New ballot efforts seeks voter referendum on “gay marriage/civil unions” in Illinois in 2012
Note: it is outrageous that the State of lllinois would even consider FORCING religious adoption agencies (or irreligious agencies, for that matter) to place children in homes that are motherless or fatherless by design. Adults (proudly) practicing homosexuality are not good role models for impressionable children, who need a mom and a dad. (No, the sexes are not interchangeable.) The new Illinois “Civil Unions” law — rammed through Springfield in a lame-duck session — must be repealed to preserve religious liberty in the Land of Lincoln. ”Exemptions” — even if they are strengthened – won’t preserve freedom.
In the meantime, a new movement has been launched to place an Advisory Referendum on “same-sex marriage” (and “civil unions”) on the Illinois ballot in 2012. Almost 300,000 signatures of Illinos voters must be gathered and turned into the Illlinois Board of Elections by April 2012 to make that happen. To get involved, go to www.DefendMarriageIllinois.org and download a petition and instructions. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333; tc@tcpr.net; June 7, 2011
Catholic Leaders Take Legal Action Over Risk of Losing Foster Care Services
Catholic Charities in Illinois Seek Remedy for Best Interests of Children, Families
(SPRINGFIELD, IL) Leaders of three Catholic dioceses – the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, Peoria and Joliet – took legal action today as their charities fight to continue their work in serving the best interests of thousands of needy children and families throughout the state.
In March of this year, the Attorney General’s office issued a letter stating that the office “received notice that Catholic Charities … discriminates against Illinois citizens based on race, marital status and sexual orientation” in the provision of foster care and adoption services and demanded that Catholic Charities turn over a wide range of documents in response. The June 1 law authorizing civil unions in Illinois has raised further questions and criticism about Catholic Charities’ longstanding position not to place children for adoption and foster care with non-married couples who live together – regardless of sexual orientation.
This lawsuit, filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court, seeks a declaration that the charities are in full compliance with Illinois law in their current practices and an injunction against further action by Illinois government officials to the contrary. The charities argue both that the Illinois Human Rights Act exempts religious adoption agencies from the provisions relied upon by the Attorney General’s office and that the new Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act includes an express protection for the religious freedom of entities like Catholic Charities.
‘Gay’ “Bullying Tactics” won’t dissuade marriage defenders, says TFP leader
Pro-homosexual "marriage" activist attacks TFP banner that proclaimed marriage as it truly is: between a man and a woman. TFP members shouted "Aggressor!" as the assailant did his dirty deed. Later, a TFP member was hit in the head by a beer bottle thrown from a car passing by.
Folks, we’ve seen this nasty brand of homosexual bullying and intolerance so often that we’re no longer shocked by it. Watch the TFP Student Action video as peaceful TFP members shout “Aggressor!” as this troubled man walks up and destroys their banner, in Fairport, New York. Imagine if a bunch of pro-family activists did this to a pro-”gay banner” banner! (CBS, ABC, NBC, and CNN would be lining up to tell the story.) TFP is a Catholic group that has done yeoman’s work standing up for real marriage across the nation. Watch the TFP Student Action video at their website HERE. – Peter LaBarbera,. www.aftah.org
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Video: Pro-Homosexual Advocate Destroys Traditional Marriage Banner in New York
Contact: Contact: John Ritchie, American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 717-495-5427
As young TFP volunteers stood at the corner of Main Street and Church Street with signs, a pro-homosexualist hurled himself against the group’s thirteen foot long banner inscribed with “God’s Marriage = 1 Man & 1 Woman.” The banner, held by three volunteers, was knocked down and violently torn to pieces.
Pro-family advocates in Chicago rally against the new "Civil Unions" law in Illinois. The bill, HB 1716, was passed in a lame-duck session and ironically called the "Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act" despite the fact that its passage immediately put Illinois citizens' religious and First Amendment liberties in jeopardy. Photo by Lynn Thomas; click to enlarge.
Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (www.aftah.org); June 1, 2011
CHICAGO–Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality and a principal behind the Illinois Defense of Marriage Initiative (www.DefendMarriageIL.org), issued the following statement on the new Illinois “Civil Unions” law that takes effect today:
Homosexual behavior is always wrong, according to the broad sweep of Judeo-Christian history, so it is tragic to behold the State of Illinois – or any government entity – recognizing immoral same-sex relationships and treating them like marriage. Moreover, for the City of Chicago and Gov. Pat Quinn to celebrate homosexuality with a mass Civil Union ceremony June 2nd is an act of hubris and defiance toward the Creator that mocks His wonderful plan for real marriage – the sacred union of a man and a woman to produce children and family. The pandering Quinn – epitomizing the modern Democratic politician –mocks his own professed Catholicism by working tirelessly to undermine its clear moral dictates.
The anti-Christian Civil Unions law must be repealed. It was passed in a lame-duck session that once again revealed the contempt that liberal Illinois lawmakers have for the citizens they are supposed to serve. Ironically, shortly after passage of this bill – mischievously titled the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act –religious liberty for Illinois citizens and religious institutions was immediately put in jeopardy. A homosexual male couple targeted Paxton, Illinois, bed-and-breakfast owners Jim and Beth Walder – who now face prosecution by the State because they refuse – as Christians – to hold “civil union” ceremonies celebrating homosexuality on their own business property. And theRockford Diocese’s Catholic Charities announced that it will halt its state-funded foster care and adoption services rather than be forced by the State of Illinois to place children in same-sex households that are motherless or fatherless by design.
Gay Liberation Network activists marched in front of Catholic Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago Sunday morning, chanting against the church's supposed "hate." Pro-perversion militants like the GLN classify church opposition to homosexuality as "religious-motivated bigotry."
Following is an account by Renew America writer Matt Abbott of AFTAH’s silent “counter-protest” against the radical Gay Liberation Network’s outrageous protest Sunday, February 13, 2011, directly in front of Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago. Homosexual activists chanted against the supposed “hate” of Cardinal Francis George — a preposterous accusation given George’s soft-spoken manner. Of course, the mere defense — any defense — of historic church beliefs proscribing homosexual conduct is enough to earn one the “hate” label from the likes of GLN.
Following the article is George’s statement about the GLN protest, and then a reply by the Gay Liberation Network. We must all stand together to defend against the aggressive secular “gay” assault on marriage and the Judeo-Christian values that have served America well as the foundation of our freedoms. If you still believe that hard-core homosexual activists as represented by GLN actually respect the Church and the right of people to disagree with their sinful yet changeable lifestyle, it’s time for you to wake up and start defending Marriage, Truth — and your religious liberty to live out your faith. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
This excerpt is from the website of “Rightly Concerned,” a project of AFA (American Family Association):
In Defense of the Pope
By Bryan Fischer, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:31 AM
The New York Times has done to the Pope on condoms what the out-of-the-mainstream has done to me on the Medal of Honor: so distorted his words that they accuse of him of saying the exact opposite of what he actually said.
According the Gray (and fading) Lady, the Pope said “that condom use can be justified in some cases to help stop the spread of AIDS…”
Sorry, Charlie, that’s not what he said.
For openers, he flatly denied that condoms are the solution to the AIDS problem: “We cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms.” It’s difficult to be any clearer than that.
Here is the central paragraph in the Pope’s interview, with emphasis added:
“There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”
What part of “not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection” does the New York Times not understand? A third grader can understand that better than the arrogant, out of touch, and self-appointed elitists at the Times.
His Excellency, Timothy Broglio, the Archbishop for the Military Services, released a statement to the Catholic News Agency responding to a letter from Catholics for Equality; the gay advocacy group pleaded with him to support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:
On June 1, Archbishop Broglio released an excellent statement recounting the Catholic Church’s opposition to homosexuality. He called on Catholic chaplains in the armed forces to show respect for the dignity of homosexuals, but he also implored them to “never condone—even silently—homosexual behavior.”
On September 17, a new dissident group, Catholics for Equality, wrote a letter to the archbishop that was not only critical of his Catholic position, it reeked with smugness and arrogance: “We are ready to help you and Catholic chaplains in the transition to full acceptance of gays and lesbians in the military and respectfully request a meeting with you….” So thoughtful of these malcontents to offer their help in transitioning the bishop to oppose the Catholic Church’s teachings on sexuality.
In this interview (Part One of two), which aired Saturday, July 17, 2010, AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera talks in studio with John McCartney and Wayne Lela – two Chicago men who have a unique “ministry” of going to local Chicago colleges and universities and educating students about homosexuality and “gay” activism. They do this from a pro-natural-family perspective that most young people rarely hear. For that they have been harassed by liberal professors — among other trials — but they persevered and have now gained entry on to all the Chicago-area public colleges, which cannot legally engage in viewpoint discrimination.
In the interview, McCartney discusses the way “brainwashing” works on this issue — censoring negative information about homosexuality while demonizing opponents of the “gay” agenda. Lela (who as an agnostic is not a member of the so-called “Religious Right”) formed a group called HOME, Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment. McCartney is a retired English teacher and committed Catholic living in Chicago who has long served both the pro-life and pro-family causes. Both men will be attending AFTAH’s upcoming Truth Academy Aug 5-7, to be held at the Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL.
In this (Part One) interview, the two discuss the reactions of students to their work — and how Chicagoland newspapers seem to be cutting back on printing letters-to-the-editor that are critical of homosexuality — which would be consistent with the increasingly censorious posture of Chicago’s major media, which generally are very pro-”gay.” Lela and McCartney deserve our commendation. There are millions upon millions of people who affirm the truth that homosexual behavior is wrong, destructive, unnatural and changeable. But there are precious few like these two men who actually contend for this truth in the public square — and especially with students who, as they say, are “brainwashed” by the non-stop pro-homosexual propaganda in the media and popular culture.
HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file. Left click once on the link below to play. (Please be patient, depending upon the speed of your internet connection it may take a moment or two to load.) OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.
Will Obama, like U.K.’s Tony Blair, usher in ‘gay’ tyranny in the United States?
Former British P.M. Tony Blair used state power to promote the acceptance of homosexuality in the U.K. He is now working to make Christianity "gay"-affirming.
By Peter LaBarbera
I was sent this must-watch CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) video by my friend Gary Glenn, head of the American Family Association of Michigan. Glenn is backing a civil rights lawsuit by the Thomas More Law Center against Attorney Gen. Eric Holder over the new homosexuality/transsexuality–inclusive “hate crimes” law. This video deserves wide circulation as a warning to America.
The Homosexual Activist Movement, aided and abetted by liberal straights, currently is the greatest threat to religious freedom in the United States. This is because homosexual radicals like lesbian Chai Feldblum (appointed by President Obama as a Commissioner on the E.E.O.C.) believe “gay rights” supersede Americans’ freedom to oppose homosexuality and gender confusion. To quote Feldblum, “Gays win, Christians lose” when the “zero-sum” game of “gay rights” versus religious freedom hits the courts.
More commentary follows the video below:
Already, we in the USA are seeing the same sort of persecution for opposing homosexuality as is occurring in Great Britain, only on a lesser scale. (See University of Illinois story over dismissed Catholic professor Kenneth HowellHERE.) It will only get worse if homosexuality- and transsexuality-based special “rights” are federalized under the proposed “Employment Non-Discrimination Act.”
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Note: it is outrageous that the State of lllinois would even consider FORCING religious adoption agencies (or irreligious agencies, for that matter) to place children in homes that are motherless or fatherless by design. Adults (proudly) practicing homosexuality are not good role models for impressionable children, who need a mom and a dad. (No, the sexes are not interchangeable.) The new Illinois “Civil Unions” law — rammed through Springfield in a lame-duck session — must be repealed to preserve religious liberty in the Land of Lincoln. ”Exemptions” — even if they are strengthened – won’t preserve freedom. 
