Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, visited Janet Mefferd’s radio program yesterday to discuss his call for “civil disobedience on a massive scale” to protest marriage equality and “the gay thought police.” The two agreed that the anti-gay movement is ready for its own Rosa Parks to spark a national outcry with an act of civil disobedience…against marriage equality.
“One of the watershed moments, if not the watershed moment, of the civil rights movement was when Rosa Parks just said, ‘I’m not giving up my seat on the bus, I’m not doing it,’” Mefferd said. “And this sweet woman ended up becoming this massive hero and she didn’t have any other idea behind it other than she didn’t think it was right and she was correct in that. Seems to me we need a Rosa Parks moment and I know we’ve had some of those already where they’ve gone to court over it, but just say, ‘Do your worst, I’m not doing this, I’m not going to do this because this is against my conscience.’”
LaBarbera insisted that governors should flout court rulings striking down same-sex marriage bans and urged anti-gay activists to emulate anti-abortion “sidewalk counselors,” who protest abortion by approaching women entering clinics.
We’re not sure what exactly LaBarbera proposes doing. Maybe he envisions approaching same-sex couples as they walk to their weddings?
LaBarbera also complained that gay rights groups such as GLAAD and HRC are “censoring” him by quoting his extreme rhetoric verbatim and took issue with people who compare anti-gay activists to racists.
If anything, LaBarbera explained, gay people and racists have more in common: “I wouldn’t mind debating David Duke on racism. He’s a racist, I’m not. I think that would be a fun debate. Racism is a sin, just like homosexual practice is a sin.”
LaBarbera added that “the most discriminated against group are the ex-gays, the people who left homosexuality, who are routinely the victims of dehumanization and demonization.”
