About Rick Santorum's desire to ignore same-sex families

Today on Fox News, presidential candidate Rick Santorum (no friend to the lgbtq community) talked about how he would attempt to appeal to gay voters:

"Well, look, I have nothing against gay people. They have rights of every other citizen. But what they did in Iowa and what some are trying to do -- not all gays -- but some are trying to do is change the laws of this country with respect to what the definition of marriage is," Santorum said. "We have a public policy disagreement. I know there are a lot of gays who are strong on national security and believe in lower taxes and getting this economy moving, and welcome them to join our campaign."

. . . "Well, you know -- you know, we can have a public policy discussion that says that, you know, certain things -- our laws should be certain ways without seeing it as a personal attack. It's not a personal attack. It's what we believe is best for the country," he responded. "And I believe what's best for the country is to give children their birthright, which is the best opportunity for them to have a mother and a father. ... There are a lot of other important relationships, and I don't dismiss other relationships as important. But there's one essential relationship that's necessary to give children their birthright."

Now I could wax philosophically about why the host of the program, Greta Van Susteren, didn't press Santorum on the reality of same-sex families.

But then I can guess why she didn't. After all, it is Fox News and girlfriend likes that big salary.

However, Santorum's omission of the reality of same-sex families is a problem which needs to be mentioned.

Why do folks like Santorum - those who call themselves Christians, evangelicals, or whatever - seem to always refuse to acknowledge the fact that same-sex families exist and that these families are raising children?

Sure they will talk about how the "social science" says that the best place for a child is a home with a mother and a father. And of course when they say that, none of these so-called reputable journalists with their gigantic salaries will question them on whether or not these studies ever compared same-sex households to opposite-parents households - because these studies generally don't.

And none of these big-named journalist will question folks like Santorum on the existence of single-parent households.

They just let them talk and let them set the phony narrative that somehow same-sex households with children simply don't exist when in fact there are millions of them in this country.

Santorum's need to omit these homes says a lot about his Christian character than any speech he can make.

Or lack thereof.

In short, the gay community is not stupid. We know that Santorum has an aversion to us and our families. We know that he doesn't like us and because of that, we just don't like him.

'NOM's Top Ten Blunders of 2011' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

NOM’s Top Ten Biggest Gaffes Of 2011 - Equality Matters has come up with the National Organization for Marriage's top ten biggest blunders of 2011. I hope you enjoy the list as much as I did:

10. "A Link Is Not An Endorsement"

9. NOM Gets Caught Lying For Money

8. Brian Brown Can't Do TV

7. The Bus Tour Nobody Cared About

6. NOM Declares Victory... Right Before Losing

5. Brian Brown Gets Caught At Gingrich Fundraiser

4. Maggie Gallagher “Talks Turkey”

3. NOM Learns About Hotlinking

2. NOM’s Photoshopped Supporters

1. NOM Defector Tells All

And in other news:

NHMarriage.org linked to notorious MassResistance - Ugh! One group of crazies linked to another. And Mass Resistance is a hate group by the way.

Newt Gingrich Tells Gay Iowan To Vote For Obama - Works for me!

McInerney sentenced; King’s adopted father conveniently blames the money source - The entire situation gets me sick. What price homophobia indeed!

Gary Cass’s Top Ten ‘Anti-Christian Acts’ Feature A Lot Of Whining, No Actual Victims - Six items involve the lgbtq community. What! No Tim Tebow?

Bryan Fischer is so homophobic that I feel sorry for him

Sometimes, you hear things that are just so outrageous that all you can do is simply put them out for people to comment on:



And Fischer claims to have no idea why the group which employs him, the American Family Association, is a hate group.

The man is obviously oblivious AND deaf.


Related post:

The reason why the American Family Association is a hate group
 

'American Family Association overlooks adultery and supports Gingrich' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Same chestnuts, same fire: NH's new anti-equality head gears up to roast equal rights - Pay special attention to this link. The leader of New Hampshire's Cornerstone Policy Research - Wendy Warcholik - is claiming that out-of-towners forced gay marriage in New Hampshire. Then she says the following:

Put succinctly, “Gays and Lesbians have a right to live as they choose, they don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us."

Now we all from which out-of-town group that phrase comes from. And of course Warcholik conveniently omits how this same group stole photos from Obama rallies to fake support for its phony efforts to repeal marriage equality in NH. Meanwhile, other members of  the anti-marriage equality crowd are attacking same-sex families. It's ugly.

And in other news:

Newt Gingrich Secures Endorsement Of Anti-Gay ‘Family’ Group He Helped Fund - Apparently the American Family Association is overlooking that "adultery thing."

Homeless for the Holidays: Portraits of New York City's Homeless LGBT Youth (PHOTOS) - When lying, sanctimonious talking heads and phony pro-family groups dominate the airwaves, critical stories like this tend to get lost in the shuffle.

He Just Makes Stuff Up - You mean a religious right "expert" actually makes thinks up? Gasp and swoon!

Anti-Gay Marriage Leaders Endorse Rick Santorum - Irrelevancy embraces irrelevancy.

NOM accused of distorting controversy in Canada

Looks like the National Organization for Marriage may have just made a major boo-boo in Canada. From CTV News in Canada:

The head of Vancouver's School Board and a city councillor claim two other school board trustees used the U.S. group National Organization for Marriage to attack the board's anti-homophobia policies.

Board chair Patti Bacchus and Councillor Tim Stevenson say they want an apology after two disturbing videos recently surfaced, raising questions about the conduct of trustees Ken Denike and Sophia Woo.

Denike agrees he spoke out about the booklet because parents should be concerned, but said he was misled about the interview and had no idea it would be featured on the group's website.

Deinke also said that he is consulting with lawyers to get the video removed. But it appears that Deinke - and Woo - are in a huge amount of trouble over this

Anti-gay lawsuit loses on appeal

Blame Chuck Norris for me not getting this out yesterday.

The following is an excellent piece of news. It wasn't unexpected, but it is still  news worthy of dancing from the rooftops:

 A federal appeals court has upheld the right of Augusta State University to enforce standards of its counseling graduate program -- even when a religious student objects to requirements to treat gay people in a nondiscriminatory manner.

 . . . The student, Jennifer Keeton, argues that her religiously motivated beliefs are being challenged by Augusta State's policies -- and that a public university may not do so. Keeton was expelled when she declined to participate in the remediation plan, and she asked a federal district court and the appeals court to order her reinstatement in the program.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that Augusta State had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons to enforce its rules. The counseling program's accreditation depended in part on adhering to a code of conduct, and faculty members believed it was their responsibility to train students to work with a wide range of clients, the court found. The decision placed the counseling department's actions at Augusta State in the broader context of faculty members training professionals who must pay attention to the ethics of various fields.

Keeton has initially sued the university last year and lost.  In ruling for that decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals was very direct in speaking against Keeton's efforts.

Chuck Norris - the fraud who won't stand up to real injustice

Chuck Norris is an action movie star - and a bad one. But he should stay that way. His forays into politics reveal his basic ignorance.

He has penned a piece for the American Family Association whining about how the Obama Administration has declared war on religion. Personally I don't think he wrote it. I think someone else wrote it and he attached his name to it because it reads like the usual religious right hogwash.

But two items on his supposed list of grievances caught my eye:

• The Pentagon releases new regulations, forcing chaplains to perform same-sex "weddings" despite their religious objections (September 2011).

• Secretary Hillary Clinton demonizes other countries' religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights (December 2011).

Here is why the two items caught my eye. The first item is a basic lie. And that can be easily be proven by the link contained in the item. The Washington Post article which it links to clearly says:

The Pentagon will permit military chaplains to perform same-sex marriage as long as such ceremonies are not prohibited in the states where they reside, it said Friday.

Defense Department guidance issued to military chaplains said they may participate in ceremonies on or off military bases in states that recognize gay unions. Chaplains are not required to officiate at same-sex weddings if doing so is counter to their religious or personal beliefs, the guidance said.

The second claim I illuminated is important because it illustrates the fraud that Chuck Norris is exposing himself to be:

• Secretary Hillary Clinton demonizes other countries' religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights (December 2011).

Secretary Clinton was not demonizing religious beliefs. She was calling attention to the fact that in some foreign countries, lgbtqs persecuted by ways of beatings, vicious murders, forced rapes, and forced reparative therapy:

Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. In many ways, they are an invisible minority. They are arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed. Many are treated with contempt and violence by their fellow citizens while authorities empowered to protect them look the other way or, too often, even join in the abuse. They are denied opportunities to work and learn, driven from their homes and countries, and forced to suppress or deny who they are to protect themselves from harm.

Chuck Norris considers himself an action hero. He has starred in many motion pictures and a television show (Walker, Texas Ranger) portraying himself as someone who fights against injustice. As such, Norris has been shown fictionally preventing innocent people from beaten, killed, or generally terrorized.

How is it that this man who has made a career out of being a hero to the persecuted in motion pictures and television can conveniently ignore actual cases of people being persecuted simply because these people are gay?

The answer is clear. Chuck Norris is a liar and a fraud. His persona is nothing much than  phony macho bravado.

Chuck Norris can't stand up to injustice because he simply doesn't know what real injustice is.  The only type of injustice he knows belongs on a soundstage. It begins when the director says "action" and ends when the same director yells "cut."

Somehow, because of all of the years in this phony world, Norris sees himself as an actual heroic figure.

A little advice, Chuck. Stay in the land of make-believe. In real-life, you just don't measure up to your image.

Hat tip to Goodasyou.org

'Marcus Bachmann backs down on threat' and other Monday midday news briefs

True LGBTQ Stories: 'Your Son Is Straight Now' - Naturally that turned out to not be true.

Marcus Bachmann Backs Down and Caves on Bogus $150 ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Bill - So on top of everything else, Marcus Bachmann is a chickenshit.

Study confirms Maggie Gallagher’s claim - Don't get spooked. It's not what you think.

Video: Oh *please* let NOM make this guy their next 'Anti-Defamation' star. Pretty please. - And speaking of NOM.

Student files lawsuit claiming 'homosexual indoctrination'

Here we go again. Another student is suing another school claiming that his religious beliefs were violated.

From The Dallas Voice:

This week, the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian legal foundation, filed suit in federal court on behalf of Sandra Glowacki, a Catholic, who claims that the Howell Public School District in Howell, Mich., and teacher Johnson “Jay” McDowell violated the constitutional rights of her son, 16-year-old Daniel Glowacki, when McDowell kicked him out of class on Oct. 20, 2010 — when the school district was observing anti-bullying day and Spirit Day — because Daniel Glowacki told McDowell that as a Catholic, his religion prevented him from supporting gay rights.

The lawsuit claims that McDowell wore a “Tyler’s Army” T-shirt that day in memory of gay college student Tyler Clementi, who had committed suicide after being bullied, and that McDowell had used his class all day to “promote homosexuality.” The lawsuit says McDowell had told a female student to remove a Confederate flag belt buckle because he was offended by it. Then when Daniel Glowacki asked why it was OK to display a rainbow flag promoting LGBT rights, McDowell asked whether Glowacki supported gay rights. When Glowacki said his religion prohibited him from doing so, McDowell made him and another student with similar views leave the class.

McDowell was suspended for violating school district policy, but the suspension was later lifted to settle the grievance complaint Johnson filed.

The Dallas Voice is quick to point out the resemblance of this case to the one of Dakota Ary. A few months ago, a student in a Texas school, Dakota Ary, claimed that he was suspended for merely saying that homosexuality was a sin. However, after the unfortunate media blitz done by Ary's mother and the Liberty Counsel - the group hired by her, it was discovered that perhaps Ary's version of the story was not necessarily true. There were questions whether Ary and a few students were harassing the teacher long before the incident.

Based upon that case and so many other incidents in which religious right groups haven't been forthcoming on details, I reserve the right to not necessarily believe this young man's version of the story. And I have a few questions:

1. What were the exact words said in the conversation which led Glowacki to be kicked out of class.

2.Why was the other student kicked out of class with Glowacki?

3. The teacher was reprimanded for kicked Glowacki out of class, but the reprimand was lifted.  Why? He was  also suspended for one day because of the incident, but was reimbursed for those wages. Again, why?

And here is something that's interesting. This is what the lawsuit says:

The lawsuit also alleges that the Howell district, in cooperation with teacher unions, “indoctrinates students to believe that homosexuality is normal and … that religious opposition … is harassment, bullying, hate speech and homophobic.” 

It sounds like to me that the Thomas More Center is exploiting this one incident to attack  and maybe eliminate whatever "gay-friendly" policy this school may have.

Whatever the case may be, count on seeing another right-wing media blitz. Only this time, I hope people reserve judgement until the entire story comes out.

Know Your LGBT History - Brother to Brother

Something sorely lacking in today's gay cinema - a movie about black gay men



From the youtube description:

When young black gay artist Perry (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker) is discovered in an intimate sexual encounter with another young man, he is promptly thrown out of his house. With the added confusion of a potential love interest from his white classmate, Perry is at a loss. Things change when a chance encounter with famous poet Bruce Nugent introduces Perry to a historical journey into the gay and lesbian subcultures of the Harlem Renaissance and 'Niggeratti Manor', the creative centre for rebellious black artists Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis, Ray) and Langston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata, TV's Rescue Me). As Perry learns more about the past struggles experienced by those of a different colour and sexuality, he comes to respect what makes him different, and embrace a history that is rarely told.

Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

Minnesota Archbishop plays politics with Catholic Mass

Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt has just posted a letter offering the following prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Through the powerful intercession of the Holy Family, grant to this local Church the many graces we need to foster, strengthen, and support faith-filled, holy marriages and holy families.

May the vocation of married life, a true calling to share in your own divine and creative life, be recognized by all believers as a source of blessing and joy, and a revelation of your own divine goodness.

Grant to us all the gift of courage to proclaim and defend your plan for marriage, which is the union of one man and one woman in a lifelong, exclusive relationship of loving trust, compassion, and generosity, open to the conception of children.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

It is worth noting that Minnesota is in the middle of a ballot campaign over marriage equality and this move by Nienstedt is the latest in what seems to be a crusade of the Minnesota Catholic bishops to interject themselves into a political battle.

According to the group Truth Wins Out:

This isn’t the first time that Minnesota’s Catholic bishops have specifically encouraged their priests and congregants to use parish time, facilities, and resources to push for the passage of the state’s proposed ban on same-sex marriage. In September 2010, the bishops produced and mailed a DVD attacking marriage equality to all registered Catholic households. And in another letter this fall, Nienstedt directed parish priests to form committees in their churches devoted “…to educat[ing] the faithful about the church’s teachings on [marriage], and to vigorously organiz[ing] and support[ing] a grass-roots effort to get out the vote to support the passage of this amendment.” The Archbishop called it “imperative that we marshal our resources” in this fight.

What can be seen as bothersome about this is that Nienstedt is specifically pushing this prayer as a political maneuver rather than one of spiritual faith. He clearly states the following:

To help assist in the strengthening of our state-wide efforts to defend marriage in our civil constitution, I am pleased to offer to your community of faith the enclosed prayer. Copies may be ordered through the Office of Worship, and are meant for use within the Holy Mass as part of the Prayer of the Faithful. In addition, I would encourage the posting of the prayer within Eucharistic Adoration chapels, along with an encouragement to adorers to pray for the success of the amendment and all efforts to strengthen marriage.

Regardless of what one feels about marriage equality or the Catholic faith, the interjection of a prayer designed to politically motivate people rather than speak to their hearts has be troubling.

Truth Wins Out says the following:

There is absolutely no defense on any level for this kind of malicious, disgusting hatred. Nienstedt’s text is anything but a “prayer,” but instead is an overt attempt to cloak a set of anti-gay political talking points with the mantle of faith. The Archbishop even stoops so low as to use the Eucharist, which is sacred to LGBT and non-LGBT Catholics alike, as a weapon in the fight to exclude loving same-sex couples from marriage in Minnesota.

Related posts:

Catholic Church making deal with the devil to stop marriage equality in Minnesota?


Catholic Church is overstepping its bounds against marriage equality in Minnesota

Why the religious right are actually scared to debate gay issues

There is a reason why Peter Sprigg and Tony Perkins of the Family Resewarch Council deliberately avoids debates on gay issues in spite of their insistence that they do want to debate. The following video demonstrates why:

Granted, the religious right spokesperson, Candi Cushman of Focus on the Family, did alright here. But she was clearly called out:

When gays become grandparents . . .

No special or long winded comment necessary. While we may not be knowledgeable of the particulars in this household, we can be rest assured that the following is probably what happens in many homes where same-sex parents have raised children.

Now can any of those so-called family experts who rag on same-sex families tell me just what is wrong with this? I'm talking to you, Maggie, Brian, Tony, Peter, or any of you other so-called Christian folks:



It's all about love, folks.

Religious right leader goes off the deep end about Macy's, Hilary Clinton, and bathrooms

Cindy Asmussen of Concerned Women for America’s Central Texas chapter wants you to know that she is really upset over the so-called plots of the gay community.

First, she joins the Liberty Counsel in spinning lies about the former Macy's employee who was fired for violating store policy while harassing a transgender customer.

The Macy's store in San Antonio, Texas, fired Natalie Johnson after she noticed a cross-dressing man wearing lipstick coming out of the women's dressing room; she politely told him the rooms were for women only. The man, and several friends who were with him, began shouting profanities at Natalie and demanded to speak with her supervisor. After the management of the store assured the man that Macy's was indeed a LGBT friendly store and transgender men could use the women's dressing rooms, the supervisor then summoned Natalie into an office where she was forced to choose between upholding the company policy or job termination. Natalie chose to defend her values and the belief that it is a dangerous precedent to allow men to change in a women's dressing room also used by young girls. For that, she was fired.

So many lies. First of all, the customer was not a man. The customer was a transgender teenager. Secondly, please note the careful but very inaccurate semantics which Asmussen uses:

Natalie chose to defend her values and the belief that it is a dangerous precedent to allow men to change in a women's dressing room also used by young girls.

Asmussen is continuing to push the highly inaccurate idea that Macy's policy will allow men to barge into dressing rooms and rape little girls. This is a lie constructed to exploit fears and ignorance about Macy's policy and the transgender community - a very un-Christian thing to do.

Amussen continues to go off on her tangent, taking time to condemn Secretary of State Hilary Clinton for her recent speech in Genova which condemned the persecution of lgbtqs worldwide:

On December 6 at the United Nations, Hillary Clinton championed LGBT "rights." She claimed that members of the LGBT community are born that way, and it is something they cannot change. We know from all of the facts and testimonies of those who have come out of LGBT lifestyles that this is simply a lie. They can and do change all of the time. It is a behavior and a choice, and this is why there are several nationwide ministries helping those who want to be free from this lifestyle.

Naturally Asmussen is not a medical professional. The idea that one can change one's sexual orientation has been condemned constantly by group such as the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association.

Asmussen finally goes off of the deep end with the silly "gays want to persecute Christians" angle and manages to really space out:

Yet despite that, LGBT activists want to alter OUR lifestyles by intimidating us into accepting what we know is not of God, by trying to inhibit our free speech rights and abilities to speak out against it, and by forcing us to use the same dressing rooms (and, in many cases, bathrooms) with the opposite sex.

So in Asmussen's world, going against your employer's policy and harassing customers, forced rape and tortures are Christian virtues and gays are secretly plotting to make her sit in a bathroom stall next to a man.

Sometimes it's so difficult to put into words just how ridiculous these people are. Luckily for me, they manage to put those words out themselves. All I have to do is put a spotlight on them.

Editor's note - one useful thing this silly woman did was to put out exact information to the higher-ups at Macy's. Write or email to these folks and thank them for standing up for the lgbt community, particularly our children. And tell them not to back down in the face of lies:

Macy's President, Terry Lundgren, at macys_execs@macys.com or call the headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 513-579-7000. You could also call Jim Sluzewski, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, at 513-579-7764; or Julie Strider, of Macy's Media Relations, at 646-429-5213.


Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'Virginia adoption rules permits ban on sexual orientation' and other Thursday midday news briefs

New Virginia Adoption Rules Permit Anti-Gay, Gender, Disability And Other Forms Of Discrimination - I can almost understand the argument that these are private adoption agencies but why then are they receiving tax dollars? Also, the regulations prohibit them to discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. So why is it okay then to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or age, gender, disability, religion, political belief and family status (the other categories these agencies can now discriminate under).

Ugandan Pastors Face Gay Libel Charges - If you ask me, THIS case illustrates the real reason why some Uganda pastors were pushing for that awful law, particularly Matin Ssempa. Ssempa, by the way is implicated in this situation. It's a classic case of "Naboth's vineyard." It's an old story from the Bible but the gist is this - push for a law which will supposedly protect the public and then use that law to get rid of someone who has something you want.

WA victim of lesbian slurs takes down suspect - Work it, girlfriend! I don't believe in fighting but I do believe in handling your business when pushed. More of us need to take note. There is absolutely nothing wrong with physically fighting back when threatened.

Thailand's Transgender Flight Attendants: PC Air Takes On Groundbreaking Cabin Crew - Absolutely groundbreaking.

GOProud becomes even less gay - Don't blame the "gay left" for your problems, GoProud. Blame your allies.

Gingrich signs NOM's marriages pledge; America rolls eyes - I personally laughed so hard that I nearly wet my pants.

How many ways can you laugh at a bigoted ad?

By now, you have all heard about Rick Perry's anti-gay commercial and how it was panned universally on youtube:



And while it's awesome that such naked bigotry and rather tacky pandering to people's prejudices was rejected, it is even better to put a proper perspective on it. Let's do this by looking at various parodies of Perry's video. Tell me which one do you like the best:

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel doubles down on implausible story against Macy's

As Mat Staver and the Liberty Counsel continue milk the case of the former Macy's employee who was fired for harassing a transgender customer, one has to wonder are they reading their own press.

Yesterday, I pointed out how Staver and the employee, Natalie Johnson, conducted several interviews in which they tried to whitewash the fact that Johnson's actions violated Macy's policy and that concerns about "religious liberty" and "men in women's changing rooms" were a pitiful dodges.

I even hinted that the Liberty Counsel was "conjuring up" a story of an "anonymous" Macy's employee troubled by the policy.

But in an interview with the phony news service One News Now today, Staver seems to be sticking to that story and making up new ones:

Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, now tells OneNewsNow that an employee of another store has told him she has persistent problems keeping men out of the women's fitting room.

However, that's not exactly what the Liberty Counsel said yesterday on its blog:

The employee said she constantly has to ask men to leave the women’s fitting rooms.

It may seem like an insignificant jump from "asking men to leave women's fitting rooms" to "having persistent problems keeping men out of women's fitting rooms," but this jump only elucidates the questions I asked yesterday.

Those questions were:

Were these transgender women, rather than men accompanying their loved ones? These are two totally different situations.

And if these were transgender women, what are the odds of this employee having the ability to violate company policy without losing her job? If this woman had been truly asking transgender women to leave the fitting rooms, we would be hearing about this before now.

If this anonymous employee has had  "persistent problems" with transgender customers, then that would mean there was in fact conflict between her and those customers. And if this is the case, I refuse to believe that several transgender women in different cases would allow themselves to be disrespected and not complain, especially when the store policy is in their favor.

How is this woman continuing to keep her job in light of this possibility? Or does this woman even exist?

Then Staver tries to make it seem that there is a groundswell of negative reactions to Macy's policy:

According to Liberty Counsel, the public is reacting.

"Consistently the people of America are saying that they will not shop at Macy's," explains Staver. "They're tearing up their Macy's credit cards, they're sending back their Macy's gift cards, they say that they will not shop at Macy's -- and this is a consistent response that we're seeing from the public around the country."

The Liberty Counsel founder says customers are "literally outraged and shocked" at Macy's policy.

Staver conveniently doesn't provide proof of this claim, just like neither he nor the Liberty Counsel has provided proof of the existence of the anonymous Macy's employee.


To reiterate, I smell a rat.

Email Macy's and send the company your support for standing up for our rights and dignity. And most of all, tell Macy's to not back down. 

'Santorum picking on gays (again)' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Santorum Blames Gays For Plummeting Marriage Rate - Santorum would blame the gay community if his cable went out.

Chaplains not forced; These fearful talking points, on the other hand… - And this, boys and girls, is how the religious right claims victory in a situation where there was no victory for them.

Gay Vietnam Vet Who Challenged Romney On Marriage Equality Speaks Out - Yes this has been seen and talked about ad naseum. But a Mitt Romney buttwhipping is something we can always enjoy over and over again.

It Happened to Me: I Told My Boyfriend I Was Born a Boy - An issue at the crux of all of the lies and fear tactics thrown at the transgender community. A necessary and powerful story.

Michigan Gay Men Allegedly Being Targeted In Police Stings For 'Soliciting And Accosting' - This story is not as clear cut as you think. The article alleges that officers are the ones making the first moves and are targeting gay men for behavior that would be acceptable for heterosexual couples.

'Ex-gay' president changing statement in face of lawsuit?

Very few people are aware of the possible lawsuit that the organization Truth Wins Out may lodge against the ex-gay group PFOX.

The incident stems from an October 7 interview on NewsPlus with Mark Segraves (WDCW-TV). At the 10:38 mark of the show, PFOX President Greg Quinlan claimed that Wayne Besen, head of Truth Wins Out, said the following:

“Truth Wins Out if you look further, including Wayne Besen. He’s asked for people, you know, somebody needs to run Greg over. He needs to be hit with a bus. Somebody should inject him with AIDS. Those are the things that Wayne Besen and Truth Wins Out says about me. That’s pretty hateful rhetoric.”

Reportedly, Truth Wins Out sent PFOX a letter last week asking for an apology, claiming that Quinlan's claim was a lie.

Quinlan, however refused to apologize. In a letter sent out, he also tried to turn the incident around on Besen, claiming that Besen is a persistent harasser of the so-called peaceful ex-gay movement.

That's neither here nor there. The important piece is the claim by Quinlan that Besen has been calling for someone to harm him.

Quinlan, in his letter, claimed that Besen told these things to him in a private conversation:

First of all, Besen blatantly mischaracterized what I actually said on the program, claiming that I suggested he solicited my assassination. This is a bald-faced lie and Besen knows it. The truth is that Besen once said to me in a private conversation that someone should run me over with a bus or inject me with AIDS. Did I think he was serious? No. I knew it was just Wayne being Wayne; one part bluster, two parts hyperbole and three parts hot air.”

Besen has denied this conversation ever took place.

Here is the thing though which may hurt Quinlan's case. The claim he made about Besen calling for others to harm him is on video. And at no point does Quinlan indicate that it was a private conversation between him and Besen. In fact, Quinlan expressly said that Besen was telling people to harm him:



So while at the present time, Quinlan is showing all sorts of bravado (the end of his letter is a challenge to Truth Wins Out and Besen to go ahead and sue him), we will see if that bravado holds up in the face of what appears to be an incriminating video.

Liberty Counsel eagerly smearing transgender community and Macy's with lies

With the recent case of the former Macy's employee, Natalie Johnson, who was fired because she harassed a transgender customer, the right wing group, the Liberty Counsel, is acting as if it won the lottery.

The organization has been on a massive press tour pushing their version of the story.

The young lady was fired because she violated the store policy which allows the transgender community to use whichever changing room they see fit. She took it upon herself to accost a transgender teen who was coming from one of the changing rooms. The teen and her friends complained and when informed of the policy, the young lady said she would not follow it.

That is why she was fired. She is presently suing - via the Liberty Counsel - claiming that her religious beliefs were violated.

Now while neither she nor the organization can't seem to decided whether or not to use the phony angle of religious persecution or the even more fallacious image of how Macy's policy would lead to women being violated (this sort of thing has never happened, neither in Macy's nor in places where there exists transgender inclusive policies), the one angle both seem to agree on is smearing the transgender community.

First was an overly friendly interview on Fox News where the anchor, Shannon Bream, let Johnson and Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver go unchallenged about the situation even to the point of saying awful things about the transgender community.

From Equality Matters:

During the segment, Fox’s Bream listened quietly as her guests repeated a number of anti-trans smears, including referring to the transgender teen as “a man... wearing lipstick” and promoting the right-wing myth that transgender protections put women and girls “in jeopardy”

 . . .  Instead of accurately portraying the problem of discrimination based on gender identity, Bream allowed her guests to openly chuckle as they trivialized the experience of the transgender teen and attacked Macy’s non-discrimination policy. 

Staver also made an appearance on the radio show of right-wing host Janet Parshall. Parshall, who once referred to same-sex families as  "pretend families," of course let Staver go on a lying tangent as to supposedly how dangerous Macy's policy is:

As you mentioned before the break, this really puts every woman at risk. A father doesn’t want to take his twelve, thirteen year-old daughter there to go to Macy’s and let her go into a woman’s fitting room, not knowing whether there may be some pedophile, pervert, or some other kind of person who’s waiting to do a sexual assault on this young woman, or your wife. Any woman does not want to go into a men’s restroom, a men’s fitting room, or a woman’s fitting room, thinking that they may be watched by a peeping tom or even worse, sexually assaulted or raped, and in fact this is a liability waiting to happen and Macy’s needs to fix this problem.

Lastly comes an item from the Liberty Counsel's blog which may signal that perhaps Staver and company reached too much in pushing this phony panic:

Another Macy’s employee has contacted Liberty Counsel and shared about repeated issues with men using the women’s fitting rooms. This individual asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing her job. The employee said she constantly has to ask men to leave the women’s fitting rooms. In addition, she has been asked numerous times by mothers who have daughters in the fitting rooms to please ask the men to leave the women’s dressing rooms.

Here is where it gets tricky. Two questions need to be asked.

Were these transgender women, rather than men accompanying their loved ones? These are two totally different situations.

And if these were transgender women, what are the odds of this employee having the ability to violate company policy without losing her job? If this woman had been truly asking transgender women to leave the fitting rooms,  we would be hearing about this before now.

I smell a rat.

More specifically, I smell an ambulance chasing organization eager to ride a phony controversy all the way to the bank.

Email Macy's and send the company your support for standing up for our rights and dignity. And most of all, tell Macy's to not back down. 

Related posts:

LGBTQ youth caught in the crossfire of phony 'religious liberty'

Woman files lawsuit because she can't harass transgender customers

Macy's stands up for the lgbtq community