scout leaders and gay Scouts from its organization.

“Feldblum was the author of the so-called Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a pro-LGBT bill that will impose draconian regulations on all businesses with 15 or more employees. As a member of the EEOC, Feldblum will ruthlessly enforce ENDA against American businessmen, educators, Christian media companies, Christian day camps and more.

“The bottom line is that Feldblum believes that whenever there is a clash between religious liberty and the LGBT agenda, the LGBT agenda should win the legal argument.”

And then there is the Family Research Council's statement:

Lesbian activist Chai Feldblum was also recess appointed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Like Mr. Becker, Ms Feldblum believes that if the law doesn't suit her agenda, she can simply disregard it.

Ms. Feldblum is one of the architects of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which seeks to give special protections to homosexuals and crossdressers, with no regard for the religious objections of those who see such practices as wrong. In fact, when questioned about instances when religious liberty and homosexual "rights" conflict, Ms. Feldblum brazenly stated she would have "a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win." There seems to be little doubt, even in Ms. Feldblum's mind, about how she will rule in cases involving religious liberty that come before her.

Actually the link provided in this statement makes it seem that Feldblum favors "sexual liberty" over "religious liberty," which is a total bastardization of her position but serves the purpose of implying that she favors "wanton sexuality" over "God fearing religious beliefs."

Of course it's total inaccuracy. I've already talked about the phony belief that Feldblum favors polygamy, so now I'm going to address this notion that she favors "sexual liberty" over "religious liberty."

She never said or implied that. The statement these religious right groups are gaining mileage out is from a piece she wrote entitled Moral Conflict and Liberty: Gay Rights and Religion.

Ensuring that LGBT people can live honestly and safely in all aspects of their social lives requires that society set a baseline of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender
identity. If individual business owners, service providers and employers could easily exempt themselves from such laws by making credible claims that their belief liberty is burdened by the
law, LGBT people would remain constantly vulnerable to surprise discrimination. If I am denied a job, an apartment, a room at a hotel, a table at a restaurant or a procedure by a doctor because I am a lesbian, that is a deep, intense and tangible hurt. That hurt is not alleviated because I might be able to go down the street and get a job, an apartment, a hotel room, a restaurant table or a medical procedure from someone else. The assault to my dignity and my sense of safety in the world occurs when the initial denial happens. That assault is not mitigated by the fact that others might not treat me in the same way.

Thus, for all my sympathy for the evangelical Christian couple who may wish to run a bed and breakfast from which they can exclude unmarried straight couples and all gay couples, this is
a point where I believe the “zero sum” nature of the game inevitably comes into play. And, in making the decision in this zero sum game, I am convinced society should come down on the side of protecting the liberty of LGBT people. Once an individual chooses to enter the stream of economic commerce by opening a commercial establishment, I believe it is legitimate to require that they play by certain rules. If the government tolerated the private exclusionary policies of such individuals in the commercial sector, such toleration would necessarily come at the cost of gay people’s sense of belonging and safety in society. Just as we do not tolerate private racial beliefs that adversely affect African Americans in the commercial arena, even if such beliefs are based on religious views, we should similarly not tolerate private beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identity that adversely affect LGBT people.

In other words, Feldblum believes that a business should not be allowed to discriminate against lgbts no matter the so-called "deeply held personal beliefs" of the owner.

She does not believe owners of an apartment building should have the right to deny lgbts housing even if they have a so-called "deeply held personal belief" that homosexuality is a sin.

And she does not believe that the beliefs of service providers should override the needs of those they are supposed to be serving.


And let's face it, she is right in her assessments.

So while they accuse her of wanting special rights for gays and lesbians, it is organizations such as TVC and FRC who are pushing for special rights for Christian owners in commercial business to discriminate.

And frankly, that isn't right.

Related posts

Religious right smear campaign fail: Chai Feldblum gets her appointment

Famous lgbts throughout history

Yeah, yeah, I know. Ricky Martin came out. Well color me surprised.

In tribute to that (and the fact that it's a slow Monday), I am now posting a video via youtube on famous lgbt notables throughout history.

See if you were aware of these folks:

The Republican National Convention and sex clubs and other Monday midday news briefs

RNC spent $1946.25 at sex-themed nightclub Voyeur West Hollywood - And apparently there was gay sex involved.

AFA's Fischer Hopes Americans Will Violently Revolt Against the "Tyranny of a Repressive Central Government" - Remember this is the same guy who thinks that "gay acts" should be outlawed.

Mike Heath: Too contentious for Question One, perfect for 'One News Now' - It's like Friday the 13th with these folks. Like Jason Voorhees, some never go away.

Gay-straight club sparks protests - Here we go again with ignorant parents and lgbt children caught in the crossfire of stupidity.

Religious right smear campaign fail: Chai Feldblum gets her appointment

Who knows? Maybe that huge victory in passing health care legislation gave President Obama some chutzpah because he has recently announced 15 recess appointments of administration nominees held up by Republicans.

And one of these appointments is openly gay Chai Feldblum to be commissioner of the Equal Opportunity Commission. According to SheWired:

Feldblum was key in the drafting and negotiations over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). She and three others were appointed using a constitutional provision known as a recess appointment.

Should ENDA pass, a position on the EEOC puts Feldblum in position to be one of five commissioners to develop regulations for its implementation.

Although a Senate committee had approved Feldblum in December, one Senate Republican put their confirmation vote on unspecified hold. Any senator can put any nominee on indefinite hold for a period of time without identifying him or herself.

One has to suspect that there was more than strictly political shenanigans behind the hold up of Feldblum's appointment. The idea that she may hold a position with the EEOC had been causing fits amongst religious right groups.

The Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber said:

Chai Feldblum (pronounced "high" as in "stoned") is a lesbian activist and sexual anarchist attorney who supports legalized polygamy and bisexual polyamory. She has been nominated by President Obama to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This is like having Michael Moore guard the donuts. In the past, Feldblum – ENDA's chief framer and, if confirmed, one of five commissioners charged with its enforcement – has candidly summed-up the mindset behind the bill.

World Net Daily accused her of saying that "gay sex is morally good."

Earlier, religious right groups accused her of favoring polygamy. Media Matters said the following:

Right-wing media have attacked Feldblum for being a signatory to a July 26, 2006, statement titled, "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage," which states that "marriage is not the only worthy form of family or relationship, and it should not be legally and economically privileged above all others," and cites "Households in which there is more than one conjugal partner" along with "Single parent households" and "Adult children living with and caring for their parents," among others, as people that "stand to gain from alternative forms of household recognition beyond one-size-fits-all marriage." The statement is entirely unrelated to the duties Feldblum would have as an EEOC commissioner, which include enforcement of existing federal laws involving job discrimination and providing oversight of federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.

The irony is that this accusation gained a bit of traction; so much so that Feldblum had to repudiate her signing the statement. But then the issue fizzled away.  A lot of this probably had to do with the fact that the right was, at the time, obsessed with smearing another Obama appointee, Kevin Jennings.

As we all know, they failed miserably in that attempt. And thanks to Obama's power of recess appointments, they also failed in their attacks on Feldblum.

It's always nice to know that sometimes, liars don't prosper.

Related posts:

Matt Barber's slur of Chai Feldblum's name was unnecessary but so very indicative

The religious right fears Chai Feldblum because she believes in basic fairness

The religious right attacks another openly gay Obama appointee

With their homophobic smears of Jennings exposed, anti-gay right now targeting EEOC nominee Feldblum