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AFTAH in the News: real ‘hate’ comes from ‘Gay Liberation Network’
Gay Liberation Network protester marches with sign smearing Chicago Card. Francis George as an "Archbigot" -- in Sunday morning protest directly in front of Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. Homosexual activists are pushing hard for legalizing homosexual "marriage" in Illinois. Click on photo to enlarge. PHOTO: Americans For Truth
TAKE ACTION: Illinois Residents: call your state representative and senator (www.ilga.gov; 217-782-2000) and urge them to OPPOSE the “same-sex marriage” bill, HB 5170, that was just introduced by three openly homosexual lawmakers in Springfield. (Also, ask them to REPEAL the “Civil Unions” bill passed enacted last year.) The Civil Unions law quickly became a tool of anti-religious oppression against Christians, and now it is revealed as a mere stepping-stone for the Homosexual Lobby’s real goal: the revolutionary redefinition of marriage — using the State to advance the absurd idea that sinful “unions” based on (changeable) homosexuality should be awarded equal status with natural marriage.
Religious Freedom? Also please note the audacity of liberals calling the new bill the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” — similar to their artful name for the Civil Unions bill — even though both legal “civil unions” and “gay marriage” would force employers to subsidize immoral homosexual relationships (the very antithesis of “religious liberty”).
Click on the photo above right to enlarge it. How would you like to have to walk past THIS to get into church Sunday morning? I was there to witness Gay Liberation Network protesters marching directly in front of Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago on Sunday morning (Feb. 12, 2012) during the main church service. (At least two GLN signs smeared Cardinal Francis George as “Arch-bigot”; one showed his photo and mocked: “Archbigot of Chicago… is intrinsically disordered + needs reparative therapy.”)
Illinois Department of Employment Security document affirming that Matt Barber was NOT fired for misconduct at Allstate Insurance Co. It states that Allstate fired Barber "because AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ARTICLE HE HAD WRITTEN WHILE ON HIS OWN TIME." Click on graphic to enlarge.
By Peter LaBarbera
Below is a longer version of an article I posted in Facebook responding to homosexual activist Alvin McEwen, who repeated an oft-used bit of “gay” misinformation about Allstate’s 2005 firing of pro-family advocate Matt Barber. (Barber sits on the Americans For Truth Board, is Associate Dean at Liberty University School of Law, and is Director of Cultural Affairs for the Liberty Counsel.) Alvin is a bitter fellow who — although purporting to factually correct alleged pro-family falsehoods — regularly dishes them out himself (go HERE to see him viciously slander me as “Porno Pete”). In posting a response to an AFA column by pro-family writer Jerry Newcombe (reprinted at bottom), McEwen writes:
Sorry but Mr. Newcombe is inaccurate about one part. Matt Barber used his company’s computer AND identified himself as an employee of the company [Allstate] in his column. That’s why he was fired.
Funny how I heard these same spurious “talking points” about Matt Barber’s firing from the mouth of Rick Garcia — formerly Illinois’ top homosexual activist before he was ousted by Equality Illinois. We were on a Chicago TV news program together and I was making the point that conservative Christians are now more likely to lose their jobs or face punishment on the job than homosexuals.
Of course, had Matt been a homosexual activist who was abruptly terminated after writing a column on his own time about “gay pride,” the liberal/”gay” outrage would have been through the roof — and Alvin would not be repeating Allstate’s misleading corporate “spin” as he does above.
Following is my correction of Alvin McEwen’s erroneous and tendentious “correction”:
Matt Barber is a good friend of mine, a Christian man of high integrity, and a Board Member for my organization, Americans For Truth. As one living in Illinois who was intricately familiar with Matt’s case, I want to set the record “straight” here and correct the lies that homosexual activists like Alvin McEwen repeatedly spew about his unjust firing.
Homosexual activist Alvin McEwen pushes a lie about the abrupt firing of Matt Barber by Allstate.
Barber was fired after writing a column (which was published by conservative websites) against the homosexual agenda — on his home computer, on a Saturday. He did NOT identify himself as an employee of Allstate, but a third-party blog publisher did so by mistake. A staffer with the homosexual lobby group Human Rights Campaign then “reported” Barber’s web article to Allstate’s HR depart, and Matt immediately was called in on a Friday afternoon. Ironically, he was told that Allstate “celebrates diversity,” and that his (traditional) values did not reflect those of Allstate. Barber was suspended and informed that he likely would be fired for writing the column. He was then escorted by Allstate security guards off the corporate grounds. Monday morning, Barber was canned over the telephone.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security [see graphic above] investigated the firing and found Barber innocent of misconduct; IDES made this judgment (emphasis theirs): “The claimant was discharged from ALLSTATE INS. CO. because AN OUTSIDE ORGANIZATION HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT AN ARTICLE HE HAD WRITTEN WHILE ON HIS OWN TIME.”
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.
Display prominently celebrating new Illinois "Civil Unions" law put up by a pro-homosexual student club at Lyons Township High School. Photo: Earl Gough. Click on photo to enlarge.
Dear Readers, each pro-homosexual law makes it easier for school administrators and teachers to allow the one-sided promotion of homosexuality in their school, as occurred recently at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Illinois (see photo). The state’s Democrat-dominated General Assembly passed a “Civil Unions” bill in a lame-duck session last year (before a new elected, more conservative legislature could take office) — and Gov. Pat Quinn (D) signed it into law January 31. (The bill, which also allows heterosexual “civil unions,” thus further undermining marriage, takes effect June 1.)
America’s public schools are becoming de facto “Homosexuality-Promotion Zones” — directly undermining the authority of parents to guide their children’s moral upbringing — and subjecting Christian and moral-minded students to one-sided pro-homosexuality propaganda like the above. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org; [Send news about your children’s or local schools to americansfortruth@gmail.com.]
Vanden Bosch describes arm-twisting by Democratic leader Madigan in Springfield
Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch
Folks, Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch of Concerned Christian Americans is a minister and veteran full-time pro-family lobbyist in Springfield, Illinois. Below are his accounts of the “lame duck” Civil Uions votes in the Ilinois General Assembly. Here are Rev. Bob’s two reports on the Civil Union votes in the House and Senate; note the ridiculous analogy to Jim Crow laws in the second article. — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
By Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch, Concerned Christian Americans, published 12/1/10
It is said of Jesus in John 1:5, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” It is getting darker in Illinois. Today the Illinois Senate passed the Civil Unions bill (SB 1716) by a vote of 32-24 with 1 member voting present, and another absent. Much of what was done to pass this legislation was done in darkness.
This morning, I talked to a Democratic House member who voted No on SB 1716. He had tears in his eyes as he said, “Bob, they bought the passage of that bill.” Yesterday [Tuesday], Governor Quinn was running House members in and out of his office to pass the bill out of the House. Today [Wednesday], Governor Quinn was running Senate members in and out of his office. Both days, Governor Quinn was on the floor as the bill was voted on in the House and the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Madigan, a Catholic, used his considerable power to advance the homosexual agenda in Illinois by successfully pushing for a "civil unions" bill -- even though the state's Catholic Conference urged opposition to the bill.
The following e-Alert was sent out yesterday prior to the House vote. Pathetically, only two downstate Republicans, Rep. Dave Reis (Olney) and Rep. Ron Stephens (Greenville), rose on the floor to speak against this bill — which that takes a giant step toward government promotion of homosexuality in Illinois. Good for Reis and Stephens, and bad for the IL-GOP, which continues to live down to its reputation as one of the weakest Republican parties in the nation when it comes to actually fighting for the conservative GOP Platform.
We hear from a key pro-family lobbyist in Springfield that some “pro-family” legislators lied about their voting intention — saying they would vote against “civil unions” and then caving like cowards under the pressure of Mike Madigan’s and the Democrats’ lobby campaign. Now the vote goes to the Illinois Senate. TAKE ACTION: call your state senator at 217-782-2000 (see below for more info).
And so Illinois, dominated by Chicago and its corrupt Democratic machine, continues its moral descent. Land of Lincoln? In name only, as Abe Lincoln — whom some very troubled homosexual activists have tried to smear as a homosexual (it’s easy when the targeted victim is deceased) — actually revered the Bible, and thus surely respected its moral teachings — including the sinfulness of homosexual behavior and all sex outside of marriage.
Here is a PDF with the House vote tally, and Illinois Family Institute’s initial story on the vote. And here is the Chicago Tribune story in which the reporter seems surprised that Stephens linked the embrace of homosexuality to the decline of American civilization. No, I’m afraid America is not “special” in that regard: every advance of homosexualist legislation strengthens a powerful perversion movement that ingeniously plays the victim while promoting acceptance of its pet sin in the name of “civil rights.” Aren’t you tired of politicians like Madigan who ignore the teachings of their own church because they presume to be smarter than God? — Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.org
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AFTAH’s e-Alert sent out Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010:
Dear Illinois Readers,
TAKE ACTION TODAY! If you are an Illinois resident and care about marriage, it is imperative that you make your voice known NOW about the “Civil Unions” bill that liberal Democrats are pushing in the lame-duck session in Springfield! A vote could come today, tomorrow or at any time before the new session if they extend the lame-duck Veto Session. Call your state legislators at 217-782-2000 (find them here: www.ilga.gov or use your your zip code to find them here: www.congress.org; or call IFI at 708-781-9328 and get the information). Dem power-brokers like Rahm Emmanuel, Lisa Madigan, and her powerful father Mike Madigan are lobbying hard to pass Civil Unions. They are cutting deals to get votes for this bill (S.B. 1716) — so “We the People” must act now to defend real marriage and resist their pro-“gay” machinations!
GLN leader says hopefully that Academy instructor Cliff Kincaid “could get hit by a car”
The following is video of the August 5 protest against the AFTAH Truth Academy by a coalition of pro-homosexuality groups led by the Marxist Gay Liberation Network. The Chicago-based GLN attempted to smear the Truth Academy as “teaching hate,” but the real hate came from some of the protesters — not Truth Academy instructors like Ryan Sorba (featured prominently in this video). Several Academy presenters including Matt Barber, Greg Quinlan and AFTAH founder Peter LaBarbera joined Sorba in wading into the crowd, engaging various protesters on the question of “hate.” The first video below was shot by Illinois conservative Lynn Thomas, creator of Cao’s Blog, and Janet Aldrich [a second YouTube follows the jump]:
Here is Part Two of our interview with Wayne Lela (founder of H.O.M.E.) and John McCartney, two Chicago men who for years have reached out to college youth in the Chicagoland area with facts about homosexuality that the liberal media and pop-culture ignore. This interview aired July 24, 2010. (Listen to Part One HERE.) In this interview they discuss the four themes they stress in their interaction with students, including the severe health risks of male homosexuality. Both Lela and McCartney will be attending our Truth Academy: Chicago 2010 next week (Aug. 5-7) at the Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, IL. You can access the archive of Americans For Truth interviews HERE.
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.
