Romney’s IL campaign chief Dan Rutherford says offended pro-family conservatives “can go someplace else and drink”

Above is a copy of a portion of homosexual pressure group Equality Illinois’ online petition against Chick-fil-A. It reads: “This petition will be given to stakeholders in Illinois who lease, rent or allow Chick-fil-A to continue to sell its hate-filled homophobic ‘Chikin,” asking them to cut ties.” Equality Illinois was allowed to sponsor an IL-GOP event at the Republican convention in Tampa. Click on graphic to enlarge on separate screen.

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By Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH Exclusive

Folks, there is a reason that conservatives often jokingly call the Republican Party “the stupid party” (as opposed to the Democrats being the liberal party). We learned today from the Chicago Sun-Times that the Illinois Republican Party delegation to the GOP convention in Tampa — led by former legislator and current Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford — is partnering with a homosexual activist group that is pushing to close down what it calls the “hate-filled, homophobic” Chick-fil-A restaurants in the state.

Equality Illinois (EQ), the leading “gay” pressure group in the state, is sponsoring the IL-GOP event by covering the bar tab at the IL-GOP “Beachside Cocktail Hour” this evening in Clearwater, FL, where the Illinois delegation is staying. EQ, which lobbies aggressively to legalize homosexual “marriage” in the state, curiously combined its sponsorship with a fierce condemnation of the GOP’s conservative platform — particularly the party’s call for a federal marriage amendment.

Recently, Equality Illinois led a pro-homosexual “Flick-the-hate” campaign to pressure leasing and rental companies to cut ties with the 19 Chick-fil-A restaurants in Illinois. Equality Illinois’ online petition (shown above) “will be given to key stakeholders in Illiniois who lease, rent or allow Chick-fil-A to continue to sell their hate-filled homophobic ‘Chiken,’ asking them to cut ties.” EQ joined other homosexual groups across the country in attacking Chick-fil-A after its COO, Dan Cathy, defended Christian family values including natural marriage as one-man, one-woman.

Illinois homosexual activist and anti-Catholic “Catholic” Rick Garcia (left) hasn’t a clue about what goes on at the 24/7 homosexual bathhouse (Rick calls it a “health club”) up the street from his Boystown Chicago office — but he’s “absolutely” sure that “civil unions” legislation will pass in the General Assembly Wednesday. TAKE ACTION: prove Garcia wrong by contacting your state representative and senator and urge them to oppose “civil unions” (HB 2234 in the House). Also, pass this on to your friends and ask them also to take action. Call the Capitol Switchboard in Springfield at 217-782-2000; you can find all of your state and federal representatives by plugging in your 9-digit zip code or address at www.congress.org.

Folks, this is a wake-up call to stop “civil unions” in Illinois. Call your state representative and senator today or tomorrow morning (find your lawmakers at www.congress.org). Homosexual lobbyist Rick Garcia (left) predicts passage of faux “gay marriage” (“civil unions”) in our state, but Garcia could be bluffing. And he’s hardly a truth-teller: some years ago he lied to told the Daily Herald that he didn’t know what goes on in the 24/7 homosexual bathhouse down the street from his office in “Boystown,” Chicago. (He called it a “health club” — good one, Rick.)  Kudos to Illinois Family Institute for its battle against “civil unions” and all the fine work it has done in the Land of Lincoln opposing the campaign to turn aberrant sexual behavior into a “civil right.” — Peter LaBarbera

P.S. What is the “AIDS Foundation” doing lobbying for homosexual “civil unions”?

New Jersey NOW activists demonstrate for lesbian so-called “marriage”: there is no shortage of single-minded (non-apologetic) pro-homosexuality and pro-abortion activists on the Left.

Below is an excellent column by Joel Belz, founder of WORLD magazine, answering some of the current Christian gibberish critical of believers who fight for Truth in the public square. (Click HERE for the full column in WORLD.) While we’re at it, here are 20 more good reasons why Christians (or anyone) should never feel guilty about a single-minded focus in countering the homosexual/transsexual activist and pro-abortion lobbies:

1. Human Rights Campaign (largest pro-homosexual PAC);
2. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force;
3. Lambda Legal;
4. NARAL Pro-Choice American (formerly National Abortion Rights Action League, which cruelly defends even later-term abortions).
5. GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation;
6. GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network);
7. NOW (they manage to promote both lesbianism and abortion-on-demand);
8. MTV (obnoxious in its one-sided promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, etc.);
9. Soulforce and other Bible-twisting, “queer theology”-promoting groups;
10. Radical, reason-challenged, pro-homosexual websites like young Jeremy Hooper’s Good As You blog, Wayne (“Anything But Straight”) Besen’s ‘ex-gay’-hating Truth Wins Out, and lesbian Pam (“Jeebus”) Spaulding’s Pam’s House Blend;
11. National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association;
12. EMILY’s List (a pro-abortion PAC)
13. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (working to open up the military to homosexuals);
14. ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project;
15. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
16. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
17. Tim Gill (homosexual money-man)
18. Pro-homosexual activist groups like Equality Illinois fighting in all 50 states for radical legislation that undermines marriage;
19. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
20. PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians & Gays), a radical pro-homosexual group.

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Belz writes for WORLD:

Stop Apologizing!
It’s not always wrong to be a “single-issue” advocate

It’s become an increasingly frequent reminder to us evangelical Christians not to let our cultural identity be framed by “single issues.”

Is gay sex club marketing to future clients? Adults also allowed to attend ‘prom’

By Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH Exclusive

Steamworks, a 24/7 Chicago homosexual bathhouse where men go for anonymous sex with other men — one man said it is “like the Disneyland of gay sex” — is one of the sponsors of a “Queer Prom” tomorrow night for Latino homosexual youth.

A link for the bathhouse is found in web articles promoting the “Queer Prom,” which, ominously, is also open to adults to attend.

The item below in the Chicago homosexual newspaper Windy City Times (May 14, 2008) points to the problem of “gay youth” events, which too often expose impressionable and already sexually confused young people to the hyper-sexualized, adult (male) homosexual culture; note that the event is open to adults:

Queer Prom approaches

Get out your suits and dresses, because Queer Prom 2008 is May 23.

The dance for LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning] youth and friends will take place at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1952 W. 19th, at 6:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by Radio Arte, the National Museum of Mexican Art, CALOR, Steamworks, the Association of Latino Men for Action, the Young Women’s Empowerment, Amigas Latinas, Latinos Progresando, Project Vida and Lambda Legal.

There is a $10 suggested donation for youth, and a $25 suggested donation for adults, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds….

One click away

As you can see by viewing THIS LINK advertising the event, youth are a mere click away from the web page for Steamworks, which caters to men 18 years and older. It appears as if the bathhouse owners are doing smart public relations to attract future clients to their sex business.

“Same-sex marriage” in Massachusetts has opened up the door to pro-homosexuality lessons for young children in public schools. Illinois is a prime target of homosexual activists. To get involved in the Protect Marriage Illinois referendum drive, click on www.protectmarriageillinois.org. At left is one of the first pro-homosexual picture books, “Daddy’s Roommate.”

TAKE ACTION: Today is Homosexuals Re-defining Marriage Lobby Day in Springfield (at least that’s what we’re calling it). Homosexual activists are targeting Illinois — with the goal of turning us into the “Massachusetts of the Midwest” — and we need your help to stop their radical agenda. If you are an Illinois resident:

1) Call your State Representative and your State Senator at 217-782-2000 and urge them to oppose HB 1826, the House homosexual “civil unions” bill, and SB 2436, the Senate version. While you’re at it, ask your legislators to oppose the pro-homosexual “domestic partnership” bill, HB 4731, which would expand the definition of spouse for some Chicago teachers’ benefits to include homosexual “partners.” Illinois (and every state) needs to reward and provide incentives for real marriage and the natural family, not destructive and immoral homosexual behavior. If you don’t know the names of your representative and state senator, call Illinois Family Institute at 630-790-8370 or go to this IFI web page: http://www.votervoice.net/Core.aspx?AID=728&APP=GAC&screen=Address&.

2) Join Protect Marriage Illinois‘ (PMI) effort to defend marriage in Illinois! Go to PMI’s website, www.protectmarriageillinois.org, and download a pro-marriage petition sheet for the county you live in. PMI is working to get signatures to place an Advisory Marriage Protection referendum on the ballot to call on Illinois legislators to pass a constitutional amendment to preserve the sacred institution of marriage as between a man and a woman. The deadline is very near — April 30th — to get the necessary 269,000 signatures on the ballot, so please act now and encourage YOUR CHURCH to do a petition drive. All petitions must be notarized. Call PMI’s Acting Director Joetta Deutch at 217-377-6017 or email her at info@protectmarriageillinois.org for more information and for help in doing a petition drive at your church. More details on PMI below.

A Lesson in the Lies of the Left 

By Peter LaBarbera 

Many homosexual activists love verbally bashing Bible-believing Christians who oppose “gay rights” — calling them various names and insulting them by comparing them to racists and, in the case below, white supremacists. Of course, they rarely use the latter technique against African-American Christians like Harry Jackson, who are increasingly vocal in speaking out against the homosexual activist agenda.

Frank Kameny, the homosexual activist icon who was fired by the federal government in the 50’s and who is currently being honored by the Smithsonian Museum as an American “civil rights” pioneer, coined the term “Christianofascists” to describe groups like Americans For Truth and Concerned Women for America that oppose homosexual activism. Something tells me that Kameny’s anti-Christian smear will not be found in the new Smithsonian’s exhibit about his life — since the academic world, like so many in the media, protects homosexual activists by hiding their more radical associations and beliefs.

(Kameny once addressed a meeting of NAMBLA — North American Man/Boy Love Association, the notorious pederasty group. Another American “gay” founding father, Harry Hay, enthusiastically defended NAMBLA’s right to march in “gay pride” parades.)

Here in Chicago, we have our very own accomplished Christian-bashers — Equality Illinois’ Rick Garcia — who called his own Catholic Cardinal (Francis George) a “bigot” — and, to a greater degree, the Gay Liberation Network, whose Bob Schwartz has a talent for name-calling like few on the Left. 

The easy thing to do would be to dismiss Schwartz and the GLN as part of the vast left-wing network of Christian-haters, and that they are. But as you read this latest rant from Bob, keep in mind that Schwartz’s virulent anti-Christianism is only stating forcefully what many homosexual activists and their allies believe.

Moreover, under government-sponsored pro-homosexuality (“sexual orientation”) laws, those who oppose homosexuality ARE treated as “bigots,” which is why “sexual orientation” legislation like ENDA (the Employment Nondiscrimination Act) is so dangerous. In Western tradition, the law was intended to punish wrongdoers, not people agreeing with God and acting in defense of natural law and time-tested religious and moral beliefs. Does “gay liberation” equate to oppression of religion?

My responses to Schwartz’s comments are in blue:

Poor, beleaguered Peter LaBarbarian. [cute, Bob] Not long after being denied space in a Naperville Holiday Inn for his banquet of bigots [more name-calling — falsely equating pro-family Americans who oppose homosexuality with rank bigotry], the “Americans For Truth About Homosexuality” leader, the would-be il duce of the hard core antigay right-wing, has taken another hit.  Organizers of a diversity in the workplace panel have disinvited the homo hater [disagreement is not hate, Bob], after three other panelists said they would not participate if LaBarbera did.
 

It is good to hear that HRC’s Daryl Herrschaft and others will not appear with hate mongers [more name-calling] who don’t believe we have a right to even exist [Gay Martyr Syndrome: looks like Bob and friends are “existing” quite fine; we simply don’t believe that people are defined by aberrant sexual behaviors, and of course we believe that homosexuals can change and abandon the lifestyle, as so many, like our Oct. 5 banquet speaker, Charlene Cothran, have], much less enjoy equal rights with other Americans [“equal rights” based on what? How you have sex? That’s not in the Constitution]. 
 

People like LaBarbera ought to be treated in the same way as those preaching white supremacy or that Jews are Christ killers who need to convert to Christianity. [Another misleading and hateful statement by Bob and GLN, laced with a profound bigotry against sincere Christians and all people — religious or otherwise — who believe homosexual behavior is wrong. Here he resurrects past societal injustices to justify his own errant lifestyle. I hate anti-Semitism and racism as much as Bob or anyone else; those issues have nothing to do with Americans’ views on the moral questions surrounding homosexuality and gender confusion.]
 

LaBarbera rails against “anti-Christian bigotry.”  This is a sham, a cover for hate hiding behind stained glass windows.  Many religious people held fervent beliefs that Jews and African Americans just didn’t rank up there with the better people, the chosen of god. People who believe and advocate for these things today are shunned as bigots. [Once again, Bob erects his twin straw men of racism and anti-Semitism, knowing full well that we at Americans For Truth abhor both these ills. The practice of homosexuality is shameful, and its celebration more so. Disagreeing with homosexual behavior is nothing more than agreeing with God.]

HB 1826, a homosexual “marriage” bill (minus the “M-word”) — masquerading as a “religious freedom” bill — has cleared a committee hurdle in the Illinois House. The bill’s homosexual activist sponsor, State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), says HB 1826 would “protect” the religious freedom of churches and those who have a moral objection to homosexual behavior. But Harris’ view is contradicted by a legal analysis of the bill by Illinois constitutional attorney Paul Linton. CWA’s Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues, and analyst Martha Kleder discuss with AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera the homosexual activists’ crafty attempt to sell this radical “gay marriage” bill as a “compromise” measure that “protects” churches.

Click HERE to listen to the interview online.

You can also download the interview by going to the CWA site.

By Peter LaBarbera

Homosexual Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) pushes counterfeit “marriage.”

Well, we’ve been warning you that the homosexual movement wants to make Illinois the “Massachusetts of the Midwest.” Now it’s official. The state’s only “openly gay” representative, Greg Harris (D-Chicago), has submitted a bill to legalize “same-sex marriage” in the Land of Lincoln. Harris sneakily calls his bill the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” –– despite evidence from Massachusetts that legal “gay marriage” leads to stepped-up discrimination against religious institutions opposed to homosexuality.

TAKE ACTION: If you are an Illinois resident, call your state representative and state senator and politely urge them to:

• OPPOSE HB 1615, the radical redefinition of marriage proposed by new homosexual State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago); click HERE to find your legislators (the page works best if you know your 9-digit zip), and click HERE to view the bill, which would strip out the common-sense prohibition in Illinois law against marriages “between two individuals of the same sex.” You can call the Illinois Capitol Switchboard at 217-782-2000.
• SUPPORT HJRCA 1, the pro-traditional-marriage constitutional amendment offered by State Rep. Dave Reis (R) –– which has languished in the IL General Assembly for years due to the Democrats’ subservience to the state’s powerful “gay” lobby. (In Illinois, a constitutional amendment requires a three-fifths vote by the legislature, followed by a three-fifths popular vote.)

Also, please consider making a financial gift to Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI). We don’t normally solicit funds for other organizations, but PMI urgently needs your help as it gears up for another petition drive to place a pro-traditional marriage advisory question on the 2008 Illinois ballot. PMI’s ballot measure would enable Illinois voters to call on the General Assembly to pass a constitutional Marriage Protection Amendment (like Reis’ amendment above). Make your check out to Protect Marriage Illinois and send it to: PMI, PO Box 419, Wheaton, IL 60189; or go to PMI’s website and click the “Make a Donation” button. (Gifts to PMI are not tax-deductible.)

Background
Homosexual activists, being mostly on the Left, know how politics works: they will strive to gradually build support for legalizing “gay marriage” in Illinois even if it takes decades. This is what they did before finally passing a pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” bill (which also covers the gender-confused) in Illinois in 2005.

Conservatives and people of faith, too, have to learn to think long-term. We must retain the goal of repealing all “sexual orientation” laws –– in Illinois and across the nation –– since they are incompatible with the basic American freedoms of religion, conscience and association. And we must act to protect marriage as between a man and a woman at the state and federal constitutional levels.

In his odd legislative biography, Rep. Harris –– who replaced another homosexual Chicago Democrat –– states, almost proudly, that he is the “only openly gay member of the Legislature and openly a person with AIDS.” (Please read this interesting first-hand testimonial about Harris’ sad life and pray for him if you are so moved.)

Indeed, behavior that runs contrary to nature carries a heavy physical price. When “gay” activists talk about “marriage equality,” we should answer: same-sex relationships do not deserve to be treated as “equal” to marriage because they are not — far from it. True marriage serves society and mankind by ordering the sexes and producing future generations and providing stable, mother-father homes for children.

Conversely, society has no stake in legalizing “gay marriage,” which would reward unhealthy and changeable behavior and have such ill side-effects as facilitating intentionally fatherless or motherless homosexual adoptions.

Giving immoral homosexual relationships all the rights and benefits of marriage also sends a terrible message to young people, and certainly will lead to Christians and religious people being punished for “anti-gay” discrimination. A homosexual “marriage” or “civil union” law would be a huge stepping stone toward forcing small businesses –– even religiously-owned ones such as day care centers –– to provide marital-type benefits to homosexual employees even if they oppose subsidizing that lifestyle.

And how long will it be before a church or pastor is sued for refusing to perform a marriage ceremony for a homosexual couple — HB 1615’s title notwithstanding?

We must do all we can to shore up real marriage by encouraging citizens to value it more and by making divorces tougher to get. Radically redefining marriage to include homosexuality would only erode this great institution further.