The Gay Thing: American Gay Haters Go Global

The National Organization for Marriage was once a titan of a hate group, causing all kinds of strife for marriage equality supporters. They formed out of the ooze to push Prop 8 in California, and they won. They had other victories, and--despite having very bad arguments--seemed like they were going to steam-roller gay marriage. Of course they got a big push from the like-minded who came before them, with the seemingly contagious anti-gay state constitutional amendments that swept the nation in the early part of the century.

Then a funny thing happened. The tide turned, SCOTUS gave us a couple of big wins, and suddenly, NOM couldn't catch a break. Their wins were mostly inconsequential in the scheme of things, and their losses piled up high like cordwood. Through it all, NOM bigwig Brian Brown would declare that he was not anti-gay, merely trying to "protect marriage." He never fought to end divorce, or stop

Asshole.

adultery, only to block or reverse wins for same-sex marriage. All the while, Brown (and presumably his compatriots) has collected a hefty paycheck, pockets lined by the dwindling supporters and a couple of very wealthy, secretive donors.

Barring something extremely unexpected, it is very likely that the Supreme Court will take up one or several of the cases that have worked their way through the court system, almost unanimously in favor of marriage equality. Given the legal contortions that would be required to reverse all of these decisions--and earlier  cases as prior indication--most people seem to think that nationwide marriage equality could be a realty by next summer. So, how will Brian Brown continue to turn his singular "talent" into cash? Go global, baby.

Brown, and other anti-gay religious zealots, has decided to turn to other countries, places where anti-gay legislation is an easier sell. Only rather than merely "protecting marriage" (an Orwellian phrase if ever there was one), he could be associated with legislation that actually imprisons or kills people. And we're supposed to think this is some noble, loving, "Christian" cause?

[Excerpt]

America's gay rights battle goes global

Starting in 2012, the leader of the most prominent American anti-gay marriage organization unexpectedly began adding a ton of stamps to his passport. As federal judges struck down gay marriage bans left and right at home, National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown appeared at meetings and marches for various anti-gay rights causes in France, Trinidad and Tobago, Russia and Australia — a surprising uptick in travel for the stateside activist. The result: In June, Brown’s group began discussing rebranding itself as the International Organization for Marriage, according to materials from a “March for Marriage” meeting in Washington, D.C. . .

Read more at: Yahoo!

The Rev. Fred Phelps is Finally Dead. Good.

And they say evil never dies. Image from source, Advocate.

Yeah, I've already run a piece on the previously pending death of Topeka's ironically demonic Reverend Fred Phelps, but now that the bastard is dead, I couldn't let the opportunity pass. Phelps has been antagonizing gay people for a very long time, seemingly forever. He and his cultish family church would protest just about anything gay-related, wielding signs carrying slogans that were even over-the-top in the less-enlightened 80s. Emblazoned with words that I refuse to type here (but which are still seen in arch-right-wing armpits of the internet like FreeRepublic.com), Fred and his family were fearless in their disregard and slander of an entire group of Americans.

Remember, this was during some of the worst of the AIDS crisis, so not only was the LGBT community still reeling from that, they then had to go on defense against these hateful people. Called The Westboro Baptist Church (but disowned by actual Baptists), this demented group owned a block of homes and a plain (ugly, really) church in Topeka, Kansas. I drove by it about 10 years ago when on business in the city, and recall the dumpy neighborhood, cramped one-way street, and on the church, a banner that read GodHatesAmerica.com

I have no idea which Phelps this is, but
helloooo, sister! Image from Huffington Post.

See, after the Phelps family got tired of picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, they branched out. America in total was their new target, because of tolerance for abortion (occasionally) and gay people. So, they started protesting at the drop of a hat, barely even trying to tie a logical thread between the protest and the protestee. They'd release extremely low-tech press releases that looked like third- or fourth-generation mimeographs of bad copies of bad faxes. Their website--which, again, I refuse to type--had the look of absolute insanity, but without the artistic flair you'd expect from the insane.

But it wasn't until they started regularly protesting soldiers' funerals that mainstream America stood up and took notice. Suddenly, these vile people were attacking people who "mattered." Even Right Wing World began to call WBC and the Phelpses out for their wicked, hateful behavior. Of course, the right can't help but point out that Fred himself was at least one time a Democrat, which is almost as relevant to his behavior as the fact that he used to fight Jim Crow laws. Both facts actually go counter to his behavior, especially in the past 25 years or so.

But the most important thing is, this nasty fucker is dead. Dead, dead, dead. Oddly, most mainstream gay organizations, blogs and celebrity types are urging calm, respectful, quiet responses, if any. And they're of course free to do whatever they want. But not me. This man didn't deserve respect, reverence, politeness, or anything resembling common courtesy. He's dead. Good.

Here's hoping that his demented family--minus their lighting-rod patriarch--eventually tires of their pointless hate carnival, and the WBC just peters out. Until then, I hold this cult in exactly the same regard that I hold their former leader.

[Excerpt]
 
Westboro Baptist Church Founder Fred Phelps Dead at 84

. . .The 84-year-old preacher and disbarred lawyer built a hateful name for himself by establishing the WBC in the 1950s, and rose to prominence picketing the funerals of people who died of AIDS complications, then gained international attention when the church picketed slain gay college student Matthew Shepard's funeral in 1998. Under the leadership of Phelps, Sr., his children and grandchildren who comprise the vast majority of the church's congregation made a habit of picketing the funerals of military veterans, carrying inflammatory signs with messages like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and claiming that the death of American troops was God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The WBC regularly picketed funerals and events which they believed were sinful, often "thanking God" for natural disasters, violent massacres, and even the attacks on September 11, 2001. . .

Read more at: The Advocate

WTF: Virginia Atty General Wants to Uphold Sodomy Law?

Sometimes WTF is the only response that you can come up with at first, isn't? I mean seriously, what would motivate a politician who has grand ambitions be for something like making sodomy illegal again? Forget for a second that the Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional a decade ago--and was late doing that. But we're not talking about just the "gay"kind of sodomy you're likely thinking of when you hear the word. We're talking pretty much anything but missionary position by any  combination of genders. Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute, and then tell me exactly what constituency this guy is aiming for? What percent of the population would say, "Oh, yeah. That's my guy."

Gov. Missionary, from HuffPo

[Excerpt]

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General, Petitions To Uphold Anti-Sodomy Law 

Virginia Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has filed a petition challenging a ruling that recently struck down the state's anti-sodomy law. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Captain Obvious: On Gays and Atheists (Or GAYtheists)

I wasn't sure if this should be under the banner of Captain Obvious, or one of my other loosely structured banners. What the whole post is about, is the extremely odd place I hold in today's America, that of the gay atheist. Or Gay-theist if you will. Which is awkward, because it reads like a theist who is gay. But I'm an atheist who is gay. Which makes me ready to call myself a gatheist, which isn't right either. I therefore coin the phrase, GAYtheist, and hope that people can suss out the meaning, without a literal Latin interpretation, mmmkay? Mmmkay.

My understanding of my personal sexuality (Kinsey-six gay) and my personal religion (none: strong agnostic/atheist) was on a parallel track, and has its. . .I want to say Genesis, but really I think crux is better. . .at about 14 years of age. I knew I was different at a very, very early age. I knew that the term "sissy" was bad, and had the internal realization that it simultaneously applied to me, and that I needed to do all I could to hide that fact. This is at four to five years old, you understand. No frills, no lace, no ruffles, no dollies. And truth be told--other than the Easy Bake Oven and other such gadgets--I was cool with that. I liked trucks and Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs and Erector Sets.

Jimminy Cricket seems oddly appropriate here.

But, I also wanted a boyfriend in kindergarten. I was strangely intrigued by a kid named Jay, who in kindergarten, got confused about propriety, and came out of the in-classroom restroom with his butt showing. I wanted my one-year younger brother's classmate Rhett to notice me (in second grade!). When playing with my brother and my same-aged friend as a threesome, I was the "housewife." While I didn't identify or want to be a female, I was different. This shit dates back to the beginning.

Complicating matters for me, was the fact that I and my siblings had an interloper in our midst, a family member who inappropriately insinuated their self. One of the things that is problematic about sexual molestation for the survivors is that people lay a whole psychological profile upon them. For future reference, lay off of them. The fact that a person has been molested is not a reflection upon their identity.

What do I mean by that? Only that my siblings are heterosexual. I'm homosexual, no ifs-ands-or-buts. and it has zero, and I mean zero to do with what happened back at the 12-14 age range. In fact, that shit made it tougher to come out, because I knew that once I was public, some people would draw those conclusions. My realization at fourteen that I was gay was a culmination of facts in evidence from my earliest recollections. The unwanted attentions of a relative were a confirmation of that, not the instigator of it.

Anyway, all of this came to light at almost the exact same time that I was sussing out my opinions on religion. We'd been raised nominally Christian, with Easter, Christmas and the rest, but only lightly. There was a little church, Mom read to us from Golden Book-style kid's bibles. But it wasn't drilled into us. The emphasis on God and Jesus was about the same as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. When the latter three were revealed to be frauds, God and Jesus were left defenseless. They were never disavowed, but the writing was on the wall.

Due to an afore-mentioned best friend/not-so-secret crush, I was attending confirmation classes in a teenaged Sunday school at a local Lutheran church. The church was warm and welcoming, the fellowship strong and the donuts yummy. But ultimately, I had to back out. I was learning Freshman Earth Science simultaneously, and it quite simply cancelled out the church stuff I was learning. At the age of 15, I was internally a gay atheist. It would be many, many years before I shared that fact with anybody.

So, the point of this post is to point out some obvious facts about The Gay Thing and The Religion Thing as it pertains to atheists. And in no particular order, they are:

- Don't trust Christians to tell you what an atheist is, or believes.
- Don't trust a homophobe to tell you what a gay person is, or believes.
- Gay people do not "recruit." Heterosexual parents make plenty of gay people unassisted. There  is no need to "recruit."
- Molestation doesn't "make" a person gay, though it can complicate the process of discovery. The simple fact is, far too many kids are molested. The outcome is never pretty, but it doesn't cause "conversion."
- Atheists do not belligerently reject a god they believe in. They quite simply don't believe in the first place.
-  Similarly, atheists don't "hate" God or religion. They simply don't believe in it.
- Gays and atheists do not--broadly speaking--have monolitic beliefs. They're individuals. They're like people, that way.
 - There is no unified "gay agenda." In fact, the super-right-wing's idea of a gay agenda is far more developed than any real gay agenda.
- The "gay lifestyle" is a term with its roots in 1970s personal ads in "legitimate" newspapers. they needed a euphemism,  and that is what we've been saddled with.
- "Ex-gay" people were either never gay to begin with, are bisexuals suppressing their "gay" sides, or gay people in denial. Period. I've met too many "ex-ex-gays" to believe otherwise.  

I don't claim to have all the answers. But I can say--as a gay atheist--that I'm not unhappy with my life or my decisions. I believe this is the life you get, and there are no others. I believe there is no "higher authority," or "higher purpose." I think we're on this plane, and we're in this world. We must live life to its fullest, because it's the only life we've got. And we should live life respecting all others' lives and rights and freedoms as we respect our own.

That's pretty simple. It doesn't require God. It doesn't require anything but reason and logic. And this post is terribly inadequate to its task. As a gay atheist I will cop to the fact that I can't speak for all of us, and implore the reader to understand that no one can. No single individual should be allowed to speak for an entire group.

"I'm a Christian. Unless You're Gay"

The headline is also the title of the post excerpted below. What it means is, often times Christians* don't act very Christian around or about gay people. I've experienced this for years, having been a very early internet warrior myself. I'm somewhere on the continuum between agnostic and atheist (and sliding further toward atheist as I age), and also gay. So, since the days of Prodigy (and even a few bulletin boards before that), I've been having online discussions--usually arguments, really--with Christians. I'd argue with Jewish, Muslim or Hindu people, but they don't tend to "start" it, in my experience.

We know that this is not how all Christians behave. But
many--particularly on the internet--do.

No, virtually all of the condemnation, nastiness and outright hatred poured onto me in these conversations is from purported Christians. With rare exceptions, when things have gotten heated, they applied the heat first. I try to be mature, reasoned and calm. But I tell ya, they know how to elevate the rhetoric. They have a difficult time with the mental exercise of putting oneself into another's shoes. "Imagine there's no heaven," John Lennon said, "it's easy if you try." Not for these folks. They will not go there. And while the story below is all about "the gay," it could easily be about non-believers, or people of other faiths than Christianity.

I would like to interject that this behavior is chiefly in the online realm. In my experience, people aren't usually confrontational in real life, with rare exceptions. It takes a picket line (like above) or other protest before it bleeds over into the "real world." But in today's world, where Facebook, Twitter and other social mediums are as common as actual personal interaction, the distinction has gotten quite blurry.

Like the author, I've very often tried to express myself on the subject, and had difficulty. He needn't have worried. It's excellent. [Thank you to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link. And the reminder at Joe.My.God.]

[Excerpt]


I’m Christian, unless you’re gay.

. . .“God hates fags.” We’ve all seen the signs being waved high in the air by members of the Westboro Baptist church. On TV. In real life. It’s hard not to take notice.
Over the years, I’ve watched seemingly never-ending disgustingness and hatred spill across the media airwaves from those who belong to the organization. For those who don’t know much about that “church,” they have made a seedy name for themselves by doing drastic things like picketing beneath atrocious signs and hosting flagrant anti-gay protests at military funerals.
Almost every person of nearly every religion has no problem loathing and condemning the Westboro Baptist Church and its members, and perhaps with reason. They take freedom of speech far beyond what our founding fathers intended when they fought to give us that right, and they laugh at the rest of the world while they do. . .

Read more at: SDL


*I by no means claim that all or even most Christians are hateful and homophobic. But the most vocal ones are, and they've got nearly the entirety of the 2012 Presidential candidates on board with them. 

Homophobes RELAX! Gay Charachters on TV Down This Year

Gay folk. Image from AOLTV.

It seems like you can't get into an online discussion about "the gay", without somebody making the argument that the "lamestream media" is pushing the "homosexual agenda" down our throats!  Well, I'm here to say to the homophobic bigots to just freakin' relax already. Even though the real percentage of the public that is gay is surely higher than the 1-2% the FReepers like to cite, we aren't being represented in prime time television in anywhere near our real numbers. So, please, STFU.

[Excerpt]

Number of Gay Characters on TV Declines


ABC's percentage is down to 3.4 percent of characters being LGBT compared to 2010's 7.2 percent.

NBC continues to decline. Only 3 out of their 154 characters are LGBT.

The CW features one LGBT series regular characters out of 67.

CBS also only has one LGBT character out 134 total series regulars

Read more at: AOLTV

All About Rep. Sally Kern (R-Okla.), Anti-Gay Bigot

I'm still not convinced she isn't a clever
Rachel Dratch character. Image from Mediaite.

As he often does, friend and contributor Stupid Monkey Planet sent me a few blogging ideas (I was running short). But a bunch of them are all on one topic, Oklahoma Congresswoman Sally Kern (R-Obviously). So bear with me, I'm going to try to work them all into one post.

For a while now, Sally has been famous for saying incendiary things about gay people. But like a lot of the tea baggin' GOP these days, when she gets called on her outrageous remarks, she doesn't backpedal, she doubles down.  But also like many of her contemporaries (think Rick Perry's "Social Security = Ponzi Scheme"), Sally goes too big. Prime example:


[Excerpt]


GOP state legislator: Homosexuality worse than terrorism 




Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R-84) recently defended remarks she made in 2008 that homosexuality was a bigger threat than terrorism or Islam…by explaining that homosexuality is more dangerous than terrorist attacks. . .

Read more at: Mediaite


But what exactly makes Sally so anti-gay anyway? There's gotta be something. You know, like Michele Bachmann's anti-gay comments and migraines must come from (Cough! Marcus! Cough!) somewhere. And you might be right. Much like Mr. Bachmann, Mr. Kern seems to specialize in "praying away the gay." You can let history and intuition be your guide on what drives Mr. Kern.

[Excerpt]


The Untold Story About Sally Kern 

. . .Does it make sense to you to label someone who actually helps people who struggle with homosexuality as hateful, bigoted, anti-gay and an evil homophobe? The untold part of this story – which I delight to tell you now – is that behind the scenes, Rep. Sally Kern and her husband, Dr. Stephen Kern have supported First Stone Ministries for many years. Dr. Stephen Kern is the senior pastor at Olivet Baptist Church, which actually hosts some of First Stone Ministries’ support groups. The Kern’s have a special place in their hearts for our ministry to those who struggle with same-sex attractions and homosexuality. For several years before all this controversy erupted, they had put action to their love for those who are struggling and for their families. The next part of this untold story is from a current staff member with First Stone Ministries. . .

Read more at: First Stone Ministries

Sally Kern would clean up at "Really Bad
Analogy" if it were a game show.
Image of Oklahoma City Bombing from Wikipedia.

Anyway, this is only the most recent rehash from Sally about the gay being worse than terrorism. She said something similar as far back as 2008. It didn't sit well with a high school senior there, who--understandably, being that it is Oklahoma--had personal experience with terrorism, and didn't appreciate the comparison:

[Excerpt]

A letter to Sally Kern from a senior in high school in Oklahoma.

. . ."As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you. . ."

Read his letter at: Equality Florida 


Obviously, Sally was not swayed by this boy's letter. But that is not surprising. After all, she very well may be in a serious state of denial and/or cognitive dissonance, because. . .

Not--as far as I know--Sally Kern's Son.

[Excerpt]


Sally Kern Scrubs Gay Son?

Uh-oh! Could foul-mouthed Sally Kern’s secret be out of the bag?
The Oklahoma lawmaker’s homophobic remarks have been the talk of the town recently, especially her assertion that gay folk are infiltrating schools to indoctrinate children. And, sensing a critical national spotlight, Kern made a very suspicious change to her official government homepage. . .

Read more at: Qweerty

"The Gay Thing" Explained. . .In a Cartoon!

At the risk of O.D.ing on teh gay, this YouTube video explanation of "the gay thing" is too entertaining, and too informative to pass up. It may be old news to you, but it's the first time I've seen it. Check it out, you might learn something!

And Now, A Comment From FreeRepublic.com

"I wish they’d use the word “homosexual” and stop this “gay” crap. “Gay”
means happy. It’s a shame they’ve destroyed this otherwise wonderful
word.

If they’re so proud of being homosexuals, then use the correct
term. Even Fox News and Rush (and the rest of them) refuse to use the word
“homosexual.”"

Yeah! And while we're at it, black people shouldn't call themselves "African-Americans," they should be n****rs, and like it! Right, FReepers? Go to hell, all of you.

Source: "Free"Republic

Rachel Maddow Exposes Religious Right's Connection to Uganda "Kill the Gays" Law

The bill--which is likely to pass--in Uganda, which punishes homosexuality with years or life in prison, and even death, was fostered by opportunistic far-right politicians and religious leaders from the United States. A few of the key people involved had tacitly distanced themselves from it, and many more remain curiously silent. One of them is from my state, Senator John Ensign (R-Nevada). Yes, Captain Hairdo is quite the model of family values.

The proposed law is thoroughly disgusting, and should--you would think--be universally condemned by all Americans, far-right or not. The tepid denouncements so far are kind of stunning. And if you think the tea bagging crowd has a dim view of the bill, you'd be wrong. For a really disgusting insight into what the "Real Americans" think about the issue, you can go here. Fair warning, it will piss you off. Thank goodness Rachel Maddow is shining a light on this subject, and abjectly shaming those involved. I hope she drags every American who had anything to do with fostering this abomination out into the light.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

TV Characters Who Should Come Out of the Closet

This hit my funny bone in just the right spot (hat tip to Kenneth in the 212).

[Excerpt]

15 TV Characters Who Never Came Out Of The Closet (But Should Have)

Let’s face it, only in the last few years has society found it acceptable to portray homosexuals on TV. Of course it’s only safe when they show the approved stereotypes, such as the quirky and well dressed funny ones. It’s a giant step considering what we had to see years ago. Stuffy awkward people who we just assumed enjoyed being single. TV would have been much different, if they weren’t suppressed. . .

Read more at: Comedy.com

The Lady Doth Protest Too Much

There is a strange group of political activists out there. They are the anti-gay activists, the ones that brought up, pushed and passed California's Proposition 8 to revoke same-sex marriage. But--though they claim to have no beef with gay people, only the desire to keep marriage "one man and one woman," their claims are obviously bogus.

Because "protecting marriage" is just a nice-sounding rationale for an anti-gay agenda. The real agenda is to put a boot on the necks of gay people, on any issue, for any reason they can think of. If Proposition 8 is allowed to stand, and if their newest effort to annul the existing same-sex marriages is successful, they will keep going. They will not stop. They will oppose any effort by gay people to attain equal rights. They will do anything they can to roll back existing rights. And even then, they will not be happy.

Many of these groups have "family" in their names, as though gay people aren't members of, or do not have their own families. The American Family Association. Focus on the Family. The Family Research Council. All of them have--as a primary goal--stomping on gay rights. They exist for little other reason. My question is, what's in it for them?

Suppose that they are successful in all that they set out to do. Suppose that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" becomes permanent. That the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) is never enacted. Suppose that sodomy laws are reinstated, that same-sex marriage is outlawed everywhere, and that gays become so cowed that nobody ever comes out of the closet ever again. What have they gained?

Do they think that gay people will go away? Do they think that teenagers will never discover their homosexuality? Do they think that if we aren't open and obvious that they can just ignore us as if we don't exist? And if they accomplished all of that, what would they do next? Who would they go after, to take the place of their favorite "demons?" My guesses, in no particular order, are single mothers, divorcees, people who have sex before marriage, contraception, and possibly interfaith or interracial marriage. But that's just a guess.

Here are a few headlines from one of the leading "anti-gay" websites, just to give you an example of why this phenomenon has me so puzzled. What drives these people? What is their real end-game? Ponder it.

58% oppose repeal of “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell”

Tell Congress You Oppose ENDA — The ‘ENDA’ Our Freedom’ Bill

Scandalous Homosexuality-Affirming Milwaukee Middle School

Will You Help AFTAH Stand for Truth against ‘Queer’ Activist Lies?

What is Homosexuality?

This question should be academic. Homosexuality is a sexual orientation, where one adult is sexually and romantically inclined toward people of the same gender. There is no great mystery here, though the origins and root of the situation might be less clear. The fact of the matter is, a portion of the population is oriented toward their own sex. It's just the way it is.

Some people, however, have a problem with that. In fact, they have a problem with wrapping their brains about any element of it. We can argue about the whys and the wherefores, but what we can't argue about is the reality of it.

Unless you wrap religion up in the whole equation. That mucks it all up. Animals don't have this problem. Whether it's seagulls, penguins or monkeys, the gay ones just do what comes naturally. But humans throw religion into the mix. Superstition and tradition wrapped up with holy hellfire confuses everything.

For agnostic gay people like me, there is no problem. I realized at about 14 years old that I was agnostic (with atheistic leanings), and that I was gay. No confusion, no inner struggle. My only conflict was in how others would respond. Fortunately for me, most of my family and friends took it pretty well.

So let me spell it out for you, just in case you don't "get it." A gay person is inclined to form sexual and emotional bonds with others of their own sex. That's it. It isn't about body parts or sexual positions. . .it's just what we are. It isn't about behavior. A gay person is gay whether or not they ever have sex. Opponents of homosexuality (a strange bunch--I mean, what's their interest in this matter?) will try to claim we made a choice, that we're stunted, confused, or just perverted. Um, no. We is just what we is. Not hurting anybody, not trying to convert anybody (honestly, there are plenty of us out there, no need to convert). I didn't wake up one day with the notion of "changing." I woke up one day with the realization of who I am.

Most anti-gay individuals tend to focus on the particulars of gay sex. Which ought to be telling. And the image they lock onto is the one regarding posteriors and the activities performed thereupon. What these folks fail to realize, is that many gay people don't participate in that particular activity. Some do, of course--and there's nothing wrong with that. Ask Dr. Ruth. But surely there are more (by numbers) heterosexuals inclined to the same activity. I personally know gay couples who have been together over 30 years who have never participated in said activity.

But that is what it boils down to. All anti-gay antipathy can pretty much be boiled down to "butt sex." Sorry, but that's the truth. It isn't religion. It isn't tradition. It isn't morality. It's the ick factor. Grow up, people!

It's pretty ridicuous, really. Except for the Rob Lowes and Jessica Albas, most of us look pretty silly no matter what sex we prefer. Probably 90% of us wouldn't pass muster in a skin flick. Whatever you might find "icky" would probably look as much or more so for the rest of us. Am I right? Put a mirror up to your own sex life, and realize that those you find "icky" probably find you equally so.

Now, for another perspective--one that I wholly disagree with--check this out. See who you agree with.

[Excerpt]

Am I Homo Phobic?

The dictionary defines homosexuality as: “Having a desire for someone of the same sex [gender] or the act of having sex with someone of the same sex [gender]. In other words it is a sexual behavior carried out with someone of the same gender. It did not define it as two people of the same gender who happens to love one another. Simply put, both homosexuality and heterosexuality are about sex. One sexual expression is perfectly in line with how nature has designed our bodies for reproductive purposes (it called heterosexuality) and the other is not (this one is called homosexuality). Neither sexual expression has anything to do with love. Both are sexual behaviors expressed through physical contact between two or more people. . .

Read more at (the amusingly titled) Americans for Truth About Homosexuality:

http://americansfortruth.com/news/rev-wayne-perryman-is-homo-phobic.htmlemail/

Homophobia Humor: Track Star Tyson Gay?

Image from source, Joe. My. God.

Homophobia can be hilarious. Don't believe me? Well this story has to do with a "news" organization that has banned the word "gay." You see, they think that gay people are sad, pathetic individuals, and that the word "gay" is a misnomer. So, they substitute the clinical word "homosexual" every time the word appears.

That is silly, but whatever, right? The humor comes in when you have a story featuring an Olympic track star named. . .get ready for it. . .Tyson Gay. Naturally, poor Tyson is now named Tyson Homosexual. Oh, those silly fundies. . .

[Excerpt]

Tyson Homosexual

OneNewsNow, the "Christian news service" covertly owned by the AFA, receives syndicated content from providers like the Associated Press and edits instances of the word "gay" to read "homosexual." Although the site is registered to the conservative, anti-gay organization, the fact is not disclosed anywhere on the site. . .

Read more at: Joe. My. God. Warning: Some images may Not be Safe For Work (NSFW).

Hate Crimes Legislation, My Take

Photo from source, chron.com

There are those who think that hate crime laws are unnecessary, and that if current laws are enforced, then that is enough. They might have a point, if there weren't already hate crime laws on the books. Women, minorities and religions are already protected. No, the issue now is adding sexuality and gender identification to the hate crime statues.

Since there is no good reason to prevent such a thing, the argument is turned around to hate crime laws=thought crime laws. This is nonsense. You cannot be prosecuted for what you think, only what you do. And if it can be proven that you commit a crime for no other reason than your hatred for a class of people, the hate crime statues kick in.

Not allowing sexual orientation or gender identity to be included in these laws amounts to an ironic set of "special rights" for those who are included.

The inspiration for this post is a depressing story in the news that hits close to home. I've never experienced the scenario in the story, but it is very easy to envision, sadly. Please read on.

[Excerpt]

Murder suspect says he was doing God's work
Cypress man is being held in the June death of flight attendant

By PAIGE HEWITT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

A Cypress man charged in the death of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant said Saturday that he was doing God's work when he went to a Montrose-area bar last month, hunting for a gay man to kill.

"I believe I'm Elijah, called by God to be a prophet," said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. " ... I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing."

Interviewed in the Brazoria County Jail Saturday morning, Mangum said he feels no remorse for killing 46-year-old Kenneth Cummings Jr., whom relatives described as a "loving" son who never forgot a holiday and a devoted uncle who had set up college funds for his niece and nephew. He worked at Southwest for 24 years.

Mangum, who described himself as "definitely not a homosexual," said God called on him to "carry out a code of retribution" by killing a gay man because "sexual perversion" is the "worst sin."

Mangum believed Cummings to be gay.

Read more at: chron.com

And for more opinion on this piece, please read: Pay no attention to the hate crime behind the curtain at AmericaBlog.com