Defenders of Proposition 8 Ignore Court Orders

In a demonstration of their contempt for the courts and the civil laws, the proponents of Proposition 8 have ignored the third federal court order compelling them to turn over internal campaign materials and memos in the federal court case wherein the Constitutionality of Proposition 8 under the U.S. Constitution is at issue. One can only hope that Judge Walker will begin sending some of the recalcitrant defendants in the case to jail so that they will turn over the ordered materials. Obviously, the proponents of Proposition 8 do not want daylight shined on their internal conspiracy and machinations against the civil rights of others. Unfortunately, the behavior of the proponents of Proposition 8 is typical of Christianists who deem themselves above the law. The Court's latest order compelling the production of the materials can be viewed here. Proposition 8 and the Right to Marry has commentary on the situation. Here are some highlights:

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Today Judge [Spero] dropped the hammer on Prop. 8 proponents and ordered immediate production of internal communications concerning their campaign strategies and messages to voters. Among other things, Judge [Spero] admonished Prop. 8 proponents that his previous discovery orders, while being appealed to the Ninth Circuit, remain in effect because the appellate court has not issued a stay. Thus, Prop. 8 proponents risk contempt of the court if they continue to withhold production. According to today’s order, Prop. 8 proponents are ordered to produce additional responsive documents on a rolling basis to conclude not later than the close of fact discovery on November 30, 2009.
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Obviously, those who have nothing to hide do not act in the manner of the proponents of Proposition 8 in this lawsuit. One can only wonder what embarrassing and revealing materials they are trying to keep out of the court case. Bigotry needs to be exposed wherever it exists and subjected to the light of day and public scrutiny.

"No on 8" Afraid to Mention Children of LGBT Families

As the post mortem continues concerning the Proposition 8 debacle in California, it turns out that one possible failing in the campaign to stop Proposition 8 was that it failed to feature ads with LGBT families. Why this failure? Because of the fear that the Christianists, Mormons, and Catholic hierarchy would smeared gays with allegations tying homosexuality to pedophilia. This technique of using the gay haters of using the "p" word (as one blogger referenced it) is beyond despicable because real mental health experts have long known that being gay has NO correlation to pedophilia. Far more molestations of children are done by HETEROSEXUALS, but truth and honesty have never been a hallmark of the Christianists and their allies.

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I find the allegations of pedophilia utterly ridiculous and it shows the true foulness of our Christianist enemies that they knowingly make the claim even though they know it's false in the hope of deceiving the ignorant and uninformed. Having been married, fathered children, and passed as straight for 24 years, I never cease to be amazed at the deliberate and dishonest effort to depict gays as pedophiles. Meanwhile, straight men - who do most of the child molesting - take their young daughters and their young female friends all about, go on camping trips (e.g., Indian Princesses), and no one ever raising the least concern that something amiss might occur. Put a gay or lesbian in the mix, however, and suddenly that individual is viewed as a predator. It's sick and it's disgusting. Here are some highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle:

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Stringfellow, who organized No on 8 religious events in the East Bay and San Francisco, said the No on 8 campaign's talking points initially didn't have language to address religious groups. In addition, he said, No on 8 campaigners were told by strategists not to discuss children, an issue that has particular significance for family-oriented religious groups.

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Missed opportunities Stringfellow believes the campaign was afraid it would get smeared by allegations tying homosexuality to pedophilia. But he believes it was wrong to avoid the subject of children because gays and lesbians are just as capable as straight people of being good parents. "When the Yes on 8 folks talked about children, we really didn't have anywhere to go with it," he said.

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Stringfellow said the No on 8 campaign was wrong to downplay lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples in advertisements. "It's not going to be normalized if you hide over here in the corner," he said. "There's nothing wrong with talking about love between two individuals."

A Great "No on 8" Ad

The "No on 8" campaign has a great new ad which can be seen on YouTube. It shows that while bigotry is not something new, history is never kind looking back on the wrongs done to other human beings. While the Christianists may think "God" is on their side - he/she is not - they will be looked upon with scorn and distaste by future generations who question how anyone could be so cold hearted and cruel.

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P.S. Colorado fundraiser and philanthropist Tim Gill will match dollar-for-dollar contributions to "No on Prop 8" made through the Gill link HERE till the deadline of midnight tonight. Please donate - I have.

Silicon Valley Leaders: Vote No on 8

A group of SILICON VALLEY TECH LEADERS took out a full page ad in the San Joe Mercury News today urging voters to "Say NO to Prop 8." "The honorary co-chairs of “Silicon Valley Leaders Say NO on Proposition 8″ include: Sergey Brin; Bill Campbell, Chairman, Intuit; David Filo, Founder, Yahoo; Chuck Geschke, Founder and Chairman, Adobe Systems; John Morgridge, Former CEO and Chairman, Cisco Systems; Pierre Omidyar, Founder and Chairman, eBay; Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook; Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google; and Jerry Yang, Founder, Yahoo."

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You have until midnight tonight to DONATE HERE and help win this battle.

Christians Against Proposition 8

I posted a few days ago about the need for members of the LGBT community to remember that not all Christians and Christian denominations are our enemies. Some are, if fact, fighting for gay marriage at our sides. Yes, it is often difficult to remember this reality in the face of the hate and intolerance disseminated by Christianist extremists and their Mormon allies who value religious freedom only for themselves and try to stomp on the civil rights of others. In my post, I mentioned that the Santa Clara County Council of Churches had placed a full page ad in the San Jose Mercury NEWS. I extend my thanks to these churches. Any LGBT citizen in that area of California looking for a church home might begin their search at one of these churches. Here is the text of the ad which urged voters to vote "NO" on Proposition 8:

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As people of faith,
We believe all people are made in the image of God.
We believe in loving, faithful and committed relationships.
We affirm everyone's right to the freedom to marry.
e urge you to...VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 8! *
Don't eliminate marriage for anyone.
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Following Jesus' call for justice and compassion, this ad is sponsored by the Council of Churches of Santa Clara County Committee Against Proposition 8 and 23 congregations:
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Almaden Hills United Methodist Church, San Jose
Alum Rock United Methodist Church, San Jose
Campbell United Church of Christ Council
Campbell United Methodist Church
Celebration Of Faith Church, San Jose
Center for Spiritual Living, San Jose
College Heights United Church of Christ, San Mateo
First Christian Church, San Jose
First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, Peace & Justice Task Force
First Congregational Church of San Jose,
United Church of Christ
First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto
First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto
First Unitarian Church of San Jose
Grace Baptist Church, San Jose
Holy Redeemer Lutheran Church of San Jose
Metropolitan Community Church of San Jose
Morgan Hill United Methodist Church
New Community of Faith, San Jose (U.C.C. & American Baptist)
St. Jude's Episcopal Church, Social Justice/Outreach Committee,Cupertino
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Santa Clara
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, San Jose
St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Sunnyvale
Stone Church of Willow Glen (Presbyterian), San Jose
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, San Jose
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Board

What the California Supreme Court Really Ruled

Time and time again I have commented upon the deliberate dishonesty of the Christianists in general and the Yes on 8 crowd in California. One regular reader in California reminded me of something that definitively shows that the claims that civil marriage for same-sex couples will impact religious denominations is a LIE. The California Supreme Court decision of May 15, 2008, specifically states as follows regarding religious denominations:

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Affording same-sex couples the opportunity to obtain the designation of marriage will not impinge upon the religious freedom of any religious organization, official, or any other person; no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs. (Cal. Const., art. I & 4.) -- in re MARRIAGE CASES, S147999, page 117"

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Clearly, self-styled legal "expert" Matt Staver and those like him who are deliberately using scare tactics to dupe the ignorant and uninformed and are LIARS - not to mention false Christians. But then, what else is new with these folks.

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Meanwhile, Christian allies of gay rights continue to begin to speak out more loudly against the anti-gay Christianists. Here are some highlights from the San Jose Mercury News:

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The Santa Clara County Council of Churches, on behalf of 23 churches, recently paid $10,500 to run ads in the Mercury News opposing Proposition 8. The council set up a separate committee to place the ad, to not run afoul the IRS.

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"One part of Christianity has become very vocal and very talented in using the press," said the Rev. Michael Patrick Ellard, senior minister of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Jose and an organizer of the effort. "What's starting to happen is the other part of Christianity is waking up and saying, 'Wait a minute, you're trying to speak for all of us.' "

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Mixon said the state should protect civil rights and civil contracts like marriage, while the church should be blessing and supporting all manner of loving relationships and families. "I just said, 'Where would Jesus be on this?' " Mixon said. "It's pretty clear to me where he'd be. He'd be in support of anybody who was trying to create loving, caring, compassionate relationships."