News Release, May 22, 2011

CONTACT: Peter LaBarbera (630)717-7631; americansfortruth@gmail.com

Christian business owners Jim and Beth Walder could be tied up in litigation for years to stop an attempt by homosexual activists and the State of Illinois to force them to host homosexual "civil union" ceremonies -- against their religious beliefs -- at their bed-and-breakfast in Paxton, Illinois. Here the Walders are shown with their five children.

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – Americans For Truth President Peter LaBarbera said today that Springfield’s first-ever “Gay Pride” celebration is another tragic watershed for the Land of Lincoln – and said aggressive homosexual activism encroaching on America’s heartland will surely undermine the First Amendment and religious liberties of citizens who stand for traditional, biblical morality.

LaBarbera and AFTAH (Americans For Truth About Homosexuality) will stand in silent counter-protest to the Springfield homosexual “pride” festival near the state capitol (on Capital Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets), under the banner: “Homosexuality: Wrong. Unhealthy. Unnatural. Changeable.”

AFTAH expands on the banner’s message below:

•  Wrong:  Historic Judeo-Christian teaching  – Old and New Testament — holds that homosexual practice is sinful. (See Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Professor Robert Gagnon’s website, www.robgagnon.net, which ably refutes various LGBT attempts to affirm homosexuality as consistent with Christian ethos.) The Roman Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Other major religions including Islam similarly teach that homosexual practice defies the Creator.

Naturally, efforts to transform American law to affirm people practicing same-sex behavior have collided with the religious and First Amendment liberties of those who disagree with homosexuality. In Illinois, shortly after lame-duck passage of the ”civil unions” bill, a homosexual  male couple targeted Paxton bed-and-breakfast owners Jim and Beth Walder, who have held wedding ceremonies on their property. The “gay” activists seek to use the new law to FORCE the Walders to use their own private business (and property) to host homosexual “civil union” ceremonies against their Christian conscience. Similarly, LGBT activists are maneuvering to FORCE private, religious adoption agencies in Illinois to place children in homosexual-led households against their religious beliefs.

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“A Queer Thing” author assails Andrew Marin’s flawed biblical exegesis

Dr. Michael Brown, author of "A Queer Thing Happened to America," says true biblical love cannot bury the truth that homosexual behavior and relationships are sinful.

This is the fourth and final part of AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera’s interview with Dr. Michael Brown, author of “A Queer Thing Happened to America.”  This aired May 14, 2011. [Click HERE to listen.] Brown, director of Coalition of Conscience, and LaBarbera discuss the proper approach of telling the “truth in love” to people practicing homosexuality. Brown espouses a “Reach Out and Resist” approach of lovingly reaching out to homosexuals with the Gospel while steadfastly resisting the agenda to normalize homosexual, bisexual and transgender behavior through the law and culture.

When asked about controversial pro-“gay” Grove City College professor Warren Throckmorton and others who support “civil unions” and pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” laws as an alleged outworking of Christian compassion, Brown says faithful Christians cannot support the idea of legal “civil rights” based on sinful behavior.  He assails the non-biblical approach of “Love Is An Orientation” author Andrew Marin, a liberal Chicago evangelical living in Boystown who seems reluctant to affirm clear Scriptural teachings that homosexual behavior is always sinful. Brown also prays for “Chaz” Bono, the daughter (Chastity) of Sonny and Cher who has gained immense sympathetic media attention surrounding her tragic quest to become a “man.”

Special “A Queer Thing” Offer: Michael Brown’s book “A Queer Thing Happened to America” is available through AFTAH at a discount price fo $25 (including shipping and postage). Make a $25 gift online at www.americansfortruth.com/donate/; or mail your $25 donation requesting the book to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes.  Do not use Real Player.  It is not supported and there may be difficulty listening with it.  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. 

5-14-11, Dr. Michael Brown

AFTAH in the News: Another victim of ‘homo-fascism’

Dear AFTAH Readers,

Homo-fascism is escalating, and good people — and the national interest — are its tragic victims.  The idea that Americans should be smeared as “hateful” because they take a stand against oxymoronic “same-sex marriage” — when citizens in 31 states voted to defend traditional (real) marriage — is beyond absurd.  (In fact, it is hateful!)  The name of the game is INTIMIDATION — and after so many years of practice, the “gay” activists are quite good at it.  But their strategy could not work without the liberal media acting as a de facto arm of the Homosexual Lobby.

Of course, my heart goes out to Peter Vidmar — and all victims of homosexualist intolerance — but at some point leaders will have to stand up to the “gay” bullies or America will cease to be a free land.  You can call or write Vidmar (760-603-8010) using THIS FORM, or send him an e-mail at info@speakersoffice.com.  To call Congress to voice your strong opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — a federal “sexual orientation” bill that would surely create thousands of new “Peter Vidmars” (always in the name of “tolerance” and “gay civil rights,” of course…) — call 202-224-3121 (Senate) or 202-225-3121 (House).  Or go to www.Congress.org.  [More info on ENDA: Click HERE for a GovTrack report on the 2011 version of ENDA, HR 1397; click HERE to read my piece: “14 Good Reasons to Oppose the ‘ENDA Our Freedom’ Bill”]

Stay strong: the homo-fascists may be winning now, but Americans will see through their schemes, and fight back against their evil agenda of demonizing religious people by equating the defense of historic Judeo-Christian values with  “hate and bigotry.”  — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; americansfortruth@gmail.com    

American Family Association’s “One News Now” reports:

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Gold medalist resigns, thanks to pro-‘gay’ criticism

Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow – 5/12/2011 [Click HERE to read story online; to listen to the report, click the microphone icon at the upper right of the story on the One News Now page.]

Pressure from homosexual activist groups has compelled the head of the 2012 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team to quit.

Dr. Michael Brown, author of "A Queer Thing Happened to America," and one of the world's leading Jewish Christian scholars.

Here is Part One of my interview with Mike Brown [click HERE to listen], perhaps one of the most politically incorrect leaders on the planet. This was pre-recorded and aired April 23rd. Brown, the director of the Coalition of Conscience, based in Charlotte, N.C.,  is author of “A Queer Thing Happened to America,” a new book about the amazing rise in power of organized homosexuality in the United States. Brown, as a Jewish man who believes in Jesus Christ, is also one of the world’s leading authorities on Jewish Christianity. He has engaged in numerous debates with rabbis about the divinity of Jesus, and authored many books on the subject. In this first segment of our in-depth interview, Brown discusses how he came to faith in Jesus Christ after rebelling as a teenager and getting into very heavy drug use. It is a fascinating testimony and a witness to the awesome, redemptive power of God. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes.  Do Not Use Real Player.  It is not supported and there may be difficulty when attempting to listen with it.  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. 

4-23-11, Michael Brown

Ken Hutcherson

These interviews were recorded April 12, 2011, and aired April 16th [CLICK HERE to listen]. In the first part of the show, Pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, Washington, discusses his new project to rally Christians nationwide in support of DOMA, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. He launched it after President Obama suddenly announced through his Attorney General that would stop defending in court Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriage in federal law as between a man and a woman. Already Hutcherson is being lambasted by homosexual activists, but he said the response among Christian leaders, including his friend Dr. James Dobson, has been outstanding.  The RealClearPolitics article by Matthew Franck to which AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera refers in the interview is HERE. (Hutcherson did a wonderful three-part interview with AFTAH last year [Click HERE for Part One]; spoke at our banquet in October; and received the 2010 AFTAH ‘Truth-Teller’ Award.) 

Linda Harvey

The second half of the show features Linda Harvey, founder and president of Mission America, which co-sponsored our recent and highly informative Truth Academy in Columbus, Ohio, where she lives. Linda discusses that and the recent story that she broke about the ‘Gay-Straight Alliances” Facebook site of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) containing photos for a pornographic homosexual hook-up site, and photos for other inappropriate websites including a “Gay Thailand Today” site promoting sex tourism. Linda tells how she was informed about the inappropriate GLSEN FB photos by a grandmother and pro-family advocate in New York who came upon them. Incredibly, after AFTAH advanced the Mission America exposé, homosexual bloggers led by Alvin McEwen — an AFTAH-hating extremist with a penchant for twisting facts — began speculating that Americans For Truth might have placed the photos on GLSEN’s Facebook page as a “homophobic smear” to “frame” this homosexual activist organization! Just one more lie from a movement built upon lies… (Linda too has previously been interviewed by AFTAH; click HERE for Part One of her two-part 2010 interview.)  

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes. DO NOT USE ‘Real Player,’ which is not supported; there may be difficulty when attempting to listen with it.  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. 

4-16-11, Dr. Ken Hutcherson & Linda Harvey

Judge Vaughn Walker had “personal bias”; his “outrageous decision must be vacated”

Admitted homosexual Judge Vaughn Walker

By J. Matt Barber

Proposition 8 is an amendment to California’s State Constitution. It was passed by a comfortable margin via ballot initiative in 2008. Prop 8 maintained the age-old definition of marriage in the Golden State as requiring binary male-female compatibility. It remains tied-up in Federal Court today.  

Back in February of 2010 it became rumored that retired Federal Judge Vaughn Walker – who presided over the case at the District level – was a practitioner of the homosexual lifestyle. It was further reported that he had a longtime male lover. Judge Walker refused to confirm or deny the rumors. At the time I was one of the few people to publicly call for his recusal. It’s inexplicable that attorneys defending Prop 8 didn’t make such a motion.

With Judge Walker’s recent admission that he does in fact practice homosexuality, the case for recusal has been proven. His ruling on the Prop 8 case should be immediately vacated as he possessed both an incontrovertible and disqualifying conflict of interest.

Display by pro-"gay" student group at Lyons Township High School in Illinois celebrates the state's new "civil unions" law. Schools should not become havens of pro-homosexuality advocacy.

TAKE ACTION: Parents and Guardians: Call your children’s middle or high school and ask if students and/or teachers will be permitted to refuse to speak during class on Friday, April 15 (as part of the annual homosexual activist “Day of Silence”). If your administration allows students and/or teachers to refuse to speak during class, call your child out of school on April 15th. Every student absence costs school districts money. See additional instructions below, and go HERE for more help on the “Day of Silence Walkout” page on the Illinois Family Institute website.

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Dear AFTAH Readers,

Many Christians and moral-minded people have given up on the public schools, and with good reason. The suffocating political correctness on a host of controversies — including homosexuality — overwhelms the Average Mom and Dad, who are already running ragged between work, family duties, church and youth sports. Add to that the arrogant, dismissive bureaucrats who occupy key positions in many metropolitan schools — and who view complaining parents as an “enemy” of sorts that needs to be kept at bay — and you understand why our schools have devolved into havens for liberal-left indoctrination. (In addition, as more and more Christian parents abandon the public schools, it removes a key wholesome influence restraining evil.)

Despite all this, my friend Laurie Higgins is correct: parents are derelict in “tolerating” their children’s schools’ descent into liberal advocacy. Beyond the critical point that THESE ARE OUR CHILDREN (not the school’s), and we should guide their moral upbringing, there is the fiscal reality (even for those without school-age children) that we as taxpayers should not be subsidizing the use of public schools to foist pro-homosexual propaganda on students.

So we at AFTAH echo the call for parents to pull their kids out of any school that abides the annual homosexual-activist event April 15 called the “Day of Silence.” Please read Laurie’s article below and call your children’s schools (middle and high schools) to see if they are sanctioning this pro-homosexual event. If you have any inkling that they are encouraging this disruptive event, tell the school that you will be keeping your child home that day. In doing so, you will send a powerful message to teachers and administrators that their embrace of pro-homosexual advocacy comes at a price. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org

P.S. Please tell us about your encounters with your local schools regarding the “Day of Silence” by sending an e-mail to: americansfortruth@gmail.com.

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David Kupelian addressing the Truth Academy in Columbus, Ohio, April 1, 2011.

This is Part Two of our interview with David Kupelian, managing editor of WorldNetDaily.com, and author of “The Marketing of Evil,” and “How Evil Works.” It was pre-recorded on March 29 and aired April 2, 2011 — the final day of the Truth Academy co-sponsored by AFTAH and Mission America, for which Kupelian was the keynote speaker. In this interview, he ably discusses the matter of a practicing homosexual’s conscience — and why it is that so many homosexual activists become so angry at critics who affirm that homosexuality is wrong.

HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time or I-Tunes.  Real Player is not supported and there may be difficulty listening with it.  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.

4-2-11, David Kupelian