Click on graphic to enlarge. Homosexual web activist website "All Out" lobbies PayPal to drop AFTAH and other pro-family groups as alleged "anti-LGBT extremists." The petition reads, "PayPal must act immediately to shut down their accounts and ban all sites that promote anti-LGBT hate."

TAKE ACTION NOW: a new homosexual web campaign is urging the internet payment company PayPal to drop AFTAH and other pro-family organizations as so-called “extremists” that “promote anti-LGBT hate.” Please help defend Americans For Truth from being dropped by PayPal in response to this anti-Christian pressure campaign.

1) Go to PayPal’s website and make a much-needed gift to AFTAH to support our work. Or do so through the AFTAH website at www.americansfortruth.com/donate/. Mail a check to AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.

2) Write or call PayPal and urge them to STAND FOR FREEDOM and NOT give in to this intolerant pressure campaign by homosexual activists; use PayPal’s online “Comment Card” HERE, or post a note to the PayPal blog.  Or use their Contact Page HERE (note, the latter seems to favor comments by people holding a PayPal account).  Here is the Contact Page for PayPal’s parent company, e-BAY Inc.

Please THANK PayPal for initially siding with religious freedom so far [as reported HERE by the homosexual website Pink News] and not abruptly caving to All Out’s demands.  Urge them NOT to punish Christian and pro-family advocates – which could potentially alienate millions of potential PayPal customers.

3) Also, sign the LifeSiteNews petition to PayPal defending AFTAH and other pro-family targets by going here: http://www.profamilyfreedom.net/

4) Send this message to your friends and contact list to educate them on the anti-Christian and censorious nature of the homosexual movement. “Gay” activists no longer want “Tolerance”; now they want Dominance even if it means smearing pro-family people as “haters” and destroying our cherished religious freedoms.  

__________________________________________

By Peter LaBarbera

Dear AFTAH Reader,

Every day brings more evidence that the Homosexual Lobby is all about kicking pro-morality people (mostly committed Christians) who disagree with homosexual behavior OUT of the public square. More and more observers are seeing this for what it is: homo-fascism. Last week we learned of a homosexual web campaign called “All Out” that is targeting the payment service company PayPal for doing business with Americans For Truth and nine other groups — which it smears as ”extremists” who “promote anti-LGBT “hate.” Here is the wording of their All Out petition:

PAYPAL: END THE ONLINE HATE TRADE
Tell PayPal: Put Hate Out of Business

“PayPal officially states that its users ‘may not use the PayPal service for activities that [...] promote hate, violence, racial intolerance’ but PayPal has become a favorite payment service for anti-LGBT extremists all over the world. PayPal must act immediately to shut down their accounts and ban all sites that promote anti-LGBT hate.”

In an adjoining article, the grammatically-challenged All Out writes:

Thanks to PayPal, its [sic] easier than ever to send and receive money across currencies and continents – but it is also PayPal’s responsibility to make sure this technology doesn’t fall in the wrong hands. Anti-LGBT extremists all over the world are currently using PayPal to fundraise for their dangerous cause.

Not only is it against PayPal’s rules to promote promote [sic] “hate, violence, [and] racial intolerance,” hate groups also damage PayPal’s brand and credibility. We ask that PayPal join the fight against online hate and immediately shut down the accounts of anti-LGBT extremist groups using the service.

Already, All Out boasts that 35,000 people have sent web-generated letters to PayPal using All Out’s user-friendly web form. Among the other targeted groups beside AFTAH are Scott Lively’s Abiding Truth Ministries [Lively will be a speaker at AFTAH’s banquet outside Chicago on Oct. 15^th] and the Catholic group Tradition, Family, and Property. Also on the list is Brazilian expatriate and pro-family hero Julio Severo [Julio’s blog is written in Portuguese].

Here is All Out’s description of AFTAH:

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (United States): This groups [sic] claims homosexuality is a “lethal behavior addiction,” a “dangerous” practice that is “neither normal nor benign.” 

PayPal cites religious freedom but takes complaints

The British “gay” website Pink News reports that in response to All Out’s pressure campaign, PayPal is declining to immediately revoke the pro-family groups’ payment accounts on the grounds of religious freedom:

“PayPal does not allow the use of its service for activities that promote hatred, violence or racial intolerance. We take very seriously any cases where a user has incited hatred, violence or intolerance because of a person’s sexual orientation.

“However, we also take into account the rights of free speech and freedom of religion. Balancing these conflicting rights is often difficult, and so we assess possible infringements objectively against our Acceptable Use Policy.

Pink News reports this continuation of the statement by PayPal – made more ominous by the fact that both AFTAH and Severo have already received e-mails from PayPal requesting more information about their accounts:

“While we can’t comment on any specific accounts because of customer confidentiality, we regularly review organizations and websites that use our service, and stop working with those that break our Acceptable Use Policy. We also enable people to report suspected breaches of this policy on our website.”

AFTAH will be following this story closely, and we are grateful that the pro-family news site LifeSiteNews is launching an online petition campaign of its own, www.ProFamilyFreedom.net, to defend Americans For Truth and the other targeted organizations against this homosexual pressure campaign.

______________________________

Facts and thoughts on this latest homosexual intimidation campaign:

1) Homosexual activists are doing all they can to push Bible-believing Christians and moral-minded people who believe homosexuality is wrong OUT of the public square;

2) “Gay” militants are in the vanguard of the Left’s war on biblical Christianity and religious freedom in the United States.  By labeling Christians as “haters,” they cruelly demonize people of faith – and encourage the outrageous idea that longstanding Christian and Bible-based beliefs are “extreme” and beyond the pale;

3) One of the tactics that homosexual militants are using is to pressure corporations and politicians to distance themselves from allegedly “hateful” groups (read: groups that rightly condemn homosexual practice as sinful or disordered — yet changeable — behavior);

4) Encouraged by media sycophancy and a lack of press accountability that feeds their success, homosexual militants are now working overtime to sell the public on the absurd notion that groups like AFTAH that adhere to traditional, biblical teachings on homosexuality are the hateful equivalents of racist fringe groups like the KKK or Neo-Nazis. This propaganda tactic gained significant traction when the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center – long known for exposing racist hate groups like the Klan – last year labeled AFTAH and other mainstream pro-family groups like the Family Research Council “hate” groups;

5) Predicated on such spurious analogies, the current “All Out” campaign against PayPal claims that groups like AFTAH foment violence against homosexuals. However, Americans For Truth has from its inception condemned violence and (real) hatred against homosexuals. We believe Christians should reach out to homosexuals with the Gospel truth, in the love of Christ. We believe that ALL people have dignity as human beings, but that persons should not be defined by immoral, unnatural – and changeable — sexual and gender behaviors;

6) AFTAH has condemned unbiblical and nasty messages like Fred Phelps’ (Westboro Baptist Church) “God Hates Fags.” And we have noted the contrast between Christians, who encourage men and women to abandon the homosexual lifestyle (as so many have) and “fundamentalist” Muslims who advocate the death penalty for homosexuals. (Not all Muslims hold this view.)

7) It is no longer advisable to laugh off, dismiss or ignore the activist homosexual/liberal lobby’s escalating campaign to demonize Christians and punish groups like Americans For Truth. That is because everyday Americans are being influenced by the liberal media, which enable groups like the SPLC and All Out by failing to call into question their preposterous analogies, lies and hateful smears against Christians. We must fight back with the Truth and engage our politically enemies in a dogged, “house-to-house” battle to preserve our liberties and our ability to operate freely in the public square. To do so, contact PayPal and see the “Take Action” steps at the top of this article.

Thank you for standing with Americans For Truth. God bless you.

 – Peter LaBarbera (americansfortruth@gmail.com)

"The Stoning of Sally Kern: The Liberal Attack on Christian Conservatism -- and Why We Must Take a Stand"

This is the first of a Two-Part interview with Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R) [click HERE to listen]. It was pre-recorded August 31 and aired September 3, 2011. Sally Kern is Christian conservative Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma who was deluged with hate-mail and hate-calls after the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund (GLVF) published excerpts from a secretly-recorded 2008 speech she gave in which she said, among other things, that “the homosexual agenda is destroying this nation,” and that it’s a bigger threat to America than terrorism. [Listen to GLVF's SELECTIVELY EDITED video excerpting Kern's speech HERE.]

Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern

Sally talks about her new book, “The Stoning of Sally Kern,” [available from AFTAH at the discounted price of $20 including postage; send check specifying "Kern book" to: Americans For Truth, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.] She describes the day, March 7, 2008, that changed her life forever — when thousands of hostile homosexual e-mails flooded her inbox. (Angry phone calls jammed her office phone system, and then started coming to her home.) Ironically, homosexual militants who denounced Sally’s alleged “hate” subjected her and her family to the sort of vicious attacks that most Americans could hardly conceive of — including publishing false reports that her son Jesse was a homosexual — and smearing Sally’s husband, Pastor Steve Kern, as a past member of the KKK. Sally discusses the role of her and her family’s Christian faith in sustaining them in the face of the hate-campaign, and AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera praises Kern for not backing down in the face of such evil attacks.

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes.  Real Player is not supported and there may be difficulty when attempting to listen with it.  Left click once on the link below to play. (Please be patient, depending upon the speed of your internet connection it may take a moment or two to load.)  OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.

9-3-11, Sally Kern, Part One

Dr. Michael Brown, author of "A Queer Thing Happened to America," and one of the world's leading Jewish Christian scholars.

Here is Part One of my interview with Mike Brown [click HERE to listen], perhaps one of the most politically incorrect leaders on the planet. This was pre-recorded and aired April 23rd. Brown, the director of the Coalition of Conscience, based in Charlotte, N.C.,  is author of “A Queer Thing Happened to America,” a new book about the amazing rise in power of organized homosexuality in the United States. Brown, as a Jewish man who believes in Jesus Christ, is also one of the world’s leading authorities on Jewish Christianity. He has engaged in numerous debates with rabbis about the divinity of Jesus, and authored many books on the subject. In this first segment of our in-depth interview, Brown discusses how he came to faith in Jesus Christ after rebelling as a teenager and getting into very heavy drug use. It is a fascinating testimony and a witness to the awesome, redemptive power of God. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes.  Do Not Use Real Player.  It is not supported and there may be difficulty when attempting to listen with it.  Left click once on the link below to play.  (Please be patient, depending upon the speed of your internet connection it may take a moment or two to load.)  OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show. 

4-23-11, Michael Brown

Apple Inc. has dropped two pro-family "apps" from its iPhone following protest campaigns by homosexual activists.

TAKE ACTION: Contact Apple Inc regarding its open hostility to faith-based customers defending traditional morality and its capitulation to homosexual activists. Call 408-996-1010.

Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-996-1010

By Peter LaBarbera

On Wednesday, Apple Inc. succumbed to a web-based homosexual lobbying blitz demanding that it drop an “app” for the ex-”gay” ministry Exodus International from its iPhone. This capitulation is only the latest to reward a creeping ’homo-fascism’ that is spreading across America and the world — and which is integral to the wider LGBT activist strategy of demonizing and marginalizing religious people opposed to homosexuality. We don’t use this term lightly — the Homosexual Lobby’s hardball strategy is built on lies, intimidation and even bullying of well-meaning, compassionate Christians and religious people who simply disagree with the practice of homosexuality.

Incredibly, a tiny Sexual Sin Lobby–  purporting to represent perhaps 1-2 percent (or less) of any given population — presumes to dictate to the rest of us what is and is not acceptable speech, ideas, and conduct with regard to homosexuality and same-sex “marriage.” (They even claim to be the arbiter of what is ”love” and “hate.”) The failure of the national media — stuck in “gays-as-victims” mode – to question the growing pro-LGBT intolerance, demonization, and oppression of adherents to Judeo-Christian  moral teachings, itself contributes greatly to the persecution of people of faith.

How absurd that in a nation still split on the morality of homosexuality (despite the media’s and Hollywood’s relentless pro-homosexual bias), only groups that encourage the embrace of this unhealthy and unnatural behavior are to be tolerated and receive corporate and government support. Even more ridiculous is the idea of affixing a ”civil rights” label to homosexual militants like ”Truth Wins Out” (TWO) who are devoted to crushing the civil rights and voice of opposing pro-family advocates. Good is evil. Evil is good (Isaiah 5:20). (Click HERE and especially HERE to read TWO’s rationale for opposing the Exodus iPhone app; it is typical of homosexual activist arguments that conflate disagreement with TWO’s pro-homosexual ideology with “hate.”)

Exodus’ ‘niceness’ gets them nowhere

There are some interesting side stories and ironies to this second of two Apple cave-ins to LGBT pressure-campaigns. One is that Exodus International — a leading umbrella group for people desiring to abandon homosexual practice or resist unwanted same-sex desires – has gone out of its way (too far, in our view) NOT to offend homosexual activists. And look where it got them. In fact, a while back Exodus declared that it was disengaging from the ”Culture War” over homosexuality (in favor of ministry pursuits) – yet now it is thrust right back into it. This is a lesson for all naive Christians who think that by somehow sidestepping the cultural battle over homosexuality, it won’t rage on,  with homosexual activists attempting to muzzle the Gospel.

Christians and moral-minded Americans MUST actively defend truth on this issue against the many “gay” lies (even the activist term “gay” is a lie…) — and realize that the end-game of the LGBT movement (not all, but many self-styled “queer” activists) is to shut down critics and alternative voices on this issue – first in the private sector, and then using Government power. Aggressive homo-fascism hates dissent, religious or otherwise. For goodness sake, 31 out of 31 states provided the opportunity have voted down “same-sex marriage,” and yet opposition to same sex marriage is now widely derided as “hate” by all major homosexualist organizations!

What Exodus’ well-intentioned leaders — and millions of “ministry-minded” Christians — do not understand regarding this cultural debate is that no matter how “nice” you are to the likes of TWO, the only thing that counts is that you oppose homosexual behavior. Though Christians must lovingly extend the Gospel of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ to all sexual strugglers, we also must stand against the growing tyranny engendered and envisioned by pro-homosexual militants. The expanding list of victimized Christians [click HERE and HERE] makes clear: our very freedom to act on our beliefs and to preach the full Gospel to all sinners, including people practicing homosexuality, is in danger. (Of course, LGBT activists claim to support religious freedom, but what good is liberty if we cannot publicly proclaim and act upon our historic biblical beliefs about sex, marriage and family?)

Cultural bullies

Far from being victims, the best way to think of name-calling homosexual activists like TWO’s Wayne Besen is as bullies: the more you try to appease them – e.g., by constantly apologizing for alleged “anti-gay hate” in the Church, or adopting the dubious semantics of “gay rights” and “gay” identity (at the expense of biblical fidelity) – the more they sense weakness, leading them to castigate and target you all the more.

A sexual/gender movement built upon the Big Lie that changeable sexual perversion is the basis for: a) a healthy identity; and b) ”civil rights” has zero respect for the religious beliefs and freedoms of citizens committed to God’s Truth. And, of course, any “civil rights” movement that aggressively seeks to deny the civil and religious liberties of others is, well, not a civil rights movement at all.

Truth Wins Out: the real haters

Demonizaton of opponents is critical to the LGBT campaign to push Christians and moral critics of homosexuality out of the cultural debate over homosexuality. Take special note of “Truth Wins Out’s” preposterous characterization of Exodus as “hateful and bigoted.” Any rational observer who compares TWO’s and Exodus’ rhetoric will see who the real “haters” are, and it’s not Exodus. TWO regularly engages in extreme, ad hominem, and blatantly anti-Christian rhetoric. (Wayne Besen proudly came up with the ugly “Porno Pete” smear to tar this writer.) Substituting “gay” ideology for reality, they simply deny the existence of former homosexuals — and then they have the gall to accuse others of “dehumanization.” (Recall that homosexual activists once chanted, “We here, we’re queer, get used to it!”…) TWO actively demonizes anyone who goes public about overcoming homosexuality in their life – and especially mocks those who claim to have done so with the divine help of Christ. (Besen’s snarky attack-slogan for Christian, ex-homosexual overcomers is “Pray Away the Gay.”)

Media enablers

Homosexualist intolerance would not so easily flourish if the “mainstream” (liberal) media were not almost completely sold out to the “gay rights” cause. Too often reporters and editors cater to the left-wing notion that ideas (especially Christian ones) are hateful, as opposed to actual actions and speech that are objectively caustic, hateful and mean-spirited.  The lack of media accountablity enables and empowers homosexual activists’ who employ an end-justifies-the-means rationale to fight and vilify the “haters” — including shutting down their speech.

To be sure, the Gay Thought Police’s penchant for squelching the opposition’s voice isn’t new — over a decade ago homosexual activists led by GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) lobbied major media to deny ads featuring happy ex-”gays” — but there is a special intensity to the current censorship campaign, perhaps due to the media’s suffocating political correctness.

Precious few journalists are willing to call out the Homosexual Lobby on its totalitarian-like, censorious approach to ideas and biblical/religious truths that it does not like, so we must. Christians need to wake up and stay fully engaged in this raging Culture War before it is too late and our freedom to disagree with homosexuality is destroyed.

Fellow advocate of godly morality, please understand this: militants on the homosexual-bisexual-transgender Left hate you enough to shut down your voice anywhere they can. If you value Truth and your constitutional, God-given freedom to defend it, do not let them.

–Peter LaBarbera, www.AFTAH.org; write me at americansfortruth@gmail.com

____________________________________________

The following is reprinted from LifeSiteNews; March 23, 2011; [to sign up for LifeSite's e-News updates, go HERE]

Apple pulls ex-gay app after complaints from gay activists

CUPERTINO, California, March 23, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Apple has now pulled the iPhone application that caused such a stir this week after the homosexual activist group Truth Wins Out (TWO) complained that it was “hateful and bigoted.”

This marks the second time that Apple has pulled an app because it promoted a traditional Christian view of homosexuality. In November of last year Apple pulled an app created for the Manhattan Declaration, a pro-life and pro-family document signed by nearly 500,000 people. The app was attacked because it opposed same-sex “marriage.”

The recent app, created by the international Christian ex-gay ministry Exodus International and available through Apple’s online iTunes store, originally received a 4+ rating from Apple, meaning that it was found to contain no objectionable content. The app provided a gateway to the ministry’s news, blog, podcasts, and other social networking and resource materials.

Exodus International denied that the app was aimed at “curing” homosexuality, as was claimed by its critics.  “In no way shape or form is our message about trying to cure or do we try to promote that type of methodology or message,” Jeff Buchanan, Exodus International’s Senior Director of Church Equipping & Student Ministries, told The Christian Post.

“This is a label that has been put forth by opponents to the application to serve as propaganda in order to stigmatize and really label the application in a false way and provoking a response such as you are seeing with the application.”

Meanwhile, TWO and Change.org praised Apple for removing the app.  “Apple made a wise and responsible decision to dump an offensive app that demonized gay and lesbian people,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. “The real winners today are LGBT youth who are safer and less at risk for receiving Exodus’ malice and misinformation.”

“We’re thrilled that Apple has removed this ‘gay cure’ app from the iTunes store after more than 150,000 people signed this petition,” said Mike Jones, Editor at Change.org, the platform used by TWO to launch the petition. “The message Apple is sending here is clear: there is no place for ‘ex-gay therapy’ on the Apple platform.”

TWO claimed the app “relied on twisting legitimate research” to “dehumanize LGBT people” and by dropping the app, Apple joined the line of “every respected mental health organization in the nation.”
“We are disheartened at the fact that there are activists who are rising up to silence our voice on the Exodus iTunes platform,” Exodus’ Buchanan said on Tuesday. “We want to ask that there would be fair and equal representation of religious belief on this platform.”

“We are helping those who have unwanted same-sex attractions. Those who are gay or identify themselves that way, in no way, shape or form are we trying to speak to their position or trying to impose anything upon them,” he said.  “Exodus believes the opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality. It is holiness. We promote the belief that one can live a life that is congruent with their faith. That is our mission – period.”

Contact:

Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010

The SPLC's Mark Potok oversees the organization's de facto "campaign of defamation" painting groups like AFTAH that oppose homosexuality as "hate groups." Potok admits that the SPLC has never identified a single "gay" group as hateful even though militant homosexual organizations like ACT UP and Bash Back! have targeted churches with vicious attacks.

TAKE ACTION: Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee (members listed HERE; Senate Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121) — and the House Committee on Homeland Security (202-226-2616; members listed HERE; House Switchboard: 202-225-3121) and urge them to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) working relationship with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. The leftist SPLC is now slandering conservative, Christian and Tea Party groups by mislabeling them as “hate groups” on a par with genuine, fringe hate groups like the KKK.  American taxpayers should insist that the federal government have no role in legitimizing the SPLC, which has politicized “hate” and turned it into a fund-raising business to demonize conservatives – including mainstream pro-family groups that oppose homosexual activism. To read an in-depth report exposing the SPLC’s unethical practices, go HERE.

_______________________________________________

Below is a useful article by Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute — on the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) preposterous smear-job against mainstream pro-family groups (including AFTAH, IFI, Family Research Council, and AFA) as “hate groups” because we oppose homosexuality and LGBT (“gay”) activism. Technically, the SPLC would argue that AFTAH and the other groups opposed homosexuality in the wrong way, but let’s be honest: ideologically speaking, the SPLC is so deeply committed to pro-”gay” advocacy that it considers suspect any organization that opposes pro-LGBT activism. Predictably, the left-wing, pro-homosexual echo chamber is using the SPLC’s “findings” to discredit pro-family groups.

Indicative of the SPLC”s tendentious and polemical “hate reporting” is its description of this writer as a “longtime gay-basher.” Using such semantics, that would make SPLC staffers like Mark Potok “longtime Christian bashers.” To read an excellent set of reports on the SPLC’s escalating “campaign of defamation” against conservatives and traditionalists, read this special Social Contract Journal edition.

As Barb Anderson of the (potential future “hate” group?) Minnesota Family Council and I discussed in Part One of our AFTAH Radio Hour interview [click HERE to listen], the SPLC’s cynical “hate” dragnet is growing so wide that we have almost reached the point where if a pro-family group is NOT INCLUDED on the SPLC’s “hate” list, it must be slacking off in resisting the destructive homosexual agenda. I write “almost” because some of our good friends such as Liberty Counsel and Campaign for California Families have not yet officially been designated “haters”; their time will come. Of course, the truth is, nobody “hates” like the American Left — especially militant homosexual activists.

I like Laurie’s reference to the “Morality Police”; how ironic that the Left has become the mirror of what it hates:  the societal “moral” scold. Remember that the dogmatists on the Left once screamed against the “Religious Right”: “Don’t impose your morality on the rest of us!” Now it’s the pro-”queer” Left that works diligently to “impose its immorality” on America using every dirty tactic ever conceived by Saul Alinsky (e.g., “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it”; see this piece). I half expect Potok or SPLC co-founder Morris Dees to show up in Wheeling, West Virginia, claiming to “have in my hand the names of 57 newly designated anti-gay hate groups….”

Prior to Americans for Truth About Homosexuality’s “graduation” to full-fledged SPLC “hate” group, we were labeled a “hate” website by the SPLC — after a very… well, bigoted and hateful Marxist homosexual organization, the Gay Liberation Network (GLN), “reported” us to the Alabama-based SPLC. (You know those Communists are all about love, tolerance and honesty … one GLN leader, Bob Schwartz, a self-described Trotskyite, told me at a Chicago protest that he’d push me into oncoming traffic if it weren’t for the cops standing nearby; Schwartz has never denied making the threatening remark. I hereby report the GLN to the SPLC as a “hate” group for targeting sincere Christians with its slanderous and bigoted vilifications and protests.)

No hateful homosexuals?

You will recall that earlier this year SPLC Intelligence Project director Mark Potok confirmed to me via e-mail that no “gay” advocacy group has ever made the SPLC’s “hate” list — despite the fact that miltant homosexual organizations like ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) have engaged in numerous planned assaults against churches and other political opponents. (In 1989, as part of a huge protest againset then-Cardinal John O’Connor, ACT UP members stormed St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City during a Sunday mass; it was a particularly ugly, anti-Catholic attack in which protesters screamed and tossed condoms in the air, and even stomped on a consecrated wafer believed by Catholics to be the Body of Christ. More recently, in 2008, the homosexual activist group Bash Back! staged an invasion of a large evangelical church in Lansing, Michigan; the church was specifically targeted for its outspoken belief that homosexual practice is sinful and that “gays” can leave that lifestyle through faith in Jesus Christ. [Regarding that point and the SPLC's #10 "myth" below, we must ask: does the Southern Poverty Law Center "hate" former homosexuals?] A thorough investigation into the pro-homosexual “hatred” unleashed against Prop 8 supporters in California – especially churches — is in order.)

In the ensuing months since I corresponded with Potok, the SPLC appears not to have made even a token move to identify homosexual activist hate groups and websites (gay activist Dan Savage’s shockingly evil “Santorum.com” comes to mind [Warning: highly offensive content] — while it greatly expanded its list of alleged pro-family alleged “hate groups.” This contradiction alone demonstrates the SPLC’s extreme bias and the folly of taking seriously its self-appointed role as an objective, impartial hate-monitoring organization.

Higgins deftly exposes the shoddy “research”  of the SPLC (as we at AFTAH have personally experienced; the incompetent researchers for SPLC’s “Intelligence Report” initially confused me with Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute). All this would be comical except that the SPLC is taken seriously by the liberal media and is used as an informational resource by the federal government’s Department of Homeland Security, so please take the action steps above.

Always remember: defending biblical morality is not ”bigotry” and disagreeing with homosexual activists is not “hate.” Thanks for standing with AFTAH for truth amidst all the politically correct lies. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; write us at americansfortruth@gmail.com

Laurie Higgins writes:
_____________________________________________________

The Morality Police at the Southern Poverty Law Center

Evelyn Schlatter, Southern Poverty Law Center author of "hate groups" article

By Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute

Oh, for the good old days when the term “hate group” referred to groups that actually hated someone. Now the term “hate group” refers to any group that expresses political, philosophical, moral, or theological beliefs with which the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) disagrees.

Last week, the SPLC released the winter issue of Mark Potok’s ironically named “Intelligence Report.” The article, “18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda,” by Evelyn Schlatter lists 18 organizations as “anti-gay” groups with 13 of those to be added to their formal list of “hate groups.” The American Family Association, Family Research Council, and the Illinois Family Institute are three of the 13 that will be included on a list with neo-Nazi organizations.

Schlatter explains that the “propagation” of “known falsehoods” about homosexuality will result in organizations being included on the SPLC’s “anti-gay” list and perhaps also their “hate groups” list. Here are the “known falsehoods” that she and co-author Robert Steinback cite in the companion article “10 Anti-Gay Myths Debunked”:

1. If an organization claims that homosexuals “molest children at far higher rates than heterosexuals,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
2. If an organization says that “same-sex parents harm children,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
3. If an organization claims that “people become homosexual because they were sexually abused as children or there was a deficiency in sex-role modeling by their parents,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
4. If an organization claims that “homosexuals don’t live nearly as long as heterosexuals,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
5. If an organization claims that “homosexuals controlled the Nazi Party and helped to orchestrate the Holocaust,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate-groups” list.
6. If an organization claims that “hate crime laws will lead to the jailing of pastors who criticize homosexuality and the legalization of practices like bestiality and necrophilia,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
7. If an organization claims that “allowing homosexuals to serve openly would damage the armed forces,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
8. If an organization claims that homosexuals “are more prone to be mentally ill and to abuse drugs and alcohol,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
9. If an organization claims that “no one is born a homosexual,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.
10. If an organization claims “Gay people can choose to leave homosexuality,” it goes on the SPLC’s “hate groups” list.

Under each of these “myths,” Schlatter and Steinback offer analyses and evidence of such poor quality that their arguments wouldn’t pass muster in many high school English classes in which there are actual standards for logic and use of evidence. I will examine just a few of the many problems in their analyses, which in turn will reveal the intellectual and ethical vacuity that pervades the SPLC.

Same sex parents harm children

The SPLC thinks that the belief that same sex parents harm children constitutes hatred. The first problem is that Schlatter and Steinback fail to define harm. If one believes that homosexuality is morally flawed, then a household centered on a morally flawed relationship cannot be beneficial.

It is entirely possible that a brother and sister in an incestuous relationship or that polyamorist parents could raise children, providing for their physical needs, comforting them, and teaching them their ABCs. But most of society believes that such relationships would harm children because they would teach children that incest or polyamory are morally permissible. Would Schlatter and Steinback include organizations on their “hate groups” list that propagate the belief that incestuous parents or poly-parents harm children?

The SPLC and many homosexuals are outraged over any comparison of homosexuality to adult consensual incest or polyamory because they view homosexuality as moral and incest and polyamory as immoral. But no one is obligated to accept the SPLC’s flawed comparison of homosexuality to race or to accept their moral assumptions. After all, who is the SPLC to impose their moral views on all of society? Why are IFI’s moral beliefs about homosexual acts hateful and the views of those who oppose incest or polyamory legitimate? Why do IFI’s moral beliefs about volitional homosexual acts land us on the “hate groups” list, while the moral beliefs of those who oppose incestuous parents or poly-parents do not land them on the “hate groups” list?

Homosexual parents teach their children that gender is irrelevant to marriage and to parenting. They teach them that homosexual acts are inherently moral. And they deliberately deprive children of either a mother or a father. Those corruptions of truth and essential human relationships harm children.

Childhood molestation, innateness (“born that way”) and homosexuality

The one point about which many on both sides of the homosexuality debate agree is that the causes of same-sex attraction are not known. Many believe that same-sex attractions result from a complex interaction of biologically shaped predispositions and environmental factors. If we do notknow the causes of same-sex attraction, and if some of the factors that contribute to it are environmental experiences, how can anyone declare that childhood molestation never contributes to the development of same-sex attraction? And if childhood molestation may contribute in some cases to the development of same-sex attraction, how can it constitute hatred to say so?

Oprah, an inveterate promoter of all things homosexual, recently did two powerful programs about men who were molested as children. One of her guests was a therapist who has treated hundreds of men who were molested as children. He stated that one result of the sexual molestation of boys is “sexual orientation confusion.”

Schlatter and Steinback also assert that it’s hateful, false, and mythical to say “no one is born homosexual,” and then virtually their entire analysis reveals that there is no research proving that people are “born homosexual.” Schlatter and Steinback write, “a great many studies suggest that it is the result of biological and environmental forces.”

Following their repeated assertions that there is no proof that homosexuality is congenital, Schlatter and Steinback suggest the false dichotomy that if people do not choose their same-sex attraction, they must be “born that way,” completely ignoring two essential truths. First, the fact that people do not choose their feelings does not mean that such feelings are biologically determined. Second, freely chosen behaviors that emerge from feelings shaped by biological influences are not automatically moral.

IFI has consistently said that although no one chooses their feelings, people do choose how to respond to them. Saying that people ought not to act upon same-sex attraction is no more hateful than saying that people ought not to act upon unchosen, powerful, persistent attractions to pornography, multiple people, or their siblings. All moral beings have to decide which of their unchosen, powerful feelings are morally legitimate to act upon.

Homosexual men and shortened life spans

Under the “myth” about the shortened life spans of homosexual men, Schlatter and Steinback made the following statement:

Bob Unruh, a conservative Christian journalist who left The Associated Press in 2006 for the right-wing, conspiracist news site WorldNetDaily, said shortly before the federal law was passed that it would legalize “all 547 forms of sexual deviancy or ‘paraphilias’ listed by the American Psychiatric Association.” This claim was repeated by many anti-gay organizations, including the Illinois Family Institute.

Either because of Schlatter’s and Steinback’s poor research or lack of ethics, they failed to include the fact that exactly one week after making the error regarding the DSM, writer Kathy Valente posted a correction which is still on our website. It reads as follows:

In the article entitled “Hate Crimes Bill Moves to Senate” (5/5/09), we mistakenly stated that the American Psychiatric Association’s actual definition of “sexual orientation” includes paraphilias. The APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) classifies “sexual orientation” as heterosexual, homosexual, and bi-sexual. The 547 mental disorders called paraphilias specifically involve non-human objects, physical pain, or unwilling partners as in pedophilia. IFI apologizes for the error.

I hope and assume that Schlatter and Steinback will demonstrate the integrity and professionalism that Ms. Valente did by publishing a correction and apology.

In their argument that talking about the shorter life spans of homosexual men constitutes an act of hatred, Schlatter and Steinback focused on research by Paul Cameron, while completely ignoring research by the well-respected International Journal of Epidemiology that found the following:

[W]e demonstrated that in a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 21 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality continued, we estimated that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years would not reach their 65th birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban centre were experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by men in Canada in the year 1871.

The authors of this article, upset that conservative groups disseminated this troubling fact, issued an update that said, “if we were to repeat this analysis today the life expectancy of gay and bisexual men would be greatly improved. Deaths from HIV infection have declined dramatically in this population since 1996.”

Though mortality rates have dropped due to improved treatment protocols, HIV infection rates for “men who have sex with men” (MSM) are soaring. According to the CDC, “While CDC estimates that MSM account for just 4 percent of the U.S. male population aged 13 and older, the rate of new HIV diagnoses among MSM in the U.S. is more than 44 times that of other men.”

I wonder if Schlatter and Steinback are planning on publishing an addendum to their article in which they address HIV infection rates for homosexual men, or perhaps they’re going to include the CDC on their “hate groups” list.

Nazism

Schlatter claimed erroneously that I “compared homosexuality to Nazism,” which makes me wonder if she even bothered to read the articles in which I referred to Nazism. Here’s an excerpt from one:

Although genocide and homosexual acts are both sins, in man’s economy–and my own belief system–genocide is a far greater sin. And although I believe that all sin represents rebellion against God, I believe that homosexuality and genocide are by nature distinct….I never posited that homosexuals were the moral equivalents of Nazis. Rather, I compared the rationalizations church leaders offered for the silence of the church in the face of the evil of Nazism to the rationalizations church leaders offer for the silence of the church in the face of the evil of using public schools to promulgate destructive, erroneous views of homosexuality….The feckless or deceitful claim that I said homosexuals are equivalent to Nazis makes no more sense than claiming that someone who says the church should address both the sin of murder and the sin of gossip are saying that murderers and gossips are morally equivalent.

Sin in the closet

The SPLC believes it’s an act of hate to say that homosexuality should remain in the “in the closet.” Ms. Schlatter quoted an article in which I said, “There was something profoundly good for society about the prior stigmatization of homosexual practice…. [W]hen homosexuals were ‘in the closet,’ (along with fornicators, polyamorists, cross-dressers, and ‘transsexuals’), they weren’t acquiring and raising children.”

Many people believe that immoral behavior should be concealed from the public rather than paraded about or publicly celebrated. For example, many people–perhaps most–do not want polyamorists’ or cross-dressers’ behavior to be public where children can see it. Does the SPLC view those who don’t want their children to see manifestations of polyamory or cross-dressing as haters?

And many people believe that children have a fundamental right to be raised by the biological parents who procreated them. Many people, including Roman Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, and Protestants as well as people who follow no faith tradition, believe it is immoral for homosexuals to adopt or use in vitro fertilization and surrogacy to acquire children. Do they all deserve to be labeled “haters”?

My belief that it would be better for society if homosexuality were not publicly affirmed, normalized, or celebrated no more constitutes hatred of homosexuals than does other people’s belief that polyamory should not be publicly affirmed, celebrated, or normalized constitute hatred of polyamorists.

Ex-gays

The SPLC states that saying people can choose not to act on same-sex attraction or that they can leave a homosexual lifestyle constitutes hatred of homosexuals. Following that logic, what does it mean when someone says people can leave a polyamorous lifestyle or that they can choose not to act on their powerful attractions to multiple people? And what does it say to the hundreds of men and women who have abandoned their homosexual lives that the SPLC says discussing such a path is an act of hatred?

Conclusion

No longer is hate defined as, well, hatred. Anyone who finds the SPLC’s analogies faulty; their research selective; their concealing of inconvenient facts troubling; or their unproven, non-factual moral beliefs wrong, is now guilty of hatred.

The SPLC holds the unproven, non-factual belief that homosexuality is moral and arrogantly demands that all of society agree, or be silent, or be labeled a “hate group.” That strikes me as a strange manifestation of tolerance or respect for speech rights and diversity. Ironically, the SPLC has become the oppressor.

The SPLC hopes that their smear campaign will silence conservatives so that only the SPLC’s moral views will be heard in the public square. No one should allow the unprincipled bullying tactics and specious reasoning of the SPLC to intimidate them into silence. The SPLC’s ontological and moral beliefs about homosexuality are not facts, and dissent from the ethically impoverished SPLC’s beliefs does not constitute hatred.

Please take time to read this comprehensive indictment of the SPLC from the Social Contract Journal, which dedicated its spring 2010 issue to exposing the SPLC.

And if that’s not enough, click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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Media exploits University tragedy

Editorial
By The Daily Targum
Published: Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The death of University student Tyler Clementi might have been properly mourned if it were not for the massive rallies and aggressive news coverage that altered the nature of the situation. The truth is that an 18-year-old boy killed himself – he was a student just like the rest of us, someone just trying to receive an education. Yet people’s relentless agendas took his death and turned it into a cause based on false pretenses.

A crowd of more than 20 people ended up lying outside the entrance of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus the first night of the news breaking. The chants were, “We’re here. We’re queer. We want safety in our homes.” The mistake was that Clementi’s death should not have been turned into a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender protest for gay rights and safe spaces at the University. Robert O’Brien, Department of Anthropology assistant instructor, led the rally as he chanted, “Not safe in dorms, not safe at Rutgers.” Essentially, an angry mob fending for their rights turned the death of a young boy into a cause for “safe spaces” for gays across the University – all the while, these spaces already existed. We have groups across campus that deal with students’ psychological difficulties – 17 Seconds is one that deals with suicides – as well as groups that address their sexual orientation. We have these spaces, and the University community is diverse enough to provide students with whatever it is they need.

The focal point of Clementi’s tragic death should have been a boy’s inability to deal with the hardships of life. And yet the news and certain organizations picked this up and carried it into the ranks of general causes for major social groups – for their profit. Did Tyler really feel unsafe after all? Do we know the reason behind his suicide? Do we know if he, himself, would take part in the movement behind his death – the push for safe spaces?

It is disappointing that everyone from news to celebrities picked up the story. Actress Brittany Snow and actor Neil Patrick-Harris are just two of the many celebrities belittling Clementi’s death – forcing his remembrance into a cause rather than a proper mourning.

We did not know Tyler. It was barely three weeks into his first year at the University, and most of his neighbors in his residence hall barely knew him. Turning his death into a push for gay rights is a fallacy. Homosexuality is not the only reason for which people kill themselves. In this case, it might have pushed Clementi over the edge, but the fact that he was gay should by no means turn his death into a march for safe spaces. These groups want to be heard. They want the attention. They want their agendas to shine in the limelight.

Instead, we should address that the signs of a suicidal 18-year-old kid were unseen and went unnoticed, not “We want safety in our homes.” We have the safety, or as much of it as we together as a University community can in today’s world. What we need is to notice those of us who need help and help them. Entertainers stay away. O’Brien leave the issue alone. Let us – family, friends and the University together – mourn for Clementi, and just for him, rather than using him as a martyr for a cause that has yet to be proven.

The Gay Liberation Network's Bob Schwartz celebrated U. of Illinois' firing of Catholic professor Kenneth Howell (above) -- strange behavior for a group that crusades against "discrimination."

The homosexual hate group Gay Liberation Network (GLN) — whose co-leader Bob Schwartz celebrated the University of Illinois’ recent firing of Catholic professor Kenneth Howell — has announced that it will protest the AFTAH Truth Academy, which will be held Aug. 5-7 at the Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

GLN is a Marxist-oriented street protest group that attempts to equate Judeo-Christian opposition to homosexuality with “hate” — and which uses its protests to intimidate businesses from hosting pro-family events. For its extreme anti–Christian bigotry and hateful rhetoric — including vicious ad hominem attacks against pro-family critics (e.g., calling AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera “Satan’s Lover”)  – we label GLN a homosexual hate organization.

GLN, formerly the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, once smeared the historic Moody Church in Chicago as a “House of Hate” because Moody’s revered pastor, Erwin Lutzer, wrote a book critical of “same-sex marriage.” GLN has repeatedly pilloried Chicago’s Catholic leaker Cardinal Francis George with similar accusations because George defends Catholic teachings on sex and marriage.

Beyond that, Schwartz once told LaBarbera — who was protesting a “gay youth” rally in downtown Chicago as then-executive director of Illinois Family Institute – that if it weren’t for the police standing nearby, he would push him into the busy street. (Schwartz has never denied making this comment after it was reported by IFI.) LaBarbera maintains that had such a veiled violent threat been made against a homosexual by a conservative or Christian, it could have been the basis for a criminal charge under Chicago’s ”hate crime” law.

Thus it is a great irony that the nasty GLN played a proud role in lobbying the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center to label AFTAH a “hate site.”

Here is an excerpt of GLN’s ludicrous attempt to distort the Truth Academny’s true purpose:

Youth should not be taught to hate their peers and thus fuel the cycle of self-loathing, depression and suicide which too many LGBTQ youth experience. Bigotry must be vocally and publicly opposed, especially when haters try to recruit young people.

Gay Liberation Network activists specialize in name-calling. Ironically, the Marxist-oriented, Christian-bashing hate group played a role in lobbying the Southern Poverty Law Center to label AFTAH a "hate" website.

Defending historic Judeo-Christian moral truths and the natural family is not “hate.” Teaching young people to revere biblical teachings and God’s natural design for the family — and how to answer GLBT misinformation in the public sphere – is not “bigotry.” However, GLN’s vicious name-calling and ugly condemnations of traditionalists as “haters” — and its regular lies about religious leaders who oppose homosexual practice – is a form of secular, anti-Christian bigotry. This neo-intolerance must be resisted at every turn by the avid participation of pro-family Americans at events like the Truth Academy.

Dr. Kenneth Howell, Adjunct Associate Professor of Religion, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, was fired after a liberal student complained about an e-mail he sent to his students explaining Natural Moral Law.

By Peter LaBarbera

The University of Illinois has fired Dr. Kenneth Howell, a Catholic adjunct religion professor who was doing his job of teaching a class on Catholicism — after a liberal student complained to the university about an e-mail Howell sent to his students explaining Natural Moral Law. (The professor’s instructive e-mail and the student’s complaint e-mail are reproduced below.)

TAKE ACTION: Contact Michael Hogan, the University of Illinois’s new president, and urge him to reinstate Prof. Howell immediately: phone: (217) 333-6400; Fax: (217) 333-5733. Tell President Hogan that Howell’s firing is a nationwide advertisement that the University of Illinois is bigoted toward and intolerant of people of faith — giving lie to U-I’s mission statement to be “inclusive” and to ”treat each other with dignity and respect.” Board of Trustees: contact the U. of Illinois Bd. of Trustees at 217-333-1920 or write: UIBOT@uillinois.edu.]

The U. of Illinois’ “religion department’s website says Howell was recognized for excellent teaching in the spring and fall semesters of 2008 and 2009,” the Champaign News-Gazette reports.

Howell’s terminatioin draws attention to the emerging, cold reality of modern, politically correct America: in cosmopolitan areas and certainly in academia, you are more likely to be terminated, punished or persecuted on the job for opposing homosexuality than for “being gay.”

Here we are — on the verge, with our Democrat-controlled Congress, of creating federal employment “rights” based on homosexuality (and transgenderism), and people are being fired merely for expressing their sincere religious beliefs — which, in Howell’s case, was his job. Even as homosexual activists falsely claim that thousands of homosexuals face job losses because of “who they are,” the number of anti-Christian firings is piling up: remember the Allstate firing of Matt Barber? Crystal Dixon?

As you can see from below, Dr. Howell is a clear thinker who was doing what he was paid to do – teaching Catholic morality to his students. The complaint e-mail that got him terminated dismissses Howell’s e-mail as “absurd…It sickens me to know that hard-working Illinoisans are funding the salary of a man who does nothing but try to indoctrinate students and perpetuate stereotypes.”

If you want to know about the homo-fascist impulse that dominates so many institutions of “higher learning” (hah!) today, here are the key paragraphs from the News-Gazette story:

In a series of e-mail exchanges between [Robert McKim, head of the U-I religion department] and UI administrators about how to proceed regarding Howell’s teaching and his appointment as an adjunct professor, McKim states he will send a note to Howell’s students and others who were forwarded his e-mail to students, “disassociating our department, College, and university from the view expressed therein.”

In another e-mail, Ann Mester, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, wrote that she believes “the e-mails sent by Dr. Howell violate university standards of inclusivity, which would then entitle us to have him discontinue his teaching arrangement with us.”

Inclusivity? What about U. of Illinois’ “inclusion” of traditional Catholic students and students who adhere to historic Judeo-Christian morality? ‘Diversity” has become a code-word for punishing those who dissent from liberal, pro-homosexuality groupthink. Please read the excellent e-letter below on Natural Moral Law by Prof. Howell. And  take action to urge the University of Illinois to correct this injustice. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

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Dr. Kenneth Howell’s Teaching E-mail to Students:

The following is the e-mail to students that U. of Illinois religion professor Ken Howell sent to his students, as reported by the Champaign News-Gazette:

From: Kenneth J. Howell

Date: Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:45 PM

Subject: Utilitarianism and Sexuality (for those in 447 FYI)

Dear Students:

Since there is a question on the final exam about utilitarianism (see the review sheet), I thought I would help with an example. I realized after my lectures on moral theory that even though I talked about the substance of utilitarianism, I did not identify it as such and so you may not have been able to see it.

It turns out that our discussion of homosexuality brings up the issue of utilitarianism. In class, our discussion of the morality of homosexual acts was very incomplete because any moral issue about which people disagree ALWAYS raises a more fundamental issue about criteria. In other words, by what criteria should we judge whether a given act is right or wrong?

Before looking at the issue of criteria, however, we have to remind ourselves of the ever-present tendency in all of us to judge morality by emotion. The most frequent reason I hear people supporting same-sex marriage is that they know some gay couples or individuals. Empathy is a noble human quality but right or wrong does not depend on who is doing the action or on how I feel about those people, just as judging an action wrong should not depend on disliking someone. This might seem obvious to a right thinking person but I have encountered many well-educated people who do not (or cannot?) make the distinction between persons and acts when engaging moral reasoning. I encourage you to read the final essay editorial I sent earlier to reflect on this. In short, to judge an action wrong is not to condemn a person. A person and his/her acts can be distinguished for the purposes of morality.

So, then, by what criterion should we judge whether sexual acts are right or wrong? This is where utilitarianism comes in. Utilitarianism in the popular sense is fundamentally a moral theory that judges right or wrong by its practical outcomes. It is somewhat akin to a cost/benefit analysis. So, when a woman is deciding whether it’s right to have an abortion, the utilitarian says it’s right or wrong based on what the best outcome is. Similarly, a man who is trying to decide whether he should cheat on his wife, if he is a utilitarian, will weigh the various consequences. If the cheating side of the ledger is better, he will conclude that it’s okay to cheat. If the faithful side is better, he will refrain from cheating.

I think it’s fair to say that many, maybe most Americans employ some type of utilitarianism in their moral decision making. But there are at least two problems. One is that to judge the best outcome can be very subjective. What may be judged good for the pregnant woman may not be good for the baby. What may be judged good for the about-to-cheat-husband may not good for his wife or his children. This problem of subjectivity is inherent in utilitarianism for a second reason. Utilitarianism counsels that moral decisions should NOT be based on the inherent meaning of acts. Acts are only good or bad relative to outcomes. The natural law theory that I expounded in class assumes that human acts have an inherent meaning (remember my fist vs. extended hand of friendship example).

One of the most common applications of utilitarianism to sexual morality is the criterion of mutual consent. It is said that any sexual act is okay if the two or more people involved agree. Now no one can (or should) deny that for a sexual act to be moral there must be consent. Certainly, this is one reason why rape is morally wrong. But the question is whether this is enough.

If two men consent to engage in sexual acts, according to utilitarianism, such an act would be morally okay. But notice too that if a ten year old agrees to a sexual act with a 40 year old, such an act would also be moral if even it is illegal under the current law. Notice too that our concern is with morality, not law. So by the consent criterion, we would have to admit certain cases as moral which we presently would not approve of. The case of the 10 and 40 year olds might be excluded by adding a modification like “informed consent.” Then as long as both parties agree with sufficient knowledge, the act would be morally okay. A little reflection would show, I think, that “informed consent” might be more difficult to apply in practice than in theory. But another problem would be where to draw the line between moral and immoral acts using only informed consent. For example, if a dog consents to engage in a sexual act with its human master, such an act would also be moral according to the consent criterion. If this impresses you as far-fetched, the point is not whether it might occur but by what criterion we could say that it is wrong. I don’t think that it would be wrong according to the consent criterion.

But the more significant problem has to do with the fact that the consent criterion is not related in any way to the NATURE of the act itself. This is where Natural Moral Law (NML) objects. NML says that Morality must be a response to REALITY. In other words, sexual acts are only appropriate for people who are complementary, not the same. How do we know this? By looking at REALITY. Men and women are complementary in their anatomy, physiology, and psychology. Men and women are not interchangeable. So, a moral sexual act has to be between persons that are fitted for that act. Consent is important but there is more than consent needed.

One example applicable to homosexual acts illustrates the problem. To the best of my knowledge, in a sexual relationship between two men, one of them tends to act as the “woman” while the other acts as the “man.” In this scenario, homosexual men have been known to engage in certain types of actions for which their bodies are not fitted. I don’t want to be too graphic so I won’t go into details but a physician has told me that these acts are deleterious to the health of one or possibly both of the men. Yet, if the morality of the act is judged only by mutual consent, then there are clearly homosexual acts which are injurious to their health but which are consented to. Why are they injurious? Because they violate the meaning, structure, and (sometimes) health of the human body.

Now recall that I mentioned in class the importance of gaining wisdom from the past. One part of wisdom we gain from such knowledge is how people today came to think of their bodies. I won’t go into details here but a survey of the last few centuries reveals that we have gradually been separating our sexual natures (reality) from our moral decisions. Thus, people tend to think that we can use our bodies sexually in whatever ways we choose without regard to their actual structure and meaning. This is also what lies behind the idea of sex change operations. We can manipulate our bodies to be whatever we want them to be.

If what I just said is true, then this disassociation of morality and sexual reality did not begin with homosexuality. It began long ago. But it took a huge leap forward in the wide spread use of artificial contraceptives. What this use allowed was for people to disassociate procreation and children from sexual activity. So, for people who have grown up only in a time when there is no inherent connection between procreation and sex –- notice not natural but manipulated by humans –- it follows “logically” that sex can mean anything we want it to mean.

Natural Moral Theory says that if we are to have healthy sexual lives, we must return to a connection between procreation and sex. Why? Because that is what is REAL. It is based on human sexual anatomy and physiology. Human sexuality is inherently unitive and procreative. If we encourage sexual relations that violate this basic meaning, we will end up denying something essential about our humanity, about our feminine and masculine nature.

I know this doesn’t answer all the questions in many of your minds. All I ask as your teacher is that you approach these questions as a thinking adult. That implies questioning what you have heard around you. Unless you have done extensive research into homosexuality and are cognizant of the history of moral thought, you are not ready to make judgments about moral truth in this matter. All I encourage is to make informed decisions. As a final note, a perceptive reader will have noticed that none of what I have said here or in class depends upon religion. Catholics don’t arrive at their moral conclusions based on their religion. They do so based on a thorough understanding of natural reality.

Kenneth J. Howell Ph.D.

Director, St. John’s Institute of Catholic Thought

Adjunct Associate Professor of Religion, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

_________________________________________________

U of I Student’s Complaint E-mail about Religion Prof Ken Howell:

The following is the e-mail complaint from student about U-I religion instructor Ken Howell, as reported by the News-Gazette:

Prof. McKim,

This past semester, a friend of mine took RLST 127: Introduction to Catholicism. Throughout the semester, he would consistently tell me how the teacher [Ken Howell], who I believe is a priest at the Newman Center, would preach (not teach) his ideology to the class. Many times, my friend (whom I wish to remain anonymous) said the instructor would say things that were inflammatory and downright insensitive to those who were not of the Catholic faith–it should be noted that my friend and I were both brought up Catholic. Anyways, my friend informed me that things got especially provocative when discussing homosexuality. He sent me the following e-mail, which I believe you will agree is downright absurd once you read it.

I am in no way a gay rights activist, but allowing this hate speech at a public university is entirely unacceptable. It sickens me to know that hard-working Illinoisans are funding the salary of a man who does nothing but try to indoctrinate students and perpetuate stereotypes. Once again, this is a public university and should thus have no religious affiliation. Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing. Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another. The courses at this institution should be geared to contribute to the public discourse and promote independent thought; not limit one’s worldview and ostracize people of a certain sexual orientation.

I can only imagine how ashamed and uncomfortable a gay student would feel if he/she were to take this course. I am a heterosexual male and I found this completely appalling. Also, my friend also told me that the teacher allowed little room for any opposition to Catholic dogma. Once again, he is guilty of limiting the marketplace of ideas and acting out of accord with this institution’s mission and principles.

I have Cc’d Leslie Morrow, director of the LGBT Resource Center, on this e-mail as well as (name redacted), former features editor at the Daily Illini (I’m sure they’d like to hear about this), and Siobhan Somerville, a former teacher of mine and the founder of the queer studies major.

I didn’t go to Notre Dame for a reason,

(name redacted)

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Bio of Kenneth J. Howell, Ph.D. from the St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the U. of Illinois

Kenneth J. Howell
Director & Senior Fellow, Institute of Catholic Thought
kenneth.howell@sjcnc.org

In addition to being the Director and a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Catholic Thought, Dr. Howell is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Program for the Study of Religion in the University of Illinois. Dr. Howell studied theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he concentrated in biblical languages and systematic theology.

In 1978, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and served parishes in Florida and Indiana. After completing his Ph.D. in linguistics at Indiana University, he taught Greek, Hebrew, and Latin at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. His teaching duties involved theological research which led to his conversion to Catholicism in 1996. During this time, he obtained another Ph.D. in the history of Christianity and Science from the University of Lancaster (U.K).

Dr. Howell is the author of four books and numerous articles. God’s Two Books: Copernican Cosmology and Biblical Interpretation in Early Modern Science (University of Notre Dame Press, 2002), Mary of Nazareth: Sign and Instrument of Christian Unity (Queenship Press, 1998) is a scriptural study of Marian doctrine. Meeting Mary Our Mother in Faith (Catholic Answers Press, 2003), Questions College Students Ask…about God, Faith, and the Church (co-authored with Christine Pinheiro) (Champaign, IL: The St. John Institute of Catholic Thought, St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, 2006), The Eucharist for Beginners: Sacrament, Sacrifice, and Communion (San Diego: Catholic Answers, 2006).

Enough already. Lt. Dan Choi (activist website HERE) is more than a distraction to the military: he’s a misguided “gay” militant who needs to follow his true calling — crusading for the acceptance of immoral sexual behavior. We’re quite sure there’s a job waiting for him at the leftist National Gay and Lesbian Task Force or perhaps the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The liberal media may love Choi (note CNN’s Rick Sanchez’s somber and deferential tone) but I’d hate to count on the media to defend America. See additional comments after the break and following the video:

The spectacle of Choi protesting his own Commander-in-Chief and Choi’s self-aggrandizing crusade against the Armed Forces — which by law cannot allow open homosexuals — helps explain to the public why celebrated homosexuality has no place in our military culture. Imagine all the pro-”gay” activism that would follow an official governmental shift toward mandating that the military affirm homosexuals. This must never happen. Homosexual behavior is incompatible with good morale and military discipline — and “gay”-affirming “diversity” policies would offend religious and moral-minded servicemen and drive good men and women out of the military. Somehow we think the United States Armed Forces can thrive in their true mission — fighting wars and protecting our shores — without being diverted into the dubious business of homosexual “pride.” – — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

AFTAH Board Member and Liberty Counsel Cultural Affairs Director Matt Barber adds this:

“Through Choi’s juvenile fit of civil disobedience, he obtusely undermines his own cause. As a former veteran with twelve years of service, I can say with authority that the military is only as strong as each link within its chain of command. Radical homosexual activists like Choi are weak links within that chain.

“Civil disobedience such as Choi’s must not and cannot be ‘tolerated’ within our Armed Services.  Choi has proven himself an insubordinate. I have no sympathy for this reckless, self-serving ideologue. His demonstrated disobedience and disregard for orders (Article 10, Section 654 USC) bolsters the case against both homosexual conduct and sexual militancy in the Armed Forces.”

Note: here is the CNN Youtube URL in case the version on our website does not work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbYQ8oxqFg4

*      *     *

“For those who support the hotel in this, imagine that the tables were turned. Suppose it was a homosexual group that had been turned down by the hotel because of ‘negative publicity.’ Would you still support the hotel’s right to discriminate in this fashion? Sauce for the goose…”

– Comment by “Springer” posted at Daily Herald article (reprinted below), “Anti-gay group sues Naperville hotel, alleges discrimination”

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Anti-Christian Discrimination OK? Imagine the hue and cry that would have erupted had the Holiday Inn Select hotel (left) in Naperville, Ill., canceled a “gay” organization’s scheduled banquet after its leader told the hotel that some Christians might protest the event.

Dear AFTAH Readers,

Below are two local articles on AFTAH’s just-filed lawsuit against a Naperville, IL Holiday Inn hotel for canceling our banquet two years ago out of fear of “gay” protests.

We hope you can make it to this year’s AFTAH banquet on Sat., Oct. 24 at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL — featuring culture warrior and former professional heavyweight boxer Matt Barber, who was fired by Allstate Insurance Co., after writing an article against homosexual “marriage” on his own time. Tickets are $50 each. A table of 10 is $500. More information here: http://americansfortruth.com/news/matt-barber-to-keynote-aftah-banquet.html; book your seat now at www.americansfortruth.com/donate.

Also, don’t forget our the dinner-lecture at our Carol Stream office Thursday, Sept. 17 featuring Michael Brown, who is going to talk about how to walk that fine line of reaching out to homosexuals with the Gospel of Christ while resisting the radical “gay” political/cultural agenda. I am really looking forward to this talk. Click HERE for more info. RSVP to aftahangela@gmail.com or americansfortruth@comcast.net. (Donations will be accepted at the event to cover costs.)

Lastly, AFTAH has now crossed the half-way mark in our goal of matching a generous donor’s $20,000 grant. Please help us go all the way with your tax-deductible donation to AFTAH at www.americansfortruth.com/donate or by mailing your gift to: Americans For Truth, P.O. Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.  Thank you!

Peter LaBarbera
Americans For Truth  About Homosexuality
www.aftah.org

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(Suburban Chicago) Daily Herald story:

Link: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=316820

Anti-gay group sues Naperville hotel, alleges discrimination

August 27, 2009

By Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald Staff

Peter LaBarbera said he was just being honest when he told the Naperville hotel event planner to expect protesters outside his anti-gay group’s upcoming banquet.

His truthfulness, though, may have led to his own undoing.

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality recently filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Holiday Inn Select, 1801 N. Naper Blvd.

The Carol Stream-based group alleges its Oct. 6, 2007 fundraiser was canceled by the hotel six weeks earlier because of the group’s religious beliefs against homosexuality.

LaBarbera did not have a written contract, and no money was exchanged, but he said organizers verbally worked out details of the 100-person event, including the menu, during two meetings.

LaBarbera said hotel management told him the reservation was canceled due to “potential negative publicity.” AFTAH filed its discrimination suit Aug. 21.

“It’s always easy to come up with excuses,” said LaBarbera, AFTAH’s executive director, “but the real truth is they didn’t like our message. If you allow this sort of hecklers’ veto, you’re sanctioning discrimination.”

The banquet was planned at the hotel on the same night as a couple’s wedding. The Naperville Holiday Inn Select is independently owned and operated. Managers there said they had not been served with the lawsuit, and could not comment.

Georgia-based InterContinental Hotels Group owns the Holiday Inn brand. AN IHG spokeswoman said the cancellation decision was made solely by local hotel management. “IHG is very concerned about any claim of discrimination at any hotel bearing the Holiday Inn name,” said Sarah-Ann Soffer, media relations manager, in a statement. “IHG condemns unlawful discrimination in all of its forms. Since this matter is the subject of pending litigation, we have no further comment at this time.”

The national AFTAH organization, which is devoted to countering the gay agenda, ended up holding its banquet one day earlier at a Lombard hotel. Activists with the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network often protest AFTAH events, LaBarbera said.

The suit seeks an unspecified amount from the hotel in damages and attorney fees.

“We simply want to send a message that it might be easier to discriminate against a small Christian group, but it’s no less acceptable,” said Jason R. Craddock, AFTAH’s attorney. “We don’t want corporate America to continue in its belief that it’s OK to discriminate against unpopular points of view.”

_________________________________________

Naperville (IL) Sun story:

Link: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1739100,Christian-group-sues-Naperville-hotel_na082809.article

Christian Group Sues Naperville Hotel

August 28, 2009

By KATHY CICHON [kcichon@scn1.com]

Even though two years has passed since the incident occurred, a conservative organization has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against a Naperville hotel.

“Ultimately it would be easy just to ignore it and walk away,” said Peter LaBarbera, president and founder of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. “(But) it’s really not right to succumb to this sort of hecklers’ veto.” ….

On Friday the Carol Stream-based Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, which describes itself as “a group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda,” filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Holiday Inn Select, 1801 N. Naper Blvd., Naperville.

The lawsuit stems from the cancellation of a banquet Americans For Truth planned to hold Oct. 6, 2007, at the Holiday Inn Select. While working on the menu several weeks before the event, LaBarbera told the hotel the banquet may draw protesters from the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network, which describes itself as “a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered direct action group.” According to LaBarbera, a Naperville resident, the group frequently protests Americans For Truth activities.

According to a 2007 Sun article, that information led the Holiday Inn Select to reconsider. With a wedding in the other ballroom, the hotel canceled the Americans For Truth event.

“For the safety and security of all of our employees and guests, we decided that it is not a function that we wanted to have based upon the potential of having a protest,” said general manager Dennis Igoe at the time.

There was no written contract for the banquet, LaBarbera said Thursday.

When contacted Thursday, the Holiday Inn Select said it has no comment at this time. Atlanta-based InterContinental Hotels Group, which owns the Holiday Inn brand, issued the following statement:

“InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of the Holiday Inn brand, is very concerned about any claim of discrimination at any hotel bearing the Holiday Inn name. IHG condemns unlawful discrimination in all of its forms. The Holiday Inn Select Naperville hotel is independently owned and operated. IHG does not dictate local hotel operating policy for such franchised properties other than to require all hotels bearing its trademarks to comply with all applicable governmental requirements. In addition, IHG expects every Holiday Inn hotel to make every reasonable effort to promptly resolve all guest complaints. The cancellation decision in this matter was made solely by the local hotel. Since this matter is the subject of pending litigation, we have no further comment at this time.”

Saying it was unfairly treated because of its religious beliefs, LaBarbera said the group felt compelled to take action to prevent similar situations in the future and send a message to other hotels.

“We want something to come of it so hotels like Holiday Inn think twice before succumbing to anti-Christian (sentiment),” LaBarbera said.

LaBarbera said Naperville prides itself on tolerance, and that a “pro-family, pro-marriage” group deserves the same as other groups. If his group had been a gay rights or other organization, the situation never would have happened, he said.

“Tolerance is a two-way street,” LaBarbera said.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

“We don’t really have a dollar amount at this time,” said Jason Craddock, a New Lenox-based attorney representing Americans for Truth. “The most important thing is the message.”

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To sign up for AFTAH’s Feedblitz service to receive notice of all AFTAH web postings, click http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=126361

Folks, this Saturday, August 15th, homosexual activists will be wielding their deviant sexuality like a weapon on the unsuspecting public in locales across the country. Interesting. Somehow I don’t think Blacks — especially those with a strong moral foundation — will see this as a progression of the noble civil rights movement. I’m most concerned about the children who will be exposed to this obnoxious event after their parents unwittingly stumble upon a “kiss-in.” [Click HERE to read Laurie Higgins' take on the "kiss-in."]

The following cities and towns have CONFIRMED that they will be holding Great Nationwide Kiss-In Events ( a homosexual kiss-in), as of August 11, 2009. (We have removed the additional contact names and information listed alongside the city or town.) Please pass this information on so that families don’t inadvertently end up at one of these events with their children. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org:

In alphabetical order:

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, at the Civic Center Plaza

Facebook event page for Albuquerque: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126172658948

ATHENS, GA, at the UGA Arch, UGA North Campus Quad along Broad Street

Facebook event page for Athens: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115221546783

ATLANTA, GA, Piedmont Park (exact location, TBD)

Facebook event page for Atlanta: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108473617228

BOSTON, MA, at the Boston Common, between Park Street MBTA station and the State House

Facebook event page for Boston: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109795666567

CARBONDALE, IL, at the Town Square Pavilion

Facebook event page for Carbondale: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142965079615

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA, IL, at the intersection of Green & 6th Sts. in Champaign

Facebook event page for Champaign/Urbana: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110936764229

CHARLOTTE, NC, at Freedom Park, near 1900 East Boulevard

Facebook event page for Charlotte: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122444044602

CHICAGO, IL, at the Cloudgate Sculpture/”The Bean” in Millennium Park – sponsored by Join the Impact Chicago

Facebook event page for Chicago:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111579388358&ref=mf

CHICAGO/OAK PARK, IL, at Scoville Park, the NW corner of Oak Park Av. and Lake St.

Facebook event page for Chicago/Oak Park: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115130357898

CINCINNATI, OH, at Fountain Square, downtown, 5th & Vine

Facebook event page for Cincinnati: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123647133912

COLUMBUS, OH, at Goodale Park, on Buttles Ave. – contact information TBA

Facebook event page for Columbus: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132830606920

DALLAS, TX, in the West End, in Rosa Parks Plaza, at Lamar and Elm

Facebook group page for Dallas: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113366047079

DENVER, CO, at the 16th St. Mall, at Glenarm – sponsored by Soulforce in Colorado

Facebook event page for Denver: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115471915685

DURANGO, CO (private event), at the wedding of Estella Moore & Brad Bartlett

EDMONTON, AB (CANADA), by the big fountain in front of the legislature building

Facebook event page for Edmonton: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107176912916

ERIE, PA, on the steps of the Erie County Courthouse – sponsored by the Erie Gay News

Facebook event page for Erie: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108657518098

FAYETTEVILLE, AR, at the plaza between the square and Town Center – sponsored by the NWA Center for Equality

Facebook event page for Fayetteville: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=241495050346

HOUSTON, TX, Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St.

Facebook event page for Houston: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119009738704

IOWA CITY, IA, on the pedestrian mall in front of Donnelly’s Pub – sponsored by Iowa City Pride

Facebook event page for Iowa City: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104521017402

IRVINE, CA, meet in front of Steelhead Brewery, 4175 Campus Drive

Facebook event page for Irvine: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117256529880

2nd Irvine event in conjunction with Orange County Pride Picnic, at 2pm local time: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105680134231

LITTLE ROCK, AR, location, TBD

Facebook event page for Little Rock: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=106529463875

LOS ANGELES/SANTA MONICA, CA: 3rd Street Promenade at Arizona, near Farmers’ Market in Santa Monica – sponsored by Love Honor Cherish

Facebook event page for Los Angeles/Santa Monica: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111377645818

MADISON, WI – location, TBD

Facebook event page for Madison: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=120033432045

NEW HAVEN, CT, on the Green

Facebook event page for New Haven: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114205839759

NEW YORK CITY, Battery Park (exact location, TBD)

Facebook event page for NYC: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131549948688

NORMAL, IL, in front of City Hall, 100 E. Phoenix Ave.

Facebook event page for Normal: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117628811860

PARKERSBURG, WV, at the Parkersburg City Park, in front of the band shelter

Facebook event page for Parkersburg: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=111506768894

PHILADELPHIA, PA, in LOVE Park, at 16th St. and JFK Boulevard

Facebook event page for Philadelphia: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122955264512

PHOENIX, AZ, at the end of the Arizona Right To Marry’s 97-mile walk for marriage equality, on the lawn of the Arizona State Capitol Building

Facebook event page for Phoenix: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108132997978

PHOENIX/TEMPE, AZ, at the Arizona Mills Mall Food Court in Tempe

Facebook event page for Phoenix/Tempe: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134579864223

PITTSBURGH, PA, at 1000 Penn Avenue, on the public space right in front of the Westin portico/driveway on 10th, between Liberty Ave and Penn Ave – organized by Jeremy Hooper of the blog, Good As You, and endorsed by the Netroots Nation Event

Facebook group page for Pittsburgh: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110382828714

Website with additional information: http://netrootsnation.org/outsideevents09

PORTLAND, OR, at Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW 6th & SW Yamhill St.

Facebook event page for Portland, OR: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114410507119

RICHMOND, VA, location TBD – Mackenzie Ellis

Facebook event page for Richmond: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114890907770

RIVERSIDE/INLAND EMPIRE, CA, at Riverside Plaza, at Central and Riverside Aves. (exit Central off the 91 Freeway) – sponsored by Equality Inland Empire

Facebook event page for Riverside: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110378229526

ST. LOUIS, MO, in front of City Hall – sponsored by F.O.L.K.

Facebook event page for St. Louis: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116388247230

SAIPAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS,
at the Minachom Atdao Pavilion, across the Ada Gym

NOTE: Local time for this event is Sunday, August 16, 4 a.m.

Facebook event page for Saipan: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115185827009

SALT LAKE CITY, UT in Washington Square

Facebook event page for Salt Lake City: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115983605871

SAN DIEGO, CA, Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place

Facebook event page for San Diego:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118528143600

SAN FRANCISCO, Union Square, Powell Street

Facebook event page for San Francisco: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119270044816

SAN JOSE, CA, at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara Street

Facebook event page for San Jose: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109356080747

SANTA BARBARA, CA, on Pardall Rd in Isla Vista – sponsored by UCSB Votes No on Prop 4 and Prop 8!

Facebook event page for Santa Barbara: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133391075409

TORONTO, ON (CANADA) - location, TBD – Aaron Hewitt – see Facebook event for contact info.

Facebook event page for Toronto: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=245679735502

TULSA, OK, at the Oklahomans for Equality HQ, 621 East 4th Street, sponsored by Oklahomans for Equality

Facebook event page for Tulsa: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117013904140

Go to their website for more details: http://okeq.org/

WASHINGTON D.C., on the National Mall, between 3rd and 4th Sts.

Facebook event page for Washington D.C.: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=113732820282
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COMING SOON (these events are considered tentative, and additional details are forthcoming. If you are interested in helping these organizers, please E-MAIL me as soon as possible):

Austin, TX

Detroit, MI

Sacramento, CA

San Antonio, TX

Youngstown/Warren, OH