News Round-Up: April 19, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Sometimes it's a good idea to look back - as fitness athlete Pierre Vuala (above) makes abundantly clear. #TBT

• The woman who launched a homophobic attack on two female soldiers is now banned from the restaurant where the incident took place, and she's lost her part-time gig teaching at a local college.

• This gay Canadian man thought losing 70 pounds would bring him joy. Turns out, not so much.

• The cast of the upcoming Broadway revival of Boys In The Band donned pink triangle t-shirts in honor of The AIDS Memorial.

. . “Our entire cast of THE BOYS IN THE BAND are so moved and inspired by these stories of the beautiful men and women that we lost to the plague during those dark years. . Thank you for bringing them to life once more on your beautiful Instagram @theaidsmemorial.” — by Matt Bomer @mattbomer . #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #endaids #boysintheband @theaidsmemorialtshirt .

A post shared by THE A I D S M E M O R I A L (@theaidsmemorial) on Apr 17, 2018 at 4:41pm PDT

• The first Quinnipiac University poll for this year's race for Sen. Ted Cruz's seat in the U.S. Senate is in a statistical dead heat with Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Texas), his Democratic challenger, only 3 points behind Cruz 47%/44%. O'Rourke has raised $6.7 million compared to Cruz's $3.2 million in campaign donations.

• Lobbyists at the anti-LGBT organizations the Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council were secretly involved in drafting the Trump administration's policy banning transgender military service members. And now those same folks are hopping mad because their communications have been subpoenaed which could reveal to the world their hateful statements.

• Fraternity brothers at a joint-hosted Phi Gamma Delta and Kappa Sigma Xi-Lambda off-campus party last Friday broke the leg of a gay man in an alleged homophobic attack. Watch the report below.

Anti-Transgender Activist Has No Answer When Asked What Bathroom Trans Folks Should Use

Last night, Travis Weber of the anti-LGBT Family Research Council and Professor Jennifer Finney Boylan of E! network’s “I am Cait” debated transgender bathroom rights in America on MSNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Matthews.

Poor Travis was not prepared for the most basic question of transgender rights these days: If a transgender woman shouldn't use the ladies room, what bathroom SHOULD they use?

The FRC spokesman was literally tongue-tied. Matthews, pointing out the obvious, said again and again, "You're dodging the question."

Excerpt from the transcript via Media Matters:

CHRIS MATTHEWS (HOST): Travis, tell Jenny what bathroom she should use.

TRAVIS WEBER: Well —

MATTHEWS: Which one should she use?

WEBER: Yeah, I mean I’m not sure, um —

MATTHEWS: Well just answer that question.

WEBER: I think people should be —

MATTHEWS: She said she would not be comfortable or not cause such problem if she walked into a men’s room. Should she walk into a men’s room?

WEBER: I think we can do things the way we’ve done them for decades, and people could use bathrooms according to biological sex with specific accommodation made for people who have a genuine issue. If we look at the North Carolina law, it made an accommodation. People are not happy with that, however. And now the Obama administration —

MATTHEWS: Let’s just talk about transgender people. What should a transgender person who identifies as a woman do? What bathroom should they go to? Just keep it simple.

WEBER: Yeah well there’s an issue of privacy concerns.

MATTHEWS: See no, you can’t answer the question, can you? What should they do?

WEBER: They can use the bathroom of their biological sex, except when there’s a genuine issue and an accommodation can be made.

Matthews did not let it go, though. He went back to Weber more than once,: “What should Jenny do if she was visiting North Carolina right now? Should she go to the men’s room? Should she? You’re dodging the toughest question, which is what do you want people to behave like?” He then asked, “Can you answer the question? Should Jenny go to the men’s room or the ladies room?”

Weber had nothing.

Again, Matthews asked the question Weber couldn't answer: “It just seems odd to me that you’d want Jenny to show up in men’s room you go to. You think that would be appropriate? You think that would be appropriate? It’s a simple question, should Jenny go to your men’s room? Yes or no.” When Weber again did not answer the question, Matthews said, “See, you’re dodging this question.”

See, the haters can mock and belittle transgender folks when it's through a press release or talking on Fox News, but when you have a transgender woman on air with you - who CLEARLY should not be using the men's room - you got nothing. Just your moralistic fear and hate.

Professor Boylan, much to her credit, handled the segment without raising her voice or yelling. She was quite persuasive.

FRC's Peter Sprigg Gets Schooled By CNN's Chris Cuomo On Indiana "License To Discriminate"

CNN's Chris Cuomo delivers an epic take-down of virulently anti-gay Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council over Indiana's "License To Discriminate" legislation - SB101.

Excerpt via Mediaite:

“There is a picture that’s circulating around of the governor as he signed [the bill],” Cuomo said. “Several of the people in the picture are outspoken critics of gay existence. Now, that’s not a coincidence. It’s not a coincidence why you’re against it. Let me ask you, why do so many Christians these days believe that the exercise of their faith requires exclusion and judgment of others?”

“Some people have a sincere, conscientious belief that marriage is defined as the union between a man and a woman,” Sprigg replied. “In fact the majority of Americans believe that.”

“Popularity is not the ultimate arbiter of what is right and wrong if protecting rights under the Constitution,” Cuomo said. “The question then goes to: why do you need this? What is it about someone being gay or someone wanting to marry someone of the same sex — what is there in that that is keeping you from being the Christian you want to be?…If I said, Mr. Sprigg, you must go marry a man right now, you can say, no, that’s a violation of my faith. Maybe that, you would be able clear this burden. But how is wanting to judge others somehow stopping you from practicing your faith?”

The upshot? We're not crazy here, kids. Everyone sees this. The haters just don't want to say it out loud.

Forward.

Tony Perkins Plans To Take "Leading Role" In Religious Liberty Blah Blah Blah

Tony Perkins of the anti-gay Family Research Council

Hate group leader Tony Perkins of the anti-gay Family Research Council announces he will testify at a Senate hearing regarding "religious liberty."

"One of the benefits of putting conservatives in charge of Congress is that the agendas in most committees change -- and issues that weren't getting as much attention under liberal leaders are now front and center.

"Tomorrow [today], one of FRC's greatest priorities, religious liberty, will be the subject of a Senate hearing in the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. As FRC takes more of a leading role in the debate, I've been asked to testify before the committee at 2:00 p.m. and hopefully highlight the need for greater engagement on what we see as a fundamental human right.

"With the persecution unfolding before our very eyes in the Middle East and Africa, the United States has an obligation to speak on behalf of religious freedom through every possible diplomatic avenue. After six years of silence, it is up to this Congress to repair the damage done by this administration's indifference to persecuted Christians and other minorities.

"Our moral voice and supporting actions have been increasingly and noticeably absent with regard to international religious freedom. I'll encourage the Senate to once again find that voice."

I think it's rich that Perkins claims that FRC will be taking "more of a leading role" in the religious liberty debate.

(via press release)

From Last Night's Hate Rally In Houston

(via JoeMyGod)

Last night, the anti-gay Family Research Council hosted a hate rally to raise opposition against openly lesbian Mayor Annise Parker for passing LGBT protections in Houston.

While the haters keep saying their opposition is based solely on their 'deeply held religious convictions,' t-shirts made their way around the rally with the saying "We reserve the right to refuse service to homosexuals."

But remember, it's not about the gays - it's about protecting "religious freedoms."

Riiiiiiiiight.

Anti-Gay Activist Tony Perkins: Americans Will NEVER Accept Marriage Equality

Virulently anti-gay Tony Perkins, of the hate group Family Research Council, was on yesterday's edition of "Washington Watch" using the same scare tactics his ilk have used for so long now in trying to deny equal rights to LGBT Americans and insisting that a majority of Americans will never support marriage equality:

From Right Wing Watch:

Perkins said that just as reproductive rights debates are still contentious because legal abortion “runs contrary to nature,” gay marriage will similarly never be “resolved” until it is banned throughout the nation.

“I don’t care what they do, how oppressive government becomes in order to force this agenda through, they will never force Americans to accept this, the majority of Americans to accept it. Won’t happen,” he said. “Some may go silent, some may be carried away but they will not resolve this issue, trust me.”

Note the choice of words - "impose," "force," "oppressive." He really makes equal rights sound chilling, doesn't he?

And that's how they work, kids. That's how they work.

You can listen to his sad diatribe below:

Anti-gay hate group leader cries over 7th Circuit Court ruling for equal rights

Family Research Council's Tony Perkins rode the waahmbulance yesterday, sobbing over the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals UNANIMOUS decision that both Indiana and Wisconsin's same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional:

"I am very troubled that this court failed to recognize the self-evident truth that children need and deserve a mom and dad. The ruling doesn't appear to allow society to choose to maintain a coherent definition of marriage. The courts have no true constitutional authority to unilaterally change the definition of our most fundamental social institution. Yet this court is engaging in judicial activism unlike yesterday's federal court ruling which upheld the right of Louisiana voters to preserve natural marriage in their state's public policy.

"The Seventh Circuit's radical departure from natural law and the received wisdom of human history continues to undermine the legitimacy of the courts in the eyes of a majority of Americans. Marriage redefinitions imposed by judicial fiat cannot change the truth about marriage, men, women, children, and parenting. Ultimately, the American people will have the final word as they experience the consequences of marriage redefinition and the ways in which it fundamentally alters America's moral, cultural and political landscape."

Anti-gay Family Research Council cheers the denial of equal rights in Virginia

The virulently anti-gay Family Research Council cheered the stay issued by SCOTUS regarding same-sex marriage in Virginia:

Today, the Supreme Court put a hold on the Fourth Circuit ruling, allowing Virginia's law to continue to be enforced while the Fourth Circuit's opinion is appealed.

We are glad that the Court saw the wisdom of slowing down the judicial process in this instance so that marriages will not be entered into that would later have to be nullified.

Such irresponsible mayhem has been witnessed in Utah, and it resulted in legal chaos for state residents and state officials.

It's worth noting that the FRC says "marriages that will not be entered into that would later have to be nullified."

Wrong. We all know which way the tide has turned on the issue of marriage equality.

And it's not backwards.

Tony Perkins and FRC gins up poll to "prove" huge majority of GOP opposes marriage equality

Hate group leader Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council are at it again.

Via press release, Perkins attempts to allay fears that Republicans could actually be softening on same-sex marriage. Oh, the horror!

Today, Family Research Council (FRC) and American Values released the results of a commissioned national survey conducted by Wilson Research Strategies showing that 82 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independents believe marriage "should be defined only as a union between one man and one woman." 74 percent strongly agreed with this statement.

The same survey found that the voters want their elected leaders to promote this view in public policy: 75 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters disagree that "politicians should support the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples." 67 percent strongly disagreed with this statement.

FRC President Tony Perkins made the following comments in response to the survey:

"Republican voters continue to resist the demands of cultural elites who want to see the party abandon the very core values that gave rise to American exceptionalism. The vast majority of the GOP base continues to believe that marriage is a non-negotiable plank of the national platform and want to see their elected officials uphold natural marriage as the national standard, a goal to stand for, encourage and promote in law.

"The results of this survey are no surprise especially considering what has taken place in recent months. Republican voters, like everyone else, have seen that redefining marriage is really about fundamentally altering all of society. Redefining marriage undermines our fundamental freedoms of speech and religion and in the case of the Mozilla CEO, even the ability to engage in the democratic process without the fear of losing one's livelihood."

The problem with the FRC's poll is it doesn't jive with what's happening in reality OR other recent polls.

Remember, the FRC paid for their poll using  a right-leaning polling company.

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month, 54% (not 82%) of Republicans oppose same-sex marriage.  Forty percent of Republicans support the freedom to marry.

I guess Tony can at least feel he "got what he paid for" - a poll that shows what he wants it to show.

Tony Perkins: Dan Cathy of Chick-Fil-A is a "coward"

In a strange, topsy-turvy world, Mike Huckabee chats with hate group leader Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council about how those who would keep the LGBT community from having equal rights are somehow the 'victims' of attacks on their religious freedoms. See, in their world, it is their right to discriminate against other Americans. And those who would seek to express themselves through their wallets are "economic terrorists."

During the segment, Tony Perkins calls out Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy as a "coward" for stepping back from his opposition to marriage equality.

But remember, Tony Perkins and his ilk are the 'victims' here.

Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod explains the anti-gay view of boycotts like this:

When major national Christian groups with millions of followers call for boycotts, that is a righteous use of the free market in order to preserve morality, marriage, family, and the American way. But when gay folks call for a boycott, THAT is homofascist intimidation, intolerance, bullying, economic terrorism, a stifling of religious liberty, and an attempt to deny the freedom of speech. And don't you forget it.

Eldest Duggar child now to advocate anti-gay policy for certified hate group

Josh Duggar, the oldest of the clan of children who are the focus of TLC’s reality series 19 Kids and Counting has accepted a position as executive director with Family Research Council, which has been classified as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and has a long history of attacking the LGBT community.

Duggar made the announcement via Twitter yesterday (see above).

“If Josh Duggar wants to make a living dehumanizing and denigrating LGBT people and their families, that’s his business, but FRC’s lies and stereotypes need to be treated as such,” said GLAAD Spokesperson Wilson Cruz. “Josh’s new boss Tony Perkins has actually accused LGBT equality advocates of being pawns of the devil. Fans of his family’s reality show ought to know that.”

(via Queerty)

Anti-gay voices' deafening silence on violent LGBT attacks

Pic via Memeographs.  Click pic to enlarge

After last year's shooting at Family Research Council, many prominent voices in the LGBT community condemned the senseless attack.

However, I have been pondering the deafening silence of the Tony Perkins' (Family Research Council) and Brian Browns' (National Organization for Marriage) of the world regarding the multiple violent attacks on the gay community in NYC this month.

Question: does silence equal consent?

UPDATE: Interestingly, the following statement appeared on the NOM Blog this afternoon, hours after my original post above.

"We condemn in the strongest possible way the murder of a gay man in New York by a killer who apparently hurled anti-gay insults at him moments before the killing. This senseless act cannot be condoned in America or anywhere, and we urge that the perpetrator be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Our heart goes out to the family of the victim, and we hold them in our prayers. While this killing appears to have no connection to the current debate about redefining marriage, there is no room for violence toward any American — whether they support traditional marriage or not. No person should be subjected to violence because they are gay or lesbian or because they believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. There is no place for violence, period." - Brian Brown

UPDATE 2: This statement is now on the Family Research Council website.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement regarding the charges filed in the Mark Carson murder case in New York City: "We denounce any and all acts of unprovoked violence. No American should be the target of violence - period. We hope and trust that justice will be served in that the perpetrator of this senseless act of violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Perkins said.

Family Research Council busted using faked image for anti-gay propaganda

Just another day in the lying land of the Family Research Council.

The image above was used in FRC's recent propaganda to show several concerned people at a "Boy Scouts Policy Meeting."  See the placard on the left side of the picture saying "2013 Policy Meeting?"  See the Boy Scouts emblem near the center of the image?  Jeremy Hooper from Good As You found just one, little problem:

It's a complete fabrication. FRC simply Photoshopped a Boy Scout logo and a "2013 Policy Meeting" placard onto an existing picture that they lifted from another site. The picture in question is actually from the website LegalGeekery.com and is described as being from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The LegalGeekery post is from 2009. See the original image below BEFORE Family Research Council performed their bigotry magic on it:

So, here's the thing, kids: if you have swallowed any of the FRC's sad diatribe against the LGBT community up to now, think about who you follow. Because for all you know, they are as fake as the image at the top of this post.

(via JoeMyGod)

The lastest load of anti-gay propaganda from Family Research Council

From Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council.

If this was the only clip of Tony Perkins you ever saw of him, other than the bile dripping from his voice as he speak the words "homosexuality" and "biblical standard of morality," you might not know what a hateful bigot he is.

How this man goes day after day campaigning against others; must be draining.

CNN: Hate group leader says gay scout leaders will molest your kids

Hate group leader Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council appeared on CNN today to speak with Carol Costello about the full page ad his group ran in USA Today urging the Boy Scouts to retain their ban on gay scouts.

Said Sprigg: "The mere fact that someone openly identifies themselves as homosexual means that they are modeling for boys the acceptability of homosexual conduct. And parents who do not agree with that view have a right to protect their children form that... They have a right to protect their children from the potential risk of child sexual abuse at the hands of men who might be attracted to other males."

Costello correctly quoted an American Psychological Association study that shows homosexuals are not any more likely to molest kids than straight men.

"Unless you're condemning every single homosexual in the country as being a possible pedophile, that's not fair!"

(source)

FRC begs for "post-election plans" money

JoeMyGod points out the Family Research Council's latest money beg, which lays out their post-election priorities.

Remember, these are the folks who SWEAR they are totally not anti-gay:

We ask you to stand with us in three important ways. PRAY - With the re-election of Barack Obama, we now face another four years and simply put - one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. PERSEVERE - Stand with us. Truth will win out! PARTNER - With your financial support, FRC will redouble our efforts to ...

• Prevent radical homosexual activists from further harming the U.S. military
• Compel the Department of Justice to enforce the Defense of Marriage Act
• Challenge the provisions of ObamaCare which undermine families
• Stop the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

FRC needs your support now more than ever. Your gift before will help us continue to identify harmful policy, identify and embolden allies on the Hill and maintain God-given religious freedoms.

Thank you for your generosity at this challenging time for our country.

>>>Note that three out of four items are anti-gay.

Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, equates being gay to adultery and alcoholism

The president of the Family Research Council slammed the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community once again, condemning Pride month while equating LGBT people with adulterers and alcoholics.

As Right Wing Watch reports, Tony Perkins filled in on the American Family Association’s radio network last week, and responded to one caller's accusation that right-wing pundits were ignoring societal ills to instead focus primarily on promoting misconceptions about the LGBT community.

"The month of June is Gay Pride Month," Perkins declares. He went on to note, "Now, I have not yet seen where they have declared Adultery Pride Month, I have not seen where they have declared the Drunkenness Pride Month," before adding that "we’re not celebrating those other forms as a society, we’re not promoting [them] and teaching [them] as normal in our schools."

Read more at the Huffington Post

CNN's Brooke Baldwin asks Tony Perkins: "Why do homosexuals bother you so much?"

Brooke Baldwin asked Tony Perkins, of the certified hate group Family Research Council, to clarify what about same-sex couples deserved to be “less valued” by society. Perkins noted that he did not discount that there were loving same-sex couples raising children, just as there were loving single mothers doing the same. “If it were just two caregivers, three would be better!” he noted, but instead it was about a “fundamental role” a man and a woman had in a family.

Baldwin asked him whether his experience had corroborated that belief: “Have you ever been to the home of a same-sex couple?” Perkins answered in the negative, and refused to argue what he would tell that hypothetical couple to convince them their lifestyle was hurting society. “We don’t make public policy based on what is good for me… not anecdotes or what one couple likes.” As a society, Perkins asserted, “we have incurred a great harm.”

“I know you don’t want to answer the question,” Baldwin asked, patience wearing visibly thin, “but I’m going to try again: why do homosexuals bother you so much?” “They don’t bother me!” Perkins replied, asserting again that he was “not going to be silent while they try to redefine marriage in this country.”

You'll note how many times Perkins says the phrase "social science has shown us" that kids do better with two, opposite sex parents. The fact is quite the opposite: children raised by lesbian parents fare as well as they would in heterosexual households, new research suggests.
(source)

Anti-gay Family Research Council attacks Target for pride t-shirts

From Queerty: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has released a statement attacking Target’s inclusive gesture of selling gay pride t-shirts through the Target online website:

“Target’s slogan is “expect more.” And when it comes to their politics, Americans do… One of America’s biggest companies isn’t just named Target–it’s becoming one. Starting May 20, the mega-chain’s introducing a new line of same-sex “marriage” merchandise that says, “Love is love.” Target promises to donate 100% of the profits to a national homosexual group – but they don’t specify which one.

Retail analyst Britt Beemer says that Target’s strategy isn’t “very smart,” especially in conservative states, where it does the biggest business. “Anytime a retailer gets away from doing what they should be doing by being involved in a social cause, [they] lose.” The company said it wanted to “resonate beyond fashion.” But if they’re looking to resonate with Americans, they ought to try defending marriage. According to voters, the country’s still very opposed to redefining it. Let Target know that its agenda isn’t your style. Log on to target.com, scroll down, and click “Contact Us.”

Not sure if Perkins is being disingenuous or just illiterate —Target has clearly stated proceeds from the shirts will benefit the Family Equality Council, which supports LGBT families (a favorite target of FRC).

Also, the shirts — which are only available online—don’t say anything about gay marriage or even LGBT rights: The innocuous slogans, like “Love is Love,” “Harmony” and ‘Pride,” could mean almost anything. Which I'm certain that’s how Target planned it.

If you feel so inclined - check out the t-shirts on Target's website by clicking here.

Exposing Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council

MSNBC rejected this ad asking them to explain why they've invited Tony Perkins, a hate group leader who lies about LGBT people, onto their network 23 times in the past 16 months, more than any other network.

It's a question 20,000 people of faith have demanded an answer to, but MSNBC has refused to answer and continues to give Perkins a national platform.

I watch MSNBC every day. And it has always confounded me that occasionally Tony Perkins pops up on the network. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated Perkins' group - The Family Research Council - a hate group in 2010.

From the SPLC website: "In 2003, former Marine and Louisiana state representative Anthony Richard “Tony” Perkins became president of the FRC after a failed 2002 run for one of Louisiana’s U.S. Senate seats. Under his leadership, the group continues to peddle its false claims about homosexuality and has made combating the “homosexual agenda” a seemingly obsessive interest."