NC pastor created lies about gay sex because of his 'religious views'

Patrick Wooden

 During a recent Leadership Triangle forum regarding Amendment One (which would wreak havoc in North Carolina for unmarried couples and domestic violence laws if passed) blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend had a very interesting conversation with one of the leading supporters of this amendment,  Pastor Patrick Wooden.

Pastor Wooden of Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, NC has been very vocal in his support of the amendment.  In  past interviews, he claimed that gays engage in so much anal sex that they have to wear diapers and also they use instruments such as cell phones as sexual aids:

. . I know of a case where in a hospital a homosexual male had a cellphone lodged in his anus and as they were operating on him the phone went off, the phone started ringing!

After the forum, Pam questioned Wooden directly on his spurious claims regarding gays and sex, particularly the cell phone claim. The following is what she said took place:

Wooden’s defense is that he was asked to go on the program and he told “an anecdote." I reminded him that he had no data or evidence to support this claim, and that this is only supporting the notion that he thinks being gay is all about sex, and that heterosexuals engage in all sorts of sexual behaviors that don’t have any impact on their civil rights. All he could say was that he has to talk about it in these terms because, by definition, “homosexuals as a group are defined by who they sleep with” and by extension, since his religious view is that homosexuality is a sin, this is what drives him to speak out.

So basically Wooden did not supply any evidence of his claim because there was none. Wooden admitted that the only reason he made the claim  was to create an image of the gay community which is conducive to his religious beliefs that gays are immoral sinners.

In other words, Wooden lied. Deliberately and unashamedly.

Wooden was not interested in giving logical reasons why Amendment One should be passed. In fact, Wooden has never been interested in defending Amendment One through logic at all. He has only been interested in pushing Amendment One through any means, even if it meant demonizing the gay community through fear tactics and ugly stories of sex, diapers, and cell phones. And why did he do this? Because his religious beliefs dictated that homosexuality is a sin.

Where in the Bible does it say that Christians should lie in accordance to their beliefs?

Seems to me that if a truly Christian man feels that the position he takes on an issue is correct, he should not have to stoop to lies in order to defend it.

Wooden's admittance calls into question not only his integrity, but also his character.

Gays and lesbians partaking in the sacred institution of marriage in no way damages it. We merely want protection for our loved ones and the right to love without fear.

What's so immoral about that?

However, if anyone fears a danger of marriage being corrupted, they would be best served to look in Pastor Wooden's direction and remember his shameless ability to deceive without a shred of impunity.

Marriage is about love, support, and truthfulness. Pastor Wooden is nothing but lies.

To call on him to "protect marriage" is like asking a thief to guard Fort Knox.

The grand irony is that Wooden, according to Pam, said that the pastors who were against Amendment One didn't know how to read their Bibles. Wooden also had some ugly words to say about Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of the NC NAACP who has been a vocal opponent of Amendment One:

He (Wooden) spoke dismissively onstage about other religious leaders who oppose Amendment One, and when I asked him about the NC NAACP’s Rev. Barber’s Open Letter to North Carolinians and very forceful advocacy against A1, he said that Rev. Dr. Barber is a demagogue (that’s a quote), and is not telling the truth about the harms of the amendment.

So Wooden seems to think that Rev. Barber is a demagogue huh? Well let's just put that one to a visual test:

I'm sure the Rev. Barber and the other pastors who oppose Amendment One know the Bible just as well as Wooden.

Particularly the verse about bearing false witness.

North Carolina pastor supports violence against gay children

The following is just plain sick. Pam Spaulding describes the scene:

There are many, many people of faith, progressive houses of worship fighting out and proud against Amendment One in solidarity with their LGBT neighbors who will be hurt by it, should it pass. On the other side? A man reveling in shooting up an anti-amendment sign, and now this news of a pastor in Fayetteville, Sean Harris, of Berean Baptist Church, whose loving message for parents of a child who might be gay — just beat it out of him.  Sickening. (Via JMG and Good As You):

Transcript (courtesy of Jeremy Hooper):

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”

You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?”

Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."

You may hear folks laughing in the background, but this is hardly funny. Perhaps Harris (I refuse to dignify this sick man by calling him a pastor) should read about children beaten and murdered for being gay or suspected of being gay,

Pay attention particular attention to the story of Ronnie Harris:

Ronnie Paris Jr. was a three-year-old boy who died after repeated abuse from his father, who feared that the boy was gay. The abuse that eventually led to the death started as early as when the boy was one year old. In May 2002, Paris was removed from his parents' home after the Florida Department of Children and Family Services found him malnourished and with a broken arm.

More than two years later, Paris was returned to his birth parents and the abuse continued. Just six weeks after he was moved back into his parents' home, Paris slipped into a coma while the parents were at a bible study. The child remained on life support for six days before the support was removed and he died.

Paris' mother, Nysheera Paris, told authorities that the boy's father, Ronnie Paris Jr. abused the boy because he was afraid that the son would grow up gay. This conversion abuse involved father-son boxing matches to toughen up the child but was nothing more than slapping and hitting Paris until he would cry and shake.

If Amendment One passes, that would mean North Carolina would supposedly "save marriage," right?

Then who is going to save our children from the supposed "defenders of marriage?"


(Editor's note - if this makes you mad, then good. But I implore you not to trade evil for evil. Do what you can to bring attention to this awful mess. Blast this all over!)

'Don't Say Gay' bill bites the dust hard and other Tuesday midday news briefs

From Think Progress, an item which needs to repeated as is:

Jeremy Hooper has been documenting the many vile, incendiary things that proponents of North Carolina’s Amendment One have been saying about the LGBT community.

Surprise, surprise: Vast majority of #Amendment1 cash comes from NOM, Catholic church, Christian groups - A feeling of entitlement and an assload of money to back it up. It's a deadly combination.

A Call to Stop the Killings in D.C. - Our transgender brothers and sisters in D.C. need our prayers and support.


Tennessee Abandons ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill - A dumb bill bites the dust.

Fischer: 'It's Perfectly Appropriate to Discriminate Against' Homosexuality - Because apparently Bryan Fischer not only sits on the right hand of God but had a hand in writing our Constitution. And people wonder why are lgbtqs so angry?


Al Mohler’s truly stupid bigoted statement - Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary makes an eyebrow raising implying statement regarding gays in the Boy Scouts and pedophilia.

Lie about gay assault backfires on NOM in North Carolina

Maggie Gallagher

In 2008 in the aftermath of the Proposition 8 vote, the National Organization for Marriage was able to spin a story of gays allegedly assaulting an old woman to raise its profile and embarrass the gay community.

Four year later, this tactic has backfired in North Carolina regarding the fight over Amendment One - an amendment that if passed would cause chaos in North Carolina

Yesterday, Maggie Gallagher herself wrote the following post:

The Vote YES For Marriage NC campaign is reporting on Facebook that an elderly woman who refused to surrender her "vote yes" sign was beaten by a gay marriage advocate.

I knew of at least one case like this in California. This comes from "de-legitimizing" your opponents, claiming there is no possible argument for any point of view but your own.

I hope North Carolina does not become a repeat of the harassment and occasional violence we saw in California:

Gallagher was probably referring to the case of Phyllis Burgess, a woman who was allegedly assaulted by gay equality supporters during the aftermath of the Proposition 8 vote. On camera, Burgess was shoved and had a styrofoam cross ripped from her hands.

NOM and the rest of the religious right consistently brought up this camera footage as proof that gays are pushy and violent when we allegedly can't get our way.

However, they only told part the story.  The real story was that Burgess did not inflame the crowd by her views, but her actions. She allegedly elbowed her way to the front of the group so that she could be seen on camera. And in doing so, she allegedly knocked a disabled man to the ground.

How the religious right spun that story was no doubt fresh in the mind of Joe Jervis from the blog Joe.My.God because he investigated the North Carolina incident. This is what he found:

Guess what? The story was a lie.

According to Detective Branch, the woman in question was not in her own yard, as was implied by Vote For Marriage NC, she was at another house "looking for her sister." Branch told me that there the woman may have argued with a man about a yard sign, but Branch didn't know where that sign may have been located or for which side of the marriage issue it advocated. It's possible that she was complaining about the other man's own yard sign. There may have been no yard sign at all.

Robeson County officers advised the woman that if she wanted to pursue charges about having her car door slammed on her as she left the man's house, she could file for a misdemeanor charge of simple battery. Branch said no such claim was yet on record.

Does anybody want to take odds that Vote For Marriage NC confesses to their numerous outrageous lies about this concocted event?

Check out the rest of the Jervis's blog entry for how many times Vote for MarriageNC changed its tweets on the matter.

The irony is that while NOM and Vote for MarriageNC  spins their false story, they conveniently miss an actual story of a man shooting an anti-Amendment One sign allegedly on his neighbor's property:



Kismet is indeed a harsh mistress, isn't it, NOM?

Part 3: The HOMOPHOBE strikes back . . . rather badly

Graphic created by Mark from www.slapupsidethehead.com

As some of you know, yesterday, I published two posts from a Truth4Time member -LTP - who was offended by my story regarding the secret group.

The first post was him spouting all sorts of rambling nonsense about "evil homosexuals." Short of refusing to allow him to place the link to his dumb page, I published his words as is to demonstrate just off the rail some of these people are.

He didn't appreciate it because he sent me a second post in which he detailed supposed truthful information as to why homosexuality is supposedly a dangerous lifestyle.  The information he sent contained straw man arguments about the supposed "gay gene" and citations from discredited organizations as to how homosexuality can be changed. He dared me to post it as is.

I took his words as a challenge to not only post the information but to also refute it, which I did, specifically AND implicitly.

To put it nicely, I mopped up the floor with the child. It was a slaughter, a massacre, a tidal wave of truth which totally dismantled his nonsense and left him figuratively naked.

So what does he email me as a response or refutation? The follow two emails:

Email 1: Wikipedia is not a source kids, as for expelling mistakes keltic, cuantas lenguaguas habla usted fluentemente? un, deux, trios ...yep, it figures, nice try!

It is what it is, and I am not surprised for the responses of the all of you... as expected!

One of the most difficult things is for anyone to be truly honest with themselves, to then admit wrong doing, or that their lives may be not quite correct, or a sad passage in their lives, etc, and then have the courage and strength to make a course correction. I don't expect any of you to do that, since your psychological response was to latch out at the messenger of the truth, me.

As for all the other information and science pointing out the detrimental outcome of the homosexual behavior, well kids I have given you links, specially the links of my book, where in one of the chapters there is page after page of documented and corroborated examples of the detriments of homosexuality... but I do not expect any of you to admit when you are wrong...that requires and education higher than the one demonstrated by your responses, and by your responses you all seem very emotional and not very logical, so sorry.

And Alvin I give you at least credit for having the courage to at least post my side of the story, more than I can say for the responses by the other posters here. .. facts are facts people, there is no gay gene, multiple studies now prove that to be the case, therefore all that is left according to logic is that it a condition generated after birth... I know, it is not something easy to confront, and for many of you perhaps for the first time, a person that is not an echo like in the homosexual/progressive circles you are clearly navigate in.. but it is what it is. No emotional repose, no politics, just pure logic and analysis of the evidence, and then the results... so sorry. It is what it is...!

Now you can all go back and insult me...lol.... it doesn't hurt me a bit. Good night, Buenas noches.

Talk about tone deaf. He didn't even address the points I made in regards to his citation of a discredited organization (NARTH) or the legitimate organizations who have spoken against "ex-gay" therapy, or even the simple fact that the concept of the alleged "gay gene" is merely a religious right talking point. But you will love email number two.

'Dan Savage calls out religious hypocrisy in controversial speech' and other Monday midday news briefs

There is so much drama in regards to Dan Savage's recent speech in Seattle. And naturally, I got a couple of things to say. But first:

Check out this powerful detailing why Amendment One (that awful anti-family amendment in North Carolina) could harm domestic violence victims:



Join me (or, rather, follow me) for a one-day Twitter fundraiser to fight Amendment One - Check out this link from Pam Spaulding if you want to help in defeating Amendment One.

In other news:

Maine's Mike Heath continues to sabotage his side; yay!! - If we get marriage equality in Maine, this will probably be the guy will end up helping us. And he hates our guts.

Romney’s Inconsistent Reaction To Massachusetts’ Same-Sex Marriage Ruling - Brother Etch-A-Sketch strikes again.


And as you can tell, I saved this one for last . . .

Dan Savage Addresses Journalist Conference Speech Controversy, Denies Attacking Christianity - Now about this Dan Savage controversy. I have said on more than one occasion that he and I don't see eye-to-eye on many things. Also, the language he used here isn't exactly something I would have said.

But you know what? He is exactly right.

 I consider myself a person of faith. I credit my faith in God with accepting my sexual orientation. But here is something that I have never understood about some of my fellow Christians. How is it that they can cite passages regarding the supposed sin of homosexuality, but will ignore the ones advocating slavery, children obeying their parents, keeping women silent in church, divorce, and other things that they will not talk about which is clearly in the Bible. Why didn't Jesus say one word about homosexuality? And for that matter,why  didn't God Himself?

How is it that they can cite the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as proof that God hates homosexuality when it is clearly said in the Bible that God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah long before the passages regarding homosexual rape appeared? How is it that when other passages in the Bible talk about why Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, you don't see anything regarding homosexuality? And why won't they discuss that chapter in the book of Judges (Judges 19) which pushes forth the theory that one of the reasons why Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed was not because of homosexuality but because of how the city treated visitors. You see a similar incident happened in the book of Judges where men in a city wanted to rape a visitor. But the visitor escaped by handing over his concubine whom the men brutalized until she died.

Why is it that so many folks call the Bible the unquestioned word of God but won't talk about parts of the Bible which would actually challenge their notions of who God is. God does want obedience but He doesn't want blind obedience and those secure in their faith should know that seeking the answers to questions would only work to enhance the faith rather than destroy it.

So my question to those offended by Savage is basically simple. What are you afraid of?

NOM's ability to lie becoming a sad parody

Maggie Gallagher

Remember a certain moment in February 2012 when the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher was interviewed on Up With Chris Hayes?

It was a contentious interview, by the way, punctuated by Gallagher accusing commentators from the show of "making up" facts to use against her and NOM, particularly when it comes to "reparative therapy," or the practice of trying to change the sexual orientation of lgbtqs:

Well, I've never advocated for gay reparative therapy, and the National Organization for Marriage does not. We focus on fighting for laws that define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Someone should ask Gallagher about a certain post on NOM's blog which appeared on Friday:

New California Law Would Forbid Professionals from Helping Teens with Unwanted Same-Sex Attraction

Parents and/or teens' wishes notwithstanding:

An unusual assortment of groups are beginning to express alarm over a bill moving through the California legislature that has sweeping implications for both free speech and family rights.

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, is not mincing words. "I can honestly say this is one of the most outrageous, speech-chilling bills we have ever seen in California-and that's saying a lot," he said.

The main purpose of the bill, SB 1172, is to limit the ability of psychologists, therapists and other counselors to assist adult or minor clients with sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE). SB 1172 flatly bans SOCE for minors-regardless of the parents' or minors' wishes-and requires a new consent form for adults containing statements about sexual orientation that many counselors would dispute. The bill then creates significant liability for professionals who proceed with SOCE. -- Pacific Justice Institute press release

The actual story, by the way, has to do with a proposed California law which would outlaw reparative therapy for those under 18-years-of-age. Reparative therapy, while popular amongst many religious institutions, is frowned upon by mental and medical associations such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Counseling Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.