Americans for Truth

The following letter was sent today by the leftist, Chicago-based organization “Gay Liberation Network,” which routinely protests pro-family and Christian events — and which once blasted historic Moody Church in Chicago as a “House of Hate.” 

Note how Bob Schwartz equates the defense of historic Judeo-Christian morality with “hate.” We encourage readers to pray for Bob, who, is a very bitter and angry man. Readers can contact Dennis Igoe, General Manager of the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville, at dennis@naperselect.com or 630-505-4900.

___________________________ 

E-mail subject header: “Thank you for cancelling bigot banquet”

Dennis Igoe
Manager, Naperville Holiday Inn
Naperville, Illinois
 
Dear Mr Igoe:
 
It has just come to our attention that you canceled a banquet by “Americans For Truth,” an antigay hate organization.  We thank-you for doing so, given that antigay hate under the guise of religion is still hate.  Similarly, anti-immigrant hate under the guise of patriotism is the real agenda of the Minuteman Project, a group barred from another Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake.
 
No doubt Peter LaBarbera had our organization, Gay Liberation Network, in mind when he informed you that “homosexual organizations” might picket his hate fest.
 
It has become the cant of bigot organizations like Americans For Truth to cry that there is “anti-christian discrimination” at work whenever anyone stands up for fair play, such as in this instance of a private corporation refusing to provide a platform for rank bigotry.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
BOB SCHWARTZ
Gay Liberation Network
 
Copy: Americans for Truth

So much for the First Amendment. Bob Schwartz of the leftist Chicago homosexual group Gay Liberation Network, who opposed government censorship in a previous AFTAH story, defends a vigilante type of oppression — of ideas and religious speech – in typically nasty fashion below. Schwartz compares the two peaceful Christian men assaulted by a mob of “gay pride” celebrants in Chicago Sunday to “racist scum,” the KKK, and fascists, while commending the mob that set upon them (for details of the “pride” day assault, click HERE).

Sorry, Bob, Christians are not “hate merchants,” but it seems pretty clear that what you’re selling here isn’t even close to the tolerance that you demand of others. – Peter LaBarbera 

Here’s Schwartz’s Stalinesque rant: 

Bigots were “bullied,” and subjected to “sinister laughter and jeering” but they get out alive.  What would happen to the KKK if the racist scum tried to protest at the Bud Billiken parade at 43rd and King Drive?  Wouldn’t this threat be met by Malcolm’s dictum, “Liberation by any means necessary.”

 

Why do Chicago Pride parade organizers defend the “free speech” rights of bigots, rather than advocate for those who object to their presence? Three years ago when anarchists protected the parade from fascist street thugs, Richard Pfeifer condemned the anarchists and praised the cops who arrested them!  This year Pfeifer was quoted as saying that our “diversity” allows for bigots expressing antigay messages.

 

Those LGBTs and others who stood up to the fascists this year, whether at Cambridge and Diversey, or before the two hate merchants quoted below [reprints AFTAH story about mob attack] are to be commended.

 

Those who dare to come onto our streets to preach hate should face the consequences meted out to them by lesbians and gays who will not stand by and be degraded by bigots masquerading as kindly people of god.

 

Bob

By Peter LaBarbera 

Bob Schwartz of the leftist Chicago homosexual group Gay Liberation Network responded to my e-note asking if he favored laws censoring pro-family group’s speech critical of homosexuality. The following is Schwartz’s response (we’ve put his response at the top rather than following my note, as it was in the original).

I certainly doubt the accuracy of Schwartz’s claim about the Nigerian bishop, as he and his group typically lop all Christians who stand for traditional morality in with those who committed indefensible acts (e.g., violence or death threats) against homosexuals. Schwartz also engages in hyperbole typical of many leftists when he claims that Christian groups are a threat to democracy. Schwartz’s flagrant name-calling of committed Christians as “fascists” is a callous and hurtful shibboleth that has no basis in reality and is deeply offensive to all people and groups, like Americans For Truth, that abhor the Nazis’ genocidal record.

As to Schwartz’s claim about “hate speech,” many on our side of the debate regard GLN’s standard rhetoric — e.g., calling the historic Moody Bible Church in Chicago a “house of hate” — as hateful in the extreme.

Finally, regarding his note about socieities in decline, we commend the work of  the (anti-Christian) Edward Gibbons (The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire), historian Will Durant, Pitirim Sorokin, and others who have documented the role of sexual immorality in the demise of great civilizations.

All this said, we are pleasantly surprised that the GLN leader is not an outright advocate of censorship. Here is Schwartz’s reply to my question:

Is The Big House Peter LaBarbera’s future home?
 

_______________________________________________
 
Sure, its tempting to want to enact laws like those in Canada and across parts of Europe that restrict the very kind of hate speech you and others dole out to gays, all under cover of “religious freedom.” But, I do not favor governmental restrictions on hate speech.
 
I reach this conclusion, not because I care one iota about speech rights for people who would like to push me back into the closet, restrict my rights or see me dead, but because governmental regulation of speech–particularly in the United States–would likely be turned against people of the left, not of the right.  I’m not about to cut my own throat.
 
What I will do is keep portraying right-wing outfits like IFI and Americans for Truth, along with more effective hate groups like Focus on the Family, the John Hagee “ministries,” and the Coral Ridge fascist James Kennedy as dangerous to democracy. Dangerous because they include extremists who want to substitute the bible for the US Constitution. Dangerous because they are hate mongers who go after vulnerable gays today, but have an agenda that includes rolling back gains won thru struggle by workers, immigrants, women, and African Americans, as well as support to American/Israeli wars for empire.*
 
This summer, Gay Liberation Network will host a Nigerian gay man who has had to flee his native land following death threats from thugs spurred on by Christian leaders such as the Anglican archbishop, Peter Akinola, a man held to be a hero by some American gay haters.
 
Finally, as you will recall, we are prepared to take our ideas into the street.
 
You and others of your ilk deserve to be isolated, and ousted from respectable society.  The fate of Don Imus hopefully awaits antigay bigots as well.
 
BOB SCHWARTZ
Gay Liberation Network
 
[* See the book by Kevin Phillips entitled “American Theocracy.” Phillips points out that elites of societies in decline often appropriate religious fervor as they attempt to stabilize the sinking ship, branding policy opponents as enemies, demonizing religious and sexual minorities, scapegoating “foreigners,” calling upon the deity to bless military adventures, etc.]

….
 
I got the following response from Peter LaBarbera after I copied him on the message I posted regarding the IFI campaign to defeat federal hate crime legislation.  My response to LaBarbera follows his message. 
LaBarbera posted my original message and his response on his website: http://americansfortruth.org/
He can be reached at americansfortruth@comcast.net
 
 
…. You’d love to censor groups like IFI and Americans for Truth, wouldn’t you? If you had the power, you’d want to shut us down or ban certain aspects of our speech and conduct? For example, would you favor a federal “anti-hate” law that would have made our last email (”Satan’s Talking Points”) illegal? Or am I wrong and you actually support freedom of speech in the USA on the homosexual issue (which does not include direct harassing threats or advocating violence)? Would you favor using anti-discrimination hate speech laws to curb anti-gay speech? Which speech if any would you censor? Do you support anti-”hate speech” laws in Canada and England that are rapidly criminalizing (”discriminatory”) speech critical of homosexuality and are resulting in Christians being sued for discrimination or being jailed because they publicly oppose homosexual behavior? Did you support the jailing of the pastor in Sweden, Ake Green (www.akegreen.org), or do you think he should not have been prosecuted and what the government did to him was an injustice?  Since you’re charging us with being fascists, don’t we have a right to know? Would you use state power to restrict anti-gay speech, or not, and if so, under what circumstances?
 
Peter LaBarbera
Americans For Truth

By Peter LaBarbera

After being “cc’d” on the latest hateful e-mail sent by Bob Schwartz of the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network — calling Illinois Family Institute (my former employer) the “Illinois Fascist Institute” for opposing a pro-homosexual federal “Hate Crimes” law – I sent the following e-note to Schwartz. We ask the same question of Human Rights Campaign’s Joe Solomonese, NGLTF’s Matt Foreman and all homosexual activists: would they support laws — and government actions — to censor speech opposed to homosexuality?

My note to Schwartz: 

From: Americans for Truth [mailto:americansfortruth@comcast.net]
Sent:  Saturday, April 14, 2007 11:37 AM
To:  Bob Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network
Cc:  David Smith, Exec. Dir., Illinois Family Institute
Subject:  Hey Bob, admit it…

…. You’d love to censor groups like IFI and Americans for Truth, wouldn’t you? If you had the power, you’d want to shut us down or ban certain aspects of our speech and conduct? For example, would you favor a federal “anti-hate” law that would have made our last email (“Satan’s Talking Points” [ Human Rights Campaign’s Harry Knox Promotes Ultimate ‘Big Lie’ in MSNBC Debate with CWA’s Matt Barber]) illegal? Or am I wrong and you actually support freedom of speech in the USA on the homosexual issue (which does not include direct harassing threats or advocating violence)? Would you favor using anti-discrimination hate speech laws to curb anti-gay speech? Which speech if any would you censor? Do you support anti-”hate speech” laws in Canada and England that are rapidly criminalizing (”discriminatory”) speech critical of homosexuality and are resulting in Christians being sued for discrimination or being jailed because they publicly oppose homosexual behavior? Did you support the jailing of the pastor in Sweden, Ake Green (www.akegreen.org) [Green was arrested in 2003 and later sentenced to jail for preaching a sermon in his church against homosexual behavior as sin], or do you think he should not have been prosecuted and what the government did to him was an injustice?  Since you’re charging us with being fascists, don’t we have a right to know? Would you use state power to restrict anti-gay speech, or not, and if so, under what circumstances?

Schwartz’s note to IFI: 

Fwd: IFI Makes it Easy to Contact Congress Members to Back Hate Crimes Legislation 

 

The kooks at the Illinois Fascist Institute want their followers to tell Members of Congress to oppose the recently re-introduced  Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.  Charging that this bill would provide the dreaded “special protection” to gays, in fact IFI wants to retain the right to discriminate based upon some presumed divinely sanctioned hatred of gays. 
 
Sorry, IFI, the Constitution and not a collection of ancient writings called the bible is the fundamental law of the United States.
 
While hate crimes legislation is by no means a panacea to counter antigay bigotry and violence, it does help isolate the haters, a fact at least indirectly acknowledged by IFI opposition to the bill which frames its hatred of gays as the “beliefs, thoughts and attitudes” of “religion.”
 
Thanks to IFI, there is easy access to Congressional contact information.  Is that Christian generosity, or what!!
 
Bob [Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network, Chicago, IL]
_______________________________________________

Original E-Alert by Illinois Family Institute:

IFI E-Alert: New Hate Crimes (Thought Crimes) Legislation in Washington D.C.
(Federal Issue)

4/13/2007 3:00:00 PM
By David E. Smith, Executive Director -Illinois Family Institute 
 
Bill would create special protection for homosexuals.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1592) will be called for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives next week. This bill would extend existing federal hate-crimes laws that already cover crimes motivated by race, color, national origin and religion to include crimes based on “actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity (including gender-related characteristics).”

ACTION: Contact your Congressman today and urge him/her to oppose this anti-religious piece of legislation and vote ‘NO’ on H.R. 1592. Hate crimes legislation is really “thought crime” legislation because it penalizes politically-incorrect beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts, rather than actual crimes. (Phone calls are the most effective means to communicate with elected officials.)

Bobby Rush (D-1st District)
202-225-4372

Jesse Jackson (D-2nd District)
202-225-0773

Daniel Lipinski (D-3rd District)
202/225-5701

Luis Gutierrez (D-4th District)
202-225-8203

Rahm Emanuel (D-5th District)
202-225-4061

Peter Roskam (R-6th District)
202-555-1212

Danny K. Davis (D-7th District)
202-225-5006

Melissa Bean (D-8th District)
202-225-3711

Janice D. Schakowsky (D-9th District)
202-225-2111

Mark Kirk (R-10th District)
202-225-4835

Jerry Costello (D-12th District)
202-225-5661

Judy Biggert (R-13th District)
202-225-3515

Dennis Hastert (R-14th District)
202-225-2976

Timothy Johnson (R-15th District)
202-225-2371

Don Manzullo (R-16th District)
202-225-5676

Phil Hare (D-17th District)
202-225-5905

Ray LaHood (R-18th District)
202-225-6201

John Shimkus (R-19th District)
202-225-5271

Legislate Thought Crimes Act?
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1592), which we’re calling the Legislate Thought Crimes Act, would add the words “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability” to the existing federal code.

The proposed Legislate Thought Crimes Act is different from current hate crimes law which permits federal prosecution of hates crime if the crimes were motivated by bias based on race, religion, national origin, or color, or because the victim was exercising a “federally protected right” (e.g. voting, attending school, etc.). This is because it would extend government protection and therefore official government recognition to sexual behavior as a legitmate protected class — a very dangerous precedent for U.S. law.

This bill removes the federally-protected activity requirement and adds “actual or perceived sexual orientation/gender identity,” gender and disability to the list of covered categories–bringing additional confusion to federal law. The proposed law would give unprecedented power to overzealous federal officials and liberal judicial activists who view opposition to homosexuality as “hate.”

Law would be homosexual tool
In short, this bill, if passed into law, could be used as a tool to advance the homosexual agenda through the enactment of federal laws that recognize homosexual behavior as civil right that needs special government protection. IFI will continually strive to educate people of the fact that unlike race, sexual orientation is a behavior that is changeable — as evidenced by the thousands of ex-”gays” living happy lives today.

HB 1826, a homosexual “marriage” bill (minus the “M-word”) — masquerading as a “religious freedom” bill — has cleared a committee hurdle in the Illinois House. The bill’s homosexual activist sponsor, State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), says HB 1826 would “protect” the religious freedom of churches and those who have a moral objection to homosexual behavior. But Harris’ view is contradicted by a legal analysis of the bill by Illinois constitutional attorney Paul Linton. CWA’s Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues, and analyst Martha Kleder discuss with AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera the homosexual activists’ crafty attempt to sell this radical “gay marriage” bill as a “compromise” measure that “protects” churches.

Click HERE to listen to the interview online.

You can also download the interview by going to the CWA site.

By Peter LaBarbera

Homosexual Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) pushes counterfeit “marriage.”

Well, we’ve been warning you that the homosexual movement wants to make Illinois the “Massachusetts of the Midwest.” Now it’s official. The state’s only “openly gay” representative, Greg Harris (D-Chicago), has submitted a bill to legalize “same-sex marriage” in the Land of Lincoln. Harris sneakily calls his bill the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” –– despite evidence from Massachusetts that legal “gay marriage” leads to stepped-up discrimination against religious institutions opposed to homosexuality.

TAKE ACTION: If you are an Illinois resident, call your state representative and state senator and politely urge them to:

• OPPOSE HB 1615, the radical redefinition of marriage proposed by new homosexual State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago); click HERE to find your legislators (the page works best if you know your 9-digit zip), and click HERE to view the bill, which would strip out the common-sense prohibition in Illinois law against marriages “between two individuals of the same sex.” You can call the Illinois Capitol Switchboard at 217-782-2000.
• SUPPORT HJRCA 1, the pro-traditional-marriage constitutional amendment offered by State Rep. Dave Reis (R) –– which has languished in the IL General Assembly for years due to the Democrats’ subservience to the state’s powerful “gay” lobby. (In Illinois, a constitutional amendment requires a three-fifths vote by the legislature, followed by a three-fifths popular vote.)

Also, please consider making a financial gift to Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI). We don’t normally solicit funds for other organizations, but PMI urgently needs your help as it gears up for another petition drive to place a pro-traditional marriage advisory question on the 2008 Illinois ballot. PMI’s ballot measure would enable Illinois voters to call on the General Assembly to pass a constitutional Marriage Protection Amendment (like Reis’ amendment above). Make your check out to Protect Marriage Illinois and send it to: PMI, PO Box 419, Wheaton, IL 60189; or go to PMI’s website and click the “Make a Donation” button. (Gifts to PMI are not tax-deductible.)

Background
Homosexual activists, being mostly on the Left, know how politics works: they will strive to gradually build support for legalizing “gay marriage” in Illinois even if it takes decades. This is what they did before finally passing a pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” bill (which also covers the gender-confused) in Illinois in 2005.

Conservatives and people of faith, too, have to learn to think long-term. We must retain the goal of repealing all “sexual orientation” laws –– in Illinois and across the nation –– since they are incompatible with the basic American freedoms of religion, conscience and association. And we must act to protect marriage as between a man and a woman at the state and federal constitutional levels.

In his odd legislative biography, Rep. Harris –– who replaced another homosexual Chicago Democrat –– states, almost proudly, that he is the “only openly gay member of the Legislature and openly a person with AIDS.” (Please read this interesting first-hand testimonial about Harris’ sad life and pray for him if you are so moved.)

Indeed, behavior that runs contrary to nature carries a heavy physical price. When “gay” activists talk about “marriage equality,” we should answer: same-sex relationships do not deserve to be treated as “equal” to marriage because they are not — far from it. True marriage serves society and mankind by ordering the sexes and producing future generations and providing stable, mother-father homes for children.

Conversely, society has no stake in legalizing “gay marriage,” which would reward unhealthy and changeable behavior and have such ill side-effects as facilitating intentionally fatherless or motherless homosexual adoptions.

Giving immoral homosexual relationships all the rights and benefits of marriage also sends a terrible message to young people, and certainly will lead to Christians and religious people being punished for “anti-gay” discrimination. A homosexual “marriage” or “civil union” law would be a huge stepping stone toward forcing small businesses –– even religiously-owned ones such as day care centers –– to provide marital-type benefits to homosexual employees even if they oppose subsidizing that lifestyle.

And how long will it be before a church or pastor is sued for refusing to perform a marriage ceremony for a homosexual couple — HB 1615’s title notwithstanding?

We must do all we can to shore up real marriage by encouraging citizens to value it more and by making divorces tougher to get. Radically redefining marriage to include homosexuality would only erode this great institution further.

TAKE ACTION — First, contact IL State Rep Greg Harris
and express your opposition to this legislation.

Then contact your own representative and ask them to OPPOSE this bill.
You can find your legislator’s contact information HERE.

——————————–

Excerpted from Lawmaker: Legalize Gay Marriages, by Doug Finke, published Feb 22, 2007, by PJ Star:

State Rep. plans to introduce bill aiming to equalize rights

A Chicago Democrat wants Illinois to be the second state to legalize gay marriages.

State Rep. Greg Harris (pictured left) plans to introduce legislation today to permit same-sex couples to get married. Although four states recognize civil unions among gays, only Massachusetts provides for gay marriages.

“It would extend the same rights and obligations of marriage to same-sex couples in Illinois as are previously enjoyed, or not enjoyed, by heterosexual couples,” Harris said. “If you look at recent polls … people of Illinois very thoroughly understand that same-sex couples deserve the same rights and benefits” as heterosexual couples.

David Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, disagreed…

Harris, who is gay and represents a district with a large homosexual population, acknowledged that pushing for legalized gay marriages rather than civil unions will be controversial.

“It is undoubtedly true that the word marriage is a very emotionally charged term, so there may have to be some negotiations on that,” he said. “From my community, we believe we should have the full, equal rights as our heterosexual siblings to marry who we choose, and we should call it marriage. We should not call it civil union.”

Continue reading at PJ Star…

Where was Judy Baar Topinka on Wednesday evening?

High Risk Gallery

Log Cabin Republicans

and

Coup De Gras Catering

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Cordially invite you to meet and talk with Illinois’ next Governor…

Judy Baar Topinka

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Tonight!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

8:00pm to 8:45pm

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High Risk Gallery

1113 West Belmont-Chicago, Illinois

The event is free and open to the public.

For further event information, please contact High Risk Gallery at (773) 296-6974 or www.highriskgallery.com.

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Cocktails & Hors D’oeuvres

6:00pm-7:30pm

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Click on these links to see photos of Judy Baar Topinka at other 2006 Log Cabin events:

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