Anti-gay group calls gays Nazis

Is this starting to sound familiar?

In a post on OneNewsNow, a "news" site run by homophobic hate group the American Family Association on August 1, Becky Yeh writes:

"Goal: Bringing end to Gov. Brown's 'Nazi state'"

Regular readers of this blog will recall that this is the third incident in as many weeks in which gays have been compared to Nazis. 

The article concerns efforts to reverse a new state law requiring public schools to teach students about LGBT people's contributions to history.  The group must collect 505,000 signatures within 90 days to place the repeal on the ballot for June 2012.

It is worth reposting (again!) the chairman of the Australian Anti-Defamation Commission Anton Block, originally made in response to the Rudd scandal:

"It is completely unacceptable for anyone to co-opt and trivialise the name of . . . the Nazi machinery for their own political purposes. To use [it] in this context shows a level of ignorance and insensitivity that has no place in contemporary political discourse. It is highly offensive."

US hate group's charitable status revoked

According to Ex-Gay Watch, the IRS revoked the tax-exempt status of US hate group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH, headed by notorious homophobe Peter LaBarbara) in 2010 for failing to file the forms required for review by the IRS and the public.

"While the current incarnation of AFTAH appears to have been active since 2006, we found only one form 990-EZ on file — for the year 2009 (PDF).  In this, total receipts are listed as $110.000, out of which Peter LaBarbera received a salary of $75,000.  For perspective, this is approximately the same salary plus benefits claimed by Exodus president Alan Chambers.  Exodus lists eleven employees and a million dollar budget."

While the donations section of the AFTAH website no longer claims tax-exempt status, as of this posting their About page still claims that donations are tax deductible (see screenshot).

AFTAH is one of a small number of anti-gay organizations classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, due to LaBarbera’s homophobic lies and constant attempts to vilify gays and lesbians.

Hate group is "alarmed"

Parents’ Voice member Homara Ahmad is "alarmed," according to the hate group's latest press release.  The group was created to oppose the Burnaby School Board's anti-homophobia policy.

According to the release, Parents' Voice members decided to file a freedom of information (FOI) request after reading a story in The Province about a student being bullied because he was skinny:

"Parents’ Voice members wanted to know the extent of the 'bullying' problem: who the perpetrators are--staff or students--and their targets."

It is unclear why Parents' Voice twice decided to use scare quotes around the word "bullying."

Allegedly, group member and spokesperson (they all seem to be spokespeople) Homara Ahmad made an FOI request for "copies of all reports, incidents recorded, and/or complaints made involving students, staff or any other person related to the operation of the Burnaby School District, that has been party to any form of bullying, assault, harassment, verbal abuse or any form of mean-spirited conduct, that has occurred on or near any property owned, managed or operated by School District 41," and demanded an exemption from fees, which was refused, leading the group to lose its collective mind.

Gordon World, another "spokesman," said:

"it seems highly unlikely that the incidents of reported bullying will justify the special attention directed to the political agenda of the sex activists involved in creating Policy 5.45. I believe this last point is the real issue. If the claims of sex activists were true, and a disproportionate number of children were being attacked based on sexual orientation, wouldn't the Burnaby School Board be more than willing to release this information to back up their claim?"

World is known for his outrageous homophobic lies, such as claiming that the murder of Aaron Webster was not an anti-gay hate crime and that gay men are responsible for most HIV infections and have a significantly shorter lifespan.

In another staggering display of homophobia, the press release goes on to add:

"Burnaby trustees, and others in positions of trust, should know better by now than to rely upon data and research generated by homosexual and other sex activists. Our children deserve better than to have policies developed by hyperbolic-spin propaganda, masquerading as research, generated by sex activists who want to promulgate their version of diversity politics and practices among our children, via the public education system. Parents’ Voice is against all forms of child abuse, including bullying, the political sexualization of children and the intellectual abuse of children by indoctrinating them with propaganda that falsely portrays sexual and emotional practices that can and do result in provable harm, as being 'acceptable.'"

Not coincidentally, this hate-filled press release coincides with the Outgames and Vancouver Pride.

Quote of the day

"[The kind of people who elect Michelle Bachmann:] Scum of the earth. Parts of Michele Bachmann's district contain the most smug, pious, conservative rat-buggering jerks on the planet (like Marcus Bachmann and his anti-gay "clinic", for instance). And the symptoms are beginning to show: the Anoka-Hennepin school district, part of Bachmann's domain, home of the Elmer Gantry-wannabe Bradley Dean, is also the epicenter of an epidemic of teen suicides, 9 in the last two years. These are kids who were bullied for being gay, or suspected of being gay, or not fitting in to the their inbred little community (and who would want to?), and the school district has been acquiescing to pressure from religious groups to maintain a policy of intolerance and even demonization of gays." -- PZ Meyers

Italy rejects anti-discrimination bill

Italy’s parliament has rejected a bill which would have extended protection from discrimination to LGBT people.

The Chamber of Deputies voted July 26.  The result was 250 votes in favour and 293 votes opposed.  Gay rights supporters have called on the European Union to intervene.  Gay couples in Italy cannot marry or adopt children.

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi opposes gay rights.  He has an extensive record of criminal allegations--including mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges--and sexual scandals.

$10K offered for proof Marcus Bachmann has had sex with a man

Website Pure Film Creative has offered a $10,000 reward for proof that homophobe Marcus Bachmann, husband of US presidential hopeful Michelle Bachmann, has had sex with a man:

"PFC will award $10,000.00 (ten thousand US dollars and zero cents) to any man who has solid, verifiable proof that he has had sex with Marcus Bachmann.  We’ll consider another arrangement if you were just propositioned."

And the Teabaggers lose their minds in 5...4...3....

Homosexuality is a treatable disorder: chief psychiatrist

Ghana--Homosexuality is a psychiatric disorder which can be treated, according to Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Modern Ghana reports.

"The way forward is to let these people accept that they have a problem and that they can be treated."

"Conversion," "reparative" or "reorientation" therapy, while promoted by some conservative and extremist religious groups, is considered unethical and harmful by all the major mainstream psychological, psychiatric and medical organizations, and there has been no scientifically adequate demonstration of its efficacy.  Male same-sex sexual acts are illegal in Ghana.  Under the Criminal Code 1960– Chapter 6, Sexual Offences Article 105:

"Whoever is guilty of unnatural carnal knowledge— (a) of any person without his consent, is guilty of first degree felony; (b) of any person with his consent, or of any animal, is guilty of a misdemeanor."

Female same-sex sexual activity is not addressed by the law.

On July 21, 2011, Paul Evans Aidoo, the Western Region Minister, called for all gay people in the west of the country to be rounded up and arrested, and for landlords and tenants to inform on people they suspected of being gay.

Anti-gay groups seek to reverse NY marriage equality law

Twenty-four hours after New York's first legal same-sex marriages were conducted, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn it the marriage equality law.  The group claims the Senate violated the state’s Open Meetings Law and ignored the constitutionally mandated three-day waiting period before a bill can be acted upon.  They also claimed that lawmakers approved the legislation in exchange for campaign contributions from "Wall Street financiers."

Gov. Cuomo's spokesman Josh Vlasto said "The plaintiffs lack a basic understanding of the laws of the state of New York. The suit is without merit.”

Meanwhile, State Senator Ruben Diaz, a minister and the only Democrat to vote against the marriage equality law, said that he would try to get Sunday’s marriages annulled claiming that judges broke the law by waiving the 24-hour waiting period without a good reason.

Pakistani Senate condemns LGBT function at US embassy

ISLAMABAD - The Senate has severely condemned the hosting of a gay pride ceremony at the US embassy in Pakistan, and has sent the matter to the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs for discussion.

The Committee will determine whether any kind of action could be initiated against the organisers of the LGBT function. One lawmaker from every parliamentary party will sit in the committee.

World headlines were made last month when US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Ambassador Richard Hoagland and members of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFFA) hosted the first ever LGBT Pride Celebration at the US Embassy in Islamabad on June 26, at which the Chargé d’Affaires addressed the Pakistani LGBT community, acknowledging their struggle for rights.  He said:

“I want to be clear. The US embassy is here to support you and stand by your side every step of the way.”

Pakistan has no laws prohibiting discrimination or harassment on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation, and no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.  The Pakistan Penal Code of 1860, originally developed under British rule, punishes acts of "sodomy" with imprisonment. Under Articles 377 and 496,

"Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section . . . Whoever, dishonestly or with a fraudulent intention, goes through the ceremony of being married, knowing that he is not thereby lawfully married, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall be liable to fine."

Worse, under Islamic laws, the maximum punishment for sodomy is death.  LGBTs are subject to police blackmail, harassment, fines and threats of imprisonment. 

In condemning the event at the embassy, lawmakers said that homosexuality is against the basic principles of Islam and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and hence could not be allowed.

Gay blogger calls gays Nazis

Via Joe.My.God

Joe.My.God posts this screenshot of a tweet by Gay Patriot, a self-described "independent, political and opinion-based Weblog created by Bruce Carroll that is a forum focusing on gay conservative issues, themes, culture and ideas," which likens gay people to Nazis:

"Statement: Labeling the Gay Leftist [sic] radicals as the 'Gay Gestapo' is appropriate given their history of tactics.  Discuss."

We reported last week that Loree Rudd, sister of former Australian PM Kevin Rudd, has come under fire for accusing Labor members of being brainwashed by a "global gay Gestapo" to accept same-sex marriage.

The Gestapo was the secret police of Nazi Germany. It maintained offices at all Nazi concentration camps, where millions of gay men were executed along with Jews, political dissidents and others. The organization's normal methods of investigation included blackmail, threats, extortion, harassment, and torture. The Anti Defamation Commission has demanded an apology from Rudd, saying:

"It is completely unacceptable for anyone to co-opt and trivialise the name of one of the most active and feared arms of the Nazi machinery for their own political purposes. To use [the Gestapo's] name in this context shows a level of ignorance and insensitivity that has no place in contemporary political discourse. It is highly offensive, and we call upon Ms Rudd to apologise immediately and unreservedly."

JMG notes that Gay Patriot "got ALL bent out of shape" when he referred to gay conservative group GOProud as kapos and Quislings because that was "'defamatory language' directed at fellow gays."  GOProud has recently made the news for announcing its support for viciously homophobic US presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann.

Rachel Maddow on Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum's Google problem

Bachmann's anti-gay clinic in terrifying glitter attack

That shit is hard to get out.

US anti-gay conservative nutjob Michele Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic, Bachmann & Associates, was the focus of a glitter attack by a more than a dozen "barbarians" Thursday morning.  The clinic is run by Bachmann's possibly gay husband Marcus, who is on record using the term "barbarians" for LGBT people.

The group was protesting the publicly funded clinic's practice of offering so-called "reparative therapy," an approach rejected by all mainstream science, to "cure" people of their homosexuality.  The clinic has taken in more than $137,000 in government funds despite Bachmann's strong opposition to government involvement in health care.

The group's aim was to glitter "Dr." Marcus Bachmann; since he wasn't available, the "glitterati"  glittered the waiting room instead, shouting, “You can’t pray away the gay — baby, I was born this way!”

Update: watch the whole thing on video:

Man banned from donating blood because he looks "too gay"

Indiana--An American man's blood donation has been rejected because he looked “too gay.” 

The Chicago Sun Times reports that Aaron Pace, 22, who says he is heterosexual, “was humiliated and embarrassed.”  Pace was rejected by Bio-Blood Components Inc., which pays for blood and plasma donations.  During the interview portion of the screening process, Pace said he was told he could not be a blood donor there because he “appears to be a homosexual.” 

A nearly 30-year-old federal policy prohibits gay men from donating blood in America.  The Food and Drug Administration policy states that men who have had sex with another man even once since 1977 are not allowed to donate blood.  Canada has a nearly identical policy.  The policies were enacted at a time when little was known about AIDS and HIV screening tests had not yet been developed.  Today, all donated blood is tested for HIV along with a myriad of other diseases before it is released, and the lifetime ban on donations from men who have sex with men has been repeatedly criticized as “medically and scientifically unwarranted.”  As in Canada, Americans who pay for sex or who have sex with intravenous drug users are only deferred from donating for 12 months.

Japan, Sweden and other countries currently subject sexually active gay men to a one-year ban.  Recent research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that if gay men who practised safe sex were allowed to donate, one HIV-postive blood donation would be likely to slip through the clinical screening process once every 5,769 years, or once between now and the year 7778.

Has Ghana minister ordered arrest of all gays?

Various reports are coming in that Ghana's Western Region Minister Paul Evans Aidoo has ordered the arrest of all gays in the area.

Allegedly, Aidoo has directed the Bureau of National Investigations and other agencies to find gay people and bring them before the courts, and has called for citizens to inform on those they believe to be gay.

According to Ghanaian news reports, he said:

“All efforts are being made to get rid of these people in the society.”

In Ghana, where 69 per cent of the population is Christian, homosexuality is still considered morally wrong.  Homophobic violence is common, and most gay people are closeted. 

Aidoo's witch hunt, if true, may have been inspired by comments from the general secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana Reverend Fred Deegbe, who said of homosexuality:

“This detestable and abominable act if passed into law in Ghana will bring the wrath of God upon the nation and the consequences will be unbearable.” 

According to Ghanaian news, Aidoo has said that anyone arrested on suspicion of homosexuality will be tried in court under a law banning “unnatural canal knowledge,” but Ernest Kofi Abotsie, a Lawyer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, says that no person can be arrested for breach of morality, explaining that the law is ambiguous and cannot necessarily be said to cover homosexuality.

The religious test

Rob at Waking Up Now has posted another wonderful piece in response to the teacup storm NOM and others are desperately trying to whip up over public servants not wanting to do their jobs (see his excellent earlier comments here).

He suggests a new "talking point":

In New York, you’ve got state employees demanding you pass their personal religious test before they’ll help you. That’s not religious freedom. In fact, it’s the opposite.

It’s quick, to the point, and true. If I were to point out a key phrase, it would be pass their personal religious test, as in:

    * Should you have to pass some bureaucrat’s personal religious test before you get the services your tax dollars paid for?

    [snip]

And if you want to take the conversation further, offer hypotheticals that have nothing to do with gays.

    * Do you want a Town Clerk refusing a marriage license to an interfaith couple because they don’t pass his personal religious test?

    * Do you want a city official turning down your permit for a public gathering because you’ll have dancing and that doesn’t pass her personal religious test?

    * Do you want the zoning committee to turn down your church’s building permit because your faith doesn’t pass their personal religious test?

Go and read the whole thing.

NOM's Brian Brown: "victims" of the "new gay marriage regime"

Brian Brown, president of American anti-gay group the National Organization for Marriage, today posted that the New York marriage equality law is victimizing Christians:

We've already met the first victims of this new gay marriage regime. Town clerks, charged with a duty to issue and record marriage licenses, are faced with a stark choice: give up stable employment in the midst of a troubled job market, or give up their religious convictions about marriage. Two clerks have already resigned; others have been warned that failure to comply with the new law could land them in jail. Who will the next victims be? A wedding photographer or owner of a reception hall? Parents of public school children who object to curriculum changes this fall? How long before the new law impacts you and your family? The answer from Albany is clear: We couldn't care less.

Rob Tisinai put it best in a June 29 post about an elderly clerk who NOM identified as the "first casualty" of the marriage equality law.  Tisinai's response is worth quoting at length:

Quote of the day

"When a brutal homophobe sounds and looks like a parody of a big old queen, suppressing that fact becomes close to impossible."

Read more here.

Rick Santorum on Dan Savage

Former US Senator and current presidential candidate Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum responded Monday to remarks made by Dan Savage about him last week, calling them "filth."

Santorum said:

It's a liberal beating up on a conservative. And that’s okay. Whether it’s Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann, it’s the Left making fun of someone who believes in the values that built America. It believes in traditional marriage. How outrageous. How bigoted. How hateful that you actually believe that, that, you know, raising children and, and, and families with mothers and fathers is something to be encouraged. That you’re, that, that, just because you hold those opinions, you are subject to the worst form of, of, of, of vulgarity on the internet, on television, and everywhere else, and they get away with, not only do they get away with the mainstream media, but they are applauded by the mainstream media. They are made, they are celebrated by, as you mentioned, in New York, by taking on these, these people who believe in these outmoded virtues, and, the bottom line is I stand and I wear it as a badge of honor that someone as vulgar and as, and as disgusting and as hate-filled as Dan Savage sees me as public enemy number one. To me, that tells me I must be doing something right.

Santorum is famous for his "Google problem."  Watch the video below.

Gay group supports anti-gay candidate

Incredibly, American gay conservative group GOProud today announced that it will support Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann if she wins the nomination for presidency.  Bachmann is not only a strong opponent of marriage equality, but has gone on record saying that homosexuality is "part of Satan."  Earlier this month, hidden camera footage was released of a counselor at a Bachmann family-owned clinic telling a gay patient that he could be "cured" of homosexuality.

GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia said that his group has requested a meeting with Michele Bachmann.

Burnaby hate group to form new civic party

Burnaby, British Columbia--Members of a group opposed to the Burnaby School Board's anti-homophobia policy intend to form a new civic party.

The group The Parents' Voice was formed to oppose the Burnaby School Board's Sexual Identity/Gender Identity Policy. Policy #5.45 (PDF) was created to "ensure that all members of the school community work together in an atmosphere of respect and safety regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity." The Policy has an 8-fold purpose:

a) Support inclusion of all students and employees in all aspects of school life, irrespective of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
b) Improve understanding of the lives of LGBTQ+ people and their positive contributions to society.
c) Define appropriate terms, behaviours and actions to promote greater awareness of, and responsiveness to, the deleterious effects of homophobia, transphobia, anti-gay harassment and exclusion.
d) Provide effective procedures to respond to complaints of homophobic, transphobic and heterosexist behaviours including discrimination, harassment and exclusion.
e) Promote a systemic response through staff and professional development which strives to identify and address educational practices, policies, and procedures that perpetuate homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism..
f) Make resources and support services available and visible for LGBTQ+ students and staff throughout schools.
g) Act collectively to reduce homophobia, transphobia and other systemic barriers that are faced by LGBTQ+ students and staff who are ‘in the closet’ and feel they must hide their true identities.
h) Commit to ongoing, constructive and open dialogue with communities who identify themselves on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to increase co-operation and collaboration among home, school and the community.