Days after an 11-year-old boy committed suicide because of constant bullying from his peers who assumed he was gay, the Illinois Family Institute released this video. It is perhaps the most shocking video I have seen produced by the anti-gay movement. This video actually promotes bullying - a Christian organization encouraging harm to others! Remarkable.
The creators of the video, Northwest Valley Baptist Church, have disabled comments on the video, but please go to YouTube and flag the video for encouraging bullying. I encourage you to call them at 623-581-3115 and ask them why they encourage the bullying and suicides of LGBT youth.
I just noticed, while flipping through channels, that Fox News Channel calls their reporting "Fox Facts." Because the facts that Fox News reports are different than just normal facts?
Oh yeah, that's right, they are different facts - in fact, could one call them facts at all? I see now that Fox News truly does live in their own little reality, it's called "Fox Nation." So glad I don't live there.
I've had this renewed sense of love of country this week. For the past two weeks now there has been a seemingly stark shift in momentum in favor of equality. Everyday I woke up to new positive developments. Developments that had I read were happening six months ago, I would have assumed I was reading the Onion.
Being the news junkie that I am, I take in most of the programs that contribute to the political discourse of our nation. If I miss the live airing, I'm almost certain to find out what happened online. A information addict I am.
What has been happening on the national news channels (with the exception of Fox News) has been the main reason for my newfound optimism. The release of the $1.5 million ad from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) filled with hate-filled rhetoric inspired a burage of responses from every corner of the country - some shown the ridiculous nature of the ad while others refuted the attacks line by line.
The spokespeople of NOM were on the airwaves defending their bigoted position. On every show that I was able to see the respective hosts challenged the spokespeople, generally to the point of telling them just how wrong they were - it felt good.
I leave you with a clip from the Thom Hartman radio show. He is taking on NOM executive director Brian Brown. Enjoy listening to Brown make no sense and talk in circles - I did! I genuinely think that we live in a different country than we did in November. It seems that the norm is trending to be on the correct side of this issue.
Perhaps you've heard about the "teabagging parties" GOP party members are organizing around the country? Yes, you read that correctly. I've been waiting for someone to run with this, and who better than MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Brilliant and hilarious, as usual. Take it, Rachel...
The general argument of the ad is that the push for marriage equality isn’t just about rights for same-sex couples, it’s about imposing contrary values on people of faith. The examples they cite in the ad are: (1) A California doctor who must choose between her faith and her job (2) A member of New Jersey church group which is punished by the state because they can’t support same-sex marriage (3) A Massachusetts parent who stands by helpless while the state teaches her son that gay marriage is okay
The facts indicate that (1) refers to the Benitez decision in California, determining that a doctor cannot violate California anti-discrimination law by refusing to treat a lesbian based on religious belief, (2) refers to the Ocean Grove, New Jersey Methodist pavilion that was open to the general public for events but refused access for civil union ceremonies (and was fined by the state for doing so) and (3) refers to the Parker decision in Massachusetts, where parents unsuccessfully sought to end public school discussions of family diversity, including of same-sex couples.
All three examples involve religious people who enter the public sphere, but don’t want to abide by the general non-discriminatory rules everyone else does. Both (1) and (2) are really about state laws against sexual orientation discrimination, rather than specifically about marriage. And (3) is about two pairs of religious parents trying to impose their beliefs on all children in public schools.
The real facts of each case are:
The California doctor entered a profession that promises to “first, do no harm” and the law requires her to treat a patient in need – gay or straight, Christian or Muslim – regardless of her religious beliefs. The law does not, and cannot, dictate her faith – it can only insist that she follow her oath as a medical professional.
The New Jersey church group runs, and profits from, a beachside pavilion that it rents out to the general public for all manner of occasions –concerts, debates and even Civil War reenactments— but balks at permitting couples to hold civil union ceremonies there. The law does not challenge the church organization’s beliefs about homosexuality – it merely requires that a pavilion that had been open to all for years comply with laws protecting everyone from discrimination, including gays and lesbians.
The Massachusetts parent disagrees with an aspect of her son’s public education, a discussion of the many different kinds of families he will likely encounter in life, including gay and lesbian couples. The law does not stop her from disagreeing, from teaching him consistently with her differing beliefs at home, or even educating her child in a setting that is more in line with her faith traditions. But it does not allow any one parent to dictate the curriculum for all students based on her family’s religious traditions.
Please share. NOM needs to be silenced and called out for their lies.
After the conservative voters of California chose to change their constitution to deny gays the right to proclaim their commitment of love with society, there was a collective defeated sigh among gays and their friends across the nation. How could one of the the most liberal states in the Union have delivered such blatantly bigoted (I'm sorry, there's no other word for it) decision? Many were scratching their heads.
In the months since we have to ask if this hate-inspired vote in California has done worked to promote gay equality. Not only did it create an uproar within the gay community throughout the country, it also elicited reaction from rational-minded straight people who understand the implications that are involved in such an un-American action.
Let's take a look at some of the positive developments that occurred just this past week (there may be more):
Delaware - same-sex marriage ban fails to pass in state Senate
Delaware - anti-discrimination bill passes the state House
West Virginia - same-sex marriage ban fails to pass in state House
Iowa - Supreme Court strikes down gay marriage ban
Federal - hate crime bill reintroduced in Congress
Vermont - gay marriage passed in the state House (Governor threatening veto)
Would all of these forward movements for equality have happened without the tragedy in California? Obviously we can never know. However, sometimes it takes a fairly strong jolt to startle people out of their stagnant ways.
