Americans For Truth » GenderPAC

Should Christians ‘Unilaterally Disarm’ in the Culture War?

Peterlab — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:48:53 +0000

Response to letter criticizing AFTAH’s ‘single-minded obsession’

Jeffrey writes via AFTAH’s website:

I’m a little concerned about your single-minded obsession about the particular sin of homosexuality. Sin is sin, whether its violating the law by speeding, child molestation, or drug dealing, the point is that it is all “missing the mark.” I understand that it’s easier to concentrate on the sins that we don’t have so much trouble with, but sin is sin, and if you can’t accept that you better start taking your own inventory! — Jeffery

Dear Jeffrey,

Americans For Truth is one of a handful of organizations that are merely responding to the many groups — spending tens of millions dollars more than our side — that have a “single-minded obsession” about PROMOTING homosexuality, which they do not regard as sinful. Do you recommend “unilateral disarmament” from our side in this ‘Culture War’ over homosexuality? Would you judge and condemn us for merely trying to put up a response to the “gay” activist juggernaut that is trying to radically redefine marriage, proselytize children in destructive, pro-homosexualist and gender-confused ideologies, subvert Scriptural teachings against homosexual sin, and deny — like so many flat-earthers — the existence of former homosexuals who have overcome this sin through Jesus Christ?

Also, just because we are trying to defend historic Judeo-Christian morality as it applies to this particular sin does not mean that I and other Christians do not take a daily “inventory” of our own sins and shortcomings. We all “fall short of the glory of God and are justified” — not by our own good works — but “freely by his grace through the redemption” of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23). I suggest that until you have a good answer as to why people of faith should merely roll over to the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, GenderPAC and the hundreds of other homosexuality-celebrating organizations across the USA, you show us a little grace — or even better, help us in the battle to defend truth on this vexing issue.

Sincerely,

Peter LaBarbera
Americans For Truth
www.americansfortruth.org
americansfortruth@comcast.net

That Ain’t No ‘Pregnant Man’

Peterlab — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:03:43 +0000

Who needs April Fool’s Day jokes when you’ve got the radical ‘trans-agenda’?

Dear Readers: check out this recent Good Morning America story (you can watch the ABC video online) about an alleged “pregnant man” — who is actually a very gender-confused Oregon woman who is pregnant but has taken drastic measures to appear like the “man” she wants to be. What continues to irritate us in the reporting on the radical “trans-genda” is the media’s obsequiousness in using biologically false pronouns to describe the stories’ subjects. Of course, this is the exact goal of radical groups like GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and GenderPAC.

Breaking news to the PC media: Laurie Higgins is right: men still cannot get pregnant.– Peter LaBarbera

____________________________

By Laurie Higgins

I’ve said this before, but in light of a recent “news” story that describes the strange tale of a “pregnant man,” I think it bears repeating.

Prior to my mother succumbing to cancer, she had had an oophorectomy, hysterectomy, and mastectomy. Following those surgeries, she was no less a woman than am I. The presence in the pregnant woman of a desire to be a man, a clear symptom of a profound psychological disorder, and even the foolish legal accommodation of this symptom, renders this woman a man only in an illusory post-modern fantasy–not in reality where most of us live and breathe and have our being. That is to say, there exists no pregnant “man.”

Oh, and by the way, I still believe I’m a hobbit trapped in a human body.

Laurie Higgins is a writing instructor at Deerfield High School, in Deerfield, Illinois, north of Chicago. She can be reached through AFTAH at americansfortruth@comcast.net.

A “Gay Man” Trapped in a Woman’s Body and Other Nonsense

Peterlab — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 20:43:16 +0000

“Transgender” confusion and perversion — such as the anti-Christian, drag-queen mock “nuns” who make up the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” — follow in the footsteps of the homosexual variety. In Massachusetts, a very confused female student who considers herself a ”gay male” is suing for the “right” to use the men’s locker room. The local newspaper uses the pronoun “his,” bowing to the female student’s (current) “gender identity.”

By J. Matt Barber, Concerned Women for America

Talk radio host Michael Savage doesn’t mince words. He often says that “liberalism is a mental disorder.” He’s right. Liberal ideology and political correctness, infused with public policy, begets social insanity.

Case in point: A recent report on a popular homosexual “news” site declares, “A transgendered student says he is the victim of discrimination at a small Massachusetts community college because he is biologically female.”

Say what? “He” is “female”? Welcome to PC-ville. Come for the oxymoron, stay for the cognitive dissonance.

In other news, “French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte says he is the victim of discrimination because he is biologically Bob from Detroit.”

Apparently, this clearly confused 20-year-old woman who “presents as a male and wears male clothing” is upset that Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, will not allow her to undress, shower or otherwise cavort with the fellows in the men’s locker room. She’s reportedly filed an “affirmative action complaint” against the school.

Even Haverhill’s local newspaper, the Eagle-Tribune, plays along, saying that she was “denied the use of the men’s locker room … because of his female anatomy.”

“His female anatomy”!?

Okay, wait a minute. … Is this one of those, “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘his’ is” moments?

But it gets worse. The paper goes on to explain that this young woman – er, man … whatever – actually identifies as a “gay male.” It explains that her, “public unveiling as a transgender gay male happened as an adult two years ago. His designation means he has a female body, but identifies as a male and is sexually attracted to men.”

Geeze-oh-Pete! My head hurts. Can this be for real? How can any newspaper that wants to be taken seriously report this with a straight face? A “gay” man trapped in a woman’s body? And all this time I thought they were just straight gals in Dockers and flannel. When I was a kid we called them “tomboys.” They were great fun to play softball with, but they still had to shower with the rest of the girls. What unenlightened bigots we were back then. ….

Click HERE to read the rest of Barber’s column, “A Gay Man Trapped in a Woman’s Body and Other Nonsense.”

Homosexual-Transgender Alliance Tested as ‘Trans’-Inclusive ENDA Falters on Capitol Hill

Peterlab — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:47:40 +0000

“There are workplace situations — communal showers, for example — when the demands of the transgender community fly in the face of conventional norms and therefore would not pass in any Congress. I’ve talked with transgender activists and what they want — and what we will be forced to defend — is for people with penises who identify as women to be able to shower with other women.” –– Homosexual Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), back when he opposed including “transgenders” in the Employment NonDiscrimination Act (ENDA). Frank later relented but since has signed on to a watered-down version of ENDA (H.R. 3685) that dropped the “trans” language.

The “gay” activist movement’s partnership with the “transgender” cause is costing it votes for the expansive version of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2015, on Capitol Hill, so a new version of the bill (H.R. 3685) was floated that throws out the “gender equity” provisions. (H.S. 3685 also simplifies the bill’s religious exemption.) Now that version is being rejected by major homosexual and transsexual groups, led by the Human Rights Campaign (see letter below).

Over the years, homosexual activists including Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) (see quote above) have chafed at their alliance with a transsexual movement — knowing that it only makes their cause look even more radical to the general public. Yet the two movements have been intertwined and their partnership, as symbolized by the “GLBT” acronym (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender), has only strengthened in recent years.

Transgender activists lobbied HRC to back a “trans”-positive ENDA and the leading homsoexual lobby organization eventually embraced it.

For the moment, the leading pro-homosexual groups are sticking with the ”transgenders,” but word on the Hill is that ENDA’s ”trans” language — which AFTAH, CWA and other conservative groups have highlighted (we called ENDA the “Transgender Bathrooms for Business Bill”) — has cost H.R. 2015 key support, including among moderate Democrats.

The following letter (emphasis added) was sent yesterday by the liberal coalition Leadership Conference to Rep. George Miller (D-Cal.), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. Miller’s committee was scheduled to consider the watered-down ENDA (H.R. 3685) this morning until the hearing was cancelled following the “gay”-led coalition effort against it. — Peter LaBarbera

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

1629 K Street, NW
10th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: 202-466-3311
Fax: 202-466-3435
http://www.civilrights.org/

October 1, 2007

The Honorable George Miller, Chairman
Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Miller:

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our opposition to the strategy and process by which the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (HR 3685) is to be considered in the House of Representatives. We ask that the markup in the House Education and Labor Committee, scheduled for less than 24 hours from now, be canceled.

For many years, we have worked to develop an employment non-discrimination bill that protects the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Our organizations support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as introduced (H.R. 2015).

Although we believe that the bill’s sponsor, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA), and the House Democratic Leadership have a sincere desire to protect the LGBT community from
discrimination, we believe the process and strategy that has been adopted is a mistake. That mistake is compounded by moving forward with a markup tomorrow.

If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Nancy Zirkin, LCCR Vice President, at (202) 263-2880 or Rob Randhava, LCCR Counsel, at (202) 466-6058.

Sincerely,

American Civil Liberties Union
American Friends Service Committee
Gender Public Advocacy Coalition
Human Rights Campaign
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Legal Momentum
National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Centers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG National)
People For the American Way
Pride At Work, AFL-CIO
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
GLSEN – the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation
Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker
Representative Barney Frank
Representative Tammy Baldwin

Remember that Joke about a Lesbian Trapped in a Man’s Body? … CNN’s Larry King Promotes ‘She-Male Rights’

Peterlab — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:47:19 +0000

… It’s Not a Joke Anymore!

Should transsexual and transvestite (cross-dressing) men get legal “rights” based on their gender-confused “identity” and behavior? Above, a man who has become a ”she-male” using female hormones rides “topless” for blocks atop a float in this year’s Chicago’s “gay pride” parade. Police did nothing. Photo: Americans For Truth.

When [CNN's Larry] King asked [male-to-female transgender activist Steve Stanton] if he stands up when he goes to the bathroom in a woman’s restroom, he replied: “No, I don’t. No, I sit down in the woman’s bathroom.” — Traditional Values Coalition report

By Peter LaBarbera

Remember that joke about a lesbian trapped in a man’s body? … It’s not a joke anymore! Folks, it just doesn’t get any stranger than the “transgender” movement. We pity the men and women who struggle with gender issues and rebel against their God-given sex, but the gender-bending warriors (activist groups like GenderPAC) are serious about radically changing our culture. They’re even promoting “gender nonconformity” among our youth. Do not underestimate them.

The “transgender” lobby has copied aggressive “gay” activist tactics and is on the verge of creating federal “civil rights” based on gender confusion. Their top goal? Passage of the “Thought Crimes” and “ENDA Our Freedom” bills. If these become law, we’re talking about federal “rights” — and that means federal lawsuits — for “she-males” — biological men who act as if they are women and even demand to use female restrooms (see our story, “The Transg-ENDA: Man in Purple Suit Invades Ladies’ Restroom in Md.”).

When gender-twisting groups are publishing papers titled, “Peeing In Peace: A Resource Guide For Transgender Activists And Allies” (click HERE for TVC’s analysis of the paper), you know ”civil rights” is being contorted beyond recognition.

TAKE ACTION:

Read the reports at bottom by this message by Traditional Values Coalition — a leading pro-family group on Capitol Hill opposing the homosexual- and transsexual activist movements. See the related the AFTAH links as well.
Contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative (e-mail: www.congress.org; phone: 202-224-3121). Tell them to oppose the ENDA (Employment Nondiscrimination Act), which would subject businesses to lawsuits by homosexual and “she-male” (“transgender”) activists;
Also ask your senators to vote against the S. 1105, the so-called “Hate Crimes” bill, which passed the House and is expected for a vote in the Senate soon. This “thought crimes” bill will make it easier for homosexual- and transgender activists — working hand-in-hand with liberal prosecutors — to harass conservative businessmen and Christian/pro-family advocates by falsely claiming themselves as victims of “hate.”

______________________________

TVC reports:

Larry King Shills For Transgender Movement

Traditional Values Coalition website

August 14, 2007 — Larry King’s August 10 show featured a panel of men and women who think they’re the opposite sex. Some have already undergone so-called “sex reassignment” surgery, while others have not.

King let them tell their stories about feeling like they were the opposite sex, and he interviewed two sons of a father who decided he was a woman. The teens expressed support for their father, even though he now looks like a Hollywood actress. Their father, who now calls himself Jessica, told King that he’s a lesbian and dates women. He told King, “I identify as lesbian, yes, absolutely.”

King also interviewed Steve Stanton, the former city manager of Largo, Florida. Steve decided he was a woman and currently dresses like one. He has not had a sex-change operation but is scheduled for one. When King asked him if he stands up when he goes to the bathroom in a woman’s restroom, he replied: “No, I don’t. No, I sit down in the woman’s bathroom.”

TVC’s reports, “A Gender Identity Disorder Goes Mainstream” and “Will Transgender Activists Come To Your School?” explain how the transgender activist movement is seeking to destroy the idea of male and female. In addition, transgender activists are seeking to have their “gender identity” given federally protected class status under three key bills being considered in Congress: ENDA, Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the Clarification of Federal Employment Protections Act.

ENDA: The ‘Transgender Bathrooms for Businesses’ Bill

Peterlab — Thu, 10 May 2007 08:27:30 +0000

H.R. 2015 Would Force a Gender Confusion Revolution on U.S. Businesses

By Peter LaBarbera

For once we agreed with Barney Frank (sort of), at least before he sold out to the “transgender” lobby.

“There are workplace situations — communal showers, for example — when the demands of the transgender community fly in the face of conventional norms and therefore would not pass in any Congress. I’ve talked with transgender activists and what they want — and what we will be forced to defend — is for people with penises who identify as women to be able to shower with other women.”

–Homosexual Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), BEFORE he changed his mind and embraced including “transgenders” in the Employment NonDiscrimination Act (ENDA)

“Technically, you cannot truly change one’s sex. That’s why the procedure is not really called ‘sex change surgery’ but ‘sex reassignment surgery.’ The idea is to alter the physical appearance of a person’s anatomy to approximate as nearly as possible the anatomic arrangement of the other sex.”

– Melanie, “Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS), the Nuts & Bolts,” a “Transgender Support Site”

* * *

Employment NonDiscrimination Act (H.R. 2015) Language:

“EMPLOYER PRACTICES.—It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer—

(1) “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; or

(2) “to limit, segregate, or classify the employees or applicants for employment of the employer in any way that would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment or otherwise adversely affect the status of the individual as an employee, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”

* * *

TAKE ACTION: Call the Congress (202-224-3121) or use e-mail to urge your Representative and Senators to reject ENDA (H.R. 2015) and the insanity of forcing business across the nation to accommodate and subsidize gender confusion in the name of “civil rights.” Also, call President Bush (202-456-1414) or e-mail him at comments@whitehouse.gov to urge him to veto the “trans”-affirming ENDA, along with the “Hate Crimes” bill (H.R. 1592) that his aides have indicated will likely be vetoed.

Fast on the heels of the “Hate Crimes” bill (H.R. 1597, recently passed by the House) is the second of two top homosexual activist priorities: ENDA, the “Employment Nondiscrimination Act,” H.R. 2015, recently introduced by homosexual Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). Please read at the bottom of this story the homosexual newspaper Washington Blade’s analysis of the ”transgender” provision of this radical bill.

To read about ENDA’s dubious “religious exemption” provision, click HERE.

Veteran observers of the “gay” movement will recall that Frank himself once strongly criticized the idea of including transsexuals in the ENDA bill (see above quote). But like most “progressives,” Frank has seen the light, or maybe he just heard the shouts — from radical “trans” activists who have skillfully adapted militant ”gay” tactics to their own misguided cause, including calling their outspoken critics “transphobes.”

Several giant corporations have already settled on pro-”transgender” bathroom and dress policies — probably the same companies who would subject their employees to biased, pro-homosexual “diversity” lectures – but can you imagine inflicting these “transgender” regulations on small and mid-level companies through federal law via ENDA?

This is one of the most perverse applications of “civil rights” to date – and it’s headed straight for your business if you have 15 or more employees. What female employee wants to share the company restroom with a big-boned man claiming to be “transitioning” to “womanhood”? Will companies have to build “transgender male” and “transgender female” restrooms (or “Designated GLBT Restrooms”) to accommodate the various “orientations” and avoid government prosecution?

Churches and religious-oriented groups are quasi-exempt under ENDA but secular businesses owned by Christians or religious Americans are not. ENDA is a “gay” and “trans” lawyer’s dream. What about jobs such as a teacher in which the employer might not want the “transitioning” employee to model his newfound “gender identity” to children? Or service jobs (say a maitre d’) in which the employer may not want the newly “gender variant” employee to be in such a public role?

Imagine a male employee, John, who since he became employed at XYZ Corp., about a decade ago, has used the men’s restroom. Then one day he informs his boss that in a week he will come to work in a dress as “Joanna” and begin his MTF (“male-to-female”) metamorphosis into ”womanhood.” (According to widely accepted regulations within the “transgender” world, he must “live” full-time as Joanna, taking female hormones, for a full year before he becomes eligible for ”sex-reassignment surgery,” which will turn his healthy sex organ into a makeshift female sex organ. If you have the stomach to read what is actually done to a man’s body in ”sex reassignment surgery,” click HERE, but be warned: it’s horrifying stuff. We must pray for these poor souls who are so confused that they would destroy their healthy, God-given bodies to assuage their inner conflict.)

Isn’t it a bit much to expect of normal, female XYZ employees to all of the sudden welcome “Joanna’s” presence in the ladies’ restroom? In fact, as I read the Blade account below, under ENDA’s proposed regulations, John/Joanna would be able to use the female restroom BEFORE his “sex reassignment” surgery. Indeed, the website “e-transgender,” quoting the homosexual/transgender group Human Rights Campaign, advises corporate human resources managers as follows:

“Employers should grant restroom access according to an employee’s full-time gender presentation.”

Read: if John “lives” (identifies) as Joanna full-time, he should be able to use the female restroom. Biologically-born ladies, beware!

What about the privacy rights of John’s female co-workers? Don’t they have the right not to feel personally invaded as they go to the restroom at their job? Will businesses have to put out new bathroom policies and undergo company-wide bathroom-usage training to explain the new policies?

But the situation becomes a crisis when the federal government – aided by politically correct activist judges – forces businesses to advance this Gender Confusion Revolution in the name of “civil rights.”

Is this really an area in which the federal government should even be involved? It’s bad enough that big business is rolling over to the bizarre “T” (Transgender) agenda — with some even subsidizing horrifying “sex-reassignment surgeries” that destroy men’s and women’s healthy bodies. (I once attended a conference for FTM (“female to male”) “transgenders” in which young women proudly showed off their flat chests — the result of “chest surgery” operations in which their healthy breasts were removed to make them look like the “men” they wanted to be.)

Of course, the larger goal here — shared by the “gay” and “transgender” lobbies — is to change your mind and heart regarding gender-confused conduct. The law is merely a tool in their never-ending quest to overturn America’s Judeo-Christian norms regarding family, sex and marriage.

We predict that businesses will deal with this very sad and strange “transgender” issue by building special restrooms and/or shower facilities for their “transgender” or alternatively “gendered” employees — spending countless millions to subsidize mentally disordered, deviant behavior. (Gender Identity Disorder, or GID, is a recognized mental disorder.) This corporate spending would accelerate dramatically should ENDA become law, as businesses would fear lawsuits if they failed to honor “trans” rights.

Call Congress (202-224-3121) or use e-mail to urge your U.S. Representative and Senators to reject ENDA, H.R. 2015. Also, call President Bush (202-456-1414) or e-mail him at comments@whitehouse.gov and ask him to veto the pro-”trans” ENDA, along with the “Hate Crimes” bill (H.R. 1592) that his aides have already indicated will likely be vetoed.

* * *

The following is excerpted from an April 27 Washington Blade report on ENDA and “transgenders”; as you read this, imagine a small business owner with, say, 20 employees trying to make sense of this legislation and the potential new federal regulations it would usher in for his company:

Grooming standards

Two separate provisions in the bill entitled “Certain Shared Facilities” and “Dress and Grooming Standards” allow employers to place restrictions on transgender employees under certain conditions. And in what some are likely to consider a groundbreaking development in federal law, the two provisions also address how employers may deal with employees in the process of transitioning from one gender to the other.

Supporters said the limited restrictions give employers the authority to require transgender employees to dress according to the gender into which they have transitioned.

“Nothing in this act shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconstant with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later,” the bill states.

On the issue of work-related grooming standards, the bill states, “Nothing in this act shall prohibit an employer from requiring an employee, during the employee’s hours at work, to adhere to reasonable dress or grooming standards not prohibited by other provisions of federal, state or local law, provided that the employer permits any employee who has undergone gender transition prior to the time of employment, and any employee who has notified the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition after the time of employment, to adhere to the same dress or grooming standards for the gender to which the employee has transitioned or is transitioning.”

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said the provision relating to shower facilities is aimed at places such as steel mills or other facilities where workers must shower before or after work. She said the language was reviewed thoroughly by transgender rights groups and legal experts, who came to a consensus on how to address this and the dress standard issue.

“Most employers have a dress code,” she said. “This is something that we have accepted as a society. What this language does is provide a fair way for employers to handle this.”

‘Gay’ Group Sponsors Breast-Removal Workshop

Sonja Dalton — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:24:49 +0000

From ‘Gay’ Group Sponsors Breast-Removal Workshop, published Feb 16, 2002, by WorldNet Daily:

The nation’s largest homosexual lobby group is sponsoring a conference this weekend for “female-to-male” “transgenders” that will include sessions on “chest surgery” for young women who want to have their breasts removed in their quest to become “transmen.”

The Human Rights Campaign has signed on as an official sponsor of the “True Spirit Conference,” which is scheduled to be held at a hotel in the nation’s capital Feb. 15-18. In a TV talk show debate Wednesday, HRC spokesman Wayne Besen said he was “proud” of his group sponsoring the event and defended the “chest surgery” sessions for women seeking to remove their breasts.

Besen made his comments on the Fox News Channel’s debate show “Hannity & Colmes” after being challenged about HRC’s role in the transsexual event by Peter LaBarbera, senior policy analyst for the Culture & Family Institute of Concerned Women for America, who was also a guest on the show.

On the Fox program, LaBarbera asked Besen, “There’s actually a doctor coming from New York who is talking about ‘breast reconstruction’ – chopping off the breasts of these girls because they want to become men. We think that’s dangerous. How can you justify teaching that as normal in the schools?”

Besen replied, “First of all, we’re very proud of supporting this type of conference. As Peter said, there are doctors and medical professionals there to deal with this particular issue. He ought to get educated on it.”

Sadistic sex, polygamy workshops

The True Spirit conference also includes a panel on “How to Do SM [sadomasochism]“ and one devoted to “Polyamory,” an activist term for multiple-partner sexual unions (“Polyamory can work, if you do it right, we promise!” says the True Spirit website.) In addition, the program contains sessions devoted to sexual tips for “transgenders.”

HRC – which has always cultivated a “mainstream” image – has been under heavy pressure from “transgender” groups to endorse their full agenda. It has responded by stepping up its “transgender” activism, even as it rejects pro-”transgender” provisions in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, its top Capitol Hill priority. HRC and allies like homosexual Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., fear including “transgenders” in the bill would jeopardize its passage.

ENDA would add “sexual orientation” (but not “gender identity,” as “trans” activists seek) to federal employment non-discrimination law. Interestingly, HRC supports pro-”transgender” language in state versions of the ENDA bill and even supported a successful effort in San Francisco last year to win taxpayer funding for “sex-change” operations for city workers.

At last year’s True Spirit conference, at least one speaker railed against HRC for not signing on as a conference sponsor, according to pro-family writer Guyla Mills, who attended the event.

Mills said most of the girls attending last year’s “chest surgery” workshops at True Spirit were in their 20′s, but some attending the conference were teenagers. At one point, Mills said she heard a discussion on how teens could bypass their parents’ authority to obtain masculinizing hormones.

At this year’s conference, organizers will be checking IDs for underage youth, who will be forbidden from attending the more sexualized workshops. However, the True Spirit website states, “The following topics will not have age restrictions: Surgical, safer sex, dating/intimacy, health, personal safety.” In other words, minors could still attend sessions devoted to sexual issues and self-mutilation.

The website describes True Spirit as “an annual conference for all gender variant people on the masculine spectrum or the transgender experience and significant others, friends, families & allies (SOFFAs) of all gender variations and sexual orientations.”

Doctors on hand

Organizers boast that at least two doctors will be on hand at True Spirit to discuss “top” (breast removal) and “bottom” (creation of a makeshift “penis” from a vagina) surgery. The website states:

In conjunction with Whitman-Walker Health Center, medical exams will be available either on-site or within a short distance from the hotel. Many surgeons will also be attending [True Spirit] and will be conducting free consultations for chest and lower surgery, as well as be available throughout the Conference weekend to answer questions.

One of the doctors slated to speak at True Spirit is Manhattan-based plastic surgeon Dr. James Reardon, whose website contains a section for “female-to-male” transsexuals desiring “chest reconstruction.” [Note: Internet sites dealing with transsexual "surgeries" are not for the squeamish; some pages contain before-and-after photos and detailed descriptions of altered genitalia, etc.] In a section of Reardon’s site under the heading, “Are you ready for the Chest Reconstruction stage of your transition from female to male?” it states:

Together with a therapist, Dr. Reardon is seeing younger patients who are making these gender decisions earlier in life, preferably before entering college or their careers. The adolescent patient requires in-depth psychological evaluation, frequently with a second opinion, and will certainly benefit from parental support and interaction in the decision making process.

Catering to those who purportedly suffer from “Gender Dysphoria,” — the medical term for persons who have confusion or discomfort about their birth sex — can be quite profitable. Dr. Reardon’s site says the cost for a “chest reconstruction” is “$5,000-$10,000 depending on the complexity of the case.”

Another speaker at True Spirit is Dr. Michael Brownstein, a San Francisco-based plastic surgeon who does both “top” and “bottom” operations for “female-to-male” transsexuals, as well as those for “male to female” transsexuals. Brownstein’s website contains testimonials of “FTM” transsexuals, and photos pre- and post- “top surgery.” One such writer, “Frank,” praises Brownstein for performing the “miracle” of removing the breasts that she despised, saying, “I have the male chest I should have been born with and I know that, given time, any casual observer would never suspect I *wasn’t* born with it” [emphasis "Frank's"].

Besides HRC, other sponsors of the True Spirit conference include the New England Leather Alliance, a sadistic sex group, GenderPAC, the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, and the National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Centers.

The following are verbatim session titles and descriptions, some of which are excerpted, for some of the workshops offered at this year’s True Spirit conference. They are taken from the True Spirit website’s list of workshops. Several panels were too racy to print on a family-oriented newssite:

Beyond Bathrooms: Trans Issues in Gender-Segregated Communities

Beyond Binaries: Youth and Gender Identity
How do youth come to define and understand themselves within a dichotomous world? What happens when there are choices beyond male/female? What societal factors permit the emergence of genderqueer youth? In this workshop, two queer youth will provoke a discussion on binary gender. What are the experiences of transgendered youth today? Why do some enforce binary gender upon themselves? We will discuss the relationship between gender, labels and youth identity.

Bluring The Lines: Creating Our Own Identities
This caucus provides a space for anyone who feels the “male” or “female” labels do not quite work for their own identity to express themselves, be heard and see they are not alone.

Breaking the Sweat: The Fine Art of Cruising and Flirting with Women
Tips, techniques and general inspirations for meeting and mating with the ladies. Bring questions, scenarios and fears to this fun, friendly and interactive forum.

Chest Reconstruction – Dr. Michael Brownstein
Two Techniques, One Result: Discussion of the techniques involved in the double incision and keyhole; or subcutaneous mastectomy. Includes indications, limitations and anticipated results of each. Presentation will include newer photos of both procedures.

Chest Surgery – Dr. James Reardon
Dr. Reardon, a New York City-based surgeon who specializes in chest reconstruction surgery for FTMs, will present a slide show and discuss different kinds of chest reconstruction surgery options.

Chest Surgery Show and Tell
Come strip to the waist and strut your stuff. This perennially popular session will invite guys [female-to male "transmen"] to come to the front of the room and briefly share highlights of their surgery experience and/or reflect on their relationship to their new chest.

Femme Boy Caucus

Femmephobia and Misogyny in FtM Communities
… In denying the existence of our female bodies, how do we contribute to our own oppression and reinvent misogyny in a queer context? …

FTM Ejaculation
It seems that FTMs on hormones have a really different relationship to their genitalia. …

Getting the Balance Right: Embracing the Male and Female Psyches

Getting to the Point: Injections
Afraid of those big, sharp needles? Not sure of the best place to inject [hormones] or how to do it safely? Join a health care professional and others who have experience with injections. Learn tricks of handling these sticky situations and overcoming fears.

How to Do SM [sadomasochism]
If you think [SM] looks hot, it is! Learn how to start out and be safe.

How to Make Your Own Packy, Packer/Harness and Binders
Are you tired of sweaty bulky binders? Does your packy [padding for females to create the look of a penis] fall out of your shorts all the time? Are you also too broke to buy fancy products that would make you more comfortable? Or maybe you just need to save for surgery. Either way, this workshop is to share sewing and design skills so you can make your own binders and packers from inexpensive materials that can be picked up anywhere. Small donation requested for materials. (All can attend and watch even without donation.)

MultiGenderPlicity
Do you have lots of people living in your body? Are you literally a man trapped in a woman’s body – or something else entirely? Are you a tranny whose alter-ego seems to have a mind of its own? Come talk with other trannies who’re multiple and multiples who’re trans.

Polyamory Panel
For those of us who are committed to loving more than one person in an honest, aboveboard, and open-hearted way. We’ll talk about insecurity, jealousy, boundaries, negotiation, and Shiny New Lover Syndrome. Polyamory can work, if you do it right, we promise!

Sacred Body, Sacred Sex
This workshop focuses on the way we are learning to re-see ourselves. How our society has limited our image of ourselves to only two genders and how we can meld our mental/emotional image of ourselves with our body image. We need as a community of consenting adults to celebrate our sexual pleasures and fight any form of sexual repression. …

Testosterone Diaries
Join two transguys in a thoughtful discussion of issues connected to taking T [testosterone]: including finding and working with medical providers, adjusting dosages, the range of administration methods (injection, gel, pellets and the patch), realistic expectations, overall health concerns and dealing with the many changes T brings.

TG Parents and Kids
Parents and children discuss issues including: living in trans/queer families, social issues for children regarding fathers giving birth to their children, adoption and insemination challenges and concerns, similarities and differences to queer parenting and families, educating and working with daycare providers, teachers, pediatricians or other professionals about our unique family structure(s), and many more topics.

[Breasts] to Pecs: The Emotional Journey (Smaller Group Discussion)
A follow-up to the Chest Surgery Show and Tell, this workshop will have a panel address specific surgery issues, such as choosing a surgeon, the logistics and emotions of preparing for surgery, the support person’s role and experience, and other issues related to this monumental step in gender transition. …

Transfag Datebait
We’re here, we’re queer … now what? Meeting men and dating as a gay/bi/queer transman can be a significant challenge. …

Trans-Trans Intimacy & Sex

Trans-Youth Access to Care: Barriers to Trans-Medical and Mental Health Care
A discussion of the barriers to care that trans-youth and their partners encounter. Age barriers to providing services to trans-youth are perceived to be numerous. Being young, not having one’s own insurance plan, adequate employment and/or other financial resources, or even a car or transportation to medical appointments can make medical care nearly impossible for some youth. … Issues of parental consent, barriers and access will be primary issues.

Responding to a “Trans” Activist: Unfamiliar With Scriptural Authority? Open a Bible

Sonja Dalton — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 04:32:58 +0000

By Sonja Dalton

A gender confusion activist responds to the firing of a “transgendered” faculty member — a male now living/dressing as a woman — by a private Christian university:

“We are unfamiliar with any scriptural authority
that addresses changing genders.”

– Danny Baker of “transgender” advocate group GenderPAC,
as quoted in US University Fires Transgender Professor,
published Mar 3, 2007, in GayNZ

Dr. Albert Mohler is quoted in Gender Issues at the Heart of Culture War (published Nov 23, 2004, by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) as saying:

“The issue of gender, in my estimation, is at the very center of the target of our secular age and postmodern world,” Mohler said. “It is also at the very center of the target of where we see theological accommodation is taking us, not only in the body of divinity, but also in the complex of the comprehensive truthfulness of God’s Word. What we are looking at here is an assault upon God’s glory.“

So, Danny Baker, we offer you a few examples of Scriptural authority that address “changing genders” and we pray that you will consider them soberly:

So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.

– Genesis 1:27

When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
He created them male and female and blessed them.
And when they were created, He called them “man.”

– Genesis 5:1-2

The Bible describes a strict gender binary — only two sexes, male and female. God did not create a “FTM trans-male” and a “MTF trans-female” or a “genderqueer” or a “two-spirit” person. He created man and woman, and that is what He blessed.

A woman shall not wear a man’s garment,
nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak,
for whoever does these things is
an abomination to the LORD your God.

– Deuteronomy 22:5

Notice that Scripture says whoever — a completely inclusive term that leaves no room for justifying alternate behavior, even despite confused emotions, discomfort or dissatisfaction, or intense desire. This passage teaches that whoever (i.e., anyone, all, no matter who) cross-dresses, whoever mutilates their natural sexual organs in order to emulate the opposite sex, is an abomination to the LORD your God — not to “trans-phobic, hateful, judgmental Christians,” but to Jehovah God who created them.

After all, Christians are merely repentant sinners, formerly alienated, enemies of God ourselves, so how could we as redeemed sinners rightly look at another sinner as an abomination to us? No, we as Christians look with compassion, we warn of God’s impending final judgment, and we urgently invite all to share in the mercy which we ourselves so desperately need and for which we are so grateful: Come and see how Jesus Christ can transform your mind and your life!

Ford Foundation Awards $125K to Promote Gender Confusion in “Communities of Color”

Sonja Dalton — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:53:18 +0000

You might recall that Tyrone Hanley was on the “sex worker” panel at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force 2006 Creating Change conference.

From the pro-transexuality Gender Public Advocacy Coalition on Dec 17, 2006:

The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) today announced a grant of $125,000 from the Ford Foundation to develop new partnerships with community youth groups combating the crisis of masculinity among young men of color.

…The new effort, named “Community Partners,” is an expansion of GenderPAC’s GenderYOUTH Network, which empowers youth leaders to ensure classrooms and communities are safe for everyone – whether or not they fit stereotypes for masculinity or femininity. The Network currently supports student leaders on 55 campuses in 27 states.

Said Tyrone Hanley (pictured right), GenderYOUTH Coordinator, “These funds will enable us to better reach off-campus youth in local communities. They will also enable us to better address intersections of race and gender and the strong pressures many youth of color face when it comes to codes of masculinity and femininity.”

As an initial step in this new work, the GenderYOUTH spring campaign HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, will focus on issues of misogyny, homophobia, and violent codes of masculinity in hip-hop culture and the larger American society. It is designed to help GenderYOUTH chapters hold mainstream culture accountable for perpetuating gender stereotypes, particularly among youth of color.

The campaign is part of a national effort also named HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, after the groundbreaking documentary of the same name by filmmaker Byron Hurt. The documentary examines representations of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture and will premiere February 20, 2007 on PBS. (For more information: www.itvs.org/outreach/hiphop).

A new GenderPAC human rights report documents an under-reported epidemic of murderous violence that has claimed the lives of more than 50 youth and young adults since 1995 because of their gender identity or expression – 92% of the victims were Black or Latina, and most were killed by young men their own age.

“These deaths are about young using murderous aggression to enforce standards of masculinity on other youth, and this grant will enable us to focus on underlying attitudes that foster such violence,” said Riki Wilchins, Executive Director of GenderPAC. “We thank the Ford Foundation for this amazing opportunity.”

Continue reading at GenderPAC…

Fitting for Halloween: Truly Scaaary Pro-”Gay” Quotes

Sonja Dalton — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 06:38:10 +0000

All emphasis is added by Americans For Truth. The quotes, though frightening, are real but not unexpected from a movement that calls itself “Queer.” – Peter LaBarbera

No Cartoons Poking Fun at Homosexuality! … Says GLAAD Thought Police

“The New York Post does it again in its October 27 edition. Two days after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that discrimination against same-sex couples violates that state’s equal protection requirement, the New York Post published a cartoon by Sean Delonas depicting a man carrying a sheep wearing a bridal veil to a “New Jersey Marriage Licenses” window.

“This is the second time in the last three weeks that the New York Post has published a cartoon perpetuating anti-gay stereotypes by the same illustrator. On October 5, the tabloid published a cartoon showing a caricature of Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey “comforting” ousted Congressman Mark Foley with the caption, “Look On the Bright Side Foley, You’ll Have a Best Selling Book.”

“Twice in one month the New York Post has seen fit to publish a repugnant anti-gay cartoon,” said Sean Lund, GLAAD’s Director of Messaging and Communications Strategy. “It’s unacceptable for any publication to platform this type of bigotry.”

Write Now! Please write Colin Myler, Managing Editor for the New York Post, at letters@nypost.com and let him know what you think about the Post’s decision to publish these defamatory cartoons.

– GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination) press release, “New York Post Publishes Second Anti-Gay Cartoon in Three Weeks,” Oct. 27, 2006. The first (Oct. 5) cartoon that touched off GLAAD’s ire is below.

TAKE ACTION: We suggest you follow our lead by writing to the NY Post and telling them not to be intimidated by the oh-so-serious Thought Police over at the ironically named GLAAD. Tell the Post that Sean Delonis’ cartoons are funny and completely appropriate given the latest scandals plaguing homosexual politicians, and the natural discomfort that most people have with the radical concept of homosexual “marriage.”

Can’t Teach Kids that Homosexual Behavior Leads to Hell?

“The religious leaders who support Hell Houses believe that by scaring youth into ‘good’ behavior they are saving their souls. However, the report includes examples of the tragic impact of the message that ‘homosexuals’ are going to hell can have on youth, including the story of Bobby Griffith, a gay teen who wrote in his journal that he was afraid he was going to hell and who eventually committed suicide. Research cited in the report indicates that higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth can be attributed in part to anti-LGBT messages that make them feel that something is fundamentally wrong with who they are.”

– National Gay and Lesbian Task Force press release, Oct. 27, “New report titled Homophobia at Hell House reveals how the right wing fuels homophobia, demonizes lesbian and gay youth.”

Church Leaders, Not Homosexuals, Should be “Ashamed”

“The Hell House phenomenon is yet another example of the dangerous and extreme tactics used by the religious right to indoctrinate youth with lies and misinformation about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Church leaders who sponsor Hell Houses should be ashamed of contributing to the climate of anti-gay harassment and violence that mercilessly threatens the safety and well-being of LGBT youth on a daily basis.”

– Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, commenting in same press release, Oct. 27, 2006.

Teaching about Hell Violates New Testament?

“Have the churches that sponsor Hell Houses forgotten that the New Testament teaches us to ‘love your neighbor as yourself?’ Have they forgotten that Jesus taught that we must love and include everyone? Cloaking hate in Christian language does not mean that it is not hateful or harmful. Religious leaders know that sexual difference is a blessed part of our endowment. These Hell Houses are fear-based education at their worst; their homophobic and anti-choice messages must be exposed.”

– “Rev.” Debra W. Haffner, Director, Religious Institute on Sexuality, Morality and Healing, quoted in same release. Haffner is a member of the Task Force’s “National Religious Leadership Roundtable,” a strategy to co-opt religion to support, rather than condemn, homosexual practice.

Lawsuit Coming for School that Won’t Let Kevin Go to Prom in a Dress?

WASHINGTON (June 5, 2006) – At a time when most high school seniors are deciding what to wear for their walk down the aisle to “Pomp & Circumstance,” Kevin Logan is considering possible litigation against his school. West Side High School in Gary, IN banned Logan from his senior prom and is debating his participation in graduation as well — because he prefers to dress in female attire.

“Every year teens like Kevin are bullied — and even killed — simply because they don’t conform to gender norms. A recent University of Illinois study showed that about 1-in-5 students have seen peers who are not masculine or feminine enough physically assaulted,” said Tyrone Hanley, Youth Program Coordinator for the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition. “Instead of publicly punishing Kevin, West Side High School should be sending a strong message that their school is a safe place for all students to learn, grown and succeed.”

Logan (18) was banned from attending prom by Principal Diane Rouse when he arrived in a formal dress and heels.

– Press release from Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, June 6, 2006, “Dress Means No Prom, Graduation for High School Boy.”

AFT Note: While we certainly don’t condone violence against anyone, we also don’t think schools should be bullied into allowing and promoting gender confusion by the threat of lawsuits from radical activist groups like GenderPAC.

They Have Decided, So Who Needs Democracy?

“Our decision today significantly advances the civil rights of gays and lesbians. We have decided that our State Constitution guarantees that every statutory right and benefit conferred to heterosexual couples through civil marriage must be made available to committed same-sex couples.”

– Part of Oct. 25 ruling by New Jersey Supreme Court forcing the state legislature to grant either “civil unions” (homosexual “marriage” by another name) or outright “gay marriage” within 180 days. Incredibly, not one judge of the seven judges argued against radically redefining marriage or its benefits beyond a man and a woman (the dissenting judges favored full “gay marriage”). To see who appointed these rogue judges, click on the AFT story, New Jersey Supreme Court Recommends Appeal to Fellow Citizens; How Shall We Respond?

Mel Knows Better than the Bible: Homosexuality Is a “Gift from God”

” ‘Dr. White,’ [a male freshman Texas A&M student who heard Mel White speak] whispered, ‘how can you be sure that God loves you?’ It was his way of asking how could I accept my homosexuality as a gift from God when the significant people in his life had warned him that homosexuality was a sickness and a sin.

“In Step #4 we were reminded that each of us is created as a sexual being. Whatever our sexual orientation (or the color of our skin or the shape of our nose), it is not a sickness to be healed nor a sin to be forgiven. Our sexuality is an integral part of our body and soul, a gift from our Creator to be lived with joy and integrity.

“Trust your heart, “Aggie” freshman. Don’t let the anti-homosexuals wear you down. You are a homosexual. Accept that NOW and move on. Even more you are a homo-spiritual. Don’t get caught up in the ‘gay culture’ that measures beauty in biceps and pectorals. Develop your soul-force. It is the size of your spirit not the size of your pecs that will make the difference.”

– From The Original 17 Step Journey: Step 6 With the Rev. Dr. Mel White,”CREATING A SOULFORCE CREDO ABOUT YOURSELF” on the Soulforce website. White is a former evangelical Christian writer.

“Queerly Canadian,” Indeed: U. of Toronto Teaches Sadisim as a Class

From the “we-couldn’t-make-this-up-if-we-tried” department. Only the “gay” academic movement could come up with something this wacky. But hey, why not? It’s just another “sexual orientation.”– Peter L.

The following is excerpted from Students Role-play Sadomasochism in Toronto University’s Sexual Diversity Program , by Gudrun Schultz, published Oct 26, 2006, by LifeSite News:

University of Toronto students in the Sexual Diversity Studies Program explore sadomasochism, bondage and domination as part of an “academic” approach to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, Reuters reported October 20 ….

“It’s not sexy sex sex, where we’re talking about whips and chains, but we will talk about whips and chains,” graduating student Robbie Morgan told Reuters. “We’ll talk about whips and chains in a political, social, cultural, religious context of sexuality and how that sexuality affects those institutions.”

Program director David Rayside told Reuters the content emphasis is often misunderstood.

“It’s a very serious analytical exercise and it isn’t what a lot of people think it is.”

Program courses include an arts and literature course called ‘Queerly Canadian,’ and a drama class called ‘Sexual Performance: Case Studies in S/M (sadomasochism).’

“Visiting lecturers will address technical aspects of flogging, restraint, and role-play,” the University’s website course description explains. “Students will ‘research’ questions (e.g. what constitutes coercion? Consent? Control? Submission? Can sexual practices transform our understanding of power?) by the optional performance of selected scenes.”

“Queerly Canadian” asks students to look at how a “queer” perspective of identity could contribute to an “alternative national politics.”

– Thanks to Lifesite.net for exposing this folly; see AFT’s repost: “Queerly Canadian,” Indeed: Students Role-play Sadomasochism in Toronto U.’s “Sexual Diversity” Program.

Focus Publishes “Anti-Gay Pornography”?

“Over the past decade, [Focus on the Family’s] Citizen magazine has devolved into a monthly 32-page screed attacking gay people. Shorter, but no less soaked in prejudice, are the group’s direct mail pieces. While railing against nude images in print and broadcast media, the organization engages in a kind of antigay pornography meant to incense and titillate its readership.”

– Hans Johnson, writing a screed against Dr. James Dobson, “The Role of the Religious Right in the Foley Affair,” for the website of the leftist magazine, “In These Times,” Oct. 12, 2006.

When Is It OK for Boys to be Girls, and Girls to be Boys?

Sonja Dalton — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:50:58 +0000

Never. (Deuteronomy 22:5)

Excerpted from When is it OK for boys to be girls, and girls to be boys?, by Ilene Lilchuck, published Aug 27, 2006, by The San Francisco Chronicle:

Park Day School is throwing out gender boundaries.

…Park Day’s staff members are among a growing number of educators and parents who are acknowledging gender variance in very young children. Aurora School, another private elementary school in Oakland, also is seeing children who are “gender fluid” and hired a clinical psychologist to conduct staff training.

…”What is new is how parents and educators are addressing it and being open to it at earlier ages,” said Taneika Taylor of the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, an organization in Washington, D.C., that is trying to end discrimination and violence caused by gender stereotypes.

…Gender variance is an especially touchy topic when young children are the subjects. The Traditional Values Coalition calls efforts to accommodate these kids “normalizing the abnormal.”

The group’s executive director, Andrea Lafferty, said gender variance is a Bay Area phenomenon.

“If you talk to your typical person across America, they would be appalled,” she said. “God made us male and female, and God makes no mistakes. To teach a child at an early age self-hatred, and that’s what this gender variance is, is very sad.”

Continue reading in The San Francisco Chronicle…