After trying to weedle their way out of their anti-gay comments on Sunday by releasing a statement reading: “It was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love.” and that Dolce was expressing his personal views “without judging other people’s choices.” Stefano Gabbana seeing it was not working took to Instagram not much later to compare their situation to that of Charlie Hebdo magazine which was the victim of a gun attack o, which left 12 people dead.
The unmitigated gall of comparing and playing victim to tragedy where people are physically attacked and killed for satire is very different from people choosing to not to buy D&G’s overpriced crap because they offended millions of people. It is not only insane but offensive beyond words. How dare they exploit other people’s deaths and compare it to them losing profits and reputation.
If their original remarks were not enough to drive you to #BoycottDolceGabbana this is.
Monday began the Vatican’s three-day “Complementarity of Man and Woman” – Humanum conference included global faith leaders including t U.S. evangelical pastors Rick Warren and Russell Moore, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Jonathan Sacks and Anglican, Muslim, Pentecostal and Hindu leaders. In addition for the first time, a top Mormon leader – Henry Eyring – was also in official attendance at a Vatican conference.
But , what many major news outlets aren’t reporting is that anti-gay hate group leaders like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher were also invited and in attendance. And if that’s not enough to tip you off at how anti-gay this Vatican Confrence was set up to be even before it began Mark Regnerus of the infamously shoddy anti-gay parenting study that has been discredited and openly mocked every legal proceeding against anti-gay marriage was actually hired to film anti-gay videos that were shown at the Vatican conference that has been going on for the past three days!
The messages of Humanum have sounded mostly like excerpts from Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, asserting various archaic gender stereotypes as evidence that men and women are uniquely designed to be together — and that no other relationship should ever be considered a marriage. For example, Russell Moore, media-savvy head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told the conference that spouses are not interchangeable. “We are not created as ‘spouse A’ and ‘spouse B,’” he insisted, “but as man and as woman, and in marriage as husband and as wife, in parenting as mother and as father.Masculinity and femininity are not aspects of the fallen order to be overcome, but are instead part of what God declared from the beginning to be ‘very good.’”
Even in his remarks opening the conference, Pope Francis alluded to the “unique” way that men and women define marriage when he prayed that the colloquium “will be an inspiration to all who seek to support and strengthen the union of man and woman in marriage as a unique, natural, fundamental and beautiful good for persons, communities, and whole societies.” [snip] The colloquium has been fairly lacking in substance, which was particularly evident when Pastor Rick Warren spoke. He spent the first few minutes of his remarks “not kidding” about how all of the points he originally intended to make had already been made by other speakers. Warren still found plenty to say, including the idea that the sexual revolution, including same-sex marriage, is merely “in style” and all styles go out of style.”Every lie eventually crumbles under its own deception,” he said, “but the Word of God and the Church of God continues.”
So there you have it. The new Pope is not any less anti-gay than the last Pope, perhaps even more so for inviting such an evil group of anti-gay bigots to the Vatican to discuss marriage.
If you are gay or a lesbian and still a practicing Catholic the question you must ask yourself is: Why? The outlook of the Catholic Church’s opinions and attitudes on gay and lesbians are never going to change. Why belong to and enable a religion that wants to harm you and your friends. Take a stand and make a point. Lever the Catholic Church, publicly denounce them. The loss of members and money is the only thing that will ever cause the Vatican to change on this issue.
Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization for Marriage (and lets be truthful she does work for them and has never stopped) took to the pages of the National Review trash an An Australian study” from the University of Melbourne which found that the children of same-sex parents scored higher on measures of health, happiness and family cohesion than the of those in the “traditional family” general population that was reported by the New York Times:
The New York Times study and the media are widely reporting the results of a new study of 500 children raised by same-sex couples. Researchers are aghast that such a shoddy piece of work, which is based on a convenience sample of parents who volunteered to be surveyed, and which relies solely on these parents’ reports to determine child well-being, should have been published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal. The author is facing a petition and statement signed by hundreds of reputable academics, questioning his moral character and scientific integrity, and the editor of the journal who published such a thing faces similar attacks and enquiries about whether the peer-review process was compromised. Oh wait, the study shows children of same-sex parents do better than the average child, after adjusting for income. Never mind.” – National Organization for Marriage’s Minister of Propaganda Maggie Gallagher
Actually Gallagher is lying in her statement the “authors” of the survey are not “facing a petition and statement signed by hundreds of reputable academics, questioning his moral character and scientific integrity”.
But speaking of those who have been called out on “moral character and scientific integrity”; Mark Regnerus whose bought and paid for anti-gay parenting study which has been laughed at, debunked, ridiculed and even evisceratedby a Michigan judge back in March, is still being used and cited this time by theLiberty Counsel’s in one of it’s amicus brief’s in a Florida’s marriage cases.
And of course NOM took the opportunity to continue to continue pushing Regnerus’ discredited study:
The study (Regnerus’s) showed that there are “consistent differences among young adults who reported maternal lesbian behavior (and to a lesser extent, paternal gay behavior) prior to age 18.” Compared with children raised by their married biological parents, children raised in same-sex households are much more likely to have received welfare growing up, have lower educational attainment, report less safety and security in their family of origin, report more ongoing “negative impact” from their family of origin, are more likely to suffer from depression, and have been arrested more often. The study also showed that children of lesbian mothers are almost 4 times more likely to be currently on public assistance than children raised by their biological parents. Regnerus’s study shows clearly that the ideal home for a child is with his or her mother and father.
Well, they paid for the study. It’s not surprising they try to use it till its in total shreds.
Honey Maid won’t back down to the hater who say that Satan runs their company after they filed a gay family inclusive commercial. While most companies try to ignore or downplay the negative reactions NOT Honey Maid not only did they go full steam ahead they made one of the best and boldest messages you’ve ever seen in reply.
The University of Texas at Austin has finally come to their senses and yesterday published a public statement denouncing their own employee, Mark Regnerus, who’s past anti-gay slanted research has been exposed as bought and paid for by ultra right wing religious groups and who is presently testifying against same-sex marriage in Michigan.
Like all faculty, Dr. Regnerus has the right to pursue his areas of research and express his point of view. However, Dr. Regnerus’ opinions are his own. They do not reflect the views of the Sociology Department of The University of Texas at Austin. Nor do they reflect the views of the American Sociological Association, which takes the position that the conclusions he draws from his study of gay parenting are fundamentally flawed on conceptual and methodological grounds and that findings from Dr. Regnerus’ work have been cited inappropriately in efforts to diminish the civil rights and legitimacy of LBGTQ partners and their families. We encourage society as a whole to evaluate his claims. The Sociology Department at The University of Texas at Austin aspires to achieve academic excellence in research, teaching, and public service at the highest level in our discipline. We strive to do so in a context that is based on the highest ethical standards of our discipline and in a context that actively promotes and supports diversity among our faculty and student populations.”
The above statement from U of T at Austin was read today in court to rightfully discredit Regnerus as an “expert” witness.
Backing up their previous words with actions, Betty Crocker went to Pride 2013 to celebrate all families with, what else, cupcakes for all! And found that while our differences make us unique, one thing makes all families the same: love.
Today, after months of deliberations and criticism from both sides of the debate, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has come up with a compromise when it comes to allowing LGBT members into their leadership organization. The deal essentially states that gay scout members are allowed into their organization. But there’s a catch to this deal. The ban on LGBT volunteers and leaders are still very much active, with no signs of being lifted. Some call this a partial victory for the LGBT movement, while I believe that it is anything but a win for us.
This is one of the few times that I’m going to be very candid about my opinion by saying that I am completely disgusted at what this decision today implies. Instead of showing these scouts the importance of leadership and teamwork, they’re being shown how to continually condemn different people with different beliefs as this deal is demonizing to the LGBT community. Seriously what does it say when they are saying that no LGBT volunteers or employees are allowed. What’s their reasoning behind that? Do they think that we prey on young victims and brainwash them into being compact carrying queens? Because if they don’t want us to be mentors to scouts then that means that they believe by nature that we are a manipulative group of people set out to recruit unsuspecting victims. They are essentially implying that we are pedophiles and I am livid at the snide, covert accusation that this decision implies.
This also means that LGBT parents like Jennifer Tyrell can’t even participate with her son in any of the “community” and “family” activities because they don’t believe we are capable or deserving to have the same “rights” as them. How can we trust that they won’t tell him that who his mother is, an out and proud lesbian, that she is wrong for being gay? If they are so indulgent on the notion of honesty, I wish they’d have the courage to say it instead of this vapid attempt to pacify us and the leaders of this community. How do we know that this isn’t some move to ensure whatever manipulative, reparative therapy-like measures will be woven into earning merit badges and by not allowing LGBT volunteers or leaders means they can implement whatever brainwashing techniques to “fix” our children’s beliefs? It’s all hypothetical questions but if they’re still openly excluding us, how can we be assured that ulterior motives are not at play?
Would our children even be allowed to be openly gay in the BSA? Would they condemn the gay scout for any “improper” behavior that they see as “not up to code” when that really means is that anything that they see as feminine or gay. I shake my head at how they would deal with transgendered scout members, a group that has not been mentioned at all by the LGBT activists that are calling this deal a victory. Will they be able to treat a female to male transgendered scout with support and be welcoming or tell them that they’re wrong? Will they allow male to female transgendered scouts to remain in the organization or will they let these scouts be mocked and bullied by other scouts? If they have some implied belief that we’ll grow out of being gay, then they probably will do the same to this group.
And what of the gay scout members in this organization. To me, this implies that the BSA believes that we’ll somehow grow out of being gay. That being gay is just a phase that their Christian Bible Thumping values will somehow lead us out of our “sinful” thinking”. What will they tell to the scout members that come out? Will it be someone nurturing and kind that will sit with the child and help them process this information or will they tell them how they still believe homosexuality is wrong? There are too many questions that no one seems to be asking the Boy Scouts of America.
What happens to the gay scouts who have been with the organization for years as a child and they turn 18? Are they stripped of any titles they spent years on thrown out? Can they no longer progress forward and become an Eagle Scout? What is the point if they can’t even progress any further in the organization? That’s the only conclusion we can come to if they have a cutoff as adults.
All this deal has done at best is present us with more questions than a sign of compromise and change. This may all seem like an outlandish assumption of how they will deal with gay scout members but honestly how do we know we can trust them. So no, this is not a time of celebration for LGBT activists and equal rights advocates. I do not in any way shape or form believe this is a step in the right direction or a show of real progress. This deal is just a more covert, disguised form of prejudice and homophobia. Quite the opposite actually. This is a slap in the face. This is not some change of heart or evolution into seeing that we are people and deserve equal rights. The Boy Scouts of America are STILL condemning who and what we are and to believe anything to the contrary is flat out wrong.
This deal is so reminiscent of the Jim Crow laws, Grandfather Clauses and the 3/5 Compromise of our nation’s history where my African American ancestors were not seen as human. They were denied their rights as citizens and were seen as animals that did not deserve the same treatment that everyone else received because we didn’t fit into the nice, neat little package of“normal good folk“. This deal is saying the same thing, that we are not good enough and cannot be trusted around their children while they can placate any lie and fallacy in ideology onto our children. This deal openly mocks us.
We should be frustrated and upset, because if they don’t trust us, how can we trust them with our children? How can we trust that they will treat instances of bullying fairly when they don’t even believe we have a right to be who we are. Those are the questions we should be asking them right now. It’s about how can we trust them, not the other way around. As a community, we have nothing to prove to these bigots. There’s no way in hell I would ever allow a child of mine in such a demented, callous mindset as the BSA. I do not trust them. And neither should you.
“Faced with losing her seven-year-old daughter to her former lesbian partner, Lisa Miller made the only choice a new Christian could: she sought her minister’s help. After two courts ordered Lisa to transfer custody of her biological daughter to a woman with no adoptive rights, she felt she had no choice but to flee the country. Kenneth Miller, a Mennonite pastor from Vermont, helped her escape–and will now be paying for it with a 27-month prison sentence.
“Last summer, a jury found him guilty of helping Lisa and her daughter, Isabella, travel from Virginia to the Canadian border and then to Central America via the Toronto airport. During the two-hour sentencing, Miller told the judge he ‘couldn’t promise’ that he would never again help a parent smuggle a son or daughter out of the country. He saw, as so many of us do, a vulnerable child–and a government bent on redefining family law to the exclusion of the actual parents. ‘I give myself unto you to do with me as you see fit,’ an emotional Miller told the court. To many of us, the pastor’s predicament seems extreme–but a day may come when we all have to make a similar choice.
“Obviously, there are things we can do between now and then to protect ourselves, like electing strong conservative leaders and resisting the ever-growing reach of the federal government. But under an administration as hostile to faith as this one is, Christians may soon find themselves in the same position of breaking an unjust law. Will you have the courage to do what Kenneth Miller did? Don’t wait until the moment is upon you before contemplating this. Are you willing to accept the penalty instead of compromising your principles?” – Family Research Council – Hate Group President and known white supremacist Tony Perkins, pushing the agenda of the kidnapping of children from their gay parents.
Soooooooooooooo Tony, are you saying that (AND I PUT THIS OUT THERE AS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION) that if I stalk you, kidnap you, and take you to the roughest leather S&M club in America then strip you down, tie you up, blindfold and gag you and chain your ass into a sling with a barrel of Crisco besides you with a sign reading “NASTY PIG BOTTOM – The more I struggle the HARDER I want it – ALL WELCUM!” and later I insist it was because God told me to do it, I shouldn’t be punished for it then. Right?
Like I said. It’s hypothetical and no thought has gone into it at all.
In a streak that we all hope will continue, California lawmakers are set on making it easier for gay couples as well as single parents to have children and expand their families by sperm donation or other reproductive means, Here’s more from Huffpost:
The bill, AB 2356, will ensure that sperm donations and assisted reproduction services, which were previously prioritized for heterosexual couples, will be equally available to all women.
“AB 2356 removes the obstacles that LGBT and single women faced when they sought medically-assisted insemination,” said Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, who introduced the bill, in a press release. “I am proud to have authored legislation that will eliminate those barriers and level the playing field for all women seeking medical services in their effort to conceive.”
Skinner celebrated the bill’s passing last month with Equality California and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and now will see it come into fruition.
Leading up to the bill, Equality California detailed the story of Maya and Chino Scott-Chung who became pregnant by using sperm donated by a friend via an artichoke jar eight years ago.
“Maya and I have been together going on 16 years,” explained Chino in an Equality California video. “We both wanted to have kids and we both knew it when we got together. That was one of the big reasons we knew we could be together.”
Hopefully we can begin to see more laws making it easier for these families to procreate without the stigma and harassment from religious zealots.
Hot and tattooed Maroon 5 frontman and The Voice judge Adam Levine goes into detail as to why he supports equal rights for the LGBTQ. Adam discussed why he recently made a statement in an MTV video blog supporting marriage equality explainingIt’s just so silly and it doesn’t make any sense to me that you wouldn’t be able to marry whomever you want to marry. It’s not our business –It seems we’re a little behind on that, and we just need to make it legal and stop caring so much. It doesn’t matter. And it shouldn’t matter.
Adam relays a message to others that don’t support equal rights and believes “anyone who doesn’t agree with it is essentially putting themselves above other people. That’s what they’re doing. And that’s not OK with me.”
Adam elaborates his stance on his live and let live philosophy stating“people have their personal preferences as to what they want to do with their own lives, and they have every right to do that – just like a gay couple has every right to do that. It’s just not anyone’s business except the people involved. That’s all I would say: “What makes you better than these people?”
Levine discussed that his brother who is gay is not the only reason why he supports equal rights and says “I don’t think that having a gay brother has affected the way I feel about it, because I would feel the same way regardless. I happen to have a gay brother, but that doesn’t mean I’m more of an advocate for equal human rights. That shouldn’t change anything about the way that I feel.” (PERFECT ANSWER)
When questioned further on his brother being gay affecting his support for gay rights, Adam feels “that contributes on some level to the way that I feel. But I don’t know – I don’t think I would feel any differently if he happened to be straight. The relationships that I have with people – whether it’s my brother or a friend, gay or straight – that shouldn’t really ever come into play. Someone’s sexual preference is their sexual preference.”
Of course this isn’t the first time Levine has voiced a supportive, strong stance in equal rights. Earlier this year Adam along with his band members of Maroon 5 participated in a boycott of a restaurant El Coyote in Los Angeles for supporting Proposition 8. Adam has also has long supported with the It Gets Better Project.
You can catch this beautifully tattooed swoon-worthy Adam this Fall along with another LGBTQ activist Zachary Quinto in FX’s American Horror Story.
