sexual orientation

After an openly gay Republican, Greg Gandrud, was elected to the board of directors of the California Republican Party at their convention, anti-gay organizations were obviously displeased. Similar to the debate over GOProud’s inclusion in the Conservative Political Action Conference, when right-wing groups blasted GOProud because it represents gay and lesbian conservatives, the head of the California Republican Assembly has taken issue with Gandrud’s sexual orientation. Celeste Greig of the California Republican Assembly said that Gandrud shouldn’t “bring his personal lifestyle” to the GOP.

The California Republican Assembly represents the state’s hard-right activists that Ronald Reagan called “the conscience of the Republican Party.” The group wants government guided by “moral law as expressed by the Judeo-Christian ethic and contained in the Holy Scriptures of these historic faiths” and said the “government is duty bound” to oppose marriage equality.

Greig told the American Family Association’s OneNewsNow:

The California Republican Party has elected its first openly homosexual board member. One incumbent is hopeful the action will not further enforce a "gay" agenda on citizens of The Golden State.

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Celeste Greig, president of the volunteer California Republican Assembly, says many Republicans did not know of Gandrud's sexual orientation until recently. But she adds that her conservative group will stand its ground, both fiscally and socially.

"I hope that he doesn't bring his personal lifestyle within the party," says Greig. "Of course everyone is welcome to be members, to be productive. If they try to bring up more of their issues and promote more of their lifestyle, I'm sure that's not going to go well at all with members of the California Republican Assembly and with me."

Following Focus on the Family’s staunch criticism of Lady Gaga over her new song ‘Born This Way,’ Chuck Colson is now attacking Gaga for claiming that sexual orientation is not a choice. The Religious Right leader also goes after Attorney General Eric Holder, who recently announced that the Justice Department will no longer defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act and said that a person’s sexual orientation should be considered comparable to sex, religion, race, and national origin. Colson quotes conservative writer and Gaga-critic Frank Furedi in arguing that since Gaga transformed herself from into a pop-sensation, gays and lesbians can similarly transform themselves into heterosexuals:

Do people choose to be gay, or are they born that way? Here’s a tip: Don’t turn to Lady Gaga for an answer.

According to Vogue magazine, Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way” is more than “an unbelievably great dance song”; it is “destined to be the anthem of every gay-pride event for the next 100 years.” It only took the well-known pop star 10 minutes to write the song and its explanation of same-sex attraction. At least that’s what Lady Gaga told Vogue.

That being the case, we shouldn’t expect too much nuance and thoughtfulness from someone best known for wearing meat as a dress and making an obscene gesture at a Mets game. Still, Lady Gaga has unintentionally raised some important questions which go far beyond sexual orientation.

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As regular BreakPoint listeners know, the link between same-sex attraction and genetics is far from established. But what’s baffling is the way the singer -- and the culture she represents -- holds two conflicting viewpoints at the same time. After all, performers like Lady Gaga are the masters of reinvention. They are constantly shedding identities and personas, whether for financial gain or as a matter of self-expression. So to then insist at the same time that reinvention and redefinition is impossible and that identity is fixed is literally incoherent.

Furedi sees this incoherence as in keeping with the way that “identity politics” has “fluctuated between the individualistic celebration of choice and [the] . . . quest for legitimacy.” As a libertarian, Furedi worries that we are on our way to seeing ourselves as “slaves to our biology” instead of as beings capable of “making our own world” and “choosing who we want to be.” And he’s right to object! This idea is spreading. After all, Attorney General Holder, explaining why the Administration will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, said that sex orientation is an “immutable characteristic.”

But for the Christian, thinking in terms of dichotomies such as “nature versus nurture” and “genetics versus free will” is the real problem. For us, it’s not either-or. Who we are cannot be reduced to any one thing. For instance, Christianity teaches that biology and the rest of creation has a great deal to teach us about how we should live. This is part of what we mean by “natural law.” An obvious example is the biological facts that lie behind the teaching that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But saying that biology is somehow normative is not the same thing as saying that is determinative. We are free to choose how we behave, both for good and for ill.

At the end of 2010, the city commission of Manhattan, Kansas, passed an ordinance that adds sexual orientation and gender identity protections to anti-discrimination law, as neither category is protected under the statewide law against discrimination in housing and employment. Naturally, Religious Right groups were enraged and now are moving to repeal the ordinance. A new group called Awaken Manhattan accuses the commission of creating “special rights,” “exalting a lifestyle that is morally wrong,” and legalizing gay sex in the workplace. The group also features video of a self-proclaimed “ex-gay” who “declared war” on homosexuality and called on people to “point the LGBT community to Christ.”

Kansas radio host and author Paul A. Ibbetson writes that the ordinance in Manhattan goes all the way up to President Obama, who he believes is acting like “a tyrannical third-world dictator.” Ibbetson says “liberals have been working to destroy Christian values” through the “infiltration of homosexual ideology,” and that in Manhattan “‘Main Street’ is being transformed into ‘Gay Street’” by gay-rights activists:

If one looks closely, a repetitious pattern of presentation and action is observable from the liberal left. To start with, some radical change in traditional culture for the greater good is always forwarded, while at the same time the public at large is denied an opportunity to exercise their voices through a vote on the issue. When a people's vote does slip by the liberal machine, it is later circumvented by a governmental fiat. To liberals, the best societal decisions are best made without society. The issue of how we recognize traditional marriage, the law that Barack Obama is now declaring void without the authority of the courts, as a tyrannical third-world dictator might do, is an issue that has already been decided by the voters. The overwhelming majority of Americans have already voted for traditional marriage as being between a man and a woman. Once again, it would take a complete subversion of the voting majority to attack this Judeo-Christian pillar of American society. Unfortunately, this is not just a Barack Obama problem. The actions of this President are simply a byproduct of a growing problem that has been taking place for some time in this country. In reality, Barack Obama is nothing more than the predictable fruit of the loins of modern-day liberalism, and that fruity fruit has been very fruitful.

As moral depravity is being pushed on America's defensive forces and the foundation of America in traditional marriage, liberals have been working to destroy Christian values in day-to-day business interactions. While an infiltration of homosexual ideology may have been brewing as far back as 2005, the actual blitzkrieg that struck Manhattan, Kansas, and turned the traditional town into the most liberal in the state happened within 11 short months. Within those months, the gay activist group LGBT became ensconced within Kansas State University, a month was designated by political decree for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender awareness complete with its own gay pride parade, and the passage of the most liberal anti-Christian discrimination law the state of Kansas has ever seen was passed by a 3-2 vote.

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While the nation needs to push back the societal suicide being demanded by Barack Obama and liberal surrogates, the people of Manhattan, Kansas, are taking it upon themselves to stand up for their town's traditional values. They are doing this through a repeal petition on the anti-discrimination ordinance alteration that made lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people a protected class with the ability to bring preemptive charges against citizens of Kansas, thus beginning a process of mayor-appointed kangaroo courts with non-elected judges and business crushing fines. The same bill gives no protection to Christians outside their congregational buildings as "Main Street" is being transformed into "Gay Street" and all those who find themselves in violations will be severely punished. The citizens of Manhattan, Kansas, are pushing back against the gay agenda with the radical notion that they, of all things, should be able to vote on the laws that will affect their daily lives.

The Montana State House is currently considering legislation that would prevent the city of Missoula from implementing an anti-discrimination ordinance that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The legislation, proposed by Republican State Rep. Kristin Hansen, would prohibit local governments from going farther than state law in enacting protected classes, was passed out of committee after they rejected an effort to expand the state law. Since Montana does not have a statewide protection for sexual orientation or gender identity, Missoula’s more far-reaching anti-discrimination ordinance would be nullified if Hansen’s bill passes. The Missoulian reports:

The Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Monday that would effectively overturn Missoula's 2010 ordinance banning discrimination against city residents based on their sexual orientation and gender.

House Bill 516 by Rep. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, now moves to the House floor for debate this week.

It would prohibit local governments from enacting ordinances or policies that seek to protect residents from real or perceived discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender as the cities of Missoula did through an ordinance and Bozeman did through a policy.

The panel voted earlier Monday to table HB514 by Rep. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, which would have broadened the Montana Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination statewide based on gender identity or expression and sexual orientation. The move to table her bill came after the bill was rejected 14-6.

The debate over the bill was fraught with fear mongering from right-wing activists about threats to women and children if the ordinance was upheld and the “punishment” for gays and lesbians:

Leading the support for Hansen's bill were two Bitterroot Valley conservatives who were outspoken opponents of the Missoula ordinance last year.

Harris Himes, representing the Montana Eagle Forum, called the Missoula ordinance "unconstitutional on its face."

"There are those of us who would not to rent to gay and lesbian people for religious reasons," said Himes, a Hamilton pastor.

Pressed later by Rep. Ellie Hill, D-Missoula, what those religious reasons are, Himes said: "It is God himself who says that homosexuality is an abomination, and he has various punishments for that, too." Hill asked what those punishments are, and Himes quoted Leviticus saying that homosexuals "surely shall be put to death."

Dallas Erickson of Montana Citizens for Decency through Law, said, "This law in Missoula means that a person with a penis can now go into the showers where the people with vaginas have gone."

Erickson said he knows Ravalli County residents who won't take their children into Missoula businesses "because they don't know if they're going to confronted in the restroom with a different gender."

As Religious Right groups accelerate their campaign against anti-bullying policies in schools, Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan wants to use his experience fighting anti-bullying policies as a model for anti-gay groups in other states. From California to Minnesota, organizations like Focus on the Family have ramped up their efforts to stop schools from implementing anti-bullying policies that protect LGBT students, who studies show face widespread harassment in schools.

Glenn joined Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality to brag about his role in successfully opposing the introduction of anti-bullying programs that protect LGBT students in Michigan schools.

On the bullying issue, the Republicans were floundering in the Michigan legislature as to how to stop this, we just simply framed it a different way.

The homosexual activists are using the bullying issue, as you indicated, as a Trojan Horse. Their real objective is to establish in Michigan state law and in other states sexual orientation — i.e. homosexual behavior — and gender identity — i.e. cross-dressing — as the legal basis of rights and protections. So all we said was why do you insist on segregating students into these special protected class categories like sexual orientation and gender identity and then dole out protection against bullying expressly on the basis on a student’s membership in one of these protected classes, in other words, a segregation strategy.

Glenn’s claim that “homosexual activists” are using anti-bullying laws as “a Trojan Horse” is commonplace in the Religious Right, whose leaders consistently condemn the “homosexual propaganda” and “homosexual message” that is purportedly found in anti-bullying programs.

Last time Glenn appeared on LaBarbera’s program, Glenn suggested that Martin Luther King Jr. would’ve been on the side of anti-gay activists today and LaBarbera said that Oprah Winfrey “will have to answer to her Creator” for “promoting” homosexuality.

One of the unintended results of running this blog is that we sometimes get mistaken for the Religious Right groups that we monitor.  If you do a Google search for "Faith 2 Action" or "Generals International," for example, you see that a link to our posts about those groups tend to show up near the top of the search results.  As such, we frequently get emails mistakenly sent to us that are intended for them ... usually, angrily demanding that they stop mailing and/or calling them seeking donations.

And nine times out ten, these emails are intended for the Christian Seniors Association, which bills itself as a conservative alternative to the AARP but is really just a front group established by the Traditional Values Coalition to try and trick seniors out of the money. The CSA doesn't even have a website and if you didn't know it was a project of the TVC, you'd never be able to contact them, which is why we seem to get so many angry emails intended for them.

And, as if we needed more evidence that the CSA is a shady group willing to mislead donors in order to raise money, yesterday the Southern Policy Law Center's Hatewatch blog put up a post noting that their latest fundraising letter claims that the Hate Crimes Prevention Act has outlawed the Bible:

The anti-gay Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) once again is turning to a highly valued traditional device to raise funds: fear and falsehoods.

The Christian Seniors Association (CSA), a front group of the TVC, recently sent out a fundraising letter claiming that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009, which added sexual orientation to the classes protected by federal hate crime legislation, “makes the Bible illegal ‘Hate Literature.’” The letter further claims that “under this law, criticism of homosexuality is deemed discrimination — just like racism,” and ultimately, the intent of the law is to “outlaw Christianity.”

The SPLC kindly sent us a digital copy of the letter and that is indeed what the CSA is claiming:

With greater awareness among policymakers about the problem of pervasive anti-gay bullying in schools, the Religious Right has stepped-up their efforts to misleadingly label anti-bullying policies as “homosexual propaganda.” Focus on the Family warned of “activists who want to promote homosexuality in kids,” David Barton dismissed accounts of bullying and condemned alleged “homosexual indoctrination,” and the Minnesota Family Council blamed the LGBT community for bullying by endorsing an “unhealthy lifestyle.”

Now, the California Family Council (CFC) is escalating its own attacks against anti-bullying initiatives in schools. The CFC is affiliated with Focus on the Family and was highly involved in the campaign to pass Proposition 8. The CFC is now turning its attention to combating what it calls the new “cause célèbre of homosexual activists,” implementing anti-harassment policies. The CFC’s Rebecca Burgoyne spoke to the American Family Association’s news service OneNewsNow about their work fighting anti-bullying policies under the guise of protecting free speech:

A pro-family activist is taking to task a prominent homosexual-rights group for camouflaging its true agenda behind the banner of "bullying" in public schools.

Rebecca Burgoyne, research analyst with California Family Council, tells OneNewsNow that children across The Golden State are being indoctrinated with a pro-homosexual message. She maintains that the Obama administration and homosexual lobbyists are advancing an agenda that silences religious speech and the rights of parents.

"For many years, maybe a decade or so, gay activists in California have been making a big to-do about 'bullying' because of sexual orientation -- or even perceived sexual orientation," she explains. And the term "bullying," she argues, has become the elementary-level word for "hate speech."

January 24-28 marked "No Name-Calling Week" in public schools across the nation -- a week-long observance designed for fifth- through eighth-grade and sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). While the observance claimed to be a week of educational and creative activities "designed to address bullying and end name-calling of all kinds," Burgoyne explains that the agenda behind it contains a decidedly pro-homosexual slant.

"Nobody wants a child to be bullied," she acknowledges. "Nobody wants a child to [be] hurt. Most people say 'Oh, great! We're teaching our children not to bully each other' -- which is a good thing. But it's being used instead to push the homosexual message."

In an article published on her group's website, Burgoyne notes that a young adult book featured during the week is The Misfits. The book, authored by an open homosexual, normalizes same-sex attraction, one character being an "openly homosexual seventh-grader who sees nothing wrong with being attracted to the boy who sits next to him in class."

The CFC research analyst contends that through such events as "No Name-Calling Week," homosexual activists are seeking to make same-sex attractions acceptable to young children -- while at the same time silencing the voice of other viewpoints.

As Brian noted earlier, Live Action has finally gotten around to releasing its hoax video attack on Planned Parenthood, despite the fact that Planned Parenthood had already reported the "potential sex trafficking" to law enforcement officials.

And despite the fact that Live Action's Lila Rose got her start working with James O'Keefe and that this new video heavily resembles O'Keefe's own notorious ACORN smear job, Religious Right are already lining-up behind Rose and using the video as an excuse to attack Planned Parenthood:

Marjorie Dannenfelser - President, Susan B. Anthony List

"The exploitive roots and track record of Planned Parenthood is a largely untold story that now cannot be ignored. The horror of the logic behind Planned Parenthood's founding has come to roost in this modern form: it is the primary partner of those who degrade and exploit women. The exploitation of women by men through abortion was vehemently rejected by the early feminists. Yet today's footage and the unbroken trail of like evidence is a natural extension of founder eugenicist Margaret Sanger's worldview, who saw vulnerable citizens like African-Americans, the poor, and immigrants as 'human weeds' and 'reckless breeders.' She believed 'the most merciful thing a large family does to one of its infants is to kill it.' Certainly, this is not a heritage that embraces the intrinsic value of every human being. The unbroken chain of examples of such exploitation is appalling, and to further the injustice, this organization insists that it deserves the continued support of taxpayers. The moment for taxpayers to reject their compulsory involvement in Planned Parenthood has arrived. If it stays in business at all, it should do so on its own dime."

Abby Johnson - Former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director turned Pro-Life Advocate, Author of Unplanned

"As a former Planned Parenthood director, it is not surprising to me that this organization would protect individuals involved in sex trafficking. It actually seems like a natural fit. Planned Parenthood is involved in the violent killing of children and has no regard for life. People who traffic these young women for sex have no regard for their lives and are often involved in violent crimes. As someone who has witnessed this connection first hand as a clinic worker, I am so thankful Planned Parenthood's connection to this industry is being exposed."

Marie Tasy - Executive Director, New Jersey Right to Life

"New Jersey taxpayers and every state and federal elected official and law enforcement agency throughout this country should be outraged that an organization claiming to conduct 'extensive community outreach' has been caught on tape doing everything in its power to conceal the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls as young as 14. When Planned Parenthood says they provide 'family planning' services and brags that 'we welcome everyone -- regardless of race, age, income, sexual orientation, or disability,' what they really mean is that they're willing to make money on anyone, even child sex slaves."

Tony Perkins - President, Family Research Council

"Planned Parenthood has again proven that they are nothing more than a money-grabbing and highly corrupt abortion organization that will conceal a crime as disgusting as child prostitution -- and ensure that it quietly continues. Americans work too hard for their dollars to fund an organization this devoid of concern for young women and basic decency, much less to the tune of $350 million a year."

Dr. Charmaine Yoest - President & CEO, Americans United for Life

"This video will help Americans see the appalling truth behind Planned Parenthood's glossy public relations machine. The world's largest abortion provider poses as the defender of women's health in the glare of the spotlight. But when real women enter their doors, only money matters. We must make defunding Planned Parenthood a national priority: not one tax dollar should be given to fuel the abortion industry. Americans United for Life is proud to stand with Lila Rose and Live Action in their courageous work exposing the threat to women posed by the abortion industry and Planned Parenthood."

Wendy Wright - CEO, Concerned Women for America

"Sex traffickers will take their victims to abortionists to end pregnancies or test for sexually transmitted diseases in order to keep their victims usable for sale. Planned Parenthood has apparently realized this, and that they could make not only one sale, but repeat sales. Medical professionals are on the front lines to detect a sex trafficking victim and are duty-bound to rescue the victims. Imagine the crushing despair of a trafficking victim, taken outside the shadows to a 'respectable' government-funded health care provider, only to learn that they are partnering with the trafficker to assist his illegal abuse. This latest tape confirms that Planned Parenthood continues to partner with abusing men against the women and girls they claim to serve. Congress and state governments need to quit funding Planned Parenthood and their corrupt practices that abuse women."

David Bereit - National Campaign Director, 40 Days for Life

"As the father of a young girl, I cannot imagine any parent trusting Planned Parenthood with their daughter after watching this shocking and disturbing video. The revelation that a Planned Parenthood office is willing to aid and abet illegal trafficking of sex slaves -- to help line the pockets of pimps with cash -- raises the question: Who else is being exploited at Planned Parenthood's other 820 locations? This demands an immediate federal investigation for the sake of all our daughters, and -- at the very least -- Congress should freeze all taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood until the investigation is complete."

Kristan Hawkins - Executive Director, Students for Life of America

"This explosive video confirms what many of us in the pro-life movement have long suspected; that Planned Parenthood engages in practices that exploit women and underage girls in human sex trafficking and statutory rape. Now, thanks to this sting operation, we have the proof. Pro-Life students must share this video with their classmates, friends and teachers. Planned Parenthood can’t be trusted on -- or off -- campus."

Dr. Alveda King and Fr. Frank Pavone - Priests for Life

"Now we know that Planned Parenthood is not only targeting the abortion of black babies, but they are eager and willing to cover up the prostitution enslavement of young girls -- including minorities -- so long as they make money doing it. We must defund Planned Parenthood and their bogus claims of protecting women."

The Department of House and Urban Development is proposing a new rule that would prevent landlords from discriminating against applicants based on sexual orientation or gender identification.

That, of course, has outraged Bryan Fischer how claims it will turn housing projects into "hunting grounds with easy prey for homosexual pedophiles":

[M]any young boys living in HUD housing are already in troubled domestic situations, many with no father presence in the home. The last thing they need is suddenly to be living next door to two males modeling a sexually abnormal lifestyle. Role models matter immensely to young boys, and they don’t need any more adults around them setting bad examples. They’ve already been exposed to enough of that.

And we know - despite the howls of protest to the contrary - that male homosexuals molest young boys at a hugely exaggerated rate. The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, did a study of its own priests who molested children, and found that 81% of the victims were boys.

The last thing in the world young males in troubled home settings need is to be put in a situation where there is a heightened chance they will be sexually molested by their next door neighbors. These HUD housing projects will become hunting grounds with easy prey for homosexual pedophiles. These young boys have enough obstacles to overcome as it is without becoming sexually confused and diseased on top of everything else.