At the religious right's Family Impact Summit this past weekend, a brave woman took on the self-righteous, prevaricators at the event. Cathy James, a lesbian, who has a child and is in a committed relationship with a partner, stood up and politely challenged the anti-gay statements of the panelists and John Stemberger and Peter Sprigg were guffawing to address her.
Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin was there as she brilliantly framed her questions to the panel.
Hi. My names is Cathy James and I would like to challenge all of the individuals here listening today to really take a look at some of the rationale and some of the comments that speakers have given in regard to things such as ?why government gets involved with personal relationships, that is, for the procreation of children. I think as most of the attorneys will tell you, that civil marriage was created for one purpose only, and that was property and how to divide property.
And so I am a lesbian, I live in the Riverview area with my partner of thirteen years and our son who is seven. And I go to work Monday through Friday and attend church weekly, I volunteer at the school, I volunteer at the homeowners association. And what I have a hard time understanding is why you are interested in keeping a legal framework from us in being able to handle the same things as heterosexual couples and such things as visitation, and hospital?. And how to divide our property in the same way, and how to parent our child?
The stunned silence was amazing. John Stemberger thanked her for coming and tried to stammer out an answer. He said that some forms of discrimination are perfectly legitimate ("home ownership benefits society in the way renters do not.") and ended by saying, "marriage uniquely benefits society in the way same sex couples do not." But Cathy remained calm and firm:
But in what way? What's the difference in the benefit? How does your marriage benefit society more than my relationship with my same gender partner does not?
Peter Sprigg jumped in to assert that "without question" the best family structure was headed by a man and a woman. But Cathy persisted:
"But now you're devaluing, what, over fifty percent of the children who live with one parent or that one parent as died or that they're divorced and now they're just living with one parent. You're devaluing them and that's not fair.
By now the panel was speechless, leaving Peter Sprigg to stumble around trying to get his footing. "Each person's relationship choices serves as an example to the rest of society - and if that example becomes more widespread, more people will make the same choice, more children will suffer."
You have to go read the rest.I wish there was video of that one.
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And here's another drop kick to that fundie crowd:
Joe Murray, a former columnist and former staff attorney for the American Family Association, Don and Tim Wildmon's "family values" machine, is now supportive of LGBT rights (my interviews with him are here and here). He has written up a great piece on the recent Values Voter Debate that was held last week. When you read this snippet, imagine how it was received by the Base.
It is not coincidental that the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions, thus while one hopes that conservative leaders, such as Don Wildmon, began their crusade motivated by morality, it appears that a number of them have been hypnotized by the siren song of the almighty dollar.
Christian activism has become a lucrative business. According to its 990 form, the AFA took in millions. Arguably, such revenue was made possible by sending out "Action Alerts" warning homosexuals will throw Christians in jail under the hate crimes bill. Such rhetoric is misleading a best, dishonest at worse.
How does one protect Christianity? Send money. Call it cash-back Christianity, and the VVD was no different.
The VVD had an opportunity to restore sanity to Christian public activism, but it quickly became a political sideshow to see which candidate was the political Christian of choice.
The result? A conservative carnival.
Alan Keyes channeled his inner Benny Hinn, while John Cox mused about transvestite teachers. Sam Brownback stated that Bush should have the spent the political capital earned in 2004 on the Federal Marriage Amendment, not Social Security Reform, and Mike Huckabee proclaimed that if the U.S. leaves Iraq, it loses.
Oh my. Let's put it this way -- there were probably not love letters from the AFA flowing into Joe Murray's inbox for simply sharing the truth about how and why the family values crowd has placed itself on shaky moral ground.
Actually, I have to say, since Joe has been writing columns of this nature, I've been Googling to see reaction from the Wildmons or the rest of that crowd for a response of some kind. Nada.
I guess the Wildmon and Co.think by ignoring the columns that no one will notice what's going on -- that someone who worked in their ranks has opened his eyes to see how extreme the movement has become.
We're noticing that silence, Don and Tim. The walls of your movement are tumbling down; the anti-gay conferences and forums held by organizations like yours are increasingly poorly attended. Only the rabid among you continue to get together for those non-stop pious circle-jerks of intolerance. What a sad, small world you live in.
If anyone tuned into that Values Voter debate, it was indeed a scary sight to behold. These people are so stewed in repression, self-loathing and fear; they gain strength from irrationally lashing out at tax-paying, law-abiding citizens that happen to be LGBT, or anyone who dares to think that the government belongs out of the bedrooms of America.
To see so many of the GOP presidential candidates pander so shamelessly before this unhinged crowd shows how hijacked the party is to the far right fringe. It's a recipe for political disaster, and it's quite enjoyable watching them drive themselves off the cliff.
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The endless lies about ENDA continue, btw, illustrating Joe's points quite well. Look at the latest email "action alert" from Don Wildmon of the American Family Association that Joe passed along. A snippet:
ENDA (H.R. 2015) could enshrine "sexual orientation" in federal law
Call Your U.S. Representative today to oppose ENDA
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) H.R. 2015 is likely to be voted on this week in the U.S. House. ENDA is aimed at providing heightened protections for a particular sexual behavior- homosexuality. It would grant special consideration on the basis of "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" that would not be extended to other employees in the workplace. That could spell trouble for Christian business owners, churches and faith-based groups. Proponents of the bill quickly point to "religious exemptions" in the bill, but most agree that it is a sham.
Here is more information about ENDA H.R. 2015 from our friends at the Family Research Council:
* ENDA affords special protection to a group that is not disadvantaged.
* The issue is not job discrimination: It is whether private businesses will be forced by law to accommodate homosexual activists' attempts to legitimize homosexual behavior.
* The first "religious exemption" clause is very narrow and offers no clear protection to church-related businesses: Religious schools or charitable organizations, religious bookstores, or any business affiliated with a church or denomination fall outside this narrow definition, and could presumably be required to hire homosexual applicants.
* The second "religious exemption" clause fails to offer protection for all hiring by church-related organizations or businesses. The position of a teacher of religion at a church-related school would be exempt, but, e.g., that of a biology teacher would not. Thus, most of the teachers and staff at a religious school would be covered by ENDA, which means that the church would be forced to hire homosexual applicants for such positions-despite the fact that their lifestyle would be in direct opposition to the religious beliefs of the organization or company.
* It is unlikely that the "religious exemption" included in the bill would survive court challenge: Institutions that could be targeted include religious summer camps, the Boy Scouts, Christian bookstores, religious publishing houses, religious television and radio stations, and any business with fifteen or more employees.
* ENDA violates employers' and employees' Constitutional freedoms of religion, speech and association. The proposed legislation would prohibit employers from taking their most deeply held beliefs into account when making hiring, management, and promotion decisions. This would pose an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into people's lives.
* ENDA would approvingly bring private behavior considered immoral by many into the public square. By declaring that all sexual preferences are equally valid, ENDA would change national policy supporting marriage and family.
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Clearly, this is an enormous threat to the freedom of religion and also places unfair burdens on businesses, which should be allowed to make employment decisions based on their religious convictions and business needs.
In 31 states, it's legal for an employer to fire you because of your sexual orientation; in 39 states it is legal to fire someone for being transgender.
[A] total of 124 Fortune 500 companies now include transgender people in their policies; this is more then 10 times the number that had such policies in 2001. In addition, exactly 49 of the Fortune 50 companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. (Exxon Mobil Corp. is the only company in the Fortune 50 that does not.) In fact, 433 companies in the Fortune 500 - or nearly 90 percent - include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies as of spring 2007.
Joe left the homophobic World of the Wildmons after working as staff attorney for the Tupelo, Mississippi-based American Family Association. He also penned (IMHO) hilarious anti-gay columns for its news organ AgapePress (known these days as OneNewsNow), has a stinging rebuke of the hypocritical cut-and-run of the GOP when it came to their toe-tapping conservative friend Larry Craig.
Murray, who's definitely on the conservative side of the political spectrum, did a couple of interviews with me earlier this year (here and here) on his evolution about LGBT rights, and his decision to speak out against the homophobia and hypocrisy -- and the anti-gay fundraising tactics of the religious right.
Murray is now in Las Vegas and writes for the Philly-based conservative paper The Evening Bulletin.
The Craig conundrum has exposed an Achilles heel that has long been present in the GOP - conservative organizations, such as the American Family Association, have removed the human element from homosexuality and replaced it with a man-made element driven by fear of the "homosexual agenda." Homosexuals, therefore, are not just average citizens; they are threats to the moral order and must be opposed at all costs.
To some of the leadership of the Christian right, the homosexual agenda is a zero-sum game where Christians lose if gays win. There is no middle ground; there is no room for compromise.
Homosexuality, thus, has become the ultimate of sins that can be committed against the GOP establishment, and its punishment must be quick and severe, lest one is seen giving aid to the enemy. When it is unearthed that a homosexual is within the ranks of GOP leadership, they must be shown the exit immediately.
The fact that the alleged homosexual may be a God-fearing Christian struggling with his sexual identity is irrelevant. Christian compassion stops at the Castro District.
If you are caught fraternizing with the D.C. Madame, we got your back. Plead no contest to a DUI charge? Don't sweat it; we're all human. Have a home raided on charges of corruption? We've all been there. But get caught in a Minneapolis men's room sting, and you receive a one-way ticket to the gallows.
There is, however, a bit of irony. In their zeal to portray homosexuals as public enemy No. 1, some right-wing activists have created a catch-22 that leaves no room for error. As demonstrated in the past, not many people can live up to such a standard.
The far right religious crowd has set the "values" bar so high that it makes the GOP look foolish when it continuously waffles, weaves and frets when faced with its same-sex trolling scandals.
This is from OneNewsNow, the fundie news aggregation site of the American Family News Network, one of the many tentacles of Don and Tim Wildmon's "Christianist" gay-bashing American Family Association:
Doesn't it make you visualize 9/11 terrorists overrunning the municipal government, taking hostages? The news is actually more mundane.
A Detroit-area newspaper says the results of Tuesday's primary could lead to Hamtramck, Michigan, becoming the first city council in the U.S. to be controlled by Muslims.
The Detroit News says there are four Muslims in the Tuesday primary. If they are among the candidates who win and go on to run in the November election, they would have a chance to join a fifth Muslim who already sits on the six-member council and is up for re-election in 2009.
Democracy in action and religious diversity are apparently too threatening for the AFA, an organization that former staff attorney Joe Murray said in his interview with me, harbors anti-Catholic views as well, despite fundraising appeals to the conservative Catholic demographic: "During a weekly mandatory devotional at AFA, one top AFA executive made the statement that Catholics were not Christians (being a Catholic? this was news to me)."
[W]hile in the south my Christianity was constantly challenged by employees at AFA, as well as folks in the South. There is a belief among some fundamentalist Christians that Catholics are not Christian, and while such a position may not be institutionalized in AFA, it definitely runs through the minds of some of its employees. Why people feel the need to seek approval of their Christianity from fellow men is beyond me.
...Obviously, nobody can determine if a person is Christian enough-the last time I checked, such a decision belonged to a higher power.
It's no surprise to see that Muslims are painted with a terror-alert brush by the fear-mongering AFA.
You have to be a mighty big liar to make your way on to the pages of Snopes, the Internet's biggest "urban myth"-buster Web site. But the religious right, which wouldn't know Jesus or the Bible from a fat juicy donation to the GOP, specializes in the kind of un-Christian whoppers that make Satan himself blush. These folks think that if it doesn't involve bashing someone or some thing they hate, then it's just not God's work. And we wonder why so many die and have died in the name of religion.
I decided to take a look through the Web site of one of the top, and certainly the most vocal (and rabid) religious right organization, the American Family Association, and see what they had to say about GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
What piqued my interest was the dearth of email alerts and updates from the religious right over the past week about the growing discussion over Mitt Romney's Mormonism. What's odd is that the religious right groups are the first to cry "you hate Christians" whenever anyone even mentions a scintilla of disagreement with them on anything. It's therefore a wee bit surprising that the religious right has been mum about what some on the right are trying to label "Mormon-bashing." After all, Romney is positioning himself as the religious right Christian candidate for president, so wouldn't you think the religious right Christians would be the first to defend one of their own?
They're not.
Is it that the religious right has a bit of a problem with Mormons, or anyone who is not a Southern Baptist? After all, these are the people who think that Catholics aren't Christians because they worship a "Satanic counterfeit." Is it that far a stretch to wonder whether the same people who think Catholics are going to hell have a problem with Mormons?
Anyway, I was rather surprised to find quite a library of anti-Romney writings on the American Family Association's Web site in a large number of articles from the past few years. Here are a few excerpts/blurbs from the AFA about Romney - note that each one is from a different story about Romney:
A pro-family activist predicts that with every new revelation about the liberal record of now-former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney...
A pro-family activist group in Massachusetts is warning that Governor Mitt Romney is not the conservative politician he's portraying himself to be...
Michigan conservative says Mitt Romney is too liberal
Cardinal O'Malley asked Governor Mitt Romney for a religious exemption... Governor Romney reluctantly responded that he lacked legal authority
A conservative activist in Massachusetts says he is very disappointed by Governor Mitt Romney's decision on the state's emergency contraception law.
...denouncing a large homosexual and transgender youth event in Boston this weekend -- an event that is being promoted by Governor Mitt Romney's office.
Some pro-family groups and the conservative media are being accused of covering up the fact that Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is "the founding father of homosexual marriage' -- or so says a parents coalition leader in that state.
Christians seek Romney clarification on homosexual rights
Group Demands Romney Roll Back Pro-Homosexual Program Funding.
A former Republican presidential candidate says former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has hurt his run for the White House by not supporting America's top general over remarks the military leader made that homosexual acts are "immoral."...
What will it take for these hateful extremists to stop promoting known hate groups? And how can Republicans in Congress, and the White House, stand to be associated with people who would promote an organization whose hate-writings "echo Nazi Germany?" And finally, why won't the media, who is all too happy to quote these groups, report on the fact that they are promoting known hate groups?
Tim Wildmon, head of the religious right group American Family Association, had the following to say recently about GOP presidential candidate, and Mormon, Mitt Romney. From Pam Spaulding:
"[Romney's Mormonism] would not prevent me from voting for Mitt Romney but it might some other Christians and if you understood Morman [sic] theology (and perhaps you do) you would understand why Christians might hesitate. Mormans [sic] believe God is a physical being on a planet for instance and that one day we all will have our own planet, like God, if we are good Mormans [sic]. And on and on."
Now, this perhaps isn't surprising for an organization that promotes a known hate group on its own Web site (and even though we've reported this repeatedly over the past year and a half, the hate group remains on the AFA Web site). But still, call me naive, but being a Christian myself I always find it hard to believe that other people who claim to be Christians AND who claim to run Christian organizations would be such outright liars. Alas, here we go again.
This time, the AFA is accusing the Democratic Party of something it didn't even do. What, pray tell? Why of dissing Easter, of course. You see, the AFA claims - and outright lies - that the Democrats issued an Easter proclamation that didn't mention that Easter is a Christian holiday. In fact, the word "Christians" is right in the DNC release. But look at what the AFA says in an email alert just broadcasted to their members:
[T]he Democratic Party has taken Christ and the Resurrection out of Easter.... The DNC treated Easter as if was not unique to the Christian faith, and made it into a nondescript, universal, nonexclusive religious celebration celebrated by every religion in the world.
“Easter Sunday is a joyful celebration. The holiday represents peace, redemption and renewal, a theme which brings hope to people of all faiths. During this time Christians are called to remember who they are as people of faith, and that even the greatest of evils will not have the last word. It is also a time to reflect upon and be in solidarity with those who are persecuted and suffering among us. We should also use this time to honor those who continue to make incredible sacrifices for us, including our brave men and women in the armed forces serving overseas during this holiday. I would like to wish all those celebrating around the world this Sunday, a joyous Easter.”
See, quite a lovely proclamation. And it clearly mentions Christians, by name, so how and why does the AFA claim that the Democrats have suddenly made Easter a non-Christian holiday? Read what the AFA wrote, "The DNC treated Easter as if was not unique to the Christian faith." That is an outright lie.
But again, the American Family Association is an organization that promotes the bigotry of a known hate group, so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised.
And, considering the recent charges of anti-Catholic bigotry leveled against the American Family Association by one of their former top lawyers, maybe the AFA shouldn't be casting the first stone. And I quote their former lawyer:
I remember during a weekly mandatory devotional at AFA, one top AFA executive made the statement that Catholics were not Christians (being a Catholic? this was news to me).
In fact, I spoke with the lawyer and he told me that the top AFA executive said that there were no Christians in Spain, everyone is Catholic.
UPDATE: More from Pam Spaulding on the Paul Cameron hate group here.
How sad that the far-right Republicans are now embracing known hate groups in order to further their homophobic agenda.
"CAMERON'S 'SCIENCE' ECHOES NAZI GERMANY"
Yes, they're now promoting extremists who have been labeled "hate groups" by THE expert on hate, the Southern Poverty Law Center. Amazing. SPLC lists religious right hatemonger Paul Cameron's Family Research institute as one of the lead hate groups in Colorado - SPLC lists Cameron's FRI alongside the Klan and white supremacists. SPLC says that "Cameron's 'science' echoes Nazi Germany." That's how bad it is. Here is SPLC's "hate group" map:
Now, why does the Southern Poverty Law Center label Cameron and his Family Research Institute a "hate group"? Look at what Cameron espouses, per the SPLC:
He told the 1985 Conservative Political Action Committee conference that "extermination of homosexuals" might be needed in the next three to four years. He has advocated tattooing AIDS patients in the face, and banishment to a former leper colony for any patient who resisted. He has called for gay bars to be closed and gays to be registered with the government.
(Note that Cameron made the speech at CPAC, the same conference at which Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot" - nice long history of hate at the top conservative conference of the year.)
Uh huh, this is who the lead religious right organizations are using to buttress their anti-gay cause, to lobby Congress and the White House. This is how these self-proclaimed voices of God show their love for Jesus. By embracing someone who called for the extermination of gays - someone who was kicked out of the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association for being an unethical extremist. And these people are in the senior ranks of the Republican party and the Bush administration.
FORMER FRC AND CWA EMPLOYEE PROMOTES HATE GROUP
But, oddly, Peter LaBarbera, a former employee of both the Family Research Council and the Concerned Women for America, is pushing Cameron's hate research to this day (LaBarbera was also, until recently, the lead "family values" advocate in the state of Illinois). In an online screed blasting the gay organization Human Rights Campaign, LaBarbera cites the research of Paul Cameron.
"THE HILL" CAUGHT PUBLISHING HATE SCIENCE
Even more troubling, far-right activist Armstrong Williams published Cameron's hate research on the respected inside-the-beltway publication "The Hill" - a publication not known for promoting the Nazi-esque science of known hate groups (well, at least not until now). The study Williams' cites is Cameron's most recent study that LaBarbera pushed above.
AFA, FRC, AND CWA ALL ARE CURRENTLY PROMOTING CAMERON AND HIS HATE SCIENCE
Equally sad, and disturbing, three top religious right organizations, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and Concerned Women for America all promote Cameron's Nazi-esque research on their Web sites (examples: AFA in 2005, FRC in Oct. 2006, and CWA in 2002 examples - there are many more).
We exposed AFA's promotion of this known hate group over a year ago, to no avail. AFA continues to promote the hate group on its Web site. It's one thing for the religious right to be a bunch of anti-gay bigots, but it's quite another to embrace science that echoes of Nazi Germany. It's time for the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, and the Concerned Women for America to publicly rebuke Paul Cameron and their former employee Peter LaBarbera.
(More on Cameron here. And note that this is not the first time FRC's Tony Perkins has had a disturbing tie-in to white supremacists.)
It is not coincidental that the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions, thus while one hopes that conservative leaders, such as Don Wildmon, began their crusade motivated by morality, it appears that a number of them have been hypnotized by the siren song of the almighty dollar.
ENDA (H.R. 2015) could enshrine "sexual orientation" in federal law
To some of the leadership of the Christian right, the homosexual agenda is a zero-sum game where Christians lose if gays win. There is no middle ground; there is no room for compromise.
