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When PR flacks take over moral messaging

Posted: November 06, 2009, WorldNetDaily.com; 1:00 am Eastern

By Linda Harvey
© 2009 

Pro-family forces prevailed on Nov. 3 in the state of Maine to preserve traditional marriage –– for now –– and praise God for that. Yet the Stand for Marriage Maine campaign ceded some precious ground in the process and threw long-time family activists under the bus instead of working with them as they could have.

Christian policy professionals all across the country were aghast after watching the last-minute TV ad by SMM, which said this:

Abandoning traditional marriage entails real consequences, yet we want to be tolerant of gays. Maine’s Domestic Partnership laws provide substantial legal protection for gay couples. Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage. It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional marriage at the same time.

This is a huge concession to the hopes and aspirations of “gay” activists. Are there indeed “rights” that need to be accorded to the behavior of homosexuality? No self-respecting Christian would take this position. This paves the way for the pseudo-marriage of “domestic partnerships.” The big question is: Why did “conservatives” do this?

Pardon my cynicism, but my background includes two decades in the wonderful world of advertising and public relations, where truth is a sometimes-disposable commodity and almost any position or product can be sold if you have enough media and research dollars.

So immediately I am thinking, “OK, what current or future client are the architects of Stand for Marriage Maine making sure they don’t alienate?” Because the compromised last-minute change in message made no sense.

The ads throughout most of the Maine campaign emphasized the effect on what will be taught to schoolchildren if marriage is legalized for homosexuals. This was a smart, winning strategy that also happens to be true, and school incidents in Massachusetts and California validate that claim. The group Mass Resistance in Massachusetts, headed by long-time pro-family activist Brian Camenker, has been invaluable in researching, tracking and revealing exactly how school-based homosexual advocates shove the lifestyle down the throats of families in that state, a tactic that went on steroids following the homosexual marriage court ruling in 2003. The incidents with the Parker and Withlin families were revealed to the nation primarily through the efforts of Mass Resistance.

In California, a lesbian teacher invited her grade-school class to her “wedding,” providing Exhibit A about the poor judgment empowered when same-sex marriage becomes law –– and this incident was featured in the winning Prop 8 campaign.

But the student endangerment message made no sense paired with the last-minute, “We’re really tolerant” positioning of the campaign as cited above. Opponents would easily be able to see through the apparent hypocrisy: Why should parents worry about their children being indoctrinated into homosexual acceptance, if “gays” ought to be tolerated? If we ought to respect their “rights”? This sudden shift had a desperation tinge to it and leaves pro-family forces vulnerable in the future to accusations of lying through our teeth. Christians do not do well with hypocrisy. We need to tell the truth.

The Catholic Church in Maine made similar foolish accommodations. In reacting to the victory, Bishop Richard Malone said that the church upholds marriage yet “respects and accepts gays.” Really? The Catholic Church accepts homosexual behavior? Two men having sex with one another? Women excluding men from their lives and shacking up as lesbians? This is respectable and acceptable in Catholic teachings? This seems to say there might be truth to the claim of “gay” identity, something homosexualists would love for Christians to embrace.

When that happens, they have won the war.

Wait until the next marriage campaign in Maine and the left pulls that quote out of the historical record. Poor judgment –– and false Christian doctrine, by the way.

Two weeks ago, Brian Camenker joined long-time pro-family warrior Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth and Maine’s Paul Madore at a press conference in Maine. These veteran pro-family professionals revealed what no one had yet talked about: the rotten core of homosexual activism behind the No on 1 effort. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, for example, has a not-so-long-term strategy to legalize every sexual behavior imaginable.

Sexual freedom –– some would say anarchy –– is where this is all headed. Marriage is not the issue: Gaining official permission for “sexual minority” lifestyles is, along with getting the muscle needed to silence the opponents. Marriage law is that muscle.

This information about the real objective needs to be taught to most of the public. After years of silence from the mainstream media about the realities of “gay” life and the true agenda, Americans need to be re-educated on this issue. Despite being flaunted as “pride” in annual homosexual parades all over this country and in Maine as well, most citizens don’t attend those, don’t frequent “gay” bathhouses or porn sites and remain unenlightened about how bold and extreme this movement has become.

But despite the teaching moment that LaBarbera, Madore and Camenker took advantage of, and despite the excellent media coverage their statements received, the Stand for Marriage campaign did not embrace them. In fact, they did everything possible to discourage their efforts, both in public and behind the scenes. Scott Fish of Stand for Marriage told the Maine media he “disavowed” any association with these brave pro-family warriors.

This happened despite the fact that, in its campaign, Stand for Marriage Maine utilized research on school impact provided by some of these very people. No good deed goes unpunished, apparently.

If one looks at the website for Frank Schubert, head public affairs consultant behind the Maine pro-marriage campaign, we read, “One of Mr. Schubert’s strengths is the ability to synthesize complicated public policy issues into understandable messages, helping his clients define the debate on their terms.”

Well, those “terms” ended up as compromised and confused, which doesn’t bode well for the future. Nor, by the way, is the message in line with Scripture. God has no tolerance for damaging, destructive homosexual behavior. This kind of short-term thinking may win a few battles, but will guarantee we lose the war.

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Linda Harvey is a radio talk-show host and president of Mission America, a Christian pro-family organization.

Posted by MassResistance October 30, 2009:

MassResistance reports: A Massachusetts man was fired from a national retail corporation because of his traditional beliefs on same-sex marriage.  Peter Vadala was formally dismissed from his job as second deputy manager of the Brookstone store at Boston’s Logan Airport on August 12, 2009, after a supervisor reported him to Human Resources regarding an incident two days earlier. Story continues under video, which was shot by our friends at MassResistance:

As Peter described the incident (see video above), he came to work on August 10 and began his day normally. A female manager from another store was in the store and began talking to Peter about her upcoming marriage.  When Peter asked “where is he taking you for the honeymoon,” she corrected him and said she was not getting married to “he” but to another woman.

Peter did not immediately react, but when the manager sensed Peter’s discomfort with the subject of same-sex “marriage”, the woman apparently continued bringing it up to Peter throughout the day, reiterating that she was getting married to another woman. Finally, after the fourth or fifth time she brought it up, Peter remarked that his Christian beliefs did not accept same-sex “marriage.” At that point the woman became very angry and bluntly told Peter that he needed to “get over it” and said that she would be immediately contacting the Human Resources department.

A few hours later Peter was notified by a Human Resources representative that he was suspended from work without pay, effective immediately. Two days later, on August 12, after some further interaction with the Human Resources department, he was formally notified that he was terminated from the company.

Brookstone’s termination letter to Peter states that “in the State of Massachusetts, same-sex marriage is legal.” It goes on to describe Peter’s actions as constituting “harassment” and that his comments were “inappropriate and unprofessional.” It further accuses him of “imposing” his beliefs upon others. … [continue at MassResistance site]

READ THE REST OF THE STORY on MassResistance’s website

New Jersey's new governor-elect Chris Christie, a Republican, campaigned against homosexual "marriage" -- and beat two pro-"gay marriage" opponents in a deep blue state.

By Peter LaBarbera

Social conservatives did quite well on Tuesday. Not only did traditional marriage win in Maine, but in several high-profile races, such as New Jersey’s governor’s race, the pro-traditional-marriage candidate won. In Virginia, Republican Ken Cuccinelli won the race for attorney general handily despite being smeared as a “bigot” by the powerful Washington Post for his principled opposition to granting “rights” based on unnatural behavior.

The victorious candidate for governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, is a strong pro-family, pro-life conservative who helped enact legal protections for the definition of marriage in the state. The following is from his website:

Bob McDonnell believes marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, Bob McDonnell was chief sponsor and author of a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage (Chief Patron, HJ 187, 2004). As Attorney General, Bob supported Virginia’s marriage amendment and wrote an official opinion explaining that it would not affect the current legal rights of unmarried persons.

In the House of Delegates, Bob McDonnell was twice named “Legislator of the Year” by the Virginia Family Foundation. In his 2005 race for Attorney General, Bob was honored to receive the endorsement of the Virginia Society for Human Life.

Christie ran on traditional marriage

In New Jersey, GOP victor Chris Christie was the only one of three candidates to oppose homosexual “marriage,” and sent out a mailer on that issue (this “gay” Advocate account sums it up). The Advocate reported Nov. 2:

The New Jersey legislature is widely expected to vote on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the lame-duck session following the election. Governor Corzine has pledged to sign the bill. Christie opposes marriage equality.

Even in the only race that the White House likes to talk about — Democrat Bill Owens’ victory in the heated NY-23 Congressional race (he was endorsed by the GOP’s exiting moderate liberal candidate, Dede Scozzafava) — the news is not good for “same-sex-”marriage” advocates. Turns out that Owens, running in upstate New York, opposed allowing homosexuals to “marry.” However, he appears to support “civil unions.” See HERE and HERE.

The New York Observer reports:

On the wedge issue of same-sex marriage, Owens is to the right of his Republican opponent Scozzafava. He does not support full marriage–he opposes any federal action on the “states rights issue”–telling me, “I fully support equal rights for everybody, and certainly civil unions are in that mix. For religious reasons, I have difficulty with the use of the word marriage in that process.”

______________________

Heath, who is also Board Chairman of AFTAH, writes on his blog:

Righteousness prevails

There’s lots of disappointed people today.  Not just in Maine, but all across America.  Maine was supposed to become the first state to endorse homosexual marriage on a statewide ballot.  It didn’t happen, thank God.

It was close, but they’ve always been close.  Ever since I helped start the debate about using referendums to stop the queer political movement in 1991 its been close.  We realized then that the politicians would be incapable of halting the slide toward the full legal endorsement of sex outside of marriage.  We believed that the people would do the right thing.

In referendum after referendum over nearly twenty years I fought side-by-side with thousands of fellow Mainers and slowed the propagandists and politicians.  Working behind the scenes gay activists still managed to enact all of their agenda except for marriage.  It was gratifying this year to finally see substantial statewide and national groups step up to face this goliath.  I was, however, horrified by the concession proclaimed by Stand for Marriage this past weekend.  They repeated their endorsement of domestic partnerships and gay rights, going so far as to suggest that more rights to protect homosexuality may be in order.

I pray this election result signals that we have turned the corner, and that we are going to listen to our hearts.  Sexual love is made for a man and a woman to enjoy in the context of a life long commitment.  Surely we don’t want to build a society where our children and grandchildren are encouraged to invent new perversions to avoid boredom?

The path to sanity is well defined.  We don’t need experts to help us define marriage.  We already know it when we see it.  We simply need to see more of a commitment to it in ourselves, and those we love.

Homosexuality has absolutely nothing to do with marriage.  Homosexuality is a sickness.  It’s a sin.

We need to stop putting up with it.  There is nothing civil about hiding the truth from those we love.  And the truth about sex outside of marriage is that it hurts, it’s bad for us.  We need to avoid it.

We need to choose life over sex.  Sex is for life … it creates life.  Sex and life must be connected in our thinking.  We come together sexually in the context of marriage to celebrate creation, the creation of a unique individual human life.  It is perilous to disconnect sex from creation.  It is even more perilous to pretend that pleasurable sex should be associated with acts unspeakable.

In the interest of protecting and affirming all of Maine’s people, especially our children and grandchildren, we must repeal domestic partnership laws that provide benefits on the basis of homosexuality, we must de-fund the so-called “civil rights teams” [pro-homosexual student groups] and remove “sexual orientation and gender identity” from the Maine Human Rights Act and the Maine Civil Rights Act.  It would also be prudent to reinstate Maine’s anti-sodomy law that was quietly removed from our criminal code in the late 1970s.

We must not stop fighting until Maine’s laws are once again just, and equal rights are guaranteed to all Maine citizens on the basis of good conduct, not sinful behavior.  For the sake of our children and grandchildren we must fight this evil.  And we will fight.

We will never surrender.  There is too much at stake.

Enough trembling before the online “queer” thugs who want to punish people or frighten them for doing what’s right! I say: shame on the Homosexual Lobby — which has a knack for doing the most outrageous things to promote and defend its pet sin of homosexuality.

Nobody should be ashamed of being identified with the Truth on this issue or any social position that aligns with their faith. Life teaches us that you never reward a bully; you stand up to him. If that means that some creep might ring you up at midnight or call you a name or list your address on some twisted website, so be it. Christians in some parts of the world are maimed, tortured or even murdered for believing in Jesus Christ; their churches are burned down. Shame on us if we’re unwilling to be called a name for defending God’s wonderful created order of sex in marriage. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

P.S. In saner times, sinners were ashamed of their sin or at least knew deep down they were wrong. Some responded to Gospel preaching, were forgiven and became part of the body of Christ. Now sinners “preach” at us, coax us to approve of their errant lifestyles –  and even demand that Christians surrender truth on this issue by bowing to their immoral vision. Isaiah 5:20 applies.

Statement regarding threat to Yes on One TV ad spokesman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2009     Contact: Scott K Fish
Communications Director
207-458-7185

STATEMENT FROM STAND FOR MARRIAGE MAINE
REGARDING THREAT TO YES ON 1 TV AD SPOKESMAN DON MENDELL

The following statement can be attributed to Marc Mutty, chairman, Stand for Marriage Maine:

“I want to alert you to a disturbing development that confirms what we have been saying about the larger threat that redefining marriage poses to every Mainer.

“Don Mendell, one of our spokesmen who appeared in a television ad for Stand for Marriage Maine, has come under attack by our opponents.

“Don is a high school guidance counselor and licensed social worker. His appearance in the television ad prompted a complaint to the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation – requesting that his license to practice social work in the state of Maine be stripped away – simply because of his personal opinion on marriage.

“It is ironic that those who claim tolerance as their highest value prove themselves to be so intolerant that they would go so far as to threaten a father’s career and put his family’s future at risk. This latest attack highlights the true agenda of those who demand that marriage be redefined.

“No one who opposes Question 1 is in similar danger from those who support marriage between one man and one woman.

“Our opponents want to shut us down. We have no interest in limiting free speech and threatening the right of conscience for those who disagree. So who’s really intolerant?

“This attack proves that a “YES” vote next Tuesday is about much more than protecting marriage. It is also about preserving free speech, religious liberty and right of conscience and about what is taught to children.

“This threat to Don and his family’s livelihood is proof that those who demand marriage be redefined seek to punish and silence those who disagree.

“It is our hope that the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation dismisses this complaint for what it is – nonsense. The Alliance Defense Fund – a legal alliance of attorneys committed to defending the right of people to freely live out their faith – is considering potential action on behalf of Don’s fundamental liberties.

“If the people of Maine vote Yes on Question 1 to protect marriage, we have hope that free speech and religious liberty will be respected. If marriage is not protected, Don will only be the first victim.

I agree with my good friend Matt Barber, who is also a Board Member of Americans For Truth in addition to his important work at Liberty Counsel. It is not ethical nor good strategy for the “pro-family” movement to promote one evil and public-policy disaster (changeable and sinful behavior as a government-backed “civil right”) to fight another (homosexual “marriage”). Yet that is precisely what the Yes on 1 campaign’s pro-domestic partnership ad called “It’s Possible” did. [Click HERE for AFTAH's election story.] Here again is the text of that misguided Yes on 1 ad used in Maine:

‘Abandoning traditional marriage entails real consequences, yet we want to be tolerant of gays. Maine’s Domestic Partnership laws provide substantial legal protection for gay couples. Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage. It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional marriage at the same time.’

We who claim to follow God are lacking in integrity if we promote the normalization of homosexuality as part of some (perhaps well-intentioned) utilitarian plan to ostensibly “save” traditional marriage. Indeed, the irony of the ad text above is that progressive concessions on “domestic partnership” and “civil unions” legislation will, in fact, dismantle traditional marriage. Yes on 1 PR consultant Frank Schubert’s compromising spin will pave the way for disaster in the pro-family movement, as it undermines our greatest strength: our commitment to the truth. It’s time to reject Political Correctness and get back to basics in the pro-family movement. — Peter LaBarbera, www.americansfortruth.org

P.S. Young people won’t buy this political spin anyway: looking for hypocrisy, they will merely say that if “gay domestic partners” truly are worthy of state recognition in the name of civil rights, then why NOT allow them to marry (and why NOT teach children “gay”-affirming lessons in school)?  The debate will only turn around when we succeed in re-explaining to Americans — both young and old — why homosexual behavior is wrong and is NOT anything like a “civil right,” and about how newfangled homosexual “rights” negate our precious First Amendment freedoms.

Read Matt’s statement below and then his additional remarks that follow it:

____________________________________

STATEMENT BY MATT BARBER
Contact:  jmattbarber@comcast.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Nov. 4, 2009

Counterfeit Marriage Rejected in Maine

Lynchburg, VA – Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action, issued the following statement on news that the voters of Maine have rejected counterfeit “same-sex marriage” by 53% – 47%:

“There’s good news and bad news here,” said Barber. “The good news is that even in one of the most liberal States in the Union, Maine, the people have once again rejected the ridiculous and oxymoronic notion of ‘same sex marriage.’ The momentum has again shifted –– hopefully for good this time –– in favor of protecting legitimate marriage. A counterfeit is a counterfeit. An orange is an orange no matter how much you want it to be a turnip. This isn’t about ‘marriage.’ It’s about hurting and broken people desperately seeking affirmation of an objectively deviant lifestyle. One that, even in their heart of hearts, they know to be a dead end. As for the militant ‘No on 1’ homosexual activists?  I’m reminded of spoiled children dressing up and playing house, refusing to come in when mom calls for dinner.

“Here’s the bad news. The margin of victory could have been greater. Many behind the ‘Yes on 1’ campaign, rather than simply telling the truth, chose the Neville Chamberlain approach. They merely circled the wagons around the word ‘marriage,’ even suggesting that ‘domestic partnerships’ (‘gay marriages’ by another name) are acceptable. This makes no sense. If that’s a viable compromise, then why not simply allow ‘gay’ duos the word ‘marriage’? It’s an incongruity that demands an explanation. This is an historic battle for the minds and souls of our children –– for our very culture. The mealy-mouthed approach must end. This  is not just about ‘marriage.’  It has everything to do with forced affirmation of homosexuality – under penalty of law. Indeed everyone who fought hard to defend marriage in Maine is to be congratulated, but if it weren’t for a brave group of truth tellers – Paul Madore, Peter LaBarbera  and Brian Camenker ––  who came to Maine in the final hour to hold a press conference and address the pink elephant in the room –– homosexual deviancy and the radical ‘gay’ agenda –– counterfeit marriage might have prevailed.”

###

Added comments by Barber for Americans For Truth:

“Here’s is a mere sampling of what God – the sovereign creator of the universe – has to say about deviant homosexual conduct which He calls ‘abominable’:

‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.’ Leviticus 18:22

‘Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.’ - Romans 1:26-27

“By contrast, here’s what the organized “Yes on 1” campaign had to say about the same topic in an ad [view the ad HERE] they ran up to yesterdays vote:

‘Abandoning traditional marriage entails real consequences, yet we want to be tolerant of gays. Maine’s Domestic Partnership laws provide substantial legal protection for gay couples. Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage. It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional marriage at the same time.’‘

“It’s simply impossible to reconcile the two. If the Pro-Family movement wishes to survive, we must stop listening to political focus groups and PR , and start listening to the inerrant word of God.”

Add Maine to the List: Homosexual "marriage" activists lost in Maine, while pro-family advocates debate the best tactics to oppose counterfeit "marriage" and all aspects of the homosexual agenda.

By Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

Tuesday was a mixed bag for pro-family citizens concerned about the homosexual agenda. Here are the main election stories surrounding homosexuality that we are following:

• “Gay marriage” goes down to defeat in Maine — Congratulations to all who supported the effort to preserve traditional marriage in Maine! Despite a massive effort by outside homosexual activist groups to influence the vote, a homosexual “marriage” bill went down to defeat in Maine through a “People’s Veto” — whereby voters can reject a law by plebiscite. The YES on 1 lead was inching up in the late hours Tuesday and early morning. At 2:00 AM EST, with 87% of the precincts tallied, the Bangor Daily News reported that the “YES” vote to repeal Maine’s new “gay marriage” law was ahead by about 52.75 to 47.25%. In the final days of the campaign, Americans For Truth and MassResistance worked with Maine pro-family stalwart Paul Madore of the Maine Grassroots Coalition to educate citizens on the role of outside radical homosexual groups in the “NO” campaign. Madore ran a print ad featuring Brian Camenker’s popular article, “What Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ has Done to Massachusetts”; it reached 500,000 Mainers. And Madore’s press conference last Wednesday — though curiously disavowed by the pro-traditional-marriage “Yes on 1″ group, Stand For Marriage Maine (SFFM) — received wide media coverage. That, combined with some hard-hitting ads by SFMM targeting the promotion of “homosexual marriage” in Maine schools, may have tipped the balance against the “gay marriage” law.
• “Gay” lobby wins in liberal Kalamazoo, Mich. — A pro-homosexual, pro-”transgender” non-discrimination ballot measure in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has prevailed easily by a 62-38 margin, according to the Kalamazoo News. Homosexual activists celebrated the vote, which was a defeat for a multi-racial, multi-religious coalition opposed to the “special rights” initiative. See this OneNewsNow story featuring American Family Association of Michigan’s Gary Glenn. Kalamazoo is a liberal college town and Glenn tells AFTAH that he estimates that the pro-family forces were outspent by the homosexual side by 10-1.
• GOP sweep in VA; last-minute liberal “bigotry” smear against Ken Cuccinelli for opposing homosexual behavior flops. — Virginia returned to its Republican-dominant ways on Election Day with a GOP sweep of statewide races,

  Ken Cuccinelli, slammed by the Washington Post for speaking truth.

  led by the state’s new Governor-elect, Bob McDonnell. That included a landslide victory for Republican  Ken Cuccinelli for attorney general. Just days before the vote, the Washington Post ran an editorial against the GOP conservative titled “Mr. Cuccinelli’s Bigotry.” The Post and fellow pro-”gay” liberals were astounded at Cuccinelli’s forthright stance against granting “rights” based on homosexuality, as the Post indignantly reported:   “Homosexual acts, said Mr. Cuccinelli, currently a state senator, are ‘intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law-based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. . . . They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents … behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society.” The Post stated that “as attorney general, [Cuccinelli] would be an embarrassment to Virginia.” But the state’s voters paid little heed to the newspaper’s pro-”gay” political correctness, and elected Cuccinelli in a landslide.

• Homosexual activists squeak by with win in Washington State: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports regarding Referendum 71, which grants marriage-like benefits to the state’s homosexual couples: “Voters Tuesday were approving Washington’s new ‘everything but marriage’ law that greatly expands the rights of gay couples. In early election returns Referendum 71 was passing 51 percent to 49 percent.”

Debate over tactics

In post-election analysis, we will be contrasting and analyzing the messaging strategies of the NO campaign in Washington State versus the YES campaign in Maine — since both were fought in liberal states. The Washington State campaign focused on educating voters about disordered homosexual relationships, while the Maine effort — led by California Prop 8 strategist Frank Schubert — eschewed talking about homosexuality (except regarding the forced teaching of pro-”gay” lessons in schools) out of fear that such discussions would potentially alienate moderate voters. The Schubert tactic of decoupling homosexual behavior from anti-gay-”marriage” campaigns is also championed by Maggie Gallagher, the country’s most prominent traditional-marriage defender.

To the consternation of conservative pro-family observers who fought against legislation granting rights based on aberrant sexual behavior, Schubert’s Maine PR strategy actually affirmed the  “rights” of the state’s homosexual couples — with a TV ad entitled “It’s Possible” that approvingly cited the “legal protection” that homosexuals couples possess under Maine’s “Domestic Partners” law. Here is the controversial portion of the “It’s Possible” SFFM ad:

“Abandoning traditional marriage entails real consequences, yet we want to be tolerant of gays. Maine’s Domestic Partnership laws provide substantial legal protection for gay couples. Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage. It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional marriage at the same time.”

This ad and Stand For Marriage Maine’s “marriage-only” strategy touched off criticism among pro-family advocates who adhere to a principled approach of opposing any endorsement of homosexual behavior/relationships — tacit or otherwise — and who take care not to condone (proud) “gay” identity.

Despite the pro-family victory in Maine, electoral and cultural momentum remains with the homosexual activists.  Yesterday’s election results on homosexual ballot measures from Washington to Maine evince a continuation deterioration in support for the pro-family position AGAINST homosexual activist goals, including “same-sex marriage.” Maine is an instructive example of the downward trajectory of the pro-family position (a trend that compels Schubert’s “moderate” strategy, although his critics say his methods exacerbate the downward spiral): the northeastern state went from twice rejecting pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” laws in similar “People’s Veto” elections — in 1998 and 2001 — to passing both “gay rights” and “domestic partners” laws in the last few years, to finally rejecting homosexual “marriage” by a relatively narrow margin yesterday. Surely Maine’s homosexual activists will be returning with another attempt to enact homosexual “marriage” in the not-too-distant future.

Highlighting Outside ‘Gay’ Extremism in Maine:

The NGLTF boasts HERE how they helped mobilize grassroots activists to pass homosexual “marriage” in the Maine legislature, and then how they stepped up their grassroots and monetary assistance in an attempt to defeat Question 1, a ballot measure to be decided today. If Question 1 passes — i.e., a YES vote — it would repudiate the “gay marriage” legislation signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci (D).

Here’s the link for the audio on lesbian activist Pam Spaulding’s AFTAH-bashing website. (There are audio files and video links.) If you are a glutton for punishment, you can read the hateful ad hominem attacks and irrational putdowns by “Louise” (from Maine) and others on Pam’s left-wing-nut blog. (Looking for a straw man to knock down, Louise calls our event a “rally” though it was an informational press conference.)

You want to see some more raw homosexual hatred? Go to this snippet from the press conference posted on YouTube, and read the comments under the video. Nobody — and I mean nobody — hates like the nasties on homosexual side. [Clarification: by this I mean not all homosexuals, of course, but the activists among them who traffic in vilification and mean-spirited verbal assaults against their opponents, and even blatantly anti-religious attacks.] This movement more than any other hates people of faith, or I should say those who act on their heartfelt belief that homosexuality is wrong. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

AUDIO LINKS to Maine press conference found on this page: http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/13803/peter-labarberas-antigay-rally-at-maine-statehouse-draws-feeble-numbers

By Bay Buchanan, Townhall.com, 11/2/09

According to a recent Gallup study, 40% of Americans view themselves as conservative, 36% call themselves moderate, and only 20% fall into the liberal category. While this may be great news for conservatives, the Grand Old Party did not fare so well.

Last Spring a Pew poll found that only 23% of voters consider themselves Republicans. This month an ABC/Washington Post survey suggests the number has fallen even further—to 20%. Meanwhile the largest block of voters, 36%, classify as Independents, with 35% calling themselves Democrats.

One more number: 72% of Republicans identify themselves as conservative.

Bottom line—the Republican Party is deeply conservative while America is predominantly conservative. It is the party label that has trouble, not the philosophy which was once its driving force.

The key to expansion then is to realign itself with that which is conservative and regain the trust of the 35% of Independents and 21% of Democrat swho also call themselves conservative. You do this with candidates who appeal to these voters—conservative populists who speak with boldness and clarity about their vision for America. Then you paint democratic candidates with the Obama brush– fiscally irresponsible, socially radical, out of touch liberals fully engaged in bankrupting the nation.

So what are Republican Party leaders doing? With 20% of the electorate in their pocket they’re running to the middle, adding even more credibility to Sam Francis’ description of them as the “Stupid Party.”

According to story in Politico this past week, “many top Republicans are growing worried that the party’s chances for reversing its electoral routs of 2006 and 2008 are being wounded by the flamboyant rhetoric and angry tone of conservative activists and media personalities.” But it was on their “big tent, big spending, big amnesty” watch that the referenced defeats took place!

This same article reports that John McCain and his little side-kick Lindsey Graham are working to move the party in a “more centrist direction”. But a year ago McCain, as the party’s nominee, couldn’t energize a Republican convention without first inviting the fire-breathing right-wing Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, to join him on stage. ….

Go here to read the rest of Buchanan’s column on Townhall:  “Is the Republican Label Irrelevant?”

WARNING: Offensive Images

Malice Targets Maggie: A photo of pro-traditional-marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher’s face is attached to a nude mannequin with “LIAR” written on the stomach — the rooftop creation of West Hollywood homosexual couple ChadMichael Morrisette and Mito Aviles. The deviant duo say the theme for their bigoted rooftop display is the “forces of evil 2009″ — seemingly oblivious to the nastiness of their crude attacks on religious and conservative leaders.

By Peter LaBarbera

Well, it’s Halloween again, so that means more über-tacky rooftop hate-displays by West Hollywood homosexual duo ChadMichael Morrisette and Mito Aviles. Delighted by their 15 minutes of fame last Halloween for infamously hanging a mannequin dressed up as Sarah Palin with a noose around her neck, the homosexual couple this year has broadened its hate campaign by loading their house’s rooftop with several new images attacking social conservatives.

Morrisette and Aviles painted “LIAR” on the stomach of a nude mannequin and attached as its head the face of Maggie Gallagher, the leader pro-family activist fighting “gay marriage.” Gallagher runs the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and founded the National Organization for Marriage.

(Memo to liberal bloggers and media: please take care to spell Morrisette’s and Aviles’ names correctly when you write your nonjudgmental pieces about their “decorations” — and try not to think about how differently you would craft your piece were the story about “gay” leaders being cruelly depicted on a conservative couple’s rooftop.)

“The reason that ["Gallagher"] is naked is that we are exposing her lies,” Morrissette told Curbed LA.

In addition to the pitiably childish slam against Gallagher, the homosexual couple anti-religious creation features a chopped-in-half and bloodied, upside-down torso of a blond woman hanging from the roof — intended to be Carrie Prejean, the runner-up to Miss California 2009 who was infamously maligned by homosexual gossip columnist and pageant judge Perez Hilton because he didn’t like her sincere answer to a question about “same-sex marriage.”

ChadMichael Morrisette (left) and Mito Aviles stand proudly outside their home with its grotesque, anti-religious displays. Arrow from this "Curbed LA" article points to chopped and bloodied mock torso of "Carrie Prejean" hanging from their rooftop. Click on photo to enlarge.

Mormon missionaries also targeted in hate display.

Curbed LA reports: “Prejean is a ‘victim of Gallagher’s,’ according to Morrissette, because he says her image has been used by the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.”

The West Hollywood attack-display also features a mock Mormon missionary (below) stuck and burning in a chimney flew — reflective of the larger “queer” activist movement’s disdain for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS)’ central role in passing Prop 8, a ballot amendment that reinstated traditional marriage in California.

Morrisette's and Aviles' handiwork from last Halloween: hanging of GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in effigy. Some media reported on the incident but the "gay" angle went largely unreported. The anti-Paln stunt was not popular with the homosexual activist couple's neighbors.

Pro-homosexual activist Jesse Connolly (right) — campaign manager for the Maine pro-”same-sex-’marriage’” effort “No on 1″– issued two complete fabrications about me, after I represented AFTAH at a pro-traditional-marriage press conference held Wednesday at the Maine capitol in Augusta:

These malicious comments by Connolly were reported on the homosexual blog “Pam’s House Blend”:

“And they [referring to leaders of the pro-traditional-marriage group  'Stand For Marriage'] can’t stand behind Peter LaBarbera, who has attacked Ben & Jerry’s, supported rescinding women’s right to vote and believes we should return to the Old Testament where gay people were stoned…..”

Connolly’s assertions are false and absurd. As to the “stoning” accusation, AFTAH embraces orthodox Christian teachings on this matter: we have always condemned violence and true hatred against homosexuals. For example, in this 2006 AFTAH article, “Stoning homosexuals: which is the real voice of hatred?, I noted the stark contrast between Christians — who hope for practicing homosexuals to repent of their sin, accept Christ’s forgiveness, and leave the lifestyle — and radical Muslims, who favor draconian, violent punishments against homosexuals (yes, even including stoning, which would commence only after the violator is pushed off a “high building”).

As to wanting to deny women the vote, I don’t know where Connolly got that one. Again, it is completely false. As a legislative aide and prominent Maine political operative, Connolly — who is reportedly on leave from his job as chief of staff to Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree (D) — should exercise greater care before leveling serious accusations.

However, I will say this: I hope as many Maine women as possible vote “Yes” on Ballot Initiative 1 this Tuesday — to reject counterfeit “same-sex marriage” in the Pine Tree State.

Because of our principled position against homosexual behavior, Americans For Truth is a frequent target of the Left’s smears, lies and plain old mean-spiritedness. But pro-homosexual activists might consider that much of the misinformation and attack pieces posted against conservative groups like AFTAH does not qualify as authoritative source material.

Jesse Connolly’s reckless and baseless accusations against me — which reinforce the crudest and most uninformed secular biases against Bible-believing Christians — definitely qualify as an act of hate.

We call on Connolly to publicly retract and apologize for this malicious smear.

P.S.  Why would parents entrust their children to adults who proudly call themselves and their sexual agenda “queer”?  And are we surprised that such a movement actually has spawned groups built around such vile perversions as “fisting”?

[WARNING: Very Graphic Sexual Language; sex acts and perversions described just as they were in group conversations between adults and underage youth at the GLSEN-sponsored conference in Boston in 2000]

“What’s Fisting?”: That’s the question that a teenager asked an adult at a Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN)-sponsored conference at Tufts University in Boston in 2000. (GLSEN was founded by Kevin Jennings, President Obama’s pick to head up the “Safe Schools” wing at the Department of Education.) What followed from this perverse question was a detailed explanation of this disgusting perversion, including “how-to” advise on how to “fist” (hand/arm-anal and -vaginal penetration) “correctly.” At left is the logo of the Chicago group MAFIA, Mid-America Fists in Action, Inc., a homosexual club that holds “fisting parties” for men into this vile and dangerous perversion. (MAFIA holds “fisting” parties every year at Chicago’s International Mr. Leather.)

TAKE ACTION: Kevin Jennings wants to use schools to “promote homosexuality.” His group has repeatedly exposed children to harmful and promiscuous “gay” sexual behaviors and exhibited a recklessness toward youth that should disqualify him and GLSEN from working in any school anywhere. Call your Congressman and Senators (202-224-3121) and urge them to call for the withdrawal of Jennings as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education for Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Also call or write President Obama (202-456-1414) and Education Secretary Arne Duncan (arne.duncan@ed.gov; 202-401-3000) and urge them not to reward Jennings and GLSEN with this influential appointment.

_________________________________

The following affidavit is reprinted from the Lambda Report newsletter (April 2000), published by Peter LaBarbera, which preceded Americans For Truth About Homosexuality. On April 18, 2000, Scott Whiteman submitted an affidavit, excerpted below, describing the March 25 conference of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in Boston to the Hon. Martha Coakley, District Attorney for Middlesex County, Mass.

LaBarbera and Massachusetts pro-family advocate Brian Camenker had advised Whiteman to secretly tape the “What They Didn’t Tell You About Queer Sex & Sexuality In Health Class” youth panel – presuming that: 1) highly inappropriate discussions would occur; 2) homosexuality advocates likely would deny that the controversial talks actually took place; and 3) the subject matter would be so shocking and outrageous that nobody would believe Whiteman unless he provided proof of the actual GLSEN workshop. Those predictions proved to be right on the money as Whiteman’s “undercover” audiotape –– the basis of what came to be known in conservative circles as “Fistgate” –– provided the most damning evidence to date of homosexual activists’ breathtaking irresponsibility toward children in their care.

Homosexual activists ended up suing Whiteman and Camenker for making the secret recording — incredibly citing the “privacy” rights of the students in the “Queer Sex & Sexuality” workshop. For an even more detailed report on the GLSEN “Fistgate” seminars, see MassResistance’s website.

Following is Whiteman’s affidavit (emphasis added in bold):
_____________________________________

It is my belief that three public servants should be investigated for their involvement in the corruption of minors at a recent student/teacher conference in Medford. Additionally, as the conference was supported by several publicly funded and private groups and the Department of Education, I believe that they may have some liability for the corruption of children.

On the weekend of March 25, 2000, I attended the tenth annual “GLSEN/BOSTON & Project 10 East Teach Out!” conference at Tufts University. GLSEN is a national Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, led by Kevin Jennings a former Massachusetts teacher. GLSEN works with teachers and students throughout the nation and claims to fight what they deem “homophobia.” GLSEN/BOSTON is headed by Wallace Bachman and receives some funding from the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and the Massachusetts Department of Education through the Safe Schools Program.

I attended two workshops while at the conference that should be brought to your attention. In the first workshop, entitled “What They Didn’t Tell You About Queer Sex & Sexuality In Health Class: A Workshop For Youth Only ages 14-21,” the three homosexual presenters acting in their professional capacities coaxed about 20 children into talking openly and graphically about homosexual sex. The three presenters were:

• Margot E. Abels, Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Program, Massachusetts Department of Education, self-proclaimed lesbian
• Julie Netherland, Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Program, Massachusetts Department of Education, self-proclaimed lesbian
• Michael Gaucher, Consultant, HIV/AIDS Program, Massachusetts Department of Education, self-proclaimed “gay” man

The workshop syllabus was a follows:

This workshop for youth addresses what is different for glbt (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual) youth when it comes to sex, dating, relationships, HIV etc. Come and discuss the questions you couldn’t or didn’t ask in health class. What’s it like to be young, queer and beginning to date? Are lesbians at rick for HIV? What does it to identify as queer and still be sexually active with the opposite sex? Who can you talk to about these things? And, why aren’t queer issues addressed in Sex Ed classes? We will address the information you want about queer sexuality and some of the politics that prevent us from getting our needs met.

The workshop opened by the three public employees asking the children how they know, as gay people, whether or not they’ve had sex. Questions were thrown around the room about whether oral sex was “sex,” to which the Department of Public Health employee stated, “If that’s not sex, then the number of times I’ve had sex has dramatically decreased; from a mountain to a valley, baby.” Eventually the answer presented itself, and it was determined that whenever an orifice was filled with genitalia, then sex had occurred. In coming to that conclusion, one student, egged on by the Department of Public Health employee, said in response to the question, “What orifices are we talking about?”:

Michael Gaucher: “Don’t be shy, honey; you can do it.”
Student: “Youth mouth.”
Gaucher: “Okay.”
Student: “Your ass.”
Gaucher: “There you go.”
Student: “Your pussy. That kind of place.”

By my estimation, that child was just about 16 years old.

But since sex occurred when an orifice was filled, the next question was obviously whether lesbians could “have sex.” At one point, Margot Abels asked whether a dildo [fake penis] had to be involved; could one be too big or too small; and where would students go to get these questions answered?

The children were asked to role play at this point. The scene was set up like this: One student was a “young lesbian who’s really attracted to another woman, and it’s really coming down to the with and you’re thinking about having sex.” The other student played the “hip GSA (gay, straight alliance) lesbian advisor, who you feel you can talk to.” In effect, Michael Gaucher was telling these high school aged children that they should be talking about lesbian sex, oral-vaginal contact, or “carpet munching,” as one student called it, with a teacher. The student asked whether it would smell like fish.

“What’s Fisting?”
At one point in the session, there was a five-minute break so that all of the teenagers could write down their questions for the homosexual presenters. The first question was read by Julie Netherland: “What’s fisting?”

A student answered this question by informing the class that “fisting” is when you put your “whole hand into the ass or pussy” of another. When a few of the students winced, Gaucher, the Department of Public Health employee, offered, “A little known fact about fisting, you don’t make a fist, like this. It’s like this,” forming his hand into the shape of a tear drop rather than a balled fist. He informed the children that it was much easier [this way].

Margot Abels told the students that “fisting” is not about forcing your have into somebody’s “hole, opening or orifice” if they don’t want it there. She said that “usually” the person was very relaxed, and opened him or herself up to the other. She informed the class that it is a very emotional and intense experience.

At this point, a child of about 16 asked why someone would want to do that. He said that if the hand were pulled out quickly, the whole thing didn’t sound very appealing to him. Abels responded by pointing out that although fisting “often gets a really bad rap,” it usually isn’t about the pain, “not that we’re putting that down.” She informed the student and the class that “fisting” was “an experience of letting somebody into your body that you want to be that close and intimate with.” Thus Gaucher provided the “how-to” of this lascivious act, and Abels the incentive. When a teen asked the question, “why,” Margot Abels provided comfort to the children, to “put them into an exploratory mode.”

Gaucher then read the students’ next question: “Do lesbians rub their clits [clitorises] together?”

Gaucher and Abels asked if it was possible, and whether someone would do a “hand-diagram” for the class. No one volunteered, but a girl who I estimate was 15 or 16 stepped up to the board and draw a three foot high vagina, and labeled each of the labia, the clitoris, and “put up inside the ‘G’-spot.” While drawing, Gaucher told her to use the “pink” chalk, to which Abels responded, “not everyone is pink, honey.” All of the youths laughed.

After the chalk vagina was complete, the children remarked about the size of the “clit,” and the presenters stated that that was a gifted woman. Then, Abels informed all of the young girls that indeed, you can rub your “clitori” together, either with or without your clothes on, and “you can definitely orgasm from it.” Gaucher told the entire class that “these is a name for this: tribadism.” Which he wrote on the board, and told one girl who I estimate was 14 years old to bring that vocabulary word back to Bedford, where she apparently went to school. Julie Netherland, the other Department of Education consultant, informed the children that this lesbian sex act wasn’t too difficult, because “when you are sexually around, your clit gets bigger.”

Gaucher then read the following from a card: “Cum [semen] and calories: Spit versus swallow and the health concerns.” He informed the children that although he didn’t know the caloric count of male ejaculation, he has “heard that it’s sweeter if people eat celery.” The public employee thereafter asked, “Is it rude not to swallow?” Many of the high school boys mumbled, “No,” by one, about the age of 16, said emphatically, “Oh no!” Another student, against about the age of 16, offered his advice on avoiding HIV/AIDS transmission while giving oral sex: do not brush your teeth or eat course food for four hours before you “go down on a guy…because then you probably don’t want to be swallowing cum.”

Another question submitted to the presenters was whether oral sex was a better with tongue rings. A 16-year-old student murmured, “yes,” to which all of the children laughed. Gaucher said, “There you have it,” and said something to the effect that the debate on that issue had ended.

Advising the Teachers
The second session which I attended was far less graphic, but potentially more dangerous. This session was presented by the same three public employees in their professional capacity and was titled, “Putting the ‘Sex’ Back Into Sexual Orientation: Classroom Strategies for Health & Sexuality Educators.”

The workshop syllabus read as follows:

What does it mean to say “being gay, lesbian and bisexual isn’t about sex?” Where do queer youth get their information about sex and sexuality? How can we deny that sexuality is central for all of us? How do we learn to address the unique concerns of queer youth? What about the epidemiology and risk behavior data concerning sexual activity, HIV and pregnancy for queer kids? This workshop is for educators to examine strategies for integrating sexuality education and HIV prevention content specific to gay, lesbian and bisexual students into the classroom and GSA’s. Data will be presented, exercises from the GSA/HIV Prevention Project will be shared and additional strategies will be discussed.

These three presenters who had just instructed a group of 14- to 18-year-olds on how to properly position your hand for “fisting” now assumed the task of teaching teachers how to facilitate discussions about “queer” sex with their students. Several of the attending teachers asked to review the questions which the students had submitted earlier.

Margot Abels opened by telling the room full of teachers (and two high school students), “We always feel like we are fighting against people who say publicly, who say privately, that being queer is not at all about sex…We believe otherwise. We think that sex is central to every single one of us, and particularly queer youth.”

Abels, Julie Netherland and Michael Gaucher reviewed a few “campaigns” that have been used to demonstrate to homosexual youth how to best “be safe.”

The campaign, “Respect yourself, protect yourself,” was praised as effective in getting the message to kids that they should use protection, but since it made children who didn’t protect themselves feel bad, ultimately it was judged a poor message.

Gaucher asked if children [are] “with an older partner, [whom] they are not feeling they can discuss things with, does that mean that they don’t respect themselves?” My question is why does Gaucher not consider boys having sexual relations with men, either with or without a condom, to be a problem. Let me put this into perspective. If I, a 26-year-old man, were to approach a 16-year-old girl for sexual intercourse, wouldn’t I end up in trouble? Yet public employees, who are bound by law to report abuse under [Massachusetts] rule §51(A), are concerned more with how the young sodomized boy feels that whether he is being sodomized at all. This is absolutely outrageous.

The campaign, “No sex, no problem,” was ridiculed, as it assumed that children could opt not to have sex. Additionally, it made those children who had already had sex feel bad, or think they had a problem, since they had sex.

After reviewing a few of the campaigns, Abels described the project she works on. The “Gay/Straight Alliance HIV Education Project” goes around five different schools each year conducting up to eight HIV prevention sessions in that school’s gay club. These same presenters who just told a group of children how to properly position their hands for “fisting” were now telling a room full of educators that they would visit their schools and conduct their workshops for their students.

One participant remarked halfway through that Abels just wasn’t “talking to” her, since she, the participant, was a lesbian-middle school teacher. She wanted to know specifically what she could do to facilitate discussions about homosexuality in middle school. After I left that session, I met a few people and we compared notes. I was told of another session entitled, “Struggles & Triumphs of Including Homosexuality in a Middle School Curriculum.” Christine L. Hoyle, Special Education Teacher and workshop presenter, told the story of how she turned the Holocaust portion of her curriculum into a gay affirming section. Ms. Hoyle allowed the group at the conference to watch a video which she had her students produce and which was narrated by a seventh grade girl. This girl told the audience that ancient Greeks “encouraged homosexuals; in fact, it was considered normal for an adolescent boy to have an older, wiser man as his lover.” In effect, this teacher informed her adolescent students that it is okay if an older man approaches them for sexual gratification.

I have a compendium of resources and information which I obtained at the conference encouraging young children to become actively engaged in homosexual activities. I approached the Sidney Borum Community Health Center table to obtain a cassette sized “pocket sex” kit, which included two condoms, two antiseptic “moist” towelettes, and six bandages, which were for when the sex got really rough according to the high school-aged volunteer behind the desk. I now have a countless supply of condoms supplied by both Sidney Borum and Planned Parenthood, all of which was for the taking by any child who wanted them…

I am extremely troubled by what I learned at the GLSEN conference, and even more troubled…that it was led largely by Department of Education employees and was supported by Commissioner [David] Driscoll and the Department of Education, which is demonstrated by [Driscoll’s] attached letter [of support] to participants as well as the Department’s endorsement of the conference by offering six Professional Development Activities hours for teachers attending the conference.

The specific areas in the law I am asking for you to investigate are the abrogation of Massachusetts General Laws, ch. 272, § 2, 4, and 28: Enticing away a person for prostitution or sexual intercourse; Inducing person under 18 to have sexual intercourse; and Matter harmful to minors, dissemination; possession; defenses, respectively…

I swear under oath and the pains and penalties of perjury that everything written within this letter, to be best of my knowledge and recollection, is true and factually accurate.

Scott T. Whiteman
Peabody, Massachusetts

Of course, we now know that Jennings was heavily involved in the anti-religious homosexual extremist group ACT UP — so the case for dumping this conservative-Christian-hating activist just keeps getting stronger. I’m starting to hope that he stays on at the Department Education — because we’ve never had an opportunity like this to teach Americans about GLSEN’s manipulative, child-corrupting agenda. Stay tuned: much more coming from AFTAH on Jennings — including his absurdly “queer” take on the “sexual orientation” of one of America’s most revered presidents. —- Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

P.S. If you want a quick education on how depraved the pro-homosexual Left is in this country, consider their main defense of Jennings with regard to the underage sophomore student whom he counseled as a private high school teacher: a boy named Brewster who apparently was seduced by an older homosexual man who picked him up in a public restroom. When Jennings told the story, he said the boy was 15, but it appears Brewster was actually 16 at the time of the seduction. Thus the predatory sex did not violate the Age of Consent law in Massachusetts — a highly technical point that the left-wing group Media Matters and various homosexual activist sites are relying on to buttress Jennings’ case. (Upon learning of the encounter, Jennings wrote that he told the boy, “It’s OK to be gay,” as if the “man-boy” sex somehow confirms homosexual “orientation.”

A list of AFTAH articles on Jennings and GLSEN follows the letter (emphasis and links added):

October 15, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We respectfully request that you remove Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, from your Administration. It is clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in this capacity.

As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America’s schools—an agenda that runs counter to the values that many parents desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr. Jennings wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling. Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings’ career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

Equally troubling is Mr. Jennings’ self-described history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a child. In his book, One Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year old student confiding in him that he had a sexual relationship with a much older man. Mr. Jennings’ only response was to ask if the underage boy used a condom. As a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required by law to report child abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot serve as the “safe schools” czar when his record demonstrates a willingness to overlook the sexual abuse of a child.

As the “safe schools” czar, Mr. Jennings is also charged with ensuring our schools and students are drug free. It is clear that Mr. Jennings is unfit to serve in this capacity, as well. His own history of unrepentant drug and alcohol abuse indicates that he is of the opinion that getting drunk and high as a young person is acceptable. In his memoir, Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son, Mr. Jennings describes his use of illegal drugs, without expressing regret or acknowledging the devastating effects illegal drug use can have on a person’s life.

Everyone that deals with the education of the most vulnerable must be a positive role model. Our children are not blessed with the wisdom to discern and reject. Children presume the adults who educate them are approved by the larger society and their parents. Kevin Jennings cannot gain the approval of parents who want their children safe and their schools drug free. You should replace him with someone who has a record of educating children in a safe and moral environment.

Given these very serious issues with Mr. Jennings’ record, we urge you to remove him immediately.

Sincerely,

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)

Alexander
Aderholt
Akin
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton
Boozman
Broun
Brown, H.
Carter
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Conaway
Davis, Geoff
Fallin
Fleming
Foxx
Franks
Garrett
Gingrey
Gohmert
Hunter
Issa
Jordan
Lamborn
Latta
LuetkemeyerMarchant
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller, J.
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson, P.
Pence
Pitts
Posey
Rogers (AL)
Rooney
Ryan, Paul
Shuster
Smith, C
Smith, L.
Wamp
Westmoreland
Jones, Walter

_______________________________________

AFTAH Articles on Kevin Jennings and GLSEN:

• Kevin Jennings’ 1997 Transcript: ‘Promoting Homosexuality’ in Schools and Praising Pro-NAMBLA ‘Gay’ Activist Harry Hay
• BREAKING: Obama ‘Safe Schools’ Chief Kevin Jennings Used Pro-Pedophile, pro-NAMBLA Publisher for First Three Books
• GLSEN Founder and Obama Education Appointee Kevin Jennings Said ‘[F- -k] ‘em’ to Religious Right — in a Church
• ‘Gay’ Leader Kevin Jennings Says Dream Is to ‘Promote Homosexuality’ in Schools
• Obama Appointee Kevin Jennings Can’t Remember Saying the F-Word to Bash Christians — in a Church
• Was Troubled Teen Seduced by Adult Homosexual and Counseled by GLSEN Founder Kevin Jennings Really ‘Gay’?
• AFTAH Calls on Obama and Education Sec. Arne Duncan to Withdraw Nomination of Homosexual Extremist Bigot and GLSEN Founder Kevin Jennings to Preside over ‘Safe Schools’
• LISTEN: Audio of Obama ‘Safe Schools’ Czar Kevin Jennings: Told Teen Student ‘Brewster’ that he Hoped he Used a Condom in Sex with Homosexual Predator
• Washington Times: Obama ‘Safe Schools’ Czar Kevin Jennings Enabled Sexual Predator of Teen Boy
• Kevin Jennings’ Statement on ‘Brewster’ Incident: Too Little, Too Late
• Letter - No Shame on Jennings-Alyson Publications-NAMBLA story?
• ‘What’s Fisting?’ Scott Whiteman’s Affidavit on the 2000 GLSEN ‘Fistgate’ Scandal
• Listen Online: LaBarbera, Harvey Discuss Kevin Jennings Appointment at Dept. of Education
• GLSEN’s Indoctrination Agenda: How One Teacher Explained Her Lesbianism to Kindergartners
• Kevin Jennings’ Legacy: ‘Gay Youth Pride’ in Boston
• Rep. Steve King Wants Homosexuality-Promoter Kevin Jennings Gone as ‘Safe Schools’ Chief
• Obama ‘Safe Schools’ Chief Kevin Jennings Gave Dual Histories of Mom’s Participation in ‘Gay Pride’ March
• Educational Malpractice: Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville, IL, Promotes GLSEN’s ‘Day of Silence’

Thanks to everyone who made our Americans For Truth banquet last night a resounding success. Matt Barber was insightful as our keynote speaker, and Pete Lines — a former homosexual who overcame years of confusion stemming from being sexual molested in his youth — stirred the crowd with his testimony. The only “hate” to be found was outside the building at the (Marxist) Gay Liberation Network’s ineffective protest. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

The following report is from our friends at the Republicans For Fair Media (RFFM) website:

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality Fundraiser Huge Success: Gay Protest Fizzles
RFFM.org Staff Writer

An estimated audience of over 100 pro-family leaders gathered in Arlington Heights on Saturday night, October 24th, in support of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH).  The evening featured a speech by Peter LaBarbera, Founder and President of AFTAH, and a nationally recognized activist who has toiled on behalf of pro-family issues for more than two decades.

The keynote speaker was J. Matt Barber, AFTAH Board Member: Director of Cultural Affairs, Liberty Counsel; Associate Dean, Liberty University School of Law; and author of “The Right Hook: From the Ring to the Culture War.”

Others addressing the event:

• Paul B. Madore, Founder and Director, Maine Grassroots Coalition (see their website: SaveMaineMarriage.org);
• Jim Finnegan, President, Choose Life Illinois; and
• Pete Lines, who overcame the homosexual lifestyle

LaBarbera told RFFM.org that the night was a huge success and he expressed his appreciation to those gathered and to Pastor Calvin Lindstrom, Church of Christian Liberty and Christian Liberty Academy, who delivered the invocation.

Jack Roeser, a well-known pro-family philanthropist who attended the banquet, wowed those in attendance when he offered a $10,000 matching grant for AFTAH.

An expected protest by radical homosexual activists took place outside Christian Liberty Academy which included approximately fifteen demonstrators.  The protest was in response to a national call to action from homosexual leaders.

“I expected to be met by a huge phalanx of pro-homosexual demonstrators,” said Dan Zanoza, RFFM.org’s Executive Director and an attendee of the AFTAH fundraiser.  “The pro-homosexual group blocked our access to the crosswalk leading to the banquet hall.  As a blind individual, I was struck by the insensitivity of a group which calls for tolerance and recognition of what they claim are special rights homosexuals should receive under the U.S. Constitution.”

“Thankfully, two members of the Arlington Heights Police Department cleared a path for me and those I came with and that was deeply appreciated on my part,” continued Zanoza.  “As I attempted to enter the crosswalk leading to the Academy itself, the pro-homosexual group proceeded to loudly chant their message which greatly increased the danger for myself and others, including the elderly, who depend on both sight and sound to cross a street.  The insensitivity demonstrated by the group was ironic.”

David Smith, Executive Director of the Illinois Family Institute, accepted an award on behalf of Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman of the American Family Association (AFA) and American Family Radio. [Wildmon, who is recovering from encephalitis,  was the recipient of AFTAH's first annual American Truth Teller Award; his son, AFA President Tim Wildmon, thanked Americans For Truth with a video message played at the banquet.]

Though the AFTAH banquet was not a political event, two candidates seeking statewide office were present.  Dan Proft, who is running for Governor in the GOP primary and Andy Martin, who is seeking the Republican Party nomination in the U.S. Senate race, joined pro-family supporters at the AFTAH fundraiser.

“I was very impressed with the gathering of people who are concerned about this issue, especially with the words of Mr. Lines, an individual who found his way out of the homosexual lifestyle with God’s help,” said Arlene Sawicki of South Barrington, a longtime pro-life/pro-family activist.  “Contrary to the sentiments of radical homosexual activists, the entire evening approached the issue of homosexuality and its impact on our culture in a loving, Christlike manner.”

A Question and Answer session with Matt Barber and Pete Lines topped off the proceedings.

“I learned a great deal about the negative impact the homosexual lifestyle has upon our culture and individuals who find themselves trapped in this lifestyle,” said one of those gathered.  “It is a sad story, but Mr. Lines is proof that there is hope for all who are living their lives contrary to Biblical teachings.  However, it is also a message of hope for those with other addictions because I believe, as one of the speakers noted tonight, homosexuality is a form of sexual addiction that one can overcome.”

For information regarding contributions to AFTAH go to:  www.americansfortruth.com/donate/.

Anyone wishing to receive RFFM.org e-mails should contact: Dan@rffm.org.

Dear AFTAH Readers,

Homosexual militants despise Americans For Truth because we bring their radical agenda to light — and expose certain “inconvenient truths” like the fact that President Obama’s controversial “Safe Schools” chief, Kevin Jennings, chose a pro-NAMBLA publisher to produce and distribute his first two books.  They also hate AFTAH because they know that they cannot intimidate us.  So it is no surprise that New York City homosexual activist blogger Joe Jervis is using dirty tricks to harass AFTAH staffer Donna Miller and sabotage our keynote speaker Matt Barber’s new book “The Right Hook.”  (Matt will be signing copies at the banquet.)

Please support us by coming to the banquet Saturday evening, Oct. 24th at 6:30 at Christian Liberty Academy [more details HERE and you can sign up online HERE] — or by making a tax-deductible donation to Americans For Truth at www.americansfortruth.com/donate/.  You can mail your gift to: Americans for Truth, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.  We just received another generous $10,000 “match grant” for the banquet so your donation of $1,000, $500, $100, or $25 will be doubled!

To reach Donna, call 910-308-7619.  Just be prepared to go to her voicemail and get a call back — because she’s receiving a bunch of hate calls from homosexuals, including one fellow who phoned in this morning to call her the nasty C-word.  Now how about that for “tolerance”?….  God bless you. — Peter LaBarbera, www.americansfortruth.com

P.S. Pray for Joe Jervis. He is very lost.

——————————————————————————–
From: ColdCountry [mailto:--------]
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 7:55 AM
To: americansfortruth@comcast.net
Subject: [AFT Web Site] Kevin Jennings

The following message was sent from the Americans for Truth Web site:

__________________________

Re: “BREAKING: Obama ‘Safe Schools’ Chief Kevin Jennings Used Pro-Pedophile, pro-NAMBLA Publisher for First Two Books” … Gee, that’s huge! Does he also drive the same make car as Ted Bundy? And why are you still pushing that lie about an “underage” boy, when we now know [Brewster -- a sophomore student counseled by Jennings after the boy had a sexual encounter with an older man] he was not underage? [The Age of Consent in Massachusetts is 16.] Have you no shame at all?

__________________________

AFTAH’s Response:

Dear Sir, it appears that it is you who has no shame. Yes, we think it’s scandalous to be linked in any way to an organization that encourages predatory, exploitative man-boy sex. It would be like signing up with a pro-Nazi publishing house. And in my mind, under 18 is “under age.” How sad and pathetic that your “gay” movement is resting on the technicality that Brewster was (allegedly) 16 and not 15 (as his teacher Jennings recollected) — to absolve Jennings of his reckless counsel to the boy.

[Editor's Note: we erroneously first reported that only Kevin Jennings' first two books were published by Alyson Publications; a third, Telling Tales Out of School, was also published by the pedophilia-positive company.]

Soft on NAMBLA? The pro-pedophilia book was published by the same homosexual company, the now-defunct Alyson Publications, that Kevin Jennings used to publish his first two books.

By Peter LaBarbera

President Obama’s “Safe Schools” chief, homosexual activist Kevin Jennings, used a pro-pedophile (and pro-NAMBLA) publishing company, Alyson Publications, to produce his first two books, Americans For Truth has learned.

Jennings is already under fire for praising his hero, early homosexual activist Harry Hay, despite Hay’s longtime,  dedicated support of NAMBLA — the North American Man/Boy Love Association, which advocates for sex between men and boys. (Jennings’ praise of Hay was first reported by AFTAH’s Lambda Report in 1998 based on a GLSEN conference where Jennings spoke the previous year.) Moreover, many have questioned Jennings’ judgment — as a private high school teacher — for failing to report to authorities an apparent seduction by an adult man of one of his sophomore students. In his book, Jennings describes using the situation to confirm the student, Brewster, as “gay.”

These three books by Jennings were published by the now-defunct Alyson Publications:

• Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students (1994); and
• One Teacher in Ten: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories (1994)
• Telling Tales Out of School (2000)

Below is a reproduction of Americans For Truth’s debut press release, issued in 1993, highlighting Alyson’s pro-pederasty connections. This release was the debut edition of “Lambda Report,” a newsletter monitoring the “gay” activist movement that actually preceded AFTAH.

Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) — and a one-time activist with the homosexual extremist group ACT UP — is a man of words, who has devoted his life to promoting his version of “human rights” to students. So why did he choose to publish his first two books with a company that was pedophile- and NAMBLA-friendly?

Nazi Analogy

We agree with the anonymous San Francisco blogger Zombietime that NAMBLA — and adult-child sex in general — deserves the same societal stigma that is reserved for open Nazis in our culture. [Read Zombietime's thorough critique of the liberal, pro-Obama group Media Matters' biased defense of Jennings HERE.] So how could an educated professional and a teacher who would devote his life ostensibly to protecting vulnerable children not know of or research the pro-pedophilia bent of his publishing firm?

The (male) homosexual movement’s evident greater tolerance for pedophilia compared to the rest of society does not exonerate Jennings in any way. Imagine if it was learned that a presidential appointee dealing with Middle Eastern affairs had written two books using a Nazi-sympathetic publisher who denies the holocaust. Most published authors are careful of their reputation and affiliations; why wasn’t Jennings? Or did he simply agree with Alyson Publications founder Sasha Alyson that pedophilia is “a legitimate area for exploration” (see below)? Will Jennings issue the statement condemning NAMBLA that some have demanded of him? — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

Here is Lambda Report’s original press release from 1993 (emphasis added):

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Lambda Report [flagship publication of Americans For Truth] News Release

Contact: Greg Mueller or Tom Kilgannon: …                  March 1, 1993

PUBLISHER OF PRO-GAY BOOKS FOR KIDS ALSO CATERS TO CHILD MOLESTERS

WASHINGTON—The publisher of pro-gay books for children is also one of the nation’s leading independent producers of literature catering to pedophiles, according to an exclusive investigation by Lambda Report, a new newsletter on the homosexual movement.

Alyson Publications of Boston, which created Daddy’s Roommate, Heather Has Two Mommies, and other pro-homosexual children’s books, also publishes such works as:

• Macho Sluts, a collection of short stories including one in which a lesbian has sadomasochistic sex with her own 13-year-old daughter;
• The Age Taboo, an anthology of arguments for pedophilia; and
• Pedophilia: The Radical Case;  and a range of other books.

“It’s outrageous that the same company that markets books that condition children to accept homosexuality also peddles instructions on how pedophiles can have sex with children without getting caught,” said Lambda Report editor Peter LaBarbera.  “We hope to balance the debate in school districts across the country that are considering these books in their curriculum.”

When questioned by Lambda Report about the pro-pedophile views in his adult books, publisher Sasha Alyson said, “I think it’s something that is a legitimate area for exploration.”  He declined to discuss further his views on pedophilia.

Other pro-pedophile works published or marketed by Alyson include:

• The Alyson Almanac.  A homosexual trivia book, the Almanac directs pedophile readers to the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), characterizing the group’s purpose as to “educate society” on the “positive nature” of sex between men and boys;
• Gay Sex:  A Manual for Men Who Love Men.  In a section on “pedophilia,” the book provides seven recommendations offered by NAMBLA to help pedophiles avoid angry parents and the police;
• One Teenage In 10:  Writings by Gay and Lesbian Youth.  Aimed at teenagers, the book contains a chapter by Bill Andriette, the [then] current editor of NAMBLA Bulletin;
• Spartacus International Gay Guide.  This travel guide for mainstream gays also helps pedophiles to connect with support groups then they travel abroad.  It also tells where to find boy prostitutes in foreign countries—including specific streets and parks.

Lambda Report is a monthly newsletter published by the Citizens’ Rights Foundation [Note: this name was later changed to Americans For Truth About Homosexuality], a new Washington-based group formed to report on the homosexual movement.  “Homosexuals are the one special interest group that has escaped serious public scrutiny,”  LaBarbera said, Lambda Report is dedicated to providing that scrutiny.”

Lambda Report is making its debut issue in the midst of new controversies over gays in education, culture, politics, and the armed forces.  It relies mainly on gay sources to report on the homosexual agenda and how it affects the lives of ordinary Americans.

NAMBLA Tips: A previous edition of this book, Gay Sex: A Manual for Men Who Love Men, included a section on “pedophilia” that reprinted NAMBLA’s advice for pedophiles on how to avoid angry parents and the police.

Folks, imagine if a Christian or conservative group publicized the phone number of a homosexual employee taking calls for a “gay” organization’s fundraiser, in an obvious attempt to harass the person and the group. Such a dirty trick rightly would be condemned by pro-family and conservative leaders as beyond the pale. Well, check out this little bit of nastiness by New York City-based atheist homosexual blogger Joe Jervis, creator of the “Joe.My.God” website [WARNING: this is a very dirty and vulgar website]. Jervis posts (North Carolina-based) AFTAH staffer Donna Miller’s phone number FOUR times in a 100-word post. Creepy. Homosexual militants love to rail against Christian “hate”– falsely equating traditional beliefs about homosexuality with malice and bigotry. But if this isn’t true hate and harassment, then nothing is. (If you have a thick stomach, check out the mean and twisted comments, mostly targeting Barber, that follow Jervis’ post.) — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org. [More info on AFTAH's Banquet HERE; sign up online with your donation HERE.]

From Jervis’ website (the links won’t work on this graphic, including the one to the announced Gay Liberation Network protest against our event):

By Peter LaBarbera

Kevin Jennings, President Obama’s appointee to head up the “Safe and Drug-Free Schools” agency at the Department of Education, gives speeches on “gay history” but can’t seem to get his own straight (no pun intended).

At Americans For Truth, we have long observed that Jennings has a flair for the dramatic — and a penchant for anti-Christian bigotry (see his vulgar church condemnation of the “religious right” HERE).  But there are contradictions and obvious exaggerations in the various tellings of his life story — and self-serving memory lapses, such as when Jennings — who preaches “Respect for All” — told an NPR reporter that he couldn’t remember using the F-word in a church to tell Christian conservatives to “Drop dead!“

Also, given Jennings’ professional history of distorting the Bible’s clear teachings against homosexual behavior, and his skewed take on other facets of the debate over homosexuality — e.g., denying the reality that many people have left the homosexual lifestyle — it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he plays loose with the facts, as this decade-old AFTAH article demonstrates.

The following is reprinted from Americans For Truth’s flagship publication, Lambda Report (April-May 2000). An online GLSEN article provided in the first version (”Mom Too Sick to March”), but today the same link connects only to the organization’s current articles and not the story cited]. However, that first version is closest to the one Jennings used in his third book, a memoir titled Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son. We have added the 2006 book version at bottom for sake of comparison. Note the bold portions:

_____________________________

Kevin Jennings’ Dual Histories

Lambda Report, April-May 2000

Kevin Jennings, the founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network [GLSEN; after a name change from the original Gay, Lesbian, Straight Teachers' Network (GLSTN)], gives speeches on “gay” history and taught history at two private academies. But he seems to give out contradictory information about his own past, as the following accounts — from his own [GLSEN's] and another “gay” publication (quoting him) — attest:

VERSION ONE:

Mom Too Sick to March:

“…For the first time, my hometown of Winston-Salem was going to have a Gay Pride March, and I was invited home to speak at it. I called Mom to let her know…without missing a beat, Mom replied, ‘I’ve been reading about this march and I figured you were coming, so I’ve already made plans to march with you.’

“June came and my Mom didn’t actually march. Now on oxygen full-time, she was only able to come to the workshop I gave the day before the March. But, for the first time, she heard me speak in public about what has become my life’s work — helping lesbian/gay kids escape the bigotry with which I grew up….”

–Kevin Jennings, “Home for the Holidays,” GLSEN Blackboard Online, Dec. 1996, see [this link now links to a different, current article:] http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/people/citizens/005.aricle

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VERSION TWO:

Brave Mom Marched:

“In 1996, Jennings was invited…to speak on the occasion of Winston-Salem’s first ever GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) Pride Parade … [H]e phoned his mother to make sure that she was OK with this. She had a surprise for him: she planned to be marching side-by-side with him. When the day came, ‘There she was in 90 degree heat and 100 percent humidity, my mother, at age 74 — my mother with emphysema and lung cancer — out there with her portable oxygen tank she must take wherever she goes. And she marched down the streets of her town, in a city where everyone knows her as REV. Jennings’ widow. And, I say, if my mother can come that far, surely we all can come that far, too…Our victory is inevitable.’”

– John Quinlan quoting Kevin Jennings, reporting for Alternative Family Magazine, “Leadership profile” on Jennings, Summer 1999, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 38. [Note: we could not find this article online -- the magazine appears to be defunct. It's former web domain is inoperative and we could not locate an online archive. However, Quinlan's AFM piece is cited as a source HERE.]

 _____________________________

ADDENDUM: Jennings’ mom apparently does NOT march in 2006 version of story in his autobiographical book, Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son:

The following is the version of the story found in Jennings’ 2006 autobiography. Note that there is no mention of his mother “marching down” the street for “gay pride,” although she apparently lugged her oxygen tank to her son’s talk. Jennings writes:

In 1996, the North Carolina Gay Pride celebration was to held in Winston-Salem for the first time and, as perhaps the most famous homosexual from Winston-Salem, I was asked if I would speak at it. This was taking things to a new level: Mom lived there and everybody would now know, if they had somehow missed me on national news. I decided I had to call her and ask how she felt about it. If she was profoundly uncomfortable, I wasn’t going to do it.

The phone call was a bizarre experience… I began to explain about the march and Mom interrupted. “Oh, Kevin, I know about the march and I figured you were coming,” she began. “I have already made plans to do with you.” Now it was my turn to be struck silent. “So, what were you calling about, Kevin?”

… A few weeks before the march, Mom was diagnosed with emphysema (three packs a day for fifty years will do that to you). She was just put on oxygen to help with her increasingly labored breathing and given a portable oxygen tank to toke with her when she left the house. Now my concern shifted: should she be coming out to an event in the middle of a June North Carolina day, which means ninety-degree heat and 100 percent humidity? I said maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. She brushed aside my concerns, saying she wasn’t going to stop living just because she had to lug around some dumb oxygen thing.

So there we were at the Pride Festival, where I focused my talk on gay history. Mom loved it (after all, she was the one who had dragged me to the public library and the Civil War battlefields and taught me to love history in the first place) and said she learned a lot. She was delighted to meet so many people who thought so highly of her son, and she would brag about my Harvard degree and the organization I started and my books. I bragged about her for starting the PFLAG chapter in Winston-Salem, and people hugged her for doing it. A good time, indeed, was had by all. …

– Jennings, Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son: A Memoir of Growing Up, Coming Out, and Changing America’s Schools, pp. 237-238.