San Antonio vote reveals the hard truth about anti-gay propaganda

The passage of the pro-lgbt non-discrimination ordinance in San Antonio on Thursday brings to my mind yet again the urgency of the lgbt community needing to call out the propaganda spread about  us via deliberate liars such as Todd Starnes and Fox News and funneled by ignorant folks blinded by their interpretations of Biblical truth.

Before San Antonio voted for the ordinance, members of the lgbt community had to sit through demeaning testimony which cast gays as "abominations" or went into grotesque detail in regards to how we supposedly engage in intercourse. I personally felt nauseated when I read the tweets of testimony. I felt as if I was strapped down into some time machine and transported back to when Anita Bryant was trumpeting the false idea that gays recruit children.

It was such a long time ago since that happened but here we are decades later hearing the same lies. The problem is we don't take this junk seriously until after the fact. We laugh at the outrageous comments uttered by Bryan Fischer and the rest but in doing so, we underestimate these comments. We forget that they do in fact move a significant part of the population either due to their religious beliefs or when Fischer and company can infuse fear of a gay takeover into their minds.

We are under the false belief that addressing this propaganda gives it power, but we have the entire idea backwards. NOT confronting this propaganda is the thing which gives it power.

 Until the lgbt community and our leaders declare war against the lies and liars and makes a serious effort in confronting this propaganda head on, America will have serious problems seeing the real lgbt community:

Instead, the lgbt community will have to contend with this:

And this:



Make no mistake about it. Those who spread anti-gay propaganda are only part to blame when that propaganda successfully hinders gay equality. The other part of the blame has to go to the powers-that-be in the lgbt community with the power to educate  about this propaganda beforehand but will do nothing but gripe and groan after it does its work.

To hell with being reactive. We need to be proactive.

Related post: How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - a short, but definitive guide in calling out and refuting homophobic propaganda.

Know Your LGBT History - The Lion In Winter

Richard confronts Philip in "The Lion in Winter" by 123lucyfur

One of my favorite plays and movies. The Lion In Winter, (1966 play) has been performed several times, the most famous being the 1968 motion picture in which Katherine Hepburn won an Oscar for Best Actress. It's a somewhat complicated play based upon English history mixed with a little fiction.

Henry II of England has let his wife, Eleanor of Acquitane, out of prison to spend Christmas with him. She had been imprisoned for constantly plotting to overthrow him. Also present are Henry's three sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John. And let's not forget Alais, Henry's mistress and Richard's one-time fiance. She is also the half-sister of the last guest, King Philip of France. The entire play is an intense gamemanship as Henry attempts to keep his throne while verbally jousting with Eleanor. Eleanor, for her part, is plotting with Richard to overthrow Henry. Geoffrey and John are plotting to overthrow Henry also, but need the help of Philip. Meanwhile, Henry is torn between leaving his throne to John, who he thinks loves him the most out of all of his sons, and gaining a new heir with Alais.

You got all of that? The Lion in Winter is a serious wild ride in which alliances are formed and broken within seconds. Where characters express their love for each other in the middle of verbally slashing each other to ribbons. For the purpose of this blog, there is just one more interesting point.

 It would seem that Richard had an affair with Philip when Philip was younger. That is the subject of the above clip featuring Andrew Howard as Richard and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Philip in the 2003 movie . Be forewarned, however and remember what I said. In spite of the tender moment at which the clip ends, there is a vicious betrayal on the part of Philip.   Philip exposes Richard as his lover in front of his father and reveals that the only reason why he started the affair was to be able to rub it in Henry's face in the future. Nasty!

 In reality, Henry did have several sons, including Richard and John, who continued to plot against him with the help of their mother. Their rebellions earned them the name of the "Devil's Brood."  As for the supposed affair between Richard (who was later named as Richard The Lionhearted) and Philip, historical details are rather sketchy.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'NOM's false concern for children is sad' and other Friday midday news briefs

NOM: ‘Generations Of Children Will Be Sacrificed To The Gods Of The Gay Lobby’ - What's up with the extreme hyperbole? NOM is constantly claiming that children do better with a mother and a father, but let me ask you something. Other than attempting to keep gays from getting married, what has NOM done for the issue of foster care and adoption? NOM seems to be more interested in keeping children away from good gay homes than making sure children are placed in homes period.

AFA does what AFA always does: Ends boycott, fakes 'success' - What if you announced a victory in a boycott WITHOUT showing how you were victorious?  

National Organization For Marriage Is Branching Out - Apparently attacking our transgender brothers and sisters is getting into vogue.  

Fox’s Todd Starnes Will Lie Until The Very End About San Antonio’s Proposed Non-Discrimination Law - Based upon his constant and deliberate attempt to push false and piss-poor stories depicting the gay community as the aggressors and "Christians" like himself as the innocent victims, I refuse to believe that there is not more to the hiring of Todd Starnes at Fox News than meets the eye. He serves a definite purpose for someone and that purpose doesn't entail accuracy.  

Fox's Todd Starnes: "Christians Are Trading Places With Homosexuals" In The Military - See my comment on the above news brief.

Hate Group Spokesman Peter Sprigg Shows Why NALT Christians Project Is Necessary - And where has Peter Sprigg from the Family Research Council been these days?

Video footage of the victory in San Antonio

Via the Associated Press comes the moment when the San Antonio passed the non-discrimination measure. Enjoy this moment of victory with the folks in San Antonio.

Family Research Council tries to spin San Antonio loss

In case you haven't heard, after a contentious debate which included supposed education about anal sex, San Antonio passed a pro-lgbt non-discrimination ordinance. And the vote - eight to three - wasn't even close.

Of course, leave it to the Family Research Council to put a lying spin on things. In case you don't recognize the "fear predictions," they were the same thing said by folks like FRC when DADT and DOMA were struck down:

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper

'Proposed Russian law will take children away from their gay parents' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Report: Russian Lawmaker Proposes Taking Children From Gay Parents - And why should we be surprised. This is the end result that awful anti-gay law in Russia as well as the end result of spreading anti-gay propaganda. 

FLASHBACK- Remember these sentiments:

Russia's Anti-Gay Law 'Expresses Values We've Been Advocating For Years,' Says Bryan Fischer 

 Harvey: Pray For Russian Law Criminalizing Pro-Gay Rights Speech

Six US Conservative Groups Sign Statement Supporting Russian 'Gay Propaganda' Ban 

In other news:

Gay Veterans' Spouses To Receive Benefits After DOJ Announces It Won't Enforce Marriage Definition - Way to do Obama Administration!  

La. National Guard aligns with Texas, won’t process same-sex spousal benefits - Well that's a "nice" way to treat folks who fight for YOUR freedom.  

Barber & Akers: Christians Are Now The Victims Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Of course this is a lie but that has never stopped the religious right before.

Ordinance fight underscores need to fight anti-gay propaganda

It was supposed to be a routine voting regarding a non-discrimination ordinance in San Antonio, TX. However, Fox News and members of the religious right were done spreading their lies and propaganda about lgbts, it got ugly. By the time some folks read this, the vote would have already happened, but from what I read on the twitter feed via some testimony from residents last night, it got really nasty. I can't tell you how many times the word "abomination" was used by folks testifying against the ordinance.

It all proves one thing - the lies of Anita Bryant aren't dead. They aren't some relic of the past. And they will continue to come and haunt the lgbt community until we make a concerted effort to meet these lies head on and beat them down BEFORE they are used against us in situations like this:

Opponents of proposed updates to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance implored the City Council on Wednesday to shift its support away from the measure while supporters rallied for Thursday's expected passage.

The scene repeated last week's demonstrations at City Hall, with a steady stream of speakers for and against controversial additions to the city's proposed ordinance that would add protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status to existing city code.

Foes of the measure, dressed in blue, urged the 11-member body to spike the imminent vote, or at least postpone it and craft a new proposal that wouldn't trample on their “religious freedoms.”
Proponents, dressed in red, said the issue isn't a religious one. They argued that it's a struggle for human rights.

More than 700 people registered to speak Wednesday. By 10:30 p.m., less than a third had addressed the council.

Some questioned how many cases of discrimination exist in San Antonio and bristled at the powers granted to the city to clamp down on religious expression and free speech. They threatened to dethrone council members who vote in favor of the measure. Others quoted Scripture about eternal consequences for violating socially conservative religious views.

 . . . Supporters, meanwhile, urged passage as a long-overdue policy that would not change society but add protections to a vulnerable, deserving group. They also questioned what religion would not want to spread equality and compassion in the treatment of all groups.

 . . . Speakers parsed Bible verses and social studies to bolster their opposing views of what the proposed ordinance would do. Conservative Christian leaders cited literal verses of the Bible denouncing homosexuality. Others focused on verses promoting justice, equality and compassion.

Before the meeting began at 6 p.m., people stood in a line through Main Plaza that wrapped around the side of the council chambers. Inside, metal detectors awaited them. Uniformed and plainclothes officers kept tight protocols.

A red-shirted group chanted, “What do we want? Equality. When do we want it? Now.” Members of the same church looked on, wearing T-shirts with their congregation's name and “vote no” stickers.

You can read the full article here.

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