Bryan Fischer: Quarantine those with HIV

It's apparent that the AFA's Bryan Fischer got jealous of all of the attention Fox & Friends got for their mind-numbing desire to make a joke out of football player Ray Rice's abuse of his wife. That and he is just being his usual ignorant self:



It's genuinely sad what is considered mainstream and Christian these days. I imagine that if folks raise a big enough stink over these comments, other so-called Christians will be coming out of the woodwork to defend Fischer.

Really, it's even sadder how little self-accountability it is these days from the so-called "Holy Sect." All you have to do these days when you say something dumb as hell is to claim that "God/Jesus told me to speak this in truth" and you get undeserved credibility.

Anti-gay bully Matt Barber claims to hate bullies

Matt Barber

It always amazes me when I read anything written by Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel and the rabidly anti-lgbt publication BarbWire. I would actually respect his audacity  . . . that is if I didn't find him spiritually repulsive.

Case in point, his latest post, How Christian Kids Should Deal With ‘LGBT’ Peers. Believe or not, in this screed, Barber makes comments like the following:

So, with all of this cultural “progress” away from comprehensively fixed natural and moral laws, an inevitable question arises: How should Christian children and teens interact with peers who either identify with, or are believed to engage in, a lifestyle marked by homosexual or cross-dressing behaviors? The answer, generally speaking, is fairly straightforward: They should interact as all Christians should interact with all fellow sinners, with all people – with prayer, humility, wisdom, justice, honor, mercy, love and truth.

 . . . I can’t abide bullies. Never could. Most decent folks can’t. This is how I was raised. It’s also how I’m raising our three children. As did my father before me, I am teaching and equipping them to stand up to bullies. Not just when, and if, they happen to be the target of bullying themselves, but also when, and if, others are targeted. I’m raising my children to be friend to the friendless and champion to the vulnerable. I’m proud to say that all three of them are naturally inclined to such. I credit both God and His word of truth for that. 

Excuse me? Isn't Barber the same guy who sent out the following tweet about gays and the boy scouts:

 

And let's not forget several of his comments over the years about the lgbt community (courtesy of GLAAD Cap):

gay people "purchase kids" and treat them "like having little pets or something"

uses words like "purveyors of evil" or  "satanic" (1:19 in video clip) to refer to his political opponents

gay male relationships constitute "one man violently cramming his penis into another man’s lower intestine and calling it ‘love’” 

parents of a transgender child should be investigated for child abuse

Barber's writing and public utterances is like his personality - a silly schizophrenic concoction brewed by a man who thinks that the rest of America, particularly the lgbt community, is as forgetful and stupid as his supporters.  It serves to prove that he is not only a hypocrite and a homophobe, but he is also not that bright. What else can you call a man who goes on and on about his faith and love of God when there is a paper trail (easily found, I might add) which proves otherwise.

'NOM not happy with pro-marriage equality ruling' & other Monday midday news briefs

True to form, NOM misrepresents (GOP-appointed) judge who dared reject their tripe - As to be expected, NOM is not happy with the recent court case bringing marriage equality to Wisconsin and Indiana. Time to break out the pictures of Brian Brown crying his eyes out. 

Tony Perkins: Smithsonian 'Ignores The Destructive Side Effects Of Homosexuality' - This story actually signals progress. It used to be that folks like Perkins would go into detail with junk science and cherry-picked studies when they talked about the false dichotomy of homosexuality having dangerous "side effects." However, since lgbt bloggers, etc. began listing specific incidents and times when anti-gay groups would distort science and research, folks like Perkins can only spin horror tales about homosexuality in vague, unfamiliar terms.  

When Gender Norms Didn't Work for My Kid - A fascinating read. 

 Together 72 Years, Women In Their 90's Marry In Iowa - Those dern homosexuals have NO idea of commitment (sarcasm alert).

 South African Artist Brings Her Collaborative Portraits Of Trans People To The Americas For The First Time - This is pretty cool.

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters turns eight years old!!!

On this day in 2006, I began this blog. It was initially meant to promote my upcoming self-published book by the same name, which was published the next year.

To be honest, the book was an embarrassment. It was badly written and badly edited, but it did open doors for me.  A lot of people sat up and took notice to the truth that so-called pro-family groups were demeaning the lgbt community through junk science, cherry-picked research, and lies.

While the book died a quick death, this blog continued and through the years has allowed me to consistently push the truth behind the lie that homosexuality is a supposedly negative lifestyle.

Below are the list of things I was able to accomplish in the years through Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters. I've been blogging for eight years in addition to holding down a regular full-time job. I don't get paid for it and I definitely haven't been doing this for fun. I've been trying to make a difference in the world in my own way. Too many times in the past, members of the lgbt community have fallen victim to ignorance and hatred perpetrated by propaganda which paints us as evil, diseased, child-molesting monsters. Too many of us have had our potential snuffed out by the vindictiveness of false religious people whose nastiness are buoyed by the lies of groups like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage and unfortunately too many others to name.

Only the lgbt community can put a stop to this madness. And we will.

The list below is to serve as a reminder to myself and others that this struggle is not about fame, money, or flamboyance. No matter who you are or where you are, no matter if you are well-known or not as well known, respected by many or none at all, you can still make a positive difference in this world if you have ability, desire, endurance, and above all, heart:

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters eight year accomplishment list:

 

• Over one million hits

• Readers on six continents and in several countries, including Russia, China, South Africa,  Nigeria, England, Japan, Australia, and the Netherlands

• 2014 GLAAD Media Award nomination  - Outstanding Blog

• 2010 Order of the Pink Palmetto – SC Pride

• Two-time Ed Madden Media Award nominee- SC Pride

Posts published by:

• Huffington Post  

• Pam’s House Blend

• Alternet.com

• Daily Kos

• Firedoglake/Justice for All

• Ms. Magazine

• Salon

• Truth Wins Out

Quoted/mentioned by:

• The Daily Beast

• Lawrence O’Donnell

• Melissa Harris-Perry

• Fox News online newspaper

• People for the American Way’s Right-Wing Watch

• Andrew Sullivan

• Newsweek

• GLAAD

• The Advocate

• National Black Justice Coalition

• Equality Matters

• Southern Poverty Law Center

• Americablog

• Dallas Voice

• Queerty

• ThinkProgress

• Box Turtle Bulletin

• LGBTNation

• Goodasyou.org

• The New Civil Rights Movement

• Joe.My.God

• The Human Rights Campaign

•  Bilerico

• Crooksandliars.org

• The Washington Post

• Upworthy.com

Major Accomplishments:

• Attended Netroots Nation 2014, 2011, 2012

• Collaborated with Jeremy Hooper of Goodasyou.org on Marriage Equality Talking Points

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

• Created and maintains a list of researcher & professor complaints of how anti-gay groups distort of their work

• Work used by the Southern Poverty Law Center in naming anti-gay organizations as hate groups

• Helped in campaign to get Hardball’s Chris Matthew to make correction concerning citation by Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins

• Helped in campaign to make Hardball’s Chris Matthews accountable for anti-gay group spokespeople appearing on his show

• Helped to expose NOM’s attempt to funnel bad research, i.e. The Mark Regnerus study to the courts

• Helped to make story of NOM’s race wedging strategy go viral

• Exposed group of anti-gay activists’ campaign to cyber attack lgbt blogs and organizations

• Published countless posts exposing anti-gay groups and anti-gay spokespeople distorting research, citing cherry-picked research, and outright lying to demonize the lgbt community

• Developed list of how anti-gay groups distort research to demonize lgbts

• Developed list of the tactics anti-gay groups use to demonize lgbts

• Outlined 16 specific reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

• Broke story about how lawyers assigned to defend DOMA was using bad research

• Series of posts helped expose right-wing attack on Obama appointee Kevin Jennings

• Developed “Know Your LGBT History” series of posts looking at lgbt history in American society, including film and television.

• Interviewed three times on the Michelangelo Signorile radio show (one time with Signorile, the other two times with guest hosts)

• Interview with Jamila Bey on Voice of Russia America

• Assisted in publicizing GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project

• Defended reputation and legacy of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin

• Live-blogged a 2013 panel discussion on the life and legacy of civil rights leader Bayard Rustin for the Human Rights Campaign

'The worst attack on same-sex families you will ever read' & other Friday midday news briefs

Laurie Higgins: Libraries Need Books About The 'Joy' Kids Feel When Their Gay Parents Die - A little advice from me to anti-gay activist Laurie Higgins: It's not a good idea to say how libraries should stock books about how children in same-sex households will celebrate if their gay parents die  because they can be adopted in a home with a "mother and father." Regardless if you made the implication in sarcasm or satire, it's really NOT FUNNY at all. 

Linda Harvey: Gays 'Preying On Children' At Youth Centers - At this point, a Linda Harvey comment is so predictable. "Blah, blah, blah, gays are evil sinners who want to have sex with children, blah blah blah" Come on, Linda. Even Celine Dion gets new material.  

Remembering LGBT Health Advocate Andrew Cray - I never had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Cray but from the good he did, more people should know who he was.  

Joan Rivers Was One Of The Earliest And Loudest Gay Icons - I know. Joan was loud and wild, but she had a good heart and was funny as all get out.  

Values Voter Summit Attracting Fewer Politicians than in Past Years - I am happy to see that the Southern Poverty Law Center is not backing down from calling out anti-gay hate groups.  

Florida Officials Appeal Ruling Striking Down Gay Marriage Ban - Oh come on, folks.

Louisiana residents sound off against awful marriage equality ruling

When Justice Martin Feldman ruled for Louisiana's marriage equality ban two days ago, he conveniently forgot about a number of folks. And they aren't happy:



 Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper.

What a difference a day makes in marriage equality cases

The day after suffering a minor setback in losing a marriage equality court case in Louisiana, the lgbt community springs back today with a marriage equality victory in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. This victory eliminates marriage equality bans in Indiana and Louisiana.

This unanimous decision by the three judges was not a surprise, seeing how they practically ran the defenders of the ban out of court during the trial in late August.

Rather than make a large comparison between today's decision and yesterday's decision, I thought I would focus on the one thing which made the difference and that will probably continue make the difference in these cases:

Justice Martin Feldman in ruling for Louisiana's marriage equality ban:

This Court is persuaded that Louisiana has a legitimate interest…whether obsolete in the opinion of some, or not, in the opinion of others…in linking children to an intact family formed by their two biological parents, as specifically underscored by Justice Kennedy in Windsor.

Justice Richard Posner in today's decision:

Our pair of cases is rich in detail but ultimately straightforward to decide. The challenged laws discriminate against a minority defined by an immutable characteristic, and the only rationale that the states put forth with any conviction— that same-sex couples and their children don’t need marriage because same-sex couples can’t produce children, intended or unintended—is so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously.

The difference is stark. Posner and his fellow justices considered how the lack of marriage equality harms same-sex families with children. Feldman did not. In fact, Feldman omitted the fact that same-sex families with children exist.

In my opinion, that's what these cases will come down to - whether these families deserve protection given to them by marriage. Or do they deserve to be omitted and ignored.