An estimated 20,000 people (some estimate 30,000) have protested in Verona against a conference which has brought a global network of anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-feminist activists to the northern Italian city.
The hosting of the World Congress of Families (WCF), a US coalition that promotes the values of the Christian right, has been especially contentious in Italy as it is supported by the far-right League, a partner in the country’s coalition government. Matteo Salvini, the party’s leader and Italy’s deputy prime minister, spoke at the event on Saturday evening.
Other speakers have included Brian Brown, the WCF president, who fought against same-sex marriage in the US; Theresa Okafor, a Nigerian activist who likened gay people to the Boko Haram terrorist group; and Lucy Akello, a Ugandan politician who helped pass an anti-gay law that sets life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for homosexuality in Uganda.
News outlets report that LGBT activists came from as far afield as Britain, Croatia, Germany, Poland and Switzerland to protest. Many sang “Bella Ciao”, an anthem of the Italian resistance during WWII, and banners carried slogans including “Our bodies and our desires, it’s we who decide”.
From National Organization for Marriage and World Congress of Family LGBT hate group leader Brian Brown.
“The situation with Jussie Smollett is very unfortunate. It’s deplorable whenever someone makes false charges of discrimination or violence against LGBT individuals. But what’s worse is that the culture, fueled by the media and LGBT advocacy groups, gives massive exposure to these claims.
And even worse than that is when elected officials seek to codify special legal status and rights for gays and lesbians, which can easily be used as a weapon against other Americans, particularly those who hold to traditional biblical views of human sexuality and gender.
NOM will always stand for the truth and fight to protect your rights. We would appreciate your prayers, encouragement and financial assistance.”
NOM’s fifth annual anti-LGBT marriage march in Washington DC today drew a hilarious 45 attendees yesterday including five men wearing the signature red capes of the group Tradition, Family and Property and carrying a “Honk for Traditional Marriage” sign.
Brian Brown who is not only the head of the National Organization for Marriage but also the President of the worldwide anti-LGBT hate group the World Congress of Families told the crowd not to be discouraged by their small numbers, comparing their cause to that of abolitionists in the 18th and early 19th century.
“We are on the side of truth,” he said. “We are on the side of true human rights, we are on the side of true civil rights. And in every fight for civil rights it took a creative minority who were willing to stand up and speak truth to power no matter what the cost. And you know what? There may not be thousands of us here today. It doesn’t matter. There were only a few that stood with William Wilberforce when he stood up and said ‘no’ to the slave trade in England. He was mocked, he was derided, he was laughed at. We remember him as a hero now, because ultimately his life’s work was successful, but it wasn’t successful in his own lifetime.”
“Every year, we’re going to be here whether there’s thousands or hundreds or tens” of people, he said.
Brown insisted that the Supreme Court “did not and could not and will not change the nature of marriage” but instead “put a lie within the law.”
Brown also invited three African-American anti-marriage-equality activists to speak, including Eric Wallace of Freedom’s Journal Institute, a cosponsor of the march. Wallace hosted a Black Conservative Summit in Washington this week that was billed as a regional event for Brown’s anti-LGBT hate group the World Congress of Families.
Brown claims the small turnout was due toscheduling and permit troubles.
Brian Brown the former leader of the anti-LGBT hate group the National Organization for Marriage, and current leader of the the anti-gay hate group the World Congress of Familes (you need a scorecard kids) called for his evil minions followers to gather in front of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Friday afternoon to denounce the continuing momentum towards marriage equality across Mexico, including a presidential proposal for federal marriage equality.
Only 5 homophobes showed up.
Speaking at the sparsely attended protest outside the Mexican Embassy, Diego von Stauffenberg of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) called for the “defense of natural marriage between one man and one woman.” He added that the “fabric of civic order would be weakened” by marriage equality. Stauffenberg additionally called for the “content and ideology” of LGBT-acceptance to be excluded from public education in Mexico.
NOM and the World Congress of Families (WCF), both of which are categorized as anti-LGBTQ hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, organized the protest. An anti-equality rally dubbed the “National March for the Family” is expected to take place in Mexico City tomorrow. WCF’s new director Brian Brownshirt is expected to attend the march.
Can you really call it a protest when you draw fewer people than a Duggar family picnic?
National Organization for Marriage’s Brian Brownshirt:
“We have been awaiting this decision for some time and welcome it not only as a tremendous victory, but as a common sense recognition that it is not for the federal courts to substitute their judgment about whether same-sex ‘marriage’ is a good idea or not, but to leave it to the people to make the decision about this fundamental institution. The justices of the Supreme Court were derelict in their duty when they refused to review the marriage cases previously before them. They now have no excuse. We call on the Supreme Court to stand for the proposition that men and women of good will across this land have the right under their constitution to preserve marriage in the law as it has always existed in reality, the union of one man and one woman.”
“The Sixth Circuit was certainly correct to frame the question before them as ‘who decides?’ and we wholeheartedly agree that the American people should decide this issue. But the majority is wrong to suggest that voters have changed their minds. In fact, in the vast majority of states that now have redefined marriage, it’s been judges and not voters who have done this. The movement to redefine marriage does not benefit from having momentum, it benefits from the exercise of raw political power by federal and state judges and politicians bent of imposing their politically-correct view of the world on the American people.”
Family Research Council hate group’s white supremacist linked president Tony Perkins:
“We applaud the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for upholding the freedom of the people to define marriage as the union of a man and woman. The Sixth Circuit rightly recognizes that the Constitution does not demand that this modern redefinition of marriage be forced on the States. The American people simply will not accept a nationwide redefinition of marriage imposed on them by a judicial oligarchy. As the debate continues, recent polls and the election demonstrate that support for marriage redefinition is stalling as Americans begin to experience and consider the consequences for religious freedom, free speech, and parental rights.
“Where marriage is redefined, parents are increasingly finding a wedge being driven between them and their children as school curricula is changed to contradict the morals parents are teaching their children. And as more and more people lose their livelihoods because they refuse to not just tolerate but celebrate same-sex marriage, many Americans are beginning to see that this is about far more than the marriage alter, but is about fundamentally altering society.
Ah yes the 6th circuit, the most over turned circuit in the country. Big win there Herr PerKKKins and Frau Brown.
Now that SCOTUS has denied review of the appeals in seven Marriage Equality Cases, and same sex marriage legal in 30 states and those cases are over. The appellate court decisions, which upheld district court decisions holding marriage discrimination provisions unconstitutional, stand. Since the cases are over and since the Supreme Court’s denial of review is final word on the matter, the stays, whether issued by appellate courts or district courts, will end shortly and that is making for some world-class whining happening today from our cast of non-favorite grifters, charlatans, and fear mongers.
Peter “Porno Peter” LaBarbera calls for rioting! And Bryan Fischer again dreams of sodomy:
Julaine Appling, head of Wisconsin Family Action: (Poor bitch. Her life is slipping away. Whooops I misspelled “career is slipping away”)
“The high court’s denial of our Wisconsin case and these other cases is profoundly disappointing. However, at some point the US Supreme Court will take a case on this issue. Wisconsin’s marriage amendment is on hold, but should the Court ultimately rule that the US Constitution does give the states the right to determine for themselves what marriage is, our amendment will be reinstated.”
Ben Shapiro, the virgin Jew melting down at Breitbart.com
“On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to take on the issue of gay marriage – and by doing so, essentially greenlit same-sex marriage across the nation, encouraging low-level courts to continue knocking down traditional marriage laws across the country. This is the beauty of Supreme Court doctrine: they don’t even have to do their judicial dirty work anymore. They can rely on lower-level courts to violate the Constitution, then declare the Constitution magically changed because of an ’emerging’ consensus on violating the Constitution. And the people have no recourse. They cannot pass laws that for two and a half centuries have been fully Constitutional. They cannot fight state attorneys general who betray their voters. They must sit by as the courts play legal games while awaiting the great Obama-esque ‘evolution’ – an evolution that is almost entirely top-down, and that will then be dictated to us by our betters.”
National Organization for Marriage hate group leader Brian Brownshirt posting on the NOM Blog:
“We are surprised and extremely disappointed that the US Supreme Court has refused to grant review of the same-sex marriage cases pending before them. This is wrong on so many levels. First, the entire idea that marriage can be redefined from the bench is illegitimate. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman; it has been this throughout the history of civilization and will remain this no matter what unelected judges say. Second, it’s mind-boggling that lower court judges would be allowed to impose the redefinition of marriage in these states, and our highest court would have nothing to say about it. Third, the effect of the lower court rulings is to say that a constitutional right to same-sex ‘marriage’ has existed in every state in the union since 1868 when the 14th Amendment was ratified, but somehow nobody noticed until quite recently. That’s the absurd belief we are being told to accept.
“It’s possible that the Supreme Court wants to wait to take a case when a Circuit split develops so that it can rule in favor of the people’s right to define marriage as it has always been defined. We’re hopeful that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule in our favor and that the Supreme Court will then take that case and decide that marriage is not unconstitutional. NOM will continue to devote all our energy and resources to stand for the truth of marriage, and to advocate the importance of preserving it. While we are disappointed in what has happened today, we are not defeated or dispirited. Indeed, we are determined as never before to fight for the institution that God created and humankind has proven is the best arrangement for the well-being of men and women, for children, and for society as a whole.”
And last but certainly not least………
KKK-affiliated Family Research Council hate group leader Tony “PeeWee” Perkins, via press release.
“Unfortunately, by failing to take up these marriage cases, the High Court will allow rogue lower court judges who have ignored history and true legal precedent to silence the elected representatives of the people and the voice of the people themselves by overturning state provisions on marriage. Even more alarming, lower court judges are undermining our form of government and the rights and freedoms of citizens to govern themselves. This judicially led effort to force same sex ‘marriage’ on people will have negative consequences for our Republic, not only as it relates to natural marriage but also undermining the rule of and respect for law.
“The Court decision ensures that the debate over natural marriage will continue and the good news is that time is not on the side of those who want to redefine marriage. As more states are forced to redefine marriage, contrary to nature and directly in conflict with the will of millions, more Americans will see and experience attacks on their religious freedom. Parents will find a wedge being driven between them and their children as school curriculum is changed to contradict the morals parents are teaching their children. As more and more people lose their livelihoods because they refuse to not just tolerate but celebrate same-sex marriage, Americans will see the true goal, which is for activists to use the Court to impose a redefinition of natural marriage on the entire nation.
“Congress should respond to today’s announcement by moving forward with the State Marriage Defense Act, which is consistent with last year’s Windsor ruling and ensures that the federal government in its definition of marriage respects the duly enacted marriage laws of the states.
Rushing back from an anti-gay World Congress of Families conference in Russia, Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage introduced Rick Santorum at today’s FRC Values Voter Summit and suggested that Republicans would win more elections if they nominated more social issue crusaders in the mold of Rick Santorum.
“It’s not our fault” when Republican candidates lose, Brown said. “You cannot blame social conservatives for lost elections.”
Anti-gay Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov joined a group of about 20 anti-gay thugs from the Russian Orthodox Church and crashed the opening of the St. Petersburg International Queer Culture Festival. Milonov and his thugs insulted and physically manhandled guests, representatives of human rights organizations and European and the US diplomats. Thn they proceeded to spray guests with green substance and some sort of putrid gas. At one point, two foreign guests were being pulled into the venue by the security while being pulled out by their feet by the attackers. 16 attendees were reportedly hospitalized after an unknown gas was released.
St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, his aide Anatoly Artyukh, and activists who associate themselves with the Russian Orthodox faith interrupted the opening ceremony of the “KviroFest-2014” event at a cafe on September 18. The visitors splashed an indelible green antiseptic on participants and released an unidentified gas that sickened many. The 10-day festival opened despite the attack. Russia decriminalized homosexual relations after the 1991 Soviet collapse, but such harassment is common. Rights defenders and Western governments including the United States say a 2013 law banning the dissemination of gay “propaganda” to minors is discriminatory and encourages ill-treatment of LGBT people.
now comes the news that the venues hosting Queerfest have bowed to anti-gay pressures, and most events are now homeless. But the organizers remain optimistic.
About 100 protesters blocked the entrance to the Catch the Fire evangelical ministries in the Melbourne suburb of Hallam on Saturday morning, where the controversial World Congress of Families conference was scheduled to begin. Many speakers, including the American campaigner Angela Lanfranchi, who planned to speak on the thoroughly debunked link between breast cancer and abortion, were unable to get through the gates in their cars. Their path was blocked by protesters holding signs with slogans such as “Our bodies are our property” and “Women are not incubators”. More than 30 police officers formed their own barrier on the opposite side of the gate in the quiet street of Star Crescent, located in an industrial area. It forced attendees to trickle through the gates one by one as church security struggled to establish whether they had registered. The Monty Python satirical song Every Sperm is Sacred boomed from a sound system organised by protesters. The protests were vocal, but largely peaceful. Two protesters were arrested as others chanted “What’s the charge?”
One protester managed to sneak in as a registered guest, storming the stage and pouring fake blood over herself in front of NSW MP, the Reverend Fred Nile and his wife. “We don’t want your backyard abortions,” she yelled, before being marched out. Guests at the event were visibly rattled by the breach and turned to prayer as the woman was ushered outside. But despite ongoing protests at the gate throughout the day, the rest of the conference was incident free. Controversial American breast cancer doctor Angela Lafranchi was one of the headline acts, pushing her research suggesting a link between abortion and breast cancer. Reverend Nile, leader of the NSW Christian Democrats, called for more Christians to get involved in politics. And Paul Hanrahan, the executive director of Family Life International Australia, used his speech to suggest abortion was worse than terrorism in Syria. “Many people lately have been upset at the terrible atrocities being committed in the name of religion in Iraq and Syria and other places. Terrorists and terrorists’ kids holding severed heads is certainly gruesome. Answer me this: how is it worse?” he asked.
On a related note from September 26th – 28th the Family Research Council hate group will be running it’s own anti-gay conference called the Values Voter Summit which will be held at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. Perhaps this year some American LGBT activist will show up and make thier presence known that they will not stand for hate parading undering the guise of politics or religion. (Yes GetEQUAL I am talking to YOU!)
Mike Huckabee has joined 79 other extremist conservatives in signing a letter blasting “sexual radicals” for their efforts to stop a planned anti-gay conference of the World Congress of Families (WCF), a group notorious for stoking homophobia and promoting harsh anti-gay propaganda and laws internationally.
In a few days the Rockford, IL-based WCF was to hold the “Life, Family, and Freedom Conference” in Melbourne, Australia. which is now in total chaos after protests and recent public knowledge have led to three changes of venue for the conference,
“It’s a mess,” Margaret Butts, one of the organisers told Guardian Australia. “We have no venue at the moment – the police are telling us it’s a safety risk because of planned protests and demonstrations. “We are frantic at the moment trying to organise something else, we’ve had four venue cancellations. I can’t talk to you because we are just too busy right now.” Guardian Australia understands that despite the prominent speakers and hundreds of people expected to attend on Saturday, organisers had not planned event security or liability insurance. The event was initially to be held at St Patrick’s parish hall in Mentone, about 20km south-east of the city. It was then moved to St Cecilia’s Catholic church in Glen Iris, but that venue also withdrew.
So the WCF has responded to those protests with a letter signed by 80 social conservatives, including Huckabee accusing “sexual radicals” of waging a “smear campaign,” The letter charges that opponents of the conference aim to “transform society into something unrecognizable to generations past”:
Sexual radicals have launched a smear campaign to discredit the Melbourne conference, which misrepresents the international pro-family movement and the positions of the World Congress of Families……
Attacks on the Melbourne conference and the international pro-family movement generally are an attempt at intimidation – a weapon used to stigmatize family advocates, stifle dissent and foreclose a debate…..
The goal of sexual radicals is to deconstruct marriage and marginalize the family, and thus to transform society into something unrecognizable to generations past. Like all social experiments that attempt to create a “new man,” these are doomed to failure…….
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah……
Founded after a 1995 meeting between Illinois anti-gay activist Allan Carlson and two Russian sociologists, the WCF is a self-proclaimed “alliance of orthodox believers, based on their commitment to Judeo-Christian values and the natural family.” Partnering with 29 social conservative organizations – with a combined annual budget estimated at $216 million – the WCF convenes “pro-family” activists for regional and international conferences aimed at combatting reproductive freedom and LGBT equality. WCF partner organizations include a number of groups that have been labeled “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, including the American Family Association and the Family Research Council,
While the WCF’s ties to conservative groups have helped make it influential on the American right – the George W. Bush administration even sent delegates to WCF conferences in 2004 and 2007. Much of the WCF’s work has concentrated on Russia, which WCF managing director Larry Jacobs has touted as a “great ally for conservatives”. The organization has forged close ties with key Russian lawmakers and church officials in support of the country’s law banning gay “propaganda,” and planned to hold its 2014 conference in Moscow until that event was cancelled due to international tensions over Ukraine.
Moreover, the WCF has convened “pro-family” conferences in Africa, where attendees learn of the alleged dangers of contraception and homosexuality. Attendees at WCF meetings have included the first ladies of Nigeria and Uganda. Both countries have since passed harsh laws imposing 14-year prison sentences for gay sex.
Huckabee also signed a WCF letter in 2012 protesting the U.S. embassy’s participation in the Prague gay pride parade. That letter accused the American government of “aggressively promoting the ‘gay’ agenda internationally,” stating that the signers couldn’t “imagine a worse form of cultural imperialism.”
During his unsuccessful 1992 U.S. Senate bid, Huckabee called for AIDS patients to be quarantined, and he has cited “the ick factor” as one of the reasons he opposes same-sex marriage. However, Huckabee steadfastly contends that he is “not homophobic.”
