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Maine’s No Special Rights PAC Launches “Gay Marriage House Of Horrors”

Carlos Maza — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:30:15 EDT

On Wednesday, Maine’s No Special Rights PAC launched its “Gay Marriage House of Horrors,” a website apparently aimed at scaring voters into opposing the state’s pro-marriage equality referendum in November.

Despite its ominous name, the website isn’t much of a “house.” It’s actually just a single webpage with an anti-gay image, a link to the No Special Rights PAC blog, and a link for making donations:

It goes without saying that the website doesn’t actually comment on the issue of same-sex marriage. Instead, it’s a portrayal of an offensive and almost comically outdated stereotype of gay men as feminine, flamboyant, and weak.

This kind of over-the-top anti-gay rhetoric is pretty typical for NO Special Rights PAC, which last month distributed a “truth pledge” to students asking them to oppose “sodomy based marriage.” The group has promised to “take off the gloves” in the months leading to November, aiming to focus its campaign on warning voters about the immorality of homosexuality.

Mike Heath, the group’s co-founder, has a history of extreme anti-gay rhetoric, including accusing the gay rights movement of being “rooted in sorcery.”

Earlier this month, Heath regretted behaving in a “womanish” way during the 2009 fight to repeal marriage equality in Maine, adding:

"I never should have put on the suit and blow-dried my hair," he writes. "I never should have tried to use my image, and the image of those around me, to win the battle. I always should have trusted God more than I did." [emphasis added]

Considering Heath’s bizarre understanding of what masculinity looks like, it’s not all that surprising that his organization found the infantile “house of horrors” image to be worthy of its own website.

(h/t Jeremy Hooper via Good As You)

Previously:

Third Anti-Gay Group Enters The Fight Against Maine’s Pro-Marriage Equality Referendum

Anti-Gay Groups Infighting Over Messaging In Maine Marriage Campaign

Meet Mike Heath, Co-Founder Of Maine’s Anti-LGBT “NO Special Rights PAC”

MRC Attacks MSNBC’s Chris Matthews For Asking Black Leader To “Evolve” On Same-Sex Marriage

Carlos Maza — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:18:48 EDT

Media Research Center (MRC) senior news analyst Scott Whitlock wasn’t thrilled with last night’s episode of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, which included a segment discussing President Obama’s recently announced support for marriage equality. The segment featured the notoriously anti-gay Bishop Harry Jackson, who criticized Obama’s position and compared same-sex marriage to polygamy.

At the end of the interview, Matthews joked with Jackson, saying “Bishop, I hope you evolve. Thank you very much. I’m just teasing.”

Within an hour, Whitlock published a column on MRC’s Newsbusters website attacking Matthews for asking a black leader to “evolve”:

Hardball anchor Chris Matthews, who routinely smears his political opponents as racist, on Monday lectured an African American minister who opposes gay marriage, "I hope you evolve." The host patronizingly added, "I'm just teasing." ... How would he (or MSNBC for that matter) react if a conservative said such a thing to a black leader?

[...]

Fellow black minister, Reverend Delman Coates also appeared on the show. After Coates indicated he supported gay marriage, Jackson retorted, "Why not let the Muslims have polygamy and bigamy?"

This prompted Matthews to insultingly suggest: "I hope you evolve...I'm just teasing."

Considering Matthews routinely plays the race card, will he apologize for telling a black man to "evolve?" [emphasis original]

Whitlock’s criticism has been promoted up by a number of conservative commentators, including Michelle Malkin and Dana Loesch. It’s also been touted by anti-gay extremists like American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg, and Liberty Counsel’s Matt Barber.

Whitlock seems to be oblivious to the fact that political commentators have been using ‘evolve’ rhetoric since late 2010 to describe Obama’s position on same-sex marriage. In fact, it was Obama himself who, in October 2010, told gay activist Joe Sudbay that his attitude toward same-sex marriage was ‘evolving.’ He reiterated his position several months later, telling reporters that his feelings about marriage equality were “constantly evolving.”

In the following months, “evolve already” became a mantra among gay activists who were frustrated by Obama’s unwillingness to fully endorse marriage equality. AMERICAblog even started an “evolve already” T-shirt collection.

‘Evolution’ rhetoric hasn’t been limited to the LGBT community, either. Earlier this year, Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated that she wanted Obama to “evolve” on same-sex marriage. In the wake of Obama’s announcement, mainstream news outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Associated Press have commented on the president’s ‘evolution.’ Even conservative outlets like Breitbart.com and Townhall.com have adopted similar language.

Considering that Matthews and Jackson were specifically discussing Obama’s recent support for same-sex marriage, it’s not surprising that Matthews would tease his anti-gay guest to “evolve” as well. Whitlock’s criticism isn’t evidence of some kind of subtle racism as much it is evidence of MRC’s ongoing habit of finding any excuse to attack pro-equality figures in the media.

Previously:

MSNBC's O'Donnell: Grills Tony Perkins For Rewriting The History Of Marriage

MSNBC's Matthews: Tony Perkins Is "Pretty Demonstrably Wrong" About Why Kids Are Gay

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

Third Anti-Gay Group Enters The Fight Against Maine’s Pro-Marriage Equality Referendum

Carlos Maza — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:36:33 EDT

Earlier this month, the Portland Press Herald announced the creation of a third anti-gay group fighting this November’s voter initiative to legalize same-sex marriage in Maine – the Maine Marriage Allies PAC, which will be a project of the ironically named Maine Equal Rights Center (MERC). On its Facebook page, MERC is described as a “grass roots campaign to educate voters on same sex marriage.”

MERC’s website, however, is a deluge of misinformation, confused political analyses, and some truly cringe-worthy writing.

The website is organized into a number of tabs meant to provide visitors with information about the proposed marriage initiative. Each tab varies wildly in content and tone; some inexplicably focus on criticizing the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) while another includes an image of President Obama riding a unicorn.

Most tabs, however, contain the same kind of unsubstantiated talking points one might expect from an anti-gay group. The “Rights” tab leads readers to a laundry list of unsubstantiated, unexplained falsehoods about marriage equality:

Every state that passed gay marriage gave up their first amendment rights so public schools can teach 5 year olds about gay sex.

Every state that passed gay marriage created another loop hole to allow non citizens access to taxpayer dollars for welfare.

Every state that legalized ‘gay’ marriage failed to create equality like they told voters it would and has only led to a dramatic increase in the numbers of law suits that can be filed.

Legalizing gay marriage has not accomplished one single thing they said it will but is doing many things they won’t tell you it will.

[...]

Gay rights are not civil rights and marriage is not a Constitutional right. Many of the people don’t truly understand what this is about, they just want an excuse to protest.

[...]

Gay marriage is being sold to the American people state by state as a way to bring about ‘human rights’ which it does not do. All it does do is replace our Bill of Rights and Constitutional rights one amendment at a time as part of a global agenda and that is not progress.

Under the “Education” tab, one can read about the long-debunked horror story that legalizing same-sex marriage will result in “teaching five year olds about gay sex.” The page also includes this nugget of political science wisdom:

There are two kinds of government competing for this control. A Constitutional, which protects people from a centralized and absolute form of government and Communist, which is a centralized, absolute power that does not protect people from the government.

Last November, MERC’s founder Erick Bennett unsuccessfully ran as a write-in candidate to become mayor of Portland, Maine. His YouTube account features a number of mystifying amateur campaign ads, as well as an over eight-minute-long video on “same sex equality” in which Bennett criticizes Maine’s non-discrimination statute, among other things.

Bennett’s Facebook page is also littered with anti-LGBT commentary, including a number of posts in which he appears to mock transgender people:

Despite his anti-gay rhetoric, Bennett seems to have distanced himself from Maine’s inflammatory NO Special Rights PAC, another group working to defeat the pro-equality referendum in November. In a May 4 Facebook post, Bennett criticized NO Special Rights PAC’s co-founder Mike Heath for his homophobic “messaging,” instead aligning himself with the more mainstream Protect Marriage Maine coalition:

Previously:

Anti-Gay Groups Infighting Over Messaging In Maine Marriage Campaign

Meet Mike Heath, Co-Founder Of Maine’s Anti-LGBT “NO Special Rights PAC”

Anti-Equality Chairman Admits To Lying To Voters, When Will NOM Do The Same?

Pat Buchanan On Fox: Gay Relationships Are "Unnatural And Immoral"

Equality Matters staff — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:29:13 EDT

From the May 14 edition of Fox News' America Live:

Previously:

MSNBC's O'Donnell: Grills Tony Perkins For Rewriting The History Of Marriage

Anti-Gay Activists Attack Shepard Smith For Being “Pro-Gay Marriage”

Fox's Bolling: Obama Says "Adam And Eve Or Adam And Steve"

MSNBC's O'Donnell: Grills Tony Perkins For Rewriting The History Of Marriage

Equality Matters staff — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:54:02 EDT

From the May 10 edition of MSNBC's Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell:

Previously:

MSNBC's Matthews: Tony Perkins Is "Pretty Demonstrably Wrong" About Why Kids Are Gay

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

MSNBC’s O’Donnell Hosts Tony Perkins After Calling His Organization A “Complete Joke”

MSNBC's Matthews: Tony Perkins Is "Pretty Demonstrably Wrong" About Why Kids Are Gay

Equality Matters staff — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:03:05 EDT

From the May 11 edition of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports:

Previously:

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

Matthews To Perkins: “Are You Saying That If You Were [Rep. Barney Frank’s] Father, He Wouldn’t Be Gay?”

CNN Demonstrates The Importance Of "Providing Context" When Hosting Tony Perkins

After Years Of Race-Baiting, NOM Attacks Obama For Focusing On “Identity Politics”

Carlos Maza — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:41:04 EDT

As part of a National Review Online symposium on President Obama’s announced support for marriage equality, the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) Jennifer Morse wrote a column criticizing the president for allegedly ignoring African-American voters. She speculated:

African-American voters still don’t like the removing of the gender requirement from marriage, or having the government declare that men and women are completely interchangeable as parents. What is Obama thinking about African-American voters? He may be blowing them off completely and taking their votes for granted. Or, he may be planning to use the money from the Gay Lobby to purchase advertising having nothing to do with gay issues, but designed to scare black voters away from voting Republican. Or, some combination of these.

With the Democratic party, it is All Identity Politics All the Time. They have no other issues. Let’s face it, they are dead in the water on economics. Their foreign policy is not credible. Identity politics is all they have left. Expect a very ugly, divisive campaign. [emphasis added]

It’s hard to take Morse seriously when she accuses about Democrats creating a “divisive” campaign by focusing on identity politics. After all, this is the same person who, last November, suggested [[that]] gay couples were adopting African-American children who had been “taken from their parents.” A month earlier, she claimed that the president is “more gay than he is black” and that Obama was choosing to pander to the gay community because he thinks “blacks don’t have that much money.”

Morse also fails to acknowledge her own organization’s extensive history of race-baiting to gin up opposition to LGBT equality. In March, internal memos revealed that NOM explicitly aimed to exploit identity politics to turn African-Americans and Hispanics against the LGBT community. NOM’s 2009 Board Update, for example, discussed plans to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks”:

The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage; develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots. No politician wants to take up and push an issue that splits the base of the party. Fanning the hostility raised in the wake of Prop 8 is key to raising the costs of pushing gay marriage to its advocates and persuading the movement’s allies that advocates are unacceptably overreaching on this issue. [emphasis added]

Another NOM 2009 strategy document described plans to make opposition to marriage equality a “key badge of Latino identity”:

Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We can interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity.

[...]

Our ultimate goal is to make opposition to gay marriage an identity marker, a badge of youth rebellion to conformist assimilation to the bad side of “Anglo” culture. [emphasis added]

Since the release of NOM’s internal memos, the organization has only doubled down on its commitment to promote racial tension in the fight against same-sex marriage, going so far as to blame “rich white guys” for “push[ing] gay marriage on us.”

Morse is correct for condemning those who exploit identity politics to advance “ugly, divisive” political agendas. If only she and her would practice what they preach.

Previously:

NOM’s Morse: Will & Grace ‘Manipulated’ Viewers Into Having A Favorable View Of Homosexuality

NOM's Brown: Obama's Marriage Position Is A "Political Calculation"

NOM's Morse: No Room To Compromise On Recognizing Same-Sex Relationships

CNN Demonstrates The Importance Of "Providing Context" When Hosting Tony Perkins

Brian Powell — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:27:10 EDT

In the wake of President Obama's declaration of support for marriage equality and the passage of North Carolina's anti-gay marriage amendment, CNN broadcast a variety of segments focusingon the historic implications of this week's events. Three of CNN's most recognizable faces hosted Tony Perkins, president of the anti-gay hate group Family Research Council (FRC), to discuss the issue of same-sex marriage.

Although Piers Morgan, Wolf Blitzer, and Soledad O'Brien failed to identify Perkins as a hate group leader, they did challenge him on several of his anti-gay talking points. O'Brien and Morgan were particularly assertive in challenging his failed logic.

Watch Perkins being interviewed by CNN's Morgan on Tuesday:

Watch Perkins being interviewed by CNN's Blitzer on Wednesday:

Watch Perkins being interviewed by CNN's O'Brien on Thursday:

Hernon Graddick, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), published a column Thursday criticizing CNN's decision to welcome the hate group leader, arguing that the media needs to do a better job of providing context for Perkins' appearances:

[W]ith a wealth of political thinkers, analysts and strategists to go to -- why has CNN turned to Tony Perkins three times in the last few days to represent the "other side?" He was on with Piers Morgan Tuesday night to talk about the vote in North Carolina. He appeared with Wolf Blitzer Wednesday evening to talk about the President's support for marriage equality, and then was interviewed by Soledad O'Brien Thursday morning on the same topic.

All of this is fine, as long as Perkins is put into the proper context. Which he sort-of was by Morgan and O'Brien, but Blitzer didn't even come close.

Here's the crux of the problem -- and the exact reason why GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project was born. Tony Perkins and others of his ilk cannot be used to exemplify those who simply oppose marriage equality. CNN is more than welcome to interview him on the issue of marriage equality, of course. His is unquestionably one of the loudest voices in the nation speaking about the issue.

But when Perkins gets interviewed, a responsible journalist needs to tell the audience exactly who Perkins is speaking for. Based on his own statements -- Tony Perkins represents people who believe supporting LGBT equality is akin to being a terrorist. Who believe marriage equality is the same as bestiality. Who say that gay people are "vile," "hateful," "spiteful" "pawns of the enemy." Tony Perkins does not represent people who oppose marriage equality. Tony Perkins represents those who oppose LGBT people -- period.

If CNN wants that side represented in this discussion, then Perkins is absolutely the right man for the job. But they need to make it clear to the audience that that's what he's there for. And by not doing so, they have not told the whole story.

On Thursday, MSNBC's Chris Matthews demonstrated a good example of how cable news hosts should handle Perkins when he appears on their shows.

Previously:

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

Matthews To Perkins: “Are You Saying That If You Were [Rep. Barney Frank’s] Father, He Wouldn’t Be Gay?”

Perkins: My Children Wouldn't Be Gay Because "We Are Teaching Them The Right Ways That They Are To Interract As Human Beings"

Matthews To Perkins: “Are You Saying That If You Were [Rep. Barney Frank’s] Father, He Wouldn’t Be Gay?”

Equality Matters staff — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:40:38 EDT

From the May 10 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

Previously:

Perkins: My Children Wouldn't Be Gay Because "We Are Teaching Them The Right Ways That They Are To Interract As Human Beings"

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

FRC's Perkins: Obama Has "Anointed Dan Savage As An Apostle Of Division And Intolerance"

Perkins: My Children Wouldn't Be Gay Because "We Are Teaching Them The Right Ways That They Are To Interract As Human Beings"

Equality Matters staff — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:39:41 EDT

From the May 8 edition of CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight:

Previously:

FRC's Perkins: I Would Be Ushered Out By "Armed Guards" If I Promoted "Ex-Gay" Therapy In Schools

FRC's Perkins: Obama Has "Anointed Dan Savage As An Apostle Of Division And Intolerance"

FRC’s Perkins: Gay Soldiers Are Promiscuous, Engage In Immoral And Destructive Behavior

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Demonstrates How To Handle Tony Perkins On Television

Carlos Maza — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:10:28 EDT

During the May 10 edition of MSNBC’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews invited Tony Perkins – president of the anti-gay hate group Family Research Council (FRC) – and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to discuss the issues of same-sex marriage and adoption.

Perkins’ presence on MSNBC isn’t surprising – the hate group leader has become a regular guest on the network over the past several months, and has typically been treated as a credible, uncontroversial political figure, especially on Hardball.

On Thursday, however, things were different.

For nearly 15 minutes, Matthews, with the help of Frank, grilled Perkins on his views on homosexuality, marriage equality, and same-sex parenting. Matthews challenged Perkins’ anti-gay misinformation, held him accountable for past statements, and demonstrated how out-of-the-mainstream his extreme positions really are:

This is exactly the kind of interview that major news outlets should be conducting when dealing with someone like Perkins.

Instead of sitting idly by while Perkins peddled his anti-gay talking points, Matthews forced him to defend his positions under serious scrutiny. It’s how responsible news anchors should strive to treat guests who have histories of promoting misinformation, and it’s what audiences should expect to see when watching a serious political discussion.

Previously:

FRC’s Perkins Thanks MSNBC For Hosting His Anti-Gay Hate Group

MSNBC's Matthews Hosts Hate Monger To Discuss How He Wouldn't Host A Hate Monger

Chris Matthews Still Referring To Hate Group Leader As "Pal"

Fox’s Todd Starnes: Public Schools Are “Indoctrination Centers” For Marriage Equality

Carlos Maza — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:25:13 EDT

Fox News Radio reporter Todd Starnes has made a name for himself acting as a mouthpiece for anti-gay hate groups, so it’s no surprise that he’s acting as a reliable source of anti-gay commentary in the wake of President Obama’s decision to declare his support for marriage equality.

During the May 10 edition of FoxNews.com Live, Starnes criticized the “mainstream media” for mentioning the public’s growing support for marriage equality. When asked about the trend of rising support for same-sex marriage, Starnes responded by blaming public schools for acting as “indoctrination centers” for young voters:

Starnes followed up his comments on Twitter, writing:

On Wednesday, Starnes’ Twitter account was littered with other comments mocking the Obama administration’s support for marriage equality:

Last December, Starnes promised to echo the talking points of a number of anti-gay hate groups, telling “culture war” stories that would “resonate with patriotic, God-fearing, God-loving Americans.” The ‘gay indoctrination’ myth is prominent in anti-gay circles, and a number of anti-gay organizations have used it as a pretense for combating measures that create safe environments for LGBT students in school. As People for the American Way noted in a recent report:

The crux of right-wing opposition to comprehensive bullying prevention programs is that by addressing bullying directed towards gay and gay-perceived students, schools may engage in “homosexual indoctrination.”

Calling public schools pro-gay “indoctrination centers” is pretty typical for an anti-gay ideologue. It isn’t for someone who claims to be a serious journalist.

Previously:

Fox’s Starnes Misinforms About Kansas Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Fox News Promotes Another Anti-Gay Attack On NIH Over “Homoerotic” Website

Meet Todd Starnes, Fox’s Mouthpiece For Anti-Gay Hate Groups

Equality Matters Weekly Podcast: May 7-11

Equality Matters staff — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:40:33 EDT

This week, Equality Matters looks back at the unsuccessful effort to defeat Amendment One, North Carolina's constitutional amendment banning all domestic legal unions outside of heterosexual marriage:

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/equality-matters/id429665764

RSS: http://equalitymatters.org/rss/m3.rss

To listen to last week’s podcast, click here.

Anti-Gay Activists Attack Shepard Smith For Being “Pro-Gay Marriage”

Carlos Maza — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:33:04 EDT

In the wake of President Obama’s decision to announce his support for marriage equality, anti-gay activists have begun criticizing a surprising target: Fox News.

A number of anti-gay leaders criticized Fox’s Shepard Smith for his statement that Obama was “now in the 21st century” on same-sex marriage. Peter LaBarbera, head of the anti-gay hate group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, scolded Smith for “dissing Fox’s brand”:

Bryan Fischer, spokesman for the American Family Association, agreed, adding:

Perhaps the most scathing criticism of Fox so far has come from Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). In a May 10 National Review Online column titled “Fox News: Pro-Gay Marriage?" she wrote:

Fox News stopped covering marriage victories years ago. I personally noticed it during the November 2009 elections when CNN and MSNBC gave plenty of airtime to the Maine referendum where voters successfully repealed gay marriage — but on Fox? Nothing. Did not exist.

(No, I don’t know why Fox News is so reluctant to provide fair and balanced coverage of a major development on marriage, unless it’s on the pro–gay-marriage side.)

But yesterday, Fox’s big news host Shepard Smith made it clear he’s pro–gay marriage, actually endorsing President Obama’s gay-marriage flip while reporting on it.

[...]

Roger Ailes famously said that with Fox News he had discovered an underserved market niche — half the American people. Or 61 percent of North Carolinians apparently.

To some extent, Gallagher has a point. Over the past several months, Fox has downplayed or entirely ignored significant advancements for LGBT equality, especially when it comes to marriage equality. As far as Fox’s anti-gay “brand” is concerned, though, these activists probably don’t have a lot to worry about.

Previously:

Fox News Underreports Advancements For LGBT Equality

Fox News Underreports Beginning Of New York Gay Weddings

Anti-LGBT Hate Mongers: Help Us, Fox News!

Fox's Bolling: Obama Says "Adam And Eve Or Adam And Steve"

Equality Matters staff — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:59:39 EDT

From the May 9 edition of Fox News' The Five:

Previously:

Fox’s Shepard Smith: Marriage Is Still A State’s Issue, “Which May Sound Familiar To A Couple Of Generation’s Ago”

Fox News Lauds “Bully” Documentary After Condemning Anti-Bullying Efforts

Fox News' The Five Tries To Explain Why DADT Wasn't Homophobic