Good riddance to Maggie Gallagher

This afternoon, as probably many of you have probably heard, Maggie Gallagher has stepped down as chairwoman of the National Organization for Marriage.

Details are extremely sketchy, but NOM has put on a brave face on the announcement by giving accolades to Gallagher and introducing, with much fanfare, her replacement - law professor and tea party favorite, John Eastman.

Personally, I am not impressed. Most likely, Gallagher stepping down is probably the best thing for the organization. I for one have never bought into the idea that Gallagher herself personally founded NOM.

Let's face facts - Gallagher was probably more likely a figurehead, a puppet picked by shadowy individuals out to stomp out the progress of marriage equality. And if that was the case, she wasn't a good one.

Gallagher had an awful television presence in that she was combative and evasive. She did well in front of audiences who agreed with her opinions regarding marriage, but on televised debates when faced with someone from the Human Rights Campaign or any other lgbtq group, Gallagher came across as phony. She tended to talk over folks, shout a bit, and if all else failed, pretended to be personally offended when someone actually called her out on her lies.

Other times when questioned about NOM's tactic, she deferred to an absent Brian Brown - NOM's president, leaving folks to wonder how much was she in the loop as NOM's chairwoman if she couldn't answer basic questions about how the organization is spreading its message.

It didn't matter to the lgbtq community that Brown was president. With her faults outnumbering her attributes, we did good job of "gingriching" Gallagher, i.e. making her the persona folks would think of when NOM's name came up.

Any success NOM has had is due to only one thing - its deep pockets. When it's all said and done, one could easily pinpoint NOM's finances as the reason why the organization is able to motivate so many "leaders" to its cause and blanket each area of its choosing with so much inaccurate literature via brochures and commercials.

To this day, NOM continues to fight tooth and nail in order to hide its funders even after losing several court cases. So in hindsight maybe it is a good idea for NOM to pick a lawyer to lead it. I have a feeling that the organization will need a good one very soon.

The Catholic Church and the 'political process' and other Thursday midday news briefs

North Carolina's leading 'protect marriage' group: Gays die early -- see, Paul Cameron says so! - Ugh. Do you notice a trend amongst these "morality groups" and junk science?

NC Anti-Marriage Amendment Language Leaves Off Key Provision - Speaking of NC, look what those "we need to protect marriage" dunces forgot to do.

Thomasson Suggests Larry King Provoked His Own Murder - Blaming a murder victim for his own death. So classy.

Catholic Priests Removed Over Anti-Gay Remarks - From the article - "The Catholic Diocese condemned Rodriguez’ 'intervention in the political process,” saying that it “is not permitted under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code.'" Oh really? Well what's the explanation regarding NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan's letter to President Obama? We need some clarification here.

Focus on the Family is having justifiable money problems

According to media reports, Focus on the Family - the anti-gay group started by James Dobson - has been having revenue problems and subsequently was forced to layoff several employees:

The antigay ministry Focus on the Family announced . . . it will eliminate 49 more jobs, reports Denver Post.

The Colorado Springs-based organization had a $105 million budget this fiscal year ending September 30, but its officials now estimate it will receive donations of only $90 million to $95 million.

No one likes to hear about layoffs, but it's hard for me to feel sorry for FOF when it pushes nonsense like the following:

What better way to capture a child’s imagination than with a heart-warming story about cute, fuzzy little animals?

That’s the latest method homosexual-advocacy groups are using in their efforts to reach the youngest minds in our public school system.

Whether it’s stories about penguins, guinea pigs or even elephants, they’ve figured out how to use fun anecdotes about animals to familiarize children as young as preschool with the idea of homosexuality and gay marriage.

After all, they know if they can capture the hearts and minds of the young, they can permanently change the culture.

So according to FOF, the gay community is intentionally using stories about "cute, fuzzy animals" in order to "indoctrinate" children.

And here I thought we were using Spongebob Squarepants.

No, I don't feel the least bit sorry for FOF for its money problems, particularly when its executive director, Tom Minnery is begging for funds.

That's the same Tom Minnery who was publicly embarrassed by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) during a Congressional hearing for misrepresenting a study to make the case against same-sex households.

No doubt the irony using a man who lies about studies in an effort raise money is lost to FOF.

But not to me and certainly not to others.

Will the Catholic Church declare war on Obama over gay equality?

NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan

In something which should be remembered - because I have a feeling that it may be the opening salvo to something huge and sinister - NY Archbishop Timothy Dolan has sent a letter to President Obama claiming that he is alarmed about recent actions by the President's administration that supposedly "escalate the threat to marriage and imperil the religious freedom of those who promote and defend marriage."

These "threats" named by Dolan are positions made by the Obama Administration to ensure lgbtq equality. They include:

1. The Justice Department no longer defending DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and raising questions about the law's constitutionality.

2. The Obama Administration supporting the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in foster care and adoption placement

3. Sexual orientation sensitivity training for federal employees

4. The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Dolan claims that these actions undermine what he calls the "natural family:"

In sum, these recent actions undermine certain fundamental truths about the nature of the human person—the equal importance of mothers and fathers to children, and the unchangeable meaning and nature of marriage as a communion of the sexes. They also oppose the deeply rooted consensus among the American people in support of the authentic definition of marriage and laws that reflect it. These actions also harm the common good by imperiling the religious freedom of those who hold these truths and defend these laws.

Dolan also makes what can only be seen as sort of a passive-aggressive threat to the President in regards to Catholic bishops speaking against the Obama Administration:

The Justice Department's move, in addition to other troubling federal decisions occurring recently, prompts me yet again to register my grave concerns. The content of this letter reflects the strong sentiment expressed at a recent meeting by more than thirty of my brother Bishops who serve on the Administrative Committee of our episcopal conference. I know they are joined by hundreds of additional Catholic bishops throughout our nation. My observations are offered in the spirit of respectful, but frank dialogue.

The Catholic Bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by you and your Administration to strengthen marriage and the family. We cannot be silent, however, when federal steps harmful to marriage, the laws defending it, and religious freedom continue apace. 

In lieu of how the Catholic Church is suspected of funding the National Organization for Marriage - an organization attempting to stomp out marriage equality in all 50 states - and the fact that next year is an election year, one would be dumb not to take Dolan's words as a threat.

While I respect Dolan's beliefs and his position, he is way out of his bounds here.  Furthermore, I think Dolan is dangerously stuck in the past. We no longer live in the time of the Middle Ages where government decisions had to be agreed upon by the Catholic Church before they are made.

The laws of this country are governed by the Constitution, not papal authority. No one elected Dolan to public office and he has no standing - other than that of an ordinary American citizen - to demand that the President reverse his standing on DOMA or any other law or decision.

 Dolan forgets that he does not live a theocracy, but a secular country which is home to many different people with many different religious beliefs.

And also different families.

Not every family has the mother and father dynamic but that does not make them inferior to those who do. All families which provide love and support to their children should be embraced and supported.

That's the most obscene thing about Dolan's letter. It is totally disrespectful to these families. It sends a message that since they don't abide by his definition of what makes a family, they are automatically inferior.

That same message of inferiority is also sent to those of us who are lgbtq. Granted, Dolan's letter includes the customary "we value all human beings and reject any hatred or unfair treatment of all people" line that's present in all religious right dogma in regards to the lgbtq community right before they lower the boom on us.

But the fact of the matter is the boom is still lowered, making us feel that we are not worthy of equal treatment.

So as a gay man, I don't buy Dolan's phony platitudes of love.  And as a citizen of this country, I am highly offended by his letter.

Lastly, I would suggest that before Dolan or any Catholic official takes it upon themselves to attempt to dictate policy to our elected officials, they follow the homily about "tending to their own gardens."

Based upon what I hear in regards to the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church, some folks have been letting their gardens go to rot. 

Related post:

Is the Catholic Church overstepping its bounds in marriage equality fight?

Bigot sending nasty tweets about DADT repeal and other Wednesday midday news briefs

The Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber just can't help himself with the nasty tweets. The following is what he said last year during President Obama's State of the Union address when the President promised to overturn DADT:

The sad thing is that as you can see, Barber hasn't stopped sending hateful tweets. But he did block me from seeing them after my post on his attack of  the DADT repeal last year. It's just as well though. Ignorant #^! like Barber only make our victories taste sweeter.

In other news:

Maggie Gallagher Attends Staged Reading of “8″ In New York - Good. As much money as she makes off of our community, it is about time that she give some of it back.

Fox News Largely Ignores Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal - Color me surprised.

Gay Buffalo Teen Kills Himself After Years of Bullying - UNACCEPTABLE! Pray this young man's family. And also let us work to do more to protect our children.

Nashville paramedic suspended for anti-gay postings - I DARE the religious right to make this new man their "gays are persecuting Christians" cause celebre.

Hate group promising to 'monitor' DADT repeal

As I noted yesterday, several folks on the right aren't happy with yesterday's repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

But now, the SPLC-designated hate group, the Family Research Council, has weighed in with a nonsensical scathing attack on President Obama and an ugly promise to "monitor" the effects of DADT:

FRC will continue to monitor the consequences of this reversal of 236 years of American military policy, limit the damage--and demand that the Defense Department do the same. Expect to see celebrations from homosexual groups and fawning stories in the media about how "the sky has not fallen." That's only because there will be no press releases from the new victims of sexual harassment or assault, the soldiers exposed to HIV-tainted blood, the thousands of servicemembers who choose not to reenlist rather than forfeit their freedom of speech and religion, and the untold number of citizens who choose never to join the military. It's clear this President is more interested in appeasing sexual revolutionaries than in fighting America's enemies. 

Knowing FRC's history, the organization's definition of "monitoring" will probably mean passing along inaccurate anecdotes about gay soldiers allegedly "harassing" heterosexuals or gay soldiers allegedly "harassing" chaplains, etc.

Case in point seen here is FRC's resident phony researcher and spokesperson, Peter (gays should be deported out of the United States and 'homosexual behavior' should be made illegal) Sprigg in a one-sided interview with Pat Robertson's 700 Club:

Religious right launches another silly attack on GLSEN

Matt Barber

What is it about GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) that drives the religious right crazy?

One would think that after witnessing how GLSEN publicly spanked the Family Research Council for spreading lies about it, religious right talking heads would steer clear of the group.

But they haven't. As a matter of fact, two of them - Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel and Linda Harvey of Mission America - are doubling down on the very same technique which got FRC in trouble, i.e. claiming that GLSEN is encouraging pedophilia:

According to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch, Barber and Harvey spread the following nonsense last Saturday:

Barber: Now let me be very clear for those leftists and sexual anarchists who monitor your program, and you know they do, who are going to try to grossly misrepresent what we’re saying here.

Harvey: Of course they are.

Barber: Are we saying that all homosexuals are pedophiles, of course not.

Harvey: No.

Linda Harvey

Barber: Are we saying the GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network, is a pedophile, pro-pedophile movement? Well, yes and no. And here’s what I mean by that, look who the founder is, Kevin Jennings, look who his mentor was, Harry Hay, a pedophile activist. Now GLSEN, I have said the terminology that Harry Hay used was that parents and families and friends of gays should be running interference for pedophiles because the best thing for a kid, for young boys was to have sex with an adult man, this is according to Harry Hay.

Now GLSEN is in keeping with that mentality, they have tacitly as you know all too well Linda, they have tacitly advocated adult-child sex through their recommended reading list for kids in the past that portray in very favorable terms and in a favorable light the idea of boys having sex with men, as you mentioned as part of the empowerment and coming to terms with their in-born sexuality. So again, the left, guys you’re without excuse here if you misrepresent what we’re saying here, but GLSEN cannot get away from the fact that they have recommended reading that portrays in a positive light pedophilia.

For the record, those of us on the "left" don't misrepresent anything Barber says. We generally let him cut his own throat with his dumb comments. And he is in rare form here when he tries to connect Jennings  and GLSEN with pedophilia. The accusation about Jennings and Hay has been around for a while.  In 2009, it was the centerpiece of the religious right's unsuccessful campaign to get Jennings fired when he worked for the Obama Administration.

For the record, Harry Hay started the one of the first gay right groups in 1948. Many decades later while in his elderly years, however, Hay expressed support for NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association), a group that does advocate pedophilia.

Here is the thing which Barber omitted - Jennings expressed his admiration for Hay's earlier work - starting the first gay rights organization. Jennings has never expressed any admiration for Hay's support of NAMBLA.

It's a classic case of bearing false witness. Or if we wanted to follow Barber's point to its logical conclusion:

Christians during the Spanish Inquisition tortured and murdered over 2,000 innocent people, therefore Barber and Harvey - being Christians - supports torture and murder.

And then there is the lie regarding GLSEN's reading list, which was yet another attempt of the right to get Jennings fired.

This time, Barber not only omits a crucial fact about GLSEN's reading list, but he also tells a blatant lie.

First the omission - Barber neglects to mention that GLSEN recommends that adults peruse the books before allowing children to read them because some of the themes are highly mature.

Now the deception - when Barber claims that books portray pedophilia in a positive light, he is shamelessly lying. Some of these books are personal stories; they come from a place of sadness and rejection. They are the stories of how some of our lgbtq children went through a rocky process to a place of love and self-acceptance.


Are some of the books mature? Yes. But they aren't pornography anymore than a personal experience of rape should be considered as pornography.

Studies have shown that isolation and rejection push lgbt children into depressive and self-harming behaviors such as drug use and unsafe sex. And some of the stories in these books bear that out.


These books are not encouraging children to have sex with adults. Some of these books are cautionary guides in that they are letting us know what lgbtq children have to go through when they are isolated from society. They are telling us that we have to do more to keep our lgbtq children out of harm's way.


Not that this sort of thing matters to Barber or even Harvey.  After all, Harvey doesn't even think that gays exist. And Barber seems to be so obsessed with gay intercourse that he can't get through one conversation about the gay community without mentioning sex.

I have a hard time believing that these two liars are Christians. If so, God has an interesting sense of humor.

Hate group urging ice cream boycott and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Schweddy Balls Make AFA Squirm - The irony is delicious. At the same time homophobic groups are whining that gays are complaining to Paypal about the anti-gay hate groups using its services, the American Family Association is urging a boycott of Ben&Jerry's ice cream simply because the name of a flavor - which will send sales through the roof.

Using board to build cross: Chino Valley official seeks 'Godly' teaching, shunning of 'certain lifestyles' - This would be funny if it weren't so mean-spirited. Apparently one of the things this man has a problem with is "children who make two Mother's Day or two Father's Day cards during the holidays." How dare a child talk about his or her same-sex family!

Obama Celebrates End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Praises Gay Soldiers - It's a good day for us all!

Mainstream Christians Must Stand Up to the Religious Right - And I hope they do it soon.

Bad Medicine: Fox News Physicians Are A Prescription For Misinformation, Scientific And Otherwise - Apparently Keith Ablow's attack on Chaz Bono only scratches the surface when it comes to bad physicians on Fox.

DADT repeal - celebrate now but remember the enemies at the gate

Elaine Donnelly needs to get another job.

Today's repeal of DADT is a day which many gays and lesbians have been fighting for and waiting to see for a long time.

And of course, there will be a lot of celebrations.

With that in mind, pardon me for being the "one who lapped up the water like a dog " (it's a Biblical reference from the book of Gideon) by checking out what folks on the other side of the DADT repeal feel about this historic day.

First up is Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness. Donnelly has fought tooth and nail over the years against not only the repeal but also against the concept of gays and lesbians serving in the military, period.

The irony being, of course, the simple fact that in spite of the official sounding name of her group and how she is looked at as an "expert" by some, Donnelly has absolutely no military experience.

Naturally, she isn't happy about losing her gig:

The CMR leader predicts litigators for homosexual activists and the homosexual movement are going to have a field day. "Without the law on the books, they will go into court and challenge anything that stands in the way of what they perceive as a civil rights issue," she warns.

Of course Donnelly's comments are nothing compared to the comments from the conservative wolf's glenn, Free Republic. Those folks abandoned rationality for venom a long time ago. However, the repeal of DADT seems to have especially brought out the hate. Don't read the following without a crucifix or holy water handy:

Eleven years ago, an 'ex-gay' leader walked into a gay bar and changes lgbtq equality

While everyone is celebrating the fact that DADT will be officially repealed tomorrow, today marks another anniversary of something in regards to the gay community which is near and dear to my heart.

From Box Turtle Bulletin:

John Paulk

An Ex-Gay Leader Walked Into A Bar: In 1998, the supposedly “ex-gay” John Paulk and his “ex-lesbian” wife Anne were the centerpieces of a massive publicity push by Focus On the Family to promote the pray-away-the-gay therapy offered by Exodus International. They appeared on 60 Minutes and Oprah, as well as in full-page newspaper ads and on a 1998 cover of Newsweek. Their 1999 book, Love Won Out, became the title for a series of promotional ex-gay conferences put on jointly by Focus and Exodus International. Paulk was an employee at Focus, serving as manager of the organization’s Homosexuality and Gender division, and he had also served as Board Chairman of Exodus International since 1995.

John Paulk busted

On September 19, 2000, Paulk traveled to Washington, D.C. on Focus business when he walked into a dark and seedy gay bar known as Mr. P’s in the heart of D.C.’s Dupont Circle gayborhood. A few of the patrons there, employees at the Human Rights Campaign, recognized him immediately and watched as Paulk ordered a drink and struck up conversations with other bar patrons. One of the HRC staffers called Wayne Besen, who was also working at the HRC at the time and who had already written about the ex-gay movement. When Besen finally arrived at the bar 20 minutes later, he found Paulk on a barstool chatting with patrons. Besen confronted Paulk and tried to photograph him, but the bar’s bouncer, citing house rules prohibiting photography, stepped in and asked Besen to leave. Besen waited outside the bar and when Paulk finally came out the front door, Besen snapped another photo as Paulk was leaving.

Desperate bigot rails against DADT repeal and other Monday midday news briefs

Rob Reiner Previews ’8′: Proponents Of Proposition 8 ‘Made Our Case For Us’ - And in other headlines, water is wet.

Peter Sprigg says Prop 8 witness proves gays can change; proves why his side does so poorly on (and fears) witness stands - And speaking of which, Peter Sprigg shows his tremendous degree of ignorance. Uh Peter, you do know that you all lost that case, don't you?

NOM Still Promoting Bogus Link Between Pedophilia And Homosexuality - Ugly habits are so hard to break, isn't it, NOM?

Spiritual community split about gay marriage vote - Meanwhile in North Carolina . . .

Wash. Times Op-Ed Demands Congress "Take Our Military Back" From LGBT Activists - The desperation of bigots is sometimes so much fun to watch.

SC veterans celebrate the end of DADT

An awesomely moving video courtesy of SC Equality:

NOM creating false division between NC NAACP and the black church community

On its blog, the National Organization for Marriage has the following:

Local TV Surveys Battle Lines in NC: Black Church vs NAACP

Now under this headline is a video which is talking about the anti-marriage equality amendment vote in North Carolina (the video is from NOM's youtube site, thus the false headline):



The segment in question which NOM is using for its headline featured a reporter talking to only one pastor - Patrick Wooden of the Upper Room Church of God - who supports the amendment. He made a claim that the "average African-American on the street" supports the amendment.  Wooten also claimed that African-Americans in NC overwhelmingly supports the amendment.

The report then points out that the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP put out a statement opposing the amendment.

That segment of the video starts at 30 seconds and ends at 1:05. There is nothing else in the video which talks about the black church, the NAACP, or the black community in general.

From that very brief segment of the video, NOM is trying to sow division between the NAACP and the NC black church community.

It is a sloppy attempt for a multitude of reasons. Aside from the fact that the video in question doesn't even mention a division between the black church and the  NAACP, one should also remember that the president of the NAACP, William Barber, is a minister himself.

In addition, hundreds of clergy in North Carolina have voiced a letter opposing the amendment. And how many of them are from black churches you ask? Quite a few. As a matter of fact, a wide variety of churches and denominations (Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, etc.) have been very vocal in opposing the anti-gay amendment.

NOM is discovering that in NC it won't necessarily corner the market on church support, so to speak.

And is probably the reason for the phony claim on NOM's blog.  I think the organization recognizes that the NAACP jumping into the situation is putting a dent in its usual game plan of exploiting the black church and the black community in general.

One more thing. Keep on eye on Wooden because I'm sure that NOM will be trotting him out in front of the cameras. Wooden has a  history of nasty behavior towards the gay community (which I am sure he will say that was done in love), including saying the following in 2004:

"We have to block the use of euphemisms when we talk about homosexuals. They are not gay. We've got to use terms like 'deviant' and 'abomination.' "

Know Your LGBT History - Gay documentaries, past and present

You want an example of how far the lgbtq community has come? Check out documentaries looking at our lives.

The Homosexuals (sounds sinister, doesn't it?) was a CBS documentary which premiered in 1967. I will just break it down in two words - it stunk.

From Wikipedia:

Three years in the making, "The Homosexuals" went through two producers and multiple revisions. The episode included interviews with several gay men, psychiatrists, legal experts and cultural critics, interspersed with footage of a gay bar and a police sex sting.

As you can tell, it was not a fair documentary to our community. In all honesty, though, we are talking about 1967. Harvey Milk hadn't even come on the scene yet. And the Stonewall Riots were two years away.

Still, as the following clips shows, there is a reason why Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out called this documentary "the single most destructive hour of antigay propaganda in our nation's history."



If you closed your eyes, Wallace would remind you of Peter LaBarbera or Peter Sprigg.

Now take a look at a clips from a documentary which will be premiering next week to commemorate the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell:




The phrase "as different as night and day" is a cliche, but in this case, it is a very apt cliche to use.

We have come a long way, haven't we? And we haven't even finished accomplishing what we are going to accomplish in this world. Don't let the haters get you down. Always fight and never give up.


Past Know Your LGBT Posts: 

Boehner's DOMA problems, Rick Perry's prayer event lies, and other Friday midday news briefs

Boehner Claims Homosexuality Is A Choice In Effort To Preserve ‘Defense Of Marriage Act’ - More and more, the case for DOMA is becoming a repeat of the case for Prop 8. I hope that the outcomes will also be similar.

Perry's Prayer Rally, The AFA, And Champion The Vote - Rick Perry lied when he said that his prayer event wouldn't be political.

New York Clerk Could Face Lawsuit for Marriage License Refusal - The religious right no doubt wants this. I say bring it on!
  
New analysis shows startling levels of discrimination against Black transgender people - And folks, this does not look good.

NC's leading 'protect marriage' group: Homosexuality is 'unnatural', 'biologically destructive', caused by 'abuse or acquired taste', 'changeable' - Ugh, I say. Ugh!

Social Security Ends ‘Gender Matching’ For Employee Records - Let's end with a bit of good news.

Why Americans for Truth is an anti-gay hate group

Americans for Truth about Homosexuality is one of the so-called "pro-family" organizations labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Of course the leader of this group, Peter LaBarbera (otherwise known as "Porno Pete") takes offense to this label. He said the following in a recent interview:

"They're treating pro-family groups like pariahs," the AFTAH founder compares. "It's a very dirty tactic, because we're not about hate; we're about loving people enough to tell them the truth . . ."

LaBarbera at the time was whining about how the media wasn't covering the fight between groups like his and the gay community as he thinks it should be covered, but let's look at his claim about "telling the truth."

The following are LaBarbera's idea of "telling the truth":

This is a badly doctored photo of openly gay Congressman Barney Frank. LaBarbera posted it on his site to accompany a ridiculous claim that gay TSA agents are getting their thrills by groping men.

No doubt Labarbera claims that it was a joke, but it's  a rather tasteless attack on the gay community and its par for the course for LaBarbera.

Other things LaBabera has done to earn his organization's hate group status includes:

1. attempting to smear GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) days before its annual Day of Silence event via a fake controversy involving pictures on a facebook page not even associated with GLSEN.

2. Smearing gays via a CDC report on an increase on HIV while intentionally downplaying the part of the report which clearly places the blame on this increase on homophobia (while at the same time implying that the report "dispels the homophobia causes AIDS propaganda")

New site spotlights heterosexual youth bullied into suicide by gay peers

I'm speechless.

There has been a lot of attention given to gay youth who have been bullied by their peers into either suicidal thoughts and actions.

And now it seems that the "worm has turned," so to speak. There is now a webpage focused on how many heterosexual youth have been bullied into suicide by members of the gay community.

Check out the site, Bullied by Gays, for more information.

The site is well-made and to the point. Like I said before, when I saw it, I was rendered speechless.

Hat tip to Think Progress.

Republican presidential candidates attending hate group summit and other Thursday midday news briefs

'Values Voter' catering: Canapés on the tray, animus on the slate - The Republican presidential candidates attending a summit by the Family Research Council, a hate group. How nice.

Related post - 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group

GOP Makes Last Ditch Effort To Postpone Repeal Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell - My heart bleeds for these folks. Really it does.

A Christian Parent in Support of the CA FAIR Education Act - This is something which should get more press. Much more press.

Fischer Wants Departments of Education, Transportion, Agriculture, and HHS Eliminated - And replaced with the "Department to get rid of all of those pesky homosexuals." Okay that last part is not true. But then again, this IS Bryan Fischer we are talking about.

Religious right doom - DOMA trial a repeat of the Prop 8 trial?

According to Equality Matters, the government's case for the Defense of Marriage Act (taken up by Speaker of the House Boehner after the Obama Administration refused to defend the law) may be a repeat of the the disastrous Proposition 8 defense in 2010.

That defense was so pitiful that those defending Prop 8 (the law that outlawed gay marriage in California) could only muster two witnesses and both witnesses actually helped the case against the law.

Equality Matters breaks the similarities of the two cases down in three ways, bringing up information which the gay community should take note up (don't worry - I highlighted it):

Same Old Arguments

Last month, Paul Clement – the lead attorney hired by Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) to defend DOMA in federal court – filed two motions to dismiss the case of Windsor v. United States, one of several current legal challenges to the 15-year-old marriage law. The briefs revived a long list of typical anti-gay talking points: children need a mother and a father, ‘traditional marriage’ is necessary to encourage procreation, etc.

These arguments are nothing new: many of them are the same ones that were used (and rejected) in the 2009 First Circuit case Gill et al v. US Office of Personnel Management, which found Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional. 

They’re also the same arguments put forward by proponents of Proposition 8 in the 2010 district court case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. In Perry, each of those arguments was thoroughly dismantled, first by the plaintiffs’ attorneys and eventually by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s “factual, well-reasoned, and powerful” 136-page decision. Walker found that, even under the most deferential standard of judicial review, there was no rational basis for denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. 

( Editor's note - I published a post earlier looking at the pitiful junk science Clement is using to defend DOMA)

Same Old Non-Witnesses

In the Windsor case, Clement has had a difficult time securing credible experts and witnesses to provide testimony in defense of DOMA. As AMERICAblog’s Joe Sudbay has noted, Clement tried to rely on the ‘work’ of anti-gay activists like Maggie Gallagher. Windsor’s lawyers filed a motion to strike Maggie’s work from the record, citing their lack of an opportunity to cross examine her in court. 

A similar situation arose during the Perry trial. Defense attorney Charles Cooper found himself unable to put forth more than two ‘expert’ witnesses – one who was quickly dismissed as lacking “the qualifications to offer opinion testimony” and another who’s testimony was given “little weight.” Cooper’s inability to find credible experts to support Prop 8 eventually led Judge Walker to ask:

Seven million Californians, 70 judges and this long history that you described. Why did you present but one witness on this subject?

(Editor's note - For all of Maggie Gallagher's talk of "protecting marriage," why won't she allow herself to be put in a position to be cross-examined. The fact that the gay community has allowed this crucial contradiction to slip by unexploited - yes I said "unexploited" - is a huge problem in our fight for marriage equality.)

And Now, Same Old Shame


Monday it was reported that the House’s Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) would oppose video recording the courtroom proceedings in Golinski v. United States, another case challenging DOMA’s constitutionality in federal court. BLAG’s opposition effectively ensures that the proceedings won’t be videotaped, as all parties must agree before the arguments can be recorded. 

BLAG’s position is reminiscent of the ongoing battle to prevent the public from viewing the footage of the Perry trial.  

For months, Prop 8’s proponents have been fighting “tooth-and-nail” to prevent the release of the trial footage, claiming that their anti-equality witnesses might be harassed and targeted for opposing same-sex marriage. This claim makes little sense: transcripts from the trial are publicly available, and both anti-equality witnesses had national profiles well before the Perry trial began.

As the American Foundation for Equal Rights – which represented the plaintiffs in the Perry case – has pointed out, it’s much more likely that Prop 8’s defenders are embarrassed about what happened during the trial. The defense’s witnesses admitted to lacking specific knowledge on a number of issues, contradicted themselves, and on several occasions, even agreed with the arguments made against Prop 8.

If these trends continued to hold, then we will probably be seeing a repeat of what happened last year when Prop 8 was overturned - i.e. the gay community dancing in the streets while the religious right and their supporters trying to cover up their faulty case by blaming the judge.

I'm already shopping for my dancing shoes

Hate group leaders think they know who God will judge

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

The prize for blatant chutzpah has to go to the Family Research Council head Tony Perkins and American Family Association head Tim Wildmon. During a recent AFA radio program, they claimed that God will "judge" America because of the gay community and legal abortion:

Perkins: You and I Tim as Americans have been given a very unique role in the history of mankind to be a part of that process and choosing our leaders, but with that opportunity comes a responsibility and an accountability. I think we’ll give an account for who the leaders of this nation, who the leaders are, and the policies that they adopt. We can’t simply wash our hands and say ‘oh just because we have a pro-abortion president, a Democratic president, we don’t have anything to do with that.’ No my friends, we do. When only fifty percent of the church-going population is registered to vote and only half of them are actually voting, I have some really somber news: I believe God is going to hold us accountable for the death, the destructive policies of this country that have devalued human life and are redefining marriage.
…
Wildmon: Folks keep in mind the overarching principle here we need to look at is a Biblical one, in that it is immoral, it is evil, it is wrong in the eyes of God to kill unborn babies.

Perkins: And as long as it’s happening in the United States we’re a party to it.

Wildmon: We’re a party to and we are being and we will be judged and held accountable for it, as a country.

Tim Wildmon, the American Family Association

Are they serious? While Wildmon is busy pointing the finger at gays and legalized abortion, he conveniently forgets the action of his group, the American Family Association, which include:

• inaccurately linking lgbts to pedophiles (a classic case of bearing false witness),

•  employing the rabid Bryan Fischer who has- when he's not claiming that gays made up the Nazi Party in German:

• made an ugly racial slur about President Obama, 

• viciously attacked a Medal of Honor recipient, and 

• wrote a ridiculous piece about the supposed lack of morals of Native Americans;

• and continuing to sell the fraudulent video "It's Not Gay," featuring the testimony of supposed "ex-gay" Michael Johnston (even though Johnston, an HIV-positive man, was discovered in 2003 to be having unprotected sex with various men). The AFA, by the way, is still selling the tape (seen here with Johnston's face is on the cover in this link).

And Perkins and the Family Research Council aren't exactly slouches in the bearing false witness or hypocrisy departments themselves.  I had trouble narrowing the number of lies they tell down to 16.

But the lies include distorting research, making false claims about GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), which FRC was forced to take back after GLSEN handed them a cease-and-desist letter, and relying on the junk data of a discredited researcher who believes that gays stuff gerbils up their rears.

These are the main reasons why the Southern Poverty Law Center named both FRC and AFA as anti-gay hate groups.

If you ask me, I think that both Wildmon and Perkins need to worry less about how God will judge others and worry more about He will judge them.