Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging LGBTQ Protections

\Hate merchant Andrea Lafferty

Speaking of special rights for Christofascist, that cause took a major hit yesterday when a Fairfax County Circuit Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the hate group Traditional Values Coalition, and an unnamed student that challenged the Fairfax County School Board's adoption of policies to ban discrimination against gay and transgender students and staff.  The alleged basis for the lawsuit was the claim that Virginia's existing state law does not include such protections, but the real reason for the lawsuit was outrage over anything that restricted the ability of of Christian extremists to bully and denigrate LGBT individuals.  First and last, these people are self-centered and care nothing for the rights of others.  The Washington Post looks at the development.  Note that Lafferty - who has made a very comfortable living peddling hatred - is represented by the always foul Mat Staver and his hate group, Liberty Counsel. Here are highlights:

A Virginia judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn protections for gay and transgender students in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Andrea Lafferty, the head of the conservative Traditional Values Coalition, and an unnamed student sued the county school board in December in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The lawsuit argued that the board overstepped its authority when it changed its policies to ban discrimination against gay and transgender students and staff because state law does not include such protections. The student said he was “terrified at the thought of having to share intimate spaces with students who have the physical features of a girl, seeing such conduct as an invasion of privacy.”

“We’re very pleased with the Circuit Court of Fairfax County’s decision today to dismiss the lawsuit brought against the School Board by Ms. Lafferty and the other plaintiffs,” said School Board Chairman Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill). “The School Board remains committed to ensuring that all of our students and employees are treated fairly and with dignity and respect.”

Lafferty, reached by phone Friday, said she planned to appeal the dismissal, but referred further comment on the matter to her lawyer. Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, which is representing the student and Lafferty, said the judge dismissed the suit because he said his clients lacked standing.

The Fairfax County School Board voted to change its nondiscrimination policy to include gay students and staff in December 2014. Six months later, the board expanded the policy to bar discrimination based on “gender identity” despite vocal opposition from Lafferty and some parents in the district.

If the case is appealed and goes to the Virginia Supreme Court, I have no confidence that the gutless wonders on the Court will rule to appease Christofascists.  It is after all, the Court that twice ruled to uphold bans on interracial marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such bans in Loving v. Virginia. 

Fairfax County Schools Adopt LGBT-Supportive Curriculum

In what will hopefully become a statewide trend, the Fairfax County, Virginia School Board has approved an LGBT supportive family life curriculum that will add lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity.  Not surprisingly, some of the usual hate groups were in attendance at the school board meeting to disseminate lies and disinformation, including Andrea Lafferty of Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC"), a Southern Poverty Law Center certified hate group.  For those not familiar with TVC, it disseminates some of the most outrageous and false lies - e.g., that gays are little better than diseased vermin and would be pedophiles - about LGBT individuals of any group.  Thankfully, the school board rejected the lies.  The Washington Blade reports on the development.  Here are highlights:

The Fairfax County School Board voted 10-2 on June 25 to amend the school system’s Family Life Education Curriculum to add lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity that stress support for diversity and respect for LGBT students.

The vote followed a sometimes contentious meeting in which angry opponents of the proposal, including the president of the anti-gay Traditional Values Coalition, denounced it as a radical attempt to normalize homosexuality and “transgenderism.”

Some of the opponents called for the defeat of the 10 board members supporting the curriculum changes in November, when all 12 members of the school board are up for re-election.

“It speaks volumes about the commitment our school board’s 10 Democratic-endorsed members who recognized the importance of affirming LGBT kids and families,” said Northern Virginia gay activist Joshua Israel.

Israel noted that in drafting the curriculum changes a school board committee considered the findings of a recent youth survey that showed lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth in Fairfax County have much higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts compared to the general youth population.

School Board Chair Tamara Derenak Kaufax pointed out during the board’s debate over the proposal that parents will have the option to “opt” their child out of any of the lessons to which they object.

Among those speaking against the proposal was Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition, a national group founded by her father, the Rev. Louis Sheldon. Many of the more than 200 members of the audience shouted “no” when Lafferty asked whether parents support what she called an ill-conceived proposal to teach kids about homosexuality and “transgenderism.”

Lafferty and other opponents said they were especially concerned that the curriculum changes call for beginning the teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades 7 and 8. Supporters of the changes have said the curriculum additions have been carefully vetted by experts and are “age-appropriate.”

“The recommendations strive to promote an environment free of bias and discrimination,” said James Parrish, executive director of the statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality Virginia.

The vote by the Fairfax School Board to approve the LGBT-supportive changes in the Family Life Education Curriculum came less than two months after the board voted on May 7 to expand the school system’s non-discrimination policy to include protections for transgender students and employees.

California Governor Signs Bill Requiring Schools to Teach Gay History

"History should be honest," Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said about the gay history legislation.

One of the reasons I believe that gays are so easily maligned by the "godly folk" is that so few Americans know about our contributions to society.  And too often the local media and even entertainment outlets censor news and movies that have positive gay themes.  A case in point?  The Imitation Game which looks at the role of Alan Turning in breaking the German enigma code in WWI has hit the theaters.  Is it playing anywhere in Hampton Roads, Virginia, an area with 1.7 million people? Nope, not at a single theater.  In fact there is an online effort to demand that the movie be shown in the region.  California Gov. Jerry Brown seeks to change this problem in his state and has signed a bill that will require public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.  One can already hear the spittle flecked rants of the Christofascists over having accurate history of gays portrayed.  A leading mouth piece is the hate group, Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC") which regularly disseminates baldfaced lies about LGBT individuals..   Here are highlights from CNN (which true to form fails to note that TVC is a hate group):

Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday he had signed a bill that will require public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

The bill, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will also require teachers to provide instruction on the role of people with disabilities.

"History should be honest," Brown said in a statement.

"This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno for his hard work on this historic legislation."

"Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans," Sen. Leno said in a statement.

The bill, which passed the state legislature this month and the senate in April, according to the senator's office, is not without controversy.

It has drawn criticism from some religious and conservative groups, like the Traditional Values Coalition, a lobby organization that says it speaks on behalf of more than 43,000 churches.

"It is an outrage that Governor Jerry Brown has opened the classroom door for homosexual activists to indoctrinate the minds of California's youth, since no factual materials would be allowed to be presented," Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman and founder of the Traditional Values Coalition, said in a statement.  "If parents don't already have their children out of public schools, this should cause them to remove them," he said.

The true outrage is that hate merchants like Sheldon - who makes a nice living fanning hatred - are afforded any respect or deference whatsoever.   As for honesty, no one lies more than the "godly Christian" crowd.

RNC Unanimously Approves Anti-Marriage Equality Resolution Without Debate

Apparently, the threats and intimidation of the Christofascists and anti-gay hate groups won the day (a who's who of hate group leaders had signed a letter threatening to leave the GOP earlier in the week).  The Republican National Committee unanimously - and without any debate - approved an anti-gay resolution and continued the GOP's slide towards ignorance and bigotry.  And hopefully, long therm death as a major political party.  No doubt the hate groups who continue to fan the flames of anti-gay animus to line their bank accounts will be even more insufferable.  Think Progress looks at the development.  Here are excerpts:

At a retreat in Hollywood, California on Thursday, the Republican National Committee caved to pressure from social conservatives and unanimously approved a number of resolutions without any debate, including one opposing same-sex marriage.
As ThinkProgress reported Wednesday, this resolution is based entirely on debunked junk science and assumptions that heterosexual relationships are objectively superior to same-sex couples. Here is some of the text:

WHEREAS, the institution of marriage is the solid foundation upon which our society is built and in which children thrive; it is based in the conjugal relationship that only a man and a woman can form; [...]
WHEREAS, no Act of human government can change the reality that marriage is a natural and most desirable union; especially when procreation is a goal; [...] therefore be it
RESOLVED, the Republican national Committee affirms its support for marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and as the optimum environment in which to raise healthy children for the future of America.

A second resolution reaffirming the party’s 2012 platform included a similar provision opposing same-sex marriage:

WHEREAS, the 2012 Republican Platform states, “We believe that marriage, the union of one man and one woman must be upheld as the national standard, a goal to stand for, encourage, and promote through laws governing marriage.”

Last month, as part of its autopsy of the 2012 election, Republicans announced their intention to tone down — though not alter — their opposition to LGBT equality by sugarcoating how they discuss those positions. Adoption of these resolutions followed threats this week from social conservative groups that they would no longer support the GOP if the party didn’t stand strong, and even take guidance, from them on issues like same-sex marriage and abortion. In particular, the Family Research Council urged supporters not to give money to the GOP if it didn’t “grow a backbone.”

Stuck between this rock (trying to recruit young people) and hard place (depending on social conservatives), the Republicans seem to have reverted to their same old positions. This is in spite of the fact there are now two Republican Senators and two Republican House members who support marriage equality, with others evolving.

Absent some huge shift in position, I doubt the GOP will ever receive a single vote again from me, my children, and our extended family.

Hate Groups Again Threaten to Leave GOP Over Gay Marriage

A who's who of hate groups and their Pharisee like leaders have signed a letter to RNC chairman Reince Preibus threatening to end their support for the GOP if the party platform is amended to remove opposition to same-sex marriage.  The RNC is currently meeting in California and has yet to vote on a resolution favored by the Christofascists and anti-gay hate merchants.  The image above denotes the signatories of the letter.  Here is an excerpt from the letter:

We respectfully warn GOP Leadership that an abandonment of its principles will necessarily result in the abandonment of our constituents to their support. We could not change that even if we wished to.

As a gesture of good faith and an affirmation of its positions, we strongly recommend that the RNC meeting in Los Angeles on April 9th pass a resolution reaffirming its support of the 2012 National GOP Platform adopted in Tampa.

The RNC needs to ignore the Christofascist threats for two reasons: (i) support for gay marriage is soaring, especially among younger voters who are replacing the angry elderly Christianist voters who are conveniently dying off, and (ii) despite the threats, these hate merchants have no viable alternative to the GOP.  They most certainly will not vote for Democrats and they are too anal to stay home from the polls.   

What really has the hate merchant's panties in a wad is the reality that fundraising based on opposition to gay marriage has been their cash cow for a number of years.  If the GOP ceases opposition and gay marriage becomes a nationwide phenomenon, the financial consequences to these hate groups could be catastrophic.    For example, Focus on the Family has already laid off hundreds of its staff.  Without money raised using gay marriage as the sales hook, lay offs will likely only increase.  For smaller hate group leaders the loss of gay marriage as a ploy to fleece contributors, some of these folks might have to actually get real jobs.  

Think Progress notes that the resolution endorsed by the hate group leaders rely heavily on junk science, claims of heterosexual superiority, and the fraudulent and widely debunked Regnerus study funded by anti-gay organizations.  As usual, lies and deceit are the standard behavior of the "godly Christian" crowd.

Hate group leader Tony Perkins and Christofascist James Dobson

Matt Staver Says ENDA and Gays Seek to “Undermine the Very Concept of God"

Click image to enlarge

While spewing anti-gay lies and hatred the Christofascists always disclaim any responsibility for anti-gay bulling and the resultant suicides by LGBT teens that are a too frequent phenomenon.  Worse yet, these horrid individuals and their organizations claim to "love gays" even as they incite hatred and violence against us.  In the five years that this blog has been online, it is instructive that the ONLY death threats and threats of harm I have ever received (which why all comments are now moderated and a profile required for those leaving comments) have ALL been from "godly Christians."  As Right Wing Watch is reporting, Matt Staver, the head of the poor excuse of a law school known as Liberty University School of Law has gone beyond the pale in claiming that gays not only want to destroy "religious freedom" - which for Staver translates to Christianists being allowed to force their religious views on all citizens - but also to destroy the concept of God as well.  Meanwhile, Staver's fellow hate merchants at Traditional Values Coalition (a registered hate group) are pushing a truly vile ad - see the image above - opposing ENDA.  It doesn't take much to connect the dots and see that this kind of hate speech is an incitement to violence against LGBT citizens.  Here are highlights from Right Wing Watch on the type of "Christian love" being marketed by Mr. Staver:

Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver is ratcheting up the rhetoric in opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), even going so far as to say that if passed the legislation may lead to child molestation, sexual assault, and death. Staver told Jim Schneider of VCY America on Crosstalk yesterday that ENDA “will put individuals at risk and ultimately result in significant damage and even death of some individuals”

Staver: So you can go into these restrooms or changing rooms, if you’re a man, and want to go in and molest, or watch, or sexually assault young girls. So, I mean, the absurdity of this is just beyond understanding how someone could be in favor of it. This [ENDA] will ultimately, in addition to colliding with religious liberty, in addition to forcing a radical agenda on people, this also will put individuals at risk and ultimately result in significant damage and even death of some individuals. 

Schneider: How critical is it Mat that our listeners contact their U.S. Senators at this time pertaining to ENDA?

Staver: I think it’s absolutely critical, we cannot have this law pass, we just simply cannot have it pass, it will literally reshape America and business and you will have your religious freedom on a collision course with this radical homosexual agenda. This will be the biggest club that the homosexual agenda will have to ultimately beat down people of faith and moral values.
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Staver: Years ago I said what the ultimate goal of this homosexual agenda was not this sexual orientation where you are wired to a particular way but ultimately the abolition of gender. It’s hard for us to even comprehend that, how can you abolish the concept or the construct of gender, male and female, it’s so objective, it’s so obvious, how can you do that? But that’s exactly what they want to do: anything that you see is just fictitious; it’s only what’s in your mind. If you abolish the concept of gender you ultimately undermine morality, you ultimately have no morality and norms for men and women or sexual behavior. As Alfred Kinsey ultimately wanted to do, he wanted to undermine morality in marriage. Why? So he could undermine the very concept of God himself.

Don't be surprised to hear lunatics citing Staver and TVC as justification after they murdered or maimed some innocent LGBT citizen.    And what's equally frightening is that this is exactly the type of propaganda approach that Hitler and the Nazi regime utilized against the Jews of Europe in the 1930'2.  Staver and TVC are the ones who are truly evil.

GOP Anti-Gay Screed Attacking Ralph Northam - AN UPDATE

Last Thursday I wrote about a vile anti-gay flyer (set out above) that had been distributed across Senator Ralph Northam's district. Among other things, the flyer accused Northam of "advancing the Homosexual/Gay lifestyle." Over the weekend, I connected some of the dots connecting the flyer to past bigotry displayed by Ben Loyola's campaign management group and anti-gay Congressman Scott Rigell - an individual who proudly highlighted his endorsement by hate group leader Lou Sheldon.

Now, coverage of the anti-gay bigotry that is rife within the Republican Party of Virginia has hit the national LGBT blogosphere at both Towleroad and Joe My God. The rest of the world needs to know the cesspool like nature of the Republican Party in Virginia. The anti-gay bigotry demonstrated in Northam's district is not unique. Here in Hampton, incumbent senator Mamie Locke is being challenged by an equally foaming at the mouth homophobe.

I truly hope that EVERY Virginia reader will get out tomorrow and vote Democrat so that these foul merchants of hate and bigotry do not win control of the Virginia Senate. If we think things are bad now, they will get markedly worse if the GOP takes the Virginia Senate.

Local Republican Connections to Anti-Gay Extremists

Click image to enlarge.

On Thursday I wrote about a nasty flyer that was being circulated by unknown parties attacking Senator Ralph Northam and claiming he was advancing the "Homosexual/Gay lifestyle." The flyer went on to lay out incredibly nasty lies about LGBT individuals. While I'm not aware that the flyer has been directly tracked back to the campaign staff of Northam's challenger, Ben Loyola, there are some disturbing connections that appear to underscore just how anti-gay many within the local Virginia GOP party structure have become. Tidewater Campaign Solutions, a/k/a TCS Consulting ("TCS"), is working for Ben Loyola's campaign. TCS also worked for far right 2nd District Congressman Scott Rigell's campaign. As noted before, Rigell was personally endorsed by Lou Sheldon, the founder of Traditional Values Coalition - a Southern Poverty Law Center registered anti-gay hate group. Even after Sheldon's hate group ties came out, Rigell never disavowed Sheldon's endorsement.

As the above screen shot reveals, TCS also worked for Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition - an organization that promotes an decidedly far right Christian extremist agenda. Interestingly enough, after the anti-Northam flyer became an issue, TCS scrubbed references to Faith and Freedom Coalition from it's website. A mere coincidence that the reference vanished that very day? And is it any surprise that the Faith and Freedom Coalition has endorsed Loyola?

The other interesting "coincidence" is that they anti-gay vitriol in the flyers seems to directly track some of the foul anti-gay propaganda on Traditional Values Coalition's website. Here's a sampling:

Exposed: Homosexual Child Molesters
Date: June 16, 2011
Homosexuals claim that “heterosexuals” molest most children but statistics show that homosexuals molest at far higher rates than do hetero... READ ARTICLE

Exposed: NAMBLA And Homosexual Activism
Date: June 16, 2011
Pedophiles And Homosexual Activists Push For Total Sexual Liberation In August, 2003, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the state of ... READ ARTICLE

Exposed: The Myth That Psychiatry Has Proven That Homosexual Behavior Is Normal
Date: June 16, 2011
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality as a mental disorder from the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders (DSM-II). This decision was a significant vict... READ ARTICLE

You get the drift. Yet miraculously - just like the TCS reference to the Faith and Freedom Coalition - when one clicks on the "Read Article" link,, the reports are no longer available. Yet another coincidence?

A number of local Republicans refuse to open their eyes as to what is happening to a once respectable political party that actually supported the U.S. Constitution and believed in the separation of church and state. As Andrew Sullivan has argued a number of times, the GOP is now a sectarian party. Those who continue to vote for GOP candidates, like it or not, are supporting those who want to subvert freedom of religion. They can cite supposed support for limited government, etc., by they are supporting those who want a Christian theocracy.

Jerry Brown Signs California Gay History Bill - Christofascists Go Berzerk

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed the landmark Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act that mandates the contributions of LGBT people be included in school lesson plans. Its legislation that in my view is long overdue and will over time result in students learning that LGBT individuals have been around throughout history and that we've often accomplished amazing things. Moreover, since California is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks, there will be an indirect impact in other states as well. Not surprisingly, the usual hate groups are beside themselves and one needs foul weather gear not to be drenched by the spittle flying as the haters convulse. Here are highlights from The Advocate on the historic law:
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The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act was introduced by gay state senator Mark Leno partly as a way to combat bullying of students who are gay or perceived to be. The FAIR Act passed the Senate in April and the Assembly earlier this month. Aside from ensuring that the contributions of gays and gay rights are included in textbooks, the legislation adds sexual orientation to the state's existing antidiscrimination protections that prohibit bias in school activities, instruction, and instructional materials.
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For the sane and rational, the law should be a non-issue. But to hate groups that seek to depict LGBT individuals as depraved alcoholics, drug users, and overall failures, the law strikes at the heart of their usually propaganda. Here's a sampling of the hysteria coming from the usual suspects via Joe.My.God:
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Catholics For The Common Good: Claims that this bill is needed to reduce bullying against children that are experiencing gender confusion or take on 'gay' or 'lesbian' identities are absurd. Children must be taught respect for all persons because of their intrinsic value, not because they agree with their behavior or like their characteristics. In fact, reducing people to merely a sexual identity obscures the fact that they are so much more than that.
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Traditional Values Coalition: SB 48 was priority number 1 for Traditional Values Coalition. We committed all the resources we had to try to make sure that SB 48 failed. We are talking about molesting the minds of young impressionable youth, as young as Kindergarten, with an agenda and message that is not age-appropriate and that is offensive to the values of a vast majority of California’s families. We have failed at our core educational mission and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. It’s absurd and offensive.
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Save California: It's ridiculous that Jerry Brown says he's making history 'honest'. The bill he signed prohibits teachers and textbooks from telling children the facts that homosexuality has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, higher cancer rates, and earlier deaths. These important facts about lifestyles children will being forced to admire will be omitted. And Brown calls this 'honest'? This revisionist history will actually make more children believe a lie -- that homosexuality is biological, which it's not, and healthy, which is isn't."
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Can't you just feel the Christian "love"?

Newly Named Hate Groups Play the Victim Card

As Alvin McEwen notes at Pam's House Blend, Family Research Council, the American Family Association and Porno Pete's latest racket - I mean organization - are not happy to have been rightfully identified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Not only will the designation hopefully make them radioactive in the view of GOP politicians, but the designation could hurt them where it really counts - money wise. Obviously, some folks might think twice before giving money to a registered hate group. Hence the victim card that's being played out at Wingnut Daily which, like the newly designated groups, has the dissemination of lies and falsehoods as its principal stock in trade. No one knows how to perpetuate hate and discrimination under the smoke screen of religion that FRC, AFA and Porno Pete. The disingenuous headline of the Wingnut Daily piece reads "Southern Poverty Law Center smears champions of God's sexual morality." Yep, the hate merchants can dish it out but like most liars and bullies, they don't react well to being called out and confronted. From my personal dealings with Robert Knight, I can attest that the man is a deliberate and pathological liar when it comes to LGBT citizens (Robert, I still have your e-mails to back up this statement). Here are highlights from the batshitery at Wingnut Daily (Note that nowhere are SPLC's specific factors challenged or refuted):
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The Southern Poverty Law Center has placed a virtual who's who of pro-family and Christian organizations, including the Family Research Council, the American Family Association and the Traditional Values Coalition, on a list of 13 "hate groups" for opposing the homosexual political agenda.
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"No organization better defines what a hate group is all about than the Southern Poverty Law Center," said Robert Knight, Washington correspondent for Coral Ridge Ministries. "Smearing legitimate groups merely for disagreeing about homosexuality is a very hateful act."
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"Lumping Christian groups in with violent, racist gangs is a form of 'bracketing,' a political tactic described in the gay strategy manual 'After the Ball.' It's guilt by association and it's meant to intimidate," Knight told WND.
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Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups." . . . . Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, contended that SPLC is more focused on advancing a radical political agenda than on combating hatred. . . . "It's the homosexual groups that have violated and invaded churches, vandalized homes and cars, that instigate death threats against people who are simply trying to uphold traditional values," Wright observed.
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I'm not sure what Kool-Aid Ms. Wright is drinking. I haven't seen a single news report on "godly Christians" being beaten and killed as a result of gay rights initiatives - something the direct opposite of what we see among the fruits of the hate fest disseminated by the groups designated by SPLC.

Is the Virginia Pilot Trying to Hide GOP Rigell's Ant-Gay Extremism?

I have written a number of times about the religious extremism of GOP candidate Scott Rigell (on right pictured with former Virginia Beach GOP party chair who resigned due to his distribution of racist e-mails) who is running for the Virginia 2nd Congressional seat. Rigell has a documented anti-gay history going back to a very nasty split in Galilee Episcopal Church where Rigell was one of the ringleaders who did not want gays to be able to hold positions in the church. Back at the time the Virginian Pilot decided to report on the controversy, perhaps because Galilee was one of the "power churches" attended by many "movers and shakers" in Virginia Beach.

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Now, it has come out that Rigell continues to have anti-gay ties. Indeed, he's been endorsed by (and gushed over the endorsement) Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC"), an anti-gay hate group registered by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Daily Press, which has a circulation area that encompasses a portion of the Virginia 2nd Congressional District found the shocking fact of Rigell's ties to Rev. Sheldon news worthy and did an excellent story yesterday which can be found here. This story was in turn picked up by local station WTKR-TV on its website. This shocking fact about Rigell, however, is strangely not news worthy in the eyes of the Virginia Pilot. One can only wonder why.

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Let's look at the surrounding circumstances and see what conclusions one might possibly reach. First, it is well documented in the media that there has been a wave of gay teen suicides, some directly linked to anti-gay bullying, some apparently triggered more by the general homophobia still far too prevalent in society. A recent survey reported by CNN documented that two out of three Americans believed that the anti-gay agenda of churches and supposedly Christian organizations was largely responsible for the atmosphere that makes some gays view suicide as their best option. Sheldon's TVC is a leader in fostering an extremely anti-gay atmosphere and disseminates unbelievably vile (and untrue) anti-gay propaganda. Given recent events and TVC's status as an anti-gay hate group, it would seem to inquiring people that the Rigell-Sheldon tie is news worthy. But not so with the Virginian Pilot.

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Then we have the ongoing media coverage of the issue of DADT and its possible repeal. Both Rigell and Sheldon oppose DADT repeal, with Sheldon's group making all kinds of wild anti-gay statements. Again, the Rigell-Sheldon tie would seem news worthy in this areana. Indeed, UK Gay News, an LGBT news site based on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean viewed Rigell's endorsement by Sheldon to be newsworthy:
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Bilerico Project - USA: VA GOP's Scott Rigell Lists Hate Group Leader as Endorser. Commentary by Michael Hamar. Imagine my surprise at finding Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition proudly listed as an endorser of Scott Rigell, the GOP candidate for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. After all, the Southern Poverty Law Center has registered TVC as an anti-gay hate group. One would think that even a far right Christianist like Rigell might want to avoid appearing to be a fanatic. This is an expanded version of Michael Hamar's original post on his blog Michael in Norfolk.
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Yet in its own back yard, the Virginian Pilot remains silent on the story even as a growing number of websites across Virginia - including the Washington Post's blog page - report the story. What's going on? That's what I asked the Virginian Pilot yesterday. The response I received from Meredith Kruse, state director, was, in my opinion, more than a little disingenuous:
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The publisher and editor of The Pilot have issued a clear directive to staff members who cover political campaigns, including the 2nd District race: be accurate, hold candidates accountable, and give readers the information they need to make an informed choice at the polls. Advertising does not and must not affect our news coverage, because our credibility as a news organization is paramount. We stand by the decisions we've made about which issues to cover in the final days of the campaign, mindful that readers expect our news judgment to be consistent and fair.

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Yes, the response was a bit testy. Because the Virginian Pilot has, in my opinion, two huge possible conflicts of interest going on in terms of Rigell and the duty of telling the public the whole story on Rigell and his ties to Rev. Sheldon. Here they are:

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First conflict of interest: the Virginian Pilot endorsed Rigell based on his claimed "business experience" with I suspect no homeworking being done on his extremism on social issues. From experience over nearly three decades in the area, the Virginian Pilot NEVER admits that it's wrong and a story on the Rigell-Sheldon connection obviously says something about the flawed process behind the endorsement of Rigell. In sharp contrast, the Daily Press, which likewise endorsed Rigell, unlike the Virginian Pilot opted to served the public's need to know and did yesterday's excellent story. But there's a one big difference between the Virginian Pilot and the Daily Press, which brings us to the Virginian Pilot's second apparent conflict of interest.

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Second conflict of interest: Scott Rigell's Freedom Automotive has three large dealerships, all located in the circulation area of the Virginian Pilot. And like most auto dealerships, guess where Freedom Automotive buys significant amounts of advertising? Bingo, from the Virginia Pilot. Obviously, the amount of such revenues isn't available, but calculating rough figures based on standard charges, it is not a small number.

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So has the Virginian Pilot been bought by Scott Rigell? Sadly, we will never know for certain, but in my opinion, by connecting the dots if you will, it is not unreasonable to conclude that such is the case. Obviously, the Pilot could prove my gut feeling wrong by running a story. But, I'm not going to be holding my breath.

Daily Press: Gay Community Angry With Rigell Endorsement

I had been very concerned that the local print media would bury the story of Scott Rigell's endorsement by and ties to Lou Sheldon, the head of Traditional Values Coalition - a registered hate group with the Southern Poverty Law Center ("SPLC") The SPLC tracks hate organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi groups, and white supremact groups among others. Both the Daily Press and the Virginian Pilot had endorsed Rigell, falling for his "experienced businessman" propaganda. Fortunately the Daily Press is doing the right thing and has reported on the Lou Sheldon scandal. Whether the Virginia Pilot - which has a huge conflict of interest problem since Rigell's Freedom Automotive with three dealerships is a significant advertiser with the Pilot - will do the same remains to be seen. Not surprisingly, Rigell's campaign is whining over the fact that the extremism of Rigell's positions on social issues is belatedly being exposed on the eve of election day. I'm sure Rigell's goal was to be a stealth Christianist candidate. He is cut from the same wacky cloth as Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle and voters need to know that fact. Here are highlights from the Daily Press story:
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The gay rights community is up in arms after discovering that Republican congressional hopeful Scott Rigell displays is touting the endorsement of a California religious leader that the Southern Poverty Law Center has considered an "anti gay hate group" for five years.
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The uproar online surrounds Louis P. Sheldon and his organization the "Traditional Values Coalition" an Anaheim Calif.- based group that says it speaks for 43,000 churches. Sheldon is listed alongside Rigell's other endorsements in alphabetical order between Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms and former Virginia Beach GOP chair Chuck Smith.
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But the gay rights community noticed Sheldon first and the story was picked up by liberal bloggers throughout the state, who found inflammatory details about Sheldon sitting all over the Internet.
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The director of research for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Heidi Beirich, said Sheldon has been listed on their collection of hate groups for the past five years. Beirich said that of the 932 hate groups that the SPLC tracks nationwide, only a handful are branded "anti-gay."
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"Sheldon and his outfit consistently defame gays...(with) rabidly anti-gay propaganda," Beirich said. "They're especially nasty about pushing the idea that gays are coming after people's children."
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Beirich said that Sheldon and his daughter Andrea Lafferty are "some of the worst" when it comes to anti-gay rhetoric promoting ideas like "AIDS patients should be sequestered in separate cities."
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Rigell's campaign has already had to distance itself from a pair of former Virginia Beach Republican Party officials who forwarded or sent along emails including racist jokes and diatribes against minorities.
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Rigell is obviously linked to parts of the evangelical movement, most notably Pat Robertson, because like Gov. Bob McDonnell, Rigell went to Robertson's Regent University for graduate school. On Wednesday he held a fundraiser with former Arkansas governor and onetime presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, a star in the evangelical movement.
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[N]o one forced Rigell's campaign to put Sheldon's name up on the candidate's Internet headquarters. Cameron said the campaign was "unaware" of any controversy surrounding Sheldon or any accusations against him or his organization, and said that Democrats appear to launching late attacks to help U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye. .
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Sheldon's name was still listed on Rigell's website as of noon Thursday.

GOP's Scott Rigell Proudly Lists Hate Group Leader as Endorser

Click image to enlarge

UPDATED: A version of this post will publish on The Bilerico Project later today and Blue Virginia has picked up the story and expanded it - Lowell's expanded piece is a must read. The story is important because Rigell has gone to great lengths to depict himself as a "business man" and to keep his extreme position on social issues under the radar. I'm not sure why Glenn Nye hasn't made Rigell's extremism more of an issue - perhaps fear of being labeled "anti-Christian" in a conservative district. In reality, Rigell is cut out of the same cloth as Christine O'Donnell and Sharon Angle. The issue of this endorsement is also important because to be registered by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group really requires that an organization demonstrate extreme toxicity and hate. Among other hate groups it tracks are the Klu Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi groups and white supremacist groups.

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Imagine my surprise at finding Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC") proudly listed as an endorser of Scott Rigell, the GOP candidate for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. After all, the Southern Poverty Law Center has registered TVC as an anti-gay hate group. One would think that even a far right Christianist like Rigell might want to avoid appearing to be a fanatic. But apparently such is not the case. The Southern Poverty Law Center has this, among other things to say about registered anti-gay hate groups:

Many of its leaders have engaged in the crudest type of name-calling, describing homosexuals as "perverts" with "filthy habits" who seek to snatch the children of straight parents and "convert" them to gay sex. They have disseminated disparaging "facts" about gays that are simply untrue — assertions that are remarkably reminiscent of the way white intellectuals and scientists once wrote about the "bestial" black man and his supposedly threatening sexuality.

My discovery of Sheldon's endorsement of Rigell actually came about quite innocently. This evening the portion of Hampton, Virginia, in which I live held a very well run candidate forum for the three candidates running for the Virginia 2nd congressional district. Democrat incumbent Glenn Nye and independent candidate Kenny Golden both appeared and cogently responded to a uniform slate of questions. And Republican Scott Rigell? He was "too busy." The multi-millionaire Rigell (who made $400,000 off the "cash for clunkers" program even though he condemns Glenn Nye for voting for the stimulus bill) blew off the forum to attend a fundraiser somewhere on the south side of Hampton Roads
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Rigell's absence and the incoherent presentation by Rigell's surrogate, failed GOP primary candidate Bert Mizusawa, left me with no option but to revisit Rigell's campaign web site to determine what if anything Rigell had to say on the issues addressed at the forum. I had not been to the website since it was recently sanitized to remove the names of a past and recently resigned GOP party chairs for Virginia Beach linked to racist e-mails after coverage hit the Virginian Pilot and many other media and blogosphere outlets.
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So besides holding endorsements from accused racists and the head of a registered hate group what else did I learn about Rigell from his web site? Actually, not much and it's hard to discern what Rigell believes in other than (1) a reprise of Ronald Reagan's trickle down economics that created a huge budget deficit, and (2) "protecting marriage," from the gays, and (3) likely maintaining special rights for far right Christians whose rights will trump those of other citizens.
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It should be noted that Lou Sheldon of TVC is not the only Christianist fanatic endorsing Rigell. Others include home schooler icon and Patrick Henry College founder Mike Farris and Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr., President of STAND AMERICA. While his name isn't visible on Rigell's website, Pat Robertson is no doubt also lurking behind the scenes as well.
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Golden is in many ways a moderate compared to Rigell, but the only candidate that will protect the rights of all citizens is Glenn Nye. Glenn will get my vote on November 2, 2010. Meanwhile, Rigell needs to be called out on boasting about support from individuals like Sheldon and organizations like TVC.

Gay Bashing As a Fundraiser

I have stated many times that the "family values crowd has turned gay-hating into an art form - and a huge tool to raise money so that the leaders of these "Christian" organizations can live comfortably without working like the rest of us. One of the most foul of these organizations is the Traditional Values Coalition. While I mind all of these organizations the antithesis of being Christian, TVC has taken the anti-gay model to a new level and has been certified as a hate organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks hate organizations around the country. To be certified as an anti-gay hate group, the organization must go beyond mere disagreement with homosexuality by subjecting gays and lesbians to campaigns of personal vilification. The form below shows how TVC uses as anti-gay bigotry as a fundraising tool.

While the form itself is bad enough, a brief viewing of the TVC website discloses that vilifying gays is an obsession with this organization and the most outrageous lies and recitations of bogus "research" is the norm for TVC. To win the ultimate battle for gay equality, we need to know our enemies and better yet educate the rest of the country as to what these false Christian groups are really all about. Hat trick to Jeremy at Good As You.

The Ongoing Epidemic of Gay Teen Suicide

Victoria Brownworth has a very moving and thought provoking - and lengthy - article on 365gay.com about gay suicide, particularly gay teen suicide. As I have said before, I hold hate-filled social conservatives and Christianists in this country, including the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention, responsible as the moving forces driving gay teens to suicide literally on a daily basis. All because these religious fanatics are so bigoted and fearful of independent thought and recognition of medical and mental health advances that they cannot tolerate those who are different. Worse yet, in my opinion, they frankly do not give a damn about the lives destroy or the amount of misery and suffering they inflict. To be blunt, I find these folks nothing short of evil. Yes, I concede that this is a highly emotional topic for me because (as long time readers know) I lost a friend to suicide and a former boyfriend's brother killed himself because they could not deal with being gay. Even closer to home, I had my own nearly successful brush with suicide. So much misery, so much suffering, so many needlessly lost lives - and all of it unnecessary. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in Philadelphia – EPPI - used to be the place where teenagers who attempted suicide ended up. . . . For a time it seemed like every lesbian who ever attended my all-girl’s high school ended up attempting suicide and taking a short trip to EPPI because of it.

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Lesbian and gay teens today needn’t feel the hopelessness or fear that the LGBT youth of my generation felt. Or do they? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts the annual rate of suicide in the U.S. at between 35,000 and 40,000 per year. Of than number, almost 20 percent are teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18. According to HHS, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S.

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Psychological autopsies – that is, examination of a person’s psychological state in the time leading up to their death – show an alarming 30 percent of LGBT youth among these dead teens. And psychologists believe that number, too, may also be much higher than actually noted in the statistics, as queer teens are most likely to have the true cause of their death and their sexual identity hidden by family members.

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Yet if even the most basic numbers on LGBT teen suicide are accurate, the statistics are stunning and their ramifications shocking. LGBT teens are considering suicide at an alarming rate, attempting it more often than their heterosexual peers and are, sadly, succeeding in those attempts more and more often.

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Many LGBT teens who feel suicide is their only option have inevitably been bullied to death. . . .New forms of bullying – online and in public forums like MySpace and Facebook – have meant that there are no safe peer-group places for LGBT teens who are feeling threatened.

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Lisa Allen* was 16-years-old and a student at Central High School when she tried to kill herself. “Now, of course, I see I was lucky,” she admits. “I wanted to die then, but I am glad I didn’t now. But if Toni hadn’t found me, I wouldn’t have made it.” Lisa Allen is indeed one of the lucky ones. Bobby Griffith was not so lucky.

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Mary Griffith’s grief and remorse after her son’s suicide – he did a back-flip off an overpass into the path of an 18-wheeler and was killed instantly – led her to talk about her experience and her son’s tragic death. In *Prayers for Bobby: A Mother’s Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son,* Griffith talks at length about how her religious beliefs and those she inculcated into Bobby led inexorably to such self-hatred that suicide seemed the only answer to him.

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Penn State University psychologist Anthony D’Augelli studied hundreds of gay and lesbian teens in 14 cities, including Philadelphia. He says their rate of suicide attempts is more than double the average of heterosexual teens. In an interview, D’Augelli said, “In the studies we’ve done, the numbers get up to 30 percent, 40 percent.” That means LGBT teens are between 30 and 40 percent more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

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That’s how Belinda Cummings* felt – as if she could not go on. And didn’t want to. . . . I couldn’t be going to church and feeling like I could overcome it all and then the minute I was at school and seeing other girls–and especially the ones I had crushes on–I felt all messed up again. It was just too much. I have to say, when I cut my wrists open that day and the blood started to spurt out, I felt like I had done the right thing.”

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What’s more, conservative and anti-gay groups have focused attention on teens, denying that any teen has a true gay identity. Traditional Values Coalition charged on its disturbing website that the “claims” of high rates of LGBT teen suicide are “bogus” and nothing more than “recruitment techniques” to force schools to address homosexuality in the classroom.

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Like the two girls in the article and surely Bobby Griffin, the day I swallowed a bottle of powerful pills, I just wanted it all to stop. I truly was not thinking beyond that - just make the pain stop. That's all I wanted. Today, I am very happy that my suicide attempt failed. It would have harmed my children immensely and I would never have known the level of peace and self-acceptance I have now achieved. Nor would I have met my wonderful current boyfriend. Here are some resources:

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If you know someone who is feeling suicidal, or an LGBT teen who needs to talk, contact any of these queer or queer-friendly venues for teens.

Suicide Prevention Hotline:1-800-273-TALK

Teen Health and Wellness (800) 237-9932.

www.TheTrevorProject.org

www.teenwire.com

www.youth-guard.org