FRC's Tony Perkins crows about 'Duck Dynasty' while hiding his fear of debating

Of course Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is crowing like a rooster over the recent 'Duck Dynasty' controversy.

"Although the victory belonged to the Robertsons, the real winners may be the American people -- who finally witnessed homosexual activists for what they are: intolerant bullies. As FRC has said for years, the goal of GLAAD and others is to silence anyone who dares challenge the idea that homosexual behavior should be celebrated. We've seen these vicious tactics used against wedding florists, bakers, photographers, sports journalists, students, and teachers who've been fired, hauled into court, fined, suspended, and ordered to violate their religious beliefs by endorsing same-sex "marriage." For once, the American people have stood up and shouted, "enough!" I had the opportunity to talk about this incredible sea change over the holidays. If you missed it, check out the video from those interviews on ABC's "Nightline" and Fox News's "Kelly File . . ."

If you ask me, I think he is overestimating the entire thing by calling it a "sea change for three reasons.

First, wasn't he and others on his side making the same ridiculous comments last year about how the "American people stood up to gay bullies" during the Chic-Fil-A controversy? And we see how much of a "sea change" that did NOT turn out to be.

Secondly, I find it ironic that Perkins would mention his interview on the  "Kelly File" It was on that program which Perkins allegedly REFUSED to debate lgbt activist and bloggger Jeremy Hooper, thereby forcing host Megyn Kelly to interview Hooper and then Perkins in one-on-one sessions. A good journalist knows how to find a new angle in any news story, but unfortunately everyone seems to have missed this one, including the lgbt media.

Lastly, if Perkins wants to talk about ugly tactics and intolerant bullies, perhaps he should take another look at his organization, as this clip shows:



According to Media Matters:

Perkins has called gay people "pawns" of the "enemy," said that gays will experience "eternal damnation," praised a Ugandan bill that would impose the death penalty for homosexuality, and declared that members of Congress who voted to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell had the "blood of young Marines" on their hands. His organization has been labeled a "hate group" for routinely peddling the myth that gay men are more likely to be pedophiles than straight men. In addition to regularly spouting anti-LGBT rhetoric, Perkins has also been linked to white supremacist groups in his native Louisiana.

Of course Kelly didn't ask Perkins about any of these issues even after assuring Hooper that she would.

It's relatively easy to use an interview to bolster your view of a "sea change" when you have the person doing the interview in your hip pocket, isn't it Tony?

Robin Roberts: ' “I have never been happier or healthier than I am right now.'

Those who read this blog know that I have railed several times against the lgbt obsession with celebrities. However, this time is an exception.

African-American lesbians don't have as much visibility as they should, not even in the black media. While gay black men, bisexuals, and transgender men and women have to deal with being stereotyped, black lesbians are generally erased, as if they don't exist.

So when Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts came out, it was a good thing.

And today was even better as she debuted a picture of her and her girlfriend, Amber, at her niece's wedding while talking her happiness and health:

Roberts:“I’m going to tell you all this, because you have had a front row seat for that tumultuous year,” Roberts said. “I have never been happier or healthier than I am right now. And my year-end post was just full of gratitude and just telling everyone all that I’m grateful for, including my girlfriend, Amber, who loved me through a very difficult year.”

'SCOTUS puts hold on Utah marriages, religious right plots for 2014' and other Monday midday news briefs

Supreme Court Halts Utah Same-Sex Couples’ Marriages While Case Is Appealed - Come on folks. You really didn't it was going to be that easy, did you? TEMPORARY setbacks are inevitable in the fight for equality. 

 
Utah’s Novel Argument: Banning Same-Sex Marriage Encourages ‘Diversity’ In Parenting - An analysis of Utah's anti-marriage equality argument.

 Scary Summit: Religious Right Leaders Meet To Plot Big-Money Blitz For 2014 Elections - It's this sort of thing which scares me more.  

How the right profits from the culture wars - This is a fascinating article. 

 CeCe McDonald, Transgender Woman, To Receive Early Release From Men's Prison - A sister were defending herself and winds up in prison. I am so glad she is getting out.

Utah marriage equality opponents want 'uprising' over the issue

Oh lighten up, people. It's only marriage equality. However, what you do propose is ludicrous.

Know Your LGBT History - The 1965 San Francisco New Year's Ball Raid

We hear so much about the raid at Stonewall and its history in lgbt equality. However our community mythologizes it so much that a lot of other events of equal importance get left by wayside. The 1965 San Francisco New Year's Ball Raid is an important part of lgbt history because not only was it one of the first times that heterosexuals were given a front row view of how the police harassed the lgbt community back then, but it also created links between the lgbt community and the inclusive religious community.

 From Box Turtle Bulletin (which gave me the idea to spotlight this event):

 Early San Francisco LGBT-rights advocates had long recognized that much of the opposition to homosexuality rested on religious objections, and that if any progress was to be made, it was necessary to foster links between the gay community and the bay area’s religious leaders — at least those leaders who might be inclined to be supportive, whether publicly or privately. Earlier in 1964, Daughters of Bilitis founders Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, together with Glide Memorial Methodist Church, formed the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. CRH was notable for two reasons: not only was it the first organization in the U.S. to incorporate the word “Homosexual” in its name, but it was also the first organization to bring straight and gay people together to minister to the gay community.  

 And that opportunity for those early straight allies to get a first-hand taste of what gay people routinely experienced came on New Year’s Day of 1965, when CHR held a New Years Mardi Gras as a fundraiser at California Hall. When the ministers informed the San Francisco Police Department on December 23 of their planned costume party, the police tried to coerce the hall’s owners into cancelling the rental. Organizers again met with police on December 29, for negotiations which the ministers described “strained.” SFPD officials couldn’t understand why these ministers were arguing on behalf of gay people. Observing the wedding bands on the ministers’ fingers, one officer reportedly said, “We see you’re married. How do your wives accept this?” Their wives, the ministers explained, would be at the ball also, along with other members of their congregations. Police tried to question them on theology and warned them that they were being “used” by local homophile organizations, but the ministers persisted. Finally, the two parties reached a deal where police promised not to arrest anyone in costume, including those in drag.  

 Those promises quickly proved empty. As guests began arriving at 9:00 p.m. on New Year’s Day, they encountered police officers snapping photographs of everyone as they entered the building. The obvious attempt at intimidation deterred many — organizers expected 1500 to show up but only about 500 actually attended. Later that evening, police demanded entry into the building. Three CRH lawyers explained that the party was a private party under California law and that police could not enter without buying tickets or showing a warrant. The lawyers were arrested, along with a ticket-taker, and charged with obstructing an officer. Two other gay men were arrested for “disorderly conduct” after one of them tripped over a chair; police accused him of trying to kiss another man and both were hauled in. Throughout the night, police repeatedly entered the hall to conduct “fire code inspections.” The ball was scheduled to end at midnight, but organizers decided to end the ball an hour earlier. Their next job was to get their guests safely out of the building. One minister was threatened with arrest while escorting two guests to their cars 

. . . . The following morning seven of the ministers who had attended the party held a press conference where they described the pre-event negotiations and the resulting “intimidation, broken promises and obvious hostility” of the San Francisco Police. The American Civil Liberties Union agreed to represent those under arrest. The New Year’s Mardi Gras party, occurring as it did some five years before Stonewall, proved to be a turning point for gay rights in San Francisco. As the Mattachine Society’s Hal Call  recalled, “That was when we got newspapers, TV, and radio on our side. The police were so brutal. And with some respectable clergymen on our side, that was a turning point.” Phyllis Lyon said that it was “our first step into some kind of connectedness with the rest of the city.” City officials, embarrassed by the obvious police misconduct, responded by designating officer Elliot Blackstone as the first liaison between the department and the LGBT community. (At his retirement dinner in 1975, Blackstone was saluted by LGBT community leaders for his ensuing twenty years of advocacy and support.)

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Social conservatives may support hate group leader's bid for US Senate' and other Friday midday news briefs

FRC's Tony Perkins

Social conservatives could get behind Tony Perkins for U.S. Senate in Louisiana - Family Research Council head Tony Perkins as a United States Senator should scare the hell out all of you. 

Chris Kluwe Blasts Vikings For Cutting Him Over LGBT Advocacy - This controversy hasn't even BEGUN to near the ending yet.  

Brendon Ayanbadejo Backs Chris Kluwe - Awesome!

 CDC Reverses Discriminatory Breast Cancer Screening Rule for Trans People - Good news!

 Jamaican Dancehall Star Sizzla Banned From Music Festival For Anti-Gay Lyrics - Free speech my foot! This is not a free speech issue.

Why won't FRC's Tony Perkins engage in face-to-face debate on lgbt equality?

Earlier today, I talked about the revelation that during a recent appearance on Fox News, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins refused to engage lgbt activist Jeremy Hooper in a face-to-face debate. Most likely it's probably because when he has to debate his anti-gay position against someone who knows their stuff, the following happens:

'Why did FRC's Tony Perkins refuse a face-to-face debate with lgbt activist?' and other Thursday midday news briefs

The conversation we're having versus the forced monologue they want us to dignify - We keep hearing ad nauseam from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that we are trying to silence folks like him when it comes to the issue of lgbt equality. We know this is a dodge and now comes a bit of proof which we SIMPLY MUST INVESTIGATE FURTHER. My friend Jeremy Hooper, during an excellent post about how anti-gay activists like to turn tv interviews into talking point monologues, has revealed some interesting information regarding a recent appearance he and Perkins made on Fox News. Allegedly, Perkins REFUSED to debate him face-to-face. Subsequently, Megyn Kelly did back-to-back interviews with Hooper and then Perkins. Enough of the jaded comments of "well I'm surprised." We need to demand answers. Why didn't Tony Perkins want to go head-to-head with Jeremy. We know the answer, but the question still needs to be raised - PUBLICLY!  That's the difference between them and us. If they had such a revelation about us, they would broadcast it to the heavens. We need to broadcast this revelation in the same manner.

Limericks By Matt Barber - This is just dumb. Instead of good arguments as to why his side opposes lgbt equality, anti-gay activist Matt Barber is now writing juvenile limericks. You gotta be kidding me!

 Amazon pulls book telling parents to ignore their gay kids - Thanks to another blogging friend of mine, Wil Kohl of Back2Stonewall.com, this book has been pulled from Amazon. Free speech my tuckus! Amazon is a private company. Besides if we run this claptrap by a woman who has NO expertise in lgbt healthcare, or anything else resembling lgbt healthcare, why not run books supporting lobotomies?  

No ‘Mass Exodus’ From Boy Scouts As New Gay Scout Rule Goes Into Effect - Another religious right fear story bites the dust.

Anti-gay activist attack researchers for daring to correct how he distorts their work

LaBarbera

 Peter LaBarbera is again posting a ludicrous attack on lgbts on his webpage, complete with pictures of dildos. The post which accompanied LaBarbera's photo was a rambling piece of nonsense, PUTTING THE “SEX” BACK IN HOMOSEXUALITY, by Eric Holmberg. The piece is the usual claptrap about homosexuality being a "health risk" which actually tries to defend Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty's rather graphic homophobic comments regarding anal and vaginal sex. LaBarbera added some of his personal nonsense to the piece, particularly this part:

According to one peer-reviewed [1997] study done towards the end of the 20th century, the life expectancy for the average 20-year-old gay or bisexual man [assessing "vital statistics data ... obtained for a large Canadian urban centre from 1987 to 1992"] was 8 to 21 years less than his heterosexual counterpart. (See the International Journal of Epidemiology.) Here [in 2001] the authors actually condemn as “homophobic” anyone who dares to point to their research as evidence that homosexuality carries with it certain inherent health risks. And yet they in no way deny the statistical evidence their research has uncovered. (This is one of the best examples of “professing to be wise and remaining fools” I have ever stumbled upon.) [Editor's Note: Life expectancy for homosexual men is now much longer compared to when the original IJE study was done in 1997 -- due mainly to AIDS antiretroviral drugs. Nevertheless, "men who have sex with men" (MSM) remain at the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said a CDC specialist describing a Fact Sheet assessing 2010 infections and published by the CDC earlier this year. Read the original 1997 Canadian study on "gay" and bisexual men's lifespan HERE and the authors' short 2001 response (referenced by Holmberg above) to conservatives who used their data to criticize pro-homosexual activism HERE.]

Allow me to explain. Anti-gay groups generally distort a 1997 Canadian study to claim that gays have a shorter lifespan than heterosexuals. In 2001, the authors of the study complained that their work was being distorted. LaBarbera continues to not only distort their work but also attack them for correcting the lies, claiming that their correction did nothing to disprove his negative point about lgbts. That's not true. In the 2001 letter, they said:

In our paper, we demonstrated that in a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 21 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality continued, we estimated that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years would not reach their 65th birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban centre were experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by men in Canada in the year 1871. In contrast, if we were to repeat this analysis today the life expectancy of gay and bisexual men would be greatly improved. Deaths from HIV infection have declined dramatically in this population since 1996. As we have previously reported there has been a threefold decrease in mortality in Vancouver as well as in other parts of British Columbia. It is essential to note that the life expectancy of any population is a descriptive and not a prescriptive measure. Death is a product of the way a person lives and what physical and environmental hazards he or she faces everyday. It cannot be attributed solely to their sexual orientation or any other ethnic or social factor. If estimates of an individual gay and bisexual man's risk of death is truly needed for legal or other purposes, then people making these estimates should use the same actuarial tables that are used for all other males in that population. Gay and bisexual men are included in the construction of official population-based tables and therefore these tables for all males are the appropriate ones to be used. In summary, the aim of our work was to assist health planners with the means of estimating the impact of HIV infection on groups, like gay and bisexual men, not necessarily captured by vital statistics data and not to hinder the rights of these groups worldwide. Overall, we do not condone the use of our research in a manner that restricts the political or human rights of gay and bisexual men or any other group.

And the grand irony of LaBarbera's explanation? The CDC fact sheet  he used to make another point about the supposed health risk of homosexuality is also another distortion. Here, LaBarbera commits the sin of omission by not including another fact sheet which calls out the socioeconomic factors which heightens HIV risk, including poverty, discrimination, stigma, and homophobia. At no point does this fact sheet back up LaBarbera's idea that the lgbt orientation is a "health risk."

LaBarbera is beyond sad here. He not only distorts legitimate research but attacks the authors of the research for daring to complain about the misuse of their work  He is like one of those birthers who cling  so strongly to the notion that President Obama is not an American citizen that every bit of proof contradicting their belief is merely a piece of the "conspiracy."

To put it another way, LaBarbera is what I like to call a "true believer," the most pathetic of anti-gay activists. Unlike some folks like Brian Brown of NOM or Tony Perkins of FRC, LaBarbera isn't doing what he does for a paycheck. He seems to have a deep, personal animus against gays which he covers up with Scripture and platitudes of love.  Rip away that phony cover and you find someone with not a hatred of gays, but a fear of gays. It's a fear which is so intense, he won't hum a show tune because he thinks  it would "turn" him gay.

Sometimes LaBarbera acts so much like a homophobic clown that he should be laughed at. Now, however, he should be pitied.

News briefs special - 2013 was an extremely successful year for lgbt equality

WATCH: ABC News Looks Back at One Big Gay Year - It was a very good year (apologies to Frank Sinatra. On the other hand, you DO NOT want to hear me sing it, much less anything else.)

Michelle Obama Congratulates Robin Roberts On Coming Out - How cool is this? The First Lady of the United States publicly acknowledges and congratulates someone coming out.

 20 Of The Most Compelling Queer People Of 2013 - LOVE the list. Although I am not completely down with the "queer" definition. It's nothing personal, just a little stubbornness on my part. I don't like someone labeling me without giving me an understanding of what that label means. I know that I am a gay man, but would like the "queer" paradigm explained to me before I choose to embrace it.  

23 Photos Of Same-Sex Couples That Will Warm Your Heart - Expect to see more of these couples AND their children because marriage equality is here to stay!  

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - Oh come on, folks. Did you really think I wouldn't include this? For me, 2013 will be remembered for my successful (though underground and cult status) booklet which took a unique look at anti-gay propaganda. We need more stuff like this and done by larger and more moneyed sources. (Editor's note - this link is not to Scribd but to my new webpage where you can download my booklet free of charge. Of course if you would rather move onto the adobe acrobat version of the booklet and avoid the site, which gives a good explanation of the booklet, you can go directly here.)

Moments of LGBTQ pride in 2013 should be required viewing

This video from Buzzfeed which looks back at some of the best lgbtq moments of 2013 should be required viewing:

Conservatives forget love of defending 'rights' because of Rose Parade wedding

That didn't take as long as I thought it would.

Remember all of that good stuff conservatives were popping about Phil Robertson's "rights" last week? Apparently we are now learning that some conservatives think that what should be true for Robertson shouldn't be true for gay couples wanting to be married.

From the Advocate:

The Los Angeles Times reports that a Facebook group calling for skipping the parade has more than 1,600 backers. And antigay comments are being posted to the Rose Parade's own Facebook page, according to the Times: 

“I am a 79 year old Los Angeles native and have not missed a parade since I was about 4 years old. I have watched my LAST one due to your decision to allow this unbiblical, gay marriage to take place on one of your floats,” one man wrote. 

“2 gay men in a ‘wedding’ ceremony is highly offensive to me and millions of Americans,” one wrote. “I can't think of many things LESS appropriate for families and especially children. It's completely the wrong venue for a stunt like this.” 

. . .The complaints started because a float from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation will feature the wedding of Aubrey Loots and Danny Leclair, who will be real-life wedding cake toppers. The theme of this year's parade is “Dreams Come True,” and this is the year that Proposition 8 was struck down by the Supreme Court and couples in California — where the Rose Parade is held — are once again legally able to wed.

I fail to see what seems to be the problem. Granted, neither case (regarding Phil Robertson and the one involving the gay couple) is about the free speech, but if conservatives can defend Robertson's anti-gay and racist comments, what's the problem with this couple? Gay marriage is legal in California and obviously Loots and Leclair went through the proper channels so have been given permission.  So if Robertson can be made into a hero for his vulgar anti-gay and racist comments because of his "rights," then why can't this couple be publicly married for the same reason, i.e. their "rights."

It's astounding that some folks - such as our favorite anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera - can make a reverse turn from defending Robertson's supposed rights to defaming this couple's right to have their wedding at a public venue. To Loots and Leclair, this is not a stunt. And so what if children are watching. Children are already aware of gay marriage and many live in same-sex households. It's not as scary for children to witness this as some folks like to think.

But what really galls me is this remark:

2 gay men in a ‘wedding’ ceremony is highly offensive to me and millions of Americans,”

Big fat #%@! deal. I'm going to put it like some folks did when they defended Robertson:

Not everyone agrees with you on this issue. And maybe you should show some true tolerance instead of trying to use force to get your way. And stop shoving your beliefs down our throats.

'Anti-gay groups spreading fear, lies to foreign countries' and other Monday midday news briefs

Massachusetts Anti-Gay Activist Tells Jamaica To Preserve Law Banning Sodomy - As they lose ground in America, more anti-gay hate groups are traveling to foreign countries to spin their lies. This is a tragedy.

Why Some LGBT Youths In Jamaica Are Forced To Call A Sewer Home - And this is the end result. Just who is being persecuted here?  

2013: An Historic Year For LGBT Progress - Not bad but let's not rest on our laurels and get a case of "victor's disease." Already people are trying to claim that the Duck Dynasty controversy will "usher in a new culture war" with lgbts as the aggressors. It's bullshit, but we know how well that sort of things plays in the media.  

Duck Dynasty and Undue Fears Of Anti-Gay Backlash - And its acknowledgement of the nonsense in the brief above - and the calling it out as nonsense - which will help us tremendously.  

LGBT Misinformer Of The Year: The Pacific Justice Institute - How this anti-gay group and Fox News smeared an innocent transgender teen. If it can happen to her, it can happen to any of us.

The ugly collusion between 'religious faith' and bigotry

There is no need to rehash this Duck Dynasty mess. We have all said our bits and pieces about Phil Robertson's racism and homophobia. And it will continue to reverberate. But a larger picture of the entire controversy needs to be stated.

Remember last year when a pastor of an NC church got into trouble because he said gays should be put behind an electrified fence. Even with all of the backlash, there was a few who stood behind him because according to them, "the Bible says homosexuality is wrong."

But the anger was due to the fact that this man said lgbts should be placed behind an electrified fence like they were cattle to be abused and killed off. Still,the pastor had a loyal bunch who continued to justify his words by claiming that he were merely preaching in accordance to his "faith."

Never mind that his faith encompassed genocide.

Decades before that in the 1970s was Anita Bryant and her opposition to the pro-gay ordinance in a Florida county. She said as a Christian, she couldn't support such an ordinance. But she wasn't content on leaving her opposition rooted in her faith. She snuck in a little nugget. According to her, since gays can't reproduce, we supposedly recruit children.

She was able to pull off that lie by reminding folks of her "Christian values."

Years after Bryant came a plethora of anti-gay and supposed morality groups standing against lgbt equality. Using junk science, discredited sources, venomous accusations and name-calling, and out-and-out lies, they claimed to oppose lgbt equality because supposedly because it is a "public health menace."

These groups, amongst them the Family Research Council, the American Family Association,and the Traditional Values Coalition, still exists today.

And what would generally happen - and still does happen -  when these groups are called out on their lies, i.e. the complaints of misappropriation of scientific work, the omission of CDC data which easily dispels their idea of homosexuality being a "public health menace," the usage of work from discredited sources?

Well these groups would cling to their crosses of martyrdom so hard that their fingers would get splinters. They would claim that they were simply standing up for their faith and those who called their "facts" into question were trying to silence them. And thus all of the negative, untrue things they said about gays would be wiped away by the media as simple inconveniences which didn't deserve any attention because apparently "making a stance in accordance to one's religious values" trumps the methods in which the stance is made, even if the methods contradict said religious values.

There is an ugly collusion between religious belief and bigotry which we don't talk about and it didn't begin with the lgbt community. It wasn't that long ago when religious belief and faith was used to justify slavery, segregation, and Anti-Semitism on a large scale. Sadly, the lgbt community seems to be the last bastion where it is okay to justify demonizing people under the guise of "adhering to one's faith."

 We need to call out the fact that just because your "faith" says that homosexuality is a sin is no justification to tack on lies geared to demonize the lgbt community. It's no justification to perform a humiliating psychological dissection on lgbts by saying things like "I don't hate you as a person, just what you do." It's not about your alleged hate,but your proud display of your ignorance. And it is certainly no justification to judge lgbts based on your view of the Bible and play the victim when you are called out for it.

Folks who do these things always seem to think that they own the word "Christianity" and everyone else is beholden to their interpretation. They forget that many lgbts are also Christians and bring up good points when they lay out their case in proving that God doesn't condemn them for being who they are.

But as it is, those who are so damn eager to speak against the so-called sin of homosexuality would be best to remember the sin of lying, speaking ill of one's brother, or bearing false witness.

More often than not, it applies better to their situations.

Related:

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America

Know Your LGBT History - Love between gay men

All of us in the lgbt community get dogged by nasty folks forever stitching us to the worst stereotypes. However, gay men sometimes are figuratively tied to a platform, raised in the air, and have tomatoes thrown at us as the standard bearers of all that's wrong with being an lgbt.

How we supposedly engage in intercourse (and you know what I'm talking about - anal sex) is the key to the anti-gay's exploitation of the "ick" factor regarding our lives. And I personally think it's ludicrous. When you see a heterosexual couple walking down the street, do you wonder how they enjoy sexual relations? Of course not. You see a couple and that's it. 

The video below reminds us all that when it comes to gay male couples, that's basically the same thing that you should see - two men in a relationship. Nothing sexual at all. Just two people who found someone they can share their lives with.

And in case you are wondering, I purposely chose vintage couples to spotlight. Forget the stereotypical pretty boys for a while:

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Fischer: Duck Dynasty controversy = mark of the beast' and other Friday midday news briefs

The fact that the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer is claiming that the Duck Dynasty controversy is evidence of the "Mark of the Beast" (which is supposed to usher in Armageddon) makes me so jealous. It's apparent that he has better "medication" that me. 

In other news:  

Staver Fears Everyone Will Go Gay Under Marriage Equality - Works for me. LOL 

 Federal Judge: Ohio Must Recognize Out-Of-State Same-Sex Marriages For Death Certificates - Is Ohio slowly but surely swinging our way?

NRO's Lopez replies to my GLAAD piece—by sidestepping every word of my GLAAD piece - Lies and misdirection. The hallmark of the anti-gay right.

  Rich Valenza's Call To Action For The Let Love Define Family Series - Amen to this piece!

Alabama town invites gay dance troupe to parade; controversy ensues

According to Buzzfeed:

The Prancing Elites, an all-male gay cheerleading squad from Mobile, Alabama, danced in a Christmas parade a few miles west in the small town of Semmes last weekend. Townsfolk, however, were appalled, apparently not knowing that The Prancing Elites were planned for the parade.

Why were they shocked? Let the video tell the story:

 

    

Hat tip to Rod 2.0 Beta

My most gay Christmas memory

I now interrupt all of the madness and unnecessary junk to bring you my most gay Christmas memory. This video of Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets singing "Christmas Is Coming" may not seem gay to you, but with a wig and a bathrobe, I made a mean Miss Piggy in the third grade. While in the privacy of my bedroom, of course.

'Marriage equality victories provide excellent Christmas gifts for lgbt community' and other Monday midday news briefs

What Marriage Equality Means In A Red State Obsessed With Marriage And Family - While that ridiculous Duck Dynasty controversy raged on, the lgbt community got a huge amount of good news. Utah became a marriage equality state. Check out the number of folks lining up to marry and read what it means to them. 

N.M. county clerk, deputy resign to avoid issuing marriage licenses to gay couple - And not only did New Mexico also become a marriage equality state, but some clerks who disagree with this news are actually doing the right thing. I applaud them for it. If you feel you can't do that job, then resign and let someone else do it.  

Liberty Counsel looks back at '13: We were downright obsessed with gay people - Amazing. In the cases cited by the Liberty Counsel, they had their asses handed to them. Bizarre bit of bragging there from this anti-gay group. 

 The ‘Duck Dynasty’ Double Down: ‘Sexual Immorality Is Number One On The List’ Of Sins - Oh good grief, Phil Robertson. Stop talking because you are digging it so deep that I'm beginning to pity you. 

And one final bit of news - This morning, I unveiled a new website for those who want to directly download the adobe acrobat file of my booklet, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America. Click on the link below. My booklet is free of charge and the perfect antidote to anti-gay propaganda:

 How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America

Mike Huckabee is either a clueless fool or a brazen liar

Mike Huckabee

In their zeal to defend Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson, many conservatives and religious right figures are being extremely hypocritical about free speech. I mean aren't these some of the same folks who blow gaskets when they even hear about stores saying "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas?"

However, one man has gone way beyond the pale. I give you former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee. On a recent edition of his show, he defended Phil Robertson and Duck Dynasty in a monologue:

HUCKABEE: Do you remember when America was a free country. Religious liberty, so foundational to our nation's origin, that faith was embedded in the very first amendment in our Bill of Rights. The government is forbidden to prefer or prohibit an expression of religion. Religion is free to express, but government has never been free to infringe. In recent days, a small, but vocal and militant group of same-sex marriage advocates have co-opted religious liberty to force industry and government to go beyond tolerating homosexuality, but to approve it. Now I'm told to shut up advocating for traditional marriage, but those who force acceptance, approval and activism of same-sex marriage allow no deviation from their views. Wedding caterers and wedding photographers are being forced, by government, to serve same-sex weddings, even if it violates the conscience and religious convictions of the provider. It's not just government. A&E network found a successful formula to save it financially from its beginnings of "Arts and Entertainment." Reality shows have turned it into a cash cow, but none of its shows has ever rocketed it to the stratosphere of green and gold like its most popular show ever, "Duck Dynasty." Elites have never understood its popularity in "fly over" country, but for those of us who live in the part of America, Duck Dynasty wasn't about the beards or the ducks, but the strongly knit sense of family that the Robertson clan embodied. Their Christian faith is apparently a little too real for reality TV. 

It goes on like this but then he said the following:

. . . . Gay rights groups used to lobby for tolerance. Now they're lobbying for intolerance. Reality TV has given us such high brow viewing as Jersey Shore, Temptation Island and Cheaters. . . .  Most Christians I know (including me) are respectful and tolerant of those who are homosexual and engage in friendship with, employment with, social interaction with people who are openly gay. I can accept anyone, but I shouldn't be forced to embrace a view of sex that is at odds with my faith. I've got friends who accept me and love me, but they think I'm a religious nut for believing the Bible and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So are the militant homosexuals so insecure that they're incapable of tolerating anyone who disagrees with them? 

 How can Huckabee claim to be "respectful and tolerant" of gays when, according to Media Matters, he has a long history of denigrating the lgbt community:

As A Public Official, Huckabee Called Homosexuality An "Aberration" And Condemned The Government For Supporting It Along With Pedophilia, Sadomasochism, And Necrophilia. In a 2007 appearance on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Huckabee about his assertion in a 1998 book claiming "it is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations -- from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia." Huckabee responded that "all of these are deviations from what has been considered the traditional concept of sexual behavior." Russert also asked Huckabee about his assertion in 1992 that "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural and sinful lifestyle." Huckabee responded that "all of us are sinners."  

In 1992, Huckabee Came Out Against Additional Funding For AIDS Research And Called For U.S. Government To "Isolate" AIDS Patients 

During a 2010 interview with Anne Coulter, Huckabee said "I Am Not ... Pro-Gay, Pro-Sodomy."

In that same year, Huckabee attacked same-sex families by voicing support for an overturned Arkansas law which prohibited gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents, claiming that laws like that are in the best interest of the child.

In 2012, he equated gay Scout leaders to pedophiles.

Huckabee thinks he is bragging about his "tolerance" of the lgbt community, but in reality he is demonstrating his ability to lie.

Comparing lgbts to pedophilia, sadomasochism, and necrophilia isn't "tolerant." Neither is defining the lgbt community by a sex act (enjoyed also by heterosexuals), or attacking same-sex families. Are doing these things an article of Huckabee's faith? He seems to be so concerned with the verses of the Bible which supposedly speak against homosexuality that he ignores the one about not bearing false witness against one's neighbor.

The fact that Huckabee can actually label himself as "tolerant" of gays regardless of his history of attacking and stigmatizing us is uncanny. And the fact that he does it while talking about his Christian faith is enough to make me understand why so many folks are leaving the Christian church.

And therein lies the problem, not just with Huckabee, but with Phil Robertson and that entire bunch who seem to think that they can say anything about lgbts and then expect us not to respond.

The Bible is no excuse to attack any group of people. Saying that your insults are "simply according to your faith" isn't worth the energy you expunge to breath out such a simpering explanation. You don't get a free pass for denigrating lgbts in accordance to the Bible  any more than a racist  who uses the Bible to call African-Americans inferior or chauvinist who uses it to claim that women should be subservient to men or an anti-Semite who uses it to claim that Jews killed Jesus.

And yes, you are just like the racist, the chauvinist, or the anti-Semite when you exploit the Bible to attack any group. And your assurances of supposed "loved and tolerance" after your insults are as empty as the promises of man who swears not to beat his wife after slapping her for the 20th time.

If you attack a group of people, expecting them to be silent is insulting. It's as if you are expecting them to have such a low opinion of themselves as you do.

And to have a history of homophobic comments against the lgbt community, but then call yourself "tolerant" of gays goes beyond the pale.

On one hand, it means that you are so clueless that you need to be pitied. And on the other, it means that you are such a brazen liar that perhaps the Old Testament plagues of frogs, locusts, boils, and gnats should all bombard you at the same time.

So which one is it, Mr. Huckabee? Are you a clueless fool or a brazen liar?

'Countdown: 10 of the most anti-lgbt stories of 2013' and other Friday midday news briefs

The Year In Homophobia: Ten Of The Worst Anti-LGBT Stories Of 2013 - Class action suits against homosexuality and "AIDS rings," are just a few of things entailed in how the anti-gay right lost its mind in 2013

What Happens When Megyn Kelly Promises To Hold A Hate Group Leader Accountable? - My friend, Jeremy Hooper, knocked it out of the park in his appearance on Megyn Kelly's Fox News program last night. He even got Kelly to say that she would ask later guest, Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, about his anti-gay rhetoric. Naturally she didn't.  

On day Uganda law passes, driving force behind it presents his 2014 plan for America - On the same day that Uganda passed that awful anti-gay bill, one of the architects, Scott Lively, announces his plans for America. Good luck with that, Scott. And I say that to mean not a chance in hell.  

People With HIV Now Live Almost As Long As The General Population Does - This is excellent news BUT we ain't stopping until we eradicate this awful disease.

Uganda passes anti-homosexuality bill; lgbts face life imprisonment for orientation

When people whine about lgbts being pushy and such, I always like to say "if you know what I know, you would understand." The following below is one of those knowing moments:

A spokeswoman for Uganda's parliament says lawmakers have passed a long-shelved law that punishes "aggravated homosexuality" with life imprisonment.Helen Kawesa said the anti-homosexuality bill was passed Friday. The new law does not have the death penalty, which was in the draft legislation when it was first introduced in Uganda's parliament in 2010. The original bill was condemned by world leaders who said it was draconian and United States President Barack Obama described it as "odious." Homosexuality already had been illegal in Uganda, but the lawmaker who wrote the bill that passed Friday argued that a tough new law was needed because homosexuals from the West threatened to destroy Ugandan families and were allegedly "recruiting" Ugandan children into gay lifestyles.

And as an online friend of mine said, we have American evangelicals to thank for this. Now is the time to revisit Box Turtle Bulletin's excellent series on how all of this came to pass.

Religious right showing hypocrisy by not condemning Phil Robertson's racist comments

Religious right groups seem to be engaged in shark-like frenzy in attempts to defend the supposed free speech of Dynasty Duck star Phil Robertson. Robertson was put on indefinite filming hiatus after homophobic and racially insensitive comments he made in a GQ magazine interview.

All day, Americans have been bombarded with tweets, columns, and interviews from such personalities as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Fox News personalities, Sarah Palin, the Family Research Council, the National Association of Marriage, and various other entities who have been outdoing each other with the weeping towel over supposed attack on Robertson's "right to free speech" and how lgbts are intolerant to those who oppose us.

But through all of the talking is something I noticed. Very few, if any of these folks, even bothered to mention the racially insensitive comment. Either eager to paint the lgbt community as an intolerant mafia or craftly sidestepping the issue, while these folks have been very vocal about "standing with Phil Robertson" in regards to his anti-gay comments, they have been silent regarding racist comments.

And what were those comments? According to Robertson, black people were happy during pre-integration America:

“I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person," Robertson is quoted in GQ. "Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field.... They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”

I refuse to think that the right-wing and religious right avoidance of talking about this comment is accidental. Jindal is the governor of Louisiana. He, of all people, should be addressing Robertson's inaccurate comments about race.

Palin is a useless con artist. I could care less what she says. I feel the same way about Fox News personalities. However religious right groups, particularly the National Organization for Marriage, reveal a stunning degree of hypocrisy by not coming out against Robertson's racist comments.

After all, wasn't it these groups, especially NOM, who claimed that gays were attempting to "highjack" the African-American civil rights movement? And wasn't it NOM who came up with the "wedge strategy" of hiring African-American spokesmen to say that lgbt equality cannot be compared to African-American equality?

So why aren't NOM and other religious right groups making a statement against Robertson's comments regarding Jim Crow America, which is a larger slap in the face than anything they claim lgbts can do. He is implying that the Civil Rights Movement was a mistake.

Religious right groups are not fooling anyone by evading this issue. Rather, they are proving that they never really cared about the Civil Rights Movement or African-Americans in general. Unless they can use them as pawns to bash the lgbt community.

'Bob Newhart cancels appearance at anti-gay Legatus Summit' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Bob Newhart Cancels Appearance at Anti-Gay Legatus Summit - Bet you didn't know that comedian Bob Newhart was scheduled to appear at a conference put on by an anti-gay group. He probably didn't either because once he found out, he canceled his appearance. Good job, Bob. 

Head of org. that leads national fight against *civil* marriage equality: Homosexuality is 'not logical,' 'degrading to the human soul'- My fellow African-Americans should remember this news brief. The National Organization for Marriage bent over backwards to pretend that they were protecting the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement from the lgbt community. However, when someone disrespects the same movement, NOM president Brian Brown doesn't even talk about it. Just goes to show that NOM doesn't care about African-Americans except for to be used as  pawns.  

After 60 Years Together, They Cross A River, Rings In Hand - After 60 years together, this gay couple takes advantage of the ability to finally marry. And in the end of all things, it's love that matters. 

 Pa. pastor defrocked after performing gay son’s wedding - What about this man's religious liberty?

Fox News' Todd Starnes throwing ridiculous tantrum over Duck Dynasty controversy

Todd Starnes

Todd Starnes, a Fox News reporter who goes well beyond the call of duty when it comes to attacking the lgbt community, is furious that A&E has put Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson on indefinite filming hiatus following homophobic and racially insensitive comments in a GQ magazine interview.

Starnes has been firing off vicious tweets regarding A&E supposedly discriminating against Christians including the following choice morsels:

Perhaps @AETV and their minions could provide us with a list of what Americans can say, think and do?

If you want to work at @AETV you need to buy a brown shirt.

Apparently @AETV is run by anti-Christian bigots. Sad.

Duck Dynasty worships God. A&E worships GLAAD.
 
Does @AETV advocate burning the Bible?

A&E says they are strong supporters of homosexuals --- but Christians -- not so much

A&E suspends Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty. The Christian cleansing of American television continues...

Allow me to repost Robertson's comments regarding the lgbt community; comments Todd Starnes is defending as the example of "Christian" speech:

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical."

 . . . “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine. Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

Also, you will notice that Starnes has not said a whit about Robertson's racially insensitive comments, i.e. his inference that black people were happier in the days before integration:

 "Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," he said.  "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”  

So if I were to imply like Robertson did, I would have to guess that Starnes' version of decent Christian commentary would be one which focuses on talking about anuses, vaginas with a little mixing of Biblical verses and the belief that black folks were happier when they were picking cotton and singing in the fields as second-class citizens under the grip of Jim Crow.

Regardless, the bottom line is this. Robertson has no free speech on A&E. He was hired to make money and his mouth has now interfered with that goal. So now he pays the penalty.

Good ole American capitalism. God bless it.

BREAKING - Duck Dynasty star put on indefinite filming hiatus after racist, homophobic comments

Robertson

This just came in.

 Following a letter from the Human Rights Campaign and the NAACP and strong lobbying from GLAAD, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been put on indefinite filming hiatus due to homophobic and racially insensitive comments he made during a GQ magazine interview:

From GLAAD:

Following calls from GLAAD, A&E Network has placed Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty on an indefinite filming hiatus after he made anti-gay remarks in a recent profile in GQ Magazine. The network said in a statement today:

"We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty. His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community.  The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."

GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz responded:

“What’s clear is that such hateful anti-gay comments are unacceptable to fans, viewers, and networks alike,” said GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz. “By taking quick action and removing Robertson from future filming, A&E has sent a strong message that discrimination is neither a Christian nor an American value."

The homophobic and racial obliviousness of Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson

Robertson

My aim this afternoon was to create a comedy post showcasing a number of music videos focusing on the "butt" in mocking tribute to anti-gay comments made by Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson:

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus," (Phil) Robertson told GQ. "That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.” “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine," he later added. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

But wouldn't you know it? Robertson proceeded during the same interview to compound his vocal faux pas by implying that black folks were happier in the days before integration:

"Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," he said.  "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”  

It's a testament to the greatness of this country that someone as racially oblivious and as homophobic as Robertson has his own television show. He reminds of a character from the novel The Color Purple who was under the false presumption that the black maid who took care of her family actually felt any sympathy or love for her or her parents. She found out that the woman had been forced to work as a maid for her family as the result of a ridiculous offense.

The fact that Robertson didn't hear any complaints from the black farmers was a testament to them, but not for the reasons he described. I'm a few generations from those farmers and I can remember always being advised by those who lived back then to be careful as to how I behaved and what I said around white people. It was less about racism on the part of African-Americans and more to do with safety. You see, back then, a word or movement by blacks taken the wrong way by whites was the difference between being safe in your bed and swinging on a tree as a mutilated corpse with your "johnson" as a souvenir in someone's pocket. And that included any white person - whether it be the owner of a store, a white woman you walk by on the street, or even the so-called "white trash" who worked the field with you and would probably snitch on you in exchange for more privileges or money from the other whites who could dole them out.

Of course, the big question regarding Robertson's comments is not what will happen to his show. I have never watched it so I don't care what happens to Duck Dynasty.

The big question has to do with the black and gay communities. Will we take Robertson's comments to heart the next time we are fooled into playing the futile game of "oppression Olympics?" Or will we forget that more times than not, some people will put us both in the same boat and while drilling holes in the bottom.

'Duck Dynasty star makes obscenely STUPID anti-gay remark' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

'Duck Dynasty' Star Phil Robertson Says Being Gay Is A Sin - Don't let the headline fool you. He said more than that. Now I have never watched an episode of this show but when I heard the following, I practically swooned like a black woman in church (including making sure that my wig/weave was securely fastened before falling out):

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus," (Phil) Robertson told GQ. "That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.” “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine," he later added. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

Let's see if Robertson is following the plan of a "celebrity making a homophobic comment"

1. Unfairly accusing the entire lgbt community of engaging in one sex act while omitting the fact that many heterosexuals enjoy the same act - CHECK

2. Citing a Biblical verse to cover up his laughable ignorance of the lgbt community - CHECK

All that's left to do are the final two points:

3. Playing the "I'm being persecuted because I merely spoke about my Christian beliefs" card - NOT YET

4. Being defended by the anti-gay right as a "victim of homosexual persecution" - NOT YET. Although between you and me, in light of what he said, I am absolutely dying to hear how the Family Research Council, et. al. is going to defend his comments without talking about the "anus" and "vagina."

In other news briefs:

 Just in time for Christmas, NOM tells kids of gay parents that they're 'deprived '- Have you ever noticed that for an organization who claims that children "need a mother and a father," the National Organization has never, to my knowledge, put forth any plan to help children in orphanages and foster homes to achieve this dream except for the inference of  "keep them from the homosexuals."  

Why An Anti-Gay Court Decision In Texas Could Become The Next Great Gay Rights Victory - This promises to be interesting.

Lively: 2014 Will See Tide Turn Against Satanic LGBT Rights Movement - That Scott Lively. Always good for a long trip to the toilet.  

Obama’s Sochi Delegation Is A Brilliant Response To Anti-Gay Russia - Come on, lgbt brothers and sisters. Give President Obama his props for this brilliant move.

Mr. Ambrosino, THIS is anti-gay bigotry

I get so sick and tired of the lgbt community and our allies debating the issues of marriage equality and bigotry on the terms of the anti-gay right.

The recent nonsense is coming from Brandon Ambrosino of The Atlantic who wrote a piece entitled Being Against Gay Marriage Doesn't Make You a Homophobe.

Needless to say, Ambrosino's piece has launched a back-and-forth argument which does nothing to address the real issue of anti-gay bigotry. The irony is that he has a point but arguing that point keeps us all from getting down to the real issue of how homophobia fuels arguments against marriage equality and anti-gay bigotry.

Opposing marriage equality doesn't make you a homophobe. Disagreement with homosexuality and even ignorance about the lgbt community doesn't make you a homophobe. It's how you voice that disagreement.  Now this is homophobia:

All of these flyers and mailers are the products of organizations (National Organization for Marriage,  Americans for Truth, The Traditional Values Coalition) who oppose marriage equality and lgbt equality in general. And all of these organizations have appeared on news programs and talk shows.

How many times have these organizations been asked to address these defamatory flyers (as well as their rhetoric regarding the lgbt community) as opposed to the perfunctory question of  "Isn't opposing gay marriage bigotry?"

What we need is an overhaul of the entire process of engaging anti-gay groups.

Anti-gay activist: Gays have something unhuman inside of them

It's videos like this one which make it a no-brainer why anti-gay activist Dr. Gordon Klingenschmitt fight tooth-and-nail to keep Right Wing Watch from broadcasting his statements on youtube. The comedy here simply writes itself.

Well I guess that run for office he was planning is probably off.

'LGBT community shouldn't expect the media to slay our dragons' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

CNN Wonders If Decriminalizing Gay Sex Leads To Polygamy - I am posting this article but I totally disagree with its point of view. The lgbt community must stop crying foul when the media features anti-gay spokespeople and organizations. By doing so, it's as if we expect the media to do our work for us. What I mean is that instead of demanding that the media not feature these people and groups, we must work to refute them every time they appear on television even if we aren't in the studios. There are some who will say things like "well the media doesn't feature the Klan or white supremacists," but what they forget is that  the Klan and white supremacists have a history of violence that they can't run away from. That's where we make a mistake.  Anti-gay groups may be accused of creating circumstances of violence against lgbts but when compared with the Klan or white supremacists in terms of violent acts, their hands are pure as the driven snow. And they have an undeserved reputation of standing up for religious beliefs. So therefore when it comes to anti-gay groups, our weapon to defeat them lies in rhetoric. What's wrong with spirited debate with people like Tony Perkins when they are featured? What's wrong with someone pointing out that neither Perkins nor any other anti-gay spokesman doesn't represent Christianity in its true form, but a bastardized version?  So he may get a good soundbite off. Big deal. The point is to be able to create a chink in his armor of lies in which a little truth may shine through. Rip away the phony religious veneer and show him for the exploiter of Christians that he is. And even if we aren't invited, our groups should take advantage of Perkins' appearance on television by sending out press releases on his anti-gay statements. Instead of waiting for the media to our work for us in decrying anti-gay hate groups and spokespeople, we need to do it. Stop resting on our asses and complaining. Be more aggressive in controlling the message. And above all, don't wait for folks like Perkins to strike at us with lies. This is a war of rhetoric and talking points vs. truth. We have the truth and we should be battering these folks over the head with it every chance we get. Every. Chance. We. Get.

Cool examples, Peter Sprigg. Except none of them have anything to do with ENDA - THIS is what I'm talking about. We should ask ourselves why isn't information like this spread out far and wide. Us bloggers are on the ball when it comes to aggressively taking on the anti-gay right. But sometimes it's not enough to be just bloggers doing this.  

Don't Trust Louisiana Newspapers To Hold Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader Accountable- Another prime example. Now that we know about this, what are we prepared to do about it?  

CADC Needs $30,000 To Spread 'Incriminating Evidence' Against Judge In Scott Lively Case - The old game of "blame the activist judge." How strange. It's usually played after the trial is over.

The Most Powerful Quotes From LGBT Icons And Allies In 2013 - Let's end today's news briefs on a happy note. 

Photo courtesy of Equality Matters.

Politifact calls anti-gay claims about ENDA false

For years, the lgbt community have known that religious right claims regarding ENDA (i.e. it destroys "religious freedom) were bogus.

And now we have official notification to say so, thanks to Politifact.

Recently, Politifact labeled anti-gay claims about ENDA as false. The organization took a close look at the claim because of an email sent out by anti-gay group the Traditional Values Coalition which attacked Democratic Senator Mark Pryor because of his vote for ENDA:

The ENDA bill would prohibit private-sector employers and government employers on the local, state and federal levels from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That protects people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.

Under the law, employers can’t fire or refuse to hire people based on actual or perceived sexuality and gender identity (which need not align with a person’s biological identity).

Churches and other institutions with religious purposes (like schools and daycares) are exempt from the ENDA rules, just as they are from the religious discrimination portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII.

Under Title VII, and therefore under ENDA, religious organizations, which need not be church-run, would be exempt. Additionally, all businesses with fewer than 15 employees are exempt, whether they’re religious or not.

Nelson Tebbe, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who specializes in religious liberty, said ENDA’s religious exemption exceeds Title VII’s.

"It’s broader because the religious exemption in Title VII only allows religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of religion," he said. But it doesn’t allow religious groups to discriminate based on factors like an employee’s gender or race.

Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber praises foreign countries for their anti-gay persecution

Reasonable people would get alarmed when they hear about anti-gay persecution and violence in foreign countries such as Jamaica and Russia.

I guess that would leave the Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber out:

Barber

. . . there has been, of late, great weeping and gnashing of teeth among mainstream media – and other circles of intolerant “tolerance” – over successful efforts by several foreign governments to stem the tide of “LGBT” propaganda within their own sovereign borders. Russia, India, Croatia, Peru, Jamaica and even Australia, for instance, along with other nations, are now moving to inoculate themselves from the fast-metastasizing cancer of sexual relativism. Having witnessed, from afar, the poisonous results of such propaganda here in the U.S. (the hyper-sexualization of children, the deconstruction of natural marriage and family, the rampant spread of sexually transmitted disease, religious persecution and the like), there seems an emerging global recognition that the radical “LGBT” agenda – a pet cause of Obama’s – is not about securing “human rights,” but, rather, is about promulgating moral wrongs.

 How ironically sad that Barber praises countries who persecute lgbts such as Russia days after Russian sitcom star Ivan Okhlobystin made the shocking comment of throwing gays in ovens:

“I would put all the gays alive into an oven,” the one-time Orthodox priest has been quoted as saying. “This is Sodom and Gomorrah! As a religious person, I cannot be indifferent about it because it is a real threat to my children!” Okhlobystin later tweeted to confirm his comments. “The meaning was rendered correctly,” he said. “Everyone has the right to express their opinions.”

I'm certainly not accusing Matt Barber of having the same genocidal desires of Okhlobystin when it comes to gays, but he does come across as extremely tone deaf. I would hope that he publicly opposes those awful comments with as much fervor as he supports the environment which would give someone the audacity to make such comments.

'The world protests India's ban on same-sex intercourse' and other Monday midday news briefs

Many Hurdles Ahead for Transgender Rights Movement - Good job Associated Press for awesome article on our transgender brothers and sisters. 

95 Incredible Images Of The World Raging Against India’s Ban On Same-Sex Intercourse - 96 reasons why the lgbt struggle for equality is multinational and multicultural. 

  No, The Court Victory For Polygamy Has Nothing To Do With Marriage Equality - Stop an anti-marriage equality factoid before it can start. Good job, Think Progress.  

Uganda national football manager arrested for gay sex - What our Ugandan brothers and sisters have to deal with. This is awful.

Mary Cheney speaks out against effort to hinder marriage equality in Indiana

Mary Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, seems to be stepping up her efforts in speaking out for marriage equality via a recent speech against a proposed anti-marriage equality amendment in Indiana.

The irony here? Her sister, Liz Cheney, is running for a Senate seat in Congress against incumbent Mike Enzi and she has made public her opposition to marriage equality.

The larger irony? Many, if not all political observers and pundits, credit the huge push against marriage equality as a major factor for Bush and Cheney's 2004 election victory.

Now some folks will commence with their negative talk. I say "better late than never" when it comes to Mary Cheney being a vocal ally for marriage equality. There is a time and a place for all things and right now, attacking Mary Cheney for her past silence simply isn't wise.

Pictures courtesy of Buzzfeed. To see the video of Cheney's speech, go to Buzzfeed.