Speak Compassion

The anti-gay industry is spooked by the possibility of a federal hate crimes law that will include the gay and lesbian community.

They have already began telling lies and I am sure that their efforts will culminate in a huge effort to either kill the legislation in Congress or get President Bush to veto it should it get to his desk.

The anti-gay industry is going to repeat their lies about how lgbts want to put Christians in jail for speaking out against homosexuality and how we also want to “recruit” children.

To combat these distortions, we must know and expose their tactics as quickly and as frequently as possible.

In that spirit, I am going to post something I found online. The following has to do with how the Family Research Council lied in its attempts to kill the 1999 Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Trust me when I say that the following tactics will be used again by the anti-gay industry. That is if they aren’t already being used:

BEARING FALSE WITNESS: THE FRC’S SIX BIG LIES ABOUT THE HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT

The Family Research Council, in an effort to shift public focus away from the tragedy of hate crimes in America, has issued an “action alert” to its members in which it fabricates six myths about the Hate Crimes PreventionAct of 1999. These myths — and a short refutation — are as follows:

FRC lie 1: “Hate crimes legislation could severely restrict Americans’ freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This legislation would give the government the power to interpret and classify certain speech, thought, theology, and moral belief as unlawful or contributing to crime. Will pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders who preach and teach against homosexual conduct be prosecuted for inciting a hate crime?”

The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only prohibit acts of violence, not speech. The Act would notinfringe upon anyone’s First Amendment rights. In this manner, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would operate justlike the current hate crimes statute, which does not punish protected speech because it requires that any coveredincident include criminal acts involving force. The changes to the statute proposed by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only apply to cases involving death or bodily injury; in other words, they would only come into play when violent crimes have been committed — not in matters involving speech protected by the First Amendment.

FRC lie 2: “President Clinton stated that he would include words perceived as inciting an act of violence - without proof of direct correlation - as evidence of a hate crime.”

The truth: Again, the legislation does not target speech.Organizations such as the FRC would remain free to condemn homosexuality. Only when a crime victim is targetedfor a violent act because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability status could the law be applied.

FRC lie 3: “Talk radio, religious broadcasting and television programs could be subject to censorship.”

The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not restrict the media. Again, it would come into play only whensomeone commits a violent crime on the basis of someone else’s race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

FRC lie 4: “Hate crimes legislation could give priority to homosexuals as being more protected victims than other victims of crime.”

The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act does not create a category of “more protected victims.” It simply addresses the fact that state and local authorities sometimes cannot or will not prosecute violent crimes committed against gays and lesbians. Under current law, the federal government is often unable to intervene in these cases. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would permit federal authorities to bring the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to justice.

FRC lie 5: “Hate crimes legislation, accompanied by the President’s ‘tolerance education’ crusade, will hinder parents who seek to protect their children from a lifestyle that is unhealthy and which they recognize to be morally and spiritually wrong.”

The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not interfere with the rights of parents to teach their children according to their own sets of values. The Act would merely prohibit acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It would not preclude parents from teaching their own values to their children.

FRC lie 6: “Students could be forced to learn homosexual diversity training in public schools.”

The truth: This legislation has nothing to do with school curriculum.

From Box Turtle Bulletin February 28th, 2007

Jim Burroway

Andrew Anthos, the 72 year old gay man who was beaten after getting off a bus Feb. 13 in Detroit, will be laid to rest this afternoon. The attack left him paralyzed from the neck down, and he died last Friday from those injuries. His killer has not been found. State Senator Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) will do what he can to see that Anthos did not die in vain:

Clarke said Tuesday he will introduce the hate crime legislation in the next couple of weeks. He also will talk to Capitol officials to make sure that Anthos’ desire to get the Capitol dome lit will come true.

“I believe Mr. Anthos death will be a watershed,” said Clarke, who was a co-sponsor of similar hate crime legislation that didn’t pass last year. “It’s going to be successful.”

When I attended the Love Won Out conference in Phoenix on February 10, the question of hate crimes legislation came up in a Q&A session. Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, and Mike Haley, of Focus on the Family both stated their opposition to hate crime enhancements for violent crimes like this one, characterizing it as an attack on freedom of speech. This, of course, is nonsense. Hate crimes legislation targets violent crime, not speech. Our First Amendment — the very same First Amendment that permitted neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Ill., and allows the Klan to hold rallies wherever they feel like it — will always permit Exodus and Focus to say, print, and broadcast whatever they want.

But I was pleased to hear Mike Haley close that discussion on what I believed to be a somewhat positive note:

I think, too, we also have to be just as quick to also stand up when we do see the gay and lesbian community being come against as the Body of Christ. We need to be the first to speak out to say that what happened to Matthew Shepard was a terrible incident and should never happen again. And that we within the Body of Christ are wanting to protect that community and put our money where our mouth is…

While I thought that was a very positive sentiment at the time, it appears now that it was just an empty platitude. Andrew Anthos was attacked just three days later. There was no comment from either Exodus or Focus on the Family.

Ten days after that, Andrew Anthos died. Again, the Body of Christ — at least that portion of it represented by Focus on the Family and Exodus — has not spoken out.

Today, two full weeks after he was beaten with a metal pipe and left paralyzed in the cold Detroit snow, Andrew Anthos is being laid to rest. The silence from Focus on the Family and Exodus is deafening.

Now let me be clear. I don’t believe for one second that there is anyone at Focus on the Family or Exodus who feels anything but profound sorrow for Andrew Anthos’ brutal death. But I can’t help but notice that in the very same week when Focus had a chance to reach out to the gays and lesbians that they professed to love at Love Won Out, they chose instead to scour the Internet and find an extremely obscure, unpublished, non-peer-reviewed study — from China, of all places — to figuratively bash gays and lesbians here at home.

So this begs the question: Does Focus on the Family and Exodus say one thing to their Evangelical base and something else to the rest of us? Mike Haley’s right. They need to put their money where their mouth is. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that’s exactly what they did.

I’ll share my observations on how they tailor their messages based on their audience in greater detail next week. Meanwhile, you can see a few examples of that in action in the latest video from Ex-Gay Watch.

So now we gays are bad parents, more violent and god knows what else. That’s what Americans for Truth and the Peter La Barbera’s of the world would like you to think. He reports research on his website from the American Collage of Pediatricians but who are they? They sound important but that fact is that are not the larger and more respected American Academy of Pediatrics who support gay parents and gay marriage. The American Collage of Pediatricians are a small group of conservative, religious pediatricians whose research is not rigorously tested and reviewed by peers.

The Boston Globe writes:

“Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.”

“The tiny American College of Pediatricians has a single employee, yet it has been quoted as a counterpoint to the 60,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics.”

The long and short of this is that Peter La Barbera will say and do anything to “have power” over gays and lesbians. I have asked Peter repeatedly what does the world look like for gays and lesbians should he succeed at whatever it is he is doing. What happens to us when he gets the world the way he is working for it to be. Are we dead? Sent to the camps? In jails? He fights against civil rights for gays, violence prevention for gays, parenting for gays and promotes ex-gay ministries. He wants all gays and lesbians gone! He wants our parenting rights taken away and he will go as far reaching as shabby research and lies to paint gays and lesbians as evil. It is just propaganda folks, not reality.

If you take some time to read the reference list that Peter La Barbera is using to say gays and lesbians are bad parents, you will see the paper uses Bell and Weinberg as a source. Most people know that Bell and Weinberg study that says the average gay man has hundreds of partners per year. It was never accepted and was filled with flaws. They can be found here and here.

Lastly, lets look at the last paragraph in the propaganda that Peter has posted.

“The research literature on childrearing by homosexual parents is limited. The environment in which children are reared is absolutely critical to their development. Given the current body of research, the American College of Pediatricians believes it is inappropriate, potentially hazardous to children, and dangerously irresponsible to change the age-old prohibition on homosexual parenting, whether by adoption, foster care, or by reproductive manipulation. This position is rooted in the best available science.”

How can we say in the same paragraph that the science is limited, yet the position is based on the best available science? Prohibition on gay parents? We should take children away from gays? La Barbera is seriously misguided and hateful thinking that every gay parent should have their kids taken away with this age old prohibition on gay parents sponsored by some research body with an employee of one.

And now for the real research on gay parents from Children of Gays and Lesbians Everywhere.

A more detailed analysis of the whole research piece can be found here 

With great sadness I must report that Andrew Anthos passed away last night as a result of the injuries he sustained in a brutal gay bashing an February 13th.   Andrew was beaten with a pipe in front of his own home for being gay.  

As long as we allow right wing organizations like Focus on the Family,  Americans for Truth, the American Family Association and Stephen Bennett Ministries to demonize gays and lesbians as the enemies of society, this violence will continue.   We must speak out against this hate speech. 

Hate crimes are attempts to send a message to a group of people that they are less than others, not welcome and will be hurt.    Hate Crime laws send a message right back that says those statements are untrue and that hate will not be tolerated.   Call your legislator today and ask them to pass the Federal Hate Crimes Bill.

I know Joe just posted a bit about the beating of the elderly man in Michigan, but I want to say a few things about it as well.  I’ve cross-listed this in my blog. 

What a sickening story.  Someone beat a 72 year old man and nearly killed him.  He is now in the hospital and his family thinks he will not live too much longer.  Why was he beaten?  Because he was gay. 

Some guy on a bus he was riding with kept asking him if he was gay.  He was then beaten with a pipe.

I have to say that will all the hate talk going on in Michigan lately, I am not surprised that something like this would happen.  Just last week the courts told universities and public employers that they could not give benefits (like health insurance) to gay and lesbian partners.  What is that saying to the general public?  It says that gay and lesbians are not worth all that much.  They are not real people, nor are they caring and loving individuals.  It says that they are less than equal.  And this beating is just an offshoot of this kind of legislation, which by the way was passed by the majority of those living in Michigan (where I grew up and where my family still lives).

Now let’s look at some recent statements by Peter LaBarbera and Matt Barber to see if their words helped to spur on situations like what happened to this 72 year old man.

Matt Barber, from the Concerned Women For America (my bolding and underlining):

“It is perfectly natural for people to be repelled by disordered sexual behaviors that are both unnatural, and immoral.  All too often those behaviors are accompanied by serious physical, emotional, and spiritual pitfalls.”

“Thousands of former homosexuals have been freed from the homosexual lifestyle through acts of love. Hardaway’s comments only serve to foment misperceptions of widespread homosexual ‘victimhood’ which the homosexual lobby has craftily manufactured.”

So Matt Barber, is that 72 year old gay man pretending to be victimized?  Do you think he is now free from his ‘homosexual lifestyle”?  I suppose Matt Barber would answer yes, since that old man is on his deathbed.

How about Peter LaBarbera?

“It’s O.K. to be “anti-gay,” as long as you don’t hate people. That is, as long as you understand that “gay” is not an innocuous, inborn trait but an adjective describing wrong and destructive behavior.”

““Gay” is not an unchangeable trait like skin color and it has a moral component – unlike being left-handed or having blue eyes (to name two spurious analogies used by homosexual activists).”

“Nor is “being gay” “who you are,” as homosexual activists claim, but rather “what you do.” ”

“The great news is that nobody has to be “gay.” ”

“The evil genius of America’s homosexual activist movement is that it took a taboo behavior that was universally regarded as an unspeakable sin until a few short decades ago –– and redefined it as “gay.””

“But I won’t knock Hardaway for strongly opposing, or even hating, homosexual behavior, which even many liberals privately admit they find repulsive.”

“In the same sense, millions of conservatives — most religious, some not — deeply oppose, even hate, “proud” homosexuality as the ultimate rebellion against God and nature.”

“Is it wrong for parents to be “anti-gay” when it comes to fighting the promotion of unhealthy sexual behaviors and “queer” identities to children in schools? No, that’s called responsible parenting. Is it “homophobic” when parents refuse to sit back and allow their children to be indoctrinated with pro-“gay” pabulum? If so, then I say: bring on more homophobia.”

“Nature and human anatomy discriminate against homosexuality…”

“Society no longer promotes smoking, so why are we promoting this deadly lifestyle – especially to impressionable youth?”

“Yes, it’s OK to be “anti-gay,” as long as you don’t hate people. We should respect individual persons, but not as “gays.””

Look at the words these men are using:  disordered, repelled, unnatural, immoral, wrong and destructive, taboo, unspeakable sin, etc.

Now you tell me words like this didn’t cause the beating of that 72 year old man…

A 72 year old man was followed home after riding the bus, beaten with a pipe and is now paralyzed from the neck down.   He was repeatedly asked by another man on the bus if he was gay.    What on earth makes someone think this type of hatred against gays is okay?    Why would gays be seen as an enemy that should be beaten in the streets?   Who is out there making the call to arms where gays are seen as the enemy that needs to be stopped?   

Next time you see one of those AFA action alerts that calls people to defend marriage and stop the homosexuals who are taking over and destroying the world, know that they are making a call to arms based in fear. Know that they are trying to instill that fear in others and that it works.   People are the most violent to others when they are afraid.   What better way to promote violence against gays, but make people fear gays.

Next time you read an article from Peter La Barbera where he says:

“Ministry to homosexuals is wonderful, but it should not come at the expense of determined resistance to the “gay” juggernaut that is corrupting children and threatens, literally, to criminalize Christianity and healthy moral values.”

Know that when you tell America that a group of people is corrupting children, calling that group unhealthy and immoral, and then call us a threat, you are most certainly making a call to arms that leads to the climate of violence against gays.   Just the fact that people like Peter La Barbera are so oblivious to their own evil should make people stand up and speak out.

The last person I read about who took a group of people, called them a threat to children, called them unhealthy and immoral, call them a threat to marriage and family values is also the same person who killed 6 million people in camps.   Will we let it happen again?   Think about that the next time you read an article from Peter La Barbera or the American Family Association.

Hate Speech does lead to violence and the only cure for hate is love.  

This clip comes to us via an email from Jonathan Bullock. I have lots of thoughts after watching the clip, but my fist and initial reaction was on Wayne Besen.    It is no secret that I am one of Wayne’s critics and realize my view on winning this cultural battle differ greatly from Wayne.  He is so well spoken in this clip and explains the issue with such a great passion.    I love the work he does, but I am not always fond of his methods or his attacks on others.  If you visit Wayne’s blog and the comments you will find the ammo the right wing uses against us to say we are angry and violent.   You will find the ammo that calls us snarky and snippy.   Who gave them the ammo?  We did.

I wish Wayne would take more of a nonviolent approach, but in my interaction with Wayne I have learned that Wayne works under the misconception that nonviolence is passive, but that is far from the truth.  Nonviolence is active, it freed 300 million Indians from British rule and was the driving force in the fight for desegregation in the civil rights movements of blacks in the 50s and 60s.  It can work again today.  Perhaps someday, Wayne will read the collected works of Gandhi, King or Thich Nhat Hahn and see that nonviolence could take everything he is doing and advance it ten fold.  With his knowledge of the subject and the right approach he could be the King or Gandhi that gays and lesbians so desperately need to find justice.

My second thought was damn, I may be married to my partner Rick, but Peterson Toscano is one hot guy!    I wish Montel had given him more chances to speak on the religious right cause along with being adorable with nice eyes, he is very knowledgeable on the issue.   Funny enough Peterson is also a believer in Satyagraha (nonviolence).  He has used the philosophy to make real change in the world for gays and lesbians.    As a Quaker, nonviolence is an important part of Peterson’s religion.  Much of the teaching material I have reviewed to look at how to keep kids from gangs and teach them nonviolence came from the Quaker community.  In some Quaker Schools, nonviolence is part of the regular curriculum like math and English…..great stuff!!!   Many of the peacemakers that went to Iraq were also Quakers who believed in nonviolence.

Ex-gay Watch is also covering this clip 

This article comes to us from the same paper where another Jamaican writer asks if Jamaica is becoming more accepting of gays.    One answers the other clearly if you ask me.

These three men, who were branded as homosexuals, are rescued by the police after being locked inside the Monarch Pharmacy in St Andrew for about an hour yesterday. The man at front ducks after being hit on the head by a stone thrown by a member of the angry mob which had gathered outside the pharmacy and demanded that the three be handed over to them.

People who are aware they’re unique or different may also know they might be victimized because of it. They may live in a world of hurt- even if they’ve never personally experienced a hate crime.

That was one of the recent messages expressed by Helen Lim, PhD, an assistant professor of criminal justice at California Lutheran University.

Having developed a special interest in hate crimes, criminal justice systems and criminology, Lim has done a great deal of research on the topic. She recently shared her findings in a lecture at the Soiland Humanities Center with about 80 people of all races, cultures and ages.

The research she discussed primarily focused on bias crimes against Asian Americans, but those of other ethnicities in the audience nodded in agreement with her comments.

“It doesn’t have to happen to you personally for you to fear for your safety and think you could be a target,” Lim said.

Read the rest of this great article

Hey Peter,

I was going to blog about this, but decided a better and more nonviolent approach would be to talk to you personally (via email) since I wanted to give you a chance to respond on your own and with good faith.   I feel that you will do the right thing when presented with the facts.

 

Recently, you have had a hard time with threats from a poster at Pam’s House Blend.  I would hope by now you understand my stand on the use of violence to solve problems.   It is pretty clear my thoughts on that.  I also get regular threats in my inbox of people who want to beat me up or bash me for being gay.  As you may know from my blog I have been the victim of 2 bashings already; one which left me in pretty bad shape in 1990 in NJ.   Violence only begets violence.  I have a strong stance on violence.

 

Recently on your website you stated:

“At Americans For Truth, we believe that although our disagreements with pro-homosexual activists are great, we can and should debate the issue of homosexuality with civility, and without resorting to name-calling.”

 

Yet, in your interview with Mass Resistance you called Pam Spaulding a “nutty lesbian” and some other colorful and not so nice names.   In my humble opinion we have to practice what we preach.  We have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as I say often.  In another instance you called Pam a “vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist ” which is not only untrue, it was insulting to her.   It is so important our actions and words are a reflection of what we preach.

 

Rather than ranting on my blog about this, I thought I would ask politely that you publically apologize for calling Pam names while at the same time stating we shouldn’t “resort” to name calling.   I have always believed our actions speak louder than our words.  One of my heroes in life (and I have many), as you may already know, is Gandhi .   Gandhi believed that apologies had power.   He believed that when we are wrong or that we have done wrong we should admit it publically.   He was known to publically apologize for all sorts of stuff.   He believed it was part of his philosophy of Satyagrha (nonviolence).  

 

I hope and I am asking that you should apologize to Pam Spaulding for calling her names in one place, and that asking that people not resort to name calling in other places.   It is just wrong to not practice what we preach.  I hope you share those feelings.

 

Sincerely and in Peace,

Joe Brummer

Wayne Besen writes on ex-gay leader, Chad Thompson.   Apparently Chad is keen on the idea of a gay gene being discovered just so we gays can disappear….yikes!  I have to say, although I see no movement of ex-gays with the same thoughts, I sometimes am deeply (most of the time) disturbed by the things ex-gay leaders say…

Read Wayne’ article

New data from the US Military shows that more and more criminals are enlisting in the army.  The moral standard is going lower, but gays must be lower then low as they are still barred from serving openly in the US.  A new report shows:

The number of felony waivers granted by the Army grew from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the Pentagon, or about one in 10 of the moral waivers approved that year. Other misdemeanors, which could be petty theft, writing a bad check or some assaults, jumped from about 2,700 to more than 6,000 in 2006. The minor crimes represented more than three-quarters of the moral waivers granted by the Army in 2006, up from more than half in 2003.

The Marty Meehan (D-MASS) says:

“The data is crystal clear. Our armed forces are under incredible strain and the only way that they can fill their recruiting quotas is by lowering their standards,” said Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., who has been working to get additional data from the Pentagon. “By lowering standards, we are endangering the rest of our armed forces and sending the wrong message to potential recruits across the country.”

Sorry, Marty, but there is another way to meet quotas without lowering the standard, you could let GLBT folks in good moral standing back into the armed forces.   Perhaps all the Arabic Translators you needed but let go because they were gay?  No sarcasm from me.

The article says:

The military routinely grants waivers to admit recruits who have criminal records, medical problems or low aptitude scores that would otherwise disqualify them from service. Overall the majority are moral waivers, which include some felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic and drug offenses.

So according to this, gays are lower on the list of moral standards for serving them criminals.  They would rather have those with low aptitude scores than Gay Arabic Translators?   Now that shows how hate and bigotry hurt this country!

Even though I am not writing this blog to win anthing but a reduction in the violence against gays and lesbians, I am happy to say that my ” Six Principles of Nonviolence Series” has been nominated for best blog post series.  I must admit I nominated myself because I wanted the message out there!    Please stop by the Koufax Blog and see some of the other great blogs nominated.

Here is the list of people I nominated,  My apology to anyone I missed….

Today, Wayne Besen and his group Truth Wins Out released a video of yet another researcher who is appalled at James Dobson and his misuse of science when he wrote his Time article.  The video is by Dr. Kyle Pruett, a professor of child psychology at Yale University. 

Dr. Pruett made the video to respond to Dobson, who apparently has refused to discuss the problems that Dr. Pruett had with his cherry-picking of Dr. Pruett’s research and to initiate a dialogue.  However, Dobson did write back to Dr. Pruett and according to the video: