Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
How homophobic is the American Family Association's fake news site One News Now? In article about lgbts supposedly "recruiting" children (cue the spooky music), readers were invited to vote in the following poll:
I think it's safe to say that lgbts won't turn out the winners in this vote.
Texas Restaurant Bans Gay Couple Because ‘We Do Not Like Fags’ - You would be surprised that this sort of thing may be perfectly legal. If it blows up, count on groups like the Family Research Council to stand behind this restaurant, even to the point of defending the use of the anti-gay slur.
After nearly nine hours of discussion, punctuated by opponents
chanting outside City Hall and by emotional supporters' personal stories
of discrimination, the Houston City Council on Wednesday passed an
ordinance extending equal rights protections to gay and transgender
residents.
Public dissension has persisted for
weeks, but the final vote was 11-6, a count that matched guesses made
months ago when Mayor Annise Parker - the first openly gay mayor of a
major U.S. city - said she planned to bring the measure forward.
The approval was greeted with
applause from the audience, largely full of supporters by the time of
the vote, and chants of "HERO," for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Opponents vow to gather the
signatures needed to trigger a referendum to repeal the law this
November, and others say they plan to seek recall elections against some
council members who supported the measure.
. . . The measure bans discrimination based not just on sexual orientation
and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color,
ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and
genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status. The ordinance applies to businesses
that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and
city contracting. Religious institutions are exempt. Violators could be
fined up to $5,000.
The ordinance vote gained nationwide attention and even commentary from groups such as the anti-gay Family Research Council as opponents threw out the standard memes of "bathroom bills" and "religious liberty," such as:
but those supporting the ordinance were firm and had their facts together:
Still, this issue is far from over. My guess is that opponents of the bill will continue to be stirred on by their homophobia, fears, and outside groups such as the Family Research Council. However, I also believe that Mayor Parker and the supporters of the ordinance are going to dig in and give them one hell of a fight.
In the case of the National Organization for Marriage's huge loss today in front of the Maine Ethics Commission, I really miss lgbt investigative reporters. While it's awesome that NOM was embarrassed and fined record amount (more than $50,000) for its violation of Maine's election laws, the meat of the story lies in the organization's funders.
(The Maine Ethics Commission) ruled that the National Organization for Marriage failed to
properly register as a ballot question committee and file campaign
finance reports in the referendum that struck down same-sex marriage
before it was legalized by voters in 2012. The decision could force the group to eventually disclose the names
of its donors, which it has long sought to keep secret. But a lawyer for
the National Organization for Marriage said it intends to appeal the
decision in state court, and members of the Maine Ethics Commission said
they expect litigation to continue for at least a year.
. . . The group, which fought in Maine courts for more than four years to
keep the names of its donors concealed, argues that it worked to ensure
it was complying with Maine law by not raising any money specifically
earmarked to influence the gay marriage question in the state. It says
revealing the names will put its contributors at risk for harassment and
intimidation and will chill future donations.
I say that's bull and I am extremely intrigued. NOM looks like it will go the ultimate limit to protect its list of donors. And I want to know why. I have a feeling that when we ultimately find out who is funding NOM, all hell is going to break loose.
I also have to ask am I the only one who is wondering about this? I'm curious to hear your thoughts and speculations.
Like so many around the world, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters mourns the passing of legendary civil rights activist, poetess, and lgbt ally Maya Angelou. She left so much of a legacy but if there is one reason why I can say I admire Ms. Angelou, it's the fact that she didn't say you should love yourself, she DEMANDED that you love yourself.
Yesterday, I predicted that today would be the National Organization's day of reckoning for breaking Maine election laws. Today, it has happened:
Was It First Annual Gay Night At FRC’s Watchmen On The Wall? - What does one say about a "Christian" organization having a huge meeting and only being able to talk about how "evil" gays are and how they "love" us in spite of it all. If I wanted love like that, I would pay my mother to pistol-whip me.
Last night, I wrote how the National Organization for Marriage's astroturfed black pastor group, CAAP, had put out a vile video comparing marriage equality to slavery and segregation.
This morning, I just want to show a video of the lgbt of colors who are hurt when NOM plays its divide and conquer game between the lgbt and African-American communities. It should speak for itself:
In 2012, it was discovered that the National Organization for Marriage was planning to divide the lgbt and African-American communities on the subject of marriage equality. According to a court document:
The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays
and blacks - two key democratic constituencies. We aim to find, equip,
energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; to
develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a
civil right; and to provoke the gay marriage base into responding by
denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to
take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party.
Even though they were caught red-handed in this cynical attempt to play both communities like chess pieces, NOM persisted to the point of teaming up with a group entitled the Coalition of African-American pastors (CAAP). CAAP is led by a man named William Owens who claimed that he is a veteran of the civil rights movement. He also claimed that the lgbt community was exploiting the civil rights movement.
However, there are certain things you need to know about Owens and CAAP:
NOM was using CAAP in a failed attempt to sabotage President Obama's African-American support during the 2012 election after the organization (NOM) had endorsed Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney
These are facts you should keep in mind when watching the following video by CAAP which connects slavery, segregation, and the indignities perpetrated on African-Americans to marriage equality in anticipation to NOM's upcoming supposed "March for Marriage:"
Never mind that this march is crap because the arguments are now in the courtroom and it would serve NOM and those who are against marriage equality better to bring up cohesive arguments which could sway judges.
They won't do that of course because they don't have any cohesive arguments to justify denying marriage to gays and lesbians. Therefore, they are going back to the standard plan of all demagogues, i.e. divide and conquer. And the potential victims will be the gay and black communities. Just how many news programs, specifically on African-American networks, will Owens be invited to in order to pitch the false division between the lgbt and black communities on marriage equality? How many will entertain his bombastic statements about not marching an inch in the civil rights movement to see gays marry instead of challenging the notion that he marched at all in the civil rights, much less scratched his nose when hearing that MLK was speaking.
Lastly, how many program will dissuade going for the "sexy angle" of conflicts between blacks and lgbts and instead focus on the following fact that marriage equality is an African-American issue. According to a study published last year:
The report also said that 58 percent of the couples are female and the majority of all of these couples live in areas with high populations of black residents, but these areas have yet to have passed any laws which protect these couples.
These are the people whom NOM is hurting. African-Americans who just happen to be lgbt. If you ask me, it's people like Owens who are the real dangers to the African-American community, not marriage equality And certainly not the lgbt African-Americans who will most likely suffer because of pay-for-play pastors such as Owens and the others appearing in the above video and the coming march.
