Part One of Two on the Growing ‘Gay’ Threat to Freedom

It’s still a free country…well, at least mostly free (for those fortunate enough to make it out of their mother’s womb alive or who don’t live in strong “gay agenda” states like California). Houston-area small business owners Todd and Sabrina Farber are free not to do work for a couple of men who proudly embrace homosexual behavior, which the Farbers regard as sinful and deeply offensive. And homosexuals like Michael Lord are free not to do business with the Farbers, and to tell others not to as well.

But notice how that’s not good enough for some pro-“gay” activists; they think what the Farbers did by exercising their freedoms should be illegal. The truth is, many homosexual and “transgender” advocates are quite willing to place their “rights” (read: demands for government-enforced acceptance of their lifestyle) above the freedoms of religion, association and conscience of others.

There can be no doubt that the expansion of “sexual orientation” (pro-homosexuality) laws will result in the steady loss of freedom for those committed to defending healthy, Biblical sexual mores. As with the struggle over abortion, this Titanic battle between competing rights will not go away. Any American who is committed to preserving religious freedom in this great nation should understand the need for repealing all “sexual orientation” laws, lest we face a future like Britain’s where the state is arresting Christians for alleged “homophobic” behavior, which includes passing out Biblical tracts at a “gay” festival.

If such an Orwellian nightmare can happen in the land that gave Western Civilization the Magna Carta, it could happen in the good ol’ USA.

The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

What part of not “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion do pro-homosexual advocates and lawyers not understand? Tomorrow we will discuss a Michigan case in which a radical homosexual activist says it should have been illegal for a Catholic girls school to dismiss an employee who proudly revealed her lesbian relationship in defiance of ancient Catholic teachings.

Stay vigilant. We will not sit back and allow the (In)Tolerance Brigade to steal away our God-given American freedoms in the name of “gay rights.” –Peter LaBarbera, AFT

The following is excerpted from Christian Landscaper Won’t Soil Hands with Work for ‘Gay’ Clients, published Oct 21, 2006, by WorldNet Daily:

…Todd and Sabrina Farber have owned and operated The Garden Guy since 1991 and, like other landscape contractors, use the Internet to show the quality of their past work and to solicit future business.

The Garden Guy was just one of the landscaping businesses Michael Lord and Gary Lackey, a homosexual couple who has been together for nine years, requested bids from earlier this week for the new home they’re building in Houston Heights. Lord said he found The Garden Guy through an Internet search and liked the “before and after” pictures on the website.

“We sent e-mails to several local landscaping companies asking for quotes. Garden Guy called Michael back saying they would like to bid,” Lackey told the Houston Voice. Lord called the company Wednesday morning to set up an appointment.

“Michael was asked if ‘his wife would be home’ when the consultation would take place. He brushed it off, but when he was asked again if his wife would be joining, Michael said, ‘No, but my partner Gary will be.’

“Michael set up the appointment, but a few minutes later we got the e-mail.”

Excerpted from Cargill Firing Energizes Lawmakers, by Jeff Mellott, published Oct 5, 2006, in Daily News Record:

…The company fired Padilla earlier this month after it had received complaints about a sign on his personal pickup truck. The sign asked voters to support a constitutional amendment on marriage that defines the institution as a union between one man and one woman. Voters will take up the amendment on Nov. 7.

Cargill representatives said this week that Padilla, who was a human resources clerk, lost his job because of insubordination.But Padilla believes he was fired because of the sign on his pickup truck.

The company ordered Padilla to remove the sign after receiving complaints about it.

…Padilla’s actions violated company policies on intolerance, the company attorney said in a response dated Oct. 17 to Rita Dunaway of the Valley Family Forum. The attorney added that Padilla had been insubordinate.

The sign Cargill ordered Padilla to remove, the attorney said in the letter, contained a message that other employees could have “reasonably construed as a show of hostility and intolerance toward homosexuals.”

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell] said, “When people start to see the overreach of the homosexual supporters, they are going to start thinking, ‘There’s an agenda out there.’”

…The amendment, [Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg] said, reflects a constitutional codification of state law.

The Padilla case demonstrates that somebody is suggesting that current state law is offensive and discriminatory, he said.

And, Obenshain continued, somebody also is suggesting that someone who expresses support for current state law ought to be fired.

“To me,” he said, “that’s absurd.”

Continue reading in Daily News Record…

Also read Pro-Marriage Message at Root of Employee’s Dismissal, by Jim Brown and Jody Brown, published Oct 20, 2006, by Agape Press.

Excerpted from We Are Biased, Admit the Stars of BBC News, by Simon Walters, published Oct 21, 2006, in Daily Mail:

…A leaked account of an ‘impartiality summit’ called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and the war on terror.

…At the secret meeting in London last month, which was hosted by veteran broadcaster Sue Lawley, BBC executives admitted the corporation is dominated by homosexuals and people from ethnic minorities, deliberately promotes multiculturalism, is anti-American, anti-countryside and more sensitive to the feelings of Muslims than Christians.

Continue reading in Daily Mail…

Excerpted from The Truth About ‘Gay’ Pedophilia, by Olivia St John, published Oct 7, 2006, by WorldNet Daily:

…English professor Karla Jay, Ph.D., and well-educated journalist Allen Young, both homosexual activists, conducted the first major survey on homosexuality in America in 1979. Their work is still cited in academic studies and involved over 5,000 homosexuals from all walks of life. Titled “The Gay Report,” the study published data on underage sex, disease, gross promiscuity, suicidal tendencies and more.

One cannot help but applaud the honesty of these two homosexuals in publishing the results of their study, which documented that “23 percent of respondents admitted to having had sex with youths aged 13-15, while 19 percent felt positive about sexual activity within this age group.”

Tragically, 50 percent of the males in their survey experienced their first sexual encounter at age 15 or less…

…Yale and Harvard-connected psychiatrist Jeffrey Satinover states that “careful studies show that pedophilia is far more common among homosexuals than heterosexuals.” Satinover adds, “The greater absolute number of heterosexual cases reflects the fact that heterosexual males outnumber homosexual males by approximately 36 to 1. Heterosexual child molestation cases outnumber homosexual cases by only 11 to 1, implying that pedophilia is more than three times more common among homosexuals.”

Continue reading at WorldNet Daily…

From our friends at PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays)…

PFOX executive director Regina Griggs emailed the letter below to the Missouri School Counselor Association (MSCA) to ask why MSCA rejected PFOX’s application for a booth at the Nov. 5 conference.

On August 14, MSAC’s executive director called Regina Griggs to tell her not to send the Association any more emails. When Regina Griggs asked why PFOX had been rejected, she slammed the phone on Regina Griggs.

Evidently, the school counselors association in Missouri allows for pro-“gay” information but not ex-gay information. This dangerous policy means school counselors steer confused students exclusively to “gay affirming” sources without providing alternatives.

Since MSCA won’t answer Regina Griggs, maybe you should join in asking why PFOX was rejected as an exhibitor and if pro-“gay” exhibit booths were also rejected as well:

LETTER FROM PFOX TO MSCA

Dear Ms. Kosteck Bunch:

This is our third inquiry. Please respond.

We are in receipt of your letter denying Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) an exhibit booth at the Missouri School Counselor Association’s fall conference. However, your letter did not provide a basis for the denial of our application for a booth. Please explain why the Missouri School Counselor Association has denied PFOX an exhibit booth.

Please read in its entirety this excellent article by our friend Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel for Concerned Women for America.

From Jesus Is Wedded to Biblical Marriage, by Jan LaRue, published Oct 18, 2006, by CWA and Townhall:

Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin will decide November 7 whether traditional marriage will be protected by their state’s constitution. Opponents from homosexual activist organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign are uniting with clergy to convince voters that Jesus approves same-sex “marriage.”

The Rev. Jack Rogers, “professor of theology emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary and past moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” says that “supporting same-sex marriage affirms our Christian faith, strengthens our communities and supports children and families.” (Jack Rogers, “Study Changes Pastor’s Mind on Same-Sex Marriage,” The [Charleston, South Carolina] Post and Courier, Oct. 1, 2006, p. H3).

Rogers’ reasons for supporting “same-sex marriage” have a tiny tad more substance than the “silence” argument from another clergyman, Rev. Gordon McBride, the rector of Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Arizona who opposes Arizona’s marriage amendment: “Jesus never said anything about it (gay marriage), so clearly it didn’t matter to him.” (Stephanie Innes, “Gay-marriage ban pits church vs. church,” Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 13, 2006).

That logic would lead to the absurd assumption that since Jesus never said anything about incest, rape, tofu or terrorism, they also clearly didn’t matter to Him.

Rogers says that “for much of his life” he “opposed same-sex marriage” until he participated “on a task force on homosexuality … in an intense nine-month process of Bible study, prayer and reflection on the issue from all angles.”

One would think that “reflection” on “all angles” about “same-sex marriage” would include the marriage angle. Rogers, however, doesn’t mention any of nearly 700 Bible verses about marriage — not one.

But then, it’s not easy to pronounce Betty and Veronica or Steve and Al together in holy matrimony as husband and wife, man and woman or bridegroom and bride.

Incredibly, Rogers fails to follow his own advice “to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus’ redeeming life and ministry.” He fails to acknowledge that Christ’s lens includes all of Scripture, and what it says about marriage and homosexuality “is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Question for parents:
Is this book in your child’s classroom?

From our friends at Minnesota Family Institute:

Against one mothers wishes, 7 and 8 year old children were forced to sit through the reading of “Asha’s Mums,” a book depicting a child with two mothers, and listen to their teacher tell them that he and his same-sex partner planned to adopt a child.

Click HERE to view KSTP news clip.

FeLicia McCorvey Preyer, mother of second graders twins, said she met the teacher and school officials before the start of the school year. “I mentioned,” she said, “that I did not want my child hearing this information” about gay issues. Preyer said that instead of supporting her parental rights and authority, she was treated with disrespect and even arrogance. “They treat me as if my beliefs are the problem,” she said.

Gena Bounds, a parent of one of the second-graders said, “Now Darriell (her daughter) thinks the school is telling her she needs to believe that two daddies or two mommies is the same thing as a mom and a dad.”

When the parents met with the principal, they were told their children could not be reassigned to another class. Principal Laura Bloomberg [phone (612) 752-7100 or e-mail laura_bloomberg@wmep.k12.mn.us] said the mission of the school is to build “a partnership of diversity, community and technology.” She said parents were free to object to the school board or withdraw their children from the school.

Minnesota State Statue states that parents have the right to review curriculum and request their children be excused from parts of it.

“This kind of curriculum is becoming the norm, not the exception,” said Chuck Darrell, director of communications for Minnesota Family Council. “Parents need to speak out or they too will find themselves at the whim of arrogant school officials who do not respect their simple requests, such as removing a 7-year-old child from being subjected to homosexual propaganda,” he said.

Excerpted from Deval Patrick: Homosexuals’ Great Black Hope?, by LaShawn Barber, published Oct 23, 2006, by Townhall.com:

…I find it offensive that homosexuals equate black Americans’ struggle to be treated as first class citizens to their “struggle” to normalize perversion, and I’m sure many blacks felt the same way when middle- and upper-class white women co-opted the Civil Rights Movement to pursue their family-destroying agenda in the 1970s.

Civil rights refer to those found in the Bill of Rights and the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Blacks were denied these rights, and the Civil Rights Movement extended them to blacks. It did not seek to redefine nor add to these rights. That affluent white homosexuals consider themselves oppressed in the same way because they can’t “marry” is an insult to my grandfathers and their fathers and grandfathers.

They endured the indignity of having to enter a store through the rear “colored” entrance simply because they were black. They were barred from certain jobs and schools because they were black. They were considered second class Americans because they were black.

Homosexuals have the same civil rights as everyone else. The clamor for marriage isn’t about rights; it’s about acceptance of a lifestyle. Shelby Steele, author of The Content of Our Character and fellow at the Hoover Institution, wrote in the Opinion Journal:

“[G]ay marriage is simply not a civil rights issue. It is not a struggle for freedom. It is a struggle of already free people for complete social acceptance and the sense of normalcy that follows thereof–a struggle for the eradication of the homosexual stigma. Marriage is a goal because, once open to gays, it would establish the fundamental innocuousness of homosexuality itself. Marriage can say like nothing else that sexual orientation is an utterly neutral human characteristic, like eye-color. Thus, it can go far in diffusing the homosexual stigma.”

That we actually are discussing so-called marriage between two men is evidence of how far the culture has declined.

Continue reading at Townhall…