Nope. Sorry. STILL gay

As pointed out in today's news briefs, the discredited ex-gay therapy group, NARTH, is attempting to  re-brand itself as another organization. This effort is probably going to go as by as fictional newsbreak put out by the organization announcing this move.

On the risk of sounding like I'm "slut-shaming" (I'm not), notice something very "perky" about the female anchor. Sad to say for NARTH's sake, it didn't work on me:

'Fox News, anti-gay Family Research Council share 'cozy relationship'' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Megyn Kelly’s Cozy Relationship With An Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader - In spite of the Family Research Council being declared an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to its long history of attacking the lgbt community via lies, bad science, and unsubstantiated charges, according to Equality Matters, (FRC president) "Tony Perkins has appeared on Megyn Kelly’s shows more than all other Fox News programs combined over the past two years." In addition, Kelly has done her level best to "whitewash" FRC's and Perkins's attacks on the lgbt community. It's really the ethical equivalent of using racist leader David Duke as a commentating authority on racial issues.

Related post - 16 Reasons Why the Family Research Council is a Hate Group

Sen. Rand Paul met with NOM affiliate group - It wasn't that I was ever going to consider voting for Paul should he run for president. This just enhances my intentions to see that he never sits in the Oval Office as executive and chief. 

 Bridal Store Denies Same Sex Couple Gowns in Bloomsburg - As I understand it, this is perfectly legal, but that's fine. Once marriage equality becomes legal, they will be begging to take our money and if not, we simply go to the stores which will or, even better, create our own bridal shops.  

Discredited ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Group, NARTH, Undergoes Major Rebranding Effort - Thanks to pushy lgbt bloggers (moi amongst others), groups such as Truth Wins Out, and others, this poor attempt at subterfuge just ain't gonna fly. 

Gay Widower Shares Heartbreaking Story Of Why He's Suing Alabama - A crusade with a purpose.

FRC's Peter Sprigg attempts to rewrite facts about flawed Regnerus study

Peter Sprigg of FRC

It never ceases to amaze me how low Family Research Council spokesman Peter Sprigg will stoop in various columns, pieces, and posts to deceive people in regards to situations about the lgbt community. I've written about Sprigg's lies and distortions on numerous occasions.

Yesterday in anticipation of the four six cases which will decide the fate of marriage equality in four states, he attempted a rehash of the Michigan case earlier this year which overturned the anti-marriage equality law in that state. He also attempted to tarnish the reputation of a federal judge:

In the piece Appeals Court Should Correct Judge Friedman’s Botched Social Science which appeared  in The Daily Caller, Sprigg claimed that the federal judge, Bernard Friedman, who ruled against Michigan's anti-marriage equality law, was biased against those defending that law.

Sprigg offers no concrete proof, only vapid innuendos:

 Judge Friedman was fawning in his adulation of the pro-homosexual witnesses, describing each as “fully credible” or “highly credible” and attaching either “considerable weight” or “great weight” to their testimony.

On the other hand, he simply dismissed the other witnesses. Loren Marks (whose published critique of the pro-homosexual parenting studies is, in reality, devastating) was described as “largely unbelievable.”

Then Sprigg proceeded to defend Michigan's witness, Professor Mark Regnerus. Regnerus, as many of you all know, is the author of the study which claimed that lgbt households are not a good place to raise children.

Anti-gay radio show host/pastor - Ebola virus outbreak would take care of gays, others 'not protected by God'

Rick Whiles

Argument in today's marriage equality hearings are over and while folks guess and and predict the outcome, anti-gay radio show host  and pastor, Rick Wiles isn't worried. Today, he seemed optimistic about  how the Ebola virus crisis would talk care of the situation.

Right before chatting with a Republican congressman on his on “Trunews” program yesterday, End Times radio host Rick Wiles said that an outbreak of Ebola in the U.S. might actually be a good thing if it ends up giving an “attitude adjustment” to all the gays and atheists, along with people who use pornography or have had an abortion, who will die if they aren’t “protected by God.” “Now this Ebola epidemic can become a global pandemic and that’s another name for plague. It may be the great attitude adjustment that I believe is coming,” he said. “Ebola could solve America’s problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography and abortion.” “If Ebola becomes a global plague, you better make sure the blood of Jesus is upon you, you better make sure you have been marked by the angels so that you are protected by God. If not, you may be a candidate to meet the Grim Reaper.”

I want to say something else. I truly do. But even I'm rendered speechless by this fool. . . of course though one has to wonder which Congressman came on Wiles' show after THAT statement.

'Six marriage equality cases argued today' & other Wed. midday news briefs

It's a big day in Cincinnati; follow along, join in at #6thCircuit - Today in Cincinnati, there will be six lawsuits regarding anti-marriage equality laws in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Click on this link to follow developments all day via twitter.  

Transgender Woman Says Immigration Detention Officials Told Her To Pretend Her Rape Was Consensual - THIS is awful!

California Lawmakers Consider Expanding Gay Parents' Rights - Go California!!

 Anti-Gay Activist Gary Glenn Wins GOP Primary In Michigan - From the online "conversations" I've had with him, it's easy to see that Gary Glenn doesn't have the sense God gave a goose. And Michigan Republicans just picked him in a primary for a seat in the Michigan House of Republicans. DAMN!  

Opponents of Equal Rights Ordinance sue Mayor Annise Parker, city of Houston - When have our opponents given up after they have lost fairly?

CA Council woman verbally attacked during meetings because she is lesbian

Apparently a member of a California city council has been the target of verbal attacks because of her sexual orientation.

From Raw Story:

The vice mayor of Richmond, California has been the target of racially-charged and homophobic taunts from opponents who now accuse her of wanting to stifle their free speech rights, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. According to the Chronicle, the vitrol directed at Jovanka Beckles, a lesbian who identifies as a Black Latina, has been a fixture at local city council meetings since her election four years ago. During a meeting last month, one member of the public, identified as Mark Wassberg, was seemingly bragging about the council allowing him the right to berate Beckles over her sexual orientation.

“I’m going to keep coming up here and tell you how gays have no morality,” he was quoted as saying. “You’re filth. You’re dirt. Because I have the constitutional right to say it.”

KTVU-TV also reported last month that critics have called for Beckles to resign after video came to light of her telling a local minister, Rev. Kenneth Davis, to “get out of [her] f*cking face,” and calling other hecklers “bullies” and “women abusers.”

Based on another video - taken from youtube, it seems that Beckles may have some justification for her reaction (although not the profanity she allegedly used). This video paints the picture of a continuously abusive council audience. The following clip is from last year in which Wassberg, the man who called Beckles filth, and other members of the audience berated Beckles using all sorts of nasty language. Please note that the video is making the argument that another council member, Nat Bates, is defending the attacks on Beckles.



There is no such thing as "free speech" when someone is verbally attacking a group of people or a specific government official during meetings. The fact of the matter is that the verbal abuse should have been stopped the instant it started.

NOM exploits families to harm the lgbt community

One of the most vile things about the National Organization for Marriage is how it takes seemingly innocent concepts and exploits them for an ugly purpose. This tweet is a good example:

"Children desperately need to know...that they're loved and valued by mom and dad" #1m1w #marriage pic.twitter.com/Fc8VYScTZV
— NOM (@NOMupdate) August 5, 2014

It's a nice thing to say., except when one realizes who is saying it. This is NOM, the group that has attempted to stop gays from marrying and same-sex households from protecting their family, especially their children.

This is the same organization which attempted to push a junk science study which attacked same-sex families. And it is the same organization helping to push a bill which would allow religiously-based foster care providers and adoption agencies to discriminate against gays while using tax dollars.

Taking all of that into account, we realize that NOM doesn't care about families of any stripe. All of the twitter posts and fake expressions of support of the "family unit" can neither erase nor conceal that fact.

NOM certainly doesn't care about gay families and heterosexual two-parent families are merely a tool for the group to set up a fictional competition in which the outcome is at the very least, the omission of gay families and at the very most, the disappearance of gay families.

'How to correct anti-transgender talking points' & other Tues. midday news briefs

Read: Catholic Bishops back tax-subsidized adoption discrimination (*and alienating even more young people, apparently) - You know, maybe if the Catholic Bishops wouldn't spend so much money fighting marriage equality, they wouldn't have to rely on tax dollars for their adoption agencies. Just a suggestion. 

Fighting Back Against Anti-Transgender Talking Points - This is what I like - simple, easy to remember corrections of anti-transgender arguments.  

They're Gay, They're Christian And They're Celibate! - I'm celibate too . . . but NOT by choice.

LGBT Youth Turn To The Internet For Social Support But Also Find Cyberbullying - This is just terrible! 

Linda Harvey: LGBT-Friendly School Books 'Normalizing Sinful Behavior' - There she goes again . . .

Anti-gay publication can't spin away discrimination

Read the following article from the American Family Association's One News Now about the effort to subsidize anti-gay discrimination with tax dollars in when it comes to adoption and foster care:

Under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, states will pay a price if they violate the religious beliefs of faith-based adoption and foster care agencies. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act is a bill to protect the agencies from being forced to violate their religious beliefs to contract with the government to help children. Leanna Baumer with the Family Research Council says policies in states such as California and Illinois have worked to "squeeze out faith-based providers by refusing to respect their religious and moral convictions." One example is being told to place children with homosexuals, in violation of their faith, or lose government funding. "And so it tells states that if you want to continue receiving federal funding, they need to not discriminate," Baumer says of the Senate bill. "If they ignore that prohibition," she says, "they'll risk losing a percentage of their federal funding, and faith-based providers who are aggrieved will be able to sue that state in federal court." The hope is that Congress will provide bipartisan support for the bill so that political correctness does not trump the welfare of children who need the services. 

The point is how these things are all about "spin" or phrasing. Notice the article omits that some faith-based agencies, such as the Catholic Charities in Illinois voluntarily ended their adoption programs rather than comply with the state's civil union laws.

No one is implicitly told to put children in gay homes. The point is that there is no basis for adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate while using tax dollars. The recent Hobby Lobby decision has opened up a hornet's nest when it comes to "religious liberty," but I think in this case, there will be little ado.

Until these folks can justify discrimination with tax dollars, I don't think their appeal is going to convince people.

HUGE win for Houston LGBTs - there will be no referendum

According to LGBTNation, an lgbt-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance approved by the Houston city council in late May will not be challenged via referendum this November:

Opponents of Houston’s LGBT-inclusive Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) fell short of qualifying for a ballot referendum, Mayor Annise Parker announced Monday afternoon.The petition needed at least 17,269 valid signatures from registered Houston voters to put a repeal of the ordinance before voters in November.

City Attorney David Feldman said Monday the number of valid signatures submitted for the petition came to only 15,247.The group behind the repeal effort submitted more than 5,000 petition pages last month containing approximately 31,000 signatures.

But Feldman said his staff had found many invalid pages, most notably because some of the circulators who collected signatures were not qualified Houston voters, as required by law. In such cases, all the signatures the circulator gathered would be void, Feldman said. Other issues included names on valid pages that did not belong to registered Houston voters, Feldman said, and some signatures were gathered prior to June 3, when the ordinance was published and the petition drive could begin.

The article goes on to say that Parker doesn't think the situation is over. She expects opponents of the ordinance to file a suit against the city's findings with regards to the petition.

'Anti-gay activist wants apology' & other Monday midday news briefs

Marriage Equality Faces A Rough Ride In Court Next Week - Reading this article reminds one of the importance of the long fight. Will it also remind us not to give up and over analyze in the face of possible defeats?

Malevolence Personified - Now that the Ugandan courts have overturned that dreadful anti-gay law, anti-gay activist Scott Lively thinks he is owed an apology. He is owed something but it ain't an apology.  

Anti-LGBT Columnist: Take Children Away From Gay Parents - "I am not going to say what I want to say . . . I am not going to say what I want to say." 

 BarbWire Pundit: 'Cult Of Homosexualism' Will 'Enslave The Entire World' - Sounds like fun to me! lol

Scene from Ugandan court as anti-gay law is overturned

The following video is the scene in Ugandan last week when it overturned that awful anti-gay law. What strikes me is how the supporters of the law are so like the American religious right when they lost in the court battle, i.e. attacking the justices.

'Politifact sizzles Bryan Fischer for anti-gay lies' & other Friday midday news briefs

Politifact sizzles AFA's Bryan Fischer for his anti-gay lies -  When it comes to Bryan Fischer, there should be something lower than a "pants on fire" rating. How about a "bust hell wide open" rating.

Read: Zack Ford smacks back Ryan Anderson's love of tax-subsidized discrimination - When you read this exchange between one our own and anti-gay activist Ryan Anderson, you learn two things - 1. we need to acknowledge those intelligent, on-the-ball lgbt activists who aren't that well-known (yet) and how the anti-gay industry will attempt to manipulate the semantics of an argument. Imagine lgbts implied as being selfish simply because we want to be treated fairly!  

Ben Carson: LGBT-Affirming Pastors Put Their Finger In The Eye Of God - Every time I hear Ben Carson talk in a way which sends shivers of love down the spine of the anti-gay industry, I think of that episode of Scooby Doo where the monster supposedly kidnapped a supporting character and left a message on the walls of his office saying "Do not follow. He is ours now. "

 Federal Judge Knocks Down Remaining Challenge To New Jersey’s Ban On Ex-Gay Therapy - Another one bites the dust (OWWW!) 

 Fed Up With a Lack of Diverse Children's Books, Queer Parents Write Their Own - Kudos to them!

Uganda's anti-gay law struck down by its court

J. Lester Feder of Buzzfeed is now reporting that the anti-gay law passed in Uganda has been struck down by its court.

Uganda’s Constitutional Court struck down the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act on Friday, giving new hope to the country’s embattled LGBT people and human rights activists

. . .  The court struck down the law on procedural grounds, saying it was invalid because there was no quorum in Parliament when the legislation was passed on December 20. (A quorum is the requirement that at least one third of members are present when a vote is held.) The court was ruling on a petition brought by a group of 10 human rights activists, legal scholars, and opposition politicians. The court did not rule on the underlying question of whether anti-LGBT laws violate basic human rights, and so the pre-existing sodomy code, which was imposed when Uganda was a British colony, remains in place. Two men are currently awaiting trial under this provision.

Naturally, the scene in the court was wild. Ugandan public figure and one of the most public proponents of the law, Martin (eat da poo poo) Ssempa was in the middle of much of it:

The courtroom became something of a circus during the three hour recess the judges called before issuing the ruling, according to people in the room. Anti-LGBT activist Pastor Martin Ssempa prayed loudly, and got into arguments with multiple petitioners. Security eventually approached Ssempa to request he sit down.

What comes next? Feder said Ugandan lgbt activists expect some sort of unfortunate retaliation from those who supported the law and they are bracing themselves for it.

He also said:

Human rights activists say they expect politicians like the bill’s sponsor, MP David Bahati, to try to pass it again, but they think the chances he’ll succeed are slim. Re-passing the law would require starting the legislative process from the beginning, including committee hearings and receiving certification of its financial impact from the finance ministry. If the government of President Yoweri Museveni does not want the bill to pass again, the finance ministry could silently kill the bill simply by withholding certification.

Read the story in its entirety courtesy of Buzzfeed.

Will God 'nuke' America for having gay ambassadors?

Dear Vision America's Rick Scarborough,

If God hasn't destroyed America because of slavery, segregation, the stealing of land from Native Americans, the subjugation of women, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Fox News, and Nikki Minaj's upcoming album (I'm just playing with that last one), I think He won't nuke us for having gay ambassadors:

'Former 'ex-gay' leaders unite to help ban 'ex-gay' therapy' & other Thursday midday news briefs

Exclusive: 9 Former Ex-Gay Leaders Join Movement To Ban Gay Conversion Therapy - Can you say "major kick in the ass to the religious right and the 'ex-gay movement," boys and girls? Good. I knew you could. 

Rick Santorum Presents Latest ‘Religious Persecution’ Movie - Because apparently his last one was soooo successful (snark). But seriously I noticed something about these events in which folks push the "persecution" meme. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that I never hear them tell people to pray to God or not to worry because "God is in control." It's always the push for panic of potential martyrdom for these folks. How odd is it that they are supposed to be fighting for values given to them by the God while at the same time implying that He has abandoned them when they fight for those values.  

Meet the LGBT activists fighting Uganda's anti-gay law - Or as they should be called, some of the bravest people in the world.  

Video: Tony Perkins for politically-driven pastors to test (if not run afoul) tax exempt status - Any church leader who listens to Tony Perkins deserves the disaster they are courting.

How A Hate Group Lost Influence On (Most Of) Cable News - And speaking of Tony Perkins (and the Family Research Council), I am happy to say that I, in an extremely minor way, contributed to this taking place.

Proposed bill could allow adoption agencies to discriminate against gays while taking taxpayer money

Bill could harm gay couples seeking to adopt.

This newest tripe, I mean action alert by the Family Research Council has gotten me a bit angry. The organization is pushing a bill which could allow adoption agencies and foster care providers to engage in anti-gay discrimination under the guise of religious freedom (see the bill here):

In California, Massachusetts, Illinois, and D.C. religious adoption and foster care providers have had their government funding pulled and have been forced to end services, simply because they continue to believe in the importance of a child having a mom and a dad. It's a sad sign of the times that some states have preferred to sever longstanding partnerships with faith-based providers rather than allow them to continue caring for and placing children informed by traditional moral beliefs about the family. This important legislation sponsored by Congressman Mike Kelly in the House and Senator Mike Enzi in the Senate will ensure that the interests of children are placed ahead of political correctness.

Specifically, this bill will prohibit discrimination against faith-based child welfare service providers by the federal government and by states receiving federal funds for adoption and foster care services. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act will prohibit such discrimination against faith-based child welfare service providers and will threaten states continuing such discrimination with a loss of federal funding. This important legislation will ensure that the maximum number of child welfare service providers can continue to advocate for children and will ensure that many adoptive families can continue to work with a provider which shares their core beliefs.

For the record, adoption agencies, religious based or otherwise, are allowed to place children in homes with mothers and fathers. What this proposed monstrosity could do is to allow religious based adoption agencies and foster care providers to discriminate against gay  households while using our tax dollars.

No doubt, FRC and other supporters of this bill will attempt to paint the lgbt community as selfish if we raise any objections about this bill. It's definitely by intention that the organization uses vague code words and phrases about "core beliefs," children doing better with a mother and a father,"  "traditional moral beliefs" and all of the other board room talking points which are usually voiced by those seeking to deny the existence of same-sex households with children.

I don't think it's wrong or selfish for the lgbt community to assert our rights and dignity as taxpaying American citizens here. And I definitely refuse to believe that in doing so, we are hurting children.

It's been proven in study after study (the most recent being earlier this month)  that we can raise children just as well as two-parent heterosexual households. This view has also been validated numerous times by the courts, including the Supreme Court when it overturned DOMA last year. . Therefore, in the case of adoption agencies and foster care providers who want to discriminate against gay couples, we are talking about organizations who want to assert their personal religious preference instead of what's best for the child.

If religious-based adoption agencies  and foster care providers don't think that gay  households are suitable enough to raise children then they shouldn't be so eager to have their hands out in order to receive gay tax dollars.

It's bad enough when it is asserted that we are not good enough to raise and nurture children. Having to pay for that non-privilege  further reduces the gay community to the level of slaves in a masochistic relationship with our government . . . and all under the guise of "religious freedom."

Photo courtesy of HRC

Bryan Fischer can't decide who/what will 'destroy America'

Bryan Fischer

Today, Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said that if President Obama isn't impeached, it means the end of America:

America has a political problem. But it also has a political solution: impeachment. In fact, it’s impeachment or nothing. In the end, Republicans will have absolutely no other alternative if they wish to keep this president from transforming this once great nation into a banana republic. Lawsuits won’t work, because the president has already shown a cavalier disregard for the rule of law. Defunding won’t work, because the president has already shown a cavalier disregard for budgetary restraints of any kind. In the end, it will be impeachment or the ruin of America.

But Mr. Fischer, won't Islam destroy America? That's what you said in 2011:

Let us be clear: the goal of Islam is to destroy America. We don’t have to infer it; they are declaring it in no uncertain terms.

Come to think of it, in that same year, you said marriage equality will destroy America

Transcript: Our survival as a civilization, as a culture, depends on protecting the institution of marriage, everything is at risk here: our economic prosperity, our survival, our national security, all of it hinges on our willingness as a culture to protect monogamy and to protect the institution of marriage. You know, George Washington says 'In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labor to subvert these two great pillars,' you push these pillars over, you undermine the foundation of these pillars, you cause them to weaken, you cause them to crumble, you are not a patriot. So George Washington would have no hesitation of looking at groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, ACLU, Freedom From Religion Foundation, all of these gay rights groups, George Washington would have absolutely no hesitation saying these groups are unpatriotic, they are un-American, in fact they are anti-American because they are laboring to subvert the pillars which this civilization rests.

Such is the problem with the overuse of hyperbole. Sooner or later, people will realize that you are full of shit.

'Anti-gay personality Todd Starnes creating victims of anti-Christian persecution' & other Thursday midday news briefs

The Right-Wing Agenda Propelling False Claims of Christian Persecution - As much as I hate to be one of those queens who like to say "I told you so" (yeah, right), I predicted a while back how Fox News personality Todd Starnes would emerge as one of the head figures in the "anti-Christian persecution" meme spreading. Apparently his Bible says "thus I say unto you, if there are no victims of anti-Christian persecution, create some."

Trans in America - I love this photographic portrait!

Head of Virginia's anti-equality org: 'open season to discriminate against anyone who believes that children deserve a mom and a dad'- One of our biggest strengths is the opposition's love of hyperbole to make their points. I mean nobody likes a consistent and eternal drama queen.

Michael Sam Focuses On Making the Rams, Not History - And THAT, my friends, is the right frame of mind to have. Good luck, Mr. Sam.  

Rick Santorum Angry That Marriage Equality Supporters 'Devalued' Marriage - Let's make him angrier just to see what happens.

Anti-gay right are picking on the judiciary again

Sorry for featuring such hyperbolic tripe so early in the morning but we can't afford to be blase about this sort of thing. This "documentary" reminds me of the propaganda films the Nazis used to show about Jewish people.

I mean really. Blaming the judiciary for the progression of marriage equality and claiming that they are "imposing their will" (of course without giving specific details as to which judges are doing so or any proof at all of these charges) is simply vile.

And it serves to cover up a simple fact about why judges are ruling for marriage equality. If - and I hope that if becomes a reality soon - marriage equality becomes legal across America, history will tell us that the folly of those against marriage equality played a huge part.

In 2004 and after, they voted to pass all of those anti-marriage equality laws with such abandonment that they seemed to have forgotten that the laws would be challenged in court.  The tactics they used to get these laws on the books were useless in the courts.

After all, you know what courts are, don't you? That's the place where ridiculous arguments such as  "marriage 'unites the two halves of humanity" and "marriage socializes men" don't fly. That's the place where anecdotes and horror stories about lgbts and children are like bullets to Superman's chest. That's the place where you can't sit in the studio of a fake newsroom and repeat your talking points without challenge. You will be challenged frequently and thoroughly.

It all comes down to a simple principle - don't pass laws you can't defend in court. 

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.