Know Your LGBT History - Jeanne Manford and PFLAG

In celebration of the news that the late Jeanne Manford, founder of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has been selected to receive the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal, I present the story of PFLAG in her own words with an assist from Rachel Maddow and President Obama. I have never seen this video until now.

What a woman!


Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Meet the British Maggie Gallagher' and other Friday midday news briefs

Remember that episode of Sanford and Son where the lead character Fred Sanford met a white version of his nemesis, his sister-in-law Esther? In that spirit, I present to you the British version of Maggie Gallagher.

In this debate, she is commenting negatively on the decision by the British government to pursue the passage of marriage equality. For those who don't want to watch the entire thing, just take a glimpse at the first part and notice how the moderator makes her backtrack from her "marriage has existed the same way from the beginning of time" talking point.

However for those who are a student of such things, pay attention to what she says during the debate and notice how "oddly" her talking points mirror the ones used by Gallagher, NOM, and others attempting to hinder marriage equality in America, including the "homosexuals have no right to redefine the definition of marriage for all of us" lie.

If you don't think these folks are collaborating, then you are in a deep coma.

In other news:

Maryland Middle School Promotes Ex-Gay Therapy To Students - Unbelievable. Don't show this trash to our children!  UPDATE - The video has been pulled!

TWO Report: Gerard van den Aardweg, NARTH’s Nastiest Reparative Therapist - Wayne Besen dismantles another phony researcher from that discredited group that religious right organizations rely on so much.

Former Teammate Implies That Darnell Dockett Is Gay, Enrages Darnell Dockett - Wooooweee! Dude! There are worse things than being called gay.  A serial killer. A cannibal. A fan of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

Zach Wahls - the religious right's worst nightmare

If you don't know who Zach Wahls is, you had better learn.

He is a young man raised in a lesbian household, intelligent, articulate,and not shy about defending his family or gay equality. Wahls, an Eagle Scout, has also been on the front lines for the lgbt community in the recent Boy Scout ado. In short, he is the religious right's worst nightmare. And nothing says that more than two interviews this week in which he went head-to-head with Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The first interview is when the Boy Scouts were deciding whether or not to change its "no gays allowed" policy. To say Zach did rather well would be an understatement:

 

This second interview was done after the Boy Scouts decided to postpone its decision.  Zach mops up the floor with Land. But for those who think that the second video is too long, allow me to clue you to a juicy part. At 6:40, Zach decides to ask Land a question about the talking point he keeps repeating concerning the Boy Scouts' "core values." It got a bit vicious after that and Zach did not back down :

 

Religious right reveals bigoted hand in Boy Scouts situation

My buddy Zack Ford at Think Progress just wrote an incredibly good piece which I think needs more attention.

 In How The ‘Scouts’ Safety’ Argument Reveals Conservatives’ Complete Anti-Gay Agenda, Ford says that how the religious right and some conservatives addressed the situation about the Boy Scouts reveals the depths of their bigotry against the lgbt community.

I especially like this part:

Though BSA refused to share any of the details of the two-year review that resulted in keeping the policy, plenty of conservatives voices have attempted to make the case on behalf of the organization, including Mike Huckabee, Bill O’Reilly, Rick Perry, the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, the American Family Association, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Southern Baptist Convention, to name a few. While some have made weak appeals to “traditional values,” the overwhelming argument against changing the policy has been a claim that Scouts will be more vulnerable to abuse if gays are allowed to participate in the organization, an argument that doesn’t even address the question of gay Scouts. Here is a sampling of the underlying assumptions about gay people that inform this point of view:

• The LGBT community is viewed entirely as adult gay men.

• The only aspect of a person that defines a gay identity is participation in same-sex sexual behavior.

• Nothing is apparently more important to gay men than having as much sex as possible and talking about it at all times.

• For gay men, there is no difference between being attracted to other adult gay men and being attracted to underage boys.

• Gay men are so obsessed with having sex that consent means nothing to them.

• Even though the men most commonly found abusing boys identify as heterosexual, the fact that their victims were boys means that they must be secretly gay, as opposed to just being pedophiles.

• It’s impossible for a child to learn that gay people even exist without becoming “sexualized” and somehow put at risk.

• So long as homosexuality is prohibited, all Boy Scouts will remain totally chaste and never think, learn about, or talk about the existence of sex.

'FRC continues the gay = pedophilie lie' and other Thursday midday news briefs

STUDY: Coming Out Is Good For Gays’ Mental Health - Well duh. 

 CNN Devotes Three Segments In Three Days To Debating The “Gays Are Pedophiles” Myth - While I enjoyed watching the folks at CNN refute the religious right, this article brings up a good point.

  Thanks for the shout out, Ms Roback Morse! - Doggone it, Jeremy Hooper! You always get the good shout outs. LOL  

16 Must-See Black LGBT Films - Sweet! 

Lake County School Board May Slash All Student Clubs To Blockade Gay-Straight Alliance - Not so sweet.

Perkins: 'Ironic' That Critics of Pedophilia in Catholic Church Want Boy Scouts to Lift Gay Ban - Finally, there are some folks who feel that my post yesterday (Family Research Council is to blame for near massacre at its headquarters) went over the line. I said that by the vindictively demonizing language that it uses against lgbts and the lies it tells about us, FRC created a wheel of hatred which turned on the group. And I stand by it. I did not absolve the young man who attempted the violence of his culpability but I be damned if FRC will exploit his hatred as an excuse to pander its hatred. Let this news brief be proof of my statement.

The anti-gay hate group and Congress

Some in the lgbt community have publicly asked why should we be concerned about the doings of the Family Research Council. Apparently some of us figure that if we close our eyes and put our fingers in our ears, FRC will do us no actual harm as a community.

Think again, especially after you read this from the organization's webpage:

Congress may not always act responsibly, but there are plenty of members who do! Today, we honored the House and Senate leaders who stood on principle and notched a perfect 100% on FRC Action's annual scorecard. Almost 30 of the 93 congressional "True Blue" winners dropped by the Capitol Hill Club for our special reception, and it was encouraging to see the camaraderie in the room among the leaders who take the slings and arrows for the rest of us as they stand for family values.
As part of this year's event, we also welcomed new members of Congress, who will be valuable reinforcements for the pro-family cause. This year, FRC Action scored votes on everything from repealing ObamaCare and protecting DOMA to the President's court nominees and safeguarding conscience rights. I appreciate the members who took time out of their busy schedules to join us--as well as the FRC and FRC Action staff, Tom McClusky, Connie Mackey, Sherry Crater, Mike Mears, and Tim Potter, for your tireless efforts for our values. Congratulations to the 112^th Congress's class of True Blue winners! Thank you for all you accomplished in the name of faith, family, and freedom.

This ridiculous award underscores the simple fact that in spite of all of the highly specious things FRC has done to undermine gay equality, it has a degree of credibility to some members of Congress.

And it is Congress which passes laws (well duh). That's why it is so important for us to continue to publicly debate and denounce FRC,  as well as show all of the reasons why the organization is a hate group.

And on that last point, FRC always makes it easy for us.

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

Family Research Council is to blame for near massacre at its headquarters

Today, Floyd Lee Corkins, the young man who opened fire at the Family Research Council headquarters last year, plead guilty to several counts in court.

And today, FRC head Tony Perkins again blamed the Southern Poverty Law Center for the incident, which could have been deadly if it were not for a security guard who disarmed Corkins before he harmed anyone.

Perkins claimed that SLPC gave Corkins a "license for violence" by labeling the FRC as a hate group. Perkins also contended that the SPLC gave his group the label to "silence" it because it speaks out on Christian principles in regards to homosexuality.

Now a stereotype about gays is that sometimes we can be brutally honest even to the point of not caring about hurt and angry feelings. I generally refrain from that stereotype, but today I feel the need to embrace it.

Someone has to sit Mr. Perkins down and school him on the truth. I am very certain that Perkins is already aware of this truth, but he needs to be told publicly so that everyone else can know.

SPLC isn't responsible for Corkins' near massacre at FRC headquarters last year. If Perkins wants to blame someone, he should look to himself and his organization.

For years, while under the guise of Biblical principles, FRC  dehumanized the lgbt community. Time after time, the organization performed a mass slander against us by claiming that we are like drug abusers, that we are pedophiles, that we are terrorists and that we are led by Satan. It actively undermined any effort of the gay community to achieve any form of equality or the right to self-determination. FRC is even so cold-hearted as to claim that efforts to prevent gay youth from committing suicide is wrong.

In addition, FRC relies on phony experts to create "studies" and "papers" designed to lend some degree of credibility to its negative claims about the gay community, even if these "studies" and "papers" cherry-pick legitimate studies.

Let's be clear. This is not an accident. FRC's actions against the lgbt community are intentional. FRC's actions against the gay community are deliberate. When Perkins calls gays pedophiles, he knows what he is saying is not true and you can tell by his weaselly verbiage: 

There is a disproportionate number of male on boy — when we get on pedophilia, male on boy is a higher incident rate of that. We never said all homosexuals are pedophiles. that’s not what we’re saying.

When Tony Perkins smears efforts such as the "It Gets Better Campaign," he knows that his attacks could hurt gay youth, but he doesn't care. When an FRC phony expert such as Peter Sprigg cites a study while omitting crucial parts of it which would destroy his "dangers of homosexuality" claim, he knows exactly what he is doing.

And when Perkins claims that FRC is not about hatred, it's the biggest lie of them all. It's the organization's lifeblood. FRC can't get people to read its emails, listen to its phony experts, visit its webpage, or donate money if the organization doesn't give folks a reason to. And what's a better reason to support FRC than stopping a so-called sinful homosexual out to destroy your values and harm your children in the process?

Through its lies and distortions, FRC nursed fears of gays, stoked the egos of some Christians based upon a few arguably mistaken Biblical verses, and exploited stereotypes about gay sexual intercourse until it created a wall of hatred against gays.

But here is the thing about hatred. It's like a fire which can't be controlled. Sooner or later it backfires on its creator. And in this case, the hatred which FRC sowed against the gay community backfired on the organization in the form of a young man with a gun, a warped mind, and an ugly mission which thankfully he was unsuccessful in accomplishing.

No one should blame SPLC for what happened at FRC headquarters last year. SPLC merely called out the fact that FRC was promoting hatred.

Corkins did more. He proved it.

On that day in which he walked into FRC headquarters, the organization met what its effort to promote hatred of gays had given birth to.

A demented child.

Boy Scouts delay decision as hate group leader gets destroyed on CNN' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

The somewhat bad news:

Utah Boy Scouts Council Achieves Delay In Consideration Of Anti-Gay Policy I say "somewhat" because until the decision is taken up again in May, we can hopefully expect scenes like the following:

 

To put it nicely, Soledad O'Brien treated FRC's Tony Perkins like she was the parent and he was her child whom she just caught misbehaving. It was brutal how she made him contradict himself. Now there are some who are still complaining as to why people like Tony Perkins are given interview time. If I said it once, I will say it a million times - an censored idea gains power, but an idea exposed as a lie loses power. And you can't expose lies by keeping those who tell them silent. WE NEED THIS DEBATE!  No matter how the Scouts rule in May, we have already won the battle of public opinion by letting the right dig themselves into a hyperbolic hole. And that victory will play out in other fights. So instead of whining, the lgt community needs to take charge. What folks need to do is ask where in the hell are HRC and GLAAD representatives in this mix? They need to get on these shows.

 In other news:  

Rios Claims Gay Men Are Child Predators by Nature - That's right suckers! Keep it up and help the lgbt community out.

 Anti-Gay, Anti-Immigrant, Birther Groups Join Forces to File Mother of All Prop 8 Briefs - I'm beginning to think that all of these organizations fear gay folks.  

UK Coalition for Marriage Puts NOM-Style Spin on Its Marriage Vote Defeat - Simply delicious.

Superbowl champion Brendon Ayanbadejo gives stunning defense of lgbt rights

I've heard a lot about this interview and, while I'm not one to fall for hype, I was impressed. Member of the Superbowl champions Baltimore Ravens and a strong ally/spokesman for the lgbt community Brendon Ayanbadejo simply rocks in this interview with Don Lemon:

Does the Family Research Council's bland video make the case for gays to join the Boy Scouts?

The Family Research Council just posted its video about the Boy Scouts thinking of lifting the ban on gays and I gotta tell you from my heart:

 It sucks.

Not in the manner of yesterday's video by Janet Porter. While her video contained wild charges of pedophilia and abuse, I'm guessing FRC choose to take the high road and hold back on the hyperbole. Thusly, the organization ends up with a bland video which is just as bad as Porter's.

FRC's video doesn't explain why the organizations feels that gays shouldn't be allowed to become members. But believe it or not, in the first part of the video FRC actually makes the case for gays to be members. After all, what parent wouldn't want their child, gay or straight, to be a member of such an upstanding group which produced leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr.?

 

'Kanye West called 'half a f@g' in blistering homophobic attack' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Duff Goldman, 'Ace Of Cakes' Chef, Offers To Bake Rejected Lesbian Couple's Wedding Cake For Free - In a followup to yesterday's post about a lesbian couple discriminated against for only seeking a wedding cake comes a happy ending.  

Kanye West Blasted As 'Half A Fag,' 'Pioneer Of Queer Sh*t' On New Lord Jamar Track - Kanye West isn't necessarily one of my favorite people but this ridiculous rant by a rapper who chooses to attack him opens a window to the world of what the gay black male has to deal with. Apparently a lot of the homophobia from within the black community comes at us because some folks feel that they are the arbiters of just what encompasses a "suitable black man," i.e. made of stone, not showing emotions, and being a picture of masculinity as improbable to sustain as a Barbie doll's figure is for a woman. I think in Lord Jamar's tribute, I will do some Bette Davis interpretations.  

Boy Scout memo: legal challenges, pressure from churches cited in policy change - Maybe, just maybe the Boy Scouts aren't pulling our legs with its possible decision to change its anti-gay policy. 

 Matt Barber, as mature and measured as ever - Dear American Christians. This is reason one through five why you are losing popularity.  

Transgender woman settles lawsuit with Boston over treatment during 2010 arrest - And I hope the girlfriend got PAID!

Fear vs. fairness in the Boy Scouts - a video presentation

Let's play the comparison game.

The following is that awful religious right video about the phony dangers of gays in the Boy Scouts:




Compare this monstrosity to this video of gay Scouts, leaders, and their families who yesterday delivered 1.4 million petition signatures to Boy Scout headquarters asking that the organization end its "no gays allowed" policy:



In the matter of the Boy Scouts, it is the classic case of fear vs. fairness.

Let's all hope that fairness wins.

OMG! The religious right creates HORRENDOUS anti-gay Boy Scout video!

It's rare that I post more than three times a day, but this is one of the days in which I simply HAVE to make an exception to show you this monstrosity.

It is probably the worse anti-gay video of 2013, but not because it is offensive. It's because of how badly done it is.

Here are a couple of religious right characters talking about how wrong it would be for the Boy Scouts to do away with its "no gays allowed" policy. It simply boggles the mind how BAD this is.

From Janet Porter's attempt to hypnotize you with her eyes, to the awful muddled background voices, it's just terrible:



Editor's note - Someone please save this video because when the religious right sees how bad it is, they are going to either get rid of it or replace it. 

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Don't say gay' bill sponsor Stacey Campfield gets SCHOOLED on TMZ

Stacey Campfield, the Tennessee politician behind that awful "Don't Say Gay" bill in that state recently got schooled big time by the folks at (wait for it) TMZ. This is epically awesome:

Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield -- Homosexuality Is Dangerous - Watch More Celebrity Videos or Subscribe

 

Now allow me to throw out a couple of thoughts.

Campfield oozes with entitlement. He is quintessential anti-gay bigot in that he doesn't look at gays as normal people.  In his small mind, he doesn't see lgbts raising children, going to work, and leading normal productive lives. Instead, he has psychologically dissected us from our sexual orientation and then has transformed said orientation into a sex act (sodomy) which is both not totally indigenous to the gay community and not totally avoided to by the heterosexual community. To him, being gay does not exist, except for an act having to do with penises and rectums.

It's a sad way to dehumanize people and families by reducing them to sex acts thought up in one's fevered imagination. And what's worse, it's not enough for him to believe this way, he wants to codify that ignorant belief into law, which means he wants lgbts and our families to abide by his definition of who we are in spite of the fact that it's a vicious lie.

While Campfield whines about gays not leaving people alone and trying to allegedly shove our lifestyle down people's throats, he is the aggressor. No one asked him to push this law which would bar teachers from talking about gay issues with students and force schools to out gay students to their parents.

Campfield is pushing this law by his own volition. He is forcing his beliefs on gay families. He is doing the throat shoving.

Perhaps if Campfield doesnt' want to be bothered by THE GAYS, perhaps he should practice what he preaches and stop harassing them.

'FRC's Peter Sprigg blistered during CNN interview' and other Monday midday news briefs

This is what happens when a journalist does his/her homework. If this keeps up, the Family Research Council will be doing a "Sarah Palin" and only appear on Fox News: 



 In other news:  

Journalists Win Release of Documents Tracing Right-Wing Funding For Texas Gay Marriage Study - Looks like THIS story isn't dead yet.  

Delaware Bishop Attacks Marriage Equality: ‘Unrestrained Romanticism Damages Marriage’ - Cause apparently love has nothing to do with marriage.  

Santorum: Dropping Gay Ban Will 'Murder' the Boy Scouts - Oh the hyperbole, the hyperbole!

Bakery refuses services to lesbian couple - why the slippery slope argument applies

This situation happened recently involving a bakery in Oregon whose owner refused create a cake for a lesbian couple.

No doubt, if he is found to be violating the state's anti-discrimination law, he will definitely be NOM's newest martyr. Also, there will be - and they are already showing their faces - others who say that why should the lesbian couple worry about him. Why can't they just get their cake from another baker?

Be forewarned. This situation is about more than just a cake. It's a case where the slippery slope argument does apply.

The folks and groups who would defend this baker have never made it clear when they wouldn't defend anyone on the grounds of so-called religious liberty. They have never made a point as to say when they would stop using the religious liberty argument.

In other words, today it may be bakers refusing services to gays. What if tomorrow it's car dealerships or restaurants or apartment rentals?

Personally I hope he is found in violation of the law. It's not that I want him to be forced to bake a cake for a gay or lesbian couple.

A message should be sent this baker and others that their personal religious beliefs do not preclude them from treating every potential customer with the same amount of fairness and dignity.

Video - President Obama says Boy Scouts should be open to gays

You've heard about it. Now here is the video. The religious right is going to blow a gasket.

Good.

NOM losing marriage battle in France

Remember that so-called rebellion against marriage equality which took place in France? That's the large march against marriage equality held in Paris and heavily promoted by the National Organization for Marriage a few weeks ago. It's also the same march whose number of participants fluctuate from from 300,000 to 500,000 to a 1 million, depending on who was telling the story that is.

Well the French government has just sent its answer to that march:

The French National Assembly has approved the most important article of a bill to legalise same-sex marriage.

Deputies voted 249-97 in favour of redefining marriage as being an agreement between two people - not just between a man and a woman.

President Francois Hollande's Socialists and their left-wing supporters backed it, opposed by many opposition UMP and centrist MPs.

The proposals have generated protests and counter-protests for months.

Opinion polls suggest that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, though only about 50% approve of gay adoption.

Correspondents say the ease with which the article passed suggests the bill as a whole will pass.
Debates are expected to go on for more than a week, as MPs discuss hundreds of amendments, most of them filed by the centre-right opposition.

On the way they are expected to approve the other key measure in the bill, which would allow gay couples to adopt children.

Know Your LGBT History - In-the-closet politicians and pastors

In the history of the gay equality in the United States, these things are bound to happen - a fervent anti-gay politician or pastor turns out to be gay himself.  And these folks are usually outed by a hot scandal.

Sometimes you pity them and sometimes you think they got the embarrassment they deserve.

Whatever the case may be, the following video - via the blog Towleroad - looks at a cavalcade of them:




Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Whoops! UK Catholic Church undermines NOM's fake study, core message' and other Friday midday news briefs

Earlier this week, I wrote a post accusing the National Organization for Marriage of stealing an image from the 1963 March on Washington (which was coordinated by an openly gay African-American - Bayard Rustin and where MLK made his famous "I Have A Dream" speech)  to use for its upcoming march against marriage equality. There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not the picture NOM used was in fact from the 1963 March on Washington. Thanks to a Facebook friend, we have a clear picture of the truth. Take this graphic and send it out to all:

In other news:

Gays Can Be Good Parents, But Same-Sex Marriage Is Still Unjust, Says U.K. Catholic Church - Hilarious! In it's zeal to to attack marriage equality, the U.K. Catholic Church undermines that fake study NOM helped push which claimed that gays aren't good parents AND NOM's core message against marriage equality - i.e. that marriage equality should not be allowed because children "need" a mother and a father in the home.

Fumbling damage control: It gets worse for San Francisco's team - Somewhere in the world, former SF quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young are shaking their heads. How did the 49ers screw this one up so badly?

6 Reasons Why This Gay Former Eagle Scout Supports the New Boy Scouts Gay Policy - Awesome piece I support because it's so good and also I like to spotlight  lgbts who know what they are talking about and need exposure to a wider audience.  

Attempt To Repeal Omaha’s LGBT Protections Fails - Nice try dipsticks!