Since the days of Larry Flynt,  Cincinnati, OH has been famous for having a puritanical stick up its ass.   And no one in Cincinnati’s stick is bigger  than that of Phil Burress of the “ex-porn addict” and President of religious right-wing  group Citizens for Community Values which is officially associated with the American Family Association, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family (And they are so proud of that fact that they brag about it)

After hearing today that his ultra conservative friend and Ohio State Senator Rob Portman came out in support of same-sex marriage stating :”I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years.”  Burress appeared on American Family Association’s OneNewsNow  to do anti-gay spin control saying that Portman is a “a very troubled man right now and is distraught over what’s happening with his son.” And that Burress himself “just has a feeling that his son was pushing him into this for political reasons,”.

Later that day on the CCV website Burress wrote the following statement to his “followers”

Rob called me Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. to share about his situation and the position he was taking concerning his son and same-sex marriage.

I believe Rob will understand why, as much as I might ache for my friend and the painful emotional struggle of his son’s identification as gay, that it does not change why I still strongly support natural marriage as only between a man and a woman.

I explained to Rob that my wife (Vicky, who he met at an AFA meeting) and I served on the board of an organization that saw thousands of homosexual men and women walk away from that behavior (Exodus International), many who went on to a natural marriage and were also blessed with children. I told him we would pray that some day his son would as well.

For Rob, it appears his beliefs on same-sex marriage changed when it became personal. I understand that. Yet it does not change the truth that homosexuality is not innate. The evidence of that is in the lives of so many today that live free of unwanted same-sex attraction.

Many Ohioans know family members and friends who identify as homosexual. Yet an overwhelming number of Ohioans also voted to affirm marriage as only between one man and one woman. They didn’t do so out of some misplaced hatred or fear of homosexuality. Like my wife and I, they understood the importance of a married mother and father in the life of children. They understood that a mother and father each bring unique and character shaping attributes to a child’s life. The simple truth is that a mother cares for and nurtures a child in a way a father just can’t. In the same way, a father cares for and relates to a child in the way a mother can’t. That is the inescapable truth of the debate Rob has now ignited in Ohio over same-sex marriage.

Not every family would make the same decision Rob did. Many parents, because of their deep and abiding love for their child, would not accept and embrace their child’s decision regarding homosexuality. My wife and I believe that if you love someone you tell them the truth. They may not like what they hear, but you love them anyway.

The question now is not whether parents love their children when they identify as gay. It is whether Ohioans will allow the personal experience of one high-profile family to sway its deeply held belief in the original purpose and meaning of marriage.

Burress and his group the CCV along with COAST henchman lawyer Christopher Finney who now has now infiltrated the Cincinnati NAACP chapter to spread his hatred of homosexuals and his ultra right-wing conservative ways wrot Ohio’s “anti-gay marriage/one man, one woman amendment” which is one of the strongest worded in the country and forbids any rights for same-sex couples in the Ohio even under domestic partnerships or civil unions and also shares some credit for John McCain’s transformation from political maverick into doddering old fool and ally of the Christian Right. And back in 1998

Phil Burress and the Citizens for Community Values, are the locked and loaded dangerous country bumpkin cousins of the FRC and the AFA.  But make no mistake. They are much more dangerous and play to a much more gullible and naive audience who hang on thier every ord and are fully backed by Ohio’s republican mafia party.  They oppose any protections and rights for LGBT  citizens and made outrageous, disgusting and inaccurate statements in the name of God to cover their hate and push their heinous agenda.

Said Burress recently about a push for  LGBT protections in Ohio: When the governor acknowledges  them [gays] as a minority group, which they are not,  you’re  also saying to them that their behavior is OK. And it’s NOT OK to engage in this type of behavior when it’s gonna cause you possibly to die from AIDS.”.

This is Cinicinnati. This is the midwest.  This is where we need to stand up and  fight the hardest.