Tag Archives: anti-gay

WATCH: Jeffress compares gay sex to plugging cord in wrong outlet

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Did First Baptist of Dallas Senior Pastor Robert Jefferss learn nothing when NFL quarterback Tim Tebow canceled his appearance at the church last month?

Tebow, known for how vocal he is about his faith, canceled his April visit to the anti-gay church after a media firestorm over his attendance because of Jefferss’ anti-gay sermons and comments.

But Jeffress is at it again.

Last week he explained that gay sex is like plugging a TV cord into the wrong voltage outlet in an interview with Trinity Broadcasting Network, Right Wing Watch reports. The comparison came after explaining that sex is intended for heterosexuals in marriage.

“He [God] gave the equipment to enjoy [sex] with. And said here is how it operates. It ought to be between a man and a woman and it should be in the security of a marriage,” he said.

Jeffress said disregarding how God intended people to have sex is ignoring the Bible, which he called the “instruction manual for us.”

“Well, it is my TV to do what I want to with it, but I’m going to blow that TV to smithereens if I put it in a 220 outlet!” Jeffress said. “The manufacturer made it, he knows how it operates best. The Bible is God’s instruction manual for us.”

Meanwhile, Tebow spoke at Liberty University last Friday about his faith an encouraged students to continue to serve God in all that they do. The anti-gay university is the largest Christian college in the country.

Watch a video of Jeffress on TBN below.

Continue reading “WATCH: Jeffress compares gay sex to plugging cord in wrong outlet” »

—  Anna Waugh

Gay couple denied reception facility finds anti-gay graffiti on their fence

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Burn fagA gay couple from Everman refused a rental space for their wedding reception last week had their property vandalized last night. Ben Allen and Justin Ryan Hudgins found “Burn FAG” spray-painted in black across their fence.

The couple lives in Everman, a town in Tarrant County located southeast of I-35W and I-20, less than 10 miles from Downtown Fort Worth.

Allen said it happened sometime after 7 p.m. last night. Everman police were called and promised extra patrols in the neighborhood for the next month.

The couple has been together eight years and bought the house two years ago. They haven’t had trouble in the past. Hudgins’s mother lives four blocks up the street. The daughter of the town’s mayor lives on their block.

After police took the report, Allen said they covered the graffiti with a blanket because there’s an elementary school across the street.

Allen said after he posted a Dallas Voice article about All Occasion Party Place refusing to rent them its facility because they are a same-sex couple on his Facebook page, a relative of the family that owns the venue began writing homophobic rants on his page.

“Good for them!!! Take your ass to San Fransisco. With the rest of the Californicators!!!!” wrote Cody Smith Sr.

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“No I’m not a homosexual!! I’m not a pole smoking, queer!!!” he also posted on Allen’s page.

Allen said he was terrified when he saw the graffiti.

“I don’t know how people would have gotten our address,” he said.

In previous news accounts in Dallas Voice and elsewhere, they were described as a Fort Worth couple. But he said he didn’t plan to keep quiet about the attack or the bigotry of the owners of All Occasions Party Place.

Allen said the response from the Everman police was excellent and said it helped that the city had an openly gay officer. He said he hoped the police would look into any connection between the vandalism of their property and the facility.

After the couple marries at a resort near Cancun in April, they still plan to have a local reception. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state of Quintana Roo where Cancun is located since 2011.

Allen was contacted by someone from an Arlington hotel who read about their story in Dallas Voice and is trying to put together an extremely affordable reception for them.

—  David Taffet

Racist, anti-gay bill would allow college student groups to decide membership

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State Rep. Matt Krause

Conservative freshman state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, has filed a bill that discriminates against people based on race, gender and sexual orientation.

HB 360 would deny state funding to colleges and universities, including private institutions, that require a “student organization, including a religious student organization, to allow any student enrolled at the institution to participate in the organization, regardless of the student’s beliefs or status, including race, gender, and sexual orientation.”

The bill states that colleges requiring a religious organization to accept any member regardless of “status or beliefs” violates the First Amendment, “including the rights of free exercise of religion and of freedom of association.”

When asked what the bill’s purpose was, Elliott Griffin, Krause’s chief of staff, said the bill was currently being redrafted to be more narrow. He said he would discuss it more after the language was final.

Krause is perhaps best known in the LGBT community as the Liberty Counsel attorney who defended Fort Worth student Dakota Ary after he was suspended for making anti-gay remarks in class.

Equality Texas Executive Director Chuck Smith said the legislation could possibly apply to a faith-based organization at a private university that wants to limit membership to straight white men. He said the bill is so offensive it likely won’t go anywhere.

“It’s pretty much offensive across the board,” Smith said. “I think that piece of legislation is dead on arrival. It’s an equal opportunity offender.”

This week’s Equality Texas’ legislative update focuses on the other anti-gay bill filed this session by Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster. His bill would penalize school districts who offer domestic partner benefits to its employees.

Watch the video below.

Continue reading “Racist, anti-gay bill would allow college student groups to decide membership” »

—  Anna Waugh

Gov. Perry, President Obama weigh in on proposed BSA policy change

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The Human Rights Campaign took out a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News on Monday to encourage the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board to add a nondiscrimination policy.

Today the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board will begin discussing a proposed policy change to allow local troops to decide to let in gay Scouts and leaders.

A decision on whether remove the national gay ban is expected Wednesday.

Lesbian former den mother Jennifer Tyrrell will be at the Scouts’ Irving headquarters at 11 a.m. to deliver petitions started by her, gay Eagle Scout Will Oliver, gay former Scoutmaster Greg Bourke, and Eric Andresen, father of a gay Scout denied his Eagle Award. The petitions have garnered 1.4 million combined signatures.

The issue has brought about heated debates on both sides as some people are against the decision while others think it doesn’t go far enough. The Human Rights Campaign took out a full-page ad in today’s Dallas Morning News, above, encouraging the board to go beyond removing the no-gays requirement and adding a national nondiscrimination policy.

Gov. Rick Perry chimed in this weekend while addressing hundreds of Scouts at the state House during the Texas Scouts’ 64th annual Report to State.

Perry, an Eagle Scout, told reporters his views on homosexuality haven’t changed his writing his book, On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting For, and hoped the national position would remain the same.

“Hopefully the board will follow their historic position of keeping the Scouts strongly supportive of the values that make scouting this very important and impactful organization,” Perry said.

President Barack Obama also spoke about the issue during a pre-Super Bowl interview, calling scouting a “great institution” that should welcome gay members and leaders. He said the organization provided youth with lifelong leadership and character building training and “no one should be barred from that.”

Watch the clip of Obama below.

Continue reading “Gov. Perry, President Obama weigh in on proposed BSA policy change” »

—  Anna Waugh

Scalia claims he’s never expressed his views on marriage equality

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, right, reads from his new book, ‘Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts,’ alongside SMU professor and co-author Bryan Garner. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told an audience at Southern Methodist University on Monday night that he hasn’t previously “expressed [his] views” on marriage equality or gun control.

The comment came while Scalia and SMU professor Bryan Garner were lecturing on their new book, Reading Law: Interpretations of Legal Texts. Part of the lecture focused on interpreting texts in the context in which they were written.

Garner explained that someone can personally disagree with a text but can agree on its interpretation. He explained that he and Scalia differ on gun control and marriage equality because he favors both. Scalia countered that he hadn’t expressed his views on either topic and left it at that.

Scalia’s statement seems at odds with his dissenting opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, which declared state sodomy laws unconstitutional. In the opinion Scalia wrote:

“State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’ validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today’s decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.”

Continue reading “Scalia claims he’s never expressed his views on marriage equality” »

—  Anna Waugh

Boys Scouts to discuss ending gay ban

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Ousted lesbian den leader Jennifer Tyrrell delivers petitions calling for an end to the Boy Scouts’ gay ban at the group’s headquarters in Irving in July. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

The Boy Scouts of America may end its anti-gay ban as early as next week.

The Board of Directors will discuss removing the anti-gay language from the national organization’s rules at its meeting next week, allowing local chapters to decide whether to allow gay members or Scout leaders.

In recent months, UPS, Intel and Merck have pulled their funding of the organization because of the discrimination.

A BSA official told NBC News that more companies had threatened to pull funding if the ban was not lifted.

BSA spokesman Deron Smith released a statement about the policy change.

“Currently, the BSA is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation,” the statement reads in part. “This would mean there would no longer be any national policy regarding sexual orientation, and the chartered organizations that oversee and deliver Scouting would accept membership and select leaders consistent with each organization’s mission, principles, or religious beliefs. BSA members and parents would be able to choose a local unit that best meets the needs of their families.”

In July, ousted Cub Scout mom Jennifer Tyrrell brought her Change.org petition to the Irving headquarters. Days before BSA officials said a two-year examination of the anti-gay policy found that the ban was in the best interest of the organization.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement praising the discussion and calling for a change in policy.

“The Boy Scouts of America have heard from scouts, corporations and millions of Americans that discriminating against gay scouts and scout leaders is wrong,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “Scouting is a valuable institution and this change will only strengthen its core principles of fairness and respect.”

Read the full release below.

Continue reading “Boys Scouts to discuss ending gay ban” »

—  Anna Waugh

Anti-gay U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to speak at SMU tonight

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SMU professor Bryan A. Garner, left, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will be at Southern Methodist University tonight to discuss his new book, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.

SMU professor and the book’s co-author Bryan A. Garner will join Scalia for the discussion.

It was during a similar lecture at Princeton University in December that Scalia was asked by a gay student about his anti-gay views and how he equates anti-sodomy laws to those banning murder. Scalia said he was drawing a moral parallel between the laws and legislative bodies should ban things viewed as immoral.

Scalia will also serve as a Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence at SMU Dedman School of Law Monday and Tuesday, where he will speak to several law classes.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. at SMU’s McFarlin Auditorium. General admission tickets are $35. Tickets and a copy of the book are $50. Books will not be sold at the event, but Garner and Scalia will sign copies. To register, go here.

—  Anna Waugh

2 teens sentenced to 3 years probation in Arlington anti-gay graffiti case

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Morgen Aubuchon and Seth Hatcher

Two teens were sentenced in Fort Worth on Friday for their involvement in an Arlington graffiti spree in June that included in anti-gay slurs spray-painted on a lesbian couple’s SUV.

Morgen Rae Aubuchon, 18, and Seth Stephen Hatcher, 19, pleaded guilty to the state jail felony charge causing $1,500 to $20,000 in damage and were sentenced to three years deferred adjudication with 120 hours of community service at Samaritan House, AIDS Outreach Center or another organization approved by the court.

They must complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service a month. They are also jointly responsible for $6,441 in restitution to the owners of the damaged property.

David Mack Henderson, Fairness Fort Worth treasurer who attended the sentencing, said 371th District Court Judge Mollee Westfall informed the teens that if they violate their probation, they face six months to two years in jail.

If the teens complete their probation without any violations, they won’t have a conviction on their records, but an arrest record will remain unless expunged.

Continue reading “2 teens sentenced to 3 years probation in Arlington anti-gay graffiti case” »

—  Anna Waugh

Waco city committee to vote on LGBT protections proposed by Baylor student

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Susan Duty

After Susan Duty realized LGBT workers in Texas could legally be discriminated against in employment because of who they are, she started looking into what she could do locally in Waco.

“It means something to me,” she said, adding that she has a gay brother and gay friends. “I wanted to do something about it.”

Duty, a straight ally, attended an Equality Texas event a few months ago, learning that the state doesn’t offer protections against anti-LGBT job discrimination. Legislation has been filed for the current legislative session to add the statewide protections.

“When I found out that it was legal to discriminate against LGBT people in employment, I was like, that’s ridiculous,” Duty said. “We can’t change it in the state, but we can change it in our city. We can change it in our community.”

Duty then began her research on how to add the employment protections to the city of Waco’s nondiscrimination policy. She and a friend drafted a letter requesting that the city’s Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee recommend the addition of sexual orientation and gender identity to City Council. The policy currently protects employees based on race, gender, color, religion, national origin, age and disability.

The letter will be read to the six-member committee Thursday, Jan. 24, and members will vote whether or not to recommend it to the City Council, which is comprised of five members and the mayor.

Continue reading “Waco city committee to vote on LGBT protections proposed by Baylor student” »

—  Anna Waugh

Was Manti Te’o pretending to be straight so he’d get to play in the NFL?

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Why would a star college football player make up a story about a relationship with an out-of-town girlfriend?

If you have a girlfriend, no one is trying to set you up. You don’t have to go on embarrassing dates and pretend to be straight. You don’t have to deal with the woman falling in love with you and end up hurting her.

Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o came in second in Heisman Trophy voting this year and is expected to be a first-round NFL draft pick. That is, unless he has to have real girlfriends to play football.

Te’o “met” Lennay Kukua in 2011. Last fall, she had a terrible car accident and then was diagnosed with leukemia. She was a student at Stanford.

Apparently, Te’o’s relationship with her was entirely on Twitter. He made up the stories about actually meeting her. The Twitter account is gone, but Te’o claims he knew nothing about the hoax.

But stories of the relationship and how he went on to play to make her proud after she “died” were part of most Notre Dame games last fall.

And now, OutSports is asking the question: Is Manti Te’o gay?

Continue reading “Was Manti Te’o pretending to be straight so he’d get to play in the NFL?” »

—  David Taffet