For those who follow religious and "family value" news, the volume of anti-gay commentary has gone up considerably in the last week or so. Kyle at Right Wing Watch pointed out the "criminalize homosexuality" rhetoric espoused by the American Family Association and Family Research Council over the past week.
Covering the weekend's Tea Party in Nashville, Jeff Woods chronicled Judge Roy Moore's anti-gay comments.
Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing its anti-gay extravaganza this weekend, that will include a one-day conference and a one-day symposium:
Lynchburg, VA — Liberty University School of Law will host a one-day conference followed by a one-day symposium addressing homosexuality and its consequences. The Friday, February 12, conference is entitled "Understanding Same-sex Attractions and Their Consequences." On Saturday, February 13, the Liberty University Law Review will host a legal symposium entitled "Homosexual Rights and First Amendment Freedoms: Can They Truly Coexist?"
The first day of the conference will focus on the issues underlying same-sex attractions with personal and ministry insights shared by Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. Conference leaders will then discuss the American Psychological Association Task Force Report on counseling people with same-sex attractions. Current research and therapies will be discussed by experts from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and the American Association of Christian Counselors. The first day is designed for lay people, counselors, pastors, educators, attorneys, and those interested in learning more about the subject. The second day will focus on the legal implications arising from the clash between the quest for homosexual rights and freedom of speech, religion and association.
This two-day long symposium begins at 10:00 a.m., Friday, February 12, in the Vines Center of Liberty University at Liberty's convocation service during which Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, will speak. The afternoon event, titled "Understanding Same-Sex Attractions and Their Consequences," begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Supreme Courtroom of Liberty University School of Law. Speakers include Alan Chambers; Julie Harren-Hamilton, President of NARTH; Tim Clinton, President of the American Association of Christian Counselors; Rena Lindevaldsen, Associate Professor of Law at Liberty University School of Law, and Mathew Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law.
The symposium reconvenes at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, February 13, at the School of Law, and ends with a banquet held in the Grand Lobby of Liberty University, located in DeMoss Hall, at 5 p.m. Saturday speakers include: Professor Lynne Marie Kohm of Regent University School of Law; Professor Lynn D. Wardle of Brigham Young University and J. Reuben Clark Law School; Elaine Donnelly, Founder and President of the Center for Military Readiness; Robert H. Knight, Senior Writer for Coral Ridge Ministries and Senior Fellow for American Civil Rights Union; Matt Barber, Associate Dean at Liberty University School of Law, and others.
Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "The clash between free speech, religious and homosexual rights is a like the grinding of two tectonic plates. It is imperative to understand the implications of same-sex attractions and the broader homosexual agenda. Those struggling with same-sex attractions need understanding and hope for a life without conflict. The politicized radicalism of the homosexual agenda on the other hand is aggressive and intent on trampling upon the fundamental freedoms of anyone who may disapprove. That is why this conference at Liberty University is vitally important."
The Thomas More Law Center is filing a suit, challenging the constitutionality of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Bill Egnor wrote for Firedoglake.com that,
The Center is filing suit on behalf of three pastors and a private citizen. What exactly are they upset about? Here is what Richard Thompson the president of the center has to say about the case:
This is part of the list of political payoffs to homosexual advocacy groups for support of Barack Obama in the last presidential election. The sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin. It elevates those persons who engage in deviant sexual behaviors, including pedophiles, to a special protected class of persons as a matter of federal law and policy.
Yep, that's right. They are upset that their "biblically based" bigotry can't be violently expressed against gay citizens. Note the standard conservative victimization meme, that the "sole" purpose of the bill it to make their lives hard. Also note the conflation of homosexuality and pedophilia. This comes from a Republican amendment that was introduced to specifically excluded pedophiles form the protections of the bill. It was defeated because, unlike homosexuality, pedophilia is a crime and criminals don't get hate crimes protections. Not that this keeps the Religious Right from trotting it out.
The hate crimes protections have nothing to do with speech, but relate to the actual infliction of violence. Egnor continues,
Just to be clear, the Shepard/Byrd act does not make being a hate filled bigot illegal. All it does is increase the amount of penalty someone will get if they commit a crime that is found to be motivated by hate. It is like the difference between the sentence you get from committing a robbery with a gun instead of a knife. Since we find the gun to be more serious, you get a longer sentence from using it. This is the same thing. You can still say all the bigoted hateful stuff you want, but if you act on it, then you get a double whammy at sentencing.
In Iowa, a couple of representatives want to take sexual orientation out of mandatory school policies on bullying.
The Courage Campaign writers at the Prop 8 Trial Tracker site reviewed the supposed unfair treatment suffered by proponents of Proposition 8 at the federal trial in Perry v. Schwarzenneger. The defendants (that is, the proponents of the ban on same sex marriages) have complained bitterly about their perceived mistreatment by Judge Walker and how two-thirds of their expert witnesses were intimidated from appearing at the trial because of the possibility of their testimony being shown online and their fear of harassment. Readers may recall that in October 2009, ProtectMarriage.com (the defense) was threatening businesses that opposed Proposition 8. Right Wing Watch summarized it neatly:
ProtectMarriage.com has been sending out letters to those who have donated to efforts to defeat the anti-gay marriage amendment in California, demanding that they donate thousands of dollars to the Yes on 8 campaign or else have their names and businesses publicly exposed.
A copy of one of these blackmail type letters can be found here.
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