Anti-Gay Mormon Senator Mike Crapo Arrested For DUI

There's more news in the hypocrisy department: Idaho Senator Mike Crapo - a Mormon known for his anti-gay positions - was arrested for DUI early yesterday morning in Alexandria, Virginia.   As Joe My God notes, Crapo has a perfect track record of voting against LGBT rights: He twice voted for a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, voted against both the Hate Crimes Act and the repeal of DADT, and has a 100% rating from the Christian Coalition and a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign.  CNN has more on Crapo's arrest.  Here are highlights:

U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, was arrested early Sunday morning in Alexandria, Virginia, and charged with driving under the influence, according to the town's police department.

Jody Donaldson, an Alexandria police spokesman, said Crapo was arrested by an officer at 12:45 a.m. ET after the officer noticed Crapo's vehicle running a red light.

"Sen. Crapo was identified as the driver and arrested after failing several field sobriety tests," Donaldson said in a statement. "He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Alexandria Adult Detention Center where he was released on a $1,000 unsecured bond."

Crapo released a statement through his office Sunday, saying: "I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance. I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me.

A court date was set for January 4, according to Donaldson, who added that Crapo's blood alcohol level was .110 at the time of his arrest. The legal blood alcohol level for drivers in Virginia is .08. Donaldson also said Crapo was alone in the car at the time.

Crapo has represented Idaho in the Senate since 1999. Before that he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years. He was re-elected in 2010 with 71% of the vote. He's a member of the Senate's "Gang of 8."

According to his official biography on congress.gov, Crapo is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which prohibits the use of alcohol among its members.

Christianist Wingnuts File Suit to Challenge New Hate Crimes Law

With all of the suffering and people in need in Haiti, homeless individuals and children in this country without adequate nutrition and health care, one would think that alleged Christians would not be wasting money on frivolous lawsuits (oops, I forgot that the Haitians are mostly black and, therefore, don't count as human with certain far right "Godly Christians"). But such is not the case with some Michigan wingnuts who, despite so many more important issues, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder challenging the federal Hate Crimes Law enacted last year. These supposed Christians apparently feel why feed the hungry and clothe the naked when you can persecute other humans. What is equally amazing is that they make no pretense of hiding the fact that they want to punish other citizens who fail to adhere to their religious beliefs. So much for religious freedom for all. Here are some highlights from wingnut news page CNSNews.com:
*
A conservative civil liberties group is challenging the constitutionality of the recently enacted federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The new law, attached to a defense authorization bill that President Obama signed on October 28, 2009, makes it a federal crime to attack someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center says it elevates people engaged in deviant sexual behaviors to a special, protected class of persons under federal law.
*
The lawsuit naming U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of three pastors and the president of the American Family Association of Michigan. All of the plaintiffs “take a strong public stand against the homosexual agenda, which seeks to normalize disordered sexual behavior that is contrary to Biblical teaching,” the Law Center said in a news release.
*
“The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin. It elevates those persons who engage in deviant sexual behaviors, including pedophiles, to a special protected class of persons as a matter of federal law and policy.
*
The lawsuit alleges that the new law violates the plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of speech, expressive association, and free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment, and it violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. The lawsuit also alleges that Congress lacked authority to enact the legislation under the Tenth Amendment and the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.
*
The Thomas More Law Center describes its mission as defending and promoting “America’s Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life.”
*
True to form, the wingnuts ignore the fact that the Hate Crimes Act does NOT criminalize speech - it impacts only violent physical conduct directed at LGBT because of their sexual orientation. Like the majority of the self-righteous, self-congratulatory "Christians" these folks apparently believe that the are exempt for the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness. Hypocrisy and lying seem to be the one constant among Christianists.

Hampton Roads Homophobes Decry Passage of Hate Crimes Bill

Living in a social backwater like the Hampton Roads area of Virginia it comes as no surprise that some of the local homo-haters are whining and wetting themselves over the passage of the federal hate crimes bill that will soon be signed into law by President Obama. Among the local Christo-fascists quoted by the Virginian Pilot are Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr. (pictured at left), who runs a fundamentalist "ministry" in Chesapeake, and Gordon Robertson, the son of snake oil merchant, Pat Robertson. Both men preach anti-gay bigotry and espouse the "cure myth" that gays can change their sexual orientation. Never mind that the hate crimes bill does not penalize ministers unless they were to actively call for physical violence against LGBT citizens. As is all too typical, these professional Christians are very challenged when it comes to telling the truth. Surprisingly, one local Baptist minister welcomes the bills passage. My friend, Don King, who was a founder of HRBOR with me is also quoted. Here are some highlights:
*
To Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr., homosexuality is sin, and he needs to preach about it. That's why he fears new legislation that puts sexual orientation under hate crimes protection. "We could find ourselves in a situation where we're accused of inciting someone," Jackson said of pastors who oppose homosexuality. "I am categorically opposed to the hate crimes bill."
*
The legislation has language meant to preclude prosecution of anyone, including religious leaders, on the basis of speech or beliefs, but socially conservative clergy and religious groups say the bill threatens freedom of religious expression.
*
Jackson, who leads Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, is against anti-gay violence, but he is worried that preaching against homosexuality could make a pastor liable for violence by anyone who heard his interpretation of Scripture. That prospect could lead clergy to avoid the topic, he said. "I do believe it will have a chilling effect on free speech."
*
Gordon Robertson expressed a similar view, calling the bill "dangerous" on Friday while hosting "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. CBN is based in Virginia Beach.
*
The Rev. Steve Jolly of Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk is among clergy who applauded extending hate-crimes protection to gays. "Violence born of hatred is doubly repugnant," he said. Jolly disputed that freedom of speech would be threatened or that pastors expressing their religious view of homosexuality would be culpable for violence by others.
*
The bill's success in Congress was cheered by local gay-rights supporters, including Don King, who lives with his partner in Norfolk. "I did a little dance that it had finally come to fruition," said King, who works in real estate. "Maybe there might be some thought before people go out and do these horrific hate crimes."

Passage of Hate Crimes Act Is Only A First Step

While I applaud the passage of the hate crimes bill last week by the U.S. Congress and look forward to it being signed into law by President Obama, the Act does not represent an end to hate crimes in the USA. Unfortunately, religious based discrimination and animus will continue to be alive and well as Christianists and professional Christians and politicians like Taliban Bob McDonnell and Ken "Kook" Cuccinelli continue to do their utmost to depict GLBT citizens as immoral, less worthy than other Americans and undeserving of fully equality under the civil laws. Keeping us unequal under the law is a huge priority for our enemies because it allows the gay-haters to point to the laws as supporting their bigoted judgment of us. Perhaps even more frightening is the fact that as these forces slowly lose the battle which they ultimately cannot win, they may become even more strident and violent in their attacks on GLBT citizens. The recent spate of hate crimes both in the USA and elsewhere may be an example of the type of hysteria that can be expected as the tide of history moves against these people. David Badish at the Bilerico Project has a column that looks at this phenomenon and points out that there is still work to be done. Here are some highlights:

*

Thursday's historic passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is cause for celebration. The first federal legislation to provide inclusive protections for the GLBTQ community, this hate crimes bill will extend significant protections to many Americans. But we cannot think we're done. This is, in fact, just the beginning.
*

Gays in this country are increasingly becoming victims of violent, and deadly hate crimes. New York City, certainly more "gay-friendly" than many towns and cities across America, has been host to several brutal beatings this year. Among other incidents, New Yorkers have suffered beatings on a tony Upper East Side street, outside a Hell's Kitchen neighborhood restaurant, and the latest, the vicious beating of forty-nine year-old Jack Price - caught on tape - in blue-collar Queens. Kicked and beaten by two young men less than half his age, Price had to be put into a medically-induced coma. One of the men arrested in the attack claimed not to be homophobic, yet proudly displayed for the media's cameras his (misquoted) Leviticus 18:22 tattoo: "You shall not lie with a male as one does with a woman. It is an abomination."

*

Yes, Thursday's passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is cause for celebration. But it will also be a rallying cry - to those like Rep. King, and to those like the American Family Association, whose latest call to action offered this attack:. . . "Everywhere hate crimes laws have gone into effect, they have been quickly used to intimidate, silence and punish people of faith who express deeply held religious objections to the normalization of homosexuality."

*

What we need to do is work to ensure more victims of hate crimes report them, work to support those who become victims, and work to find and extinguish the source of what motivates those to commit these crimes in the first place. Let's use this hard-fought success to rally our troops and ensure the momentum we've built this year doesn't end with the hate crimes bill. Let's redouble our efforts to see repeal of DADT and DOMA, and enactment of ENDA.

Yet Another Example of Why the Matthew Sheperd Act Is Needed

Of late there seems to be a flood of hate crimes directed at LGBT citizens with attacks ranging from New York to the West Coast to Tulsa, Oklahoma where another outrageous attack has occurred. Meanwhile, the Republicans in Congress and the sleazy professional Christians pontificate that hate crimes legislation is not needed. Or at least not needed to protect GLBT Americans. Christians yes, gays no. As the Tulsa World reports, there was no doubt that this attack was motivated by anti-gay animus plain and simple. Here in Virginia, GLBT Virginians currently have NO protection under the state's hate crimes law, although Christians do have protections. Queerity has mare graphic pictures here. Here are some story highlights:

*

What should have been a 10-minute walk to a friend's house ended with a trip to the hospital for Brandon Patrick, a Tulsan who said he was severely beaten Sunday night because of his sexual orientation. Three people followed Patrick down the 1300 block of South Rockford Avenue about 11:45 p.m., yelling homophobic slurs and threats, he said. Patrick, who is gay, said he ignored the group until they closed in and then asked why they were accosting him without provocation. The assailants then started beating, biting and slashing at Patrick with a blade, he said, leaving him with several cuts on his head and body. The 23-year-old has been peppered with insults before, but he said he never thought they would escalate to violence.

*

Tulsa Police Officer Leland Ashley said the people who are accused of attacking Patrick are at large and were seen in a maroon Ford Mustang from the late 1990s or early 2000s. Patrick described them as a woman in her early 40s and another woman and man, both in their late teens or early 20s. Patrick said he regularly walks through the neighborhood and doesn't know his attackers. They might have seen him previously and decided to act Sunday, he said.

*

Oklahoma's hate-crimes law makes it a crime to "intimidate or harass another person because of the person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability." Jenkins noted that the state law excludes sexual orientation from the qualifiers for a hate crime. As a result, police are investigating the case only as an assault and battery. Designation as a hate crime would allow for punishment beyond what would be imposed for the assault.

*

Patrick said it's frustrating that race and ethnicity are taken into account by state lawmakers but sexual orientation is not. He said he hopes his ordeal will draw attention to the issue and lead to a change in state law. Although Oklahoma isn't known for being particularly gay-friendly, gay men and lesbians are attacked at about the same rate as their urban counterparts in places such as New York and Chicago, Jenkins said.

*

When are legislators going to realize that we gays are just as human as everyone else?

Religion is an "Immutable Characteristic," Sexual Orientation is Not

The caption of this post sets out the position of the homophobes of the Christianist and professional Christian crowd. It goes without saying that those who believe that false story line are either liars and/or idiots. There is nothing immutable about religion - people change denominations and faiths every day of the week. I myself have gone from Roman Catholic to Episcopalian to ultimately Lutheran. Nowadays, many are leaving organized religion entirely. In contrast, the legitimate medical and mental health experts agree that sexual orientation is not something changeable. Thus, when the Christianists seek to bar legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation since they claim it is not an immutable characteristic, they make a powerful case for removing anti-discrimination protections based on religion since it clearly is not an immutable trait. Here are some highlights on this issue from Right Wing Watch:

*

For months now, I've been trying to understand the reasoning behind the Republican and right-wing opposition to adding hate crimes protections for sexual orientation, noting that while they regularly complain that certain groups of people shouldn't be getting "special rights" or receiving extra protection, they are perfectly content to allow the existing hate crimes protections for religion to remain on the books.

*
As it turns out, the reason I couldn't understand their reasoning is that it is apparently rooted in a belief that sexual orientation is a choice, while religion is not: Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill that would expand hate crime laws and make it a federal crime to assault people on the basis of their sexual orientation. . . . In an email, Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said Boehner "supports existing federal protections (based on race, religion, gender, etc) based on immutable characteristics."

*

Boehner's position, then, appears to be grounded in the notion that immutable characteristics should be protected under hate crimes laws. And while religion is an immutable characteristic, his office suggests, sexual orientation is not.

*

Personally, I suggest that Mr. Boehner needs to get his head out of his ass and think before he bloviates and makes statements that are factually untrue. Members of the GOP like to whine about "slippery slopes," yet fail to realize that they are going down one that could be very treacherous for religious extremists.

Obama Can’t Remember His Promises

Even if Barack Obama can no longer remember his campign promises to LGBT Americans, we still do and we are waiting for action, not just talk.

GOP Congresswoamn Says Matthew Shepard Murder a Hoax

In a statement that is shocking even by homophobic Republican standards, in the debate on the Hate Crimes bill in the House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard's death was “a hoax.” I am stunned and cannot decide whether Ms. Foxx is just an utterly ignorant fool or if she is so consumed by hatred of gays that facts simply do not matter. In either case, the State of North Carolina and her district in particular should be ashamed to be represented by such an ignorant ass. I can only wonder whether Ms. Foxx believes the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around the earth. The media needs to run with this heinous statement and make sure that it reverberates all over the air waves and the Internet because Ms. Foxx and her statement are the true face of today's GOP. The public really needs to be educated as to just how horrible these people really are. Here's America Blog's take on Foxx's assine statement:

*

You will recall that Matthew Shepard was the young gay man in Laramie, Wyoming who, a decade ago, was tied to a fence, Jesus-like, pistol whipped in the head some 50 times, then left for dead in the cold fall night, only to be found a day later clinging to life. Shepard died five days later. Even though Shepard's murderers admitted that they killed him because he was gay, the far-right bigots who control the Republican party couldn't resist the opportunity to gay-bash Shepard one last time. Now by referring to his brutal murder as a hoax.

*

*

The Human Rights Campaign likewise did not mince its words in response Virginia Foxx's hateful statements. Here are some highlights:

*

While Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard looked on from the House gallery, Foxx, who managed the floor for those opposed to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, spoke saying, “the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This – the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

*

“Vile lies, like the one spread by Rep. Foxx today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Matthew’s brutal hate-fueled murder, continues to underscore how extreme anti-LGBT opponents have become,” . . . . Media Matters for America has posted video of Rep. Foxx’s remarks today and background information regarding widespread acceptance among the media and others that Matthew’s murder was motivated by hate violence. To view the video and read the background, go to: http://mediamattersaction.org/items/200904290005 .

*

Fortunately, the bill passed the House by a wide margin despite the lies put out by Ms. Foxx. Bottom line: if you want to be represented by bigoted, ignorant asses, the GOP is your party. If you have a brain and can process thoughts and information, then you need to be a Democrat or an Independent. The knuckle dragging Neanderthals have truly taken over the GOP.

The Truth About the Hate Crimes Bill

As the professional gay haters and Christianists go into warp drive spreading untruths about the provisions of the Matthew Shepard Act which has been reintroduced in Congress, the ACLU has released a statement that describes the REAL provisions of the bill and which utterly debunks the knowing, deliberate lies being stated over and over by "Godly Christians" like Matt Barber who lives off of the dissemination of lies and hate. Yes, I am angry at how deliberately untruthful these folks are because in the process of spreading the lies they create the very atmosphere that emboldens individuals to bully and dehumanize LGBT citizens. Here are some highlights from the ACLU statement, a full copy of which can be found here (I encourage all readers within the USA to read it and then contact their members of Congress):
*

The ACLU has a long record of support for stronger protection of both free speech and civil rights. Those positions are not inconsistent. In fact, vigilant protection of free speech rights historically has opened the doors to effective advocacy for expanded civil rights protections.

*
The ACLU appreciates the sponsors’ inclusion of the evidentiary provision that prevents the hate crimes legislation from having any potentially chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech. The evidentiary subsection in the bill provides that:

*
Evidence of expression or association of the defendant may not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically relates to that offense. However, nothing in this section affects the rules of evidence governing the impeachment of a witness.

*
This provision will reduce or eliminate the possibility that the federal government could obtain a criminal conviction on the basis of evidence of speech that had no role in the chain of events that led to any alleged violent act proscribed by the statute.

*
On its face, the hate crimes bill punishes only the conduct of intentionally selecting another person for violence because of that person’s race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The prosecution must prove the conduct of intentional selection of the victim. Thus, the hate crimes bill, like the present principal criminal civil rights statute, 18 U.S.C. § 245 (“section 245”), punishes discrimination (an act), not bigotry (a belief).

*

As I have noted countless times, why doesn't the media challenge the deliberately false statements of people like Barber, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, etc. Exposing liars isn't anti-religion and, in fact, supports the Commandment against lying and bearing false witness.