Minnesota homophobe becomes the lgbt community's best friend

There is a huge controversy right now in Minnesota which supposedly threatens the future of a vote on gay marriage in the state:

A freshman Republican House member apologized Friday for inviting a pastor who has frequently spoken out against homosexuality to deliver an opening prayer — an appearance legislators of both parties denounced.

Rep. Ernie Leidiger, R-Mayer, confirmed that he invited Bradlee Dean to give a prayer on the House floor, which Leidiger said just happened to be scheduled on the same day House leaders considered voting on whether to put a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the 2012 ballot.

Apparently during his prayer, Dean made a reference to President Obama not being Christian:

"I know this is a non-denominational prayer in this chamber, it's not about the Baptists, it's not about the Catholics alone, or the Lutherans or the Wesleyans or the Presbyterians or Evangelicals but rather the head of the denomination, and his name is Jesus — as every president up until 2008 has acknowledged, and we pray it in Jesus' name,"

This caused a controversy on the legislative floor that was so bitter that they actually re-did the opening prayer with another chaplain and the entire opening session. Also, legislators scrambled to either denounce Dean or absolve themselves from blame because of his appearance. Not only that, but now the idea of putting gay marriage to a public vote may not be a certainty:

As DFL and GOP House members expressed outrage over Dean's appearance, a vote in the House over the amendment appears to be less certain, especially given that some Republicans had already said lawmakers should focus on the budget before taking up the issue. The Senate already approved the measure, so the House vote is the last step toward putting it before Minnesota voters. 

And like with all political controversies, it's not always just the initial incident, but also what the incident reveals about the parties involved.

Dean's history of bashing the lgbt community, including support of the sodomy laws, are now more publicly known. Through his ministry, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, Dean has called lgbts sexual predators and has advocated for jailing members of the lgbt community.

Know Your LGBT History - Masters of Horror - Sick Girl

How much of a commentary is it in Hollywood that a graphically violent horror television show features a more normal view of an lgbt relationships than most shows on network television?

Masters of Horror was a show on the Showtime cable network which featured stories directed by various directors. The stories featured various things such as the Iraq War, Native-American legends, serial killers, and cannibals.

To say the least, Masters of Horror was very well-done, but I cannot watch some of those episodes (such as the episode Pelts). They were too violent for even me.

But one of my favorites is called Sick Girl.

Sick Girl, directed by Lucky McKee, told the story of a shy entomologist, i.e. a studier of bugs, Ida Teeter (Angela Bettis) who has absolutely no social life, mainly because of her pet bugs which fill her apartment.

That changes when she meets Misty Falls (Erin Brown), an interesting character who sits in the lobby of her building drawing pictures of fairies all day.

The two hit it off and start dating. However, at the same this relationship starts, Ida receives a mysterious large bug in the mail. The bug escapes and infects Misty, causing a bizarre change of behavior.

Don't worry. At the end of the episode, it will all make sense.

What I liked about this episode is the casual way it presents Ida and Misty's sexual orientation. And the scenes when the two are together in the restaurant are just awesome. Nothing big or spectacular; just normal behavior between two people who like each other but unsure of how to express it.

In the long run, this is what all lgbts want our sexual orientation to be - no big deal and a normal passage of life.

Granted, there is a conflict with Ida's landlady, who, in an ugly scene, accuses the two of looking at her six-year-old grand daughter as fresh meat. She evicts the two, setting up a scene which, in all honesty, despite its graphically violent nature, is most likely what some of us would want to do with homophobes.

A bit of comic relief is provided by Jesse Hlubik, Teeter's oversexed but surprisingly tolerant colleague.

Unfortunately seeing that this is an episode of a horror series, he - like the landlady - is doomed.

Believe it or not, Sick Girl actually has somewhat of a happy ending. And make that heavy on the "somewhat."

The following clips are the trailer and then a little of the initial meeting between Ida and Misty:





The entire episode of Sick Girl is available online. Go here if you want to view it.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

Lgbts have momentum in marriage equality fight and other Friday midday news briefs

Poll: Majority back gay marriage - Time for more "gays are after your children" commercials and flyers, right NOM? The momentum is our side in this. The question is what are we going to do with?

NOM’s Catholic Problem - Another angle from NOM Exposed.

Kevin Jennings Leaving Education Department to Head "Be The Change" - The religious right tried to get him fired but Kevin Jennings had a successful tenure at the Department of Education.

Illinois Defense of Marriage Initiative: More bad PR for the 'protect marriage' movement - Two hate groups in Philadelphia team up to supposedly "protect marriage." The big question is will NOM team up with Porno Pete LaBarbera? I've got blog posts just waiting in anticipation.

Religious right can't hurt Harvey Milk's name even with kryptonite

It just sticks in the craw of some members of the religious right that the late lgbt politician, Harvey Milk, is recognized as an American icon.

Over the past couple of days, various members of the religious right have attacked Milk's recognition and maligned his name in an effort to make him into a monster and ruin efforts to give him public recognition.

In 2009, Milk's birthday was declared a state holiday in California. Naturally some fools got upset. Recently, Jerry Cox of the Arkansas Family Council made the erroneous charge that the holiday would force students to hold "mock gay weddings" and "cross dress."

This morning Bryan Camenker of the Massachusetts hate group, Mass Resistance, said that Milk was a child molester.

But an effort which takes the proverbial cake is the following video:



All of this nonsense reminds me of how some folks acted when Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday became a national holiday. Some folks said - and still say - that King's birthday shouldn't be a national holiday because he was a "communist" and a "womanizer."

It's all a bunch of tripe.

Harvey Milk was an awesome man. He had fire, spirit, and intelligence.

He taught a generation of lgbts to fight for what should be ours in the first place - our rights as Americans.

Like so many other great figures of American history, he was taken from us too soon (by an assassin's bullet), but his influence continues to reverberate throughout the country.

And no lie or scorning of his reputation will ever take that away.

Hate Crimes Bill announced in South Carolina General Assembly

Good news from my state, South Carolina:

Hate Crimes Bill Introduced in SC General Assembly

Columbia, SC May 19th, 2011- Today, South Carolina Equality, the state's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) education and political advocacy organization, working with representatives and other community leaders, is pleased to announce the introduction of a fully inclusive Hate Crimes bill in the South Carolina General Assembly. When last introduced, the bill failed in the House by only four votes.

Passage of Hate Crimes bill will represent a giant step forward to ensuring that all South Carolinians may live their lives safely and freely without threat of biased-based crime. It also creates assurance that those who commit hate crimes are adequately punished.

Christine Johnson, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality said, "The South Carolina General Assembly has a brilliant opportunity to make a clear and unequivocal statement that people who live in and visit our beautiful state are as protected as they are in 45 other states and the District of Columbia. Rejection of a statewide hate crimes bill, when other similarly conservative states have passed such legislation, would do nothing more than speak an endorsement of bias and hate-based crimes."

South Carolina currently has no statute to protect its citizens against violence brought about because of their real or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Government all have Hate Crimes statutes similar to the one introduced in South Carolina today.

Hate Crime laws are important tools for law enforcement and the criminal justice system, providing expanded prevention and breadth of prosecution. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Federal Hate Crimes Act applies exclusively to felony crimes, often leaving a gap where lesser hate crimes go unpunished. Having a statewide Hate Crimes bill would close the gap and allow for the first responders, our local law enforcement agencies and solicitors, to support victims adequately and fully investigate and prosecute Hate Crimes that occur in South Carolina.

Recent reports of alleged of Hate Crimes in York County and Spartanburg County are examples of crimes that may not merit Federal prosecution, but would potentially qualify under a state hate crimes law.

South Carolina Equality lauds Representative King and Representative Smith for the introduction of this statewide Hate Crimes bill. South Carolina Equality will work throughout the remainder of the 2011 Legislative Session and into the 2012 session to educate and foster support for this much needed bill.

Concerned Women for America = hate group and other Thursday midday news briefs

In the 80s, the Concerned Women for America endorsed a comic book featuring vile anti-lgbt images such as the following:

Now the organization creates its own images connecting homosexuality and pedophilia:

And they wonder why the Southern Poverty Law Center considers them to be a hate group.

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper


And in other news . . .

Equality NC's faith leaders press conference challenges anti-gay lawmakers, counters fundie rally - Good for North Carolina!

NOM Freaks Out About Slavery Comparison Two Days After Making It Themselves - The National Organization for Marriage are hypocrites Part 1.

NOM: You’re Only A Bully If You Support Gay Rights - The National Organization for Marriage are hypocrites Part 2.

Nugent ‘repulsed’ by gay sex - Why is it that ugly heterosexual men seem to be more obsessed with gay sex than gay men? Maybe that's why I can't get any.

Family Research Council's whining stinks of blatant hypocrisy

As I have long pointed out, it's not enough to make a few concessions to these extremists. Once they have a foothold, a little bit of acceptance turns into a full-blown demand to co-opt your business. They want corporations to join them in the assault on real tolerance. Unless you cower and give them what they want, these activists will make sure you can't function in society. Over the years, gay activists have perfected this kind of corporate terrorism. And until companies stand their ground and refuse to negotiate, homosexuals will continue to bully businesses.

That was Family Research Council president Tony Perkins yesterday in an email. He was referring to campaign jointly conducted by Media Matters and several national lgbt groups which called on the company Orbitz to stop advertising on Fox News in light of the channel's viciously negative approach to covering lgbt issues.

There is one strange thing about Perkins's statement, however.

It flies in direct opposite to the Family Research Council's actions in several cases, such as when the group supported the boycott against McDonalds because the company gave money to some lgbt organizations:

The Big Mac attack on family values is finally over! After a five-month boycott, Americans finally got what they ordered-McDonald's agreement to stop financing the homosexual agenda. Back in May, the fast food giant joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to the dismay of millions of customers who did not feel served. At the time, company Vice President Richard Ellis refused to back down, even calling conservatives "haters" in a public statement. The American Family Association launched a national campaign to force McDonald's to eat its words. And eat them, they did!

Or the threatening language it used against the Coca Cola company when it was suspected that the company persuaded the law firm King & Spalding to drop the DOMA case:

 Rumors are flying that one of those companies was Coca Cola. People closest to the story are suggesting that the soda king did most of the arm-twisting. "Sources... confirm that one of King & Spalding's top clients, Coca Cola, also based in Atlanta, directly intervened to press the firm to extricate itself from the case." A spokesman for the company refused to comment. But if the allegations are true, I guarantee that FRC won't hesitate to!

Or even now when FRC is supporting an anti-abortion group giving grief to the Girl Scouts for supposedly supporting Planned Parenthood. Apparently FRC have been picking on the Girl Scouts since 2004.

I guess being an "economic terrorist"  is all dependent on the spin.

Hat tip to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch.