From the Task Force’s 2005 Creating Change conference:

Creating Change closed with a thunderous speech by Bishop Yvette Flunder, founder and senior pastor of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in San Francisco, who spoke to the separation many LGBT activists feel from spiritual traditions, saying,

“Somebody stole God from some of us. Somebody reached down inside you and stole your spirit from you.”

But she encouraged activists not to abandon the spiritual dimension of the work they do for justice, saying,

“Activism that is rooted in spirituality can bust Hell wide open.”

The audience wildly applauded Flunder’s speech and left the conference with her words resonating as a spiritual call to all justice-seeking people:

“I challenge you, prophets, to stand up!”

TAKE ACTION – Call the Associated Press and ask why they ignored the Mary Stachowicz case while continuing to devote extensive coverage to the Shepard case. Politely tell them that “gay” victims are not more important than Christian victims–hate is hate–and that there is no logical reason why Shepard’s case deserves any more coverage than Stachowicz’s.

by Peter LaBarbera

All murder victims are equal, but some are more equal than others, to paraphrase George Orwell.

On Nov. 3, a jury took just three hours to find Nicholas Gutierrez guilty of the first-degree murder and rape of Mary Stachowicz (pronounced Stack-OH-vich), a 51-year-old Chicago mother of four and former co-worker who attended church nearly every day. Gutierrez, a homosexual, is now eligible for the death penalty, and his horrifying crime is the sort that cries out for that form of justice.

On this date four years ago (November 13, 2002), Gutierrez, then 19, raped and sodomized Mary, and stabbed, beat and strangled her to death before hiding her bloodied and mangled body in the floor crawl space of his apartment—above the Chicago funeral home where she worked and where he had been laid off. For three days, family members and friends searched frantically for Mary until Gutierrez guided police to her body and gave a warped “confession” filled with self-serving lies.

The trial revealed evidence of the brutality of Gutierrez’s murderous assault on Mary: the tip on his hunting knife was bent from the force of his 11 stab thrusts against her body, and he broke 10 of her ribs.

As if his savagery were not evil enough, Gutierrez, a stocky man about six feet tall, and his public defender lawyers effectively blamed Mary for her own murder—arguing that the five-foot-five-and-half-inch tall Stachowicz had attacked him because she was obsessed about his homosexual lifestyle. By attempting this preposterous “anti-Christian panic defense,” Gutierrez’s lawyers played to bigoted and crude stereotypes of religious people as crazed “homophobes”—in a desperate ploy to reduce his sentence to second-degree murder.

To demonstrate the folly of Gutierrez’s defense, prosecutor James McKay showed the jury a crime scene photo of her bloodied and disfigured face—which he mockingly contrasted with the superficial cut sustained by “Mr. Band-aid,” Nick Gutierrez, on the day of the assault.

Thankfully, the jury didn’t buy Gutierrez’s story and took just three hours to convict him.

If you are the typical American—even if you live in Chicago—you probably have never heard of Mary Stachowicz because she simply was not the right kind of victim. Matthew Shepard, a “gay” college student from Wyoming murdered by two drug-induced thugs in 1998—now there’s a victim who deserves worldwide sympathy and fame. Shepard’s is now one of the most famous homicide cases in all of history, thanks to media hype and homosexual activists’ “spin” that:

1) falsely linked his tragic death to the rhetoric of Christian pro-family groups; and

2) erroneously reported that he was targeted for murder “just because he was gay.” His tragic killing is now exploited as a teaching tool to promote acceptance of homosexuality on high school and college campuses across the country. (Six years after the murder, ABC finally did some serious journalism challenging this myth, revealing that Shepard’s killers were motivated by money and drugs, not anti-gay hate.)

A whole industry has arisen to exploit Shepard’s tragic killing, which has been used as a teaching tool to promote the acceptance of homosexuality to millions of impressionable high school and college students across the country.

Enter Mary Stachowicz, who may have been killed, at least in part, “just because she was a faithful Catholic”—not that the media cares. (A recent Nexis media database search on Mary’s name found a grand total of only 13 articles; a similar search on “Matthew Shepard” found 997 articles in the last month alone.)

Associated Press completely ignored the Gutierrez trial, ensuring that it would receive little national attention—despite the heart-rending details of the Stachowicz case. (On the day that Mary’s killer was convicted of murder, her daughter Angela gave birth to another grandchild whom she will never get to see. Mary’s widowed husband Jerry was forced to endure the humiliation of testifying as to when they had last made love, to prove that the semen found on her murdered body was not his.)

Adding insult to injury, as Gutierrez’s trial was going on, AP ran a feature story about Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, who was speaking to college students in Chicago about “hate.”

I called AP’s Chicago office to ask why they weren’t covering the Gutierrez trial—right there in the Windy City—after all the attention they heaped (and continue to heap) on the Matthew Shepard case. I was told that the Shepard case is different because that was a “hate crime.”

Such is the folly of the “hate crimes” concept. It is hard to conceive of a greater demonstration of hatred than Nick Gutierrez cutting Mary’s life short in such a ghastly way and then cravenly exploiting his victim’s strong Catholic beliefs as a way to reduce his sentence. Did the “monster” who sodomized and killed Mary do so because she caught him stealing from her purse, as prosecutors argued, or did he fly into a rage after she “taunted” him about his homosexuality (as a headline in the Chicago Sun Times gratuitously stated)? Or was that just a convenient yarn he concocted to save his hide, knowing that the media and some gullible defense lawyers might play along? (The Tribune reported that Gutierrez’s homosexual partner, Ray Scacchitti, testified that “Stachowicz knew he and Gutierrez were gay and never questioned them about their lifestyle.”)

All this could have made for some fascinating coverage of a trial that might have yielded larger questions, such as: Was Matthew Shepard more a victim of hate than Mary Stachowicz? Are some homosexuals so obsessed with others’ approval that they pose a threat to religious people? Are Christians a growing target for “hate crimes” in America? No surprise that the local media failed to pursue these angles, seeing that most big Chicago media corporations march every year in the “Gay Pride” parade.

There is no logical reason why Matthew Shepard should be a household name while Mary Stachowicz, by all accounts a good person who devoted her life to her church, dies unknown—a victim of bigotry and slander even in her death. The ugly truth is too much for most in the media to admit: they would have cared a lot more about Mary Stachowicz if she were “gay,” and if her murderer, Nick Gutierrez, were not.

Excerpted from Dem triumph raises gay hopes, by Joshua Lynsen, published Nov , 2006, by the pro-homosexuality New York Blade:

…Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said the Democratic victories, which included the election of several gay-friendly lawmakers across the nation, signified “a great day for LGBT Americans.”

…Stafford, Solmonese and others said Democrats would give new priority to gay initiatives when the 110th Congress convenes in January.

Perhaps the greatest push will be to advance a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

“An inclusive ENDA is a very top priority for our community, and I think Congress will put that at the top of their agenda,” Stafford said. “That is something that is very doable.”

Other priorities included a federal hate crimes bill that covers crimes motivated by hatred of gays and transgender people, and a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s ban on openly gay service members.

“Could we have a hate crimes vote in the first six months? Could we have a hearing on gays in the military?” Solmonese said. “Absolutely.”

…Americans for Truth, which is billed as “the only national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda,” pledged to counter efforts by HRC and others.

President Peter LaBarbera told the Blade, “conservative groups and pro-family groups” are “gearing up” to derail ENDA and the hate crimes bill.

Continue reading in New York Blade…

Excerpted from Marriage Protection Ballot Measure Passes Easily in Cartwright Township, Would Pass Statewide in Illinois if Given the Chance Says IFI, a press release from Illinois Family Institute, published Nov 9, 2006:

…Peter LaBarbera, Protect Marriage Illinois board member and president of the Naperville-based Americans for Truth, said Wisconsin voters’ 59 to 41 passage of a Marriage Protection Amendment — which also clearly precludes “civil unions” — has lessons for Illinois.

“Pro-marriage forces were outspent 10 to one in blue state Wisconsin, yet the Marriage Protection Amendment there passed in a landslide,” LaBarbera said. “Here in Illinois, gay activist Rick Garcia has paid for some biased polls to cast doubt on the prospects of a Marriage Protection initiative here. But Illinois citizens should not believe those polls. With hard work and a strong grassroots push, Illinois will join the list of states providing the maximum protection to marriage. We must do so to prevent judges from usurping the power by radically redefining marriage, as occurred in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Vermont.”

Continue reading at US Newswire… 

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force was in Kansas City, MO, for five days hosting their 19th annual “Creating Change” conference. According to their website, over 2000 homosexual activists gathered to strategize for 2007 and beyond.

The closing speaker on Sunday morning was Loretta Ross, national coordinator and co-founder of SisterSong Reproductive Health Collective. Ms. Ross “espoused the need to talk about the human right to sexual pleasure“:

“While we’re fighting each other in our own Oppression Olympics, the neofascists and neoliberals are kicking our asses. They’re killing us. And only a united movement for all of our human rights will save us.”

Additionally: “Dozens of youth 24 and under attended an interactive creative writing and poetry workshop by award-winning folk poet and progressive artist-activist Alix Olson on Friday.”

Note that on Alix Olson’s website, her bio says that “Alix Olson is an internationally touring folk poet and progressive queer artist-activist.” Why do you suppose the Task Force elected to omit that particular adjective?

“At this morning’s plenary, several of the youth performed a collectively written poem about sexuality, pride and radicalism, saying in alternating voices,

‘Pride is personal.

Pride is identifying.

Pride is loving yourself.

Pride is holding hands without fear…

Living these lives is radical.

That is beautiful…

We are bountiful.

And beautiful.'”

How many corporations sponsored state “Protect Marriage” initiatives? Despite the fact that a majority of their employees (and customers) are married men and women with families, American corporations are increasingly supportive of homosexual activist groups. It is tragic that corporations are now taking the lead in undermining the foundations of marriage and family that built our nation and helped make America one of the wealthiest and most stable countries the world has ever seen.

Here is a partial list of companies and organizations that supported the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force‘s radical “Creating Change” conference in Kansas City, Missouri, Nov 8-12, 2006:

• American Airlines
• Ameriprise Financial Services
• Bacardi
• Bell South
• Chipotle Grill
• Cingular
• Costco
• Merrill Lynch
• MS. Magazine
• National Education Association
• NARAL
• Panera Bread
• Planned Parenthood
• United Way of Miami Dade
• Washington Mutual Bank
• Wells Fargo

Well, here you have it: some Wisconsin homosexual activists testify below to the lies and unethical campaign tactics used by the “gay” activist group “Fair Wisconsin” in trying to derail the state’s Marriage Protection Amendment.  This corroborates reports that we heard from Wisconsin of citizens outraged that the homosexual group was intentionally misleading voters into thinking that a NO vote was PRO-marriage (in truth, a YES vote was FOR the Marriage Amendment.)

Despite their dirty tricks and deceptions–and the fact that pro-homosexual lobby in Wisconsin outspent pro-family forces 10-1 in this campaign–the amendment passed easily, by 59-41 percent.  This in the very first state to enact a “sexual orientation” law (back in 1982).  Who says the homosexual movement’s triumph is inevitable?– Peter LaBarbera

Comments posted Nov 7, 2006, on the Fair Wisconsin blog (emphasis added):

At 6:59 AM, Skippy said…

I am not going to take the time to read all of this but… YOU LIED… to so many people… YOU LIED to people who where going to vote no and TRICKED them into voting yes… YOU CALLED PEOPLE AND TOLD THEM TO VOTE NO IF THEY WANTED TO KEEP MARRIAGE BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN… FAIR WISCONSIN DESTROYED GAY COUPLES FUTURES BECAUSE THEY LIED… YOU LIED… YOU FLAT OUT LIED TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE… Why lie… all we want is the truth… Fair WISCONSIN made us out to be fakes… phoneys… and fair WISCONSIN hurt the gay community SEVERELY… NEVER TO BE FORGIVEN… I would like to see Fair Wisconsin Retired… and will not rest until that happens… NO BODY that sticks up for me is going to go around and LIE…

At 2:05 PM, Miss Judy said……I think that Skippy’s comments are histrionic; however, I think Matt’s comment should not be ignored. The campaign was a mainstream – Democrat-style political campaign. As such, I think compromises were made in the name of perceived political expediency. Although we did indeed talk of gay and lesbian couples and their families, much of the campaign downplayed ‘queerness’ and focused on the effects the amendment would have on “all non-married couples”, i.e., straight folks. It’s a dicey path to walk – on the one hand we were asking people to expand their hearts and consciousness and really question why they are so afraid of queer folks; on the other hand we were in effect saying “Don’t think about homosexuals if they creep you out; think about how this would affect ‘normal’ people,” thus tacitly accepting homophobia.
Could we have waged a successful campaign without making these compromises? Probably not. However, we still need to look at these issues head-on, engage in constructive self-criticism and consider their effects, not just dismiss them as givens or necessary evils.

At 4:03 PM, psion9999 said…
I won’t hide my anger at my life being politicized and I won’t hide my hatred of all those who have done so. I’m not strong enough to keep myself from it. But, this is only directed at those who knew what they were doing, and hid behind the face of their religion and used phrases like “protecting marriage from being redifined” to mask their bigotry and ignorance. I pity all the others who voted “yes” out of confusion and because they were directed to do so by their churches. With education, those people can be reached in the future. It is the truly hateful people that will lose out in the end, because I believe that they are vocal and powerful now, but small in number. The youth of today truly will bring a bright future. They are more enlightened in what is truly good and right in society, and they will overcome the bigots and religious zealots in time.

AN AMERICANS FOR TRUTH PRESS RELEASE

NAPERVILLE, IL—Americans For Truth President Peter LaBarbera today called on the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to rescind its “sexual orientation” policy as inconsistent with the GOP’s professed pro-family values, and said pro-“gay” Political Correctness contributed to Sen. George Allen’s narrow loss for re-election in Virginia.

LaBarbera also called on all homosexual staff in both major parties to be open about their lifestyle in the interest of full disclosure to the public and each Member’s constituents.

Allen’s defeat—after failing to strongly embrace Virginia’s successful marriage amendment—led to the GOP’s loss of the Senate. Allen is widely reported to have homosexual staff. Jay Timmons, a senior Allen aide and former director of the NRSC, is among those being targeted for “outing” by homosexual bloggers, as is Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.

“In recent weeks, homosexual activists have sought to ‘out’ various high-level GOP staffers and leaders as homosexuals, to highlight their hypocrisy in working for a socially conservative party,” LaBarbera said. “Now we in the pro-family movement are calling for full disclosure for a different reason: because homosexual GOP staff and pro-‘gay’ policies in the party are undermining the wholesome values Republicans say they support.”

Noting that the homosexual newspaper Washington Blade reported in 2004 that the NRSC has a nondiscrimination policy based on “sexual orientation,” LaBarbera said:

“Who knew that the Republican Party committee responsible for electing senators across the country has embraced the exact same pro-homosexual ‘orientation’ policy that social conservatives have been fighting for decades?” Due to the Mark Foley scandal, social conservatives are learning about the existence of a network of homosexual GOP staffers on Capitol Hill who promote policies antithetical to the party’s stated “family values.”

In 2004, the pro-family group PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays) was outraged when Sen. Allen refused to sign their pledge supporting tolerance for former homosexuals, then went ahead and broke a promise to another pro-family group by backing a pro-“gay” federal “Hate Crimes” bill. Allen also signed a pro-homosexual “nondiscrimination” pledge for his Senate office.

“George Allen’s lukewarm support for Virginia’s marriage amendment cost him his Senate seat,” LaBarbera said. “Now we are left to wonder: did the stealth influence of gay Republican staffers move him toward this course that would ultimately turn the Senate over to the Democrats?”

TAKE ACTION – Call or write the National Republican Senatorial Committee and ask them to rescind their “sexual orientation” policy. Politely tell Sen. Elizabeth Dole, Chairwoman of the NRSC, that such policies advance the agenda of homosexual activists, and that any political party that promotes homosexuality cannot be called “pro-family.” Remind her that pro-“gay” Political Correctness HURT the GOP on Nov. 7th: