'High school students disciplined for wearing pro-gay t-shirts' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Ohio High School Students Told To Remove Rainbow T-Shirts Supporting Gay Rights - Oh come on guys! The t-shirts were neither political nor obscene!

 ‘Ex-Gay’ Men Fight Back Against View That Homosexuality Can’t Be Changed - I'm not a fan of the title of this piece, but from what I see, it is a fair article. It's really a sad look at how societal ignorance warps a good gay mind. 

 Barber & Staver: California Law Banning 'Change Therapy' is a Form of Bullying and Abuse - And this is why the item above is even more poignant.

Today in self-centered, faith-based aggression: NOM's Peters denies my marriage's legitimacy - There comes a point when some folks repeat a ridiculous talking point so many times that you can no longer feel anger towards them. Only pity that they themselves probably don't believe anymore. You will know what I mean when you read the last sentence of NOM's Thomas Peters in this post.  

Uganda Parliament May Vote On Anti-Homosexuality Bill By Christmas - This ain't good, folks.

Anti-gay group reduces the murder of transgendered Americans into a flippant soundbite

Recently, Vice President Joe Biden took a stand on the rights of transgender Americans, calling discrimination against them the "civil rights issue of our time."

Naturally, some organizations aren't happy with what he did. The Family Research Council in its FRC Update sent out the following:

Vice President Joe Biden must really like Halloween, because now he's fighting for people to dress up all year long! During a stopover in Florida yesterday, Biden struck up a conversation with the mother of a former Miss Transgender New England. In the middle of their exchange, reporters overheard Biden calling transgender discrimination the "civil rights issue of our time." Even by "Biden" standards, it was a shocking statement. With the nation warring over marriage and liberals still making an issue of race, you can see why the press pool wondered if they'd heard Biden right. When the media followed up with the woman, Linda Carragher Bourne, she confirmed the exchange. "[I told him that] a lot of my friends are being killed, and they don't have the civil rights yet. These guys [the President and Vice President] are going to make it happen." How can she be so confident? Unlike a lot of voters, Linda is probably very familiar with this White House's record on sexual deviance.

There is no need to go into detail about what the FRC Update said next. In case you are interested, it went on about how to slur the transgender community as  "sexually confused" and whine about how the Obama Administration is going to supposedly force schools and daycare centers to hire transvestites, transsexuals, drag queens, and drag kings.

It's bothersome trash, which is usual for FRC. But what bothers me the most about this item is the fact except for that trifle mention, not once did FRC go into any more detail about how our transgender brothers and sisters are being murdered.

While the focus is on the Biden statement,  it should be on what Bourne said - that a lot of her friends are being killed.

Bourne wasn't speaking a euphemism. She was most likely telling the truth. Transgender Americans face a considerable amount of ignorance and violence and that needs to be pointed out.

But to the FRC, the fact that Bourne has seen a lot of her friends killed is irrelevant to calling her and those friends "sexually confused." To FRC, the sadness that this woman feels about the murder of her friends is considered as a mere point of flippancy which shouldn't even be given more than a brief mention.

To me, that's sad. And it's certainly not Christian.

And it says sad volumes about the Family Research Council.

Ten-year-old with two gay dads writes President Obama a poignant letter

The following letter, written to President Obama from 10-year-old Sophia Bailey Klugh highlights the simple fact that often times when we talk about allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry under law, we aren't talking solely about the couples protecting each other. We are also talking about protecting their children:

See this Huffington Post article by Jamie McGonnigal, founder of TalkAboutEquality.com, for the full story behind this poignant letter.

'Log Cabin Republican face internal firestorm after Romney endorsement' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Log Cabin Republicans' Mitt Romney Endorsement Prompts Los Angeles Couple To End Membership - I'm glad to see that someone in the Log Cabin Republicans have a sense of integrity.  

Biden Calls Transgender Discrimination “Civil Rights Issue of Our Time” - And he makes a good point, too. 

 Opponent’s Facebook Scam: Sudden Spikes in “Like” Numbers, International “Favorite Cities” Suggest False, Inflated Fan Base - Looks like the opponents of marriage equality in Washington state are running a scam.  

Focus on the Family to America: We will never stop pushing junk science as gay 'cure'; our newer, softer image is all a ruse - Apparently Focus on the Family is heavily pushing the fraudulent "ex-gay" therapy. 

Mike Huckabee is a psychologically bloated SOB . . .

Transcript:

HUCKABEE: Many issues are at stake, but some issues are not negotiable: The right to life from conception to natural death. Marriage should be reinforced, not redefined. It is an egregious violation of our cherished principle of religious liberty for the government to force the Church to buy the kind of insurance that leads to the taking of innocent human life. Your vote will affect the future and be recorded in eternity. Will you vote the values that will stand the test of fire? This is Mike Huckabee asking you to join me November 6th and vote based on values that will stand the test of fire.

Because of this video by Mike Huckabee, I can safely say that this election has pushed Christianity back so far, I am surprised I don't have soldiers from the pre-Elizabethan period of English history knocking on my door talking about "the true faith" and arresting me for "heresy."

And it's also where I want to get off of the world. Forget "stopping the world," I will just jump off and take my chances of landing on my feet.

What the hell is going on here?

How many folks have implied thus far that if we don't vote the way they want, we are going to hell or our immortal soul is in danger? Who in the hell gave them secret clues?

 Or in this case, what does Mike Huckabee know about souls? Who appointed him? Couldn't God find someone who seems less self-righteous and hypocritical? Better yet, who is he to imply about "persecution?"

Let me put in a less kinder, gentler way.

Mike Huckabee is a psychologically bloated SOB who emphasizes what's wrong with Christianity in this country. What's a man with a six-figure salary, his own television and radio show, expensive suits, and more than one house know about persecution of any type?

And to solely put Huckabee in this category would be wrong. You could say the same about the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins or the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer. 

You could say the same about any religious right figure with a convenient six-figure salary and an expensive suit you see on television, hear on the radio, or who crawls out of the warm swamps of self-righteousness in order to exploit anecdotal incidents to fool the evangelical masses that their "religious liberties" are in danger or that "pagans" (and of course that includes gay folks) are taking their country away from them. The country that God gave them as Christians.

How do we know that this last part is true? Why because Christian historian David Barton has verified it. Who cares how many times he has been discredited or refuted.

It would almost be humorous to sit back and analyze how Huckabee and company have padded their own egos and salaries feeding on the fears of Christians with visions of false entitlement.

But for those of us who don't share their beliefs and are the victims of their lies while observing how they travel in media circles of power, it's not humorous at all.

It's downright infuriating. And for those who consider themselves as Christians, it should be downright embarrassing.

It's all a lie. A con-game. A 21-century version of televangelism at its worse recreated for an audience smart enough to work the internet but dumb enough to not realize that they are being played like a harp.

'Gays = Cannibals?' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Mark Regnerus Admits His ‘Family Structures’ Study Wasn’t About Gay Parenting - So he finally admits it!

 Linda Harvey Compares Homosexuality to Cannibalism - To answer questions, we monitor crazy mess like this to give it a pushback in front of the young lgbts who are watching and need someone to call bullshit for what it is. And trust me when I say, that our lgbt children ARE watching.

 Nearly 3,000 schools expected to participate today in Mix It Up at Lunch Day - In other words, the American Family Association's attempt at disrupting this event is failing.  

Milestones in LGBT Parenting History - An awesome graphic which needs to be saved and passed out.

 WA: Knights of Columbus chip in another $50K; top 6 donations from two out-of-state Catholic groups - One would think that the Washington State Knights of Columbus would use their money for more important purposes. 

'Ex-gay' group wants pro-gay information removed from CDC website

Editor's note - Let's continue to pray and do what we can for those caught in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

An "ex-gay" group, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), has written a letter to President Obama demanding that the Centers for Disease Control stop linking to sites providing positive information about being gay, such as gay/straight alliances.

However, the organization doesn't necessarily say it like that. PFOX makes it seem as if these organizations are attacking organizations, like PFOX, and individuals who embrace the supposed "ex-gay" therapy:

On behalf of the Christian ministry Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), the United States Justice Foundation submitted a letter [PDF] to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), calling for President Barack Obama's administration to put an end to its promotion of websites attacking Christian ministries that reach out to individuals departing from homosexual lifestyles.

The Christian group challenges the CDC's denigration of those who are not on board with the homosexual agenda, noting how the Obama administration backs organizations and publications with websites bashing biblical worldviews.

"The website also contains links to anti-heterosexual publications and organizations, such as PFLAG [Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays], which openly denigrates former homosexuals, and the infamous ex-gay publication Just the Facts, which advocates against Christian anti-gay ministries and lists only those religious organizations that affirm homosexual behavior," the U.S. Justice Foundation's letter reads before posing a critical question. "Why is the federal government spreading intolerance against the ex-gay community and Christians who support the religious testimony of former homosexuals?"

One of the links provided by the CDC -- titled "Empowering youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools" -- states that the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network helps GSA clubs become activist clubs that can "educate teachers and students to improve the school climate" (according to its own standards and regardless of parental objections). Such sites "warn" against counseling that helps students deal with their unwanted same-sex attractions

First of all, "ex-gay" therapy has been declared ineffective and dangerous by several medical organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association.

Secondly, it would seem that PFOX is desperate for attention, which is of course why this letter was written and publicized. Or to put it in the words of a comment left on the article about PFOX:

I checked the CDC site, as well as the sites of the links provided. I found information on those sites which references scientific studies which have proven the ineffectiveness of reparative therapy as well as the harm that can result from such therapy. I found no information on any of the sites to suggest that those who make the claim that they are no longer homosexual should be treated with derision or hatred. That seems to be complete hyperbole.

Hyperbole indeed. It's what organizations like PFOX do best.