Did anti-gay activist violate American law during trip to Russia?

Brian Brown

Neither Brian Brown nor the National Organization for Marriage is coming clean about Brown's trip to Russia where he made a speech against gay parenting, but they may have to soon.

From the Huffington Post:

National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown made a shocking claim last month that he engaged in a unpublicized trip to Moscow to meet with members of the Russian Duma in June. His intention? To collaborate on legislation that would ban gay foreigners from adopting children from the former Soviet Union.

Now, Brown is coming under fire by Fred Karger, President of Rights Equal Rights, who claims that Brown's actions to help pass this legislation with Russian officials violates The Logan Act, a federal statute that states that it is a crime for a U.S. citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interest of the United States or without authorization of the American government.


In a letter addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General of the United States Eric H. Holder Jr.,, Karger states:

The presentations by NOM’s Brian Brown were apparently very effective. Five days later, the Duma passed a ban on the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples and by single people living in countries that allow marriage equality.  

Immediately after Mr. Brown’s meetings and testimony in the Russian capital, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a severe crackdown on LGBT rights, affecting all LGBT visitors to Russia to include Americans.

If Mr. Brown did travel to Moscow with French religious leaders with the express intention of furthering discrimination against LGBT Russians and all LGBT travelers to Russia, this could be in direct conflict with current United States laws.

For the record, Karger has been a long-time gadfly and disruptor of NOM's goals of ending marriage equality. The former presidential candidate and gay Republican has filed many lawsuits against the organization over disclosure and campaign finance laws in states across the country.

In addition to winning a number of these lawsuits, Karger's actions has also had other negative effects on NOM. It was his lawsuit in Maine over NOM's failure to follow that state's disclosure laws which led to the discovery of the organization's infamous "wedge strategy. This strategy was designed to pit the gay and African-American communities against one another in an attempt to cause problems for President Obama's re-election campaign.

'NOM in trouble with Chicago Tribune' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

NOM's Brian Brown Falsely Attributes Hate-Group Quote To Chicago Tribune - And the Chicago Tribune is NOT happy about it. 

The Values Voter Summit is bringing anti-LGBT extremism back to the fore - Everything you wanted to know about the attendees of the Family Research Council's upcoming "Values Voter" summit. I hope you got a strong stomach and not prone to high blood pressure. 

 Knight: State Should Remove Transgender Child From Home, Charge Parents With Abuse - Robert Knight, my personal nemesis. The only religious right talking head I ever had the opportunity to question face-to-face. It was fun. And his column would be funny if he wasn't dead serious.  

‘Valentine Road’ And The Institutional Failures That Enable Anti-LGBT Bullying - This is such a sad documentary. It takes another look at the murder of high school student Lawrence “Larry” King by his classmate Brandon McInerney

Six methods of lies the anti-gay right uses against the lgbt community

Maggie Gallagher of NOM

Earlier today, I published a post detailing how the National Organization for Marriage was using a junk science study to prop up another discredited study. This post put me in the mind to repeat six techniques used by religious right groups in order to dehumanize and bear false witness against the lgbt community. I've listed them before but a reminder is in order.



1. Using nonrepresentative or out of date studies to make generalizations, or distorting legitimate studies to give misleading conclusions about gays.

Example 1:

“In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age twenty for gay and bisexual men is eight to twenty years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged twenty years will not reach their sixty-fifth birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.” - Getting it Straight, Family Research Council


Truth - In 2001, the researchers of this study complained about how it was being misused. They explained what they actually meant and how it is not feasible to use their work to claim that gay men have a "short life span."

Example 2:

 Alan P. Bell and Martin S. Weinberg studied 574 white male homosexuals, 100 percent of whom had already had at least three sexual partners, 97 percent at least ten, 75 percent at least one hundred, and 28 percent at least one thousand. - House Dems Try to Hide Homosexual Agenda on “Bullying” Bill, American Family Association of Michigan

Truth - Bell and Weinberg’s study was compiled in the 1970s. They used the study to write the book Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity among Men and Women. In Homosexualities is this statement:

“. . . given the variety of circumstances which discourage homosexuals from participating in research studies, it is unlikely that any investigator will ever be in a position to say that this or that is true of a given percentage of all homosexuals.” 

2. Repetition - No matter how many times a religious right factoid about the lgbt community has been proven to be false, keep repeating it as truth. An unfortunate example of this was shown last week by Religious Right Watch. When a study created by Mark Regnerus about the so-called effects of gay parenting was discredited several times in this country, it was referred to and repeated in Russia as evidence of why the country needed to "crack down" on its lgbt citizens.

3.  Conspiracy Theory:

Example:

The ultimate goal of homosexual-rights activists is not to legalize same-sex marriage. Rather, it is to silence those who disagree with them and, if necessary, to throw them in jail. In a world in which the biblical viewpoint of marriage is demonized, it does not take a constitutional scholar to predict that soon those who hold that view will find themselves in court. - Gary Bauer, June 7, 2013, The Washington Times

4. Dire Consequences 

Example: 

NOM is working all across the country to wake people up to the fact that redefining marriage poses an enormous and imminent threat to our precious religious liberties. But we need your help to reach more people and build the grassroots coalition needed to stop these abuses in their tracks. Please click here right away to support NOM's work to defend marriage and the religious liberties of individuals who stand up for it. - National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown in a recent fundraising letter.

Anti-gay group's latest attempt to create junk science on gay households is simply pathetic

Maggie Gallagher

In the midst of all the mess of this government shutdown, the National Organization for Marriage is trying to establish credibility for a discredited anti-gay parenting study via a tactic I like to call "propping."

Last week, the New Civil Rights Movement posted the following:

Maggie Gallagher Touts Another Regnerus-Type Anti-Gay Parenting ‘Study’.

In the article, former NOM head Maggie Gallagher claims that this is "yet another study" which proves the so-called dangers of gay parenting. The point is to build up the credibility of the Mark Regnerus study, which the organization and other members of the religious right attempted to use in order to sway the Supreme Court in its argument involving DOMA and Prop 8.

That didn't work because the lgbt community, specifically the bloggers like myself,  and watchdog sites like Equality Matters were quick to keep this from gaining credibility by pointing out its numerous, numerous faults. In addition, several of Regnerus' colleagues took him to task.

So with this so-called new study, Gallagher seems to be attempting to build up, or "prop up" the credibility of the discredited Regenerus study. However, the New Civil Rights Movement didn't let her get away with it:

Curiously, Gallagher does not mention that the study’s author, Douglas Allen (image), is on the board of NOM’s Ruth Institute, or that he has a rather ugly perception of LGBT people. (Surprise!)

Then there’s this.

“An article written by Professor Douglas W. Allen — who has previously claimed that lesbian relationships are unstable, unhealthy, and promiscuous – repeats a number of classic anti-gay talking points about the legal ramifications of legalizing same-sex marriage,” Equality Matters wrote last year, “including the claim that allowing gay couples to marry will somehow result in more heterosexual divorces.”

Think I'm being a bit "paranoid" about the attempt by NOM to "prop up" Regnerus' discredited study on gay parenting? Check out this post by Jeremy Hooper.

Hooper is pointing out that Regnerus is attempting himself to prop up the second study by publishing a glowing article on it in on online magazine Public Discourse. Of course, Hooper conveniently points out that Public Discourse is a project run by the Witherspoon Institute, the organization who was one of the funders of Regnerus' original discredited mess to the tune of $695,000.

And let me add my little bit - The Witherspoon Institute is affiliated with NOM and the NOM's Ruth Institute. The Ruth Institute, you will remember from earlier in this post, is the same organization who just happens to have Douglas Allen (the author of the second anti-gay parenting study) on its board.

It's simply pitiful how easy it was to disassemble this latest shuck-and-jive by NOM and Gallagher. I almost miss the days when those attempting to spread anti-gay propaganda weren't so sloppy and transparent in their methods. It's as if they aren't even trying anymore.

Related post: What Media Outlets Should Know About The Latest Same-Sex Parenting Study - Equality Matters blisters this latest junk study by NOM.

Congressional leaders called out for mingling with anti-gay hate groups

This ad is awesome and we need more of stuff like this. I've seen that when we call out the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and other anti-gay groups, we put them on the defensive for a change:



According to Faithful America, the group which put out the ad:

 Faithful America, a national Christian organization, is airing a new TV ad that calls on Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes to cancel his upcoming appearance at a Washington, D.C. luncheon sponsored by the American Family Association, a fringe hate group whose spokesman has blamed America for 9/11, claimed gays caused the Holocaust, said black people “rut like rabbits” and argued that women have no place in politics. Watch the new ad, “There’s nothing Christian about hate,” which is running this week in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District.

“As founder and chair of the so-called Congressional Prayer Caucus, Rep. Randy Forbes holds up himself up as a Christian leader in Washington, D.C. But there's nothing Christian about the hateful rhetoric of the American Family Association. Thousands of Christians across America are calling on Rep. Forbes to cancel this appearance.” said Faithful America executive director Michael Sherrard.

The American Family Association and its spokesman, Bryan Fischer, have a long track record of extremism. During the last election, Mitt Romney confronted the group, calling out its “poisonous language” and lack of “decency.” The AFA has officially been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its outrageous and bigoted statements about gays, which include: “Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.”

Faithful America’s new TV ad comes on the heels of a national petition to Congressman Forbes, which was launched last week and so far has over 12,000 signatures.

Faithful America will run the new TV ad throughout the week and deliver its petitions to the Congressman’s office ahead of the American Family Association luncheon at the Values Voter Summit. The luncheon is scheduled for 12:15 PM on Friday and set to feature Rep. Forbes and Buddy Smith, AFA’s Executive Vice President.

Faithful America is not the only group bringing attention to the problem with Congressional leaders mingling with groups who preach anti-gay rhetoric. According to Right Wing Watch:

On Friday, People For the American way joined with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Faithful America, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza to send a letter to every public official scheduled to speak at this year’s Values Voter Summit, urging them to withdraw from the event. Among the scheduled speakers are Sens. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Tim Scott and Reps. Paul Ryan, Randy Forbes, Michele Bachmann, Jim Bridenstine, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan, Steve King, Steve Scalise and Scott Turner.

The letter [pdf] reads in part:

We understand that you’ve been invited to speak at the upcoming Values Voter Summit being held in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 11-13. Given the demonizing lies about the LGBT community spread by the host, the Family Research Council (FRC), and another major sponsor of the event, the American Family Association (AFA), we urge you to not lend the prestige of your office to the summit. The FRC has amassed an extensive record of vilifying gays and lesbians with falsehoods – portraying them as sick, evil, incestuous, violent, perverted, and a danger to the nation.

 Perhaps its most insidious claim is that gay men molest children at a far higher rate than heterosexual men – a claim refuted by all credible scientific authorities, including the American Psychological Association. Yet the FRC has continued to smear gays and lesbians by claiming that pedophilia, in the words of FRC President Tony Perkins, “is a homosexual problem.” Perkins also says the “It Gets Better” campaign, an initiative designed to give LGBT students hope for a better tomorrow, is “disgusting” and part of a “concerted effort” to “recruit” children into the gay “lifestyle.” One senior FRC official has even argued that homosexuality should be illegal.

The AFA’s Bryan Fischer, who serves as the group’s spokesman and director of issue analysis, frequently blames homosexuality for the Holocaust and Nazi Party: “Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.” He also promotes the views of the American architect of the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda. Demonizing the LGBT community has consequences. As FBI data demonstrate, it is one of the groups most likely to be victimized by violent hate crimes. Defaming them publicly day after day – as the FRC and the AFA do – only throws fuel on the fire.

The bigotry of the FRC and the AFA is not limited to gays and lesbians. Fischer, for example, has said that African Americans “rut like rabbits” and argued that women should be kicked out of politics and the military. He’s also stated that Hispanics are “socialists by nature” and come here to “plunder” our country. The FRC’s executive vice president, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, has said Jews must be converted to Christianity and has argued that “Islam is not a religion and does not deserve First Amendment protections” – a statement that is antithetical to American ideals.

Even if these groups fail to convince members of Congress to withdraw from the Values Voter Summit, as far as I'm concerned they have won the battle by bringing attention to not only the homophobic rhetoric spewed by these phony Christian groups, but also how members of Congress seem to have no problem giving it a pass.

'Conservative magazine devotes entire issue to smearing lgbts' and other Monday midday news briefs

Conservative magazine: LGBT people are secret weapons - And entire issue devoted to smearing the lgbt community. What have we done to be so lucky?  

Liberty Counsel: Teaching Students About LGBT People Is "Sexual Assault" - These people have a strange idea of sexual assault.  

Rainbow American Flag Sparks Controversy At Middle Tennessee State University - Oh boy. Batten down the hatches Part 1. For the record, I personally like what was done to the flag. It symbolizes that its our America too.

 Columbia, SC Police Officers Defy Orders to March in Gay Pride Parade Over Religious Beliefs: VIDEO - Batten down the hatches Part 2. And in my city at a Pride in which I participated no less.  

New California Law Will Allow Children More Than Two Legal Parents - The headline is a mess. This law needs to be explained.

'Former Fox producer, discredited study playing roles in Russia's anti-gay crackdown' and other Friday midday news briefs

Longtime Fox News Producer Testified In Support Of Russia's Anti-Gay Laws - The rotten apple doesn't far from the tree, does it. First we find out that NOM was involved, and now a former Fox News producer. How many more Americans were involved in pushing anti-gay laws in Russia? This is slowly but surely blowing up to be a huge controversy. 

Regnerus Whines and Lies at RNA Conference - I wouldn't be surprised if THIS guy was involved also. Meanwhile as this article shows, he is catching a lot of flack for that discredited anti-gay study he pushed last year.  

Globalizing Homophobia, Part 3: A New Life for Discredited Research - Guess what. Regnerus was involved in pushing anti-gay laws in Russia via his discredited study.

 STUDY: Undocumented Transgender Immigrants Face High Levels Of Discrimination - This is awful!  

University Of Mississippi's 'The Laramie Project' Production Interrupted By Students, Athletes Yelling Anti-Gay Slurs - The ignorance on display here is just sad.

PA Gov. Corbett compares marriage equality to incest

And this wasn't the smartest thing to say:

 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has compared the marriage of same-sex couples to the marriage of a brother and sister during an appearance on a morning TV news show.

The Republican made the remark Friday on WHP-TV in Harrisburg when asked about a statement his lawyers made in an August court filing.

The attorneys had said gay marriage licenses have no "value or legitimacy" in Pennsylvania and can't be defended in court. They compared gay couples to children, who can't marry because a 1996 law says marriage is between a man and a woman.

Corbett has called that statement inappropriate. On Friday, he said he thinks "a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don't you?"

National Organization for Marriage involved in Russia's anti-gay crackdown

NOM's Brian Brown

In part two of its series of articles demonstrating how American religious right groups are embracing Russia's homophobic crackdown on its lgbt citizens, People for the American Way's Right-Wing Watch has just released some interesting information. The National Organization for Marriage is playing a  role in this homophobic crackdown. NOM's president, Brian Brown, visited Russia and spoke against gay adoption :

On June 13, 2013, just days after the Russian Duma passed laws banning on gay “propaganda” and actions that “offend religious feelings,” a delegation of five French Catholic anti-gay activists --at least one with ties to the far-right Front National party -- traveled to Moscow at the invitation of the Duma committee on family, women and children to discuss, among other issues, Russia’s plans to tighten its ban on adoption by same-sex couples abroad.

Joining them was one of the most well-known figures in the American anti-gay movement, National Organization For Marriage president Brian Brown . Brown had worked closely with the French anti-gay movement in its protests of the country’s marriage equality law, traveling to Paris to demonstrate against the law and signing onto an email to members of the Collectif Famille Mariage, one of the most prominent groups working to oppose marriage equality in France. (Excerpt, via Google Translate: “You are the people who invented the Gothic art and launched skyward these wonderful cathedrals which the whole civilized world was inspired…The new cathedral that you are to build our eyes is composed of living stones: you, dear French Resistance, youth and adults, men and women, boys and girls!” )

 . . . According to Russian news reports, the French activists and Brown attended two events in Moscow. One was a joint meeting on changes in international adoption laws with the Duma’s committee on foreign affairs and its committee on family, women and children – whose chair, Yelena Mizulina, authored the ban on gay “propaganda” and the adoption bill.

The other event was a roundtable discussion on "Traditional Values: The Future of the European Peoples," hosted by the St. Basil the Great Foundation – a Catholic group run by Konstantin Malofeev, the head of a private equity group and spirited anti-gay activist – and also sponsored by the Duma’s family committee, the right-wing Center for Social-Conservative Policy, and a new multi-party group of Russian MPs formed, with approval of the Russian Orthodox Church, to “protect traditional Christian values” and fight “aggressive liberalism” inreaction to Pussy Riot’s protests. Among the measures pushed by the group was the new law imposing jail time for “insulting religious feelings.”

The National Organization for Marriage did not publicly announce Brown’s participation in this international meeting of anti-gay minds. However, his presence was mentioned by Revel in a blog post about the visit, in which he noted that Brown gave a “remarkable speech in the Duma.” The NOM leader also spoke to Russia 1’s Vesti news program: 

According to a re-translation of the Russian translation of the interview with Brown, he told the reporters that restricting Russian adoptions to gay and lesbian couples was a way of halting a slippery slope of “very negative developments all over the world”:

 Right now you’re having the fight about adoption, but the adoption issue is indivisible from the marriage issue. If you don’t defend your values now, I’m afraid we’re going to see very negative developments all over the world. 

Right-Wing Watch obtained a copy of Brown's speech:

 In his speech to the committee (again, translated to Russian and back again to English), Brown warned of the dangers of allowing gay people to adopt children, saying “Every child should have the right to have normal parents: a father and a mother,” and sharing some of NOM’s favorite stories of the supposed religious persecution following marriage equality in the U.S.:

 But we are now convinced, having heard the presentations of our French brothers and sisters, that we are talking about very serious problems indeed. We are talking about violations of rights, we are talking about the rights and problems of children in their education. We should not shy away from this and should not forget about it and create an illusion for ourselves. A reconsideration of the definition and understanding of marriage is in fact a real threat to rights. Very soon after a law was passed that legalized same-sex marriage in the state of Massachusetts, we saw that religious organizations were closing down, religious organizations that dealt with adoptions and that did not support adoption by same-sex families. They were closing one after another. We have actually seen that in some schools, they are talking to children about homosexuality, but in fact they don’t have the right to learn about a lot of things like that until a certain age. . . . I think that this visit, the invitation to visit Russia, will enable the development of this movement around the world. We will band together, we will defend our children and their normal civil rights. Every child should have the right to have normal parents: a father and a mother. 

It's worth noting that in addition to cracking down on international adoption by gay couples, Russia is also considering a law which would remove children from their homes if their parents are gay or lesbian. There are rumblings that the Regnerus study which is connected to NOM has been cited by folks pushing this law.

But this new development alone regarding Brown's speech puts another crack in NOM's argument that the organization is "simply trying to preserve traditional marriage."  With its participation in Russia's persecution of its lgbt citizens, NOM has officially entered the international arena of anti-gay persecution and none of the shucking and jiving or semantical word play the organizations uses can erase this fact.

NOM needs to be called out on this.

'NOM is suing the IRS' and other Thursday midday news briefs

NOM: ‘The IRS Needs To Pay’ For Leaking Document Revealing Its Wrongdoing - Talk about trying to draw attention to yourself. NOM is worse than Sarah Palin.  

Globalizing Homophobia, Part 1: How The American Right Came to Embrace Russia’s Anti-Gay Crackdown - Part 1 of a kick-ass series of articles which every lgbt in America needs to read. 

From People for the American Way:

 . . . we’ll look at how American activists influenced Russia’s anti-gay laws by funding anti-gay activism in Russia, testifying before the Duma, providing false research to fan the flames of anti-gay laws abroad, and building an international movement to back the harshest anti-gay laws around the world. 

College Gay Pride Celebrations Come Under Attack Despite Institutional Support - A former Georgia lawmaker writes a vicious anti-gay letter. But you should read the comments under the letter. They are BRUTAL to him.  

Two Minutes of Advice for Those Testing HIV-Positive (VIDEO) - A much needed video for every community.

 One Million Moms Very Upset About Funny Ruby Tuesday Ad Featuring Pixellated Meat - Huh?

October is LGBT History Month

With all of the shutdown nonsense grabbing the spotlight, I almost forgot that October is LGBT History Month. The Equality Forum has come out with its annual videos spotlight noted lgbt historical figures. Although, I am NOT happy with one of the selections this year because I feel that living lgbt historical figures should be out (and the last time I checked, Queen Latifah isn't out), I would encourage folks to check out the videos coming out daily featuring the selected 31 figures. The following video is an overview:

'Newest Ex-Gay Awareness Month event another huge flop' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Only Fifteen 'Ex-Gay Activists' Show Up For 'Ex-Gay Awareness Month' Lobby Day - Not a big surprise but it's so NICE to know. 

Clandestine Ex-Gay Awareness Event Accomplishes The Opposite - More details and pictures about the newest 'ex-gay' flop from Think Progress.

 Perkins criticizes law center - Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council again attacks the Southern Poverty Law Center, but as Jeremy Hooper notes, this time the article in question reveals more about Perkins than he would like America to know. 

 Meet The Anti-Gay Pastor Fueling Fox News’ Christian Persecution Complex - And of course neither Todd Starnes nor Fox News vetted this man before they use his claims of how gays are supposedly "persecuting" Christians.

Family Research Council puts out ridiculous self-congratulatory video

The Family Research Council has come out with a nauseatingly self-congratulatory video showcasing how the organization supposedly stands up for American values and the family:

But then there is this video which showcases a huge omission of FRC's true aim and agenda:

 

Nice try, FRC. But no matter how much sweet you attempt to make your homophobia sound, it still homophobia.

'Lawsuit filed against West Virginia's ban on marriage equality' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Same-Sex Couples Sue For Marriage Rights In West Virginia - “We need the protection that marriage affords,” Nancy Michael, suing the state, says. 

Mississippi Town Rejected Gay Bar Out Of Bias, Lawsuit Alleges - More of that "religious liberty" #@! no doubt.

Saving Our Locker Rooms’ Arguments Erase Transgender People - Good grief, folks. Transgender men and women are not trying to peek at you in the showers or the locker rooms. 

 Keyes: Teaching It's OK To Be Gay Is To 'Rape The Parental Authority Of Christian Parents' - Alan Keyes is a psychotic @!$ whose only place in history will be as the nutcase who lost the Illinois Senatorial election to the now President Obama.

NOM getting Issa to waste taxpayer money on investigation

Issa

In the midst of a government shutdown (thank you Republican party and especially you teabaggers), comes this news. The National Organization for Marriage is now bragging that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, headed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Ca.) will be investigating the so-called leaking of IRS tax information to the Human Rights Campaign:

You may have missed it since the news just came through on Friday, but House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa announced that he is officially investigating how NOM's confidential tax files were stolen from within the IRS and provided to the Human Rights Campaign. This is fantastic news... not just for NOM — but for every group targeted by the Obama administration and the IRS.

 And this is especially good news for the American people who are rightfully concerned about abuse of power and political targeting by operatives inside the IRS, and the failure of the Department of Treasury and other enforcement agencies to hold those responsible to account. NOM has worked closely with Chairman Issa and the House Oversight Committee for many months to ensure they have all the information and legal authority they need, including confidentiality waivers, to compel the IRS and the Treasury Department to cooperate with the Committee's investigation.

As Chairman Issa told National Review Online last week:

These waivers allow the committee to get information the IRS is currently withholding. This information will give us a better sense of why these groups faced delays, what questions they were asked, and what sort of communications were occurring within the IRS in regards to the inappropriate delays and the apparently politically driven leak.

NOM has been whining ever since July that its tax information was leaked by the IRS to the Human Rights Campaign in 2012 and this alleged action is connected to President Obama's re-election campaign.

However, while NOM spins its conspiracy theories, its own former chairperson, Maggie Gallagher, earlier wrote that a lower level employee accidentally leaked the information.

Interestingly enough, she later backtracked and claimed that she was only guessing. But according to Equality Matters:

(Gallagher's) explanation was corroborated during the May 17 House Ways and Means Committee's hearing on the recent IRS controversy. When Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) asked Acting IRS Commissioner Steve Miller about NOM's accusation, Miller responded by explaining that an investigation had determined that the release of NOM's Form 990 had been "inadvertent" . . . Miller's testimony was echoed by Treasury Department Inspector General Russell George, who explained that a review of NOM's claims had been conducted but was no longer ongoing. 

So basically, this "controversy" is much ado about nothing. However, with Congressman Issa's talent with wasting taxpayer money on conspiracy theories and pointless investigations (i.e. Benghazi, other investigations of the IRS), it would seem that NOM has struck gold in its attempt to create a huge blowup over this incident.

However, if you ask me, the news of a government investigation isn't exactly the sort of thing people are happy about hearing in the middle of a government shutdown, particularly if its the latest chapter of an investigation (i.e. the IRS) which has basically proven nothing.

Religious right groups aren't about God or morals, but lies and fear

As I have said numerous times and especially in my booklet, How They See Us, the attack on the lgbt community by religious right groups has nothing to do with Christianity. Whether you believe homosexuality to be a sin or whether you don't doesn't matter because these groups and their spokespeople are all about fear.

I defy anyone (and I am especially talking to folks who disagree with my point of view) to tell me how what Bryan Fischer says in the video below has anything to do with Christianity or the love of God:



 I've always thought Christianity was about having faith in God's love, not scaring people about concentration camps and persecution. It's sad, really. The Christianity I grew up with taught me never to fear the actions of man because God is always in control. Fischer seems to be telling folks to be scared all of the time.

'Prop 8 lawyers taking on VA anti-marriage equality law' and other Monday midday news briefs

Winning Prop 8 Attorney Team Olson And Boies Announce New Battle: Virginia Marriage Ban - The lawyers who defeated Prop 8 are targeting the anti-marriage equality law in Virginia. This is gonna be good! 

Scott Lively running for Governor of Massachusetts as spoiler candidate [Updated] - Apparently this homophobe is running as a "spoiler candidate." Mission accomplished. He's already spoiled my appetite for today. 

New guidance affords gay couples equal access to Medicaid - Excellent news!

 Heritage Foundation's Anderson: LGBT Protections Create "Climate Of Intolerance" - You HAVE to read this list of lies via Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation. You will be hearing them continuously as time goes on.

NOM is FURIOUS over the idea that gays may be allowed to marry in New Jersey

Last week, a New Jersey state judge ruled that gays and lesbians have a right to marry in that state because "civil unions," which is permitted in the state, is illegally keeping these couples from receiving federal benefits.

Naturally, the National Organization for Marriage and its president, Brian Brown, issued a statement (tantrum) full of hyperbole and omitting the facts of the case:

“This is another outrageous example of judicial activism. An activist judge has overreached her authority and chosen to impose same-sex ‘marriage’ on the entire state of New Jersey,” stated Brian Brown, NOM’s president. “Judge Jacobson has trampled on the right of the people of New Jersey to define marriage, a right that the Supreme Court has upheld in the very case she misuses to redefine marriage.” The New Jersey state judge applied her own reading of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Windsor v United States to find that the state’s law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman must be changed. However, the Windsor decision declined to impose same-sex marriage on the nation and instead upheld the right of states to define marriage for themselves. “This is a gross abuse of power that cannot be allowed to stand,” said Brown. “We urge Governor Chris Christie to appeal this lower court ruling immediately. It’s essential that a single lower court judge not be allowed to impose her own views of marriage on the entire state.”

On that last score, NOM and Brown will get their wish. Christie has promised to appeal the ruling.

'Second 'ex-gay' event may repeat disaster of the first' and other Friday midday news briefs

Ex-Gay Pride Hide And Seek - The 'ex-gays' are attempting their 'Pride Week' after the first disaster earlier this year. Based on reports, a sequel to the first awful attempts is inevitable. 

Daubenmire Defends Westboro Baptist Church Because 'What If God Really Told Fred Phelps To Do That?' - Oh mercy! If God is behind the Fred Phelps group, then that definitely shows He supports lgbt equality. 

U.S. joins other nations in declaring LGBT commitment at UN - Good for the United States!

  Daily Caller Is Amused By Transgender Students Getting Bullied - How #@! tacky!  

Why I Now Support Marriage Equality - I was there when this man, John Hawkins, spoke against marriage equality in South Carolina while he was a state senator. I say his change of mind is legit and welcomed.

Editor's note - Barring something absolutely juicy happening (and it probably will, knowing my luck), this will be my last post today. Tomorrow will be the South Carolina Pride Festival and as many of you probably already know (because I have been driving you crazy with the number of times I have mentioned it), I will be unveiling and handing out free copies of my lgbt cult classic and Scribd political favorite (hey, it's got over half a million readers)  'How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America.'

I will spend the rest of the day preparing physically, spiritually, and mentally. I will also be taking pictures and posting them to my blog next week. Wish me luck, success, and good thoughts.

Video shows the TRUE consequences of repealing DADT

In the face of the fake experts whining about how gays serving openly in the military will harm the country comes this awesome video via The Huffington Post:

The U.S. Department of Defense released a heartwarming video Sept. 25 depicting the lived impact of the recent extension of spousal and family benefits to same-sex military couples. Senior Chief Dwayne Beebe-Franqui and Jonathan Beebe-Franqui discuss both the symbolic and tangible importance of being able to apply for a military ID card as the same-sex spouse of an official, and the changing perception of same-sex relationships in the U.S. military since the 2011 repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

 

Anti-gay Lt Governor candidate had restraining order put on him in 2006

E.W. Jackson

Say what you will about the state of Virginia, its upcoming elections for Governor and Lt. Governor are getting as interesting as a soap opera. The latest piece of dirt involves E.W. Jackson, the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor. It seems that he had a restraining order put on him in 2006.

According to Politico:

E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia, was accused in 2006 of threatening the life of his daughter’s roommate, according to a Belmont, Mass., police report and a separate temporary restraining order filed in Middlesex County Court.

Those two documents, shared with POLITICO by a source opposed to Jackson’s election, detail the surprise GOP nominee’s involvement in an explosive personal feud involving his daughter and two other women. The roommate took out restraining orders against both E.W. Jackson and a third party, while Jackson’s daughter and the third party both requested restraining orders against the roommate.

 . . .  In an interview, Jackson firmly denied that he had menaced his daughter’s roommate, a denial he also gave to police in Belmont seven years ago. In his daughter’s affidavit requesting a restraining order against her then-roommate, Ms. Jackson claimed that the woman had schemed to separate her from her family and friends and “threatened to kill my father.”

This will only serve to make Jackson more controversial in the eyes of voters. He has already been catching fire for a number of vicious anti-gay statements. According to Right Wing Watch, Jackson has:

• Referred to gays and lesbians as “perverted,” “degenerate,” “spiritually darkened” and “frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally.” 

• Said regarding homosexuality: “it poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of.” 

• Argued that gays seek to “sexualize [children] at the earliest possible age” and use “totalitarian” tactics. 

• Claimed gays are hurting black women: “I’ve heard a lot of young black ladies that a lot of young black men seem to be gay. I’ve heard them complain about it, they say ‘so many of these guys are homosexuals’ and they are frankly frustrated by it.” 

• Demanded the reinstitution of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell : “The military has been decimated by this lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender policy that has now been implemented. It’s an abomination and it’s only going to weaken us militarily and they need to undo it,” warning that the policy’s repeal is a “disaster of historic proportions.” 

• Contended that homosexuality is “killing black men by the thousands” and said of gay rights advocates: “what they’re promoting is killing people.” 

• Called GLSEN founder and anti-bullying activist Kevin Jennings a “radical homosexual activist” who should have been “imprisoned” in a letter demanding he resign as head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. 

• Said there is a “direct connection” between gays and pedophilia.

'NOM blasted for its hypocrisy' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Op-ed: NOM's Brian Brown, the 'Bigocrite'- NOM whines about being victims of "bullying gay," but just how many times has the organization issued threats against people and groups for opposing its anti-gay platform? Grab a chair and take a load off. This documentation is going to take a while. 

PFOX: Books Smearing LGBT People Should Be Celebrated During Banned Books Week - And they should be put in the fairy tale section.

  Cuccinelli: References To My Anti-LGBT Record Are Unfounded ‘Personal Attacks’- Now THAT is chutzpah.

  Gene Fischer And Sam Centore Discuss 'Passing Ellenville,' Transgender Documentary - A fascinating documentary on the transgender community.

Sources: Anti-gay ministry bites the dust HARD

Bradlee Dean

If certain sources are to be believed, the lgbt community has one less anti-gay ministry to worry about. According to the Minneapolis City Pages:

According to a source close to the situation, Dean's "You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International" staffers have all walked out on him. Yes, that includes his notorious street teams and Dean's "Sons of Liberty" radio cohost Jake McMillan, who our source says put in his two weeks notice and moved back to the East Coast. (McMillian, for some reason, sometimes went by the name Jake MacAulay.)

Our source said the beginning of the end came when two former Dean staffers -- a husband-and-wife team including his former director of donor relations -- had a falling out with Bradlee. The couple stayed friends with some "You Can Run" employees and began trying to persuade their friends to leave the ministry. They had incremental success, culminating with the resignation of McMillan, and as a result Dean no longer has anybody working for him.

The source said that in the wake of our July report about disaffected former You Can Run staffer Jake Dagel -- Dagel characterized You Can Run as a "cultic sham ministry" -- a group of upwards of a dozen former staffers got together and compiled testimony about how Dean had mistreated and exploited them. They subsequently brought 28 pages worth of testimony to the Minnesota Attorney General's office and are currently working on a mediation proposal with Dean's camp. The group of former staffers seek reimbursement of funds they say Dean owes them and a guarantee that Bradlee will never hold another leadership position with a ministry. Our source isn't sure whether Dean could possibly face criminal charges as a result of the allegations, some of which constitute crimes.

Dean is an extremely vile religious right talking head best known for his ties to soon-to-be former Congresswoman Michele Bachman and also being forced to pay $24,625.23 in legals fees due to a lawsuit he filed against MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.

Family Research Council making empty threats against SPLC

Tony Perkins of FRC

Floyd Corkins, the man who attempted to shoot up the Family Research Council last year, was recently sentence to 25 years in prison, as he should be.

However, FRC and its president, Tony Perkins, continues to falsely connect Corkins to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In 2010, SPLC labeled FRC and several other religious right organizations as hate groups due to their constant distortions and attacks on the lgbt community. FRC and Perkins continues to blame SPLC for Corkins' attack on FRC headquarters.

According to One News Now - which is owned by the American Family Assocation, one of the groups listed by SPLC as a hate group:

 . . . Corkins confessed that he wanted to kill FRC employees because of the organization's opposition to homosexual marriage. He was motivated by the listing of the FRC as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The American Family Association, which operates the OneNewsNow website, is also labeled a “hate group.”

 Tony Perkins, president of the FRC, says the SPLC has been given a platform to “recklessly label and incite hatred” toward the FRC and other conservatives. He blames that in part on the relationship with the U.S. Justice Department. "And it is very troubling and it's dangerous, and the Southern Poverty Law Center is inciting violence,” Perkins tells OneNewsNow. “It is clearly connected in this case to this act of violence and they do need to be stopped."

 . . . The Southern Poverty Law Center "is actually linked now, through the evidence in federal court, to terrorism,” says Perkins. “We will be looking at every avenue possible to protect not only FRC but to protect all conservatives and all Americans from the reckless behavior of the Southern Poverty Law Center."

Is Perkins implying a lawsuit against SPLC? Well he never said so and I personally think he is just yanking the chain.

There are two huge roadblocks in FRC's way should the group attempt to pursue a lawsuit.

1. There is no evidence that Corkins was linked to SPLC in any way.  What had emerged is that Corkins was an extremely disturbed young man.  According to his own lawyer - via ABC News -  Corkins was receiving treatment for mental illness at the time of the shooting.  And according to the Huffington Post, Corkins was experiencing auditory hallucinations and thoughts of killing not only right-wing Christians but also his parents in the months leading up to the shooting.

2. While it would be easy to prove that SPLC had nothing to do with Corkins' crime, the repercussions of FRC taking SPLC to court would seriously backfire on the group. No doubt, SPLC would have to prove that its designation of FRC as a hate group is accurate. I have no doubt that SPLC could prove this and then some based upon not only the material it has amassed on FRC but also based upon other material which may be sent to it via several other folks, including a certain blogger with a huge file on the myriad of times FRC has lied, spread propaganda, cherry-picked studies, relied on junk science, and basically smeared the lgbt community without regard for shame for truth

And trust me when I say that I would not only send the material by express mail, but it would be gift wrapped.

So I really don't think Perkins or FRC is actually stupid enough to take on SPLC in a court of law where, according to a certain attorney, "the witness stand is a lonely place to lie."

But damn, it's a nice thought to think that FRC would be stupid enough to try.

Sodomy, Values Voters and other Wednesday midday news briefs

LaBarbera: 'It's Almost As If Homosexual Sodomy Was Created To Spread Disease' - Geez, one would think that Porno Pete is obsessed with wondering how gay men have sex.  

Here Are The Anti-LGBT Media Figures Speaking At This Year's Values Voters Summit - The Family Research Council is having its annual "Values Voters Summit," or as normal folks call it, a "Black Sabbath" event which nauseates even the devil. Yes, I said it.  

POLL: Hoosiers believe amending Indiana Constitution is wrong way to address issue of same-sex marriage - Eh, a few commercials and flyers about gays recruiting children and Indiana will "come around."

Washington Blade Covers Upcoming ‘Ex-Gay’ Dinner That Will Feature Tired Retreads - Oh I want to attend this so bad. Why not show them what they are missing. LOL  

Kent Lambert, Colorado Senator: Democrats Use 'Mind Control' To Push Same-Sex Marriage - Who told him! I swear queens cannot keep their mouths shut! Just tell all of our secrets!

'Ex-gays' whining about 'Banned Book Week'

Don't you just hate it when people and organizations interject themselves into situations due to a desperate need to bring attention to themselves.

I call it "pulling a Palin." Case in point:

The American Library Association conducts Banned Books Week to protest books that have been removed from library shelves claiming censorship.

The dates this year are from October 22 to 28. Christopher Doyle of Voice of the Voiceless says the ALA does not include on their “banned book” list any ex-homosexual literature, which is banned in libraries across the United States, including in schools But books affirming the homosexual lifestyle are generally kept on the shelves for everyone, including youths, to read.

 Doyle says that makes one wonder why books about leaving the lifestyle, sometimes offered free, are rejected by libraries.

He has an answer.

 “There are homosexuals and the gay activists in that organization that are actively anti-ex-gay and keeping us out of this list,” Doyle tells OneNewsNow.

I know for a fact that us gay activists aren't plotting to keep 'ex-gay' literature from school libraries. I mean with all of the recruiting children and building all of the jails we are plotting to put Christians in, we barely have enough time to reach our 100 sexual partners a month quota.

Just where in heck could we fit in banning "ex-gay" literature from libraries?

Editor's note - the article even got the date of Banned Books Week wrong. It's Sept. 22-28.

'Fox News continues to spread fake anti-Christian persecution story' and other Tuesday afternoon news briefs

Fox News Reports On The Fake Military Controversy It Helped Invent - You have to give Fox News points for consistency rather than truth. 

US Senate unanimously confirms first openly gay judge to a federal appeals court - Good news!

Marco Rubio Blocks Gay Black Judge's Nomination to Federal Judiciary - And bad news. And YES, Rubio is playing politics here. 

 Engineering Magazine Publishes Anti-Gay Letter To Discuss ‘The Value Of Diversity’ - And this is when I gripe - yet again - about the importance of calling out anti-gay propaganda beforehand rather than raising hell after it appears and demanding that it doesn't appear at all. You can't kill it that way.

 Bryan Fischer Lashes Out At Transgender Homecoming Queen - Go ahead, Bryan. Pick on an innocent teenage girl. After all, that's "what Jesus would do."

Op-ed: Why I'm Not Reading the 'Trutherism' About Matt Shepard - I got the best reason of all. The book is a piece of shit.

You think the religious right are jealous of the lgbt community?

Editor's note - Due to prior commitments regarding SC Pride on Saturday, there will be no midday post today. So enjoy this one until my next post this evening.

You know, when it all comes down to it, the following is the only thing our opponents can really push against us in order to deny us equality. All of that junk about "religious liberty" and "traditional morality" is simply a dodge. This is what they think of when it comes to their opposition of the lgbt community. And if you ask me, they gripe on it so much that they come across as jealous:

 

'Religious right zeroing in on transgender children' and other Monday midday news briefs

Transgender Homecoming Queen Faces Negative Backlash To Historic Win - She is such a strong young lady and the lgbt community needs to support her in this. We are all proud of her. The backlash is nothing new because you get a lot of flack at first when you are a pioneer. Then folks realize how brave you are. 

 
NOM Abandons Marriage Mission To Campaign Against Transgender Children - Wow! Such a "Christian" organization to pick on children.

 Anti-Gay Bishop Harry Jackson Will Keynote Secret ‘Ex-Gay Awareness’ Dinner - Oh this is hilarious! 

Peter LaBarbera Takes On Pope Francis, Claims 'Satan's Earthly Minions' Use Homosexuality To Undermine Catholic Church - Because apparently God speaks through a man who takes x-rated pictures of gay men and posts huge pictures of anal warts on his webpage.  

Media Complicit In Legislative Attack On LGBT Americans - It's not intentional. They're just kinda lazy.

CNN host Chris Cuomo calls out anti-gay propaganda, bigotry

I never get tired of this video. CNN host Chris Cuomo tangles with Catholic League president Bill Donohue on the subject of homosexuality, pedophilia, and the Catholic religion in general. This is how you handle anti-gay propaganda:

Know Your LGBT History - Brothers

Over a decade before 'Will and Grace' and Ellen Degeneres, the cable network Showtime came out with the television show groundbreaking television show 'Brothers.' It was highly successful, running from 1984-1989.

From Wikipedia:

Set in south Philadelphia, Brothers centered around the lives and relationships of the Waters brothers; oldest brother Lou (Brandon Maggart), a somewhat uncouth, but well-meaning construction foreman, middle brother Joe (Robert Walden), a retired placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles and owner of a sports bar called The Point After, and the youngest brother, Cliff (Paul Regina).

In the premiere episode, Cliff shocks his family when he runs away from the altar on his wedding day. Instead of getting married, Cliff reveals to his family that he is gay.

The pilot and following episodes centered around the efforts of Joe and Lou coming to terms with Cliff's long-held secret of his true sexual orientation, with both coping in their own unique way. Joe, who was definitely more sensible and open-minded, didn't see Cliff's sudden declaration of homosexuality robbing any aspect of their relationship. Lou assured his baby brother "Cliffie" that he loved and respected him no matter what, but was convinced early on that what Cliff was feeling was just a phase, and came up with numerous efforts to "cure" him of being gay. Cliff's relationship with the both of them was part brotherly, but also that of fathers and son, since Lou and Joe had almost 20 years on Cliff (their mother died when Cliff was an infant, followed a few years later by their dad; Lou and Joe raised Cliff for the majority of his youth). He was very much independent minded, and kidded around with his brothers in the usual way siblings do, but at times looked to them for guidance and was very much overprotected by Lou and Joe.

And like so many shows, there was a standout character:

 Philip Charles MacKenzie played Cliff's out-and-proud new friend Donald Maltby, a successful writer/magazine editor whom Cliff sought out friendship with for advice and support in the time leading up to his coming out. During and after the fact, Donald continued to be Cliff's voice of reason as he learned to navigate his way around the LGBT world. It was an otherwise unlikely friendship, but Donald's fey, queen-like behavior versus the masculinity of Cliff never got in the way, surprisingly. Donald's womanly flamboyance always unnerved Lou, and caused some mild, but humorous friction between them. However, Donald always managed to get the last laugh on Lou with his sharp humor. He lived in a cozy loft apartment which was another common setting for the stories. Cliff and Donald sometimes frequented The Velvet Spike, a local gay club/bar.

Submitted for your perusal is the very first episode. Pardon if its a little scratchy. It was reproduced from a VHS tape:

 

 

 

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Family Research Council tells a lie in court' and other Friday midday news briefs

FRC essentially lied in court - Floyd Corkins, that awful man who tried to shoot up FRC headquarters last year got a much deserved jail sentence. However, FRC President Tony Perkins read a statement in front of a District Court judge which was basically a lie. I doubt we can do anything legally about it but you would be surprised how powerful knowledge is. 

 
Barber & LaBarbera: 'Every Major Institution Is Being Corrupted By The Homosexual Agenda' - Does this mean we won the "culture war." If so, then I demand to that Barber and LaBarbera accept our terms for their surrender. Hehehehehe!  

Michigan Officials Admit Same-Sex Families Exist, But Still Want To Deny Them Legal Protections - Because it's apparently what Jesus would do.  

Mormon Church: Same Bigotry, Different Packaging - It's the "religious liberty" junk again.

Russian anti-gay video demonstrates the ugly power of homophobic propaganda

You want to see the power of anti-gay propaganda?

Via my friend John Aravosis from Americablog comes this absolutely vile video from Russia. You may think this video is funny in its inanity but maybe that's part of the problem. Nothing which demonizes a group of people in this way should be considered funny. Also remember that what's funny to us is taken seriously by some folks in Russia as the country moves to persecute their lgbt citizens.

And the thing which makes me absolutely sick about this video? The discredited Regnerus study is included. NOM and its allies failed to move the Supreme Court with that trash, but they are doing incredible damage in other places with it.

Take note, religious right. This is what true persecution looks like and you should know it well. After all, you are partly responsible for it:

Republicans want to push nationwide discrimination bill against same-sex couples

Earlier this week, the Huffington Post published a piece of mine expressing the desire for the lgbt community and our leadership to confront anti-gay propaganda head on.

I got a lot of positive responses. But I also got some negative responses. Therefore, for all of you out there - and you know who you are - who attacked me personally, acted blase and apathetic, whined about being called the "correct" acronym, or declare verbal full-scale war on religion in general, or talked about how folks are calling out the religious right in the comments section of articles, this news from Think Progress is a reminder that all of your explanations and complaints don't mean diddly:

A group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-ID), has proposed a new bill that would provide a nationwide “license to discriminate” against married same-sex couples. Though Labrador claims the bill protects “religious liberty,” it is nothing less than a blanket invitation to deny benefits to same-sex couples that they are entitled to under law.

According to the draft of the bill (HR 3133), there would be no consequences for any organization or individual that chooses not to recognize a same-sex marriage:

The Federal Government shall not take an adverse action against a person, on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.

In other words, the bill would create special religious protections only for people who oppose same-sex marriage or premarital sex. Under the guise of “religious freedom,” this bill specifically endorses one particular set of religious beliefs without concern for any others, a pretty clear violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The consequences of this legislation would be immense, such that a few individuals could short-circuit the rights of gay and lesbian couples across the country. Given its prudish inclusion of opposition to premarital sex, these consequences could likely apply to many straight couples as well. Here are a few possible examples of the potential for abuse:

• Businesses could refuse to provide leave for an employee to take care of a sick same-sex spouse.
• Federal workers processing tax returns, visa applications, or Social Security filings could refuse to do their job if it meant providing benefits to a same-sex couple.
• Federally funded programs like homeless shelters and substance abuse programs could turn away LGBT people.
• A church-run hospital could refuse to provide visitation privileges to a married same-sex couple without fear of endangering their tax-exempt status.

The religious right isn't mentioned in this article, but let's not act stupid. We all know who is behind this bill and is most likely nudging the Republicans to push it

Pull your heads out of your butts and get serious. All of the street protests and glitterbombings don't mean jack to organizations powerful enough to dictate what bills they want Congressional leaders to pass.

The religious right's greatest asset is their credibility. It's credibility which they don't deserve because of their many distortions and lies pushed against the lgbt community.

When are we going to exploit these distortions and lies? When are we going to demand that OUR media address these issues? When are we going to demand that mainstream news programs have discussions about these things? When are we going to have discussions about these things instead of being bogged down with side issues?

Many of us in the lgbt community are intelligent. But when are we going to show that we have sense?

'Right-wing continues sad attempt to harm Matthew Shepard's reputation' and other Thursday midday news briefs

What's Really Behind Right-Wing Media's Matthew Shepard Trutherism - In which we learn that some of those draping themselves with the Christian religion have no shame or a truly balanced view of right and wrong. But try as they might, their attempts at playing revision with this awful tragedy won't fly. 

Barber: The NALT Christians Project Is 'Apostasy' - Meanwhile, as his colleagues attempt to besmirch the reputation of Matthew Shepard, the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber goes on full assault against an effort to keep the religious right from boggarting the conversation what constitutes Christianity in America. If Christianity is truly in trouble in this country, it's because of oblivious behavior like that of Barber's.  

Pope Bluntly Faults Church’s Focus on Gays and Abortion - Archbishop Nienstadt is sooo not going to like that. Much like the folks in the library didn't appreciate the loud noise I made when I fell out after reading that headline. But talk is cheap. What is the Pope going to do about it.  

Texas AG Finally Reads San Antonio’s LGBT Protections And Realizes They’re Constitutional - Victory number two for the recently passed San Antonio non-discrimination ordinance.

Virginia Gurrola, Porterville, California Mayor, Removed From Office For LGBT Proclamation - Hoo boy! After reading that article, read this one.

Witness verbalized homophobia so dangerously stupid, it should be against the law

The late Andy Warhol once said that in the future everyone will be famous for at least 15 minutes. And with the creation of youtube and the like, it turns out that he was right.

Which means if he were still alive, I would give him a swift kick in the tush.

Why the anger? Because of a clip like this so mind-boggling ridiculous that I had to watch it twice and still I simply can't wrap my head about its idiocy. From Right Wing Watch:

Erick Stakelbeck, the former sports reporter who fashions himself to be an expert on terrorism, regularly argues that progressives and Islamic extremists are working together to establish some sort of communist, Islamic state. While appearing on It’s Supernatural!, host Sid Roth said he couldn’t understand his assertion since the “political left is not going to be aligned with someone who wants to kill homosexuals.” But as the Christian Broadcasting Network reporter explained, even though “the left would be the first ones with their heads on the chopping block if Islamic Sharia law came into power,” both liberals and radical Islamists “hate traditional America” and “hate the name of Yeshua (Jesus) so much that they will work together, at least in the short term, to chip away at traditional America and traditional western civilization.”