And the winner for the most insane anti-marriage equality comment goes to . . .

What does this pic have to do with this post? Keep reading

When I was a child, I remember a certain horror movie hyping itself by claiming that it was so scary and shocking that viewers would be constantly repeating to themselves the mantra "it's only a movie, it's only a movie."

The reason that I recall this now is because for the past few days, I've been reading the responses on anti-gay sites with regards to the recent SCOTUS marriage equality ruling. As to be expected, the comments have bordered on ludicrous, Biblical, and downright angry.

However, the following comment from the viciously anti-gay news site Barbwire (and emanating from an article by anti-gay activist Michael Brown)  is so insane that it had me constantly repeating "this is why we are winning, this is why we are winning." 

 It was the only thing I could do to keep from screaming.

FlyEagleVA • 6 hours ago 

My thoughts harken to those alien movies where humans are harvested as food. Surrogate babies and invetrofertilization will be the new heroin for homosexual "addicts." Soldiers will steal heterosexual wives from their true marital beds in the middle of the night and place them in birthing tanks. Abortion clinics will turn into adoption clinics for the ruling sodomite class. Only after the children meet the "criteria," of course; the rest will be disposed of. Sadly, that is not the plot of a science fiction movie, but a prophecy if our nation does not repent and rebel.

I wish I could add something to that but I simply can't.

Photo taken from http://brightestyoungthings.com/articles/gay-icon-of-the-week-aliens.htm#

'Photographer loses client because of marriage equality support. Does not care' & other Monday midday news briefs

FRC's Peter Sprigg trying to smile in spite of lgbt victories

Jewish Group, With Hired Protesters, Opposes the Parade - Without a doubt, the single most ghetto anti-gay protest you will EVER hear about. Outsourcing your anti-gay protest to Mexican day laborers? I "ain't mad" at the day laborers. Heck, a buck is a buck.

 A Photographer Lost A Client For Supporting Marriage Equality. His Response Shows Why #LoveWins- That's okay about losing the client because you will get lots more. 

'It's Sad LGBT People Are Unwilling To Be Gracious Winners': FRC Calls For Anti-Gay Religious Law - Whatever. If we had lost, they would still be plotting but it would be to destroy the marriages already made legal. 

We won on marriage. Hiring and housing discrimination are next. - Why, after we have won marriage, the battle for lgbt equality isn't over. Still more to do, folks.  

Everyone should watch John Oliver's segment on transgender rights - And last but certainly not least, we NEED to get together on this one.

  This Is What Happened When Christian Groups Tried To Shut Down Korea Pride - A happy ending to the Seoul pride which began with protestors basically bogarting the event. The protestors  ended up losing.

Repost - Message to the religious right - this isn't about marriage. It's about history

Editor's note - I wrote the following on Nov. 17, 2008  just days after we lost the fight against Prop 8, the bill which would ban marriage equality in California. In light of Friday's final victory for marriage equality (who knew it would take seven years), I am reposting this resonating battle cry as a reminder for us to celebrate this well-earned victory, but never slack off in fighting for equality:




I keep hearing all of this nonsense about us lgbts attacking people, about us using intimidation and violence to oppress people, about us somehow being ugly aggressors. Newt Gingrich (who wrote the book on deceptive messaging during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives) actually accused us of being "secular fascists." Gingrich's attack on us seem to be the prevailing theme with those on the other side of the Proposition 8 argument.

And I think there needs to be some historical perspective on this matter.

 True, Proposition 8 has galvanized our community. We have become a bit more politically engaged in our anger. That is a good thing. However, any display of violence on either side of the argument should never be tolerated.

Nor should letting the religious right frame the moment. I have a few questions to people like Newt Gingrich, Bill O’Reilly, Chuck Norris, Gary Bauer, Peter LaBarbera and the rest who are trying to push this "gay intimidation" image.

Where were you in the late 1970s when Anita Bryant accused us of trying to “recruit” children?

Where were you in 1983 when Paul Cameron accused gay men of stuffing gerbils up our rectums and castrating children? Or afterwards when he went from state to state pushing his phony research papers all designed to make us the boogiemen of American society?

Where were you when Jerry Falwell exploited the AIDS crisis to generate more money for the Moral Majority? Or when those dying of AIDS were cast out of their communities and excommunicated from their churches?

'The Good, The Bad, and The Country Fools' - Reactions and news briefs to SCOTUS marriage equality ruling

Today's victory at the Supreme Court with regards to 50 state marriage equality is victory for not only the present but particularly the future as we craft a world in which the lgbt community (particularly our children)  know that our choices are not dictated by what we are NOT allowed to do, but what we have the ability to do.

You have to be living in a cave with your fingers in your ears to not hear what happened this morning at the Supreme Court. Below are several news briefs to help you understand this most awesome victory:

Gay Marriage Backers Win Supreme Court Victory - With a 5-4 victory like so many predicted. 

Obama Praises Supreme Court's Decision To Legalize Gay Marriage Nationwide - Obama should be especially pleased. With the decision on ACA yesterday and today's decision, his legacy is secure. Now about that Jimmy Carter comparison the right likes to make . . . 

The Beautiful Closing Paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s Gay Marriage Ruling - And another prediction which came true. It was Justice Kennedy who provided the pivotal vote.

 A New Right Grounded in the Long History of Marriage - Let's examine how we got here.

 Frequently Asked Questions about the Supreme Court’s Marriage Ruling - And what happens next. 

However, let's not celebrate too much. There are very pissed-off conservatives:

 Scalia Dissent: SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling Represents ‘Threat to Democracy’ - Making personal potshots at your fellow justices, Scalia? Tacky!

 Huckabee: Obama and SCOTUS Stink Worse than My Grandson’s Diapers - So what have we learned from this . . . I will NOT make any jokes about Huckabee smelling his grandson's diapers.  

'Satan Dancing With Delight': The Religious Right Reacts To The Legalization Of Gay Marriage - AND the rest . . .

Right-Wing Media Respond To Nationwide Marriage Equality: "We Should Weep For Our Country" - Oh yeah. "They mad." 

Map courtesy of  The Movement Advancement Project

Clinton campaign unveils wonderful video on marriage equality

Say what you will about Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign, its video on marriage equality is still absolutely STUNNING:

'Ex-gay' group found guilty of consumer fraud, must refund thousands of dollars

Ex-gay group JONAH  found guilty of consumer fraud

And another nail has been hammered into the coffin of "ex-gay" therapy.

 From The Washington Blade:

A New Jersey jury on Thursday found a group that promotes so-called “conversion therapy” guilty of committing consumer fraud under state law. The verdict came in a case brought against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing in 2012 on behalf of four men who underwent “conversion therapy.” The Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed the lawsuit, argued JONAH violated New Jersey’s consumer fraud law with its claims that gay men could become straight. The Associated Press reported jury awarded the remaining three plaintiffs and two parents $72,000.

“This verdict is a monumental moment in the movement to ensure the rights and acceptance of LGBT people in America,” said Southern Poverty Law Center Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “Conversion therapy and homophobia are based on the same central lie — that gay people are broken and need to be fixed. Conversion therapists, including the defendants in this case, sell fake cures that don’t work and can seriously harm the unsuspecting people who fall into this trap.”

And Buzzfeed:

Filed in 2012, the complaint said that the young men were required to stand naked as part of their therapy and, in one exercise, were told to wrestle away oranges representing testicles from each other. In another exercise, a client said he beat an effigy of his mother with a tennis racket until his hands bled.

In February, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso Jr ruled in a pre-trial decision that the jury could not hear testimony from conversion therapy proponents, including Joseph Nicolosi and Christopher Doyle, who argued that homosexuality is a disorder.

“[T]he theory that homosexuality is a disorder is not novel but — like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it — instead is outdated and refuted,” Bariso ruled at the time.

The jury’s verdict found that JONAH must refund thousands of dollars paid by former clients for violating New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, NJ.com reported.

'Plantiff couples await SCOTUS marriage ruling' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Bayard Rustin

Plaintiff couples on pins and needles awaiting ruling - Still no ruling from SCOTUS on marriage equality and we are ALL - including the plantiff couples - on pins and needles.

 Iowa's Görtz Haus Learns That Refusing To Host Gay Weddings Is Bad For Business - Of course we will probably be blamed for this. Sorry but you can force folks to use a business.  

Logo Honors Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin At 2015 Trailblazer Honors - That's right! And keep those honors coming! Bayard Rustin should be honored continuously! 

Stonewall Inn granted landmark status by New York commission - Sweet! Now we need some Southern lgbt landmarks thrown in the mix.

  Kyrgyz Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Support Moving “Gay Propaganda” Ban Forward - Ugh. This isn't good! 

 Barber: Gay Rights Activists Are 'Pawns' Of Satan - Ah yes. There is that repulsive homophobia which I miss . . .

When gays say 'equality,' some conservatives can't help but to think of sexual intercourse

You ever notice how so many times when we talk about lgbt equality, anti-gay figures always try to make the conversation about gay men having sex?

Check out this snippet of an interview between Al Jazeera America anchor David Shuster and Cathie Adams, former Texas GOP head. Adams is attempting to justify the discredited the idea of "ex-gay therapy."

The portion beginning at 3:55 simply boggles the mind. Shuster is biting his lip so hard to keep from laughing that he should have just done it :

Editor's note - I apologize for the fact that the video has been taken down. Please try this link, courtesy of my buddy, Richard Sparrow:

 http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/Ali-Velshi-On-Target/2015/6/why-i-endorse-gay-conversion-therapy.html

'Alan Keyes blames gays for Charleston Massacre' & other Wed. midday news briefs

I should have titled this post  'Alan Keyes is an idiot.'

Alan Keyes Suggests Charleston Massacre Was Gay Rights Terrorism - So Alan Keyes is linking Dylan Roof, that awful man who initiated the shootings in Charleston, to lgbt equality? What the @!#%!*!!!! 

Family Acceptance Is The Biggest Factor For Positive LGBT Youth Outcomes, Study Finds - And that's just common sense.  

FRC flat-out lies about Gen X and marriage equality; typical but no less egregious - The Family Research Council is caught lying (it's like always for this group).  

Annual Black Pride Festival Takes on New Urgency in Wake of Charleston Shootings - SC Black Pride is holding its 10th anniversary. It's sweet that an organization I helped start is still going strong and especially poignant this week.

 Feds Order Federal Employee Health Plans To Cover Transgender Health Services - Because it's the right thing to do.

Conservatives attempting to piggyback on Charleston tragedy to attack gays

The recent events in Charleston are bad enough. Unfortunately, Bryan Fischer and a few other anti-gay conservatives are attempting to make things worse by tying in the move to remove Confederate flags from places of honor at state houses to attacks on gays. They are claiming that the rainbow flag represents anti-Christian hate and should also be removed:

I am not aware of any rainbow flags flying at state houses but making ridiculous assertions has never stopped Bryan Fischer. And as The New Civil Rights Movement points out, Fischer is not the only conservative exploiting Charleston to attack gays:

'Anti-gay right moving to drama queen mode, Huckabee becoming delusional,' & other Tues midday news briefs

Mike Huckabee

Martyrdom And Dominion: Religious Right Conference Prepares For A 'Spiritual Battle' Against Gay Marriage - As we move closer to the POSSIBILITY of 50 state marriage equality, the religious right is moving into getting serious drama queen mode and are also getting confused. They don't know whether to become martyrs or attempt to take "total control." I personally wish they would make up their minds. 

 
‘One Million Moms’ attacks LGBT-inclusive Chobani, Tylenol pride month ads - These ads contained no nudity, nothing of a sexual nature, and profanity or violence. They just simply acknowledged that gay couples are raising children. OH YEAH. Pass the pitchfork.

  No, High Suicide Rates Do Not Demonstrate That Transgender People Are Mentally Ill - Zack Ford of Think Progress refutes some serious nonsense.  

Huckabee Announces Support For Term Limits – For Supreme Court Justices - Mike Huckabee has it confused. To be president, you must convince voters that you have the best plan for the country. It's not a race regarding how many times you show your ignorance.  

Mike Huckabee Pledges To Block Gay Marriage If Elected President - Doesn't mean that Huckabee won't try, though.

Disgustingly anti-gay documentary has an atrocious theme song to match

In several posts, People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch has been chronicling a wacky and vile anti-gay documentary by infamous activist Janet Porter.

This documentary ironically called "Light Wins" features Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul, as well as lots of discredited information such as the work of anti-gay activists John R. Diggs and David Barton.

Central to this documentary, as with anything anti-gay,  is the claim that gays are wanting to recruit children. The following is a clip featuring that madness:

And hold on to yourselves. This documentary has its own theme song, which is as bad as the documentary itself:



How in the hell is someone supposed to "tootsie roll" to that?

'Documentary looks at U.S. government's nasty war on gays' & other Monday midday news briefs

FBI director J. Edgar Hoover - rumored to be gay but helped to wage an ugly war ON gays

Uniquely Nasty: The U.S. Government's War on Gays - A documentary looks at the time in history where the United States government actively and specifically waged war against the gay community. Actions happening in the past may seem to be in the past, but the repercussions always come back to bite us in the behind. It would do the lgbt community well to remember ALL of our history. It's always nice to remember events like Stonewall, but we shouldn't forget the events which led to Stonewall nor the folks who had to endure the awful indignities during those times so that we wouldn't have to. Especially when folks are attempting to push a false narrative of "intolerant gays." 

How LGBT Teachers Deal With Intolerance Across The Country - While we are waiting for the SCOTUS decision on marriage equality, let's not forget the other issues the lgbt community has to deal with. 

 IBM cancels ribbon-cutting because of Bobby Jindal’s anti-gay executive order - Sock it to 'em, IBM!!!!  

GOP Candidates Vie to Be Most Antigay at Rightwing Event - While America was dealing with much more pressing issues last weekend, the anti-gay right had another one of their homophobia festivals. 

 Mike Huckabee: Fight Gay Marriage Like Dred Scott Ruling With Civil Disobedience - Yeah, but just WHO fought the Dredd Scott decision with civil disobedience? I may be wrong but I don't think Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in response to the Dredd Scott decision.

Marriage equality explained by 'The Golden Girls'

The SCOTUS decision on marriage equality will be coming this week or next week. While we keep our fingers crossed, let's not forget that this is a simple issue. The opposition will try to complicate matters by their talking points and scary anecdotes, but the following clip from The Golden Girls says it all about why us gay folks want marriage:

'Huckabee cannot sign NOM's anti-marriage equality pledge because . . .' & other Friday midday news briefs

Huckabee's grandstanding may have backfired.

Mike Huckabee can't sign NOM's marriage pledge; he's already vowed to not - Uh oh. Huckabee can't sign NOM's ugly anti- marriage equality pledge. At least unless he goes back on his word. I just LOVE this! 

 Brian Brown Suggests Terry and I Stole Our Son from His Biological Parents - Yesterday, I pointed out how Brian Brown said some awful things about Dan Savage's family. Later that day, Savage wrote a very polite but direct answer. And by the way, I do not blame Dan's husband, Terry, for what he said to Brown. 

This trans woman just became the first to sing at a professional sporting event - Yes this is a landmark happening. Positive visibility is always a good thing. And I bet she was awesome.  

First ever gay couple graduates from Boston Police Academy - Not bad. Not bad at ALL! 

Chad And Jeff's Story From The Let Love Define Family Series - We can't EVER get enough happy stories about same-sex parents and their children.  

Former Religious Freedom Ambassador Debunks Right-Wing Myth That Obama Ignores Christian Persecution - Not that it's going to stop the religious right from spinning lies. But it's still good to have clarification.

NOM's anti marriage equality pledge would undermine presidential candidates

Below is the pledge The National Organization for Marriage wants candidates for president to sign. The pledge would undermine the Supreme Court should it rule for marriage equality.

It also includes a couple of other things which should send a chill up your spine.  Needless to say that anyone who signs this junk will NOT be making their residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after 2016 (click on image to enlarge):

Hat tip to Jeremy Hooper

'NOM's Brian Brown calls out Dan Savage's family' & other Thur midday news briefs

Senator Pinckney's desk is veiled in black today in honor of his legacy. pic.twitter.com/4KneVVPj3I

— Zeke Stokes (@zekestokes) June 18, 2015

Editor's note - I was contemplating not posting another piece in light of that awful terrorist act in Charleston last night. Yes it was a terrorist act and I will not rehash it to prove my point. There is no need. My prayers and condolences got out to all of the victims (the deceased and their families) and I hope we can learn something. How many times must this happen before we all get down to discussing the things which keep us down?  

For those who want to know more, Buzzfeed is consistently updating about the incident.

I am only posting because I feel my news briefs are still needed, even on a day like today:

Audio: The one where Brian Brown attacks @FakeDanSavage's son at an anti-gay church conference - So even after being invited into Dan Savage's home, seeing his family, and having a discussion about the importance of ALL families, NOM's Brian Brown pulls this mess. Not smart, my friend.

Michigan GOP Lawmaker Wants School Officials Held Criminally Liable For Teaching Students About Homosexuality - Anti-gay state legislator Gary Glenn teams up with anti-gay activist Janet Porter. Vulgarity ensues.

Pledge Pressures Republican Presidential Candidates To Reinstate Anti-Gay Discrimination - Just. try. it. 

South Bend Mayor: Why Coming Out Matters - His message is important.

Tips for reporting (and not reporting) the upcoming SCOTUS marriage equality decision

Media Matters suggests five "do's and dont's" for the media when covering the upcoming SCOTUS decision on marriage equality.

I personally think these tips would work just as well when it comes to covering lgbt equality issues and this so-called cultural war. Attached are three of the tips:
  

DON'T Cite Debunked Horror Stories

In recent debates over marriage equality, anti-LGBT groups and activists have trotted out the same tired "horror stories" about the supposedly negative consequences of same-sex marriage on religious liberty, including that:

• public schools will be forced to teach children about same-sex marriage
• churches will lose their tax exempt status if they don't perform same-sex weddings
• religious adoption agencies that refuse to serve same-sex couples will be shut down
• pastors will be forced to officiate same-sex weddings

All these claims were thoroughly debunked years ago, but news outlets tend to cite them without checking the facts. Journalists should avoid lending credibility to anti-equality myths and hold commentators who push this kind of misinformation accountable.

DO Accurately Identify Anti-LGBT Commentators 
 
Mainstream media often fail to give their audiences relevant information about guests they ask to comment on marriage equality. If a guest represents an anti-LGBT hate group for example -- like the Family Research Council or American College of Pediatricians -- identifying the person as such is essential to providing audiences the context they need to assess that guest's point of view. On CBS' Face the Nation this past April, Bob Schieffer exemplified how the media should introduce such opponents when he accurately identified one of his guests as the president of an anti-gay hate group. Schieffer's decision to properly identify Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, infuriated anti-LGBT conservatives, who rely on softball media interviews to whitewash their extreme positions. Anti-LGBT groups also frequently use legal scholars and academics to advance their talking points without revealing the animus that motivates their work.

DON'T Pit Gay Rights Against Religious Beliefs
 
Pitting religious communities against proponents of marriage equality is a common practice in the media, but it ignores the fact that most religious people support legalizing same-sex marriage. Media outlets have historically had trouble separating anti-LGBT animus from sincere, mainstream religious belief, framing the debate instead as a "God vs. Gays" issue. A recent study found significant margins of people in major religious groups -- including 84 percent of Buddhists, 77 percent of Jews, 60 percent of Catholics, and 56 percent of Orthodox Christians -- support same-sex marriage. Among all religiously affiliated Americans, supporters are in the plurality, with 47 percent favoring same-sex marriage, compared to 45 percent who oppose it.

Aside from misrepresenting support for marriage equality among religious people, elevating the "God vs. Gays" myth reinforces the right-wing campaign for anti-LGBT "religious freedom" laws. Coverage of the marriage equality decision will offer media outlets an opportunity to accurately portray the support for same-sex marriage among religious groups, and dispel inaccurate tropes about religion and gay people.   

The rest of the "do's and don't's - DO Rely On Empirical Evidence, DON'T Cite Flawed Social Science - are equally important. Check them all out here

GLAAD's wonderful documentary short spotlights South Carolina's lgbt community

From The Huffington Post:

The 20-minute film, "GLAAD Presents: State of Change -- South Carolina," was produced as part of GLAAD's Southern Stories program and is the first in a six-part series of short documentaries that aim to accelerate acceptance of LGBT people living in the American South.
\
 . . .The documentary screened in Charleston, South Carolina on June 15 as part of GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour, a six-state, 10-city tour across southern states. GLAAD officials will meet with LGBT citizens as well as allies during the tour to spotlight their stories in local and national media.

 I saw this last night at the Nickelodeon and thought it was wonderful. One of the people you will see in this short documentary is USC professor Ed Madden, the man responsible for my eight years of hell-raising when he once remarked, "Gee, Alvin. Why don't you start a blog."

(In my best "Peg from Married with Children" voice) Thank Ed, everyone.

'Ryan Anderson - an anti-lgbt activist on the rise with help of junk science' & other Wed midday news briefs

Ryan Anderson peddles anti-lgbt junk science in a "nice" way.

Meet Ryan Anderson, The Anti-LGBT 'Scholar' Peddling Junk Science To National Media - When Michelangelo Signorile and the rest of us intrepid lgbt activists say that the battle for lgbt equality is not over SHOULD SCOTUS rule for marriage equality, people like Ryan Anderson are the reasons why. Anderson is the new face of anti-lgbt activism - intelligent, less fire and brimstone and more attempts to form "logical" arguments which speak against marriage equality and lgbt equality in general. Silly jokes about his possible homosexuality won't work on him. They have the opposite effect because this young man wraps himself in self-victimization like a second skin. BUT, as with all anti-lgbt activists, he has flaws in his arguments and sources. Educate yourselves on him because unfortunately you will be seeing and hearing more from him.

New Study Shuts Down Common Claim Against Same-Sex Parenting - Yet ANOTHER study proving that same-sex parenting is no danger to children. I'm all for it because the more studies proving this, the better when folks like Mike Huckabee, etc claim that our raising of children is simply a "social experiment."  

Pope Francis's Comments On Heterosexual Parenting Alienate Gay Catholics - But someone needs to tell the Pope about this study. He came around on climate change, now how about same-sex parenting.  

We Deserve Representation, Too - A letter to the editor by me published in The Free Times, local newspaper. Apparently the gay vs. black divide has hit the city of Columbia by way of a human relations committee and a ministry association wanting to play the "Oppression Olympics." The head of the association needed to be reminded that lgbts of color exist. It's always pleasant to be complimented on what I write, but writing stuff like this always depresses me simply because while I receive kudos and lots of reads, it generates NO needed discussion. Kinda like the column of mine about the systematic erasing of lgbts of color from Black history & the Black community, which was published last year by The Huffington Post. I got a lot of read and positive comments, but still no needed discussion by the folks who really should be having one. Unfortunately a large part of the African-American community either love playing the "black vs. gay" argument or pushing narratives which see lgbts of color pleading for acceptance from their heterosexual black brothers and sisters. Nothing too defiant or assertive because it scares people too much to talk about.

 'Spiritual warfare' on gay marriage declared by Southern Baptists - Oh stop it already. The Southern Baptists have declared "spiritual warfare" on lgbts so many times that at the beginning of every year, we mark the date they will make the announcement on our calendars.  

North Carolina Teacher Quits After Reading Gay Fairy Tale To Third Grade Class - I really wish he hadn't have done that.