Religious right obsessing over 'Glee' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Apparently your "friend" and mine, Porno Pete LaBarbera is still obsessing over the television show Glee and how the People for the American Way's Right-Wing Watch called out his naked paranoia over the show:

You can always count on Pete for a laugh.

And in other more important news briefs:

Tennessee Senate Committee Passes “Don’t Say Gay” Bill - A bad bill from a crappy lawmaker advances. Please kill this thing.

A statewide 'marriage' group pushing 'ex-gay' propaganda: NY edition - But I thought the "ex-gays" just wanted to be left alone.

Focus On The Family Pushes Back Against Criticism Of Their Anti-Anti-Bullying Campaign - The only thing Focus on the Family accomplished with their "Day of Dialogue" nonsense was a big push back against its nonsense. Subsequently, the organization trying to play defense. The Day of Silence, meanwhile, was again a huge success.

Rock Hill gay beating prompts SC hate crime bill - Saving the best for last. My state of SC desperately needs a bill like this.

National Organization for Marriage's questionable tactics go across six states

Maggie Gallagher, head of NOM

For an organization supposedly dedicated to the moral high position of "protecting marriage," the National Organization for Marriage seems to have a problem with doing things by the book.

The group has gotten into trouble in several states regarding skirting disclosing its finances, as well as its tactics.

Now one can add Minnesota to that last. According to the Minnesota Independent:

When the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads promoting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions last fall, the groups should have reported those expenditures, according to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board earlier this month. The complaint, which focuses on ads launched throughout the 2010 campaign cycle in support of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, asks for financial penalties as well as an audit of NOM’s spending in Minnesota.

The filing by Common Cause Minnesota alleges that the Minnesota Family Council — and in particular its lobbyist, Tom Prichard — failed to report lobbying expenses related to several ads. Since the ad urged the public and legislators to act on legislation, in this case a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, it constitutes lobbying, the group argues in the complaint. The ads in question include references to an actual bill, SF120, and were created and distributed in partnership with NOM.

There seems to be a pattern going on here:

• NOM goes to a state to fight against marriage equality.

• Their efforts are successful because of their mysterious finances.

• They leave the community in shambles with neighbors angry at neighbors over their positions.

• Lastly, questions are raised regarding NOM's questionable tactics regarding mostly finances.

According to the nomexposed.org, this pattern regarding questions raised over NOM's finances is a pattern which took place also in:

Maine:

NOM remains under investigation by the Maine Ethics Commission for failing to register with the state as a ballot question committee and refusing to disclose the donors to its campaign to overturn Maine’s marriage equality law in 2009.

NOM provided more than $1.8 million of the $3 million spent by opponents of marriage equality to pass Question 1 – but it illegally failed to disclose where the money came from. Public disclosure laws create transparency by informing voters who is behind a campaign effort. Maine’s law does this by requiring that any funds raised to support or oppose a ballot question be made public.

NOM flouted this law, first by soliciting funds from donors to overturn marriage equality in Maine, and then by refusing to disclose the contributions. As a result, NOM deliberately hid from the public almost two-thirds of the total money the Yes on 1 campaign spent to run its deceptive campaign to overturn marriage equality.

Based on an initial complaint filed by Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate, the Maine Ethics Commission launched a formal investigation into NOM’s fundraising tactics in late 2009. NOM has refused to cooperate with the state inquiry each step of the way, stonewalling requests to turn over documents to the Ethics Commission. The Commission’s executive director defended the inquiry in February 2010: “NOM donated almost $2 million in support of the referendum. The Commission needs to understand how NOM solicited the funds in order to determine whether campaign finance reporting was required.” In June 2010, the Ethics Commission unanimously denied NOM’s latest request to dismiss the state investigation into the organization’s finances.

Rhodes Island:

In September 2010, NOM filed suit in Rhode Island seeking to spend thousands of dollars on TV and radio ads for and against gubernatorial and General Assembly candidates – all free from the state’s reporting requirements. NOM is framing the issue as a matter of free speech. In its court filing, NOM says it intends to “engage in multiple forms of speech in Rhode Island” in advance of the November 2 elections, “including radio ads, television ads, direct mail and publicly accessible Internet postings.”

. . . Shortly after NOM filed the suit, a federal judge gave the organization one week to refile – calling the lawsuit “disorganized, vague and poorly constructed.” According to the Boston Globe, the judge said the relevant allegations were “buried” in the lawsuit.

California:

In January 2009, NOM and ProtectMarriage sued the California Secretary of State in federal court to avoid disclosing Prop. 8 donors. California law requires campaign committees to report information for any contributors of $100 or more, which is then made publicly available. Donor disclosure is uniformly required across the country for federal, state and local campaigns and is widely accepted as a vital means to ensure that elections are conducted transparently and fairly.

Rather than follow the decades-old California Public Records Act, NOM suggested that it was entitled to a blanket exemption. NOM falsely claimed that its contributors had been subject to threats, reprisals and harassment. Serious scrutiny of these claims has revealed only isolated incidents, questionable reports and, more often than not, legitimate acts of public criticism typical of any hard-fought campaign.

Iowa:

In Iowa, NOM’s pattern of evading campaign laws prompted a strong written warning from the state ethics agency.

NOM spent a staggering $86,000 in 2009 in a single legislative special election, part of its effort to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would reverse the state Supreme Court’s unanimous decision recognizing marriage equality. NOM asked its supporters to contribute to the Iowa campaign in a nationwide email by saying that “…best of all, NOM has the ability to protect donor identities.”

The email and subsequent complaints prompted a letter from the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Finance Board stating that state law requires disclosure of political contributions solicited for the Iowa campaign. The board’s director and counsel wrote to NOM that he wished to “avoid potential problems in light of questions the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board has received concerning a solicitation statement made by your organization” and warned that the “independent expenditure process in Iowa is not a vehicle to shield political contributors.”

Washington State:

In Washington State, NOM and its allies waged a coordinated legal battle to hide the names of those who signed the petition to qualify Referendum 71, and those who donated to the campaign to eliminate Washington’s domestic partnership benefits. In doing so, NOM lawyers attempted to dismantle the nation’s public disclosure system as it currently exists until the U.S. Supreme Court rejected their claims.

On the same day that NOM’s lawyers sued to overturn Maine’s campaign finance laws, a mysterious group called “Family PAC,” represented by the same lawyers, sought to circumvent Washington’s campaign contribution limits and keep secret the names of donors to the campaign. The lawyers cited false claims of harassment directed at supporters of Prop. 8 in California as justification for hiding their donors.

The judge rejected the NOM lawyers’ claims, stating that, “The State has a real and vital interest in showing the money trail… I do not believe it is in the public interest for the court to intervene and change the rules of the game at the last minute.”

If this sort of thing was to happen in one or two states, eyebrows would be raised. But this is six states here.

Perhaps it's time for a national investigation into NOM's finances and tactics.

Mob attack on SC student breeds more hatred, more anger

This story is ballooning into something awful. And what it worse for me is the fact that Winthrop University - the university that the student attended - is my alma mater:

The brutal attack of a gay teenager by a group of men at a Rock Hill gas station has a Winthrop University professor warning gay students to "act straight."

The warning comes after 19-year-old Joshua Esskew was beaten by a group of at least eight men at the Spot Convenience Store on 990 South Cherry Road on April 9th. Esskew believes the attack happened because he is gay.

The attack has sparked an investigation by the FBI and the York County Sheriff's Office, who are hoping to identify the men who attacked Esskew. Images of the attack, which was caught on surveillance video, have been released to the public, in hopes of identifying the men.

Esskew says when he was walking to the gas station when someone yelled a derogatory homosexual comment at him. Words were exchanged and when he turned back around, someone hit him in the head with a 40-ounce malt liquor bottle.

He was then beaten by at least eight men for nearly 15-seconds, being kicked and punched by the group.

The attack has angered many in the community, including professors and student advisors at Winthrop University.

“I’ve got to let my students know [about the attack], so when they’re out and about in Rock Hill they act straight,” said Kelly James who teaches sociology and criminology at Winthrop University.

James is also the advisor for GLoBAL, Winthrop University's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender ally league. She says the attack has her worried about students' safety in Rock Hill and she welcomes the federal involvement in the investigation.

She feels South Carolina laws don’t go far enough in protecting those who are the victims of targeted violence like this.

“The legislators aren’t interested in it," James told WBTV's Steve Crump. "There’s been grassroots activism, but there’s been no change in the system.”

And the thing that makes it worse? The professor in the clip, Kelly James, is being attacked by others for her comments. But her comments about "acting straight" were taken out of context. (Alvin's note - for some reason, I could not embed the video featuring those comments. So go to this link to see the video of the story including James's comments)

From WBTV 3:

. . . In an email to us today, Ms. James says, “ I am receiving hate mail at work and on Facebook because of the way you presented a part of a sentence in my comments to you. I thought you understood that I meant it was ridiculous that I would have to tell my students to act straight, that I meant it ironically. “

. . . This is the whole paragraph that the soundbite was clipped from for the broadcast story:

Kelly James says, “But, my first thought was that, “I’ve got to let my students know’ so that when they are out and about in Rock hill that they, you know, act straight, And that’s a sad lesson in 2011 to be teaching young people. I mean, it’s been off the books as a mental illness since 1973.”

Steve Crump used a few soundbites from Ms. James in his broadcast story and felt that he had portrayed, in the story as a whole, her sentiments on the story correctly. However, time restraints, a daily part of newsgathering, resulted in using a portion of the comment. In the interest of being fair to Ms. James and to our readers, I have decided to not only include the full paragraph from which the bite was excerpted, but to include the entire interview so that readers can understand all of her statements.

The following is the raw interview:



Folks, whatever the case may be, this is not the time to attack each other. Certainly a lot of anger has been created because of this awful attack. But I doubt that Ms. James meant any harm by her comments. It would be easy for folks to go into an expository about what she said and how what she said harms lgbt students, wouldn't it?

Well in this case, discretion and discernment are two words we should remember. James is not the villain here, so let's give her the benefit of the doubt.

We need to be angry at those who committed this crime and not our allies.

Related post:

SC gay man attacked by mob

'Glee is demonic' . . . or why do the lgbt community waste such good material?

I'm going to do something different today. Rather than midday news briefs, I want to spotlight a couple of posts in an attempt to make a point.

I get beleagured at members of the lgbt community who say that we should ignore the ramblings of various religious right figures. That mentality of "if you ignore it, then it will go away" contradicts so many realities.

No matter how much the lgbt community ignores them, the religious right isn't going away. They have been at their lies for over 30 years. And it was because we didn't built up a suitable countermeasure to their "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" lie during the heydays of the 1980s and early 90s (and the heydays of discredited researcher Paul Cameron) that we find ourselves bending over backwards to beat back that line of thinking.

What some of us fail to realize, or rather will not realize, is that the lgbt community is in the middle of a war and we have to approach it as such. Granted, I am not talking about one of violent conflict, but that of charged rhetoric designed to either appeal to people's common sense or exploit their ignorance and fears.

And so far, the religious right have scored significantly in their lying rhetoric that the lgbt community is "trying to force acceptance of our supposed lifestyle while at the same time recruit children."

The truth is that these folks knowningly lie about legitimate science or produce some of the most outlandish statements which can be seen as Freudian slips or windows into their homophobic  minds.

Take for example this recent exchange between Peter LaBarbera of the anti-gay Americans for Truth and Linda Harvey of the equally anti-gay Mission America. To make a long story short, in this exchange, they accuse the lgbt community and the popular television show Glee of using "demonic manipulation" to create gay children:

Harvey: These people are masters at demonic manipulation; I mean I have to put it that way, because that is what the homosexual agenda directed to that age group does. Kids don’t know what they’re going to turn out to be, kids can be secretly wondering and doubting if they are homosexual without a parent ever knowing. Because of A) what they get in schools, and B) what they get on the Internet.

LaBarbera: And then Hollywood, I talked about at our conference about this Glee kiss which is just, as I said at the conference, it shocked my soul. This romantic Glee kiss between two teenage boys depicted on the show, popular characters, one of the most popular if not the most popular TV show that young people watch, and here they had a romantic kiss between two teenage boys, I thought, what, how many young men and boys decided right there that they’re gay?

When I read stuff like that, I say don't ignore it. Put on page one of every lgbt blog. Send it to your friends and the lgbt press.

By all means, don't ignore  Maggie Gallagher and her ridiculous fumblings at Congressional hearings. Don't forget the Family Research Council and its clumsy attempts to deflect the Southern Poverty Law Center's correct charge of it being a hate group.

But LaBarbera and Harvey represent the true homophobic face of the religious right which should be given equal focus -  that face is self-righteous, claiming to speak for God but underneath it all bearing craziness that doesn't come from knowing God but succumbing to stupidity.

The most important part of a rhetorical war is the ability to paint your enemies as irrational. So why should the lgbt community ignore it when those who oppose us gives us so much good material.

So with that in mind, I want to spotlight several posts of some of the nastiest, crudest, most outrageous things said about the lgbt community from members of the religious right:

Religious right having gay sex fantasies even during Obama's SOTU address - During President Obama's recent State of the Union address, the only thing a certain religious right spokesman could think about was a gay soldier "rubbing his back."

Peter LaBarbera - the self-destruction of an anti-gay activist - And how can any denunciation of the religious right be complete without the complete story of "Porno" Pete LaBarbera

Something Guaranteed To Piss You Off , Something guaranteed to piss you off - The sequel - In the 1980s, a man named Dick Hafer published a comic book called "Death Style" which supposedly showed actual depictions of just how nasty, raunchy, and filthy lgbts are. As you look at it now, you will either be shocked or laugh. But remember this - on the back page of that comic book are individuals who vouched for the veracity of that hot mess, including a former Congressman (who was in office at the time) and the Concerned Women for America (who as far as I know never renounced what it said at the time)

The 'Complete' Words of love? A reminder of what some people really think about the lgbt community - And one of my magnum opuses - Some of the most ridiculous, homophobic things ever said about the lgbt community featuring Jesse Helms, Donnie McClurkin, and that black minister who said that if the Klan opposed gay marriage, he would ride with them. His name doesn't deserve to be repeated.

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

Malaysia ships 66 children to ex-gay camp

As the following ugly incident demonstrates, our struggle isn't just about white gay men. It isn't about what's going on in New York or San Francisco. It isn't simply about marriage equality or DOMA or DADT or ENDA. It isn't simply about "tolerance" (I hate that word). The lgbt struggle for equality is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural universal struggle for basic dignity:

Malaysian authorities have admitted sending 66 teenage boys thought to be gay to a camp to learn “masculine behaviour”.

An official from Terengganu state said the boys, aged between 13 and 17, were identified by teachers as having effeminate mannerisms.

This week, they are being sent on a four-day “self-development course” in the hope of dissuading them from being gay or transgender.

State education director Razali Daud told The Associated Press that the camp was designed “to guide them back to the right path in life before they reach a point of no return. Such effeminate behavior is unnatural and will affect their studies and their future.”

He added: “We can’t force the boys to change, but we want them to know what their choices are in life. Some effeminate boys end up as a transvestite or a homosexual, but we want to do our best to limit this.”

Officials said the boys were invited to the camp and were not compelled to go.

Luckily, this act has received much deserved criticism:

A Malaysian ‘gay cure’ camp for effeminate teenagers should be abolished, the country’s women’s minister says.

Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said that the decision, by the state of Terengganu, violates the Children’s Act and would damage the boys.

“The experience of being singled out on the basis of perceived characteristics is an extremely traumatising experience, particularly for adolescent teens,” she told the Malaysia Star.

. . .A spokeswoman for the The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality said the camp was disturbing.

“The act of identifying and singling out boys who behave effeminately is highly discriminatory,” she said.

Sexual rights campaigner Pang Khee Teik said the move was homophobic and work not ‘cure’ any gay or trans children.

“All the students will learn from these camps is that they are expected to behave a certain way,” he told BBC News.

“And in order to avoid further ridicule, perhaps they will learn to pretend better. In the end, we are only teaching them how to be a hypocrite.”

Maggie Gallagher shucks and jives her way through the DOMA hearing

Equality Matters has listed the top five moments from Friday's DOMA hearing. The moments are very telling in terms of how unnecessary DOMA is and the mindset of those trying to defend it.

But the best moment comes when Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) questions National Organization for Marriage head Maggie Gallagher on the idea of same-sex parenting:



At 2:29 - 2:41 , Gallagher admits that "there are some gay people who are wonderful parents." She also says that she thinks its unfortunate that people misinterpret things she says as a condemnation of "gay people" and their parenting skills."

But as Equality Matters points out:

This “interpretation” might have something to do with Gallagher having called homosexuality “an unfortunate thing” which represents “at a minimum, a sexual dysfunction.” Or perhaps it has to do with her decision to assert that gays and lesbians are “committing several different kinds of very serious sins.”

Also, Gallagher's past other comments and actions haven't been as conciliatory to the idea of same-sex parenting as she tried to make herself seem during the hearing.

In 2004, she wrote the following about same-sex marriage and parenting:

Marriage is our most basic social institution for protecting children. Same-sex marriage amounts to a vast social experiment on children. Rewriting the basic rules of marriage puts all children, not just the children in unisex unions, at risk. 

During this interview with the site Ignatius Insight in October 2005, Gallagher said the following regarding same-sex parenting:

In my opinion, judging by the standards of kinds of evidence that are used in the larger family structure debate, we know almost nothing about how the children fare. There’s been about 35 to 50 studies, but there’s not a single study based on nationally representative data that follows children from birth raised by same sex couples and can tell us how they do in adulthood.

More recently, in January of last year, she distorted a study on child abuse to make the case that children in married biological homes do better to protect children from abuse than children in same-sex households.

The distortion comes because the study in question - the one she cited - didn't even look at children in same-sex households. We know this because Gallagher even admitted at the time that same-sex households wasn't a category in the study:

All the other family structures studied (which does not include same-sex parent families probably because these are such a small part of the population), but does include solo parents, other married parents (remarried primarily), single parents living with a partner, cohabiting parents, and no parents.

I don't think any us lodging criticisms against Gallagher and NOM has misinterpreted any of her words when it comes to marriage equality or "gay parenting skills."

But in sidestepping Rep. Quigley's questions, you simply have to give Gallagher points for chutzpah.

Bear in mind that I said "chutzpah," not integrity or honesty.

By the way, that story she tells about being labeled as a bigot by a radio show host in Maine starting at 3:47. Another complete lie on her part.

FBI investigating mob attack on SC gay teen and other Tuesday midday news briefs

FBI investigating possible ‘hate crime’ attack on South Carolina gay teen - Good!


Leader of Maine’s Yes on 1 Campaign Admits to Lying - He is going to regret admitting this . . . at least if the lgbt community is smart enough to constantly remind folks of it.


Family Research Council launches FRC U; for gays, the 'R' & 'C' are superfluous - Family Research Council University? What is that? The name of a new horror movie?

Media ask court to unseal gay marriage trial tapes - Uh oh. The pro-Proposition 8 forces wanted the tapes of the trial - that they lost - sealed. Their insistence has gotten media associations - including the Associated Press - interested in what exactly are on those tapes. I say release them!

Chely Wright: 'I'm A Grand Ole Opry Outcast Now I'm Gay' - This ain't good at all!


John Boehner: Justice Department Should Pay House GOP To Uphold Defense Of Marriage Act - Proof that Boehner has lost his fricking mind.

National Organization for Marriage breeds ignorance

More times than not, you can always tell the usefulness (or lack thereof) of an organization by some of the people who chooses to support it.

That being the case, what do the following videos say about the National Organization for Marriage?








And the following tweet is from a NOM supporter who isn't happy with Louis J. Marinelli's support of marriage equality:

Granted, Maggie Gallagher and company will probably say that I am judging them unfairly based on a few clips, but one wonders just how many other supporters of NOM out there are either like this or even worse.

But even if were only this few acting out, what does it say about NOM for attracting such an "interesting element?" So much for the lie about "decent Americans standing up for marriage."

Videos from Prop 8 Trial Tracker.

A minister takes on the Black church for the crime of 'spiritual abuse'

A very good Facebook friend of mine, Gerald Palmer, sent me something he wrote regarding how the Black church treats lgbts of color. In his essay, So You Want Real Talk On Homosexuality? I Don't Believe That You Do, Minister Palmer (a heterosexual ally of the lgbt community) brings up at least six points for the Black church to ponder:

It becomes harder and harder to defend the Black Church when it comes to her mistreatment of her gay brothers, lesbian sisters and transgender brothers and sisters.

We act like starving coyotes as we attack no other issue the way in which we attack homosexuality.

We attack no other group of people the way in which we attack the LGBT community.

We have the nerve to cry about social justice, discrimination and prejudice when we have our own group of second class citizens in our churches and communities.

We use the gifts of our gay brothers and lesbian sisters and then throw them away like spiritual trash.

Our ministers beat down our gay brothers with their words; but behind close doors many are beating down their doors to have sex with them. Oh yes, you stand on your feet while the prophet is speaking with disgust on them sissies and homos; but you don't realize he is actually talking about himself with so much anger and disgust.

Real talk on homosexuality? You want it? Here it is.

1. Nobody chooses to be gay or straight. We don't choose our sexual orientation, our sexual orientation chooses us.

2. Your disgust of our LGBT brothers and sisters has nothing to do with God but more to do with man.

3. The scriptures do not support your stance against homosexuality.

4. Your negative views on homosexuality have been shaped by racism and negative views of black sexuality.

5. God has no problems with homosexuals; you do.

6. The problems that many gay people face have more to do with their mistreatment by the church than it does with them simply being gay.

Minister Palmer says that points 7 - 10 are coming soon. I personally can't wait.

Palmer is also the author of The Church Has AIDS: Essays on Sexuality, Sexual Orientation, Taboos, and the Black Church. The book:

explores the social issues and stigmas that fuel the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the African American community. Minister Palmer looks at religious based heterosexism and religiosity and it's impact over such issues as sexuality and sexual orientation in an upfront and in your face manner.

I say the Black church and the Black community in general needs more ministers like Palmer.

Gay marriage = Satan? and other Monday midday news briefs

Jackson: Gay Marriage Part of a "Satanic Plot" to Destroy the Family - The religious right needs to get a new conduit into the black community. This one seems to be broken.

Speaking of which, the radio show which Jackson made that "interesting announcement" isn't exactly known for it's candor when inviting certain guests on. Witness the following post from a while back - Bradlee Dean and Paul Cameron - when disgustingly vile homophobes meet

NOM's Brian Brown Threatening Former Staffer Louis Marinelli for Speaking Out Against Organization - Now just what would NOM be scared of?

TWO Calls On Uganda To Investigate Anti-Gay Activist Martin Ssempa On Possible Charges of Extortion, Perjury, and Fraud - Apparently the "poo poo pastor" Martin Ssempa allegedly paid a gay man to say he is "ex-gay" and also make up a story about gays recruiting children. Interesting in that it's the second charge of conspiracy against Ssempa. Last year, he and a bunch of other pastors were charged with trying to falsely "label" another pastor as gay. These developments are important because Ssempa is one of the main voices pushing for that awful "kill the gays" bill in Uganda.

'Defend Marriage' hearing doesn't go well for 'marriage defenders'

According to the Washington Blade, Friday's Congressional hearing on "defending marriage" got very contentious because Democratic lawmakers not only posed tough questions to witnesses, but also because they questioned the credibility of the hearing itself:

In testimony before the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, (Maggie) Gallagher, NOM’s chair and co-founder, said marriage should restricted to one man and one woman because such unions are the only kind that can produce children and because state voters by referenda have affirmed 31 times that marriage shouldn’t be extended to gay couples.

“Marriage is the union of husband and wife for a reason: these are the only unions that create new life and connect those children in love to their mother and father,” Gallagher said. “This is not necessarily the reason why individuals marry; this is the great reason, the public reason why government gets involved in the first place.”

. . . Following her opening statement, Gallagher bore the brunt of tough questioning from Democratic lawmakers during the question-and-answer session of the hearing.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, asked Gallagher if the children of Jen and Dawn BarbouRouske, a married same-sex couple from Iowa who were present during the hearing, should have parents who can receive the full protections of marriage or if she considers these children “expendable.”

“I think no children are expendable,” Gallagher replied. “Gay people have families that are not marital families, but they are families. I myself was an unwed mother, so I have firsthand experience with being in a family that’s not a marital family. I don’t think you need to have a message of stigmatization and exclusion to protect to an ideal.”

Nadler, sponsor of DOMA repeal legislation in the House, interrupted Gallagher, saying “the whole point” of DOMA is stigmatization and exclusion, and pressed Gallagher further on why the institution of marriage benefits when same-sex couples are excluded.

Lawmakers even challenged Gallagher regarding NOM's finances:

Nadler continued to question Gallagher on NOM’s involvement in 2010 Iowa campaign that successfully ousted three justices from the state Supreme Court who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. The lawmaker asked Gallagher, who estimated that NOM contributed between $600,000 and $650,000 to the campaign, why she would criticize the Justice Department for allegedly making a political decision while her organization politicized the judicial process.

“The National Organization of Marriage is political advocacy organization, and so I think it’s appropriate for us to be politically involved in ways that Department of Justice is not,” Gallagher replied.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), a co-sponsor of the DOMA repeal bill, asked Gallagher whether reports were true that her organization contributed $1.9 million to the 2009 campaign in Maine to abrogate the states’s same-sex marriage law. Opponents of same-sex marriage succeeded in nullifying the marriage law in the state before gay couples could marry there.

“I don’t have those figures in front of me, but we were involved in the [effort],” Gallagher said. “But that’s probably on the order [of our contributions].”

One thing about the hearing not widely known was the fact that there were no witnesses called to defend the Obama Administration's decision to no longer defend DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act).

And some members of the committee questioned the judgment behind that:

What bothers me about this hearing at this subcommittee is that the Department of Justice is not present,” Conyers said. “I was informed that they were not invited. … We have one of the leaders of the country, Ms. Gallagher, who’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars against judges … but there’s nobody here from the Justice Department.”

In response, Franks said the Justice Department would be invited to come during an upcoming hearing in May before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee on the DOMA decision. Upon further questioning, Franks maintained the panel was fair because its makeup included witnesses on both sides of the issue.

But Franks’ response apparently didn’t allay the concerns of Conyers, who said he hopes Congress can hear the Justice Department to respond to the criticisms of Gallagher.

More at the Blade

Related post:

Is the Family Research Council finally a 'damaged' brand?

Obama's 'deception' - The Birthers have proof . . . sort of

It's Sunday so I thought I would take time away from talking about lgbt issues and the religious right to that of President Obama and those pesky birthers.

A video has surfaced detailing the "proof" of just how the "plot" to make Obama president had formed. And it is . . . startling to say the least:

SC gay man attacked by mob

This is insane. An attack of a young gay man, Joshua Esskew, on video. Luckily the young man wasn't seriously hurt but if anyone knows anything, please call the police. The following footage is ugly but it could have been worse.




Right now there are no arrests and we don't know why the situation went down. But Esskew is sure that he was attacked because of his sexual orientation:

Joshua Esskew said he stopped at the Gas Spot on South Cherry Road last Saturday. The 19-year-old said one second he heard a gay slur and the next second he was almost unconscious.

"I responded with, 'What was that you said?' But nothing offensive toward them," Esskew said, describing the encounter.

Surveillance video from the store shows a man hitting Esskew over the head with a beer bottle.

"Three came up from the gas pumps. Two came up toward the Laundromat. There were three or four already standing there. They all just came," Esskew said.

Investigators say a mob rushed to join in the attack just because they could.

I want to send a shout out of support to Esskew. Don't be afraid of who you are and don't ever shrink from defending yourself. At the same time, pepper spray or mace isn't a bad idea.

It's not a joke. I've had to carry some myself and I would not be ashamed if I had to use it to defend myself.

There are times when you should act like King or Gandhi and there are times when you should "get to slicing." And there is no shame in knowing AND acting on the difference.

Lastly even if this situation did not turn out to be an attack on Esskew because of his sexual orientation, what the @!*& does it say about a group of people who would pile on one person simply because they can?

Disgusting.

Is the Family Research Council finally a 'damaged' brand?

Where was Peter Sprigg at Friday's DOMA hearing?

Friday's Congressional charade of a hearing on "Protecting Marriage" was intriguing to me.

Not because who was there as witnesses, but because who wasn't there.

Where was the Family Research Council? I find it bizarre that an organization which has spoken in front of Congressional committees in the past and has a webpage devoted to "Defending DOMA" was conspicuously M.I.A. during this hearing.

Not only that, but I couldn't find a word about the hearing on its webpage.

Now there could be a multitude of reasons the Family Research Council was missing during Friday's hearing, but since we don't know any of them, I am going to take advantage of the situation to speculate.

Where was FRC's chief witness, Peter Sprigg? Sprigg has crossed the country speaking in front of state legislators on the subject of marriage equality (opposing it of course), so one would think at this hearing involving a national policy regarding stopping marriage equality, he would make an appearance.

Perhaps there are two reasons why Sprigg was absent.

Reason 1: His belief that the United States should "export" lgbts:




Reason 2: His belief that "gay sex" should be outlawed



I can just imagine the fun Congressman Jerome Nadler (D-NY) could have challenging Sprigg on those statements alone.

Another good thing to speculate about is this -  since FRC has taken a leading position - the lead position in fact - in challenging (rather poorly I might add) charges from the Southern Poverty Law Center that it and other so-called morality groups like it stoop to lies to demonize the lgbt community, I imagine that Sprigg would be questioned regarding that.

That's almost certain, especially when one takes a look at the material on FRC's Defend DOMA webpage. One of the items on the webpage, Q&A What's Wrong With Letting Same-Sex Couples Marry?, unashamedly makes the inaccurate connection between homosexuality and pedophilia - just one of the main reasons why SPLC has charged FRC with being an anti-gay hate group.

Is it conceivable that Sprigg and the FRC didn't testify in front of Friday's Congressional hearing because both are "damaged goods" whose appearance would do more to undermine the case against DOMA?

That is such a lovely thought to ponder.

My mouth is practically watering at the thought.

Know Your LGBT History - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

What can be said about The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), the infamous midnight audience participation musical that has captivated audiences for over 30 years. The story of a straight-laced couple (Susan Sarandon) caught in the middle of a plot of a mad doctor - the Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania (Tim Curry)'s to create a man to give him "dynamic tension."

I don't think anything I can say will do this film justice. And I know I will probably offend some folks, but this movie is so blatantly campy that I can't in any way get offended by it. Hell, I was rooting for Curry's character. The only problem I had with it was the ending.

Just enjoy the clips:

Sweet Transvestite


The Rocky Horror Picture Show
at MOVIECLIPS.com

I Can Make You a Man


The Rocky Horror Picture Show
at MOVIECLIPS.com

The Time Warp


The Rocky Horror Picture Show
at MOVIECLIPS.com

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

Maggie Gallagher receives 'Anita Bryant' Bigotry Award and other Friday midday news briefs

NOM's Gallagher testifies at House 'Defending Marriage' hearing; given 'Bigotry Award' by GetEQUAL - And personally, I can't think of a more deserving recipient.

Maggie's #DOMA testimony: We got CSPAN Maggie, not Christian radio Maggie - Now if you want to know WHY Gallagher is deserving, check out this piece from Jeremy Hooper. Compare the ducking and dodging written testimony to the committee to what she has said on "Christian" radio. Don't get me wrong. There are only really two things I dislike about Gallagher - her face.

On Anti-Bullying 'Day of Silence,' the Religious Right Cheers on the Bullies - An excellent piece by People for the American Way President Michael B. Keegan.

"Ex-Gay" Activists Want To Crash The Day Of Silence - And I am happy to report that they have been unsuccessful. Now the Day of Silence, on the other hand, so far has been massively successful today.

Gay ex-NBA player Amaechi: What Kobe said just as bad as ‘the N-word’ - Yes I specifically sidestepped the Kobe Bryant controversy because the entire black vs. gay thing wearies the hell out of me (especially in this situation when it doesn't even need to be pulled out. What Bryant said was ugly, period). I will just let John Amaechi's words speak for themselves

California Senate Passes Bill Requiring Teaching of Gay History in Public Schools - And what, pray tell, is wrong with this? Our lgbt children need to know their history. And so do heterosexual students. It has NOTHING to do with sexual intercourse.

Day of Silence and Maggie Gallagher's 'testimony'

Just a quick word about the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher and her testimony at the "Defending Marriage" charade of a hearing today held by hate group supporter Rep. Trent Franks. To paraphrase Americablog Gay - she is all ready to testify here but it's interesting that she didn't choose to testify at the Prop 8 trial. 

The lgbt blogs will be watching you today, Maggie. As well as the other "witnesses." And any mistake you make, any error you make, and especially any lie you tell will be put on display and spotlighted.

We wait in anticipation of your "words."

But to more important issues, today is the annual Day of Silence where hundreds of thousands of students nationwide take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools.

Now I could go into an amusing expository about how the attempts to derail this day by the religious right have descended over the years from a righteous yell to a pitifully weak mew for attention (chiefly seen by the sad attempted frame-up this week by Peter LaBarbera and company).

But I won't. Today is about the children. Not just our lgbt children but all children. Today is the day we let them teach us about love, tolerance, and respect for all people, lgbts included. Have a successful day, guys:




Related post:
  
Day of Silence - THIS is what it's all about

Day of Silence - THIS is what it's all about

Tomorrow marks the annual Day of Silence, the student-led national event that brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.

The religious right HATES this event and have told so many lies about it. They claim it's about indoctrination, sexual intercourse, the corruption of innocence.

They are LIARS. And don't pay so much attention to them that you ignore the real voices who matter.

Like these New Jersey students:



For more information, go to dayofsilence.org

Santorum thinks states should allowed to 'criminalize' gay sex (again) and other Thursday midday news briefs

Santorum To Beck: States Should Be Allowed To Criminalize Gay Sex - Again, this fool wants to be President. He is only encouraging folks to make fun of him. I say don't disappoint him.

CA: anti-bullying bill Seth's Law passes key legislative committee - Awesome news!


NOM Rhode Island's Chris Plante: Gays' marriages 'turn children into little teacup dogs -- it's an accessory to put in my purse'- Tell me AGAIN how NOM isn't full of bigots, Maggie Gallagher.

Victory: Illinois Kills Anti-Adoption Bill - Good for Illinois!


Hear Me Now? - Apparently the guy on the Verizon commercial has come out. Well I knew that.

Stinky Santorum wants to be President

Look who wants to be President:

Former senator Rick Santorum announced the launch of a presidential exploratory committee for the next election cycle on Wednesday night during an appearance on Fox News.

Earlier in the day, Santorum alerted his supporters that he would be addressing the next step of his decision-making process ahead of 2012 on the network.

"Over the past two years, I have traveled our great nation listening to people express their concern for the future of America," he wrote in an e-mail.

"Throughout this journey, my wife Karen and I have been incredibly humbled by the encouragement I have received to run for President in 2012."

While recent polls haven't shown Santorum running toward the front of the potential GOP presidential pack, the former senator came out on top of a straw poll taken at the Greenville County Republican convention in South Carolina last weekend.

The fact that this clown actually won any straw poll in South Carolina is an embarrassment to the Palmetto State period.

But I will say one thing for Santorum. When it comes to lgbt equality, he isn't a flip-flopper like another Republican candidate, Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty supported lgbt equality and now suddenly doesn't think it's a good idea.

No, Santorum never liked the idea that lgbts are equal from the beginning. Of course the most infamous time he expressed this is in 2003 when he compared our relationships to incest, polygamy, and bestiality. As we all know, that led Dan Savage to take the word "santorum" and use it to coin a phrase describing a byproduct of anal sex (which I am too much of a gentleman to repeat).

That, I am hoping, will be Santorum's enduring legacy to this country.

But the following clip in which Santorum just totally disrespects lgbt families is a moment I hope lgbt voters won't forget, particularly those lgbt voters who don't like President Obama:



Just imagine having someone like that in the White House. I'd rather have a snake I can work with rather than one who would put me in a titanium steel closet.