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“Sexual Orientation”/”Gender Identity” and the Law
Dave Smith of Ilinois Family Institute led the grassroots campaign to stop a homosexual “marriage” bill in Illinois. The bill was stalled despite Democrats possessing super-majority control of both House and Senate.
This is Part One of our interview with David Smith [click HERE to listen], Executive Director of Illinois Family Institute, which led the grassroots, pro-family coaltion effort to stall a homosexual “marriage” bill, SB 10, in Illinois. (Proponents of the bill, lacking the votes, did not call it for a vote by May 31, the last day of the legislative session. However, SB 10, which passed the Senate, remains alive to be called when legislators are back in session, through the lame-duck session in January 2015.) This interview was recorded June 6, 2012. Smith tells AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera and co-host John Kirkwood that the key to victory was the diverse grassroots opposition to the bill, especially the strong opposition from Black and Latino Christians. He describes how half the Black legislators in Springfield (all Democrats) ultimately declined to back the homosexual “marriage” bill, and calls its failure to pass in an Illinois General Assembly with Democratic super-majorities in both House and Senate a “miracle.” Smith also notes the well-funded lobby campaign on behalf of the same-sex “marriage” bill — including dozens of paid lobbyists — which far surpassed (monetarily speaking) that of pro-family advocates for natural, man-woman marriage. He said that the ability of grassroots citizens to stop SB 10 “marriage” in deep-blue, Democratic-dominated Illinois shows that “gay” activists and pundits are wrong in asserting that the national triumph of homosexuality-based “marriage” is “inevitable.”
HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes. Real Player 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 to load.) OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.
Stephen Graham, a Mormon, says his Church is wrong to embrace open homosexuality in the Boy Scouts of America.
This is Part Two of our interview with Stephen Graham [click HERE to listen], founder and president of the Utah-based Standard of Liberty. It was recorded May 25, 2013. Graham, a Mormon, criticizes his Church’s stance on the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) embrace of openly homosexual boys as members. A montage of audio is played from the BSA’s May 24 press conference announcing passage of the pro-homosexual change — in which Scout executives acclaim the historic shift as advancing the goal of serving more kids in Scouting.
Graham tells how after the decision, his adult son has resigned from his longtime affiliation with a local Scout troop (as assistant Scoutmaster) over the policy change. He reads from an e-mail his son received from his bishop (with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) — using spiritual language to urge Graham’s son to reconsider his decision. Stephen Graham laments the pro-homosexual drift of LDS authorities, but asserts that most Mormons will follow their Church’s new, more “gay”-affirming direction — because LDS members generally bow to their leaders’ decisions. Nevertheless, he says that adhering to principle — in this case not affirming a deviant sexual identity to boys — will lead some, like him, to reject the LDS’ pronouncements in this area.
HOW TO LISTEN: This is an mp3 file, supported in most operating systems by Windows Media Player, Quick Time and/or I-Tunes. Real Player 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 to load.) OR right click the link then “save target as” to download the whole show.
Linda Harvey of Mission America speaks out against pro-homosexual youth programs, outside the homosexual lobby group Human Rights Campaign’s D.C. headquarters. Harvey was the target of vulgar hate-emails after she was mentioned days before in an AFTAH press release announcing the event. Click on photos to enlarge.
This is a good account of our Tuesday press conference against “Gay Pride Month” in front of Human Rights Campaign’s D.C. headquarters — by Cliff Kincaid of America’s Future, which also provided full video coverage of the event [see YouTube videos Part One, Part Two and Part Three]. This article is reprinted from the Renew America website (which we highly recommend), and published June 5, 2013. All photos are from Americans For Truth and can be reprinted provided credit is given to AFTAH.org.
An Obama-allied group that is at the center of the scandal over IRS harassment of conservative organizations was the target of a protest outside its own headquarters.
“The escalation of homosexual activist power is bad for America, and American liberty,” declared Peter LaBarbera of the group Americans for Truth outside the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in Washington, D.C. He said Christians and conservatives in favor of traditional values are being subjected to “intimidation, bullying, violence, [and] dirty tricks,” such as the HRC’s acquisition of the National Organization for Marriage’s IRS donor filings, for the purpose of harassing opponents of the gay agenda.
The Huffington Post had also received and publicized the confidential information, a violation of federal law.
A banner, “Homosexuality Is Nothing to Be Proud of, but overcoming it is,” was displayed in reference to President Obama’s proclamation of June as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.”
Obama previously celebrated the 1969 homosexual riots at a seedy Mafia-run bar known as the Stonewall Inn.
HRC sign “welcomes” AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera. A few hours later, an HRC spokesman was maligning him and the other pro-family advocates as the “fringe.”
Aware of the planned press conference, the HRC put a “Welcome Peter” sign on its headquarters.
But LaBarbera didn’t return the welcome, saying that “The deviant sexual revolution represented by the Human Rights Campaign headquarters behind us is built on a foundation of lies.”
He called the homosexual revolution “one of the most amazing marketing stories of all time: a sexual sin once defined by Noah Webster as the ‘Crime Against Nature,’ condemned by God for millennia, was repackaged as the supposed basis for ‘civil rights.'”
Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel Action, one of several participants in the news conference, denounced the Human Rights Campaign for its role in receiving and u sing confidential financial records from the IRS to attack donors to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).
The following is Part Three of America’s Survival’s coverage of our press conference Tuesday, June 4, 2013, in front of the D.C. headquarters of Human Rights Campaign, the world’s largest and most powerful homosexual activist lobby organization. Speaking first is Patrick Mangan, president of Citizens for Community Values of Indiana, who discusses whether homosexualism is a “civil right” or a “special right.” He is followed by Eric Holmberg of The Apologetics Group, a Christian filmmaker who discusses his soon-to-be-released documentary, “Is Gay the New Black: Homosexuality and the Civil Rights Movement.” Holmberg distributed a clip from the documentary titled, “From Selma to Stonewall.”
AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera briefly explains the stalling of a homosexual “marriage” bill in Illinois despite super-majority Democratic control of both the Illinois House and Senate. (There is also a revealing question by homosexual journalist Chris Geidner of Buzzfeed, who mentions [at 10:00 in the video] his conversation with a top advisor to Mitt Romney who told him, based on polling and electoral data, “that there is no reversing the trend of support for LGBT rights, and he woud challenge anybody to make the case that there is a way to reverse that trend.”)
The last half of the video is made up of Q & A, and includes discusses by Matt Barber and Magnan on their response as Christians to homosexuals — one not of “hate” but reaching out to people in the love of Christ. Mangan explains why “Love the sinner, hate the sin” still encapsulates the proper Christian response to homosexuals:
The following is Part Two of America’s Survival’s coverage of our press conference Tuesday, June 4, 2013, in front of the D.C. headquarters of Human Rights Campaign, the world’s largest and most powerful homosexual activist lobby organization. Speaking first is Linda Harvey, founder and president of Mission America, discussing the homosexualist agenda and youth. She is followed by Diane Gramley, president of American Family Association of Pennsylvania, who discusses homosexual-related health risks. The text of both Harvey’s and Gramley’s speeches follow the video, after the jump:
Text of speech by Linda Harvey:
Remarks by Linda Harvey, President, Mission America, www.missionamerica.com , June 4, 2013
Press conference at Human Rights Campaign, Washington, DC:
Is homosexuality a human right? No, it’s not. This sexual preference is not intrinsic to human beings, is far from positive conduct for any person and certainly not for children, but the organization in the building behind me believes it is. And they intend to keep using smoke and mirrors to prevent America from a careful analysis, from a respectful debate, about what they are demanding.
Starting with its deceptive name, the Human Rights Campaign is spreading sweeping lies throughout America. And they are, of course, not alone. From the misnomer of “gay pride” as deviant displays in our major cities, to the ungodly idea of two men or two women as marriage, HRC joins other untrustworthy groups to arm-twist and bully our country into embracing high-risk immorality, behavior that no one ever needs to do in the first place. People aren’t born homosexual, so objecting to this conduct is not a violation of anyone’s “rights.”
But how does HRC deal with challenges? By “agreeing to disagree”? By welcoming a reasonable debate? No, if you disagree, you become the target of smear campaigns, where truth is noticeably absent. If you stand up for man/woman marriage, HRC calls you a hateful bigot.
AFTAH is sponsoring a press conference in front of the D.C. headquarters of Human Rights Campaign, the world’s most power homosexual lobby group. Various pro-family leaders will focus on the theme, “What’s Wrong with ‘Gay Pride’?” and HRC’s role in the growing IRS-gate scandal.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2013
CONTACT: Fran Griffin of Griffin Communications, PR@griffnews.com, 202-643-1048
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several Christian and pro-family organizations, along with individuals who have left the homosexual life style, will hold a News Conference in front of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) building (1640 Rhode Island Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.) at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, to express their objections to celebrating homosexual “pride” in June, during the so-called “Gay Pride Month.” Spokesmen are also expected to lambaste the HRC for their role in receiving and using confidential financial records from the IRS that were used to denounce traditional marriage.
Speakers at the News Conference include:
Peter LaBarbera, founder and President of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (www.aftah.org), who will address “What’s wrong with ‘gay pride’?”
Filmmaker Eric Holmberg of the Apologetics Group, producer of the documentary “Is Gay the New Black? Homosexuality and the Civil Rights Movement.” See YouTube clip of his film to be released on Tuesday, “From Selma to Stonewall” here: http://bit.ly/115XtRP. DVDs will be available at the news conference.
Diane Gramley, President of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania (http://afaofpa.org) who will discuss the ongoing homosexual health crisis.
Linda Harvey, founder of Mission America and host of Mission America Radio (http://www.missionamerica.com) who will expose the harmful HRC agenda toward kids.
Matt Barber, Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action, a public policy arm of the international civil rights legal group, Liberty Counsel (http://www.libertycounsel.com). Attorney Barber will address the HRC’s apparent role in IRS-gate. HRC is being investigated for allegedly conspiring with IRS officials to illegally obtain private National Organization of Marriage (NOM) documents in an effort to publicly smear the pro-marriage group.
Patrick Mangan, Executive Director of Citizens for Community Values of Indiana.
Peter LaBarbera, President of the Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, explained: “On Tuesday morning we will gather in front of the world’s most powerful homosexual lobby group, Human Rights Campaign, in Washington, D.C., during so-called “Gay Pride Month” (June) to proclaim the politically incorrect truth: that proud homosexuality is against God; against Nature; very unhealthy; and a serious threat to children and religious freedom. Thankfully, it is also changeable — as proved by the existence of countless thousands of happy former ‘gay’ men and ex-lesbians.
“Our bottom line is that homosexuality is nothing to be proud of. In fact, practicing homosexual behavior, a destructive sin, is something to be ashamed of. Out-and-proud homosexualism — far from being a ‘human right’ — is actually a human wrong,” LaBarbera said.
“We will also testify to the lies, dirty tricks, anti-democratic bullying, hate-mongering and intimidation that have fueled the advance of so-called ‘gay rights’ in America. Recently such tactics surfaced again when HRC obtained and published leaked IRS filings from a pro-natural-marriage group, which it used to attack the donors to Mitt Romney’s campaign in an election year,” LaBarbera said.
“It’s not surprising that HRC has inroads into the most corrupt presidential administration in history,” said Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel. “The HRC is following the tactics of Saul Alinsky as detailed in his manifesto ‘Rules for Radicals.’ President Obama and his IRS are evidently aiding and abetting this radical organization. Because sexual anarchist groups like the HRC cannot win the debate on the merits, they must resort to underhanded and, as it now appears, outright illegal tactics in order to gain momentum for their extremist agenda,” Barber said.
Left-wing Chicago homosexual activist Andy Thayer (at left) of Gay Liberation Network (GLN) unfurls pro-homosexual “rainbow flag” in the gallery of the Illinois House May 30. Photo: Dave Smith of Illinois Family Institute — who led the successful grassroots effort to stop passage of a homosexuality-based “marriage” bill before the legislative session ended May 31. Click on photo to enlarge.
UPDATE: June 1, 2013 — in what is a stunning setback to the Homosexual Lobby in Illinois, openly homosexual St. Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) announced on the last day of the legislative session yesterday that he did NOT have the votes to call SB 10, the same-sex “marriage” bill. Harris and his high-powered liberal allies were not able to peel off enough Chicago Democrats or wavering Republicans — in a General Assembly that has veto-proof Democratic super-majorities in both houses — to pass the bill. A strong grassroots coalition of black, white and latino Christians across the state formed the backbone of the opposition.
Congratulations are well deserved to: first and foremost to my good friend and Illinois Family Institute (IFI) leader Dave Smith, who worked his tail off up and down the state to stop SB 10; and Laurie Higgins, Kathy Valente, Dave Norck and the entire IFI team; Paul Caprio of Family-PAC, who led the Coalition to Protect Children & Marriage (of which AFTAH is a member) and did yeoman’s work in thwarting SB 10; Bob Gilligan of the Catholic Conference; former Sen. Rev. James Meeks, who played a huge role; veteran Springfield lobbyists Ralph Rivera and Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch; Penny Pulen; Peter Breen; Scott Phelps (Abstinence & Marriage Partnership); Bishop Lance Davis; AFTAH Board Member John McCartney; John Zahm; John Biver; Jack Roeser; Nick Costello; Rev. Larry Rogers; Hiram Crawford; Tom Brejcha (Thomas More Society); Mary Anne Hackett; Elise Bouc; Rev. Bill Owens (Coalition of African American Pastors); Brian Brown and National Organization for Marriage; Jim Finnegan; Cardinal Francis George (see his letter on homosexual “marriage” HERE); and all the pro-family advocates who helped secure this unlikely victory. (There are so many more I could name.)
We must realize that this is only a temporary win. Now homosexual activists will redouble their efforts to homosexualize marriage in our state — so we must redouble our efforts to stop them.
Also, immediately after the defeat, the powerful homosexual lawyers group Lambda Legal began touting its lawsuit — before openly lesbian judge Sophia Hall — as another avenue towards legalizing homosexuality-based “marriage” in Illinois. Self-styled “queer” activists, filled with “pride” and considerable arrogance, believe they are entitled to homosexual “marriage” as a supposed constitutional “civil right.” They are wrong. (And, yes, Judge Hall should recuse herself from this case due to her obvious conflict of interest; see biased homosexual Advocate article HERE and “Think Progress” piece slamming AFTAH HERE.)
This hard-won victory, after a string of “marriage” defeats in other states, will encourage and energize pro-family advocates across the nation because it shows — despite the frequent boasts of our adversaries — that homosexuality-based “marriage” is NOT “inevitable,” even in Democratic-dominated Illinois. AFTAH has been defending real marriage here for a long time, so we will savor this triumph of common sense over social leftism. But only for a moment, and then it’s back to work.
This was about “We the People” winning out over homosexual and liberal special interest groups. God bless all of you who got involved in this battle: YOUR calls and contacts with legislators and fellow citizens made the difference! Let’s keep on fighting for Truth! — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality
Wholesome alternatives to homosexuality-affirming Scouts already in the works
By succumbing to homosexual activist pressure, the Boy Scouts of America has ensured that a mass exodus of boys will flow from its membership ranks. Already, pro-family conservatives have scheduled a planning meeting to form a wholesome alternative to the Scouts.
By Peter LaBarbera
May 23, 2013 was a sad day for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and another tragic day for an America in decline. The Scouts’ corporate-driven leaders in their folly put sexual morality up for a vote, and when it was all over, the Scouts as we once knew them – a God-fearing, wholesome organization – were finished. Now, truly “morally straight” organizations (to quote the Scout Oath) will rise up to compete with the corrupted BSA, and parents by the hundreds of thousands will migrate with their sons to these trustworthy alternatives.
This was a completely unnecessary capitulation. The equivocating Scouts somehow managed to snatch defeat from their hard-won victory in the Supreme Court in 2000 – which preserved the Scouts’ right to live by their own moral creed. Now they have eviscerated that creed, thus rewarding the very Homosexual Lobby that tormented the BSA since its high court triumph.
Pursuing godliness and virtue is not a democratic exercise but a walk of obedience. Truth is transcendent; it is not decided by polls or votes. (Two men or two women will never truly be “married.”) We all fall short and hence need a Savior, but absolute Truth never changes. God – not man — sets the Standard for proper living. Allowing boys who identify with and, presumably, engage in homosexual behavior is the opposite of virtue — and certainly wasn’t a Scouting value in my father’s and grandfather’s America.
Let’s cut through all the pro-“gay” noise that infests most discussions of this issue. Practicing homosexuality is a destructive lifestyle choice and a sin. It is immoral, against Nature, and changeable – as evidenced by the countless men (like Michael Glatze) and women (like Charlene Cothran) who once proudly considered themselves “gay” but now live in accordance with God’s natural design for their bodies.
Homosexuality is not the basis for healthy self-identity. “Sexual orientation” is an artificial construct because homosexuality is not “who you are,” it’s what you do. And when people make sinful choices bad things happen. (I should add that most homosexuals come from troubled backgrounds, including: dysfunctional parent-child relationships; lack of a father; divorced households; early sexualization; and sexual predator abuse. But these “causes” – while meriting our pity and understanding — do not condone the behavioral choice of embracing a homosexual lifestyle.)
Homosexuality is about as natural, normal and healthy as a tongue piercing. Actually, it’s much riskier: in fact, if this were any other behavior, there would be a full-scale government/corporate mobilization against it (like smoking). Consider these alarming statistics on male homosexuality and HIV from a December 2012 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
“CDC estimates that MSM represent approximately 4 percent of the male population in the United States but male-to-male sex accounted for more than three-quarters (78 percent) of new HIV infections among men and nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of all new infections in 2010 (29,800).”
No honorable organization would confirm boys and young men in an immoral sexual “identity” associated with such disproportionate, massive health risks. Shame on the Boy Scouts, and on their sponsors – most notably, the Mormon and Catholic Churches — for failing to use their considerable leverage with the BSA to stop this “gay” surrender.
