Analyzing and refuting the inaccuracies lodged against the lgbt community by religious conservative organizations. Lies in the name of God are still lies.
If you are feeling like I am today, you are hit by the double shots of political burnout and Friday euphoria.
That being the case, enjoy not a long post from me about equality or religious right deception, but a video courtesy of "your friend and mine" (I'm being extremely sarcastic there) the former comedian and now right-wing commentator Victoria Jackson as she interviews and gets schooled by a young gay activist in September.
The young man is a nice spokesman who handles himself well even when bombarded with Jackson's ignorance and that of someone who felt the need to make himself known on camera.
Of course had it been yours truly, I wouldn't have been so nice.
Yes I could rage like I usually do against the religious right. And there is a time for such things.
And sometimes, there is a time to celebrate just being who we are and the following picture of actor Neil Patrick Harris, his spouse David Burtka, and their two children on Halloween is being posted as a sign of celebration and pride for the same-sex families who are raising children and doing it quite well:
While it is true that not all same-sex families have the means and the funds that this one does, the love and support I see coming from these families (and I know quite a few) are more than all of the riches in the world.
So I have a question for those supposedly moral people out there who are always whining about the alleged homosexual agenda:
Why do you dislike theses families so much that you pretend they don't exist?
Today in self-centered, faith-based aggression: NOM's Peters denies my marriage's legitimacy - There comes a point when some folks repeat a ridiculous talking point so many times that you can no longer feel anger towards them. Only pity that they themselves probably don't believe anymore. You will know what I mean when you read the last sentence of NOM's Thomas Peters in this post.
Recently, Vice President Joe Biden took a stand on the rights of transgender Americans, calling discrimination against them the "civil rights issue of our time."
Naturally, some organizations aren't happy with what he did. The Family Research Council in its FRC Update sent out the following:
Vice President Joe Biden must really like Halloween, because now he's fighting for people to dress up all year long! During a stopover in Florida yesterday, Biden struck up a conversation with the mother of a former Miss Transgender New England. In the middle of their exchange, reporters overheard Biden calling transgender discrimination the "civil rights issue of our time."
Even by "Biden" standards, it was a shocking statement. With the nation warring over marriage and liberals still making an issue of race, you can see why the press pool wondered if they'd heard Biden right. When the media followed up with the woman, Linda Carragher Bourne, she confirmed the exchange. "[I told him that] a lot of my friends are being killed, and they don't have the civil rights yet. These guys [the President and Vice President] are going to make it happen." How can she be so confident? Unlike a lot of voters, Linda is probably very familiar with this White House's record on sexual deviance.
There is no need to go into detail about what the FRC Update said next. In case you are interested, it went on about how to slur the transgender community as "sexually confused" and whine about how the Obama Administration is going to supposedly force schools and daycare centers to hire transvestites, transsexuals, drag queens, and drag kings.
It's bothersome trash, which is usual for FRC. But what bothers me the most about this item is the fact except for that trifle mention, not once did FRC go into any more detail about how our transgender brothers and sisters are being murdered.
While the focus is on the Biden statement, it should be on what Bourne said - that a lot of her friends are being killed.
Bourne wasn't speaking a euphemism. She was most likely telling the truth. Transgender Americans face a considerable amount of ignorance and violence and that needs to be pointed out.
But to the FRC, the fact that Bourne has seen a lot of her friends killed is irrelevant to calling her and those friends "sexually confused." To FRC, the sadness that this woman feels about the murder of her friends is considered as a mere point of flippancy which shouldn't even be given more than a brief mention.
To me, that's sad. And it's certainly not Christian.
And it says sad volumes about the Family Research Council.
The following letter, written to President Obama from 10-year-old Sophia Bailey Klugh highlights the simple fact that often times when we talk about allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry under law, we aren't talking solely about the couples protecting each other. We are also talking about protecting their children:
HUCKABEE: Many issues are at stake, but some issues are not negotiable: The right to life from conception to natural death. Marriage should be reinforced, not redefined. It is an egregious violation of our cherished principle of religious liberty for the government to force the Church to buy the kind of insurance that leads to the taking of innocent human life. Your vote will affect the future and be recorded in eternity. Will you vote the values that will stand the test of fire? This is Mike Huckabee asking you to join me November 6th and vote based on values that will stand the test of fire.
Because of this video by Mike Huckabee, I can safely say that this election has pushed Christianity back so far, I am surprised I don't have soldiers from the pre-Elizabethan period of English history knocking on my door talking about "the true faith" and arresting me for "heresy."
And it's also where I want to get off of the world. Forget "stopping the world," I will just jump off and take my chances of landing on my feet.
What the hell is going on here?
How many folks have implied thus far that if we don't vote the way they want, we are going to hell or our immortal soul is in danger?
Who in the hell gave them secret clues?
Or in this case, what does Mike Huckabee know about souls? Who appointed him? Couldn't God find someone who seems less self-righteous and hypocritical? Better yet, who is he to imply about "persecution?"
Let me put in a less kinder, gentler way.
Mike Huckabee is a psychologically bloated SOB who emphasizes what's wrong with Christianity in this country. What's a man with a six-figure salary, his own television and radio show, expensive suits, and more than one house know about persecution of any type?
And to solely put Huckabee in this category would be wrong. You could say the same about the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins or the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer.
You could say the same about any religious right figure with a convenient six-figure salary and an expensive suit you see on television, hear on the radio, or who crawls out of the warm swamps of self-righteousness in order to exploit anecdotal incidents to fool the evangelical masses that their "religious liberties" are in danger or that "pagans" (and of course that includes gay folks) are taking their country away from them. The country that God gave them as Christians.
How do we know that this last part is true? Why because Christian historian David Barton has verified it. Who cares how many times he has been discredited or refuted.
It would almost be humorous to sit back and analyze how Huckabee and company have padded their own egos and salaries feeding on the fears of Christians with visions of false entitlement.
But for those of us who don't share their beliefs and are the victims of their lies while observing how they travel in media circles of power, it's not humorous at all.
It's downright infuriating. And for those who consider themselves as Christians, it should be downright embarrassing.
It's all a lie. A con-game. A 21-century version of televangelism at its worse recreated for an audience smart enough to work the internet but dumb enough to not realize that they are being played like a harp.
Linda Harvey Compares Homosexuality to Cannibalism - To answer questions, we monitor crazy mess like this to give it a pushback in front of the young lgbts who are watching and need someone to call bullshit for what it is. And trust me when I say, that our lgbt children ARE watching.
Editor's note - Let's continue to pray and do what we can for those caught in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
An "ex-gay" group, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), has written a letter to President Obama demanding that the Centers for Disease Control stop linking to sites providing positive information about being gay, such as gay/straight alliances.
However, the organization doesn't necessarily say it like that. PFOX makes it seem as if these organizations are attacking organizations, like PFOX, and individuals who embrace the supposed "ex-gay" therapy:
On behalf of the Christian ministry Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), the United States Justice Foundation submitted a letter [PDF] to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), calling for President Barack Obama's administration to put an end to its promotion of websites attacking Christian ministries that reach out to individuals departing from homosexual lifestyles.
The Christian group challenges the CDC's denigration of those who are not on board with the homosexual agenda, noting how the Obama administration backs organizations and publications with websites bashing biblical worldviews.
"The website also contains links to anti-heterosexual publications and organizations, such as PFLAG [Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays], which openly denigrates former homosexuals, and the infamous ex-gay publication Just the Facts, which advocates against Christian anti-gay ministries and lists only those religious organizations that affirm homosexual behavior," the U.S. Justice Foundation's letter reads before posing a critical question. "Why is the federal government spreading intolerance against the ex-gay community and Christians who support the religious testimony of former homosexuals?"
One of the links provided by the CDC -- titled "Empowering youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools" -- states that the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network helps GSA clubs become activist clubs that can "educate teachers and students to improve the school climate" (according to its own standards and regardless of parental objections). Such sites "warn" against counseling that helps students deal with their unwanted same-sex attractions
First of all, "ex-gay" therapy has been declared ineffective and dangerous by several medical organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association.
Secondly, it would seem that PFOX is desperate for attention, which is of course why this letter was written and publicized. Or to put it in the words of a comment left on the article about PFOX:
I checked the CDC site, as well as the sites of the links provided. I found information on those sites which references scientific studies which have proven the ineffectiveness of reparative therapy as well as the harm that can result from such therapy. I found no information on any of the sites to suggest that those who make the claim that they are no longer homosexual should be treated with derision or hatred. That seems to be complete hyperbole.
Hyperbole indeed. It's what organizations like PFOX do best.
The campaigns against marriage equality in Maryland,Maine,Minnesota, andWashingtonare all running some variation on an ad featuring David and Tonia Parker, a Massachusetts couple who in 2005 objected to their kids learning in school that same-sex marriages existed. Conservatives regularly highlight David Parker as a victim to scare voters, but his story is told inincredibly misleading ways.
There is a big difference between mentioning that some kids — including students in the class — have same-sex parents and teaching about same-sex sexuality. The former is what happened in schools, but the latter is what the Parkers claim they objected to. In fact, David Parker so objected to the use of materials including all families that he appeared at the school to protest and refused to leave, forcing an arrest for trespassing. Parker then sued and a federal judge dismissed his complaint, saying that schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”
The following is a mashup of all of these ads and a few others which basically breaks the fact that the anti-marriage equality folks are relying on the same old lie about how gays will harm children. This time, however, they are disguising it through a phony "parents rights" agenda:
However the folks in Washington are combatting this fear mongering with an ad featuring parents who have no problem with children learning about same-sex families:
I talked about these comments from Romney about same-sex families last week and here they are now on video. And while making these comment, Romney told a deliberate lie:
One of two video clips that Waas has now uploaded to YouTube shows
Romney speaking to conservative voters in South Carolina in 2005, as he
was testing the waters for a presidential bid, discussing his battle
with the Registry of Vital Statistics and Records regarding the birth
certificate forms. Romney distorted the Registry of Vital Statistics'
plan, which was to change the labeling of boxes on the forms from
"father" and "mother" to "father or second parent" and "mother or second
parent." He claimed the plan was to change the form to have "Parent A"
and Parent B" boxes, when, as the documents Waas obtained show, those
terms were not in fact used:
"Today, same-sex couples are marrying, under the law, in
Massachusetts. Some gays are actually having children born to them.
We've been asked to remove the phrase "mother" and "father" and replace
it with "parent A" and "parent B." It's not right on paper. It's not
right in fact. Every child has the right to have a mother and father."
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay and lesbian couples to get married. And it happened under Mitt Romney's watch.
However, according to this December 2007 appearance on Howie Carr's radio show, Romney doesn't want anyone to hold it against him.
Let's see - that's negative statements against same-sex families and now this.
Why did the Log Cabin Republicans and GoProud endorse Romney again?
“I understand I’m going to be subject to certain limitations . . . I understand I won’t have equal rights. But I also want to be filthy rich, and I think the Republican ticket can get me there.”
Big hat tip to Jeremy Hooper, who was recently chosen as one of Instinct magazine's "Leading Men of 2012."
Trevor (1994) is an Academy Award-winning short film about a gay 13-year-old boy who attempts suicide because of how he is treated.
It still holds up after all of these years and personally, I think it should be required viewing in schools.
Trevor inspired the creation of the Trevor Project, a 24/7 crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.
Editor's note - For those who are interested, Trevor does have a happy ending. Sorry if I ruined it for you but those who read these Know Your LGBT History segments know that when I focus on movies, I always feel it's more important to emphasize when a gay-themed movie has a happy ending. Goodness knows we catch enough hell from real life than to sit through a gay-themed movie with a sad ending.)
You can tell that the marriage equality vote in Maryland is going to be wild and both sides are going all out for the African-American vote on Nov. 6.
The following is an ad put out by the anti-marriage equality group the Maryland Marriage Alliance featuring Alveda King, Martin Luther King, Jr's niece:
(Editor's note - Other than being the niece of Dr. King, Alveda King has never really contributed to the Civil Rights Movement.)
And this ad is from Marylanders for Marriage Equality:
So I guess it's a question of equality and fairness or listening to a phony civil rights leader so you don't "go to hell."
President Obama is weighing in with support for Referendum 74, which would legalize gay marriage in Washington state.
Through a spokesman, the president urged voters to vote yes on the measure.
“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. Washington’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Washington couples equally, and that is why the President supports a vote approving Referendum 74,” said Paul Bell, the Washington and Oregon press secretary for Obama For America.
President Barack Obama is throwing his support behind Maine’s ballot question seeking to legalize same-sex marriage.
Mainers United for Marriage, the group leading the campaign in favor of gay marriage, says the Obama campaign’s regional press secretary issued a statement Thursday giving support to Maine’s gay marriage referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Obama last May announced his full support for the right of same-sex couples to wed, serving as a rallying point for gay marriage supporters. But until Thursday, he hadn’t expressly given his support to Maine’s ballot question.
Matt McTighe, campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, says his group is grateful for Obama’s support
President Barack Obama's campaign released a statement this afternoon in support of Question 6, Maryland's same-sex marriage law.
“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," said Obama for America spokesman Frank Benenati.
"Maryland’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Maryland couples equally, and that is why the president supports Question 6.”
President Obama's support is definitely welcome. It's nice to hear the voice of not only the President, but a high-profile African-American supporting marriage equality.
Meanwhile, our friend Porno Pete Labarbera conducted an interview with anti-gay pastor E.W. Jackson. Jackson, who has been basically pleading on deaf ears for the African-American community to leave the Democratic party, seems to have finally agonized over gays so much that he went on a strange tirade. You can go here to listen to it all. The following is a transcript of just a few of his comments:
Their minds are perverted, they’re frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally and they see everything through the lens of homosexuality. When they talk about love they’re not talking about love, they’re talking about homosexual sex. So they can’t see clearly. Jesus said ‘when the eye is dark the body is full of darkness.’ Let me come back to this whole issue of their using the black community because here again some of the most vicious attacks ever leveled against any black conservative or black Christian for that matter has come out of the homosexual community.
. . . This is what they do, they lie because they need—look, I am convinced of this, this is not ultimately about civil rights, it’s not ultimately about not being bullied or being tolerated, this is ultimately about legitimacy. They need it because inside they don’t have it and they’re hoping that if the can ultimately get everybody to approve then they’ll finally feel satisfied that this is really okay but the reality is they’ll never feel satisfied because in their heart of hearts there will always be that place that God put there that says this is wrong, it is immoral, it is perverse, it is degenerate, and there is nothing they can ever do to overcome that so they got to try to change the culture hoping that it will make them feel at peace.
But he wasn't done yet:
It’s a very sad situation that people who have been hurt and wounded, instead of seeking deliverance from it, they perpetuate that wound and they transmit it to others. This is why I am absolutely convinced that they want to inculcate youth with the idea that homosexuality is okay, I think what they’re often doing is repeating what has happened to them because it’s been introduced usually at a young age and early on in their lives and they want to do the same thing to others. So other than being a force for helping people to avoid it and to be delivered from it, they have instead become a force for trying to introduce it to young people the same way they were introduced and it’s really tragic. Look, they claim that we hate them and there is nothing we can do to persuade them otherwise because if you don’t go along with what they want to do they’re going to label you as a hater. But if they could see into our hearts and see the love of God that we have for them and the desire to see them set free they’d have a whole new picture but they simply can’t see it because they’re spiritually darkened.
. . . I don’t have any data or study to give a definitive answer to this but I can tell you based on anecdotal observation and experience, I’ve heard a lot of young black ladies that a lot of young black men seem to be gay. I’ve heard them complain about it, they say ‘so many of these guys are homosexuals’ and they are frankly frustrated by it because they’re saying these are often nice looking men, they look like they can build a life for themselves but they’re not interested in a marriage to a woman, they’re interested in being with another man. There’s something that is going on in the community and I think fatherlessness has contributed to it greatly because if you haven’t been loved by your father, just like young ladies do, young men can do the same thing. They can make the mistake, particularly if they are recruited into it, they find a man who will love them and give them what they’re looking for but sexualize them then they end up for the rest of their lives end up looking for love in all the wrong places.
I ask you. Just what can you add to the ramblings of a crazy man?
Contradictions from the anti-Question 6 campaign - The Baltimore Sun calls out ugly homophobia in Maryland. Let that be a lesson. When you compare gays to pedophiles, those who engage in bestiality, and also say that gays are worthy of death, don't do it in front of the media.
I LOVE this ad from Minnesota Vikings Chris Kluwe which speaks against Minnesota ballot initiative to outlaw marriage equality in the state. It's funny, to the point, and most of all, puts those seeking to push this nonsense on the defensive:
As if by magic (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), there is yet a third group which seeks to exploit President Obama's support of marriage equality in order to sabotage his support in the black community.
This organization is called Pivot Point and has been running the following ad on BET:
If you are keeping score, Pivot Point is the third group seeking to persuade African-Americans to not vote for Obama.
The first was the Coalition of African-American Pastors (CAAP) and the second is called God Said.
All three groups share the similar goal - the defeat of President Obama, but approach it in different manners.
CAAP is trying to persuade African-Americans to withhold their votes from Obama because of his support of marriage equality.
God Said claims that it wants to "strip" Obama of 25 percent of the African-American vote because of his support of marriage equality.
Pivot Point just comes out and tells African-Americans to vote for Romney because Obama is supposedly not helping the community and also supposedly disrespecting the community for supporting marriage equality.
And here is something else. All three groups share the same interesting fact - they all have mysterious or questionable funding and memberships.
CAAP is run by William Owens, who is also the liasion for the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-marriage equality group who has already endorsed Obama's opponent, Romney. He has admitted to receiving a "salary" of $20,0000 from NOM. Harry Jackson is also involved with CAAP and through two other groups, NOM has funneled $80,000 to him.
Owens and Jackson are also involved in God Said. It is not known where God Said's funding is coming from but the group has pledged $1 million for its campaign. One more thing you should know about God Said.
A member of its board is Jesse Lee Peterson, head of Brotherhood for a New Destiny (BOND). Peterson has made many questionable statements about African-Americans, including the following about victims of Hurricane Katrina"
About five years ago, in a debate before the National Association of Black Journalists, I stated that if whites were to just leave the United States and let blacks run the country, they would turn America into a ghetto within 10 years. The audience, shall we say, disagreed with me strongly. Now I have to disagree with me. I gave blacks too much credit. It took a mere three days for blacks to turn the Superdome and the convention center into ghettos, rampant with theft, rape and murder.
Also involved in God Said is Alveda King, MLK's niece. King has made a name for herself by being "the African-American face" in many conservative events, that is when she is not insulting MLK's late widow, Coretta.
As for Pivot Point, there is nothing known as of yet about it, except for the irony that for a supposed African-American oriented group, it is run by a white "scientist" name Dave Shemwell.
"I've been working with a fellow named Wayne Perryman, a local black evangelical pastor in Washington state who's been active in gang outreach and various religious outreach programs . . . Since he's also a Romney supporter, I said I want to reach out into communities that are not Republican. I started talking about jobs, and all the things that people have in common, and he said: You're not going to reach anyone that way."
So they cut a more personal ad, thinking of what might appeal to black voters who think that "despite being the first African-American president, Barack Obama hasn't done anything to help the African-American community. One of the focus groups on Fox News had a black guy who said: Nobody is even talking to us. And that's the problem. There are people who are exactly like us in their conservative stances, but who we can't get to vote our way."
Perryman is a Washington pastor affiliated with the tea party. In 2010, he gave a speech repeating the false story that President Obama went on an apology tour, detailing about how he is tired of the "race card" being played, and proclaiming that whites do not get enough credit for their part in ending slavery. I kid you not:
According to Shemwell, the group will be focusing ad buys in Ohio. This is probably because Ohio is conveniently the state which many have said will probably decide the election and Obama is ahead there.
I personally find what happening regarding CAAP, God Said, and Pivot Point to be fascinating in the fact that the media will most likely make a lot of noise about these groups.
We will probably see discussions on news programs (comprised predominantly of white pundits, of course) who will talk about why these groups are appropriate and refreshing or why they are bogus.
Meanwhile, the African-American will do what we have always done in cases like this. Keep quiet because we know the media isn't really interested in talking to us about these situations, talk amongst ourselves, making sure to laugh loudly at the foolishness of the whites behind these organizations and shake our heads at the greed of the African-Americans fronting these organizations.
And finally, pull that lever for who WE have decided to support, which will be the person we have seen on our side and fighting for us.
