LGBT Supporters Turn the Tables on Anti-Gay Franklin Graham in Iceland

You have to laugh sometimes when you see an anti-gay bigot finding the tables turned on them by their own ground rules.  A case in point is Franklin Graham (at left in the image above) who but for his famous father would likely be a nobody.  But, in true Christofascist form, Franklin Graham saw plentiful numbers of ignorant and uninformed people that he could shake down and in the process live the good life.  He also bought in to gay bashing and  spreading the typical "godly Christian" lies about gays.  Graham has scheduled two appearance in Iceland where he would undoubtedly spew his usual anti-gay poison, but it appears his efforts have been foiled by his own effort to fill the audience.  LGBT activists and supporters have "sold out" the free tickets and Graham will potentially speak to an empty venue.  That's right, the pro-LGBT crowd has no intention of actually going to hear Graham and listening to his snake oil.  I love it!  Here are highlights from Gay Star News:

Pro-LGBT Icelanders have booked hundreds of tickets to see anti-gay US evangelist Franklin Graham – but few have any intention of actually going to see him.

Graham will be in Iceland for events on 28 and 29 September for the evangelical Christian Festival of Hope but many Icelanders have expressed concern about his homophobic views.

In May of 2012 Graham released a statement accusing US President Barack Obama of shaking ‘his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage.’

Opponents of the visit discovered they could book up to four tickets to both events for free online, while by contacting organizers they could book for groups of 20 or more, and decided to book out the event and then not go in protest of Graham’s message.

‘The seats will be left empty and I hope that more people were able to get tickets … so that [no] people attend this ridiculous meeting.’

According to the International Business Times, software developer Elvar Thormar posted on Facebook that he had been able to reserve as many as 500 tickets to the event despite having no intention of showing up.

Both events that Graham will speak at had sold out by Friday.

Iceland is one of the most LGBT friendly countries in the world and Icelandic voters elected Johanna Sigurdardottir – the world’s first openly gay or lesbian head of state - in 2009. She retired in April of this year.

Reykjavik mayor Jón Gnarr recently threatened to cut off political and cultural ties with Moscow over Russia’s treatment of LGBTs.

I'm sorry, but in my view, tawdry whores have more integrity and moral virtue than professional Christians like Franklin Graham who have hate and bigotry as their principle stock in trade.  In my opinion, he is little more than a con artist.

Pro-LGBT Icelanders have booked hundreds of tickets to see anti-gay US evangelist Franklin Graham – but few have any intention of actually going to see him.
Graham will be in Iceland for events on 28 and 29 September for the evangelical Christian Festival of Hope but many Icelanders have expressed concern about his homophobic views.
In May of 2012 Graham released a statement accusing US President Barack Obama of shaking ‘his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/icelanders-book-out-event-anti-gay-us-evangelist-protest-his-views160813#sthash.VBnzNUBS.48mlxoU7.dpuf

Pro-LGBT Icelanders have booked hundreds of tickets to see anti-gay US evangelist Franklin Graham – but few have any intention of actually going to see him.
Graham will be in Iceland for events on 28 and 29 September for the evangelical Christian Festival of Hope but many Icelanders have expressed concern about his homophobic views.
In May of 2012 Graham released a statement accusing US President Barack Obama of shaking ‘his fist at the same God who created and defined marriage.’
- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/icelanders-book-out-event-anti-gay-us-evangelist-protest-his-views160813#sthash.VBnzNUBS.48mlxoU7.dpuf

Iceland Unanimously Approves Gay Marriage

The United States' claim to be "the land of the free" and a nation that grants freedom of religion to all citizens became a bit more farcical as the tiny nation of Iceland demonstrated what true religious freedom means: marriage for all citizens, gay of straight, rather than the enshrinement of a particular Christo-fascist religious belief on all citizens. With a number of U.S. religious denominations fully allowing same sex marriage in their churches and other denominations like the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizing same sex relations, the federal ban and numerous state bans on recognition of of gay marriage or even domestic partnerships becomes more blatantly the establishment of one particular religious belief as the law of the land - something obviously unconstitutional under both the federal and state constitutions. Yet legislators and courts still vote and rule in favor of unconstitutional laws. Here are some highlights from Pink News on developments in Iceland:
*
Politicians in Iceland have passed a law legalising gay marriage. The country, which is the only one in the world to have an out gay leader, prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, passed the law today.
*
All 49 lawmakers approved the change, which will see the words "man and man, woman and woman" added to marriage legislation. The law allows churches to perform gay weddings if they wish and says "ministers will always be free to perform [gay] marriage ceremonies, but never obliged to".
*
The country's president has to approve the bill but is highly likely to do so as this is a formality and public opinion is in favour of the change. . . . Iceland repealed laws banning homosexuality in the 1940s. In 2006, it widened provisions to give gay couples all the reproductive and parenting rights open to straight couples.
*
The country is the seventh in Europe to legalise gay marriage.

Iceland Swears in Gay Prime Minister

I mentioned the other day that Iceland looked to be on the verge of electing the world's first out lesbian prime minister. That possibility has now become a reality with the swearing in of Johanna Sigurdardottir (at left). She will be an interim prime minister at least for now pending elections later in the spring. What is most remarkable - at least from this country where one can just imagine the conniption fits that would erupt if an out gay or lesbian were selected as president - is that the fact that Sigurdardottir's sexual orientation is a non-story in Iceland. Here are highlights from the New York Times:

*

The new prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, 66, will lead a caretaker coalition government of Iceland’s Social Democrats and its Left-Green Movement for three months until a new election, expected on April 25. A political veteran who has served for long periods as social affairs minister, she also appears to be the modern world’s first openly gay head of government.

*

Last week, the government collapsed with the resignation of Prime Minister Geir Haarde, whose Independence Party, a conservative group, had enjoyed wide popularity on the back of the prosperity generated by a boom in financial services that saw Iceland’s once-conservative banks emerge as edgy, risk-taking players in international markets. The boom owed much to laissez-faire regulatory policies of the government and the central bank, led by another former prime minister, David Oddsson. Many Icelanders now blame Mr. Oddsson and Mr. Haarde for their plight.

*

Ms. Sigurdardottir comes to the prime minister’s job with a formidable reputation. As social affairs minister in several governments since 1987, she is credited with pushing through policies that widened housing opportunities for Iceland’s poor and strengthened the social welfare system. She has said she will use her powers as prime minister to push for debt relief for the most vulnerable Icelanders.

*
She began her political career as a union organizer with the national airline, now known as Icelandair, where she had worked more than 30 years ago as a flight attendant. She has two sons with her former husband, a banker, and six grandchildren. Ms. Sigurdardottir established a civil partnership in 2002 with Jonina Leosdottir, 54, an author, playwright and journalist. She, too, is a divorced mother.

*

Although Ms. Sigurdardottir’s rise has drawn widespread attention on Web sites for gay men and lesbians outside Iceland, her relationship is considered unremarkable at home. In 1940, while still a dependency of Denmark, Iceland decriminalized gay sex. It approved civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1996, one of the first countries to do so.

World's First Lesbian Prime Minister?

If things proceed as it appears they will, Iceland is about to install the first openly lesbian prime minister in the world's history. Imagine the angst among the homo-hating set such as Pat Robertson, James Dobson and Pope Benedict XVI (yes, I put them all in the same whacked out category) who will likely believe the world is ending because a lesbian is apparently the most popular politician in Iceland. Here are some highlights from Iceland Review:

*

The current Minister for Social Affairs, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of the Social Democrats, said she is prepared to assume the position of prime minister as long as she senses that her position is backed by sufficient trust.

*

According to an opinion poll undertaken by Capacent Gallup in December 2008, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir is the most popular minister—73 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with her work. Sigurdardóttir is also the only minister whose popularity had increased compared to a similar poll undertaken in December 2007.

*

If Sigurdardóttir does become prime minister, she will be the first woman to serve as prime minister in the country’s history and also the first openly gay prime minister in the world.