DOMA defense was doomed from Day 1 - Hey Boehner, I want my money back!

 $2.3 million on a losing defense. Way to go Boehner.

By a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. They also dismissed the Prop 8 case, which means gays in California can resume getting married.

All in all, an awesome day for the lgbt community  It almost - but not quite - makes up for the ruling yesterday when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act.

But for my money, I want to focus on DOMA because the case was doomed from the start. Speaker of the House John Boehner gave $2.3 million to lawyer Paul Clement and Clement pretty much wasted it on a piss poor defense.  In 2011, both Americablog and this blog broke stories which pointed out the following serious problems with the DOMA defense:


1. Clement tried to sneak in the testimony of former NOM chair Maggie Gallagher in a way which would have kept her from being cross-examined.

2. A professor cited by Clement in a brief defending DOMA, Lisa Diamond, complained that her work was being distorted.

3. Clement is also citing - in a second hand fashion - junk science from discredited researchers. In his defense of DOMA, Clement cites the work of Case Western Reserve University law professor George W. Dent, Jr.

But Dent's work - which Clement uses -  cited both Paul Cameron and George Rekers, two discredited researchers. Cameron has been censured or rebuked by several organizations for his bad methodology in his studies. He has published work which claimed, among other nauseating false things, that gays stuff gerbils up their rectums. (Editor's note-  the piece Cameron cited to make this claim - The Straight Dope - actually said that this claim was not true. Cameron dishonestly "flipped the script" to make it seem that The Straight Dope was affirming this claim.)

Rekers lost a lot of credibility for last year's scandal when he was caught coming from a European vacation with a "rentboy."

Also, Dent cited the work of Walter Schumm's study Children of Homosexuals More Apt To Be Homosexuals? A Reply to Morrison and to Cameron Based on an Examination of Multiple Sources of Data.

Schumm's study was criticized for using the same false methodology as Cameron's work. i.e. citing sources "from general-audience books about LGBT parenting and families, most of which are available on Amazon.com"

Furthermore, Dent cited a book called Straight & Narrow by Thomas E. Schmidt to make criticisms about gay health. However, Schmidt is not a credible researcher in the field of gay health. He is a professor of New Testament Greek at Westmont College in Santa Barbara and according to Rev. Mel White of the group Soulforce, Schmidt cited Cameron's discredited studies many times in Straight & Narrow (5th letter to Jerry Falwell.)

And last, but not least, Dent cited the work of the American College of Pediatricians. The American College of Pediatricians is not a credible organization, but an organization created to give credibility to junk science about the gay community. Last year, over 14,000 school district superintendents in the country were sent a letter by ACP inviting them to peruse and use information from a new site, Facts About Youth. The site claimed to present "facts" supposedly not tainted by "political correctness."  Of course these were not facts, but ugly distortions about the gay community, including:

Some gay men sexualize human waste, including the medically dangerous practice of coprophilia, which means sexual contact with highly infectious fecal wastes

It all goes to prove that just like cologne on bad body odor, money can't cover up the smell of bull.

Six possible outcomes for DOMA, Prop 8 decision (and 5 ways to win)

I am no good to anyone today. I woke up bright and chipper, went to the bathroom and unswallowed like crazy. Hence, I am bedridden. If I am like this now, imagine what I will be like on my wedding day (It's going to happen as soon as either Nate Torrence or Rob Kardashian come to their senses).

But things still stand like I said yesterday. Win or lose, we will continue to fight with dignity. We are on the right side of history and we will win. In the meantime, here is a graphic from Lambda Legal about the six possible outcomes for today's decisions on DOMA and Prop 8:

'Supreme Court will decide DOMA, Prop 8 tomorrow' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Marriage rulings to be released on 'Lawrence v. Texas' anniversary; Ten years to day! - Tomorrow will be the day in which the Supreme Court will hand down decisions on DOMA and Prop 8. A little advice from me whether you want it or not:

If things don't go our way - None of that junk which happened in 2008 when Prop 8 passed. No blaming, no raising hell without any thought of how your anger would be manipulated by the religious right, no circular firing squads. And none of those tired slogans about us being "second-class citizens." If you must mourn, do it quick, fix your face and get ready to fight. Remember that fighting for equality is never supposed to be easy. You give up your fight for your rights after a setback, then maybe you don't deserve them in the first place.

 If things do go our way - Don't think it's over. Remember how we celebrated when the sodomy laws were struck down. While we were doing that, the religious right was preparing the next round of hell, which turned out to be the fight for marriage equality. And they decimated us in the 2004 election because of it. In other words, don't act like the Trojans who, while under the illusion that the Greeks were gone, brought in to their city the fake horse, i.e. the emblem of their destruction. In other words, celebrate quick, but be ready to fight like hell to secure what you have just won. Winning and securing are two different things entirely. But generally speaking, remember that this thing isn't just about YOUR relationship or YOUR potential marriage. It's also about future generations. It's also about our children. We are their pathclearers who will knock away the rocky patches of homophobia and the dark places of hate so they have a soft path to trod on the road to the fulfillment of their potential. Always remember that.

In other news:

 The Military Will Recruit At This Year’s San Francisco Gay Pride Celebration - I am ALL for this! 

 Video: Wayne Besen On MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews - One of my mentors kills it on Hardball.

  Lane Tech Prom King: Lesbian Student Wins Honor At Chicago School - Congratulations to Ola Wolan!

Religious right spokesman - ignore Supreme Court ruling if it doesn't go our way

American Family Association's Gary Glenn recently gave a speech in which he said if the Supreme Court rules against DOMA and Prop 8, the ruling should be ignored. In this speech, he cited Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr:

The grand irony of Glenn's speech? He has in the past advocated for homosexuality to be "criminalized." In fact, three years ago, a post I wrote about his statement led him to engage me in a war of words regarding the so-called dangers of homosexuality.

It wasn't even a battle which I broke a sweat. Check it out.

Conservative radio host: Obama is gay, wants to dress in drag

I swear if we followed some of these conservatives with a tape recorder, the lgbt community would win this so-called "culture war" hands down. I vote that one of the people we follow around is this conservative radio host Stan Solomon. In this video, he not only accuses President Obama of being gay, but also wanting to "dress in drag."

I mean how wacky do you have to be to knock arch anti-feminist Phyllis Schafly off of her talking points?

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Family supporting Prop 8 discovers son is gay' and other Monday midday news briefs

Mormon Family That Supported Prop 8 Discovers Their Son Is Gay - A serious film about reconciliation and changing of attitudes.  

Coy Mathis Case: Colorado Civil Rights Division Rules In Favor Of Transgender 6-Year-Old In Bathroom Dispute - Excellent news! 

 
Eric Fanning, Out Gay Man, Takes Over As Acting Secretary Of The Air Force - Pretty damn awesome if you ask me.  

Gay Foster Kids' Discrimination Battle Heats Up In States - This article deserves more attention.

Hate group wants Congress to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center

Tony Perkins of FRC

Last week, I received the following money plea email from the Family Research Council:

The secret is out. The Obama administration has joined forces with perhaps the most anti-Christian organization in America today -- the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

By making reckless accusations against those who stand for biblical morality, the SPLC has incited violence and hatred against those who oppose the Obama administration on issues such as same-sex "marriage" and religious liberty.

The anti-Christian crusade instigated by the SPLC has already resulted in an armed terrorist attack on Family Research Council headquarters in Washington, D.C.

You would think that the Obama Justice Department would distance itself from the SPLC for creating a climate of animus and hatred toward groups like FRC, but since the attack on our headquarters the Justice Department has shown no signs of breaking ties with the SPLC.

That's why FRC is urging Congress to investigate the SPLC's ties to the Obama administration. Will you help us stand strong? The President needs to be exposed for colluding with the SPLC to stifle debate on social policy issues by means of intimidation, fear-mongering, and spreading lies.

The email ends with a plea by FRC for folks to send a "much needed gift" so that the organization can continue to supposedly expose SPLC and the Obama Administration

No doubt this is just a ploy for FRC to raise money (and a way to get back at SPLC for rightfully designating it as a "hate group") but I would advise the organization to tread lightly. There is a myriad of information out there which would prove that the Family Research Council is guilty of everything it has been accused of by the Southern Poverty Law Center. And then some.

In the possible Congressional investigation or hearing, I am sure the following will come out how the Family Research Council:

• distorted Centers for Disease Control data to demonize the lgbt community,

• accused gays of being tools of Satan,

• publicly wished for gays to be deported,

• publicly wished for "homosexual behavior" to be declared illegal,

• falsely accused an organization (GLSEN) of deliberately giving adult material to minors,

•  pushed a false connection between homosexuality and pedophilia,

• distorted scientific research and ignored the authors of said research when they complain about how you misuse their data,

• published papers and studies authored by fake experts filled with false data egregiously cherry-picked, and

• made inaccurate comparisons about such things as same-sex marriage as opposed to heterosexual marriage

The question for FRC is do you really want all of this to come out?

Do you really want there to be a Congressional hearing or investigation where no doubt you would be exposed as a fraudulent organization who has for over two decades hid its homophobia, lies, and propaganda behind "Christian principles."

I think the old adage of being careful of what you wish for because you just might receive it is very apropo here.

Related posts:

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America

16 Reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group