WARNING: Offensive photos depicting San Francisco’s perversion of “tolerance”

Me: Naked Black Slave on leash; You: White Master: Is this what big city liberals and pro-”gay” activists mean when they extol “diversity” and “sexual freedom”? (Note the two cops in the background who took no action against this public nudity.) We covered up the exposed genitals of the African-American man at left, who with his white, female “master” (holding leash) attended the 2009 Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco Sunday afternoon. Despite the SFPD’s promises earlier this year to crack down on public nudity at such events, police and city (and state) authorities again “tolerated” full frontal nudity at Folsom. (More firsthand Americans For Truth photos to come from our man on the scene.)

Consensual “master-slave” “relationships” are just one of the demented perversions that fall under the sadomasochistic (”leather”) umbrella.  Powerful homosexual groups like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force promote such deviance — see our stories HERE and HERE on the Task Force’s annual “Leather Leadership Award.” The same Task Force — which purports to support “monogamous” values for homosexuals as it injects itself into Maine’s current battle over  “same-sex marriage” — manages to vilify Christian pro-family groups as “extremists” despite its own promotion of twisted and dehumanizing “S&M” perversions.

Daddy “Master,” Boy “Slave”:  Below, another “master-slave couple,” this one homosexual, poses for the camera at Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Note that the “slave” — who appears to be considerably younger than his “master” — is bound by a leash to the older man. We had to cover it up, but the younger man also is wearing a “sex toy” contraption that hangs from his shoulders and attaches to the base of his testicles. 

Below we reprint the first of an excellent three-part series on the “Hate Crimes” bill (S. 909) by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor Robert Gagnon (left), probably the world’s foremost expert on the Bible and homosexuality from an orthodox (Bible-believing) perspective. S. 909 could be voted on as early as Thursday in the U.S. Senate. (So says the extremist National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.) For those who can’t wait on AFTAH for Parts II and III, go to this page on Gagnon’s website and scroll down for the full series.

TAKE ACTION: call or write your U.S. Senators (202-224-3121 or 202-225-1321; www.congress.org) today and urge them to oppose the “hate crimes” bill, which is likely to be tacked on as an amendment to the defense appropriations bill for a vote as early as Thursday. Federal “hate crimes” legislation including homosexuality and gender confusion will lay the groundwork for the persecution of religious Americans or anyone who acts on the belief that homosexuality is wrong — as well as pro-life activists working to save unborn babies and those who fight jihadist Islamo-fascism. Every red state with no “sexual orientation” laws will instantly be affected by this federal power-grab that guarantees unequal treatment in the law by awarding homosexuals, bisexuals and the gender confused specially protected “civil rights” status.

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Gagnon writes:

Why a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity “Hate Crimes” Law Is Bad for You

Part 1: Promoting hatred of people opposed to homosexual practice and transgenderism

by Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D.

May 28, 2009

To print a clean copy with proper formatting and pagination go to the pdf version HERE.

The so-called “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act” (H.R. 1913), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives along party lines on Apr. 29 and introduced into the U.S. Senate shortly thereafter by Ted Kennedy (S. 909), is improperly named. The bill is really a hate-promotion bill as regards the inclusion of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” among the groupings slated to receive special protection.

Supporters of this bill who rightly believe homosexual practice to be unnatural and sinful have been duped into thinking that this bill is primarily about protecting homosexual and transgendered persons from violence. They hear the rubric “hate crimes” and think: Who can be for violence toward homosexual and transgendered persons?

The real objectives of the “hate crimes” bill (hint: it’s not about crime)

Supporters of this bill who believe homosexual practice to be immoral rarely stop to consider that all necessary laws are already in place protecting everyone from violent physical attacks or verbal threats to do bodily harm, including persons who engage in homosexual and transgendered behavior. Even homosexual columnist Andrew Sullivan has recently commented: “The real reason for hate crime laws is not the defense of human beings from crime. There are already laws against that—and Matthew Shepard’s murderers were successfully prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in a state with no hate crimes law at the time.” There is absolutely no evidence that state prosecutors are systematically ignoring genuine crimes against homosexual and transgendered persons, once reported to law enforcement officials.

So why pass “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” so-called “hate crime” legislation? The reason has more to do with foisting an expansive homosexualist agenda on the nation than with concerns about crime. The bill serves the following vital aims of that agenda:

• It gets the federal government to enshrine in federal law “sexual orientation” (i.e. homosexuality and bisexuality) and “gender identity” (i.e. transsexualism and cross-dressing) as identity markers worthy of special protection and promotion alongside racial and gender diversity.
• This in turn gives federal backing to hatred of all persons who express opposition to homosexual practice and transgenderism as the moral equivalent of racists and misogynists (sexists), no matter how loving that expression of opposition may be.
• It also lays the foundation for a litany of future “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” bills that will markedly abridge the civil liberties of all who express moral disapproval of homosexual practice and transgenderism.

The foot in the door

This “hate crimes” bill is the proverbial foot in the door or camel nose in the tent that makes possible —— indeed inevitable —— all future laws involving “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” By simply placing “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” alongside of “race,” “color,” “national origin,” “gender,” and “disability,” this “hate crimes” bill does most of its damage. It ensconces in federal law the principle that homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality are as benign as race, gender, and disability —— an aspect of human diversity that must be affirmed and celebrated. Those who refuse to go along with this principle then become encoded in law as hateful, discriminatory bigots.

Note that while “religion” (an identity marker involving choice) is one of the protected categories of this “hate crime” bill, the bill mainly makes a connection between “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” on the one hand and a host of benign innate conditions on the other (i.e., the five other protected categories of the bill). I’ve never heard an advocate for homosexual practice and transgenderism make the connection between these behaviors and religious belief. The analogy is always made with race and gender.

The thought crime of “prejudice” against homosexual and transgender behavior

Make no mistake about the fact that this is an Orwellian thought-crimes bill. Suppose a young man and a 70-year-old grandmother push each at roughly the same time. The man does so after shouting out “You bigoted homophobe!” while the grandmother does so after responding “Well then, you are a sexual pervert!”

This “hate crime” bill would apply only to the grandmother and would do so solely on the basis that she believed that homosexual practice was a perversion of the natural sexual order. For the bill establishes this conviction to be a “prejudice,” stating that the federal government can intervene when “a crime of violence … is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived … sexual orientation [or] gender identity … of the victim” (emphasis added). The bill effectively (but wrongly, go HERE) declares this conviction to be a hate that society must prosecute vigorously by enhancing penalties and calling for massive federal intervention.

However, the bill shows no concern for classifying as hateful prejudice the alternative conviction; namely, that advocates of a male-female requirement for sexual relations are hateful, ignorant bigots. Rather, the bill promotes this alternative conviction to society at large. It essentially declares to all sectors of society that it is “open season” on hating and ostracizing persons who find homosexual behavior and transsexualism to be morally repugnant, much as society hates and ostracizes members of the Klu Klux Klan or skinhead Nazi groups.

Recent cases in point are the widespread intimidation tactics employed by homosexualist opponents of California’s Proposition 8 against its supporters (for example, go HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE) and the smear campaign against Miss California, Carrie Prejean, for daring to disagree with a homosexual pageant judge’s affirmation of “gay marriage” (note that the point holds whatever Prejean’s deficiencies may be as a role model for Christian sexual modesty). Why shouldn’t those opposed to homosexual practice or transsexualism get special protection from the federal government? The reason is simple: They’re bigots.

The analogy of other sexual orientations

This bill thus goes beyond protection of homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered persons (who are already protected) to promotion of hatred —— hatred toward those opposed to homosexual and transgendered behavior. If you have any doubt about that, consider whether adding pedophilia (‘pedosexuality’) to the list would imply promotion of pedophilic behavior by the state and antagonism by the state toward perceived opponents of pedophiles. Surely it would.

Sadly, this may not be the best example since Rep. Steven King unsuccessfully introduced an amendment to the “hate crimes” bill in the House that would have excluded pedophilia from the definition of “sexual orientation.” If you can believe it, the Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee defeated the amendment along party lines, 13-10. To be sure, the Democrats are right that both “pedosexuality,” sexual desire for children, and “polysexuality,” sexual desire for more than one person concurrently, are “sexual orientations.” Where the Democrats err is in failing to recognize that this is a good reason for not having a “sexual orientation” provision.

Conclusion

So don’t fall for the line that, if you really love “gay,” lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, you will support this “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” “hate crime” bill. No, support for this bill does not mean that you oppose hateful, violent acts against persons who self-identify as homosexuals, transsexuals, and cross-dressers. Existing laws already make that point. Rather, it means that you support stigmatizing, marginalizing, and penalizing people who, lovingly or not, oppose homosexual practice and transgenderism. This is a hate-promotion bill.

Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D. is associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Abingdon Press) and co-author of Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views (Fortress Press). See www.robgagnon.net for more information.

TAKE ACTION: call or write House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and urge her to denounce this blatant attack on the family coming out of her district: 202-225–4965 or 202-225-0100.

By Peter LaBarbera

Folks, take a look at what the sadistic pervs over at Folsom Street Fair came up with for their promotional poster this year. And to think that in all their “leather pride” they think of themselves as “progressive.” (PETA might disagree.) The good news is that thanks to the efforts of Americans For Truth and others who have exposed the open-air perversions that have been allowed to take place year after year at Folsom and at another San Francisco “street fair,” police are finally promising to crack down on the nudity and public sex [see this report in California Catholic Daily]. Will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) denounce this new attack on the natural family, or will she continue to pander to her homosexual base– as she did by refusing to condemn a version of the above that mocked the Last Supper? Few Americans have any clue about just how deviant America’s Queer Mecca is.

Now here’s another reality about Folsom, International Mr. Leather (coming up this Memorial Day weekend in Chicago), and the über-depraved poster above: such vileness could only emerge from a “GLBT” (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender”) movement that celebrates sexual deviance in the first place. Homosexual sodomies have more in common with the above picture than they do with natural family and marriage. In other words, domesticated homosexuality (Heather Has Two Mommies) is itself a revolutionary assault against God and Nature. And that is why sadomasochists, “genderqueers” and she-males (transsexuals half-way through their “transition”) are all welcome under the self-described “queer” umbrella. They’ll tolerate Folsom, but they won’t tolerate Californians voting in Prop 8 to defend marriage.

It’s the behavior, stupid. And it’s awfully tough for a “Sexual Liberation” movement to boot out any “perverted” group or lifestyle when homosexuality itself is a perversion that was once universally taboo. (Which makes the concept of homosexuality-based “marriage,” well, about as ridiculous as calling what is depicted in this poster a “family.”) We’re talking gradations of immorality — how utterly foolish for “conservatives” to embrace “same-sex marriage” (or “civil unions”) in the name of commitment, monogamy and tradition — or Christianity. Did you know that NAMBLA (the pedophilic North American Man/Boy Love Association) once marched in “Gay Pride” parades?

So don’t hold your breath waiting for the Human Rights Campaign or the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force or PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to denounce this sick display. They can’t, and we doubt Speaker Pelosi will either, even though it might help her politically to do so. Privately the “gay” activists may be upset at how Folsom hurts their cause strategically, i.e., from a PR perspective. But outwardly they’re far more apt to attack Carrie Prejean than their comrade-cousins on the Leather fringe.

Folsom Street Fair’s press release announcing the new twisted poster follows:

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http://www.folsomstreetevents.org/fair-info.php

May 15, 2009

FOLSOM STREET EVENTS® LAUNCHES POSTER DESIGNS FOR ANNUAL FAIR AND EVENTS SEASON
Folsom Street Fair poster image draws inspiration from 1950’s style household

San Francisco, CA – May 15, 2009 – Folsom Street Events has released its latest poster designs for the annual events: Bay of Pigs™, Up Your Alley®, Magnitude®, and Folsom Street Fair®. This year, the official Folsom Street Fair poster was inspired by a classic 1950’s “nuclear family” photo. In light of the passage of Proposition 8 last fall, the organization felt it was important that the Folsom Street Fair – and San Francisco – take a stand about what family is and how we experience those similar bonds in our community. Folsom Street Events wanted to juxtapose the traditional and iconic imagery from that “era of innocence” against the irreverent diversity of the fetish community.

According to Demetri Moshoyannis, Executive Director, “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this poster, and we are looking forward to a particularly inspirational event season. The poster is an attempt to portray an alternative to the archetypal image of the family; it’s our way of saying: ‘This is our family.’ It is a distinctive representation of leather and fetish diversity with people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, interests, etc.”

According to Russell Brown, Administration and Special Projects Manager, who managed the creative process of producing the poster, “I really wanted a fun poster, maybe a little bit lighter than what Folsom has produced in the past with the hope of attracting some potential new fair-goers who may have been reluctant before. Especially with the downturn of the economy, I wanted the poster to reflect the three tenants of Folsom Street Fair: Fun, Frolic and Fetish.”

The poster was made possible in part by Brian Mills of Titan Media who brilliantly photographed the images. Titan Media generously volunteered their studio for the photo shoots. Additionally, all of the models volunteered their time, including: Troy Weakley (“dad”), Bianka Stevens (“mom”), Tony Buff of TitanMen.com (“son”), Sparkly Devil (“daughter”), Trevor Wayne (“younger son”) and Justin Morgan (“family dog”), all of whom brought energy and life to the picture.

Posters for Bay of Pigs, Up Your Alley, and Magnitude as well as Folsom Street Fair are available online at www.folsomstreetevents.org . The Bay of Pigs and Up Your Alley posters were illustrated creatively by Axel and Rob Clarke, accordingly. The Magnitude poster features TitanMen.com models Eduardo and Korben, and it was also photographed by Brian Mills.

The graphic below is a question (one of 70) from the “National Survey on Transgender Experiences of Discrimination in the U.S.,” sponsored by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Sort of makes you yearn for the good old days when people were either “male” or “female.” Come to think of it, they still are. You would practically need a PhD., to keep up with the ever-expanding array of gender identities that fall under the “T” umbrella in the “GLBT” (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) equation. Check out this mind-numbing Wikipedia entry attempting to define “Genderqueer.”

Note that the choices offered below do not comprise a comprehensive list of identities associated with GLBT movement, leading to an expansion of that acronym to “GLBTQQ” (the “QQ” stands for “Queer” and “Questioning”) and even longer combinations of letters. (Check out this Unitarian Universalists document, which on its front page also encourages sadomasochistic, prostitution and “non-monogamous” identities for young “queers.” Pure evil.) Here is the NCTE survey question:

The report states, “The results of the survey will be part of an important report on discrimination against transgender people by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to help create better opportunities for transgender and gender non-conforming people. We are grateful to Penn State University’s Center for the Study of Higher Education for hosting the survey and maintaining the integrity of our data.”

The survey will be used to support pro-”transgender” legislative goals, including “hate crimes” legislation and “working to include transgender provisions in a federal bill to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual workers from discrimination in employment.” The latter refers to including “gender identity” provisions in the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) bill, which would federalize “sexual orientation” law for businesses and organizations.

See our adjoining story: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Talks of ‘Moral Leadership’ while Honoring Homosexual S&M Pornographer

Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force says her movement shows “moral leadership” to the nation — even as the Task Force presented its “Leather Leadership Award” to a homosexual pornographer. The Task Force’s “Creating Change” conference in Denver ran supportive workshops on: transsexuality; prostitution (“sex workers’ rights”), “polyamory/nonmonogamy”; and – most disturbing – pushing a “sexual freedom” (read: sexual license) agenda on youth.

Dear AFTAH Reader,

If you are reading this website, you are seriously concerned about the homosexual activist agenda.  So I have an assignment for you.  Please print out the enclosed “State of the Movement” speech by the Rea Carey, the new executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and read it all the way through (it’s about 8 printed pages with my introduction).  Now, why would a Christian pro-family organization send out a speech by a radical homosexual activist?  Because we need to know what our Culture War enemies are saying and this speech is very instructive for OUR cause of defending traditional morality and marriage in America.

If you can’t find time to read the whole “Creating Change” speech, at least read the parts of it that we have bolded below.  Note how Ms. Carey talks about “moral leadership” even as the Task Force gave its ‘Leather Leadership Award” to a hard-core homosexual pornographer at the same “Creating Change” conference.  (Talk about chutzpah!)  And note also how she refers to the Bush administration as the “Evil Empire” – Ronald Reagan’s famous description of expansionist Soviet Communism – just as Iraqi citizens were preparing to vote in another free election made possible by the U.S. liberation of their country from the grip of dictator Saddam Hussein.  Nobody lies like the Left, yet the liberal media rarely challenge groups like the Task Force on their many falsehoods and slanders.

Several observations about Carey’s speech:

• The sheer organization of the anti-Christian Left:  thousands of left-wing, grassroots activists attend these annual “Creating Change” conferences; there is no parallel on the social Right for this scale of people and groups working closely together toward common goals.  There are precious few organizing and political “how-to” conferences for pro-family conservatives.  The Left eats and breathes politics; the Right is more distrustful of government, worse at politics, but more oriented toward God, family and church (the latter is obviously a good thing).  All this helps explain why so much destructive social “change” has come to America, where political organization is rewarded in our democratic system.  (That said, we would not see such a progression of evil in our nation were our culture not so deceived, and its once-Christian character so worn down by faithless secularism.)  In the coming days, we will shed more light on the extremist Task Force agenda, which now includes sadomasochism, prostitution (“sex workers’ rights”), “polyamory/nonmonogamy,” and – most disturbing – pushing a “sexual freedom” (read: sexual license) agenda on youth;
• We must acknowledge homosexual-agenda “victories” before we can move forward:  the pro-family movement must take a sober look at where we are in the battle over homosexuality, and it’s not pretty.  While it is tempting to point to pro-marriage victories in November (California, Florida, Arizona) as evidence that our movement is healthy, underneath the surface we are losing the critical public-policy and cultural argument over the legitimacy of and government endorsement of same-sex relationships.  Homosexual activists are making steady, incremental advances, often with little pro-family opposition – e.g., passing “domestic partner” legislation like the bill currently moving through New Mexico’s legislature – as part of a longterm strategy for bigger victories ahead.  Many of the “gay” gains came in states targeted by homosexual moneymen like Tim Gill, who has successfully knocked out pro-family state legislators in Iowa, Colorado and other states.  This begs the question: why do such hardball efforts seem to succeed only on the Left and not the Right?  When will the pro-family Christian “Tim Gill” step forward to help our side?
• The dedication of evil:  if Christians were as devoted to defending God’s truth about sex and marriage as homosexual and transsexual activists are to promoting their destructive lies, we would be in a much better place.  The sad reality is that many Christians remain opposed to engagement in politics and public policy and are ambivalent about this cultural battle.  Some Christian leaders have made key concessions to pro-homosexualist ideology – or declared their neutrality on the issue – while they point judgmental fingers at the few groups that are trying to resist the “gay” juggernaut.  Meanwhile, there are no corresponding doubts on the Secular Left, which works unapologetically to radically redefine family and marriage and destroy the Judeo-Christian moral consensus that helped make this country great.  Ultimately, if the Left succeeds, Christians could see their faith-based freedoms to disagree with sexual sin disappear.
• Stealing “morality” (why not? The homosexual activists already stole the word “gay” and are trying to redefine “marriage,” “family,” “equality,” and “civil rights”):  Homosexual activists realize that to achieve total victory, they must separate Christianity from traditional (Christian) morality.  They aim to redefine right and wrong apart from God’s will for people’s lives, as clearly revealed in Scripture and nature with God’s beautiful, complementary design for man and woman united sexually in marriage to produce children.  “Queer” theologians are busy redefining the Bible and now brazenly claim that homosexuality is a “gift from God.”  The homosexual militants’ game plan is to reinvent Christianity by spouting religious-sounding yet subversive ideas for a nation that is still very religious, but largely ignorant of the Bible;
• The progression and unity of sexual sin … Face the evil:  at Americans For Truth, we’ve come face-to-face with homosexual extremism and have no problem labeling the overall GLBT movement as evil.  But many people are in denial about the nefarious homosexual agenda.  We need to admit that the media “soft sell” of homosexuality does not match what the GLBT Lobby has in store for our nation.  We ask: why does Rea Carey advocate for abortion (seemingly a non-issue for homosexuals) and against “useless” abstinence-focused education?   Why does the Task Force – which receives lots of corporate support — give an award to a purveyor of hard-core homosexual porn?  Why do they teach gender confusion (“transsexuality”) and “sexual freedom” to youth?  (The latter is a code term for no-limits sexuality including S&M.)  Why does the Task Force champion “nonmonogamy” even as it seeks to homosexualize “marriage”?  Because the Left unites around “mainstreaming” perversion and an anti-life, anti-nature, anti-God agenda.  Homosexuality.  Abortion.  Pornography.  Casual and deviant sex outside marriage.  The Task Force supports them all in its decidedly anti-moral quest.  This isn’t about “civil rights” but using the government to promote destructive, immoral and changeable behaviors.

Christians and moral traditionalists need to wake up: the other side is dead serious about “transforming society,” to quote Carey, and “imposing its morality” on us all.  It’s time for us to get serious in the Culture War, too.  God bless you.

Sincerely in Christ,

Peter LaBarbera
www.americansfortruth.com

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THE FOLLOWING IS THE SPEECH BY REA CAREY, HEAD OF THE HOMOSEXUAL “TASK FORCE”:

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009
Subject: State of the Movement Address by Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
From: “The Task Force”  …

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey delivers State of the Movement address at 21st National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change

DENVER, Jan. 30 — National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey presented the annual State of the Movement address today at the 21st National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, where 2,000 activists have gathered to strategize on how to advance LGBT equality in this new political climate. What follows below is the text of her speech:

I know many of us may be questioning the state of our movement, and I’ll get to that in a bit, but first, I can’t resist saying that we now live in a country with a community organizer in chief and since the Task Force literally has the trademark on Creating Change, we know that our moment has arrived!

I am honored to serve as the executive director of the Task Force following my friend Matt Foreman. In fact, pretty much since I came out at the age of 16 here in Denver I have watched, learned from and been inspired by the Task Force, so I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate to be part of it. I have come up through this movement and many of my teachers are here with us today, including a couple of former Task Force executive directors — Urvashi Vaid and Lorri Jean.

You’ve already met Russell Roybal, and I want to call up to the stage my other new partner in running the Task Force — a woman who you will be hearing a lot from — our new deputy executive director, Darlene Nipper.

I want to thank each and every one of you for being here. These are incredibly tough economic times and the fact that you have spent your precious time and limited dollars to be here — to gather with your fellow activists and allies from across the country and others who have joined us — speaks to your commitment to social change, to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, and most importantly, to each other.

This gathering is the public square of the LGBT movement and our time together is made richer and more valuable because each of you is here.

First, let’s talk about the past year. You know, there are years when our movement for full equality jumps by leaps and bounds and other years when we toil to gain every inch of ground. This year has been a bit of both in which we made progress on the local and state level and our country elected its first person of color to the presidency! Yet our love for each other was attacked again by the majority at the ballot box; our right to marry was taken away in California; our transgender brothers and sisters were denied much needed protections; and federal policy continued to elude us under the evil empire — I mean the Bush administration.

It has been a bittersweet year, but the state of our movement is engaged!

This year, we made many gains — gains made because of your hard work, your strategic thinking, your long hours, and your dollars funding state and local efforts. With all of the attention paid to marriage, it would be easy to miss the progress made at the local and state level that improves the lives of LGBT people. And so much of this progress has happened not on the coasts, but in the middle part of the country.

This weekend we will invite you to text to screen all the accomplishments you’ve had this year but I will mention just a few of the many achievements for LGBT people in 2008:

Here in our host state of Colorado, Amendment 46, a Ward Connerly initiative that would have ended affirmative action in public employment, public education or public contracting was defeated.

In Arizona, voters rejected Proposition 202, which would have penalized businesses that hire undocumented workers. And in Oregon, voters rejected an English-only proposal.

In three states — California, Colorado and South Dakota — voters considered initiatives related to reproductive freedoms. And we won in every state.

Also, here in Colorado we expanded progress by passing a law protecting LGBT people from discrimination in housing and public accommodations.

Eight localities passed and held onto nondiscrimination laws: Gainesville and Broward County, Fla.; Columbus and Oxford, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; Detroit, Mich; Columbia, S.C.; and Binghamton, N.Y.

We also — with incredibly hard work — successfully defended one of our victories from last year: a transgender rights ordinance that passed in Montgomery County, Md., where the combined efforts of the Task Force, Equality Maryland, Lambda Legal and a host of other organizations came together to defeat the referendum and prevent it from even reaching the ballot.

In the area of family recognition, Connecticut joined Massachusetts in becoming a freedom-to-marry state and then beat back efforts that would have threatened it. Those of you from Connecticut and our great partners Love Makes a Family and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, congratulations and thank you.

We won marriage in California and over 18,000 couples are now legally married — and we plan on keeping them married. Even though we lost that right temporarily, our community and allies rose up in the days after the election to say, “Enough!”

We have with us today one of the founders of Join the Impact, Willow Witte, who along with her fellow organizer Amy Balliett, used the power of online organizing to fill the streets! We’re proud that some of the Join the Impact crew cut their organizing teeth at Creating Change in Portland, Ore., a few years ago and are now sharing their skills with thousands across the country.

Cities and towns in many states including Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and Utah, established domestic partnership or similar registries in 2008. There were domestic partnership expansions in Washington state and Washington, D.C. Maryland established limited domestic partnership recognition and New York has decided to respect out-of-state same-sex marriages. Maine had an unprecedented year of victories in 2008 culminating in an Election Day action that surpassed their wildest dreams. After waiting in line for an hour to vote, voters were waiting in line to sign pro-marriage postcards. When EqualityMaine ran out of 30,000 postcards, voters signed scraps of paper, jotting their names and addresses down on anything they could find.

Building on the momentum, EqualityMaine and its coalition partners recently introduced a marriage bill and they have a solid plan for winning marriage in the Legislature in 2009 and then protecting it in the inevitable referendum campaign.

And finally, this last year’s accomplishments include a record 450 out [homosexual] elected officials serving in local, state and federal offices including Colorado’s very own Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man to run for and be elected to Congress, joining Reps. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin in the House.

For each and every one of you in this room who contributed to any of those victories and the many others we had, thank you!

What we continue to accomplish as a movement is electrifying. And, yet, some of this year’s results were bitter — extremely bitter — pills to swallow.

At the outset, let me say that I tend to be a glass-half-full person, so I can’t help but see this year’s anti-marriage and anti-family ballot measures as deeply painful but temporary defeats that demonstrated just how far we’ve come. But, it isn’t just my gut feeling that this is temporary, it is based on the concrete progress we have made. For example, just four years ago, we lost 13 anti-marriage ballot measures by huge margins — by an average of 67 percent, and as high as 86 percent. In California alone, the last time we faced a similar anti-marriage measure, we lost by over 20 points. This year, we lost by less than four. I know it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, but this is progress.

However, this was a particularly painful year because we lost the fundamental right that we had worked so hard to secure — the right to marry in California.

In the days and weeks after the election, so many in our community were searching for a quick answer as to why we lost in four states. My fellow activists, there is no easy answer.

The days and weeks after the election were some of the most painful I’ve experienced in my 24 years in this movement. I know they were painful for many of you and for our colleagues around the country, particularly in California, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas.  It was hard and painful enough to have lost four statewide ballot measures. But pain turned the corner into agony when we all started lashing out at each other, our allies and our would-be allies and didn’t let up.

Did the other side run excellent, although lie-filled campaigns? Yes it did. Could we all have done more or done things differently that might have moved us closer to defeating the four measures? Certainly. We at the Task Force are a particularly analytical and reflective group and we’ve been taking a hard look at what we could have done better to fight against these measures.

But our winning on any of the four statewide measures was always far from being a slam dunk. We need to learn what we can from this last year and we must move forward, as we have before in times far worse than this.

I want to specifically address the blaming of African-American voters for the passage of Prop. 8.

Sadly, shamefully, an incorrect statistic was put forth in the media and many people both in and outside of our community ran with it. I want to be clear — the blaming of African-American voters was wrong, despicable and inexcusable.

The Task Force released a study with authors Ken Sherrill and Pat Egan that included actual voting data that showed that party affiliation, conservative ideology, frequent church-going and the voter’s age trumped all other factors in the Proposition 8 vote — including race. The Task Force was criticized by some for being “politically correct.”

It is not politically correct to conduct sound research. It is not politically correct to challenge racism.

Have we done enough as a community to deal with our own racism and to make sure that our movement is one that reflects the true diversity of LGBT people? We sure haven’t. But the finger pointing and scapegoating was an affront to the many people of color and others who worked on and with the campaign and to our allied organizations. Furthermore, it avoids the complexity of the work we still have to do to win equality.

I have had enough. WE have had enough. Let us dig deep in ourselves and show others that we will not stoop to scapegoating, we will not turn our backs on our allies, and we will not give up.  There is a big difference between blaming and learning. Let us be learners so that we may be leaders.

As we look back on this year, our confidence has been shaken and our anger has been roused — but now is the time to turn our anger into action and our action into long-lasting change. We must now refocus on regaining marriage equality in California and winning across the country. But we need to remember that these anti-marriage ballot measures are fundamentally about the larger right-wing assault on the ever-expanding diversity in the United States, our freedom to live openly and to create and define our sexuality, our selves and our families.

I urge us not look at our movement as if it is only about this last election or only about marriage equality. Let us recall that our movement for liberation and equality has created much change since the police brutality in New York and other cities gave rise to the Stonewall riots, the activism of black and Latino gay men, and the birth of the modern LGBT movement.

If we do not come together again to fight another day, we can’t win our full equality. As the magnet on my grandmother’s fridge says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight!”

The state of our movement is resilient and we will win!

So, where are we headed as a movement? In order to take a look at where we are headed as a movement, we must first take a look at the broader social and political context in which we work for full equality. This context has now shifted radically.

The most obvious change is that for the first time in our nation’s history, we have as president, a black man, Barack Obama.  Candidate Obama recognized and affirmed a grassroots hunger for change. This year saw record numbers of young people, people of color and progressive people coming out to vote and we are now a better country for it.

This does indeed feel like a new political era for our country and our movement.  I believe the power of this historic moment is the seismic shift in this country from a culture of “I” to a culture of “We.” Obama ran with a mantra of “Yes we can!” Obama didn’t say, “Yes I can” or “Yes YOU can.” He said, yes WE can.

This mantra, of course, carries on the organizing legacy of the United Farm Workers and Dolores Huerta. This unifying WE invites each of us into the work ahead; into the reclaiming of a government that has turned its back on so many; into challenging the long held beliefs and practices of who holds power; how power is used; and who benefits from the use of power.

Obama’s “WE” challenges the culture of “I” that has been so core to this country’s identity — the image of rugged individualism, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. This imagery has been bolstered and perpetuated by scenes like Ronald Reagan riding his horse and by George Bush clearing brush on his ranch. This iconic imagery is finally being challenged. We are now off the ranch and have moved back into the WE of urban energy and creativity, the WE of close family ties and community in rural areas, the WE that has been at the center of the farm workers, civil rights, feminist and labor movements.

We are only just beginning to see the manifestations, the benefits of this cultural shift. And, our community — the LGBT community — is expert at showing the nation just what is possible when WE come together. This historic moment plays to our strengths.

After all, our community built an entire infrastructure of service and support for people with HIV when our own president did not have the decency to speak the syndrome’s name.  Our community overturned sodomy laws in a nation that possesses an intense fear of sexuality.  And our community put gender identity legislation and family protections on the political map.  WE have much to offer this country.

So, now it is our time to contribute again — to express moral leadership and creative fortitude. It is our time to hold steady as we are attacked at the ballot box and on the streets. To hold steady as we share our talents and ideas and are pushed back. To hold steady as we assert how we create family.

The state of our movement is expansive.  In fact, the success of our aspirations will only be limited by the expansiveness of our vision and the assertion of what is in our hearts. There are a few things we must do to make the most of this moment in history and to navigate the waters of this new era.

First, this moment calls for a new kind of leadership in the LGBT movement — not the leadership of one, but the collaborative leadership of many. Don’t get me wrong, the Task Force and I will assert leadership — but at the Task Force, we believe that strength comes not from hoarding power but by building power and sharing power and using power for good. It is why so much of our work is done through coalitions or convenings like Creating Change.

We are leaders in what is good and right and just in this country.  When we insist that LGBT people be involved in the policy conversations about the economy, about health benefits, about tax policy, about immigration — as we have been doing with the Obama transition team and administration — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we win marriage equality in Maine, Iowa, New Jersey and other states — and we will — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we pass a gender identity-inclusive ENDA — and we will — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we continue to work to get rid of useless abstinence only education, we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends in labor and women’s groups as the Task Force did yesterday morning at the White House for the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we promote, sustain and maintain people of color leaders — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

The second thing we must do is to think differently about who our playmates are. I was a Girl Scout when I was growing up and there was this song “make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.”

We will certainly keep our LGBT organizational friends. But, it is time for us to make new, substantive and strategic friendships with non-LGBT organizations with which we share common concerns. The time for isolating ourselves as a movement is over. We will never win on our own.

So, in the coming years, you will see the Task Force partnering with some perhaps surprising organizations. We will ask them to show up for us and we will show up for them, as we have in our work with AARP on national policy and with Planned Parenthood and NAACP on ballot measures.

Third, so many of our straight friends and family are with us and we must find ways for them to make a difference in our pursuit of equality. They are near and dear to us. They’re willing to work with us; they’re wanting to work with us; they’re waiting to work with us. Among the most striking experiences for me in the last year have been my conversations with straight people across the country, not the least of which was with my own 92-year-old grandmother who has been my cheerleader and was crushed when she was not able to make it to our wedding.

Next week the Task Force will be a partner in launching a new campaign called, “Tell 3″ headed up by the ACLU and Join the Impact, along with other organizations. This campaign is simply about talking to the people in our lives about issues that matter to us as LGBT people.

We ask each and every one of you to go to our Web site next week and take part in what could be — with your help — the most massive friends and family education effort ever launched. If every one at Creating Change has meaningful, real conversations with three people about our lives, about the things we care about, we will have made progress in changing the hearts and minds of thousands of people — people who will be voting on our rights next year and the years after that.

Finally, organize, organize, organize — however you do it, walking door to door, talking to friends, going to meetings, sending tweets — I just did — connecting on Facebook or MySpace, or getting people elected.

Just organize!

For 35 years, the Task Force has been the home for people like you, like me, like hundreds of thousands of people across this country who know that we are part of a larger community of people reaching for full equality.

As you experience the Creating Change conference, you can’t help but see and hear and feel and know in your heart that the state of our movement is engaged, it is resilient, it is expansive and expanding, and it is stronger and more inspirational than ever before!  With all of us together –

We will win complete equality!
We will protect and defend our families!
We will change our communities and
We will transform society!

Thank you.

____________________________________________________________

Help Support Americans For Truth!

Will you help Americans For Truth stand as boldly for the Truth as homosexual activists do for their lies?  We appreciate your support:

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TRUTH TEAM MEMBERSHIP:  To sign up as a Truth Team member by pledging $25, $50, $100, $250 or more per month to sustain AFTAH’s critical work, go HERE or copy http://www.americansfortruth.org/membership.php on your web browser.

_____________________________________________________________

Leather Leadership, “Moral Leadership”? At its annual “Creating Change” conference for grassroots homosexual and transsexual activists, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force gave its “Leather Leadership Award” to Graylin Thornton, co-owner of a homosexual hard-core pornographic video company (see covered-up covers of videos below). Above is announcement in the Creating Change program. At the same conference in Denver, Task Force director Rea Carey extolled the “gay” movement’s “moral leadership.” The Task Force is heavily involved in promoting homosexuality and other deviancies to youth in the name of “sexual freedom.” Click on graphics to enlarge. 

By Peter LaBarbera

Homosexual activist “morality” is a strange concept indeed. At the same “Creating Change” conference where the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) presented a homosexual S&M pornographer with its “Leather Leadership Award,” Task Force Exective Director Rea Carey extolled the “moral leadership” of her  movement.

The Task Force presented Graylin Thornton, the co-owner of a company that sells homosexual porn videos, with its “leather” award at Creating Change, an annual conference for grassroots activists advocating the following sexual misbehaviors: male homosexuality; lesbianism; bisexuality; transsexuality; sadomasochism and other fetishes; prostitutes (”sex workers”); and “polyamory/nonmonogamy” (multiple-partner and open relationships).

Thornton runs Grey Rose Video Productions, which states on its website: “As active members of the BEAR, LEATHER, and AFRICAN AMERICAN communities, both Graylin and [business partner Chris Meister] are dedicated to continuing a standard of excellence in the production of videos featuring the hot, hung, hunky and hairy ‘real men’ that represent those communities.”

The porn company is selling videos with the following titles:

• Jake Mitchell’s [F--k] Buddies;
  
• JC Carter’s Sex Tape;
  
• This Bear Likes em Black;
  
• Beefy Boyz on the Road;
  
• Skin Tight and Busters Rubber Romp;
  
• Semenhole, Texas;
  
• Black, White and Hot
  

In her “State of the Movement” address Friday at Creating Change — which this year featured the innuendo-laden slogans “Power Is Sexy” and “Action Is Hot” — Carey touted the homosexual movement’s “moral leadership” (emphasis added):

We have much to offer this country.

So, now it is our time to contribute again — to express moral leadership and creative fortitude. … We are leaders in what is good and right and just in this country. When we insist that LGBT people be involved in the policy conversations about the economy, about health benefits, about tax policy, about immigration — as we have been doing with the Obama transition team and administration — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we win marriage equality [homosexual "marriage"] in Maine, Iowa, New Jersey and other states — and we will — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we pass a gender identity [transsexual]-inclusive ENDA — and we will — we assert our community’s moral leadership.

When we continue to work to get rid of useless abstinence only education, we assert our community’s moral leadership….

George Bush’s “Evil Empire”?

By giving a “leader leadership” award for “social justice” work to a homosexual porn entrepreneur, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is continuing its tradition of pushing the envelope as the most radical and leftist major homosexual organization. And not just on sexual issues: Carey jokingly referred to the George Bush administration as the “evil empire” – the words Ronald Reagan famously used to describe expansionist Soviet Communism. (Meanwhile, Iraqi citizens, benefiting from the American liberation of their country from despot Saddam Hussein, were preparing to vote in an another free election the day after Carey’s speech.)

Last year, Americans For Truth reported how the Task Force’s 2008 “Leather Leadership Award” recipient, Guy Baldwin, was an advocate of (consensual) “master-slave” sexual relationships — one of the bizarre subcategories within the BDSM (”bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism”) movement. One year, the NGLTF conference featured as a workshop speaker the webmaster of a “Cruising for Sex” website that lists places where men find anonymous homosexual “public sex.”

The trend towards ever greater perversions and gender radicalism continues. The Denver “Creating Change” conference featured the following workshops and caucuses:

• Fostering Communication with the Fetish Community;
• Sex Worker [prostitutes] Caucus;
• What a Pisser! The Politics of Transgender Bathroom Use
• Sexuality Education as a Tool for the Movement

Even so, the Task Force draws major corporate givers and political supporters, including the Democratic National Committee. Several Colorado VIPs including Senator Mark Udall (D) wrote welcoming letters that appear in the front of the Creating Change program.

Talking Sex with Youth

The conference also included workshops directed at youth, including some focused directly on sex:

• Gaydar 101: a Queer Teens guied to dating;
• A Dialog with Youth: Talking about Sex and Sexual Freedom;
• Mentoring Queer Youth
• Quit Passing Notes: Let’s Talk about Sex … in the Classroom

AFTAH will be writing more about the Task Force’s extreme agenda, especially that part of it that involves confused GLBT youth.

Honoree’s Perverse Press Release

Task Force “Leather Leadership Award” honoree Thorton’s pornographic company posted this perverted press release on its website. Note the sex allusions:

Grey Rose Productions Teams With Mack Studios

Gay Porn Titans Jake Mitchell And Mack Manus Hook Up … Literally

Great teams aren’t just born, they are formed. Take Abbott & Costello. Laurel & Hardy. Martin & Lewis. Perhaps the funniest of all, McCain and Palin. Okay, scratch the last one, but still — the point is two talented people coming together can form an unbeatable, winning combination.

Just such a combination — the meeting of two of gay porn’s most popular actors-turned-producers — has been established to take two strong entities, namely Grey Rose Productions and Mack Studios, to create an even stronger product.

Jake Mitchell is beyond excited about the new business arrangement. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Mack Manus. He is a visionary; he knows how to make a truly hot product. We share a similar style.” Plus Mitchell adds, with a laugh, “He is one [f--king] hot stud!”

That Mack is a hot stud aside, and one of the hottest commodities in European porn, the business arrangement makes complete sense. The studios have similar audiences. And their videos are similar in that they can feature scenes that range from rape to romance, without skipping a beat. Or [an erection]. Guys who like hot, sweaty, tough, hard core, dominant, passionate man-on-man action … daddy scenes, leather, body hair, bears. Both of these companies, of course, are considered at the top of their genres, Mitchell Stateside and Manus across Europe.

To that end, a great teaming is born. Says Mitchell, “We are going to start selling the terrific and very hot Mack Studios videos on the Grey Rose web site and we are also going to have his scenes available for members on my Jake Mitchell site, too.”

Mack Manus is equally happy to be working with Jake Mitchell. Through a translation of his sexy French accent with traces of his native German tossed in, he says: “I’ve watched and enjoyed the Grey Rose brand for some time. Jake and I both started our companies about the same time. We share a very similar philosophy about the men we hire.”

True that. Both companies have earned praise from critics and fans alike for not hesitating to hire hot men, regardless of age or physical appearance. No wussy, fem, straight, gay-for-pretend guys for these studios. Manus says he does not hesitate to cast actors of any age or physical appearance for a role. That was one of the reasons Mitchell also created his company in 2002: more diversity in porn.

Mitchell met Manus, this being the Internet age, via the Web. They started chatting (which is kind of difficult because Mitchell’s French is rusty and Manus doesn’t speak much English.) Still, a little language barrier can’t keep a great team from coming together. Mitchell was planning a trip to Paris and decided they should meet. Mitchell says, “Once he arrived at my flat — and I saw his sexy smile and eyes, wavy hair and beefy body — I knew that we would be able to get past our language barrier.”

Sounds like Mitchell and Manus did more than discuss business. Laughs Mitchell “Well, let’s just say before we signed on the dotted line we had to see if we were compatible in all ways!” That sounds pretty hot. “Me trying to speak French, and him trying to speak English, well, it’s also hysterical at times! But, definitely hot.”

Not only do Mitchell & Manus have similar styles, studios and video product, they also have similar taste in men. Look for their first scene together (they tag team hunky J.C. Carter) soon.

Mitchell & Manus did a meet-and-greet together at the recent IML [International Mr. Leather] in Chicago. Their respective fans are already salivating at the possibilities. It’s truly a great partnership…and just getting started!

We’ve covered up the photo of this fellow — apparently one of Gay Task Force honoree Graylin Thornton’s porn actors — found in the “gallery” section of his company’s website. How this for “moral leadership”?

Joe Solmonese (left) went from helping to elect pro-abortion-on-demand Democrats at EMILY’s List to advancing the pro-homosexuality/ -transsexuality agenda as president of the Human Rights Campaign. The twin evils of homosexuality and abortion share a common foundation: the elevation of self over transcendent truth and God’s revealed will for men and women. Homosexual activists have been in the forefront of “defending” abortion centers against pro-lifers whose aim is merely to save innocent babies from destruction and persuade women NOT to make a decision that will haunt them the rest of their lives. Below is a photo of a fetus’ feet at 10 weeks.

Folks, the issues of defending life and sexual morality are joined at the hip: each of the evil movements they oppose — the abortion and homosexuality lobbies — elevates mankind’s selfish desires over God’s will. Is it any wonder that the two greatest sin lobbies of today have as their sworn enemies the preservation of life and natural marriage and the God-ordained family? And this is not just theoretical: front-line, pro-life veterans such as Joe Scheidler tell me that over the years homosexual activists have been in the forefront of defending abortion “clinics” (killing centers) — to block the life-saving efforts of people trying to witness the truth about life to pregnant girls and women going into the death-centers to abort their own children.

Curiously, homosexual groups like Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have incorporated abortion-related advocacy in their agendas. In fact, HRC’s president, Joe Solmonese, is the former CEO of EMILY’s List, described by Wikipedia as “one of the nation’s prominent pro-choice Democratic political action committees.” After helping to advance abortion, homosexuality and gender confusion, I don’t know what’s next on Joe’s career path — perhaps Chairman of the Board for a major porn distribution company?

The life issue is close to my heart, as my younger brother, Jimmy, has Down syndrome –placing him in a group of people who are singled out for extinction in the womb by doctors because they are, well, not perfect. Thankfully, my mother never even considered the prenatal test that could have been the prelude to an abortion, and Jimmy has blessed the lives of me and my extended family, and many others, for decades.

Below is a note from Mark Harrington, executive director of Center for Bioethical Reform (CBR) Midwest. one of the many pro-life heroes in America who works tirelessly and bravely to speak up for the unborn — who cannot speak for the themselves against the violence of abortion. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

P.S. President Obam[a is reportedly preparing to sign a pro-abortion Executive Order that overturns a 1984 pro-life policy implemented by President Ronald Reagan, thus allowing U.S. taxpayer dollars to be used to provide and promote abortions oversees. [We mistakenly reported that he was signing the order today, January 22; he did not.] I find this hard to reconcile with Obama’s campaign pledge to reduce the number of abortions. Also, Obama has promised that he would sign the radical “Freedom of Choice Act,” which would codify the wicked “Roe” decision and eviscerate pro-life reform laws across the nation.

_______________________________

CBR Midwest writes:

On Roe Anniversary: Think Abe Lincoln

Columbus, OH – January 22, 2009 – Today, America remembers the inestimable loss of unborn human life on this 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision of Roe v. Wade. Many pro-life advocates are in despair that we have not succeeded in protecting the pre-born. There is much to grieve today; however, this is also a time of hope.

Today, all across America citizens are raising their voice like a trumpet. At state houses, at our nation’s capitol, on the streets, and in our churches men and women who believe in the God given principle of the sanctity of human life gather together to make a difference for the defenseless.

The truth is, after thirty long years, “we have not grown weary in doing good.” The fact is we will never give up as long as babies are dying.

Many believe the battle is lost. It would serve us well to read the words of another great social reformer Abraham Lincoln who wrote in July of 1858:

“I have not allowed myself to forget that the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain was agitated a hundred years before it was final success. Remembering these things I cannot but regard it as possible that the higher object of this contest may not be completely attained within the term of my natural life. But I cannot doubt either that it will come in due time.  Even in this view, I am proud, in my passing speck of time, to contribute my humble mite to that glorious consummation, which in my poor eyes may not last to see.”

Legal protection for the pre-born will come. Press on!

CLICK HERE TO HELP CBR MIDWEST CONTINUE THE BATTLE

For more information contact Mark Harrington at  614-759-5195  or mark@cbrinfo.org
Mark Harrington is the Executive Director of CBR Midwest, and President of Pro-Life Institute.

Homosexual Episcopal Bishop V. (Vicki) Gene Robinson addressing the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a radical pro-homosexual, -transsexual, -bisexual, -sadomasochism organization. To watch the five-part YouTube video of Robinson’s speech at the Task Force, click HERE. Click on photo to enlarge.

The following is a statement by Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel. Note: Barber is a Board Member of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality.

Contact Barber at jmattbarber@comcast.net.

DATE: January 14, 2009; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LYNCHBURG, Virginia – Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Alliance Action and Liberty Counsel, released the following statement today in response to news that Barack Obama has invited openly homosexual Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson to deliver the invocation at an inaugural event on Sunday:

“It’s a shame that President-elect Obama apparently has so little regard for his Christian constituents that he would give such a high place of honor to a self-styled man of God whose only claim to fame is that he abandoned his wife and children to enter, ‘loudly and proudly,’ a sexually deviant lifestyle expressly condemned by the very Bible he’s ironically called ‘holy and sacred.’

“None of us are without sin; and certainly none are less valuable in God’s eyes than any other.  But Christ did command us to repent of our sins and to ‘go and sin no more.’  Not only has Robinson refused to repent of his homosexual behavior, which is unequivocally condemned throughout both the Old and New Testaments as sexual sin, he has further rebelled against God by leading astray countless of his flock who suffer from similar temptation.

“A fancy white robe and tall priestly hat does not a man of God make,” continued Barber.  “Robinson may or may not be a believer as he claims; only he and God know that for sure.  But what we do know is this: based upon his frequent association with homosexual anti-Christian hate groups like the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and in light of his ongoing counter-Christian sexual crusade, Gene Robinson is little more than a radical homosexual activist in a clergyman’s clothing.  In fact, his heretical rebellion against God’s express natural order, coupled with his selfish refusal to surrender his pulpit, has almost single handedly devastated the U.S. Episcopal Church,” said Barber.

Robinson has indicated he will not use the Bible at the event, saying, “While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans.  I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer.”  Barber responded, “Unfortunately, Robinson is not especially Christian in much of what he does. After that comment, I wonder if he heard a rooster crow.”

While addressing his aberrant sexual appetite for men, Robinson said, “I believe in my heart that the church got it wrong about homosexuality.”  Answered Barber, “That’s why Christ admonishes us to place His word above that which we feel in our hearts.  As Scripture warns: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things.’”

“As Gene Robinson prays for Barack Obama on Sunday, I would encourage all Bible believing Christians to pray for Gene Robinson.  Pray for the wife and children he left for a lie.  Pray that he will repent, ‘go and sin no more,’ bringing others with him to the salvation only Christ can offer.  A salvation we all – our nation and our world – so desperately need.”

###

Americans For Truth Press Release

January 13, 2009

Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 630-717-7631; americansfortruth@comcast.net

AFTAH: Obama’s Choice of Homosexual Bishop (Vicki) Gene Robinson to Pray at Inaugural Event Is a Slap in the Face to Christians

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH), issued the following statement regarding President-elect Barack Obama’s selection of V. (Vicki) Gene Robinson, the openly homosexual Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, to deliver the invocation at an official inaugural event Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial:

“President-elect Obama has signaled a tragic departure from America’s godly, Judeo-Christian heritage with his choice of a defiant homosexual activist, (Vicki) Gene Robinson, to recite a prayer at an official Inaugural event Sunday. Choosing Robinson — who supports homosexual ‘marriage’ and compares his agenda to mainstream sinful and changeable homosexual behavior to the noble Black civil rights struggle — is a sop to ‘gay’ activists who blasted Obama’s for picking evangelical pastor Rick Warren to say an Inauguration Day prayer.

“By choosing Robinson, who left his wife and family to embrace homosexuality – and who claims to revere the Bible as ‘holy and sacred’ while defying its clear teachings on sex and marriage – Barack Obama has given his first indication of how he could use the bully pulpit to undermine biblical values. (Obama promised homosexual activists that he would work to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents states from being forced to recognize out-of-state same-sex ‘marriages.’ He pledged that as President he would advocate for homosexual adoption, and has distorted the Bible to justify his support for homosexual relationships.)

“Bishop Robinson is a radical sexual activist masquerading as a man of God. He is an affront to faithful Christians and religious defenders of morality everywhere, and needs to repent and turn away from homosexuality. His selfish defense of sin literally has helped destroy and divide a denomination. Robinson – who was given the female name ‘Vicki’ at birth because his parents were hoping for a girl — has become a ‘gay’ celebrity: last year he gave a keynote speech praising the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a far-Left, anti-Christian organization that annually honors sadomasochists with its ‘Leather Leadership Award.’

“Robinson personifies the prophet Isaiah’s admonition to Israel (Is. 5:20): “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Christians and traditionalists – especially those who helped elect Obama – should urge him not to use his bully pulpit to undermine marriage and the biblical morals that helped build this blessed nation.”

How Many More eHarmony “gay” sellouts under ENDA? Neil Clark Warren, founder of eHarmony.com, lost his courage and settled rather than fight a homosexual lawsuit filed under New Jersey’s “sexual orientation” law. So now Warren and eHarmony.com are facilitating immoral homosexual unions. If a federal ENDA bill becomes law, it will greatly enhance the power of homosexual activists to force businessmen and employers to accommodate and subsidize homosexual relationships against their will. The very freedom of Christians, Muslims and other moral-minded citizens to disagree with homosexuality hangs in the balance. 

TAKE ACTION: Answer the pro-homosexual lobby campaign! Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and have them connect you to your Representative (based on your zip code). Tell them: “I am a constituent and I would like you to please tell Representative _______ that I strongly OPPOSE the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) — which threatens Americans’ basic freedom to live out their faith and disagree with homosexual behavior. I also oppose expanding federal “hate crimes” law to add “sexual orientation” and opening up our Armed Forces to open homosexuality — especially during a time of war. Then, call back and leave messages with your two Senators too! Contact their local offices, which you can find through www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. 

__________________________________

By Peter LaBarbera

OK, everyone, vacation is over. Americans For Truth is back on the beat, fresh from being denounced and mocked by various pro-sodomy “queer” blogs at the end of 2008 (what an honor — more on that later). Below, please read an appeal for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) from a major homosexual activist group — and then DO THE OPPOSITE by calling your U.S. Congressman and Senators and urge them to vote AGAINST the ENDA bill.

We’re calling ENDA — a top priority for the Homosexual and Transsexual Lobbies — the “ENDA’ Our Freedom” Bill because it poses a severe threat to Americans’ First Amendment freedom to disagree with homosexuality. ENDA would be used to force small- and medium-sized businesses to subsidize immoral homosexual unions — and that’s un-American!

Here’s a paper I wrote for AFTAH on ENDA, but if you’re too busy or too lazy to read that, here’s how to think of ENDA:

Remember the recent outrage over eHarmony.com’s sellout to homosexual activism — when evangelical Christian founder Neil Clark Warren agreed to create a “gay” dating website under the auspices of eHarmony? Well, that sellout, unnecessary and misguided as it was, came at the point of a gun. And the “gun” was New Jersey’s state version of ENDA: a pro-homosexual “nondiscrimination” law. That very same New Jersey “sexual orientation” law was used to launch the legal assault against the Boy Scouts of America’s fundamental right to live by its own creed and NOT allow homosexual (or atheist) Scoutmasters.

Thankfully, the Boy Scouts (unlike eHarmony.com) did not capitulate and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately preserved their freedom of association in a 5-4 decision that surely would have gone the other way if just one more liberal justice of the sort favored by President-elect Obama (and many other powerful Democrats) were seated on the Court.

Like the Boy Scouts’, our freedom to disagree with sexual immorality hangs in the balance. We must work hard against ENDA and the entire “queer” legislative agenda in Washington, D.C. The other side sees this as their moment and is engaged heavily in the fight to make homosexuality and gender confusion a “civil right.” And they have a new, pro-homosexual president, the liberal media and increased Democratic strength in Congress on their side. But never forget what they lack: the truth.

Let’s be blunt: the effort to mainstream homosexuality in American law and culture is evil, destructive to faith, marriage and the natural family and — like abortion-on-demand — part of an anti-God agenda. President-elect Obama is a deeply conflicted man on the homosexual issue — or at least he should be if he’s not. Obama professes Christianity but he has distorted Scripture (or minimized its importance) on the sin of homosexuality. However, he was elected with the overwhelming support of religious African Americans and many others who profoundly disagree with the homosexual “civil-rights” paradigm. (In California, Blacks carried both Obama and Prop 8 to victory.) Always remember: there are zero “former” African-Americans or “ex-Hispanics”; there are lots of happy ex-”gays” and former “lesbians” — evidence that homosexuality is about changeable behavior, not some inborn identity. (See former lesbian Charlene Cothran’s heartwarming testimony HERE.)

I was a poll-watcher on Election Day and I saw the tremendous pride of Blacks voting for the man who would become the first African-American president to lead these United States. One Black woman in her late-thirties was beaming as she voted for the first time. A tall African-American man came in and pronounced to the whole room (standing in front of the befuddled election officials): “I’m here to vote for BARACK OBAMA!” I did not vote for Obama due to his liberal agenda (I’d vote for a Black conservative in a heartbeat) but applauded in my heart the symbolic shattering of the idea — stoked by the Left — that America is a racist nation. We are not.

But racism and homosexual conduct do have something in common: they are both destructive sins, yet changeable through God’s grace.

Now we at AFTAH call on all Obama supporters — especially people of faith — who disagree with the notion that homosexuals’ supposed “right” to be affirmed supersedes the liberty of the rest of America to live by their our own moral and religious beliefs — please make your voices heard! Let President Obama know that the oppressive homosexual activist and “gay marriage” is not part of the “change” you wanted.

The clear reality is this: the homosexual agenda is more about AFFIRMING HOMOSEXUALITY and UNDERMINING JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES than correcting injustice. There is no epidemic of homosexuals being fired; in fact, they are increasingly being courted by major corporations –  while it is faith-based employees like Matt Barber (an AFTAH Board Member, fired by Allstate in 2005) who face reprisals for opposing homosexuality and who are forced to endure faith-assaulting, pro-homosexuality/pro-transsexual “diversity” propaganda on the job.

_____________________________

TAKE ACTION: PLEASE DO THE OPPOSITE OF THIS “GAY” ACTIVIST ALERT FROM THE RADICAL LEFTIST “NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE”:

Congress Swears In Today! Let them know you care about ENDA!
Filed by: Guest Blogger
January 6, 2009 12:00 PM

Editors’ Note: Guest blogger Rea Carey is Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund.

Today, January 6, Members of Congress raise their right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution as they begin the new legislative session.

Let’s make sure the first thing they hear about is the importance of an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protects all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

In DC, make their phone ring! Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and have them connect you to your Representative (based on your zip code). Tell them: “I am a constituent and I would like you to please tell Representative _______ that I strongly support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would ban discrimination against all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

Then, call back and leave messages with your two Senators too!

At home, set up a visit!
Request an in-person meeting for you and other community members with your two Senators and your Representative (or their staffs) in their home district offices. You can call the district offices to request these meetings but they often want you to fax a meeting request. To find contact info for district offices, go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

Sample meeting request letters, and other talking points and resources for your meetings, are available in the following toolkits [Note: the following are pro-homosexual resources]:

The Task Force ENDA Grassroots Toolkit [pdf]
National Center for Transgender Equality’s Making Your Voice Heard [pdf]
PFLAG’s Bringing the Message Home

Let us know!

Let us know how your meeting went. Go to unitedenda.org and fill out the Lobby Report Form to tell us whether your Representative and Senators expressed support.

ALL GAY, ALL THE TIME: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force leader Rea Carey urged fellow homosexuals to promote “gay marriage” to family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday. Carey is wrong: homosexual unions are NOT equal to real marriage — as proven by the fact that homosexual couples cannot produce children without help from heterosexuality.

Dear AFTAH Readers,

I suppose if you are a pro-homosexuality activist, there’s never a time that’s not appropriate to promote the acceptance of your lifestyle. In the e-message below, the new head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, Rea Carey, presses her group’s followers to turn Thanksgiving into a persuasive moment for homosexual “marriage” and same-sex “equality.” If only Christians were this “evangelistic”!

Carey’s letter is wrong and troubling on many levels. First, note how she chalks up as a Task Force “accomplishment” that the California Supreme Court is reviewing a ballot amendment voted in by the citizens of that state on November 4. The Task Force spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to defeat Prop 8 and lost — even after the California Attorney General changed the ballot language to make it more favorable to the homosexual side. Now the Task Force and other “gay” organizations are fighting democracy itself and undermining the integrity of a statewide vote. If they prevail and a few judges overturn the people’s expressed will, there will be a constitutional crisis in California that reverberates across the country.

Second, let’s address the misleading “gay” mantra of “equality.” Carey and fellow LGBT activists — and straight fellow travelers like libertarian Margaret Hoover (who masquerades as a conservative commentator on FOX) — like to plead for “marriage equality” for homosexuals. But it is easy to demonstrate that whatever homosexual “marriages” are, they are NOT equal to natural, God-ordained marriages. For one thing, there is the simple, indisputable fact that same-sex unions cannot produce children on their own. They can acquire children only with the help of heterosexuality and procreative-enhancing science, but they can’t reproduce or “have children,” as homosexual activists like to say. In contrast, normal marriages produce children and families without any help from homosexuality.

In their desperation to answer this obvious point on marriage and procreation, “gay” activists point to infertile hetero couples, who also need the help of science and adoption to create a family. “Should conservative commentator Pat Buchanan and his wife Shelley be denied marriage because they are childless?” they ask. But this is a silly argument. For one, infertile normal couples meet the basic requirement of marriage: a man and a woman. Secondly, when they seek to adopt children or benefit from reproductive science, they are merely mimicking the natural, complementary, mom-and-dad family — not creating intentionally motherless or fatherless homes and subjecting children to a radical reinvention of “family,” with two “dads” or two “moms.” Lastly, such straight, infertile couples desiring children turn to bountiful, procreative heterosexuality — not homosexuality, or apple trees for that matter — to fulfill their dream of a family.

So here’s a challenge to our homosexual critics: prove that same-sex “marriages” are EQUAL to the real deal given their procreative deficit, or stop this nonsense about “marriage equality.” (I understand that this is an unrealistic request;  if homosexuals and their liberal allies cared about the real meaning of words, they wouldn’t have called homosexual unions “marriage” in the first place.) As my friend John Shepard writes, “Aristotle may have been the first in recorded history to say in his Politics, ‘It is unjust to treat unequal things as equal.’ This is why it is patently unfair to treat homosexual sex as marriage. Heterosexuality is intrinsic to marriage. Marriage is consummated by heterosexuality, not sodomy.”

But back to Thanksgiving Day, which was established for Americans to give thanks to God for all His blessings in our uniquely blessed nation. That same God — the God of the Bible — opposes homosexual behavior as a sin (see Leviticus 18:22 in the Old Testament and 1 Timothy 1:10 in the New Testament). And He celebrates when someone trusts in Him and leaves sin behind (the sin of homosexuality, or any sin). Conversely, the advance of sin (e.g., the pro-homosexuality, -abortion, and -pornography agendas) in the United States or any society is not a “blessing” but a repudiation of our loving God. To use Thanksgiving as a homosexual lobbying day is a symbolic act of defiance appropriate to a movement that elevates its same-sex feelings and errant sexual desires over the revealed wisdom of our Creator.

One more point: people are tired of hearing pro-homosexuality messages all the time — at home, at work, during the holidays, on TV, at the movies — it’s “all gay, all the time” as we are bombarded with anti-God, anti-nature messages that equate a sexual relationship between two people of the same sex with “civil rights.” (The youth have it worse: now MTV is marketing a reality TV dating show involving beautiful bisexual female twins who each will choose their partner from a bevy of male and female contestants.) Enough already: the ubiquitous promotion of deviance is obnoxious and homosexuality is not a civil rights issue — as 70 percent of African American voters in California affirmed loudly and clearly by casting Yes votes for Prop 8.

The next time you are confronted with immoral homosexual advocacy, hold your ground, defend God’s wonderful created order of man and woman uniting in marriage — and if you are a Christian, defend your Savior. The God who made the universe can help people overcome sexual addictions and gender/sex confusion — but they have to humble themselves, lose that selfish “gay pride,” and repent of their sins as part of receiving God’s miraculous gift of transforming grace.

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving as we enter the season that celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth.

Peter LaBarbera
Americans For Truth about Homosexuality
www.aftah.org
______________________________________

Here’s is Rea Carey’s “Thanksgiving Gay” message:

Dear [Task Force Follower],

It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished together these last few weeks.

The California Supreme Court has agreed to review the legal challenges to Proposition 8, and the protests and the actions of thousands in our community have forced the public eye on the inequality that LGBT people face every day.

But our fight is far from over. In fact, there’s one thing you can do this week to help move the needle even further.

Talk.

Talk to your family and friends when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner. Talk to your co-workers when they ask what you are doing for the holiday. Talk to your neighbors when you stop to chat outside your apartment or home.

Tell them about your life, your relationships, how you feel about the state constitutional amendments. It seems simple, but far too many of us know how hard it can be to talk honestly about our lives. Telling our stories is what will make a difference in our pursuit of equality. Hearing from you, hearing about your life is what will change the hearts and minds of every American, one by one — starting with those closest to you.

So take the time this week to talk. Your story is important to this movement and it truly matters.

From all of us at the Task Force, I’d like to wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving and thank you so much for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

SLAVERY IS BACK — IN “PROGRESSIVE” SAN FRANCISCO (click on photos, twice, to enlarge). The “partners” in an African-American “master-slave relationship” mug for the camera (genitalia is covered up) outside the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco Sept. 28, 2008. Note the leash and collar allowing the hand-cuffed “slave” to be led around like a dog. And the homosexual lobby and its leftist enablers call this return to (consensual) slavery “progressive”? (The second-largest homosexual organization, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force — which has given large amounts of money to defeat the Prop 8 amendment to restore traditional marriage in California — gives out a “Leather Leadership Award” at its “Creating Change” conferences.)

Note that this public nudity occurred outside the police-protected boundaries of Folsom (see metal fence in background, blocking the street at an entrance point). San Francisco police — hence law and order — are totally compromised in this “queer” Mecca, where outlandish behaviors and various human degradations — including men urinating on and in one another — are celebrated as mere “orientations.” Apparently it’s no big deal in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D) congressional district to see men strutting around the city completely naked — and Pelosi won’t denounce it (or help to stop it) for fear of alienating her powerful homosexual constituency. We were told that there are other public events in San Francisco that “tolerate” full nudity — but Folsom alone joins that with its pornographic promotion of homosexual sex clubs and depraved, promiscuous behaviors (e.g., orgiastic “pig sex”), which constitute a public health hazard and help spread disease worldwide.

Folks, this year we thought it would be beneficial for other pro-family leaders and advocates to join Americans For Truth in venturing to the world’s most famous “queer” Mecca, San Francisco, to observe the incredible goings-on at the annual “Folsom Street Fair.” Folsom is a sadomasochistic street celebration occupying 13 blocks — featuring rampant full public nudity and public whippings — all countenanced by city officials and the SFPD, which also recruits at the “fair.” Like last year, we witnessed sex acts on the streets, but a Folsom spokesman assured us that they are cracking down on that. Folsom is also the third largest outdoor event in California — drawing homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual people who are into various sexual “fetishes,” such as the “master-slave” duo above.

This was also the first year that we worked with other pro-family advocates to protest Folsom: the St. Joseph’s Men Society fielded a few men with our sign across the street from one of the busy entrance points to the “fair.” (See photo at right; St. Joseph’s president Anthony Gonzalez is holding the “Vote YES on Prop 8 sign in his right hand while talking to a reporter.) Thanks to all who helped out at the protest and our coalition press conference — where we were shouted down by intolerant homosexual militants as police stood passively by.

As we’ve said many times, we find it newsworthy that this and another extreme “leather” event occur annually in the district of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), who is third in line to President of the United States. Over and over we were told by San Franciscans (leather advocates and otherwise) that Folsom is just part of what makes this a uniquely tolerant and quirky city — and if we didn’t like it, why don’t we just stay away? The answer is that we want people across the USA and the world to understand what “tolerance” has become in this Democratic-led city — and where that “gay agenda” that homosexual activists keep telling us doesn’t exist ultimately leads. Here is our friend Diane Gramley’s account of what we witnessed. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

_________________________________

Is This Headed for a Town Near You?

By Diane Gramley, American Family Association of Pennsylvania

WARNING:   Adult content

How does one put into words what I witnessed on Sunday, September 28th in San Francisco?  How does one explain men walking down city streets totally nude, bare-breasted and bare-bottomed women, public whippings and sex acts?  San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair was just as depraved as reports I’d read of past ‘fairs.’ Why would a city allow this to happen? We are told it’s ‘tolerance’ that requires them to turn a blind eye to such depravity. Although they do not call it depravity, they call it being ‘progressive.’  What new acts will ‘tolerance’ allow in the future?

Before we even entered the barricaded-off 13-block area we began encountering nude men.  It was somewhat refreshing to see two young men trying to escape the assault on their senses.  As they tried to slip down an alleyway to get away from the Folsom Street Fair area, they encountered a nude man who had just walked passed a San Francisco Police Department mobile command unit and returned to his van parked in the alleyway outside the fair.  One of the guys said, “Another nude dude.  Let’s get out of here.  We don’t need to be assaulted like this.”  At the ‘charity whipping’ site, I also heard comments such as: “This is wrong.”  “This just isn’t right.”  Not everyone agrees with all that goes on at the Folsom Street Fair.

There were many youth at the fair, but also men and women ‘who were old enough to know better.’ We saw some children and a lot of people with their dogs, even though there was a warning against bringing children or pets because of the adult-oriented themes. I wondered why the organizers equated children and pets. There was also a sign at the main entrances which said “Nudity is Illegal.”  Naked individuals walked right by, apparently without noticing the signs.  The San Francisco police stood by and did nothing. One 29-year-veteran of the force said during an interview that they were told to ignore what was going on.  “You don’t know the political climate,” he told us.

As Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth, Linda Harvey of Mission America and I snapped pictures and video footage, we approached the ‘Pan’s Devils’ Horns’ booth. That’s where trouble began as some asked Peter if he was with the religious right. Peter answered, “Well, I’m not from the left.”  At that point one man began following us shouting and pointing “This is the religious right. They’ve come to take our civil rights away. They are taking pictures. They want to shut down Folsom Street Fair. They want to ban same-sex marriage.” He followed us for several blocks shouting and pointing, others were beginning to look our direction.  At one point he shoved Peter and Peter told him not to do that again or he’d call the police. We left the fair at the first exit we came to, then re-entered at another location to once again document the depravity. A side note here:  there were a lot of ‘normal looking people’ taking pictures.

Many heterosexual couples, both married and unmarried, attended Folsom Street Fair. There were many ‘gay couples,’ across the spectrum in age.  We were told that many bisexuals were there. Ironically, HIV prevention booths abounded – I guess they haven’t read Centers for Disease Control reports which point to men who have sex with men as the category with the largest number of HIV/AIDS cases.  The CDC has also said that bisexuals are the bridge for AIDS into the heterosexual community.

Additional booths included the San Francisco Public Health Department (two large penises were outside the booth and young women were lining up to have their pictures taken with them), there was a booth where one could get free Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B shots, the San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times had booths, PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbian and Gays) was also there.  Peter was able to get a picture of two naked men in front of the PFLAG booth. The San Francisco Police Department also had a recruiting booth right in the middle of all this illegal activity. There was a booth where religious sex toys were for sale.  Some of these were named God’s Rod, Jesus’ Baby Butt Plug and Jesus on the Cross.

I also noticed several “No on Prop 8” stickers being worn including by the attendant of the PFLAG booth.  Our detractors said there was no way we could connect the opponents of Prop 8 to Folsom Street Fair – I think they made the case for us.  Many Obama shirts and stickers were seen throughout the ‘fair.’

Booze flowed freely and the smell of dope was everywhere.

For about the last hour Peter interviewed Susan Wright, the founder of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) and the spokesperson for Folsom Street Fair. Linda and I both taped the interview.  Susan made the claim that for those involved in BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, Masochism) it was their sexual orientation. In the future NCSF will work on getting BDSM added to sexual orientation laws.  (proof that the addition of sexual orientation to laws opens the door to special rights for those involved in more and more bizarre lifestyle choices)  She said that any sexual activity should be allowable between consenting adults. [Editor's note: Wright said that includes people who like to be urinated on and other revolting and unhealthy practices as part of their "consexual" sexual activity.--LaBarbera] Ms. Wright did not believe that those under 18 are able to consent and did not support efforts to lower age of consent laws.  She opposes child pornography, but other forms of pornography and obscenity are okay. Proposition 8 – the Marriage Protection Amendment — is strongly opposed by her.

How quickly America has fallen into this pit.  Susan Wright views today’s BDSM movement as where the so-called gay rights movement was twenty years ago.  [A transcript of the Wright interview is forthcoming.] She is predicting that in that time span Bondage, Discipline, Sado Masochism will become a civil right protected by law. Can you imagine the sex ed classes of that day?  School children will be taught that, if your partner consents, it is okay to urinate and defecate on him or her; it’s okay to whip or tie up your partner . . . anything goes as long as it is between consenting adults.  If a parent doesn’t want their children exposed to those ideas, tough, they are infringing on the civil rights of those engaging in BDSM.

Pray for America.

Lunchtime at Folsom.

WARNING: Obscene Graphic of the Sort that Could Only Emerge from San Francisco

By Peter LaBarbera

Dear Readers,

The “mainstream” media have a double-standard when it comes to Republicans versus Democrats linked to radical fringe groups or events. Democratic ties to radical leftist groups like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, or libertine extremist events like the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco, rarely garner huge media attention — while GOP ties to extremists often create scandal. Perhaps this imbalance in coverage is lessening a bit (e.g., Jeremiah Wright) now that there is a powerful TV network (FOX News) and “new” web-based media outlets that do not follow the Left’s lead. Still, the liberal-left benefits tremendously from the media’s non-coverage of their radical wing.

Below is full-page ad on page 60 of the Folsom Street Fair 2008 official “Program Guide” (nudity and website address covered up). Mayor Newsom’s welcome letter to Folsom Street Fair participants is on page 16 of the same program (see below). It just doesn’t get any sicker or more extreme than Folsom, so why don’t Democratic politicians like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (top photo) fear being associated with this vile event, and why does House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) refuse to denounce it?

It would be hard to envision a more controversial event than the sadistic “leather” Folsom Street Fair — with its well-documented rampant public nudity and police-tolerated homosexual orgies on city streets — or so it would seem, anyway, if more Americans knew about it. The following welcome letter from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) appears in the newly-released official Folsom Street Fair “Official 2008 Program Guide.” The “street fair” will be held in San Francisco on Sunday, September 28, and Americans for Truth, Mission America, American Family Association and other pro-family groups will be on hand to document the public indecency and officially “tolerated” filth.

The same Folsom Program Guide that contains effusive greetings from Mayor Newsom (below) and even more effusive greetings from homosexual California Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is filled with the various graphic “leather” ads (see above example) and articles glorifying sadomasochistic perversions, such as salacious reviews for S&M homosexual porn videos. A link to the vile Folsom program — with the actual letter on Mayor Newsom’s official stationery on page 16 — can be found (WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC AND PERVERSE) HERE. You can reach Mayor Gavin Newsom at gavin.newsom@sfgov.org or (415)554-6141.

________________________

Office of the Mayor, City & County of San Francisco Gavin Newsom

GREETINGS FROM THE MAYOR

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 25th Annual Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, September 28, 2008.

I am proud to be Mayor of a city that has a long-standing history of being on the forefront of extending civil rights for all citizens. San Francisco is a city that takes pride it its diverse communities and neighborhoods. The commitment to inclusion and ensuring diversity makes this a thriving city and a popular destination for many visitors from around the world. My office is committed to supporting and recognizing the exceptional contributions of all our diverse communities.

San Francisco is a city of scenic vistas and natural beauty. With a reputation for charming ambience, top-rated restaurants, a dynamic arts scene, diverse shopping and friendly people, it’s no wonder that San Francisco is “Everybody’s Favorite City.” Our unrivaled attractions ensure that San Francisco has something for everyone.

To all organizers and attendees of the Folsom Street Fair, their families, friends, colleagues, and visitors from home and around the world, have a great day and enjoy the event.

With warmest regards,

Gavin Newsom

Mayor

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Room 200
San Francisco, California 94102-4641
gavin.newsom@sfgov.org
(415)554-6141

Gavin Newsom’s “Greetings from the Mayor” letter as it appears on page 16 of the Folsom Street Fair’s depraved “Official 2008 Program Guide.”

Below is an excellent column by Joel Belz, founder of WORLD magazine, answering some of the current Christian gibberish critical of believers who fight for Truth in the public square. (Click HERE for the full column in WORLD.) While we’re at it, here are 20 more good reasons why Christians (or anyone) should never feel guilty about a single-minded focus in countering the homosexual/transsexual activist and pro-abortion lobbies:

1. Human Rights Campaign (largest pro-homosexual PAC);
2. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force;
3. Lambda Legal;
4. NARAL Pro-Choice American (formerly National Abortion Rights Action League, which cruelly defends even later-term abortions).
5. GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation;
6. GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network);
7. NOW (they manage to promote both lesbianism and abortion-on-demand);
8. MTV (obnoxious in its one-sided promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, etc.);
9. Soulforce and other Bible-twisting, “queer theology”-promoting groups;
10. Radical, reason-challenged, pro-homosexual websites like young Jeremy Hooper’s Good As You blog, Wayne (”Anything But Straight”) Besen’s ‘ex-gay’-hating Truth Wins Out, and lesbian Pam (”Jeebus”) Spaulding’s Pam’s House Blend;
11. National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association;
12. EMILY’s List (a pro-abortion PAC)
13. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (working to open up the military to homosexuals);
14. ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project;
15. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
16. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
17. Tim Gill (homosexual money-man)
18. Pro-homosexual activist groups like Equality Illinois fighting in all 50 states for radical legislation that undermines marriage;
19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
20. PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians & Gays), a radical pro-homosexual group.

_______________________________

Belz writes for WORLD:

Stop Apologizing!
It’s not always wrong to be a “single-issue” advocate

It’s become an increasingly frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by “single issues.”

It was a reminder implicitly included in the “Evangelical Manifesto,” a document whose basic content we at WORLD have applauded but whose political direction I questioned in our last issue. Why are the Manifesto’s backers so ready to join the cultural left in suggesting a guilt trip for those evangelicals who have been preoccupied with the evils of abortion and same-sex marriage?

And if some argue that the rising generation of younger evangelicals is a bit embarrassed by what they think is an out-of-balance focus by their elders, and thinks it’s time to get equally exercised over issues like racism, economic justice, and the environment—well, if that’s the case with our twentysomethings and our teenagers, then maybe we need to go to work and do a better job of explaining to them why we’ve put the emphasis where we have for the last generation and why we believe that it’s time not to lower our voices.

Evangelicals shouldn’t be embarrassed to say boldly and clearly: Abortion and same-sex marriage are uniquely heinous sins. They rattle the foundations of a civilized society. They take a culture in a dreadful direction. We haven’t been wrong to say so. We aren’t fanatics.

Click HERE to read Belz’ entire column in WORLD

The following was sent out today by Gary Bauer as his “End of Day” e-mail for the Campaign for Working Families. Click HERE to sign up for Bauer’s excellent publication, which I enjoy reading every day. For a take on the Left’s reaction, here’s the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s press release on New York Gov. David Patterson’s imperious, pro-homosexual-”marriage” act. (What an ally for the governor: keep in mind that the loony Task Force in February gave its annual “Leather Leadership Award” to a homosexual sadistic sex activist who specializes in “consensual” sexual “slavery.”) — Peter LaBarbera

Emphasis added below:

Time To Get Serious

California officials have announced that the state will begin issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses on June 17th. Unless the state Supreme Court agrees to stay its ruling until after the November election, when the people will have the opportunity to vote on a marriage protection amendment, marriage licenses in America’s most populace state will no longer read “Husband” and “Wife,” but will instead list “Party A” and “Party B.” That’s just the beginning.

The words “husband” and “wife” will soon disappear from our lexicon altogether, having been banished as “hate speech” as they are exclusionary and discriminatory. The words will be banned from textbooks because they might offend some parent whose child doesn’t have a mother and a father, but instead two “parties.”

In response to an appeals court ruling brought by a homosexual couple “married” in Canada, the governor of New York [David Patterson] has just issued an executive order requiring the Empire State to recognize homosexual “marriages” performed in other jurisdictions, such as California, Canada and Massachusetts. According to the New York Times, New York will be the only state that recognizes homosexual “marriages” where homosexual “marriage” is not legal. How can that be? In 2006, the state’s highest court refused to recognize same-sex “marriage” and rightly said the issue should be decided by the legislature.

But the governor’s action effectively circumvents the state’s highest court, bows to foreign law and violates the principle of separation of powers by superseding the legislature. Again, we are witnessing the advance of the homosexual agenda by the most undemocratic means possible. The governor of New York and the appeals court judges should be impeached.

In response to earlier efforts to redefine the meaning of marriage, concerned citizens successfully passed marriage protection amendments in 27 states. All the amendments are subject to federal court review, which is probably coming sooner than we realize. To counter that threat, the pro-family movement has promoted a federal marriage amendment, but liberal Democrats in Congress have defeated it twice.

So Chelsea Clinton partied with 2,000 boys (can we call them men?) in dresses at Portland’s annual “Red Dress Party” on April 12? Can’t say I’m surprised given the polling data on how “gay-friendly” youth are these days. But instead of the usual shock and outrage, let’s dwell for some moments on what these photos say about the social movement that so accurately calls itself “queer.” (See Willamette Week excerpts from the Portland event at bottom.)

Homosexual Men in Dresses

According to this article in the Willamette Week, the Red Dress Party “started years ago as a way for gay guys to wear girlie gowns and get stinkin’ drunk.” Like they needed an excuse. Why is it so easy to get homosexual guys in a dress anyway? Could it be because they are confused about their God-given masculinity to begin with? Sorry, my digression has taken me into overlapping phobias: I don’ t know which I’m more guilty of: homo- or trans-phobia? (Both, you Bible Bigot! I’m reporting you to the Thought Police.)

Sometimes you just have to laugh at a homosexual world that is so utterly lacking in seriousness. We’re dealing with a movement that is filled with overgrown adolescents who still have the gall to compare themselves to the Black civil rights movement. (Shhhh! — don’t tell anyone about the annual Aspen “Gay Ski Week” or how homosexuals travel abroad more (”especially for leisure purposes”) than straights — they’re VICTIMS — VICTIMS OF DISCRIMINATION, I tell you!)

Perhaps even a few non-activist homosexuals might agree with me that it’s silly — from a grown-up standpoint — for:

• men to party until all hours of the night — many high on stimulant drugs to keep them awake and …. enabling them to … well, uh … perform multiple and untold sexual perversions — at massive parties that double as “fund-raisers” for AIDS research and prevention! … Apparently, the Red Dress Party that Chelsea attended serves as a fund-raiser for AIDS prevention and “queer youth” support groups; isn’t that special?
• men to engage in sodomitic sex in public bathrooms and parks … facilitated by porn-financed homosexual websites that get millions and millions of hits per month …
• homosexual activists like Human Rights Campaign’s Joe Solmonese to demand that the ban on homosexual male blood donations be lifted (he’s crying discrimination) when the FDA has said: “Several scientific models show there would be a small but definite increased risk to people who receive blood transfusions if FDA’s MSM [men who have sex with men] policy were changed and that preventable transfusion transmission of HIV could occur as a result”; turns out a little discrimination is a good thing….
• transvestite men with their burly arms and legs (and Adam’s apple — can’t cut that off) trying to “pass” as women ….
• lesbian “drag kings” doing their own pathetic imitation of the real deal (men) at shows across the country — yes, the gender-confused lesbians, too, try to “pass” as men, “packing” fake penises, etc. … Add to that the specter of lesbians using sex toys to simulate male anal sex (who could make this stuff up?) …
• one of the most intolerant and bigoted (anti-religiously speaking) movements in the world lecturing everyone else about … tolerance and bigotry …
• homosexual activists to scold Pope Benedict about his “sins”: the following is from the website “PinkNews” (now that’s serious): “The Rainbow Sash Movement [RSM] said it is calling on ‘Catholics of good will’ to take the Papal visit as an opportunity to shower the Pope-mobile with ashes instead of confetti. Ashes are an ancient and appropriate greeting for a sinner who has caused the Church so much division and pain,’ RSM said in a statement.”
• transgenders of all persuasions using opposite-sex restrooms and demanding same as their “civil right” (talk about dragging down MLK’s movement …);
• self-described “queer” theologians to pretend that they are Christian or have something to teach the Church when their real goal is to undermine Biblical truth on the subject to justify their lifestyle choices …
• activists to promote homosexuality and gender “nonconformity” in schools — even for young children — in the name of safety, of course …
• for one member of a homosexual household to play the “husband” and the other the “wife” in the relationship — at least they admit there is a standard of normalcy;
• pro-homosexual advocates to pretend that HIV/AIDS is not a predominantly “gay” disease in America — and teaching kids in school that AIDS “does not discriminate” when it clearly does (the homosexual Task Force’s Matt Foreman went off the “gay” taking points here when he declared that “HIV is a gay disease”) …
• smug homosexual academicians and activists to claim that same-sex parents are actually better for kids than traditional mom-and-dad households … Hitler would be proud: always go after the Big Lie….
• for GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination) and other same-sex whiners to complain that the movies and TV are not sufficiently pro-”gay” when everyone knows Hollywood is largely run by homosexuals (and straights who are strongly pro-”gay”) …
• leftist and “queer” bloggers like Pam Spaulding to feign outrage over Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern for saying the homosexual agenda is a greater threat than terrorism when they compare groups like AFTAH and pro-family leaders DIRECTLY to terrorists all the time. (I write this as a one-time designated member of the “American Taliban”; the subtle, judicious Spaulding now says she’s tired of the term — preferring a new putdown: “The Peter” — a phallic slang reference I used to hear as a kid; now that’s doing your Duke University employers proud, Pam!);
• men to say that they are really a lesbian trapped in a male’s body, and vice versa, and all the perverse permutations associated with the “T” in the “GLBT” movement: transsexualism, transvestism, etc.
• women to stay married to their husbands for decades and raise children to adulthood — and then leave their husband for a woman, only to claim that they were “always lesbian” and are just living out “who they really are” …
• the city of San Francisco to allow the sadistic Folsom Street Fair to go on every year with its rampant full nudity and even orgies in the streets — while the cops stand idly by doing nothing;
• homosexual activists to scold the Roman Catholic Church for harboring pedophiles when it was homosexual men who entered the Church after seminary standards were lowered — and then who engaged in so many of the predations on boys that brought dishonor to the Church in the first place. Have homosexual activists no shame?

The list could go on and on. Answer to the last question: no. So why are we losing to a movement this “queer,” again? Perhaps because most people don’t take it seriously. But mostly because the activists on their side care about their agenda (and, ultimately, their perversions) — more than most Americans care to stop them. Apathy and politically correct silence rule the day — at least for most straights and, to our shame, for most religious people.

Unfortunately for all of us, the dangers that the homosexual activist movement poses to America — to our religious and First Amendment freedoms, the corruption of youth, the sanctity of marriage, etc. — are very real indeed, and not funny at all.

___________________________

Below is an excerpt from the Willamette Weekly article:

Party Girl: Chelsea Clinton Cuts Loose With 2,000 Gay Men in Red Dresses

…

Yes, Chelsea Clinton made it to the infamous “Red Dress” Party.

Not to be confused with that other annual “Red Dress” fundraiser, this is the “Red Dress Party,” a mondo-alcohol-fueled dance party where nearly 2,000 gay men in various states of red dress undress (and several nearly naked straight men as well as one very colorfully decorated naked woman) invade a warehouse in Northeast Portland and dance their collective asses off to pounding disco music and the incredible Storm Large and her Balls (they were beyond fabulous).

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL Willamette Weekly STORY

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

Published by CWA, April 14, 2008

By J. Matt Barber

Can you imagine officials at a middle school, junior high or high school setting aside a day to promote “tolerance” for heavy smoking and drinking among children? How about a day where teachers encourage kids to “embrace who they are,” pick up that crack pipe and give it a stiff toke?

Neither can I. The public would go ballistic, and for good reason.

But that hasn’t stopped officials in thousands of schools across the country from promoting other politically correct and socially “in-vogue” behaviors that – both statistically and manifestly – are every bit as dangerous as the aforementioned “frowned-upon” behaviors.
That’s exactly what the homosexual activist “Day of Silence” is all about – advancing, through clever, feel-good propaganda, full acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle among children.

Just the Facts Ma’am

By recently admitting that “HIV is a gay disease,” Matt Foreman, outgoing executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, acknowledged what the medical community has known for decades: the homosexual lifestyle is extremely high-risk and often leads to disease and even death.

In fact, multiple studies have established that homosexual conduct, especially among males, is considerably more hazardous to one’s health than a lifetime of chain smoking.

To the consternation of “gay” activist flat-earthers and homosexual AIDS holocaust deniers everywhere, one such study – conducted by pro-”gay” researchers in Canada – was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) in 1997.

While the medical consensus is that smoking knocks from two to 10 years off an individual’s life expectancy, the IJE study found that homosexual conduct shortens the lifespan of “gays” by an astounding “8 to 20 years” – more than twice that of smoking.

“[U]nder even the most liberal assumptions,” concluded the study, “gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871. … [L]ife expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is 8 to 20 years less than for all men.”

This morose reality makes a strong case for a fitting redefinition of so-called “homophobia,” that being “Homophobia: The rational fear that ‘gay sex’ will kill you!”

The fact that we don’t have mandatory Surgeon General warnings on the side of condom wrappers is a testament to the power and influence wielded by the radical homosexual lobby. (Warning: Male-male anal sodomy has been proven to shorten your lifespan by up to 20 years.)

Not surprisingly, that same homosexual lobby and its codependent enablers in the mainstream media moved quickly to sweep the IJE study under the rug. Under tremendous pressure, the researchers who conducted the study even jumped into the political damage control fray issuing a statement which read, “[W]e do not condone the use of our research in a manner that restricts the political or human rights of gay and bisexual men or any other group.”

Yeah, so?

Of course, that’s all just worthless fluff. All the political spin in the world doesn’t change reality, nor does it eliminate the study’s disturbing conclusions or practical implications. The research left ZERO wiggle room for anyone who would argue that homosexuality is a “perfectly normal and healthy alternative sexual orientation.”

The risks associated with homosexual conduct are so drastic, in fact, that U.S. health regulations prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have had sex with MSM, from even donating blood.

Consider that, according to the Food and Drug Administration, MSM, “have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than repeat blood donors.”

Adults and children who engage in homosexual conduct, especially males, are also susceptible, at an astronomical rate, to nearly all other forms of sexually transmitted disease (STD). For example, the Hepatitis B virus is about five to six times more prevalent among “gays,” and Hepatitis C is twice as common.

But perhaps most shocking are today’s syphilis rates among homosexual men and adolescents. A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that although homosexuals comprise only a fraction of the population (one to two percent), they account for an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases.

The “Day of Silence”

In light of the irrefutable medical facts, it should be considered criminally reckless for educators to teach children that homosexual conduct is a normal, safe and perfectly acceptable alternative form of sexual expression (or “sexual orientation”).

But instead, the “gay” lifestyle is vigorously promoted in our public schools. Sexually confused children who suffer from gender identity disorder and same-sex attractions are told to “embrace who they are,” and are encouraged to entertain deviant and dangerous sexual temptations. “But always use a condom!” liberal educators bellow. (Forget that condoms have a perilously high failure rate and are incapable of preventing numerous STDs such as the HPV virus.)

On April 25, 2008, the pro-homosexual indoctrination of your children comes to a boil. Homosexual activists and like-minded liberal educators will be pushing the so-called “Day of Silence” on kids in thousands of schools across the country.

The “Day of Silence” (DOS) is organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), one of the most militant and well-funded of the powerful homosexual pressure groups. DOS purports to confront the alleged systematic harassment and bullying of children who self-identify as homosexual, bisexual or “transgender.” (For a sampling of the kinds of things GLSEN teaches children, click here. Be warned, though. It’s pretty graphic.)

To be sure, bullying and harassment should not be tolerated against anyone, anywhere for any reason, and those who engage in such activities should be firmly disciplined. However, DOS has very little to do with “bullying” and has everything to do with propaganda.

During DOS, children and teachers are encouraged to disrupt the school day by refusing to speak, in a show of support to self-described “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” and “transgender” students. Kids are additionally taught that Biblical truth, which holds that human sexuality is a gift from God shared between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage, is “homophobic,” “hateful” and “discriminatory.”

Our schools are supposed to be places of learning, not places of political indoctrination. It’s the height of impropriety and cynicism for “gay” activists and school officials to use good-hearted but misguided children as pawns in their attempt to further a deceptive, highly controversial and polarizing political agenda.

DOS is pure, unadulterated propaganda and, based on the medical science, amounts to nothing short of educational malpractice. With liberal school officials in tow, these militant homosexual activists are brazenly circumventing and abusing parental authority to further this dangerous political agenda. DOS is also a slap in the face to the many students with traditional moral values.

So, it’s time for the “Day of Silence” to finally live up to its name. It’s time for these radical adult activists to be silent in our children’s schools.

And you can to do something to help.

At DOS-participating schools all over the country, parents are joining with dozens of pro-family organizations, such as Concerned Women for America (CWA), in a “Day of Silence Walkout.” They’re keeping their kids home from school on DOS as a show of protest. (For more information [and a list of pro-DOS schools nationwide] visit www.missionamerica.com).

Parents and children are also strongly encouraged to participate in the Alliance Defense Fund’s non-disruptive “Day of Truth,” which will follow DOS on Monday, April 28, 2008. (For more information visit www.dayoftruth.org).

Children are impressionable. Their young minds are fresh clay ready for molding, and these adult homosexual activists know it. Your child’s spiritual, emotional and physical well-being belongs in your hands, not in the hands of liberal activists and elitist educators with a deceptive and destructive political agenda.

It’s time to shatter the silence with truth.

Matt Barber (right) is one of the “like-minded men” with Concerned Women for America. He is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law and serves as CWA’s policy director for cultural issues. Barber (right), a former professional heavyweight boxer, is also a Board Member of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality.

By J. Matt Barber

Modern science sometimes serves to validate timeless Biblical truths (not that objective truth needs validating). Romans 6:23 contains two such truths. It provides flip sides to a priceless coin, offering us both a blunt warning and an enduring promise: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Far too often we toss this coin, gambling heads-or-tails with our own best interests. We all sin, but because Christ willingly paid the penalty — suffering death on the cross in our stead — we are redeemed. We need only believe in Him and the gift of eternal life is ours. We can confess our sins, repent (which includes making every effort not to repeat those sins) and move on.

Still, there are those who prefer the tarnished side of the coin to the polished, those who, with haughty hearts and sardonic “pride,” willfully choose sin over Christ; death over life.

It’s a self-evident reality which is bolstered by medical science, but Scripture additionally reminds us in both the Old and New Testaments that those who choose to engage in homosexual conduct do so at their own peril.

Consider Romans 1:26-27 (NIV), which a presidential candidate recently referred to as an “obscure passage in Romans”: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”

It’s sad when people yield to disordered sexual temptations that can literally kill them spiritually, emotionally and physically. Nobody with any compassion enjoys watching others “[receive] in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” But a corollary to free will is living (or dying) with the choices we’ve made.

That said, it’s an entirely different proposition when bad behaviors place others at risk. This should not — and must not — be “tolerated.”

Current U.S. health regulations prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood. Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) categorically confirm that if MSM were permitted to give blood, the general population would be placed at risk.

According to the FDA, MSM “have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than repeat blood donors (American Red Cross).

“[MSM] also have an increased risk of having other infections that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion. For example, infection with the Hepatitis B virus is about 5-6 times more common, and Hepatitis C virus infections are about 2 times more common in [MSM] than in the general population,” according to the FDA.

A recent CDC study rocked the homosexual community in finding that although MSM comprise only one-to-two percent of the population, they account for an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases.

And Matt Foreman, outgoing Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, further shocked his fellow “gay” activists by admitting, “HIV is a Gay Disease.”

Although the risks extend far beyond potential HIV infection, the FDA notes, “All donated blood is tested for HIV, but the virus can go undetected until the immune system has produced a testable amount of antibodies.” This would pose a “small but definite increased risk to people who receive blood transfusions if the policy were changed.”

But risking lives is apparently of little concern to radical homosexual activists such as Joe Solmonese, president of the so-called “Human Rights Campaign” (HRC), the nation’s largest and most radical homosexual pressure group.

Solmonese recently placed politics over science, falsely declaring this commonsense public health precaution to be “discriminatory.” He has called for the ban to be lifted, with the wildly irresponsible claim that, “[T]here is no medical or scientific rationale for this discriminatory policy.”

In light of the irrefutable medical data, Solmonese’s demand is not only reckless, it’s incredibly dangerous. Unfortunately, it’s a common demand among his fellow extremists.

In South Africa, militant homosexual activists have been “protesting” by deliberately and surreptitiously violating that nation’s blood ban, aiming to flood blood banks with 70,000 units. Who knows how much blood has been contaminated or how many innocent people have been infected. This isn’t a protest; it’s an act of violence.

In recent days, Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern has been viciously attacked and ruthlessly maligned, even receiving death threats, for saying publicly that “the homosexual agenda is destroying the nation.” She even went so far as to say that, in her estimation, homosexual behaviors and “gay” activism pose a greater threat than terrorism.

Reasonable people can debate that opinion, but the actions of “gay” activists in South Africa provide one example among many which would seem to illustrate her point. To intentionally and surreptitiously defy valid health and safety regulations — very likely contaminating the blood supply and infecting untold numbers of innocent people — sounds an awful lot like terrorism to me.

Sally Kern can rest her case, but Joe Solmonese still has a big hole from which to dig himself. With his blunder, he has severely damaged his own credibility and has caused a tremendous setback to the radical movement he leads (a good thing, really).

It’s unconscionable that he would place a deceptive and dangerous political agenda above the health and well-being of American men, women and children. Homosexual activists who disingenuously cry out for “equal rights” should put the “rights” of others to be safe and healthy above their own selfish political ambitions.

Critical U.S. health regulations must not be ignored — or done away with — simply to further some twisted notion of “tolerance” and “diversity” or so that a small minority of people can feel better about the aberrant lifestyle choices they’ve made.

Intravenous drug users are also prohibited from giving blood, but no one in his right mind would demand that addicts be permitted to donate. It’s not because of who they are, it’s because of what they do. The aforementioned studies, and many others like them, prove that, like intravenous drug use, male-male anal sodomy is extremely high-risk behavior.

As I’ve often said, unnatural behaviors beget natural consequences. Regrettably, harmful and often deadly infectious disease can be just one of them.

______________________

Matt Barber is one of the “like-minded men” with Concerned Women for America. He is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law and serves as CWA’s policy director for cultural issues. Barber, who was an undefeated professional heavyweight boxer (see photo at right), was fired by Allstate Insurance Company in 2005 after writing an online article critical of homosexual activism, on his own time. He is also a Board Member of Americans For Truth about Homosexuality.

Jeremy Hooper, left, as featured three year ago in the homosexual magazine The Advocate. Click on photo to enlarge.

By Peter LaBarbera

Leave it to Jeremy Hooper, the indefatigable, youthful Homosexuality Apologist over at the “Good as You” blog, to misconstrue our Easter presentation of the Gospel, “Was Jesus Powerless?” Hooper, who comments on AFTAH’s website and those of other conservative groups with amazing alacrity, is irritated by my comparison of practicing homosexual sinners with other sinners covered by God’s grace.

Pegging off my non-comprehensive list of people who offend God but find forgiveness and hope in Jesus Christ, Hooper writes (bold and “shouting” (caps) emphasis is his):

So let’s see here — we homosexuals are compared to those (of any orientation or gender) who abuse substances, make wagers, objectify women, talk [sh*t] about others, force sex upon someone against their will, take a life, sell their bodies, sell other people’s bodies, patronize those who sell their bodies, take on a job in which they are motivated by profit, run for and carry out office in an unethical way, base their worldview in a mindset that’s detached from religious rule, don’t feel themselves bound by conventional wisdom, utilize their freedom to terminate a pregnancy (either through their medical practice or personal body decisions), have faith in science rather than God, are egocentric assholes, spread untruths, and/or cheat on their committed partners. Weird, because all this time we’ve viewed our always-present biological desires more like, say — THE ALWAYS-PRESENT BIOLOGICAL DESIRES OF OUR HETEROSEXUAL FRIENDS!

Who knew that when we were taught proper comparison techniques way back when, the idea of noting similarity between two or more things came with the caveat: “EXCEPT WHEN DEALING WITH SEXUAL ATTRACTION”? Clearly our kindergarten teacher was nothing more than an atheistic libertine!

What Jeremy doesn’t understand is that just because he feels that his homosexuality is some innate “orientation” — a natural, innocuous desire — that does not make it true. The Bible — regarded by Christ-followers throughout the centuries as the divinely-inspired Word of God — takes a view that is polar opposite to that of today’s homosexual advocates. Let’s return to that “obscure” New Testament book, Romans, for some guidance:

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. (Romans 1:24-27)

“Clobber Verses”?

This is just one of the so-called (”anti-gay”) “Clobber Verses” loathed and ridiculed by homosexual activists because they, well, clobber their sin. Many committed homosexuals come to resent or even despise Christianity because it so clearly condemns their favorite sin. Others seek to redefine the faith to get around those offensive passages, but you would have to apply Bill-Clinton-esque semantics (on steroids) to come away with an interpretation of the Bible that does not proscribe homosexual practice. (See Professor Rob Gagnon for more Biblical scholarship on this point.)

There is no singling out the poor homosexuals here: advocates of special treatment for other sins would have to undergo the same semantic gymnastics to gain approval for their errant behavior(s) and attitude(s) of choice. (Strange how you never hear people complain about the “clobber verses” against adulterers? That’s because, despite the abundance of philandering in our decaying culture, there is no hugely-funded, organized National Adultery Task Force to defend that sin.)

The Bible is an equal opportunity offender, and Jesus only tightened the standards of holiness (e.g., Matthew 5:27-29), while also making God’s grace much more accessible to everyday people — that is, sinners like you and me. The older I get, the more I realize that I simply cannot be “good,” in a godly, Biblical sense, without Christ. He is my goodness. I’m pretty rotten inside without Him. That’s not false humility but a cold (hearted) reality.

Anyway, if you believe the Bible, God does not give homosexual-practicing sinners a pass because homosexuality is an “always-present biological desire” (a thesis which is not supported by facts or science, although you’d never know it by the frequent assertions to the contrary by Jeremy and fellow homosexual activists). In fact, one thing we humans have in common is that each of us struggles with something that truly is “always present” in our lives — sin.

No, Jeremy, you weren’t “born gay,” but you were born a sinner. Join the club. It’s got billions of members.

If you don’t believe in the “natural” depravity of mankind, try watching young children at a playground, or siblings at home: nobody taught them to be selfish, envious, greedy, disobedient, etc. That’s just how they are — why, I wonder, if people are naturally “good” as so many believe these days?

So my answer to you, Jeremy, is that the vices against which I struggle — envy, pride, lust, greed, selfishness, lack of love and grace, and more — seem to have been “always present” in my life — at least that’s something I realized when I came to Christ after college and saw myself as I really was. Could it be that the deceitful heart that the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah mentions (Jeremiah 17:9) describes your heart and that you could be wrong — and God could be right — concerning what you believe to be your natural “orientation”? (By the way, in a future essay we must address how the Christian Church, like everyone else, spends way, way too much time and effort discussing, debating and pondering the “cause” of homosexuality — further proof that many erroneously regard this as a “special sin” that is not really a sin.)

‘Gay’ Fundamentalism

Perhaps it was destined to be that much of the debate over homosexuality in our culture would come down to a religious or philosophical discussion. Savvy homosexual activists well understand the power of religion in American life and increasingly frame their arguments using morality language borrowed from the Church.

We have our absolutes, Biblically grounded, and the “Gay Fundamentalists” have theirs. I use that term because honest homosexuality advocates (”gay” and straight) will admit that they have their own set of non-negotiables — “articles of faith,” as it were. Perhaps their paramount tenet (fundamental) is that homosexuals have no “choice” over their “sexual orientation” — therefore there is nothing to be guilty about! (To be fair, some homosexual activists reject the “born gay” artifice and/or admit that they chose to embrace homosexuality.)

Rationalization takes two main forms on the “gay” side: Religious Homosexual Fundamentalists create a “gay-positive” “christianity” — preposterous as that is, historically speaking — while Secular Gay Fundamentalists reject Christianity and assert a new metaphysical reality based on their homosexual “condition.” Both camps say their new doctrines are superior to and more up-to-date than historic Christian teachings on sex and marriage.

Despite all this, we committed Christians, we traditionalists, offer our most politically incorrect solution to mankind’s predicament: that people need Jesus Christ, that He changes people (2 Corinthians 5:17), and that if we reject Him — and His “free gift” of salvation (Ephesians 2:7-9) — we will one day receive a harsh eternal judgment (hell) (2 Thesselonians 1:6-10). The answer for each of us — homosexual, straight and in between — is found in the atoning sacrifice of the God-man, Jesus Christ, the “one mediator between God and man” (1 Timothy 2:5-6) — who C.S. Lewis described as either a liar, a lunatic, or the Son of God.

That’s all I meant to suggest with my list of sinners: not another condemnation of homosexuals but a picture of mankind’s universal, egalitarian need for Christ, Who endured the Cross of Good Friday to rise again on Resurrection Sunday, so that we, too, could live forever with Him.

P.S. For those who are Christians, please remember to pray for this young man, Jeremy Hooper; see: www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/03/apples-vs-orang.html.