NOM Calls For Boycott of ALL Gay-Friendly Businesses

From the National Organization for Marriage (Discrimination): 

Did you know that Starbucks was recently reported to be perceived as the most LGBT-friendly brand in the U.S.? JCPenney, Target, Apple and Amazon round out the top five.

If you've been following the national marriage battle over the past 18 months this should come as no surprise. Starbucks has said that gay ‘marriage’ is one of its corporate values. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who recently purchased the Washington Post, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money to redefine marriage in Washington State. Target and JC Penny both support gay ‘marriage’ and the homosexual lifestyle in general, as does Apple.

In the same survey, it was reported that 75% of LGBT respondents said they were actively boycotting Chick-fil-A.

We only vote at a ballot box once a year at most. But we vote with our wallets every day. That’s why NOM maintains its Corporate Fairness Project - which includes the Dump Starbucks, Dump General Mills, andThank Chick-fil-A initiatives – to inform you of what companies are taking active stands in the marriage battle, and where your money is best spent in defense of this sacred institution.

-Brian S.Brown

RWNJ's Whining Over Marriage Equality

Lowlights & Highlights: January 5, 2013

The victims of Hurricane Sandy are still in need. Many people of the New York/New Jersey area are dealing with bitter cold, homelessness, joblessness, etc. A $60 billion aid package has been on the table for months. There is a bill known as the Violence Against Women Act that has been renewed time and time again without incident. The Senate has already dealt with both of these pressing issues. The GOP-led House of Representatives, however, refused to deal with them in the waning hours of the 112th Congress. Now, VAWA is dead (or has to start over entirely) and the Sandy aid package is weeks away from passage. It is probable the 9.7 billion of it will be passed shortly, but that is a relative drop in the bucket for an area hit by a perfect storm.

To top all of this off, here are two things that the House in the 113th Congress (still led by Republicans) did in its opening day. More money has been authorized for the House to defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in court. Originally, only 1.5 million was appropriated, later expanded to 2 million, and now it will be expanded even further. It is hypocritical that a party that talks so much about states rights is defending a federal law which subjugates the nine states that have seen fit to recognize full equality. The other issue the House has already introduced is about the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Rep. Michele Bachmann introduced this gem: a bill to repeal Obamacare in its entirety. Here is the kicker: this has already been attempted well over 30 times. It is a measure that, even if it passes in the House, is still dead in the water. The Democrats hold the Senate and President Obama clearly will not sign it.

It is partisan showboating. Instead of helping millions in need in the Northeast and battered women, this is what House Republicans are doing. Jon Huntsman was right, this party is devoid of a soul.

~

Building on the momentum of 2012, marriage equality is off to a sprint in 2013. This week, the legislatures of Illinois and Rhode Island both saw marriage equality bills introduced. In Illinois, the measure has already passed out of committee. In both states, it is very likely that these measures can pass out of the legislatures which have Democratic majorities and even supportive Republicans (the Illinois GOP chair endorsed the law) plus both states have governors that have publicly stated their support.

It should be noted that National Organization for Marriage (Discrimination) co-founder Brian Brown has issued a threat to any Illinois Republicans that support the measure. However, a similar threat was issued when New York state took up marriage equality and NOM was less than victorious in both the marriage vote as well as the retribution they promised. Their threats show their desperation.

Also in Minnesota, it was announced that a marriage equality bill would be introduced within the next two months. Governor Mark Dayton supports marriage equality. In Minnesota, this comes on the heals of the state's people voting down a proposed constitutional amendment to restrict marriage rights to only opposite-sex couples.

It is important not to let last year's victories give us inflated egos. 2012 was great, but we have to keep pressing forward and keep working towards full equality nationwide.

Dan Savage vs. Brian Brown on Homosexuality

Lowlights & Highlights: June 16, 2012

All too often, stories come along that test my faith in humanity. This week brought a very big test (though the story stems from last June, there have been resent developments). A four year old boy was killed by the leader of a religious cult (who also killed a 28 year old woman) because he thought the boy was acting gay. The man behind the killings was charged and pled guilty. He will serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole (assuming the judge agrees to the plea deal, which took the death penalty off of the table).

This is one of those stories that is just sad beyond words and my condolences go out to the families and those effected by this tragedy. It's is incredibly sad to see people taken away who have so much potential. The family of the boy who was killed are not happy with the plea deal and , even though I'm on the fence where the death penalty is concerned, I can't really blame them. Were it my kid, I can't really say I wouldn't do something like Samuel L. Jackson's character in the aptly named "A Time to Kill."

Some people just do not deserve to share oxygen with the rest of us.

***

Study after study has shown us that the people who exhibit high amounts of homophobia have a tendency to be wrestling with their own sexual attractions. Many of us in the blogosphere and in social media use these findings against people who regularly rail against us, especially leaders of homophobic organizations. We look at the findings of the studies, set them up against these folks, and say that these organizations are full of self-hating closet cases. Obviously not all of these people are in the closet. However, surely some of them have more in common with Ted Haggert than they would like to admit.

Having said all of that, I don't think that Brian Brown (who regularly rails against LGBT people) of the National Organization for Marriage Discrimination was really helping himself with this graphic:

Apparently the "mo" was supposed to be for momentum. I don't think anyone will get that though. I'm really hoping this isn't a hoax. Reality can be really hilarious at times.

The Wrap-Up: May 23, 2012

Get ready for another debt ceiling debacle.

The growing national trend towards marriage equality continues...despite what the ignorant Bristol Palin has to say.

The obvious reason for Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker defending Wall Street over President Obama: campaign contributions. This is why we must get corporate dollars out of politics.

Rush Limbaugh's ratings are way down. Gee, I wonder why...?

The North Carolina "pastor" who essentially called for gays and lesbians to be placed in concentration camps (because obviously, this is what Christ would want) is facing a major backlash.

Dan Savage may be accepting a debate challenge from Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage (Discrimination). The details he lays out are...interesting.

An Ohio student has officially won the right to wear (in school) a shirt saying "Jesus is not a homophobe."

Former Green Bay Packers (GO PACK GO) running back Ahman Green talked with Outsports about having gay siblings among other things (SPOILER: Green is a class act).

And lastly, the intersection between being black, being gay, and being  Christian.

The Wrap-Up: April 16, 2012

After their rousing success against J.C. Penney and Toy R Us, One-Million Forty-Six Thousand Moms is now setting their sights on Urban Outfitters. In future news, Urban Outfitters stock will skyrocket.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has gone from being against hate crimes legislation to being against people with student loans. I'm pretty sure that means she is against a huge chunk of her constituents. They should remember that this November.

I may have to rethink how/if I put videos on this blog.

Arizona has paraded out yet another inane law.

A New York Times columnist discusses with Rachel Maddow the accelerated pace of marriage equality acceptance.

NOM president Brian has been hacked on Twitter...again.

Politifact has something to say about Mitt Romney's claim that 92.3% of the job losses during the recession hit women.

Do homophobic people (potentially) in the closet deserve sympathy?

And lastly, most Americans support the "Buffett Rule."

A Steaming Pile of Brown

Sure it's almost 12 minutes long, but it is worth every second.

I wasn't even aware Rev. Al Sharpton was such a fierce advocate for LGBT equality until I saw this video.