Fox News hasn’t been thrilled with the media’s coverage of GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s anti-gay positions and rhetoric.

Earlier this year, Fox criticized mainstream media outlets for allegedly focusing on Santorum’s opposition to same-sex marriage while ignoring President Obama’s own refusal to support marriage equality. Now that Santorum appears to be among the current GOP frontrunners, Fox has resumed blaming news outlets for bringing up his anti-gay history.

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade led a discussion Wednesday about the media’s alleged “double standard when it comes to social issues”:

The claim that Obama hasn’t received “backlash” for his opposition to marriage equality is false. Ever since the president announced in October 2010 that his position on same-sex marriage was “evolv [ing],” he’s been grilled by mainstream and progressive media outlets alike for his unwillingness to fully embrace marriage equality. MSNBC and CNN hosted a variety of gay activists who urged Obama to “get on with it” and criticized him for “push[ing] the snooze button” on gay marriage. White House press secretary Jay Carney is consistently asked about Obama’s failure to endorse marriage equality, recently being forced to explain how the president’s position differs from Santorum’s.

Moreover, the claim that -- as one Fox guest put it -- Santorum “believes exactly the same thing” Obama believes in terms of same-sex issues is also false. While both agree that the institute of marriage should be reserved for heterosexual couples, similarities end there:

• Obama opposes the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); Santorum doesn’t
• Obama supports full civil unions for gay couples; Santorum doesn’t
• Obama opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; Santorum doesn’t
• Obama supports allowing states to legalize same-sex marriage; Santorum doesn’t
• Obama supports allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt; Santorum doesn’t

Obama and Santorum are even more deeply divided when it comes to other issues like open service in the military, employment non-discrimination, and hate crime laws.

In other words, counter to Fox’s claim, Santorum’s anti-gay politics go well above and beyond Obama’s stated personal opposition to same-sex marriage. Now that he seems to be leading the GOP pack, Santorum should expect to come under more media scrutiny for his history of opposing LGBT equality. 

Previously:

News Corp. Vice President: Obama "Is Not Telling The Truth" About His Position On Same-Sex Marriage

Fox News Underreports Advancements For LGBT Equality

Fox Dreams Up Media’s Obama “Double Standard” When Discussing Same-Sex Marriage

This week, Equality Matters discusses the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) involvement in Washington’s marriage equality battle and Fox News’ chronic failure to report on victories for LGBT equality:

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 groups in Washington have pledged to fight to repeal Washington state’s recently enacted marriage equality law, but they’re being challenged over the language of their proposed initiatives.

There are currently two separate campaigns to repeal the state’s marriage equality law. One, led by attorney general candidate Stephen Pidgeon, is Initiative 1192. The initiative asks voters to say “yes” to a new measure defining marriage as being between one man and one woman and has until July 6 to obtain 241,154 signatures from supporters.

A second effort, led by the Family Policy Institute of Washington’s (FPIW) Joseph Blackholm, is Referendum 74, which asks voters to reject the recently-passed marriage equality law. That effort only has until June 6 to collect 120,577 signatures.

Both campaigns have come under criticism for their proposed language.

Pidgeon, for example, wants Initiative 1192 to “define marriage as between one man and one woman,” language that the American Civil Liberties Union has criticized as inaccurate:

The ACLU and Legal Voice argued Wednesday in Thurston County Superior Court that with the recent passage of same-sex marriage legislation, the initiative language is now inaccurate. It fails, the organizations say, to acknowledge that marriage in Washington is no longer restricted to opposite-sex couples.

Referendum 74 faces similar opposition – the referendum’s current language states that the marriage equality law would “redefine marriage,” a typical anti-gay talking point. Zach Silk, spokesman for Washington United for Marriage, criticized the wording, arguing:

‘Redefine marriage’ does not appear anywhere in the bill, but it is a phrase that is prominently featured in highly charged political communication from our opponents. In fact, there is ample evidence that this phrase is literally out of their playbook.

Neither effort, of course, accurately identifies the issue being presented to voters – whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to legally marry. Instead, both measures use language specifically recommended by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which warns that talking about “banning same-sex marriage” “causes us to lose about ten percentage points in polls.”

NOM may have a point, too. In a recent survey, when asked plainly if they would vote to repeal or keep a law allowing gays and lesbians to marry, a strong majority of Washington respondents answered in favor of keeping the marriage equality law.

NOM has already pledged to get involved with anti-equality efforts in Washington, including spreading misinformation about “gay indoctrination” in public schools. It’s no surprise, then, that the group’s approved language has made its way into the state’s anti-equality efforts.

Previously:

NOM Pledges To Peddle “Gay Indoctrination” Talking Point In Washington State

WA's Ken Hutcherson: "Unrepentant" Homosexuality Will Kill You, Is Unnatural

WA Family Policy Institute Promotes Claim That Gay Parents Molest Their Children, Turn Kids Gay

Now that Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has signed her state’s marriage equality bill into law, anti-gay groups like the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW) and National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are scrambling to collect enough signatures to put the issue of same-sex marriage to a public vote before the laws goes into effect in June.  If they succeed in launching a referendum, they’ll have an opportunity to flood Washington voters’ mailboxes, phone lines, and airwaves with anti-equality talking points.

On Tuesday, NOM’s regional director Christopher Plante went on KUOW’s The Conversation radio show to describe what NOM’s misinformation campaign might look like, already touting the “gay indoctrination” myth:

ROSS REYNOLDS (host): In California and Maine, a couple states you worked in, one of the common messages was that to pass these measures – was that the teachers were going to be teaching students about same-sex relationships in school.

[...]

REYNOLDS: Do you expect that we’ll be hearing similar ads here in Washington State?

PLANTE: I would expect that we would. The cause, or – I shouldn’t say the cause – the consequences of redefining marriage, particularly for our children, not just this generation but the generations to come, is something that Washington voters need to truly understand. We saw it in Massachusetts as soon same-sex marriage was legalized there. Students as young as kindergarten were taking books home on same sex relationships. Second graders were required to read books such as the King and King, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that parents had no right to opt their children out of such things. That is a profound impact not only on the children, the education system, but on the rights of parents.

Plante is already quite familiar with the “gay indoctrination” talking point. Before he was NOM’s regional director, he was executive director of NOM’s Rhode Island chapter, where he made similar claims about the “consequences” of marriage equality. 

Last February, PolitiFact Rhode Island took the time to fact check Plante’s horror story about gay curriculum in public schools. Unsurprisingly, it rated Plante’s claim “false”:

We chose to examine one of the claims: "Massachusetts’ public schools teach kids as young as kindergartners about gay marriage. Parents have no legal right to object!"

We contacted Christopher C. Plante, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of NOM, who told us that many schools in Massachusetts -- where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2004 -- have books on the subject in their libraries.The "poster child," he said, is a picture book called  "King & King,"  by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland.

[...]

Asked for examples of where the book is taught to kindergartners, Plante offered just one location, Lexington, Mass., where it became an issue in 2006.  

[...]

Asked for any other examples of gay marriage being taught to kindergartners, Plante referred us to Kris Mineau, executive director of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which describes itself as "dedicated to strengthening the family and affirming the Judeo-Christian values upon which it is based."

Mineau said he has been fighting same-sex marriage advocates for eight years and he is certain their message is being spread in schools throughout Massachusetts.

But he acknowledged he could not cite any examples other than Lexington. "I don’t have documentation of everything going on," Mineau said. "It’s very difficult to quantify."

[...]

Bottom line: The National Organization for Marriage mailing says that Massachusetts public schools teach kindergartners about gay marriage. The wording, including the present tense verb, gives the impression this is happening now, in many schools.

But the group’s only evidence is two incidents five years ago. It’s possible that somewhere, in one of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, other kindergartners have been taught about same-sex marriage. But NOM couldn’t cite any other examples. We find its statement False. [emphasis added]

NOM has never been an organization that’s deterred by truth or reality. Even opponents of marriage equality have admitted that the gay curriculum talking point isn’t “completely  accurate,” but NOM continues in peddle it in state after state, including in Maryland, New York, and New Hampshire.

It makes sense that NOM is unwilling to give up on its misleading talking point. A 2010 Third Way report found that fear mongering about “gay indoctrination” in schools is a sure fire way to push moderates away from supporting marriage equality, even if it becomes obvious that these fears are unfounded:

We think that the issue is actually broader than schools – it’s about kids more generally. When opponents run the school curriculum ads, we suspect that they are trying to evoke a more fundamental and broader concern about what marriage means for kids. They are trying to make  people feel uncomfortable about the consequences for kids of allowing gay couples to marry and stoke fears that kids will not value marriage in the same  way if gay and lesbian couples are allowed to participate in the tradition.

This means that responding directly to the schools argument isn’t necessarily enough. While it might deal with the literal concern raised by the ad, it does not address the underlying, deeper concern that people have about how their kids will be affected if society holds gay couples up as part of the ideal of marriage. [emphasis added]

NOM’s Plante – who’s no stranger to making false and inflammatory statements about same-sex marriage – knows that he has a lot of work to do if he wants to convince pro-equality Washington voters  to change their minds about the “consequences” of allowing gays and lesbians to legally wed.

If scaring voters by ginning up fabricated horror stories is what it takes to influence the “will of the people,” so be it.

Previously:

WA's Ken Hutcherson: "Unrepentant" Homosexuality Will Kill You, Is Unnatural

WA Family Policy Institute Promotes Claim That Gay Parents Molest Their Children, Turn Kids Gay

Meet Ken Hutcherson, Spokesman For Anti-Equality Groups In Washington

Fox News has never had a problem with inviting Peter Sprigg – Senior Fellow at the anti-gay hate group Family Research Council (FRC) – on national television to be treated as a legitimate social political commentator. Usually, he’s asked to discuss a topic related to LGBT people, like mocking the Girl Scouts for being trans-inclusive and criticizing California’s FAIR Education Act.

On Wednesday, however, Fox News had Sprigg on to discuss a different topic – school lunches.

Fox anchor Martha MacCallum hosted a segment discussing a North Carolina preschooler who allegedly had her lunch replaced with chicken nuggets because it failed to meet USDA guidelines.  Sprigg called the incident evidence of “raging totalitarianism”:

Setting aside the segment’s inaccuracies – the student’s lunch wasn’t taken away, the school supplemented her lunch with additional food, etc. – Sprigg’s appearance highlights Fox’s close relationship with FRC.

There’s no reason for Spriggs to be providing commentary on USDA school lunch guidelines. Nothing about his background, which includes “ten years as a professional actor and unit leader in Covenant Players, an international Christian drama ministry,” makes him qualified to provide insight on nutritional health policies in public schools, but Fox chose him to be a guest anyways.

Sprigg’s appearance demonstrates Fox’s tendency to mainstream hate groups on national television. A recent Equality Matters study found that, in the year following FRC’s designation by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, Fox News hosted spokespersons from the organization more than any other major news network.

If being a known hate monger and have zero expertise on relevant issues isn’t enough to stop Fox from inviting someone on national television, what is?

Previously:

FRC Promotes “Ex-Gay” Event To Show “Love” For LGBT Children

Hate Group Witnesses Tone Down Anti-Gay Rhetoric During Maryland Marriage Hearing

CNN’s Don Lemon Grills FRC President Over Anti-Gay Extremism

In the February 15 edition of its “Washington Update,” the Family Research Council (FRC) demonstrated its idea of how to “love” gay people: try to cure them of their homosexuality!

In its update, FRC promoted a “Family First Retreat” hosted by the “ex-gay” group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), telling supporters that the retreat would teach them “how to express your continuing love and care” of gay friends and family members “without affirming conduct that you sincerely believe is harmful”:

How Do I Love My "Gay" Friends?

Do you have a family member, friend, or other loved one who identifies as "gay" or "transgendered?" Do you struggle to know how to express your continuing love and care without affirming conduct that you sincerely believe is harmful? Is your loved one unhappy with his or her lifestyle, but uncertain of whether change is possible or where to turn for help? If so, you may want to attend the "Family First Retreat" being held by PFOX--Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays. The keynote speaker will be Joe Dallas, who is nationally known for ministry to those seeking freedom from sexual addiction and homosexuality. FRC's Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, Peter Sprigg, will also address the gathering. [emphasis added]

PFOX is notorious for promoting the widely discredited practice of “ex-gay” therapy and has attempted to alter a person’s sexual orientation through a variety of different techniques, including smacking a pillow with a tennis racket.

According to PFOX’s website, the two-day retreat is specifically aimed at targeting parents and friends of LGBT children, providing them with “educational resources” and “testimonies from former homosexuals and transgenders.”

According to the FRC “Washington Update,” FRC Senior Fellow Peter Sprigg, who is also a board member at PFOX, is scheduled to speak at the retreat. Earlier this week, Sprigg claimed that “ex-gay is a sexual orientation, just as much as being gay is.” Last month, he announced that “zero people are ‘born gay.’ ” FRC’s report “The Top Ten Myths About Homosexuality,” which Sprigg authored, is also riddled with support for “ex-gay” therapy, concluding that “change from a predominantly homosexual to a predominantly heterosexual orientation is possible.”

Despite their “ex-gay” ties, both Sprigg and PFOX President Greg Quinlan have played a role in influencing state debates over marriage equality legislation, though Sprigg at least keeps his “ex-gay” extremism to himself while testifying.

Previously:

CNN’s Don Lemon Grills FRC President Over Anti-Gay Extremism

Hate Group Witnesses Tone Down Anti-Gay Rhetoric During Maryland Marriage Hearing

Fox News Relies On FRC's Peter Sprigg For Commentary On Family Structure

This week, Equality Matters is joined by Brian Tashman from People for the American Way to discuss the anti-gay rhetoric on display at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as well as a run-in with Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM):

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.

Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, had a less-than-pleasant experience when she appeared on the February 11 edition of MSNBC’s Up with Chris Hayes to discuss her opposition to same-sex marriage.

After being grilled over her claim that marriage equality would somehow threaten heterosexual marriages, Gallagher was asked by Richard Kim, executive editor of TheNation.com, about her history of anti-gay rhetoric. Gallagher attempted to deny her own history of what Kim called “anti-gay animus”:

Kim, of course, was entirely accurate in his depiction of Gallagher and NOM’s anti-gay animus. He returned later in the show to quote a TownHall.com article Gallagher wrote in 2001 in which she called homosexuality a “sexual dysfunction” and called for federal research dollars to support “ex-gay” therapy. NOM president Brian Brown also recently celebrated a study on the effectiveness of “ex-gay” therapy, calling it “good news.”

Gallagher’s defense of NOM’s blog – that linking to an article isn’t an endorsement – is questionable at best. While NOM does occasionally link to gay news publications like The Advocate, it is important to examine what type of stories NOM highlights from that paper. Over the past few months, NOM has linked to or cited The Advocate in order to highlight stories about gay men advocating for non-monogamous relationship, the decriminalization of pedophilia, and equality in divorce laws.

Meanwhile, the blog – which Gallagher claims to keep a “close track of” – has linked to a number of extreme and inflammatory anti-gay columns.

Among the claims NOM has chosen to link to (but not endorse): homosexuality causes “physical and mental harms” and will “end your life prematurely,” homosexuality is “darkness parading around as light,” etc.

NOM has also linked to a column that claims marriage equality will create a “moral wasteland” as well as numerous columns that promote he bogus link between homosexuality and pedophilia, even recommending a book that asserts gay parents are likely to molest their own children.

The organization has also linked to the testimony of a “former lesbian” and the president of a prominent “ex-gay” group. NOM’s Ruth Institute has touted the work of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), one of the country’s most prolific producers of junk “ex-gay” science.

Even if Gallagher does not personally endorse every link posted on NOM’s website, she should answer an important question: if NOM doesn’t endorse the anti-gay propaganda it links to on a daily basis, why does it go through so much to spread and promote it?

Previously:

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: NOM's Maggie Gallagher Discusses "Ex-Gay" Therapy At CPAC

NOM's Morse: Obama Has Established A "Church Of Secular Hedonism"

NOM On Prop 8: “Judicial Overlords Declare Marriage Is Unconstitutional”

Over the weekend, Equality Matters staff spoke with Maggie Gallagher – co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) – at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). While discussing the gay community’s opposition to “ex-gay” therapy, Gallagher suggested that gays and lesbians claim to be “born that way” in order to cope with the pain of being gay:

GALLAGHER:  I think honestly, partly, it’s that personally, people still find it quite painful to come to terms with being gay and the way they do it is by saying, “I’m born that way,” “God made me that way,” so it becomes part of their identity structure for coping with what was probably initially not very happy feelings about it. And so your -- it is kind of threat -- the idea that that might not be true, which you think they might welcome, they might say “well even if I couldn’t be gay, could not be gay, I’m” -- you know, the analogy that’s been constructed between orientation and race, which is also -- it’s the foundation of the outrage they feel that you disagree with them on gay marriage. It’s -- I mean -- to me It’s very hard to explain, but on the other hand I’ve never struggled with being gay, so I try to say, you know, I mean obviously it must be -- have been a difficult experience. So I think that’s it. I mean I know politically that the activists are just outraged by it because it’s core to the belief that we need to remake society so that disagreement with or disapproval of gay sexual relationships is the equivalent of racism, and they’ve gone pretty far. It’s really quite amazing to watch them construct something which is so weird.

[...]

GALLAGHER: There are a lot of women who will tell you that they made a choice to be lesbian. In fact, some famous celebrity just did this.

EQUALITY MATTERS: Cynthia Nixon

GALLAGHER: Cynthia Nixon. And then they all dumped on her, and she retreated and said her orientation is bisexual. So, I mean, that’s part of their definition too. I think it’s definitional. If you could have a relationship with both – a non-gay relationship, that means your orientation’s not gay, your orientation is bisexual by definition, right? So they would -- that’s the way they understand it. If you could change that would show that you weren’t really gay. I don’t know how you get to decide who’s gay and not gay, but it’s an interesting conversation. I don’t know. I mean, I -- you gotta realize that these guys are -- it’s hard to be gay in America, so I guess that probably does deeply relate to it -- it’s probably going up on a gay website in a few minutes. [emphasis added]

Gallagher’s comments are in line with NOM’s broader support for the idea that homosexuality can be changed or cured through “ex-gay” therapy or other methods. Last September, NOM president Brian Brown heralded a study on the effectiveness of “ex-gay” therapy. He called the study “good news” and added:

Even those who disagree with us about gay marriage (or Christian sexual ethics) should feel good about this this scientific verification of the possibility of free will triumphing over desire. We are all more than our instincts, sexual or otherwise.

NOM has proudly touted comments made by people who claim to have changed their sexual orientation, including a “former lesbian” and the president of a prominent “ex-gay” group. The organization has even misrepresented a pro-equality column to promote the myth that being gay is a choice.

Despite promoting the widely discredited idea that one’s sexual orientation can be changed or chosen, Gallagher did get one thing right – it’s hard to be gay in America. Unfortunately, her organization isn’t doing much to make things better.

Previously:

NOM's Morse: Obama Has Established A "Church Of Secular Hedonism"

NOM On Prop 8: “Judicial Overlords Declare Marriage Is Unconstitutional”

NOM Campaigns Against Special Interest Money By... Raising Special Interest Money

On the February 9 edition of MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews invited Salon.com’s Joan Walsh and anti-gay hate group leader Tony Perkins to discuss the “overheated” anti-Obama comments being made by religious conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

During the segment, Perkins began listing examples of the Obama administration’s “hostility to religion,” including the decision to disinvite Franklin Graham from a special Pentagon prayer service after he made a number of comments condemning Islam. 

Matthews interrupted, calling Graham a “disgrace” and stating that he would have made the same decision:

PERKINS: We’ve seen Reverend Franklin Graham disinvited to the Pentagon. Just last week we had Jerry –

MATTHEWS: Well I wouldn’t invite him either because Franklin Graham is a disgrace. OK, I don’t think he’s a typical Christian minister, do you?

PERKINS: I do.

MATTHEWS: With his commentaries on Islam? And his comments - his partisanship?

PERKINS: He was going to a National Day of Prayer event to speak and you look at the work that he has done in helping Muslims, non-Muslims around the world, it’s quite amazing.

The irony, of course, is that Perkins himself is no stranger to condemning Islam and making ridiculous, partisan attacks against the president. Perkins – who himself has been disinvited from a prayer event for his anti-gay extremism – openly defended Franklin’s remarks, claiming the reverend had been targeted by “anti-Christian zealots” looking to “sever America’s ties with orthodox Christianity.”

Perkins has declared that people carrying out the teachings of Islam have perpetrated “great evils” on society. In 2009, Perkins announced that “the soil of the Islamic faith just does not work with democracy.” His group, the Family Research Council, has even published a report warning of the threat Shariah law allegedly poses to the U.S. Constitution.

As for extreme partisanship, Perkins has claimed that Obama is working to “destroy religious freedom,” has a “disdain for Christianity,” and “seems to be advancing the idea of the Islamic religion.” On two separate occasions, Perkins has warned that Obama’s reelection could mean the end of the United States.

None of this, though, seems to bother Matthews, who consistently treats Perkins like a legitimate political commentator while showering him with on-air praise (as long as Perkins isn’t defending Graham).

Graham’s right-wing extremism may make him a “disgrace” in Matthews’ eyes, but when Perkins makes almost identical remarks, he’s treated like an ol’ pal.

Previously:

MSNBC Hosts Tony Perkins To Discuss Florida Primary Results

MSNBC Treats Tony Perkins Like A Spokesperson For Religious Conservatives... Again

MSNBC Hosts Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader For Eighth Time In Two Weeks

On February 9, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins made his sixth CNN appearance of 2012, joining CNN’s Don Lemon to discuss the recent controversy surrounding a pending federal rule concerning contraception coverage. 

For the first few minutes of the segment, it appeared that the anti-gay hate group leader would once again be allowed to appear on national television without being called out for his right-wing extremism.

Halfway through the interview, however, Lemon turned his attention to a recent anti-gay assault caught on tape in Atlanta. Lemon grilled Perkins over his opposition to gay rights, asking why FRC has failed to condemn acts of violence against LGBT people:

Though Perkins denies condoning violence against gays and lesbians, he’s made a living out of peddling homophobic myths that depict LGBT people as threats, predators, and enemies of the state: 

• Gay men are more likely to be pedophiles
• Gay activists are terrorists who “work out of the same playbook” as Islamists 
• Gays and lesbians want to “destroy your traditional values”
• Gays and lesbians want to “recruit” children into a “lifestyle” of “perversion”
• Gays promote an agenda that’s “destructive to our society” and could be the “death nail” of America

As the Southern Poverty Law Center recently noted, these anti-gay talking points “almost certainly contribute” to the high rates of violence against LGBT people:

These fairy tales are important to the anti-gay right because they form the basis of its claim that homosexuality is a social evil that must be suppressed — an opinion rejected by virtually all relevant medical and scientific authorities. They also almost certainly contribute to hate crime violence directed at gays and lesbians, who are more targeted for such attacks than any other minority in America.  

Perkins’ FRC also has also long opposed efforts to protect gays and lesbians from violence. The organization has been a vocal opponent of efforts to include sexual orientation in anti-bullying and hate crime legislation. FRC Senior Fellow Peter Sprigg has openly advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality and even suggested that gay people should be exported out of the country.

By bringing up Perkins’ anti-gay positions and tying them to real instances of anti-gay violence, CNN’s Lemon demonstrated how news networks should treat representatives of FRC. Instead of giving Perkins a pass and treating him as a legitimate political commentator – as so many other news anchors have done – Lemon made sure to let his audience know about his guest’s far-right extremism.

Other news hosts should take note.

Previously:

CNN Invites Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader To Breakfast

CNN Takes Bait, Invites Perkins To Discuss Evangelical Meeting In Texas

Any Excuse: CNN Invites Tony Perkins To Comment On Jesus’ View Of Occupy Wall Street

The Obama administration’s decision to require employers to provide contraception coverage isn’t sitting well with Jennifer Morse, head of the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) Ruth Institute.  In a February 9 column for MercatorNet, Morse declared that “Secular Hedonism” has now become “America’s new state religion… with Barack Obama as its head”:

In effect, we have a new state religion, a new Established Church of the United States of America, with Barack Obama as its head. It is the religion of Secular Hedonism, the worldview that sex is a sterile recreational activity, with babies thrown in as an afterthought, an optional extra, for people with quirky life-style preferences.  The contraceptive mandate uses the full might of the US government to scrub the public square clean of any competing religious voices that dissent from the new orthodoxy.

[...]

The religious truce is officially over. The Established Church of Secular Hedonism has declared war on the rest of us, enlisting the might of the United States government on their side. We will respond using nothing but peaceful means.

We used to refrain from making religious arguments in the public square. We thought it was our duty. We thought it was good strategy.  The Ruth Institute has specialized in defending the ancient Christian teachings, using non-religious arguments.  This no longer makes sense. The arguments are still good arguments.  But there is no longer any reason to hold back from proclaiming our faith. Our position deserves respect, not simply because it is our “deeply held religious belief”.  Our position deserves respect because it is grounded in reason and evidence, and in a far deeper understanding of the human person, and the human good.  The ancient Christian teachings on marriage, family and human sexuality are superior to the teachings of the Established Church of Secular Hedonism. [emphasis added]

Morse’s column is the latest in the NOM employee’s ongoing trend of making disparaging comments about the president, including declaring the Obama is “more gay than black” and panders to the gay community because he thinks “blacks don’t have that much money.”

So much for her pledge to debate the issue of marriage equality in a “civil way.”

Previously:

NOM On Prop 8: “Judicial Overlords Declare Marriage Is Unconstitutional”

NOM Campaigns Against Special Interest Money By... Raising Special Interest Money

NOM’s Month Of Anti-LGBT Misinformation: January 2012

This week, Equality Matters discusses the extremism behind anti-gay groups in New Jersey and Washington, as well as the significance of the Ninth Circuit's recent decision on California's Proposition 8:

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.

On February 8, CNN.com published an op-ed by fervently anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson, who opposes Washington State’s proposed marriage equality law. According to Hutcherson, legalizing same-sex marriage would bring God’s judgment on society, and gays and lesbians who choose to “stay the way they are” will suffer the consequences:

When I read about Sodom and Gomorrah, I believe God is saying that the right thing to do is for a man and a woman to be in a relationship without sexual sin and if you stray from that, it is very detrimental to society. Sodom and Gomorrah practiced the rampant sexual sin of homosexuality and because of that God brought judgment on the cities and destroyed them with fire because of the sin of homosexuality acts (Genesis 19:1-29.)

Now do I think God brings judgment on a society that encourages homosexuality? I do. And since I am a pastor and God has commanded me to love everyone, I will do what it takes to love them. That does not mean I will accept that they stay the way they are. Unrepentant sin destroys you and will kill you. So if I believe the word of God, that He will bring judgment on a people, then I would be a very bad shepherd not to warn those people.

God said in the Book of Romans that the sin of homosexuality is going against your own self. It is unnatural; nothing is natural about homosexuality. When a man desires another man more than a woman, or when a woman desires a woman more than a man, the bible says that is unnatural and God is against it (Romans 1:24-27.) Here I am as a pastor dealing with what God has said. Homosexuality should not be accepted as just another way of life. Indeed, we have gone way past that in our culture and in every aspect, God has stood against this.

Every community and country that has allowed this sin to be normalized has suffered. Going against God’s Word is not good for society. Many pastors have had to spend time and money defending themselves against religious discrimination. The normalization of sin in society results in other negative consequences such as the deterioration of the health of marriages and the increase in out-of-wedlock births. [emphasis added]

Hutcherson has a history of making extreme anti-gay comments, peddling misinformation about LGBT equality, and working with anti-gay hate groups. In January, he was named official spokesperson for the Stand for Marriage Coalition – a collection of groups fighting against marriage equality in Washington.

Previously:

WA Family Policy Institute Promotes Claim That Gay Parents Molest Their Children, Turn Kids Gay

Washington Gov. Gregoire: "It's Time" For Legislators To Support Marriage Equality

Meet Ken Hutcherson, Spokesman For Anti-Equality Groups In Washington

One of the major anti-gay groups currently opposing the effort to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey is the New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC), which claims to stand “for traditional values in the State of New Jersey.”

Unfortunately, NJFPC’s website reveals that the organization’s supposedly “traditional values” are far out of the mainstream, especially in a state in which a plurality of voters supports marriage equality. 

NJFPC’s promoted publications include materials that promote a number of anti-gay falsehoods. Some are relatively tame, like the myth that the legalization of same-sex marriage reduced marriage rates in Scandinavia. Others, however, make extreme and damaging claims about LGBT people:

NJFPC Myth: Homosexuality Is Not Inborn

In a NJFPC’s brief titled “Preserving Marriage and Protecting Children in New Jersey,” the group falsely claims that there’s no scientific evidence that a person’s sexual orientation is primarily determined by biological causes:

Homosexuality is not inborn. One of the main reasons homosexual activists insist that they deserve “equal rights” with regard to marital benefits is because they wrongly equate homosexuality with an immutable or inborn characteristic such as race. There is no “gay gene” that predetermines homosexuality, and there is no scientific support for the belief that homosexuality is primarily determined by biological causes. The complex roots of homosexuality develop over a period of time from birth through adolescence. Later in life as these factors converge, they play a strategic role in the choices people make involving sexual relations.

NJFPC Myth: Homosexuality Can Be Cured

NJFPC’s brief  also claims that “former homosexuals” can change their sexual orientation and live “happy heterosexual lives” – an assertion that’s been widely challenged by medical organizations:

Homosexuality is not unchangeable. Many former homosexuals are now living happy heterosexual lives. Dr. Robert Spitzer, the psychiatric professor and researcher behind the American Psychiatric Association’s political decision to remove homosexuality from the list of disorders, conducted a recent study of ex-homosexuals. Based on the results of his study, Spitzer now says some people can change their sexual desires from homosexual to heterosexual.

NJFPC Myth: Gay Parents Result In Gay Children

NJFPC’s brief also suggested that same-sex parents could encourage children to be “confused about their own sexual identity” and engage in homosexual behavior, a theory that’s been debunked by major psychiatric and psychological organizations:

Dr. Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz re-evaluated 21 psychological studies conducted between 1981 and 1998 that purportedly found no differences in children raised by same-sex parents. They found instead that children of homosexual couples were more likely to be confused about their own sexual identity, more likely to engage in homosexual relationships and more likely to be promiscuous.

NJFP also promotes this myth in a page on its website titled “Same-Sex Adoption Outcomes”

[Dr. Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz] re-evaluated 21 psychological studies conducted between 1981 and 1998, which purportedly found no differences in children raised by same-sex parents. Although Dr. Stacey was sympathetic to homosexual adoption in media interviews, their study results revealed instead that children of homosexual couples were more likely to be confused about their own sexual identity, more likely to engage in homosexual relationships, and more likely to be promiscuous. If the public were more aware of this critical information, public polling would certainly show less support for gay adoption.

NJFPC Myth: Homosexuality Is Unhealthy, Reduces Lifespan

NJFPC also repeatedly promotes the popular anti-gay myth that homosexuality is an unhealthy lifestyle choice that reduces the life expectancy of gay men: From NJFPC’s “Preserving Marriage and Protecting Children in New Jersey” brief:

A number of pathologies plague homes of same-sex couples, including higher rates of promiscuity (Journal of Sex Research, 1997), physical disease, mental illness (Archives of General Psychiatry, 1999), substance abuse (Nursing Research, 1994; Family Planning Perspectives, 1994), and domestic violence (The Medical Institutes for Sexual Health, 1999).

[...]

The only epidemiological study to date on the life span of homosexual men conducted by the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Research revealed that life expectancy for gay and bisexual men is between 8 and 20 years less than for all men.

From NJFPC’s brief “How Will Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Affect Me?”:

Teaching our young people that same sex “marriage” is an equal alternative would be highly irresponsible. Although those seeking same-sex “marriage” attempt to portray their lifestyle as normal and healthy, and the media propagates the image of the fit and well-adjusted homosexual relationship, the reality is at polar opposites.

In addition to the high risk of AIDS, substance abuse and mental illness, homosexuals/bisexuals are at an extreme risk for a host of sexually transmitted diseases.

NJFPC Myth: Homosexuality Is Linked To Child Molestation Scandals

A NJFPC editorial titled “The Catholic Church and Molesters in the Midst” used the scandal surrounding child sex abuse in the Catholic Church to reinforce the extreme anti-gay smear that gay men are more likely to molest children than heterosexual men:

Since the sex-abuse scandal involving priests was first reported, it has received huge media attention and much of it is rightly deserved. Child sex abuse is an offense against humanity that should always be prosecuted and a Catholic Church or any other church that covers up such a violation of sacred trust should be exposed and prosecuted.

However, there are two important factors that are not being properly highlighted in the media:

1. The vast majority of the sex abuse scandals coming to light involve male priests and boys, making the priests involved homosexuals, not just pedophiles. Unfortunately it is not politically correct to draw attention to that fact. As Father Richard John Neuhaus said, “The overwhelming majority of these cases involve homosexuality, but the media steers away.”

NJFPC, along with Gov. Chris Christie and several Republican lawmakers, is calling for a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage in order to prevent a marriage equality bill from passing through the Democrat-controlled legislature. If that happens, will NJFPC let voters know exactly how extreme its “traditional values” are?

Previously:

NJ Assembly Speaker Slams Chris Christie For Referendum Comments

NOM: Chris Christie Shouldn’t Renege On Marriage Equality Veto

Fox News Misinforms About New Jersey Civil Union Lawsuit

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has an interesting interpretation of yesterday’s decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling which found California’s Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional. According to the latest breathless NOM fundraiser alert, marriage is now unconstitutional:

In reality, the Ninth Circuit’s decision was carefully limited to special circumstances in California and did nothing to create a national right to same-sex marriage. Believe it or not, marriage is still constitutional in the United States.

NOM president Brian Brown claims that his organization will need to raise one hundred thousand dollars over the next seven days to cover the “legal expenses” of getting the Supreme Court to review the decision, even though NOM isn’t actually a party to the case.

This isn’t the first time NOM has resorted to spouting hysterical misinformation in an effort to solicit donations from supporters. With each new “action alert,” NOM demonstrates that raising money is much more of a priority than actually telling the truth about the fight over marriage equality.

Previously:

NOM Campaigns Against Special Interest Money By... Raising Special Interest Money

NOM’s Month Of Anti-LGBT Misinformation: January 2012

Debunking NOM's New "Commonsense" Radio Ad In New Hampshire

During the February 3 edition of Fox News’ Happening Now, host Jenna Lee reported that the parents of Asher Brown -- the Texas teen who took his life over a year ago after experiencing relentless bullying in school -- are themselves now being victimized by bullies in the community. According to the report, Brown’s parents have been targeted as a result of their outspoken demands for stronger laws to “safeguard other potential victims” of harassment:

Noticeably absent from Fox’s report: any mention that Brown was gay, and that some of the bullying he experienced was based on his perceived sexual orientation.

Brown’s death has become a rallying cry for the It Gets Better Project, which is aimed at reducing rates of suicide among LGBT youth. Outrage over the failure of school officials to protect Brown prompted the Houston Independent School District to adopt an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination and harassment policy. And months after their son’s death, Brown’s parents worked with Equality Texas and other allies to lobby for anti-bullying laws that explicitly included sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories.

Despite all of this, Fox chose to exclude any mention of Brown’s sexual orientation from its coverage. 

Fox’s omission is symptomatic of the network’s broader unwillingness to take seriously the problem of anti-LGBT bullying in schools. As an Equality Matters report noted last October, Fox consistently underreports or completely ignores stories about harassment targeted at LGBT youth, preferring instead to cover stories that depict anti-bullying efforts as threats to free speech, religious liberty, and traditional values.

After all, a core component of the right-wing’s campaign against LGBT equality is the claim that stories about anti-LGBT bullying are overblown by that community in order to promote the “homosexual agenda” in school through anti-bullying policies.

Acknowledging Brown’s sexual orientation -- and the extent to which it contributed to the harassment he faced in school -- would have required Fox News to admit that anti-gay bullying really is a problem and not just, as one Fox guest once put it, “such an excuse.”

Previously:

AFA’s Bryan Fischer: Roger Ailes Runs Fox News Like Jesus Would

Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader Brings Fox News A Cake

Fox News Whitewashes Student Essay Calling For Gays To Be Executed

One of the most prominent anti-gay groups currently working to defeat proposed marriage equality legislation in the state of Washington is the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW). Led byJoseph Backholm, FPIW has played a central role in organizing anti-gay efforts in the state over the past several years, including opposing efforts in 2009 to expand domestic partnerships to include same-sex couples.

Last week, Backholm testified before a Washington Senate sub-committee, urging senators to put the issue of  marriage equality to a referendum and have voters to decide if “moms and dads do matter.”

FPIW has already pledged to launch a campaign for a referendum to repeal the marriage equality law if it passes. If FPIW follows through, voters should be aware of the kind of extreme, fringe anti-LGBT animus that motivates the groups “protect marriage” rhetoric.

Previously:

Washington Gov. Gregoire: "It's Time" For Legislators To Support Marriage Equality

Meet Ken Hutcherson, Spokesman For Anti-Equality Groups In Washington

NOM’s Month Of Anti-LGBT Misinformation: January 2012

Earlier this week, Yahoo! partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) in order to monitor and remove hateful and violent anti-LGBT comments on its websites. According to Yahoo!, such comments are in violation of the company’s Terms of Service, which prohibits content that is “unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.” 

The partnership came in response to a number of extreme anti-gay comments made in response to a “Reality Rocks” blog entry featuring an interview with former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert. GLAAD reported:

Perhaps most disturbingly, one commenter posted, "It would make my day if someone was to do to him what those men did to Matthew Shepard," an openly gay University of Wyoming student who was brutally murdered in a bias-motivated crime in 1998. [emphasis added]

Yahoo!’s decision, however, isn’t sitting well with Tim Graham, Director of Media Analysis for the Media Research Center (MRC). On Friday, Graham worried that by "bow[ing] to GLAAD pressure," Yahoo! might censor all anti-LGBT viewpoints:

There is nothing wrong with taking down comments wishing violence on gay people. Censor away. But would GLAAD also like to take down comments suggesting homosexuality is wrong? Anyone who follows them would strongly suspect that when companies like Yahoo! bow to GLAAD pressure, it's not just about eliminating violent comments, but all "anti-LGBT comments."

Could one suggest song titles like "Naked Love" are too risque for kids? This might even include comments suggesting a performer like Lambert is a screechy, egotistical hack -- in other words, the kind of commentary Simon Cowell gets for canning Paula Abdul.

Last December, Graham condemned media outlets for going too easy on the victims of anti-LGBT bullying. It’s no surprise, then, that the “media critic” seems to think some outlets are now going too hard on the ones doing the bullying.

Previously:

MRC: News Networks Are Going Too Easy On Gay Bullying Victims

Right-Wing Commentators Attack Intersex Attorney For Bias

MRC Attacks CNN For Supporting “Homosexual Causes”

Bryan Fischer -- spokesman for the anti-gay hate group American Family Association (AFA) -- has an interesting take on a recent Politico article detailing Fox News’ tenth year as the leader in cable news ratings. According to Fischer, there’s a simple explanation for the network’s success: Fox News president Roger Ailes’ management style follows Jesus’ model:

We have one dad in this family, said Shepard Smith, a star anchor who was a correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau at launch. He makes all the decisions, and you know exactly who you have to go to, and you know when to stop asking. If you get an answer from Mr. Ailes office, thats the answer; its time to move on.

Smith said that when he leaves Ailess office, the last thing he asks me is, What can I do for you? And the last thing he tells me is he loves me. Thats not going to work everywhere, and most people will hear than and go, You are full of crap. Thats exactly how it is here, and I love it.

[W]hether Ailes realizes it or not, his leadership style is exactly that style that Jesus taught.

Remember that Jesus said, in Mark 10:45, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.” Ailes is successful not because he can throw his weight around, but because he uses his weight to serve the people who work for him. By serving them rather spending all day ordering them around, he gives them opportunity to success and in turn he receives the considerable reward of their talent and effort.

Bottom line: the key to success in a capitalistic system is to do things Jesus’ way. Who knew?

In Fischer’s mind, the similarities between Jesus Christ and Roger Ailes must go on and on. According to the hate group spokesman, Jesus encouraged his followers to become conservative political operatives, used “inflammatory” and “poisonous” language, and would have smeared efforts to protest income inequality. As the head of Fox News, Ailes has worked to promote conservative politicians, smeared his political opponents with extreme rhetoric, and demonized the Occupy Wall Street movement.

And considering what a reliable source of anti-LGBT fodder Fox News has been for Fischer, it’s no wonder he views the network as heaven-sent.  

Previously:

Anti-Gay Hate Group Leader Brings Fox News A Cake

Fox News Hosts FRC's Tony Perkins To Talk About Rick Santorum's Daughter

Fox News Relies On FRC's Peter Sprigg For Commentary On Family Structure