NOM's Maggie Gallagher caught in a huge lie about 'ex-gay' therapy

Maggie Gallagher

One of the most annoying qualities of National Organization for Marriage former head Maggie Gallagher is how pathetically transparent she is when it comes to lying.

Last week is a perfect example. On July 15, she made the following statement in the National Review:

Chuck Limandri, my old friend from the Carrie Prejean, Prop 8 fights, is a heckuva a lawyer and one brave man. He’s taking on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s massive legal machine to defend the right of Jewish gay people to seek help:

“If SPLC wins this landmark legal case, it will communicate to gays and lesbians seeking to conform their sexual lives to Torah values that they are second-class citizens, without the same right to seek help that other gay people enjoy,” said Limandri.

SPLC is using consumer-fraud laws to try to bankrupt these small nonprofits and if it wins this case has announced plans to take it nationwide against 70 groups offering some form of sexual-orientation-change efforts. They must not want publicity because this landmark case is flying under all media radar screens.

Limandri is defending a Jewish ex-gay therapy group, JONAH from a lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center for consumer fraud. By her statement, Gallagher was giving support not only to JONAH but the practice of ex-gay or "reparative" therapy.

Doing this contradicts not only her but NOM's talking points that they are merely attempting to protect marriage.

So what did Gallagher do to cover up her inadvertent comment? She lied like a rug. In the July 18th edition of National Review, she said the following:

My last NRO post on Chuck Limandri and the ConscienceDefense.org case he will argue tomorrow in court in Jersey City has generated predictable headlines in the gay/left press that I’m now backing “conversion therapy.” I don’t back something called “conversion therapy.”  I don’t even really know what conversion therapy is, and I’m not qualified to express an opinion on a particular kind of therapy.

I back the right of gay people to seek the kind of counseling help they want, not the kind the SPLC lawyers want them to have, including help to live their sexual lives with integrity, according to their own values, not the SPLC’s values. That’s all.

And there is the immature quality of lying in the face of insurmountable proof. According to Equality Matters:

Gallagher is lying. In 2001, she wrote an article for Townhall.com explicitly calling for more federal funding for research into "ex-gay" therapy, calling homosexuality "a sexual dysfunction":

Dr. Robert L. Spitzer is a brave man.

He was a brave man back in 1973 when, as a member of the American Psychiatric Association's Task Force on Nomenclature, he met with gay activists. As a result of his intervention, the APA, while rejecting the argument that homosexuality is "a normal variant of human sexuality," agreed it "does not necessarily constitute a disorder."

He was an even braver man this week when he reported the results of a new study of 200 "ex-gays": "(S)ome people can change from gay to straight, and we ought to acknowledge that," as he told the Associated Press.

Furthermore, in the first National Review post regarding the JONAH lawsuit, Gallagher bragged about being chairman of Limandri's group. Surely she must have known about the lawsuit beforehand.

Finally, how could Gallagher not know a thing about reparative therapy when her group, NOM issued support of JONAH in the lawsuit on its blog with language and tone almost similar to what Gallagher used in her National Review post:

On Friday my friend and hero Chuck LiMandri (who was one of the first to help us get Prop 8 on the ballot!) will be in court in New Jersey, taking on the goliath Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and its new militant attempt to misuse consumer fraud laws to attack a small Jewish nonprofit named JONAH that helps observant Jews with same-sex attraction live according to the Bible's laws.

This is one of the hugest stories you've never been told by the media: the SPLC wants to use its $250 million budget and 7 full-time staff lawyers to bankrupt therapists, counselors, and religious nonprofits that offer help to people with unwanted same-sex attraction. And they are misusing "consumer fraud" statutes to do it.

I suspect SPLC picked a Jewish service organization first because they were hoping many of us in the Christian community would ignore it. But whatever you think about sexual orientation, it's wrong to tell people they can't ask for help to live their sexual lives as they choose, not as the SPLC's lawyers want them to do.

It's Gallagher's incredible audacity to tell a blatant lie in the face of so much contradictory evidence which has led many to see NOM for the fraudulent organization that it is.

So I say, keep it up, Maggie! Keep it up!

Know Your LGBT History - Gays in Film

Let's play a game. How many of the following movies can you name. Feel free to list them in the comment section. A special no-prize goes to those who can name which ones were Oscar nominees/winners:


 

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Religious right spokesperson - Disney Channel is dangerous because it shows gay parents' and other Friday midday news briefs

Porter: Disney Channel Unsafe for Kids Because of Lesbian Moms - Cause apparently Disney showing same-sex parenting is the next phase in our plan to take over America, make Judy Garland's birthday a national holiday, or whatever . . . 

Matt Barber: Parents of trans kids should be tried for child abuse - When people ask why do I give attention to the madness of the religious right, I tell them because it makes my job easier. Letting them hang themselves keeps me from getting rope burn.

National Organization For Marriage Defends Ex-Gay Therapy As A Religious Liberty - A key part of this story? After backing "ex-gay" therapy earlier this week, Maggie Gallagher is doing a moonwalk worthy of the late Michael Jackson. 

 NOM Embraces Group Being Sued For Cruel, Degrading Forms Of "Ex-Gay" Therapy - And THIS is the ex-gay therapy NOM is supporting.  

Eugene Delgaudio Finally Disciplined By Loudoun County Board of Supervisors - Using taxpayer money for private anti-gay activities? This one bears looking at.

Absent fathers, marriage equality are NOT connected issues

The National Organization for Marriage is pushing chart by another group, the Heritage Foundation, which supposedly shows the dangers of marriage equality or as they put it "redefining marriage."

But there is one HUGE problem with the chart. It has nothing to do with marriage equality, but the dangers of fathers not being present in their children's lives:

In an attempt to connect the chart with marriage equality, Heritage Foundation member Ryan T. Anderson says the following:

“[R]edefining marriage further distances marriage from the needs of children and denies the importance of mothers and fathers. Redefining marriage rejects as a matter of policy the ideal that children need a mother and a father,” explains Heritage’s Ryan T. Anderson. “Redefining marriage diminishes the social pressures for husbands to remain with their wives and children, and for men and women to marry before having children,” he continues.

In other words, according to the Heritage Foundation, marriage equality (notice how they attempt to change the term to "redefining marriage") leads to more single-mother families mired in poverty.

Bear in mind that the Heritage Foundation offers no proof that marriage equality leads to single-mother families.

And that amazingly brazen leap of logic is why NOM, the Heritage Foundation, and those who support their endeavors against marriage equality are losing the fight.

House Republicans abandon marriage defenses

After spending over $2 million on a disastrous defense of DOMA, House Republicans are abandoning it. From Buzzfeed:

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders announced in a court filing Thursday that they will not defend remaining statutes similar to the Defense of Marriage Act that ban recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages.

The move comes three weeks and one day after the Supreme Court ruled in Edith Windsor’s case that the federal definition of marriage in DOMA was unconstitutional because it banned the federal government from recognizing same-sex couples’ marriages.

“[T]he House has determined, in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Windsor, that it no longer will defend that statute,” lawyers for the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), controlled by House Republicans, wrote about veterans’ benefits statutes that similarly ban recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages.

“The document from the legal team speaks for itself,” House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, told BuzzFeed, when asked for comment on the move.

You can read the rest here. But I think Boehner and company owes the American people some sort of parting gift. After all, it was our money.

'Ex-gay leader compares himself to Harriet Tubman, creates WANTED poster to match' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Any 'ex-gay' leader who compares himself to Harriet Tubman and creates a WANTED poster to match can't be all there. That's just my opinion. Apparently he compared himself to Jesus, too. More about DL Foster here - Ex-Gay Pride Leader: I'm Harriet Tubman and Right Wing Watch Are Slave Catcher 

In other news

FRC's Sprigg admits it: ENDA opponents want 'right' to brand LGBT people as 'immoral' - Why Peter, ENDA won't keep you from branding us as you usually do. You just won't be able to use the law to codify your homophobia.

COMMENTARY: Refusing service in the name of religion is never acceptable - FINALLY, someone with a prominent position in the media is loudly voicing what I have been asking in regards to this "religious liberty" argument.

Media Outlets Are Ignoring One Of The Most Significant Non-Discrimination Bills In LGBT History - I'm sure that they will remember it enough to invite Tony Perkins to come on their shows for a one-sided inaccurate monologue about the lgbt community.

'Porno Pete' LaBarbera is talking about 'nude street fairs' again

While Bryan Fischer attacks the military for its supposed "hypermasculine homosexual" soldiers, Porno Pete LaBarbera is preparing us for the Folsom Street Festival in San Francisco:

 Below is the “official” promotional poster for the Folsom Street Fair, an annual, sadomasochism-celebrating street festival in San Francisco. The “fair” is notorious for its open-air perversions, mocking of religion [also see this], sadistic whippings, “master-slave” couples, and full nudity — and the latter will be allowed again this year due to an exemption granted to FSF to a new anti-public-nudity law passed by city supervisors. Words can barely convey the evil captured by this image — a rebellious wickedness that comes from glorifying sin in defiance of the wholesome boundaries for sex established by God. Folsom is also the creepy cousin of “gay pride” and “diversity” — there would be no Folsom Street Fair were there not first a “gay” revolution, with its ground zero in the homosexual Mecca of San Francisco. Click on the graphic to enlarge, if you must

For the uninitiated, it's like this every year.  Folsom has its street fair and LaBarbera wrings his hands in abject - and fake - shock. Then he, or one of his associates, manages to show up, take pictures (omitting the heterosexuals participating in this event), and go into graphic details about what they allegedly saw. Very. graphic. details.

It used to play well in parts of the conservative media, but other than a brief media blitz on Fox, LaBarbera's sad attempt to connect this subcultural event to the larger world of lgbt activism always falls on its face.

Its no longer interesting anymore. But it's always fun to report about.

'NOM ally: Gay parenting is child abuse' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

NOM hero Robert Oscar López: Gay parenting is abuse - It takes a special type of vicious coward to write the following: . . .

I stand by my point of view, made in recent American Thinker and Public Discourse articles, that same-sex parenting is inherently abusive of children. I know that hurts a lot of gay and lesbian people's feelings, but there's really no nice way to state this. . . . Same-sex parenting flagrantly violates children's rights, deprives them of inalienable rights, and risks inflicting grievous emotional distress on them, with no justification whatsoever, other than the whims of adults. It is abuse. It is abuse. Face it.

Be advised, NOM. You had better put your ally in check. Otherwise we will attach him to you like a surgeon attaches an arm. The link provided includes the link to Lopez's original column. If you feel inclined, send him a response. Be respectful but you would be amazed what you can say while being respectful.

In other news:

 Marriage Equality Is Officially Law In The United Kingdom - Not bad. Not bad at all.

 Ken Cuccinelli Launches Website Defending Anti-Sodomy Law - What in the . . .

 LGBT Homeless Youth Documented In 'Queers in Exile' At The Leslie Lohman Museum (PHOTOS) - A sad side effect of NOM, FRC, and the rest of that bunch hogging up the camera time. Important issues like this get lost in the shuffle.

Take out 'gay.' Put in 'black' or 'Jewish'

I've got a new thought. Every time a member of the opposition plays the "I'm being picked on and called a bigot simply because I believe in Christian values" card, they should be made aware of this video featuring - your friend and mine - Matt Barber and Steve Crampton. I mean you want to talk about bigotry, ignorance, and homophobia defined in less than three minutes, take a gander. The hate here is so universal that you could substitute the word "African-American" or "Jewish" for "homosexual" without batting an eye:

RED ALERT! The GAY AGENDA has been compromised! Repeat, the GAY AGENDA has been compromised!

I hate to be the one to tell you all this, but time to initiate Plan Z, which is to shred all documents and hide in the closet in wait of further instructions. Our agenda has been compromised and revealed! Repeat the gay agenda has been compromised and revealed and we have only 90 minutes before Fox News and the religious right invade our headquarters.

 Editor's note - Just in case you are wondering, the above video is a scene from Run, Ronnie, Run starring David Cross and openly gay actor Scott Thompson. Doesn't it make following video, which was meant to be taken seriously,  look absolutely stupid:
 

'Anti-gay spokesman claims Army being overrun by 'hyermasculine homosexuals'' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Bryan Fischer, Anti-Gay Spokesperson, Claims Army Overrun By 'Hypermasculine Homosexuals'- Wishful thinking on the part of Fischer probably right before his other wish to re-enlist. 

 
And now Maggie Gallagher is defending 'ex-gay' therapy - No more pretense or lies from Gallagher on this one. So much for "unfairly being labeled as a bigot."  

STUDY: Kids Are Impacted By Their Parents’ Relationship, Not Their Sexual Orientation - Yet another study contradicts anti-gay mess about same-sex households and children.  

Eric Ohena Lembembe, Gay Rights Activist, Tortured And Killed - Our lgbt brothers and sisters in rabidly anti-gay countries need our prayers and actions.

Children raised in same-sex homes speak out, stand up for their families

Instead of hearing all of the junk, the lies, the distorted studies, and the cherry-picked studies about children in same-sex households, let's hear what these children have to say when it comes their families for a change. It's about time, too.  I would rather listen to them than Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher, and the rest of that bunch.

Hat tip to Think Progress

Anti-gay Congressman Louie Gohmert demonstrates why lgbts are winning the fight for equality

Via the folks from Right Wing Watch (who will probably send me a bill for the citations), comes Rep. Louie Gohmert with a snippet of a speech earlier month which indicates just why the lgbt community has been successful lately in our fight for equality. I mean how in the heck can anyone defend anything with this mind-boggling train of thought.

'Ex-Gay Pride Month gets canceled' and other Monday midday news briefs

"Ex-Gay" Pride Month Is Canceled - Well that event died quickly. Now the creators of this mess is claiming that they are being threatened, but come on. Since when is uproarious, uncontrollable laughter and incessant, but much deserved, mocking by members of the lgbt community considered as threats?

Event’s Sponsor Makes Unsubstantiated Charge That ‘Security Threats’ Are Responsible For Event’s Termination - Speaking of which.

Bryan Fischer links Zimmerman verdict to DOMA, Prop 8; because of course he did - "We can always count on Bryan Fischer to make us look morally superior." - a joint statement put out by Atilla the Hun, Ivan the Terrible, etc. 

 Black, Gay, American - The Advocate posts an awesome piece on being black and gay in America.

Terminally-ill gay man and his partner get their wedding

Incredible story which needs more attention:



According to John Becker of Bilerico:

John Arthur and Jim Obergefell have been together for more than 20 years. When the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Defense of Marriage Act last month, they decided that they wanted to marry. But there were two major problems: the couple lives in Ohio -- which has a constitutional marriage discrimination amendment that makes same-sex marriages illegal -- and John is bedridden with a debilitating terminal disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which progressively robs its victims of voluntary muscle function.

John receives care from Crossroads Hospice, which gives its patients the gift of a "perfect day." . . . all John wanted was to finally be able to marry Jim, the man he loves.

As soon as the Supreme Court gave the green light to federal recognition for legal same-sex marriages, the couple began researching where they might be able to marry. Because John is immobile, they had to find a state that would allow Jim to obtain the marriage license by himself, then return with John for the wedding after the requisite waiting period.

They settled on Maryland, which allows just one partner to obtain the marriage license.
But the cost of such a trip was an additional barrier. While Crossroads Hospice was able to cover some costs, including the ambulance ride to and from the airport, the journey required the use of a special medical transport plane wide enough to fit John's stretcher. Chartering this kind of plane costs $12,700.

So Jim reached out to their family, friends, and social networks, asking if anyone "had any connections." But instead of responding with connections, people responded with cash: donations poured in, and the couple collected enough to cover the cost of the plane.

And all of that led to the scene above where the two were married on a Lear Jet, by Arthur’s aunt, Paulette Roberts, who’d been ordained to perform weddings. She performed theirs.

It's a scene and something to remember the next time one hears the mumbo-jumbo pushed about by the National Organization for Marriage and its supporters regarding the true meaning of marriage.

I don't think anything I say can do the video proper justice. Just watch.

Hat tip to John Becker of Bilerico and Towleroad.

Know Your LGBT History - Hit & Miss

For today's post of Know Your LGBT History, I am featuring an item which is not necessarily something in our historical past but something that I predict that will be remembered as noteworthy in the future.

I first read about Hit & Miss on Netflix, which features the first season.

It is a British television series which stars Oscar nominee Chloe Sevigny. According to Wikipedia:

Mia, a preoperative transsexual woman, works as a contract killer. She discovers that she fathered a son, Ryan, with her ex-girlfriend Wendy, who recently has died from cancer. Mia is named by the mother as guardian of the boy and his three half-siblings, who live in a rural farmhouse in Yorkshire. While continuing to work as an assassin, Mia learns to cope with being in a parental role.

In reading the plot, one feels that this show can dangerously cross the line as an insulting attack on the transgender community. But in viewing it, I beg to differ. It's not a comedy, but a rather complex and very good drama.  If you have Netflix, I suggest you take a look at it:

 

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'New anti-gay smear campaign brands same-sex parenting as child abuse' and other Friday midday news briefs

 Conservatives’ New Smear Campaign: Same-Sex Parenting Is ‘Child Abuse’ - Think Progress adds excellent context to the post I wrote earlier today.

Listen up, class—Ms. Gallagher will now lead you in Boycotting Ethics 101 - The more Maggie Gallagher tries to lie in her defense of Orson Scott Cards's bigotry while attacking lgbts for boycotting him (even though her group, NOM, has started boycotts - i.e. Starbucks - the more she continues to dig the hole for Scott, herself, and NOM. To paraphrase President Obama in his second debate with Romney, "please proceed, Sister Maggie La La." 

Fox's Starnes Laments That The Military Doesn't Allow Anti-Gay Insubordination - In which Fox News propaganda artist Todd Starnes fails to turn a case of punished military insubordination into that of "anti-Christian persecution."  

Veterans Health Administration Takes Lead In Providing LGBT Healthcare - Excellent news!  

NOM doubles down with vicious attack on same-sex couples and their children

Lopez

After the recent double loss at the Supreme Court, the National Organization for Marriage is doubling down on attacking same-sex families.

A post on its site is now spotlights a man who claims to have been raised in a same sex household, Robert Oscar Lopez.

That name should sound familiar with to you. Lopez was the same man who made the following unsubstantiated statement about gay suicide victim Tyler Clementi:

Clementi had so much experience with online hookups that he must have started them prior to turning eighteen. When he was a minor, it's probable that he had liaisons with men who were older than eighteen and committing statutory rape. Seen through this lens, society failed not in fostering homophobia, but rather in allowing a culture of abuse to flourish online." 

Jeremy Hooper at NOM Exposed has more information on Lopez:

This man is a conservative activist who has worked with NOM, who has testified against several marriage bills, who filed an amicus brief supporting Prop 8, and has made anti-LGBT activism the key to his public profile.  Incidentally (or not), Lopez came into public prominence at exactly the same time as Regnerus.  And while Lopez has at some points identified as bisexual (he is married to a woman), he is not a member of "the gay community."  This man—who, for added insight, has equated gay parents with "slavers buying children"—is an activist with a clear point of view and agenda.

It's not accidental that Lopez and NOM are now allies. Remember in 2012 when confidential documents from NOM outlined the organization's plans to play the gay and African-American communities against one another? Those documents also included a plan to find a child raised in a gay household to speak against marriage equality.

And it looks like NOM has its patsy and the lgbt community won't be doing itself any favors by ignoring this mess.

The following "glowing" biography of Lopez is from NOM's blog:

Bobby's Story

Prof. Robert Oscar Lopez who recently won his fight for tenure at the University of California, has emerged as a advocate for the rights of children raised by same-sex couples.

The single most effective statement I've every seen was Bobby's testimony before the Minnesota State legislature, on what it was like for him to grow up without a father, but instead with two moms:

On Tuesday Prof. Lopez decided to share more of his personal story, and why he refused to be cowed or silenced:

“We all have or had a father. He's not replaceable with another mother. Sorry, he just isn't.

If the father's not part of our lives growing up, we suffer. There is a vacuum there. Often we seek the missing father's love through means that become self-destructive: over-pleasing bosses or male authority figures, sleeping with older men, drinking, drugs, lousy friends, narcissism.”

For years Lopez endured this self-inflicted abuse, seeking gay relationships with older men. For years he would have been one of those young men who said growing up with two moms and no dad was just fine with him:

“For the vast majority of my life, I didn't think about fatherhood. I grew up without a father around, so it didn't matter to me. I not only had no examples of what a father did--I also didn't care that I had no such examples. In a way I felt like it was cool to have grown up with a lesbian mom and her partner. We were unique. The fact that my father showed little concern for me seemed liberating--it indicated to me that I could show little concern for others, and somewhere a woman or maybe two women could pick up the slack for me. There was a sense of satisfaction in me, as a teenager, knowing that I could leap into the gay life, have all the sex I wanted, and never have to worry about being a dad because I couldn't get anyone pregnant. The thought of being gay was fabulous to me back then, circa 1985. Sex, sex, sex, no kids to worry about. No sacrifices. Best of all, I'd be able to go through adult life never having to revisit the missing figure in my life--the father who wasn't there for me. I could distract myself endlessly from the necessary healing that I'd have to undertake.”

What changed Prof. Lopez life, by the grace of God, was a two-part miracle: falling in love with a woman, and having a child with her:

“My daughter was born and I loved her. I never had a moment of feeling anything toward her but love. But it became very clear, after my little girl was born, that there is a LOT more to being a parent than loving your kid. (This is where same-sex parenting advocates get it all wrong. Love is the least of your worries, the part that comes easiest. It's the duty to be a good parent that's tough.)

My wife didn't mince words; that's not her style. She told me point-blank I would have to be a good father to our daughter."  Change took time and came hard, and it was a choice: “I didn't like fixing things, giving up drinking, or having to stick around and teach my daughter the rules of life. It just wasn't my style.

I was, I realized, just like my dad. I didn't want to be bothered. I didn't feel like a child should cramp my style or impede any of the plans I'd set for my own life. I assumed that as long as I felt something I called love in my heart, I could treat fatherhood as a part-time, temporary job.”

While serving in the Army Reserve in Afghanistan, he realized one day he was hoping to be killed so his wife could collect the $500,000 insurance policy and support their child:

“It dawned on me that day in 2010. I was a piece of [excrement], and there was no excuse for what I was doing. Wanting to die on the battlefield so I could have my cake and eat it too, be called a hero while escaping the task of being a real dad, was lower than low.”

That's when he finally made the choice to take on the magnificent calling of fatherhood and husbandhood and put it at the center of his life.

To break the cycle, finally.

Men do this only when they know they are necessary and important, and cannot be replaced in their children's life.

'LGBT group has anti-gay author pleading for mercy ' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Message From The Gay Community To Orson Scott Card: ‘Try Again, Sir.’-  Sorry Mr. Card but your goose is cooked. LGBTs are consumers with money and we don't forget a thing.

 Kane won't defend Pa. in gay-marriage suit, sources say - That loud pop you hear are religious right heads exploding.  

School Threatens To Kick Out Transgender Nursing Student For Using Bathroom - This is a travesty!

 Video: Bryan Fischer links homosexuality to Eliot Spitzer's dalliances with sex workers - Let me get this right. A heterosexual government official gets into trouble for dalliances with heterosexual prostitutes, but somehow its the fault of the lgbt community?  

STUDY: LGBT Youth Face High Levels Of Cyberbullying - This isn't good at all. Excellent report about a sad problem.

NOM ally attacks gay suicide victim Tyler Clementi, implies that he had many 'online hookups'

This has to be probably the nastiest paragraph that I have ever had the misfortune to read. But it needs to be brought to your attention:

" (Tyler) Clementi had so much experience with online hookups that he must have started them prior to turning eighteen. When he was a minor, it's probable that he had liaisons with men who were older than eighteen and committing statutory rape. Seen through this lens, society failed not in fostering homophobia, but rather in allowing a culture of abuse to flourish online."

Tyler Clementi was the 18-year-old Rutgers student who committed suicide in 2010 after his roommate taped him - without his knowledge - having a romantic encounter with another man.

His suicide sparked a huge amount of attention and helped to shine a light on the problems that lgbt youth have coming out, as well as that of bullying.

 It was a terrible situation for everyone involved. And you would think that those who oppose lgbt equality would have at least a degree of decency and respect to allow him to rest in peace.

Don't fool yourself.

That repulsive paragraph is simply a minor portion of an ugly piece of trash which links gays to pedophilia. It was written by National Organization for Marriage ally Robert Oscar Lopez. Lopez has been making a name for himself by claiming to be a man who was raised in a lesbian household.

According to Equality Matters:

In March, (Lopez) was scheduled to speak at NOM’s anti-equality rally outside of the Supreme Court.His writing frequently appears on NOM’s blog. NOM has called Lopez a “hero,” touted his “excellent” testimony against marriage equality in Minnesota, and asked supporters to pray for him during his efforts to fight marriage equality.  NOM has also repeatedly relied on Lopez’s testimony about being raised by a lesbian couple to argue against same-sex parenting. NOM’s allies have peddled this kind of extreme anti-gay hate speech before. A July 3 blog post by NOM’s Ruth Institute similarly promoted the claim that pedophiles would use gay marriage as a “cover” to acquire children for sexual abuse.

Also, according to Equality Matters, this isn't the first time a NOM ally has exploited Clementi's suicide and besmirched his memory:

 And in February, NOM’s Jennifer Morse suggested that Clementi may have killed himself because he was exploited by a much older man. The Clementi family called on Morse to apologize for her comments, and she was eventually forced to clarify her remarks.

Tyler Clementi was a victim of ignorance. He was young man whose life was snuffed out by societal homophobia and basic nastiness. To throw out nasty, unproven theories regarding his alleged sex life is vile and totally uncalled for. It not only dishonors his name, it disrespects him and his family, who are no doubt still grieving over his loss.

I hope that Lopez will  take back his trashing of Clementi's memory. 

Hat tip to Equality Matters

BUSTED! NOM caught in a huge lie about same-sex households, children

It's almost sad how the National Organization for Marriage can't stop making things up. I caught this from NOM Exposed courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign:

Check out this latest bit of nastiness from the National Organization For Marriage's latest fundraising blast:

More and more academics and social scientists are speaking out about the good of marriage, especially for children, and the serious problems that kids experience when raised by parents in a same-sex relationship. Increasingly, members of the gay community themselves are becoming active, speaking out against same-sex parenting and the emotional trauma they say same-sex relationships can inflict on children. One prominent scholar has argued that society, egged-on by a biased media, demands that we accept and even celebrate a relationship that intentionally injures a child, depriving her of a mother or father, further victimizing the child who struggles with her emotional loss. This same scholar, who was raised by a lesbian mother and her partner, recently wrote in raw and powerful terms that he considers same-sex parenting to be akin to child abuse[NOM] 

Jeremy Hooper, who wrote the post, was quick to point out that NOM wasn't exactly being accurate with its claim that "more academics and social scientists" were speaking out against children in same-sex households. As a matter of fact, he points out that the two examples - including the "scholar" who was raised in a lesbian household - either work with NOM  or have serious credibility issues:

One is Mark Regnerus:

There is one man, Mark Regnerus, who has worked in tandem with the conservative movement to try to make same-sex parenting seem lacking.  The considerable flaws in Regnerus' work are very well documented; the impetus behind his work is equally well known.  And increasingly, Regnerus is becoming a semi-regular pundit on the conservative media and conference landscape.  At this point, his work convinces no one outside the conservative crowd that both spurred and fostered his misapplied research.

And the other is Robert Oscar Lopez:

This man is a conservative activist who has worked with NOM, who has testified against several marriage bills, who filed an amicus brief supporting Prop 8, and has made anti-LGBT activism the key to his public profile.  Incidentally (or not), Lopez came into public prominence at exactly the same time as Regnerus.  And while Lopez has at some points identified as bisexual (he is married to a woman), he is not a member of "the gay community."  This man—who, for added insight, has equated gay parents with "slavers buying children"—is an activist with a clear point of view and agenda.  He is also one person, not a coalition.

In other words, not only is NOM lying but the organization is lying badly.  And this is not the first time NOM has attempted to this shuck-and-jive.

 In 2011 during its unsuccessful fight to keep New York from passing a marriage equality law, then NOM leader Maggie Gallagher cited "legal scholars" who have problems with marriage equality. However, she conveniently failed to mention how none of these "legal scholars" were objective and that one, Robert George, was one of the founders of NOM.


In the case of NOM's sad attempt to astroturf, I think the words of an old man from my church will do:

I hate a liar but I can stand a dumb one!

 

'ENDA moves out of Senate committee and onto the floor' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

ENDA advances with bipartisan backing - ENDA moves out of a Senate committee by a vote of 15-7 with Republican backing. A tremendous victory but also only the first round.  

Why Three Republicans Just Voted For A Pro-LGBT Bill - Think Progress provides excellent context to this morning's vote. 

Why The Media Should Stop Taking ENDA’s Opponents Seriously - And Equality Matters brings up an excellent point about our opponents.

 The First Out Gay Miss South Carolina Contestant Is Incredible - Now about all of those comments about MY STATE of South Carolina being backwards . . .

 GOP Bigshot and NOM Attorney James Bopp Accused of Illegal “Personal Enrichment” - Oh that is terrible! For shame! (hehehehehe!)  

Another Study Confirms Same-Sex Couples Make Great Parents - Look at it this way, Mark Regnerus. You still get to keep your grant money.

Family Research Council's Tony Perkins throws embarrassing tantrum after caught telling 'half truth'

Tony Perkins

Even when the Family Research Council comes out of a situation not looking like total distortion artists, you can always count on the organization to louse it up for itself.

Recently, FRC head Tony Perkins made the following statement on Face The Nation regarding marriage equality:

"We're already seeing bakers and florists and photographers forced to participate in same-sex marriages under the threat of law and in some cases even jail." 

Politifact investigated the claim and found it actually to be half true. But still, Perkins got extremely angry. Here is the part which sent him into orbit:

After the Supreme Court rulings about gay marriage, Perkins said, "We're already seeing bakers and florists and photographers forced to participate in same-sex marriages under the threat of law and in some cases even jail."

We didn't find cases where people were forced to participate against their will. However, if vendors refuse service, there are consequences. There are 21 states that forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation. Vendors who refuse service there could face legal actions and fines.

The "jail" part of Perkins’ claim is an exaggeration. We couldn’t find any evidence that a vendor had been sent to jail or that any legal authority had threatened jail time. In some states, if a business owner loses an anti-discrimination case and refuses to comply with an order, the owner could face jail, but we found no evidence of that ever happening. One state, Colorado, specifically took action to remove the threat of jail.

We rate this claim Half True.

Not this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Perkins and FRC, but Perkins didn't seem to think so:

(Reporter, Amy) Sherman, even after talking to a series of attorneys, concluded -- in an embarrassing avoidance of the facts -- that my comments were only "half-true." Apparently, Sherman's outfit is not only the authority on facts -- but the inventor of them! When Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakes was sued (one of the 13 U.S. business owners we cited who have been harassed or charged) by the Colorado State Attorney General, the law specifically stated that his penalty for violating the "public accommodation" policy could be either hundreds of dollars in fines or up to a year in jail.

In the midst of the Masterpiece controversy, Colorado officials realized what a PR disaster it would be when people found out Jack could be sent to jail for supporting a position on marriage that a majority of Americans share. Immediately, the state senator who sponsored the "anti-discrimination" law raced to repeal to the jail provision, recognizing, as FRC's Ken Klukowski does, that "the American people would recoil in horror at the thought of well-meaning citizens being thrown into jail for refusing to participate in a form of 'marriage' that their personal faith doesn't recogn ize." That said, the Colorado repeal doesn't officially take effect until August -- meaning that Phillips, who was charged in 2012, could still be threatened with a misdemeanor that includes a jail sentence. There's nothing "half-true" about that reality for Jack and his family.

Perkins ended this rant with the following vicious comments about the media:

Unfortunately, the media, in a desperate attempt to downplay the persecution Americans will face for opposing same-sex "marriage," is resorting to lies from its own "fact-checkers." They understand, as we do, that it's harder to vilify someone when you see them suffering for living out their faith. And for dozens of men and women, that suffering is taking place in the form of more than jail time. For them, the nightmare is already here in the form of thousands of dollars in fines, lawsuits, public humiliation, boycotts of their businesses, death threats, and vandalism of their property. This is the real intolerance. And one day, no amount of shoddy journalism will be able to hide it.

One has to wonder just what set Perkins off.  Maybe by the claim that he was exaggerating about jail terms. However, Politifact backed up this assertion:

 The Family Research Council directed us to multiple cases, including one particular case that they argue includes the threat of jail: Masterpiece Cakeshop. In 2012, a gay couple visited the suburban Denver shop in search of a cake for a Colorado celebration following their Massachusetts wedding. After the cake shop refused, the ACLU initiated a complaint on behalf of the two men. The Colorado attorney general’s office later filed a formal complaint which will be heard before the state’s civil rights commission in September. The owner has said, "We would close down the bakery before we would compromise our beliefs." The cake shop’s lawyer, Nicolle Martin, has said if the owner loses he could face up to a year in jail.

In the meantime, though, the Colorado Legislature has taken action to repeal the criminal penalties for discrimination in places of public accommodations, which had included up to a year in jail and/or a $300 fine. The provision had never been used, and the repeal coincided with legislators passing a civil unions bill.

We reached bill co-sponsor state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, who told us that the repeal officially goes into effect in August, and he didn’t believe that a prosecutor would use that part of the law in the last month that it remains on the books.

"A D.A. has to choose to file misdemeanor charges," Steadman said. "It never happened. It never will."

However, since the Masterpiece Cakeshop incident occurred in 2012, Martin said it’s still possible that the law on the books at the time -- which did include jail -- would apply.

"I have received no assurances from the state of Colorado that no prosecution will be pursued even in light of this recent repeal," Martin told PolitiFact.

We checked with both the Colorado attorney general and the local district attorney; no criminal charges are pending.

In other words, it doesn't even look like a jail sentence is even considered for the Colorado case and the elimination of jail time under the anti-discrimination law had nothing do with avoiding an embarrassing PR situation.  Believe it or not, had Perkins stuck to the facts, he could have made a plausible case for taking on the exaggeration claim.

But, for whatever reason, he chose to add all of that other mess about a "plot" to stop a so-called PR disaster and another ridiculous accusation of second media "plot" to downplay so-called anti-Christian persecution.

It makes him seem like less of the leader of a noted Washington morality organization (even though THAT designation is totally undeserved) and more like a man whose tinfoil hat is on so tightly that he can't recognize when folks are actually agreeing with his assertions.

Sounds like Perkins is starting to buy into that junk FRC pushes in order to sway its supporters. If that's the case, then he would be well advised to remember the mantra of those dealing in narcotics:

"Don't get high on your own supply."

Matt Barber - 'I will never accept gay marriage!' Gay community - 'We don't care! We weren't going to invite you anyway!'

I have never in my life seen a bunch of people who have this sadomachistic desire to whine about persecution at every turn. Mr. Barber, not accepting marriage equality is not grounds for persecution. If anything, it's grounds to give thanks to God that Barber is one less drip we have to invite to our weddings:

'Ex-gay group wants YOUR music videos!' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Here is your big chance for stardom. The 'ex-gay' group - Voice for the Voiceless - pushing for July to be declared 'ex-gay' pride month is not only demanding a Congressional resolution but they also are sponsoring a music video contest.

Enter if you want but I should tell you that I have this contest practically won with my song "Denial Just Ain't In Egypt." Now I have to find some semi nude male dancers.

In other news:

Orson Scott Card, Anti-Gay Author, Responds To 'Ender's Game' Boycott Campaign - So Orson Scott Card, the NOM board member who has said many, many venomous things against gays (including something about overthrowing a society which approves of marriage equality and how gays are products of molestation and abuse) is  pleading for "tolerance" now that he is at the mercy of the lgbt consumer community. Okay Orson. How about I promise not to cut one in your face when you are kissing my tuckus. (Oh that was so wrong but it felt sooooo good!)

New Federal Lawsuit Challenges Pennsylvania’s Ban On Same-Sex Marriage - Dagnabit! See what happens when you let lgbts get married in one place. Pretty soon they ALL are going to want to get married!

6 Things That Will Happen Now That The Sanctity Of Marriage Is Destroyed - Just six?

Another GOP Pol Takes the Portman Route As Ohio Kicks Off Petition Drive To Reverse Marriage Ban - Good for him!

Anti-gay groups will lie like hell to stop ENDA

 On July 10, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will be voting on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This means that the lgbt community and our allies had better get our asses in gear because you just KNOW the opposition are getting ready to push the standard lies.

When things like this happen, one thing which we are vitally missing is accurate information to put out there, bombard folks with, or to overcome all of the lies. And one thing we do need to combat with as much vigor as raising hell at a Cher concert are the lies.

According to Media Matters, here are the top six lies that anti-gay groups spread about ENDA. I've condensed the information but click on the links to read the lies in full as well as information to refute the distortions:
  
Myth: ENDA Forces Religious Organizations To Hire LGBT People

Fact: ENDA Includes Exemptions For Religious Organizations


Myth: ENDA Creates Special Protections For LGBT Workers 

Fact: ENDA Extends Already Existing Civil Rights Protections To LGBT People
  
Fact: ENDA Prohibits Preferential Treatment For LGBT Employees


Myth: ENDA Prohibits Employers From Maintaining Dress Codes
  
Fact: ENDA Allows Employers To Maintain Dress Codes

 
Myth: ENDA Increases The Risk Of Sexual Assault In Workplace Restrooms 

Fact: Employment Discrimination Laws Haven't Led To Increased Rates Of Sexual Assault


Myth: ENDA Causes Discrimination Against Religious Employees

Fact: ENDA Only Requires Employers To Prevent Harassment Of LGBT Employees


Myth: LGBT People Don't Experience Workplace Discrimination

 Fact: LGBT People Continue To Face High Rates Of Workplace Discrimination


 For those who need a basic definition of what ENDA will do, the following is it:

ENDA would bar companies from factoring sexual orientation or gender identity into employment decisions. Employers are already prohibited by federal law from discriminating over race, religion, age, gender or disability. The proposal exempts businesses with fewer than 15 employees as well as religious organizations.

Religious right spokesman predicts 'rebellion' and 'revolution' over DOMA decision

Have you ever heard someone say something so dumb, so stupid that the only thing you have to do in order to refute it is to just play the comment back? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver on how marriage equality will lead to a "revolution."

'Marriage equality = slavery?' and other Monday midday news briefs

Alan Keyes: Case for Gay Marriage Same as the Case for Slavery - 'Crazy' Alan Keyes is always so good for a slow news day.

 Actually, NOM, nondiscrimination is an American freedom - Someone should tell NOM that baking, wedding planning, and catering are not religious activities and thus are covered under nondiscrimination ordinances. You give them an excuse to discriminate against gays then who's next? Property owners? Restaurants? 

Focus On The Family Cheers Ongoing Ex-Gay Therapy Efforts - Looks like Focus on the Family is trying to sneak away from that under the radar status which has made them virtually invisible on my blog. 

 Wash. Times' Kuhner: LGBT Movement Waging War On Human Nature - Well I certainly didn't get THAT memo.  

Lisa Ling’s Masterpiece On ‘Ex-Gay’ Myth - Apparently Lisa Ling nailed the 'ex-gay' lie.

  How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - It is a slow news day so what the heck. Might as well do some advertising for my FREE booklet which explains the complexities of anti-gay propaganda in easy-to-understand language.

Family Research Council wants to scare the money from your pockets

In its latest fundraising letter, the Family Research Council left no stone unturned, no fear unexploited, and no lie untold:

I recently wrote you a letter asking you to help FRC seize what I believe is a God-given opportunity -- an open door to stop a rapidly encroaching tyranny in America.

If you haven't yet responded to my letter, I hope you will take a moment to give now.
You see, the scandals that have exploded within the administration of President Barack Obama have the potential to wake up Americans -- and Congress -- to the attack on freedom that is at the core of this administration.

Is it really "tyranny"? You be the judge:

• American families are being forced by ObamaCare to buy health insurance they don't want . . . and which will lead to rationing for the weak and elderly.
• Christians are being forced to buy ObamaCare insurance that funds abortion drugs.
• The IRS has been caught harassing and bullying a growing number of groups, including ministries -- for the "offense" of opposing the Obama agenda.
• Obama awarded the IRS official in charge of the harassment with a promotion and $103,900 bonus.
• The Department of Justice has been caught spying on news reporters.
• The Department of Defense has been caught persecuting Christians.
• The Department of State has been caught covering up the Benghazi scandal and punishing dissident officials trying to blow the whistle.
• Federal officials have stated that homosexual rights will supersede religious rights.

That's just a sample -- and why I need you to give now to help FRC stop this tyranny.
We have a God-given opportunity we must seize now . . .

It goes for a few more paragraphs until ending with not a Biblical verse, but telling you where to find a Biblical verse.

Talk about lazy.

You think after spinning all of that fear, FRC would at least tell its followers to do some praying. The organization doesn't even do that.

I miss the days when supposed religious folks didn't try to scare you about the government in order to pull the money from your pockets:

'NOM connects gays and pedophilia (again)' and other Friday midday news briefs

NOM-Promoted Column: Pedophiles Will Use Gay Marriage As A "Cover" To Molest Foreign Children - NOM sounds so desperate right now.

Pope Francis Excludes Gays and Adoptees From The Definition of Family - Don't tell me. It must have slipped his mind, accidentally. 
 

Paul Scalia, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's Son, Doesn't Think That Homosexuality Is A Thing - The apple doesn't fall that far from THAT rotten tree, does it? 

 Greg Quinlan: President Obama, Justices Kennedy and Kagan Are Secretly Gay - Oh mercy!

Documentary 'exposes' long-term plot to 'homosexualize' America

I've talked about the After the Ball distortion of the religious right more times than I care to count.  In a nutshell, it's like this - the religious right claims that there has been a long-term plot to take over America following the blueprint of a book called After The Ball, which was written by two gay men.

The only problem is that very few gays have ever heard of this book and after they spin the original lie, the religious right don't have anything else to go on to push this belief. They can't tell you the specific names of who is involved in this "plot," any planning sessions, or anything else.

Because it is all a sad conspiracy theory.

Of course when have facts ever stopped the religious right before? And now there is a televised expose on this pathetic nonsense.

Lawd, these people . . .

'Former Congressman tries to exploit Lady Gaga for attention' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Allen West: Lady Gaga Singing 'Home Of The Gay' In National Anthem 'Reprehensible' - And the winner for the most pitiful cry for attention by a former Congressman . . .

 E.W. Jackson: My Anti-Gay Comments Were Taken Out of Context, I'm Just Against the 'Rabid Radical Homosexual Activist Movement' - You gotta admit. He has a lot of chutzpah in trying to push THAT explanation.

 Gay Ambassador Nominee Sparks Controversy In The Dominican Republic - Apparently Dominican Republic Catholic Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez called our ambassador nominee a "maricon." And that means fa@@ot in Spanish. For shame that a church official would use such language. But then again . . .  

Crouse: Gay Marriage Will Lead to the 'Imprisonment' of Christians - ONLY if they forget to celebrate Judy Garland's and Joan Crawford's birthdays

Family Research Council's poor defense of 'traditional marriage'

Peter Sprigg

I dug this up from the Family Research Council webpage. Via their spokesperson Peter Sprigg, it's supposedly Answers to Common Questions/Arguments Regarding the Redefinition of Marriage. It was published before the Supreme Court decision and, to put it nicely, it stinks. It's so generic and rudimentary that a high school student could refute it even after sniffing two whiffs of glue.

I'm actually disappointed in Sprigg. Where are the distorted studies? Where is the cherry-picking that I've known and loved exposing ? Come back, Little Spriggy!

• Q—Shouldn’t everyone have the “right to marry?”

A—Every individual already has the right to marry; but not every couple or group meets the definition of what a “marriage” is.

• Q—How can you deny homosexuals “marriage equality?”

A—The law does not require us to treat things that are fundamentally different “equally.” It only requires us to treat things that are fundamentally the same (“similarly situated”) equally. Opposite-sex unions are similar to same-sex unions in some ways, but are very different because they cannot fulfill the main public purpose of marriage—promoting responsible procreation and the best setting for childrearing.

• Q—Why are you trying to impose a religious definition of marriage upon the civil law?

A—Marriage is not just a religious institution or just a civil institution. At its heart, marriage is a natural institution, rooted in the order of nature itself.

• Q—If the law makes clear that clergy and churches do not have to perform same-sex marriages, doesn’t that protect religious liberty enough?

A—The “free exercise of religion” is not confined to ordained clergy, or within the four walls of a church. If marriage is redefined, religious schools, charities, counselors, businesses, and individual people of faith will all face the risk of being forced to violate their conscience.

• Q—Isn’t the homosexual redefinition of “marriage” inevitable?

A—What is inevitable is that male-female unions will continue to be uniquely important to the future of society. The only question is whether the government will acknowledge that fact, or attempt to deny it. If the redefinition of marriage were inevitable, its advocates could trust the democratic process to bring that about. Instead, they have asked the Supreme Court to impose such a redefinition before the pendulum begins to swing back against them.

• Q—Aren’t supporters of one-man-one-woman marriage on “the wrong side of history?”

A—It is more important to be on the right side of truth. The truth is that it takes a man and a woman to make a child; that men and women are not interchangeable in marriage, but complementary; and that children do best when raised by their own mother and father.

NOM's communications director cuts interview short when asked about children in same-sex households

'Religious right happy about Russian censorship of gays' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Russia Anti-Gay Bill Admired By Some U.S. Conservatives - Surprise! American religious right figures just love the fact that Russia has passed a bill to stop lgbt activism. 

 
Mike Huckabee: 'I'm Neither A Homophobe Nor A Hater,' But Gay Marriage Is Just Like Polygamy - Leave it up to Mike Huckabee to give the lgbt community some of that "Ike Turner" love.  

15 Examples Of Anti-Gay Discrimination Conservatives Want To Preserve - For probably the hundredth time I ask if we allow discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, then where is the line drawn?

  Nothing is Safe: Austin Ruse Upset He Had To See a Lesbian on the Food Network - OMG! And she was cooking food with her wife! Someone call Batman!!

Anti-gay pundit Bryan Fischer gets testy when questioned about his language

One thing is clear after watching this interview between the incomparable David Pakman and anti-gay pundit Bryan Fischer. While Fischer loves to go off on monologues on the so-called evils of homosexuality, when he is questioned directly about his statements, he gets testy and evasive.

Not very sincere or Christian if you ask me.

'Ex-gay' group now appropriating the language of gay equality

You are going to love this.

Apparently according to One News Now, July is "ex-gay pride month." To commemorate the occasion, a group calling itself Voice of the Voiceless is going to Washington on July 31 simply to be seen. Supposedly they will be lobbying Congress and then have a dinner with the Family Research Council where the speakers will be Michele Bachman, Jim DeMint and Congressman Tim Huelskamp, who just introduced the latest attempt of a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality.

All in all, it should be interesting, but what caught my eye was the statement by VOV's president Christopher Doyle:

We are tired of the gay activist lobby discriminating [against] us, marginalizing us and taking away our rights, and we're now fighting back, and we're demanding that if gays are going to get full diversity and equality in America, we also demand that ex-gay voices be heard as well.

Talk about your bizarre language appropriation. This VOV thing is nothing more than fake group whose aim is to cause trouble for those of us who have no problem with our God-given lgbt orientation.

But I wonder how many of them will be in attendance on July 31.

'Anti-marriage equality opponents throw hissyfits, get embarrassed' and other Monday midday news briefs

National Organization For Marriage President Brian Brown: DOMA Decision 'Absolute Travesty' - Awwww! Poor Brian continues to have a hissyfit. 

Rachel Maddow And David Gregory Destroy The GOP’s Last Argument Against Marriage Equality - Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow is her usual brilliant self and apparently David Gregory ate his Wheaties. 

Supreme Court Rejects Petition To Halt Gay Marriages In California - Haters will hate and get embarrassed. 

Anti-Gay Protesters Attack Pride March In Russia - But let's not get too celebratory. Lgbt equality is still a worldwide fight.

Federal Government Begins Extending Employee Benefits To Same-Sex Spouses - Just in case you didn't know . . .

Fear of 'bigot label' a cynical dodge of marriage equality opponents

Almost from the very day we began the argument over marriage equality, opponents have been fretting about how they would be perceived. They have expressed in supposedly sad tones that they merely believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and it was unfair that their "simple and innocent" belief would have them labeled as bigots.

I think Justice Kennedy last week expressed the problematic deception behind this false worry with his words about DOMA. He said DOMA demeaned children in same-sex families by sending them a message that their families are somehow inferior.

In expressing that, Kennedy did not call anyone a bigot. However, to hear the opponents of marriage equality rant and rave, that's exactly what he did. They refuse to notice that by not calling them out specifically, Kennedy was actually agreeing with their notion that their beliefs regarding marriage equality don't make necessarily make them bigots. But he did attack the idea behind opposing marriage equality and you can attack an idea without attacking those who prescribe to that idea.

Now that is the standard view of Justice Kennedy's opinion versus the opponents of marriage equality fretting about being unfairly called bigots.

But it's not my view.

I don't worry about the so-called bigotry of marriage equality opponents because I am bothered by their deliberate evasiveness. Let's be honest. Their whine about being unfairly cast as bigots is a cynical dodge. It's a game many of them play to distract us from a real issue of marriage equality.

And that issue is the one Justice Kennedy so eloquently put. What about the children raised by gay couples?   Why should these children feel that their families are somehow inferior simply due to someone else's personal beliefs?  Why should they be denied rights and self-esteem simply because someone like Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council or Brian Brown from the National Organization for Marriage will not address their very existence while at the same time wax insincerely about being labeled as bigots. Or attempt to blur over the point with meaningless statements about "decades of social science research" supporting their point of view but not naming at least one study which would accurately back them up.

Just as they feel that they have a right to boggart the definition of  "marriage,"  marriage equality opponents feel that they have an equal right to boggart the argument over marriage equality itself until it's less about same-sex families and more about them. As long as they focus all of the attention on themselves, they don't have to address how their point of view actually harms same-sex couples and their children.

And sadly, I think that those leading the charge against marriage equality know this. Their careful avoidance of same-sex couples and especially their children is deliberate.

A little tip, guys. All of the talk about "morality" and "values" don't mean a thing if you employ dishonest methods designed to ignore the rights, needs, or the very existence of your fellow Americans.

Especially when those fellow Americans are children.

Know Your LGBT History - The Death of DOMA and Prop 8

There is no need digging into the past to find lgbt history after this week. What happened on Wednesday at the Supreme Court is big-time:

And just so you know, hours ago, the stay was lifted hours ago, so California gay couples are already getting married.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Discredited anti-gay professor complains about treatment by bloggers' and other Friday midday news briefs

Mark Regnerus: 'Ne'er-do-well bloggers' harassed me - We didn't harass him. We merely brought attention to the fact that he got almost $1 million in "grant money" to manufacture a bogus study about gay parenting designed to sway the Supreme Court. We dragged that sucker through the ringer and he deserved it.

Family Group Lies To Churchgoers About Children - And this is why even after a victory, the lgbt community and our allies must stay vigilant. 

 Brian Sims, Pennsylvania Lawmaker, Silenced On DOMA By Colleagues Citing 'God's Law' - As you can see, some folks have lost their damn minds.

  LaBarbera Reacts to DOMA Ruling: 'Craven' Kennedy 'Sold out Almighty God for a Place in the Gay Hall of Fame' - Porno Pete is mad at Justice Kennedy for not using religion in his ruling. BTW what is this Gay Hall of Fame and how does one get in?

Family Research Council accidentally posts sexual imagery for its event

In an absolutely bizarre development to the Supreme Court's decisions overturning DOMA and refusing to reinstate Prop 8, an anti-gay group is now finding itself being parodied big time.

The Family Research Council sent out a mass email message announcing its Call To Fall event. The event is supposed to be in response to Wednesday's rulings.

However, for such a solemn event, why would FRC create and post a graphic of what looks like a man giving oral sex:

This week just keep getting worse for FRC.

Hat tip to Chris Geidner.