Anti-Gay Marriage Violence Increases in France - A Wake Up Call for America

Riot police officers stood by on Sunday at the end of a demonstration in Paris where tens of thousands of opponents of a same-sex marriage bill had gathered.

The clear and present danger far right Christians pose to constitutional government continues to be put under a spot light in France where the violence continues to grow as Christofascists go on additional rampages as they confront the reality that they are about to lose the special privilege of forcing their religious beliefs on marriage on all citizens.   And the mindset revealed is not unique to France.  It's alive and well in America where the Manhattan Declaration - penned by a who's who of anti-gay forces - urges civil disobedience and a refusal to obey the law if Christofascists do not like the laws.  And one hears the same message from hate mongers like AFA's Bryan Fischer and FRC's Tony Perkins who urge Kool-Aid drinkers to stand up to persecutors.  The ones doing the persecution, of course, are actually the Christofascists themselves.  Here is what FRC was telling pastors and sheeple in the pulpits until just recently until confronted by Jewish groups:

Homosexuals claim: “We were born this way; it is in our genes; God made us gay.” They cite old “gay gene” studies predominantly conducted by researchers who are homosexuals; studies that have been repudiated by credible research. Yet these same biased and discredited studies have been widely publicized by the liberal media as true and factual. They essentially practice Joseph Goebel’s [sic] Nazi philosophy of propaganda, which is basically this: Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and eventually most mindless Americans will believe it.

The ones telling the lies on this issue are the folks like Perkins and Fischer.  And worse yet, much of their anti-gay propaganda is based on the Nazi campaign against the Jews in the 1930's.   The New York Times looks at the growing violence of the "godly Christian" crowd in France.   It should be a wake up call to Americans.  Here are article highlights:

On Tuesday afternoon, France is expected to become the 14th country to legalize marriage for all couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

The final vote in the legislature is expected to be quick, since the Socialist government of President François Hollande has a safe voting majority. But there has been an intensification of opposition to the bill in the past few weeks, as Mr. Hollande’s critics have used demonstrations against it as a way of attacking the president himself. 

[T]he demonstrations have also become more violent and homophobic, with a series of nightly demonstrations last week around Parliament that resulted in clashes with riot police officers and a number of arrests. Even opposition leaders have bemoaned the way harder-right groups have infiltrated the demonstrations, and there has been a small surge in violence against gay men and lesbians, with some beatings and angry, offensive words on social media.

Mr. Hollande and his government have pressed ahead with the bill and condemned homophobia and violence, but the sometimes ugly tone of the protests has prompted the government to accelerate the vote to Tuesday, to get the bill passed and out of the way. Presidential aides say they want the matter finished before another large demonstration planned for this month, though opponents say they will continue to protest in May. 

[O]n Monday, Manuel Valls, the interior minister, accused protesters and political opponents on the right of “unleashing homophobic speech.” Speaking to Europe 1 radio, Mr. Valls conceded that opponents of the bill were “numerous,” but said they represented “a minority compared to the millions” who voted for Mr. Hollande as president a year ago, when he promised to pass a same-sex marriage bill in his first year in office. 

Also on Monday, the president of the National Assembly received a letter threatening “war” and attacks on Socialist lawmakers if the lower house approved the legislation, the French news media reported. The letter was said to have contained gunpowder. 

Young people in France, as in the United States, he said, see marriage as “a fundamental right” for same-sex couples as well as straight ones, while older people are “more marked by Catholicism and remain more traditional” in their views of marriage as an ancient institution that binds men and women and protects children. 

More than half of the countries in the European Union have some sort of civil union, if not marriage, open to same-sex couples, Mr. Bréchon said. “The movement is clear. It is gradual, but it is clear.”

"Women for Ken" - A Potrait in Extremism

Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli may be the most extreme main party candidate yo run for governor in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  And now equally extreme groups are popping up with a goal of making Kookinelli seem like a rational normal guy who is even supported by women, a group he seeks to marginalize almost as much as LGBT Virginians and minority voters.  One such ridiculous group is "Women for Ken."   A look at who the organizers of the group are and the extremist positions they hold reveals that these women are just as crazy as Kookinelli and support policies that ought to make sane Virginians cringe, especially women who want to have a say over the control of their own bodies.   American Bridge profiles some of the Todd Akin loving extremist of the group.  Here are excerpts:

Recently, Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli announced the support of “Women for Ken.” Considering Cuccinelli’s record on issues of importance to Virginia women, the organization is reminiscent of the “Women for Akin” group that backed the Missouri Congressman even after he infamously claimed “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

A closer examination of the list reveals that the comparison is apt – among the list of Cuccinelli supporters one will find some of the same women who rushed forward to defend Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, who called a pregnancy resulting from rape “something that God intended.” It’s not surprising that they place Cuccinelli in the same company.

Many of these women have been affiliated with the organizations and candidates who are most adamant about denying women the opportunity to make decisions about their own body or curtailing their access to health care. The list also includes the sponsor of the Virginia legislation that would have required women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound before they could have an abortion.

The “Women for Ken” have made clear that they support Cuccinelli because he shares their views on the treatment on Virginia women and families. It’s worth keeping in mind what he had to do to earn the support of people like this.

KATHY BYRON: Byron Sponsored Virginia Bill Requiring Women To Receive Transvaginal Ultrasounds Before They Could Have An Abortion .   .   .   .   .  Byron Claimed That Abortion Was Incompatible With “A Nation Founded With Words Proclaiming That Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness Are Unalienable Rights.”

MARJORIE ception - and obviously anti-gay as well - :  Dannenfelser Defended Richard Mourdock After He Said That A Pregnancy That Comes From Rape Was “A Gift From God”: “Richard Mourdock Said That Life Is Always A Gift From God, And We Couldn’t Agree More.”  .   .  .   .   Dannenfelser Defended Todd Akin After His “Legitimate Rape” Claim: Akin “Has Been An Excellent Partner In The Fight For The Unborn.”

NANCY PFOTENHAUER:  Pfotenhauer Said That Northern Virginia Was Not Part Of “Real Virginia.” According to the Washington Post, “Sen. John McCain headlined a boisterous outdoor rally in Woodbridge, Va., today, while his campaign took heat for suggesting the populous region was not part of ‘real Virginia.   .   .  .  .  Pfotenhauer Received A “Pants On Fire” Rating From PolitiFact For Claiming That “Hundreds Of Millions Of People” Will Lose Their Current Insurance As A Result Of The Affordable Care Act.  .   .   .   .  Pfotenhauer Was The Chief Lobbyist For Koch Industries From 1996 To 2001. 

KRISTAN HAWKINS:   Hawkins Argued HHS Contraception Mandate Violated Religious Freedom.  .  .  .  .  Hawkins Argued That All Abortion, Regardless Of Circumstances, Should Be Outlawed.  .  .  .  .   Hawkins Argued That All Abortion, Regardless Of Circumstances, Should Be Outlawed.

Additional women are profiled, but the pattern is obvious.  They are all anti-abortion, anti-contraception and would defund Planned Parenthood even though 97% of its budget goes to provide medical services to poor women and women without healthcare, not abortion.  It goes without saying that these women also share Kookinelli's zeal to drive gays back into the closet and to criminalize homosexuality.    They are dangerous extremist and belong to the Christian Taliban.  Women, gays and minorities need to run screaming from "Women for Ken" and Kookinelli himself.

More Monday Male Beauty

Roman Catholic Church Doubles Down on Anti-Gay Jihad

While protecting sexual predators and child rapists remains perfectly fine amongst senior members of the Catholic Church hierarchy, anti-bullying laws that might protect gays not to mention gay marriage are deemed would be threats to western civilization.  It is simple more evidence that few groups are more morally bankrupt than the bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and yes, Popes of the Catholic Church.  A piece in the Minneapolis Post looks at Church efforts to defeat proposed anti-bullying laws:.  Here are excerpts:

Calling it an extension of the push to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota, the Catholic Church is urging parishoners to call on lawmakers to reject an anti-bullying law.

According to a column in the Catholic Spirit, the official publication of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the proposed Safe Schools legislation is an “Orwellian nightmare” that would “usurp parental rights” and create “re-education camps.”

The column was written by Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, which represents all Catholics dioceses in the state.

In addition to imposing burdensome legal mandates on parochial schools, the Roman Catholic Church also has argued in communications to parishioners that the law would unfairly discriminate against students who oppose same-sex marriage and other LGBT rights.

At 37 words long, Minnesota’s current anti-bullying statute is frequently described as one of the weakest in the nation. It doesn’t define bullying and harassment or require districts to track or report complaints or mandate efforts toward creating healthy school climates.

The proposed measure is based on the work of a task force appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in the fall of 2011, after the GOP-dominated Legislature rejected efforts to strengthen the law. A wave of student suicides in the Anoka-Hennepin School District had drawn wide attention to the bullying issue.

The arguments raised by opponents of the Anoka-Hennepin settlement, most of them religious conservatives and proponents of conversion, or “pray away the gay” therapy, mirror those now being advanced by the archdiocese.  The Catholic Church has gone a step further, however, in linking the issue to same-sex marriage.

“The redefinition of marriage should not be seen as a stand-alone act,” the Catholic Spirit’s March column explained. “It is the harbinger of broader social change aimed at creating gender and sexual ‘freedom’ and breaking down the supposedly repressive social norm of heterosexual monogamy. And it is accompanied by other significant pieces of legislation working their way through Minnesota’s Legislature that should be resisted just as vigorously as same-sex ‘marriage.’”

Michael Bayly, director of Catholics for Marriage Equality,  is also the author of “Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective.” He disagrees with the archdiocese’s position, but said he understands it.  “I think they are frightened that their teaching on homosexuality is going to be seen as putting people in danger,” Bayly said. “And I think a good case can be made for that. They are in a bind.”

“The archdiocese has done nothing to sit down and problem-solve what would be best for kids,” Dibble concluded. “The truth is bullying is a problem we have to solve. It happens every day and it is a real problem.”

On the issue of gay marriage, the main source of hysteria among the bitter old queens in dresses, even more foul batshitery was on view in Rhode Island where Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of the Diocese of Providence issued a screed aimed at intimidating the Rhode Island Senate which is poised to vote on a gay marriage bill.  Here are highlights from the Providence Journal:

 "As the Rhode Island Senate prepares to take action on legislation that would seek to legitimize 'same-sex marriage,' I once again urge members of the Senate to stand strong in resisting this immoral and unnecessary proposition and to defend marriage and family as traditionally defined. We should be very clear about this: it is only with grave risk to our spiritual well-being and the common good of our society that we dare to redefine what God himself has created. My prayer is that the senators will have all the wisdom and courage they need to do the right thing in this moment of decision."

 Tellingly, while the Catholic Church was bashing gays and gay marriage, the Providence Chamber of Commerce's board chairman and two other business leaders said Monday legalizing same-sex marriage would remove one hurdle that makes it hard for R.I. businesses to compete.  And let's be candid about something.  God did not create marriage as we know it.  Its a much evolved institution - e.g., women are no longer deemed chattel property -  but still has much of its focus on property rights and controlling women and offspring.  It is a man made institution first and foremost and the Church got involved merely to increase its power and control over believers and non-believers alike.

 

One Million Page Views - Thank You

While this blog remains small compared to the blogs of some of my LGBT blogger friends (e.g., Joe Jervis and Andy Towle, Bil Browning who invited me to contribute to The Bilerico Project), a few minutes ago the blog nonetheless reached what to me is a significant benchmark: 1,000,000 page views.  Little did I ever believe when I began this blog that I would continue to blog for as along as I have - it becomes addicting - or that I'd ever experience the type of readership that I have enjoyed from literally all around the world.   

When I first began this blog, I was admittedly in a dark place.  Early readers and LGBT bloggers who I came to know became a cyberspace family and lifeline for me.  I truly question whether or not I would have survived my coming out journey without you.  You know who you are.  I will always be grateful to each of you.

So, again, I want to thank all who have visited this blog, especially repeat readers and my early supporters.  I will continue to try to share my thoughts and information in a way that I hope will be usefully and informative.

GOP and Anti-Marriage Forces Show Increased Willingness to Use Violence

While Teabagistan is going berserk and demanding that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, be tried as an enemy combatant and that his rights as a U.S. citizen be stripped away, some members of the GOP and certainly some of the anti-gay crowd and their allies in France in particular seem more and more willing to threaten, if not actually use, physical violence.  Illustrative of the growing GOP insanity comes from the Benton County, Arkansas GOP. Political Wire has the money quote:

"We need to let those who will come in the future to represent us [know] that we are serious. The 2nd amendment means nothing unless those in power believe you would have no problem simply walking up and shooting them if they got too far out of line and stopped responding as representatives. It seems that we are unable to muster that belief in any of our representatives on a state or federal level, but we have to have something, something costly, something that they will fear that we will use if they step out of line."   .  .  .  .   

I hope that we can do something to make sure the lesson learned by those who represent us in the future is that bad things will happen to you if you follow that precedent.

That's right, gun nuts are supposed to simply shoot members of Congress if they don't knuckle under to the demands for no restrictions whatsoever on gun ownership.  The quote comes from the April newsletter of the Benton County, Arkansas Republican Party.   In France, the allies of the National Organization for Marriage - whom Brian Brown has openly praised - have taken this mindset and put it in action.  During the anti-gay demonstrations yesterday, French police were forced to use tear gas and nightstick like batons  against the "godly Christian" crowd.  In addition, a gay man in Nice, France was savagely beaten and rendered unconscious (see photo below) and a literal death threat was made against the leader of the French Parliament. Joe My God has this on some of the violence:

At a Manif Pour Tous protest on Friday night, anti-gay activists battled French riot police who used tear gas and batons on some of the crowd. One of the protesters in the scuffle is reportedly a Catholic priest with the anti-semitic Society of St Pius X, who runs the church outside of which the melee occurred.

To date, not the first word of criticism or condemnation has been uttered by NOM.   One can only wonder what may be in store from the far right if the U.S. Supreme Court rules broadly on a constitutional right to gay marriage.  Remember, it is not the liberals - or socialists as the GOP likes to call us - are not the ones resorting to and advocating violence.

Monday Morning Male Beauty

Boy Scouts' Gay Ban To Be Dropped For Youth, But Not Adults?

Apparently the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America is floating a proposal to allow gay scouts but with the proviso that they will be promptly thrown out upon reaching adulthood.  As yet, it is unclear at what age expulsion would occur.   Not surprisingly, the proposal doesn't seem to be pleasing anyone.  The Christofascists are incensed.  So are the opponents of anti-gay discrimination.  A piece in Huffington Post looks at the half-assed proposal.  Here are article highlights:

NEW YORK — Searching for compromise on a divisive issue, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to partially lift its long-standing exclusion of gays – allowing them as youth members but continuing to bar them as adult leaders.

The proposal, unveiled Friday after weeks of private leadership deliberations, will be submitted to the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council during the week of May 20 at a meeting in Texas.

The key part of the resolution says no youth may be denied membership in the Scouts "on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone." A ban would continue on leadership roles for adults who are openly gay or lesbian.

Gay-rights groups, which had demanded a complete lifting of the ban, criticized the proposal as inadequate.

"What message does this resolution send to the gay Eagle Scout who, as an adult, wants to continue a lifetime of Scouting by becoming a troop leader?" he asked.

Some conservative groups assailed the proposal from the opposite direction, saying the ban should be kept in its entirety.  "The policy is incoherent," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "The proposal says, in essence, that homosexuality is morally acceptable until a boy turns 18 – then, when he comes of age, he's removed from the Scouts."

Indeed, the BSA has anticipated hostile reaction, estimating that easing the ban on gay adults might prompt between 100,000 and 350,000 members to leave the organization, which now has 2.6 million youth members.

In January, the BSA said it was considering a plan to give sponsors of local Scout units the option of admitting gays as both youth members and adult leaders or continuing to exclude them.

"While perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting," the statement said.

As a result, the BSA's Executive Committee drafted the compromise resolution.

"The proposed resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting," the statement said.

In another revealing section of the survey, the BSA reported feedback from 30 national youth organizations and civic groups, many of them partners of the Scouts in various endeavors.

Of the 30 organizations, 28 urged the Scouts to lift the ban, and many warned that their partnerships might end if the ban remained.

The BSA also consulted four experts in the field of child sex abuse prevention. The four conveyed a "nearly universal opinion" within their field that homosexuality is not a risk factor for the sexual abuse of children.

 Obviously, the BSA will find itself in a no win situation id it continues to try to please the Christofascist versus the rest of society.  And its membership and donor base will likely continue to erode.

Can Obama's Political Network Help Democrats Retake the House in 2014?

While it could all be a ploy on the part of the GOP to galvanize its theocratic and white supremacist party base, there are some indications that Republicans are actually fearful of the role Obama's Organizing for Action could play in the 2014 elections.   If noting else, it could help keep Democrats and moderates focused on failed GOP policies, especially in races where Republicans may be vulnerable.  Democrat apathy lost the 2009 elections here in Virginia and it is crucial that this year the Democrat base - especially women, gays and minorities - turn out to defeat Ken Cuccinelli's bid to be governor.  The same will hold true in the 2014 midterm elections.  Politico looks at what role Obama's apparatus could play in taking control of the House of Representatives back from the saboteurs in the GOP.  Here are excerpts:

The president’s deep-pocketed political arm, Organizing for Action, can’t by law spend most of its money on elections, and officials insist it won’t play directly in the 2014 midterm. But Republicans aren’t buying it: They’re convinced OFA will find other, indirect ways to help Democrats capture the House and allow Obama to finish his presidency unchecked by Congress.

When the group launched a series of Internet ads in February pressing Congress to pass a gun control bill, the target list looked like a who’s who of vulnerable House Republicans.

While OFA’s plans to solicit big-dollar donations to advance Obama’s agenda have made headlines, its potential role in 2014 has drawn less notice. But Republicans are paying attention.  “We’ll take it seriously. The president is hellbent on taking back the House so he will have no resistance in 2015 and 2016,” said Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman. “It’s all about making Nancy Pelosi speaker again.”

Republicans hold a 17-seat advantage, and handicappers say Democrats have little chance of taking the House. But Republicans say OFA could be a powerful weapon for the opposition.

They have several worries. One is that the not-for-profit OFA, through ads that encourage or discourage lawmakers to vote a particular way, will cast Republican incumbents in an unflattering light. They fear the massive voter database that Obama has built since his 2008 run — now in OFA’s hands — will be deployed on House Democrats’ behalf.

Most troubling of all, Republicans say, is that OFA will use its unlimited donations to keep Democratic voters across the country engaged and motivated to go to the polls. During the last midterm election, when the GOP seized control of the House, Republicans benefited from low Democratic turnout.

Republicans — still picking up the pieces from a disastrous 2012 election — say there’s nothing in their arsenal that can match OFA’s power.

OFA officials say the group will focus on ads pressing for action on White House priorities like immigration reform and gun control. In February, the group purchased Internet banner ads asking 16 House Republicans to crack down on firearm sales. It did not go unnoticed that nearly all of the Republicans are on the Cook Political Report’s list of the most vulnerable GOP members in 2014.

OFA officials argue that it makes sense to focus ads on vulnerable Republicans because their districts have large numbers of Democratic voters and they’re more likely to back White House legislation.  .   .  .   .   .  Republicans say two years of advocacy ads in swing districts could make a difference come November 2014.

Then there’s the issue of OFA’s treasure-trove of voter data, collected over the course of two presidential campaigns. As a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) group, OFA can’t donate data to candidates or national campaign committees. But it can sell it to them at fair-market value, said Paul Ryan, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, a political legal watchdog group.

Where OFA might have its biggest impact is in keeping Democratic voters motivated to head to the polls in 2014. To have any hope of netting the 17 seats needed to take back the House, Democrats say they need to bring out many of the young and minority voters who turned out in 2012.

“If OFA energizes and engages voters across this country, including young people, unmarried women and minority voters, in support of the president’s agenda, our campaigns will make sure those voters know where their Republican member of Congress stands when it comes time to vote,” said Jesse Ferguson, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee deputy executive director. “We welcome any education and mobilization campaigns like theirs that keep these critical voters engaged.”

I for one hope that OFA keeps up the engagement and I'd love to see it's data base for Virginia help Virginia voters just how important it is to see Cuccinelli defeated along with other puppets of The Family Foundation and Tea Party.

The GOP's Corrosive Push for Austerity

To listen to GOP demagogues one would think they gave at least a slight thought about the lies they are destroying as their policies continue to create a permanent under class.  The true focus of the GOP is the wealthy and the incredibly selfish members of the Christofascist/Tea Party base of the party.  These folks truly do not care about the fellow citizens despite all their self congratulatory back patting and feigned piety.  An op-ed in the New York Times looks at the society cost that the GOP obsession with budget cuts and lower taxes is fueling.  It's not pretty and the future consequences will be even uglier as wealth disparities continue to soar and social mobility decreases.  Here are column excerpts:

F.D.R. told us that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. But when future historians look back at our monstrously failed response to economic depression, they probably won’t blame fear, per se. Instead, they’ll castigate our leaders for fearing the wrong things.

But while debt fears were and are misguided, there’s a real danger we’ve ignored: the corrosive effect, social and economic, of persistent high unemployment. And even as the case for debt hysteria is collapsing, our worst fears about the damage from long-term unemployment are being confirmed. 

Now, some unemployment is inevitable in an ever-changing economy. Modern America tends to have an unemployment rate of 5 percent or more even in good times. In these good times, however, spells of unemployment are typically brief. Back in 2007 there were about seven million unemployed Americans — but only a small fraction of this total, around 1.2 million, had been out of work more than six months. 

Then financial crisis struck, leading to a terrifying economic plunge followed by a weak recovery. Five years after the crisis, unemployment remains elevated, with almost 12 million Americans out of work. But what’s really striking is the huge number of long-term unemployed, with 4.6 million unemployed more than six months and more than three million who have been jobless for a year or more. Oh, and these numbers don’t count those who have given up looking for work because there are no jobs to be found. 

It goes without saying that the explosion of long-term unemployment is a tragedy for the unemployed themselves. But it may also be a broader economic disaster.  The key question is whether workers who have been unemployed for a long time eventually come to be seen as unemployable, tainted goods that nobody will buy.  .   .   .   .   there is, unfortunately, growing evidence that the tainting of the long-term unemployed is happening as we speak. .   .   .   .  a rising number of job openings doesn’t seem to do much to reduce their numbers. It’s as if employers don’t even bother looking at anyone who has been out of work for a long time. 

[W]orkers who reported having been unemployed for six months or more got very few callbacks, even when all their other qualifications were better than those of workers who did attract employer interest.   So we are indeed creating a permanent class of jobless Americans. 

And let’s be clear: this is a policy decision. The main reason our economic recovery has been so weak is that, spooked by fear-mongering over debt, we’ve been doing exactly what basic macroeconomics says you shouldn’t do — cutting government spending in the face of a depressed economy. 

It’s hard to overstate how self-destructive this policy is. Indeed, the shadow of long-term unemployment means that austerity policies are counterproductive even in purely fiscal terms. Workers, after all, are taxpayers too; if our debt obsession exiles millions of Americans from productive employment, it will cut into future revenues and raise future deficits. 

Our exaggerated fear of debt is, in short, creating a slow-motion catastrophe. It’s ruining many lives, and at the same time making us poorer and weaker in every way. And the longer we persist in this folly, the greater the damage will be.