A Tale of Two Dads: VIDEO

An important and touching Father's Day message from Freedom to Marry and the Campaign for Southern Equality.

Mark Maxwell and Tim Young of North Carolina are foster parents to four boys ranging in age from 12 to 23. They are unable to jointly adopt the boys because despite being married in Washington, DC this year, the state of North Carolina prohibits adoption by same-sex couples. Mark and Tim share their story of why marriage matters so much to their family.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Hate Groups To Protest In Front OF HRC Headquarters

Several anti-gay organizations plan to hold a rally at the main office of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C. this Tuesday at 11am. According to a press release, the wingnuts intend to "express their objections" to pride month as well as sound off on their claim that the HRC committed a crime by publishing a NOM tax document. Taking part in this hateful rally will be the Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, Apologetics Group, the Liberty Counsel Action and Mission America.

From the press release:

Peter LaBarbera, President of the Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, explained: "On Tuesday morning we will gather in front of the world's most powerful homosexual lobby group, Human Rights Campaign, in Washington, D.C., during so-called 'Gay Pride Month' (June) to proclaim the politically incorrect truth: that proud homosexuality is against God; against Nature; very unhealthy; and a serious threat to children and religious freedom. Thankfully, it is also changeable -- as proved by the existence of countless thousands of happy former 'gay' men and ex-lesbians.

"Our bottom line is that homosexuality is nothing to be proud of. In fact, practicing homosexual behavior, a destructive sin, is something to be ashamed of. Out-and-proud homosexualism -- far from being a 'human right' -- is actually a human wrong."

"We will also testify to the lies, dirty tricks, anti-democratic bullying, hate-mongering and intimidation that have fueled the advance of so-called 'gay rights' in America. Recently such tactics surfaced again when HRC obtained and published leaked IRS filings from a pro-natural-marriage group, which it used to attack the donors to Mitt Romney's campaign in an election year," Mr. LaBarbera said.

"It's not surprising that HRC has inroads into the most corrupt presidential administration in history," said Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel. "The HRC is following the tactics of Saul Alinsky as detailed in his manifesto 'Rules for Radicals.' President Obama and his IRS are evidently aiding and abetting this radical organization. Because sexual anarchist groups like the HRC cannot win the debate on the merits, they must resort to underhanded and, as it now appears, outright illegal tactics in order to gain momentum for their extremist agenda," Barber said. 

This Year's White House Correspondents' Dinner: Videos

Did you watch the White House Correspondents' Dinner? If not, you missed President Obama make quips about himself (“I’m not the strapping young Muslim Socialist that I used to be") and Conan O'Brien put the jokes aside for a brief moment and thank the President for visiting Boston (his hometown) following this month's attacks in that city.

You can watch both Obama's full 20-minute set and O'Brien's near 30-minute routine AFTER THE JUMP.

Also AFTER THE JUMP are two other clips which played during the dinner; one of Steven Spielberg's fictionalized film entitled Obama and a well conceptualized, yet protracted House of Cards spoof featuring Kevin Spacey and a slew of politicians.

What did you think?

Anti-Gay Pastor To Lead National Day Of Prayer

Anti-gay California Pastor Greg Laurie, who in the past, has stated that "homosexuality is not in God’s order" and a sin, will lead this year's National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC. According to the Human Rights Campaign, "Laurie will be in Washington DC next week to lead events at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill as part of the 2013 National Day of Prayer."

Laurie's church, Harvest Ministries, has published their anti-gay views on their website:

"We believe that homosexuality is a result of sin's widespread effects on the world. Homosexuality is a sin of behavior; therefore, people are not born into a homosexual or a lesbian lifestyle. We believe that the redemption for this sin, as for all sin, is only possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

The HRC claims that “Pastor Laurie’s message is out of step with what the majority of people of faith across this country believe.”

OutServe-SLDN has called for Laurie's invitation to lead the event be revoked:

"Mr. Laurie represents the worst our nation's communities of faith have to offer when it comes to fairness, justice, and equality. His hurtful, out-of-the-mainstream rhetoric stands at direct odds with the mission the Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary of Defense have laid out...we call upon the Department of Defense to rescind their invitation to Pastor Laurie and invite in his place a faith leader who can speak with integrity and respect to the needs and concerns of all of our nation’s courageous service members.”

The National Day of Prayer will take place on Thursday, May, 2, 2013.

A New Day Dawns In Congress, Though Not Bright Enough

With the new Congress settling in, Jeremy Peters of the New York Times today discusses how gay and lesbian lawmakers are slowly emerging from the shadows, an illustration of society's own evolution. But things are far from perfect.

Congress has never been an accurate reflection of the country it serves. It remains far whiter, wealthier and more male than the nation’s population. But as their numbers in Congress gradually increase, there is a sense among these newcomers that they are forcing some of their colleagues to rethink gay rights and homosexuality.

The presence of openly gay men and women and their families was a factor that many believe was decisive in turning the tide for states where same-sex marriage was legalized by legislatures. Seeing them helped put a human face on a concept that many legislators had thought about only in the abstract.

Yet even with the opportunities gay men, lesbians and bisexuals say their membership in Congress presents, their reception has not been a completely warm one. One of the first acts of the Republican-controlled House was to set aside funds to defend the 1996 law that prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages because the Obama administration has stopped supporting it. And not everyone seems completely comfortable with their presence, like members of a Christian prayer group who seemed taken aback at a recent Congressional retreat when one noted he was married to a man. But in some ways the most telling sign of the gay lawmakers' advancement in Congress is the fact that their presence is now a little more routine.

The fact of the matter, though, is that gay and lesbian lawmakers are still a little over 1 percent of Congress, and the bulk of the GOP-controlled House remain obstinate on equality. Only 184 members have come out for LGBT rights, according to HRC; 220, a majority, are opposed.

Openly Gay, and Openly Welcomed in Congress [nyt]

Concerns Remain Amid Anti-LGBT Violence In DC

Washington DC's police department recorded 51 anti-LGBT attacks between the beginning of the year and October, down just two from 2011. That includes the three separate attacks in Columbia Heights last March.

The consistency in these numbers highlights what some critics say are inefficiencies in the department's gay and lesbian liaison unit and tensions between activists and the police themselves.

From the New York Times:

...Some leaders in the city’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population have been vocal about their frustration with Chief Cathy L. Lanier, saying that changes she brought to a police unit known as the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit have hindered the city’s response.

At times, the frustration has been mutual. Chief Lanier says the department has been doing everything in its power to stem the violence, going so far as to seek an outside review of the department’s procedures that have been the subject of criticism. The results of that review are expected late this year or in early 2013.

"We feel like everything that we can do, we’re doing, and yet we get these complaints back from some of the advocates," she said.

One of the most controversial of Lanier's changes was the redistribution of about 100 LGBT liaisons throughout the city, rather than concentrating them in more gay-concentrated areas.

"The events of 2011, the intense violence, really showed that the restructuring had failed to create any kind of meaningful reaction and response," DC Trans Coalition volunteer Jason A. Terry told the paper.