For years, antigay activists have been making our lives miserable by doing everything in their power to stop marriage equality and any other remotely related LGBT cause. Well, the joke’s on them after the conservative majority Supreme Court put the kibosh on their persecution dreams (not to mention their salaries)! But what happens now that they’ve lost, big time?
Can we just ignore them and move on with our lives? Forgive and forget? Or do we need to stay on-guard to make sure they don’t continue to threaten us or anyone else in the future? Do we demand an apology for impugning and attacking us over generations of hate? Do we hold them accountable for the very real damage their propaganda has inflicted?
Well, the answer is complicated. What’s probably called for is a mix: a little forgiveness, a little forgetting, and a little revenge. Defeat is only the beginning of their humiliation.
Each of these people has a different but horrendous past with marriage equality, and we’ll probably want to deal with each one accordingly.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Here are the ten biggest losers of the marriage equality debate…
1. Maggie Gallagher
Remember a time when Maggie was the source of much of the anti-gay rhetoric out there? These days she’s calmed down and assumed a more inconspicuous profile. You might even have forgotten she even exists. Oh, sure, she’ll pop up every now and then online in a blog post or a news article. But in general, she’s decided to leave the gays alone, so we might as well leave her alone too. There are bigger fish to fry.
(Also, guilty confession: we kind of like Maggie. She’s a genuinely funny writer. If she ever decides to make more noise again, this time with any luck without the malice, we look forward to reading and debating her work.)
2. Brian Brown, Maggie’s sidekick
Ah, now this jerk’s worthy of a bit more attention. Brian’s continued to push anti-gay rhetoric long after it was clear that it was no longer acceptable to do so, not to mention just plain wrong, and what’s worse is that now he’s trying to spread it overseas to Putin’s Russia. Careful, Brian — that’s a very dangerous game, playing fire with violent thugs, as Scott Lively has learned. (See next point.) By all means, let’s keep the pressure up to expose Brian Brown as a dangerous bigot. Of course, now that he’s nearly out of a job, it shouldn’t be long before we’ve seen the last of him. Who will fund lobbying that is now impossible? Well, maybe he should move to Russia.
3. Scott Lively
We don’t need to worry about this guy for the time being, since the government is taking care of him for us. Lively has been a source of dreadful hate-speech for decades, most notably as the author of a book that claims gays are responsible for the Holocaust rather than victims of it. Of all the ludicrous claims, how did he come up with that one?! He finally went one step too far when he contributed to Uganda’s “kill the gays” bill, and now he’s being tried for crimes against humanity. He’ll be back, but at least he’s distracted for the time being.
4. Mathew Staver
Founder of Liberty Counsel, Staver is responsible for the lawyering in some of the most heinous antigay cases in history. Liberty Counsel is representing Scott Lively, and has defended ex-gay torture camps. He hasn’t been particularly successful with his litigation, but he’s still a significant threat since he’s smart (in an evil way) and very well funded. Like a cornered animal, he’s now extra-dangerous.
5. Chuck Cooper
Going back to the ’90s, Cooper has sided with anti-gay groups in court, defending marriage bans in one state after another. But something changed in recent years, and he seems to have found a heart: after the Prop 8 case was decided agains him (he mustered only half-hearted defense of an indefensible law), he revealed to journalist Jo Becker that he has a lesbian step-daughter and that, in fact, he would attend her wedding. Since then, he’s been remarkably quiet, and if we were to guess, we’d suppose that he’s finally come around. Good for him. If you see Chuck Cooper out and about, give him a friendly wave. We’d like to see a more public proclamation, and even some accountability and an apology, but we need to remember that it’s not always easy for people, let alone conservatives, to admit they are wrong.
6. Tony Perkins
Tony ought to be tried along with Scott Lively for crimes against humanity. Of course he’s defended ex-gay abuse. Of course he’s compared same-sex couples to Nazis. Of course he said that pedophilia is “a homosexual problem.” Tony has tirelessly spread lies about us and made LGBT youth feel like dirt, and his heart is entirely black. Unfortunately, every victory for equality is also a victory for Tony, because he’s a master of spinning defeats to his advantage for fundraising purposes. The org that give him a platform to spread propaganda, Family Research Council, is not going away any time soon. He’ll be active against transgender equality, he’ll be raising money to defeat the federal gay rights legislation. He’ll be right there for antigay conservatives candidates everywhere.
7. John Eastman
Imagine that scene in Airplane! when Lloyd Bridges is sniffing glue. That’s basically what John Eastman looks like all the time. Possibly one of the comedically worst legal minds in the antigay establishment, under Eastman’s leadership the National Organization for Marriage has bled money and failed to rack up really any victories in years. Students from his own school have turned against him.
The best way to react when you see him is to proclaim: “Hey John, I guess you picked the wrong week to give up amphetamines.”
8. Candi Cushman
Don’t be fooled by the name: Candi Cushman is not the name of a bright-pink Winamp skin. She is a cog in the Focus on the Family machine, and she’s responsible for loathsome antigay initiatives in schools. She accuses gays of infiltrating students, and has had particular focus on attacking LGBT youth. She’s a menace, so if you have kids or work in education, be on high alert for this loopy lady. The middle finger would be appropriate, to be sure, but maybe not so helpful. Let’s just let her fade to oblivion.
9. Peter LaBarbara
Hapless creep Peter LaBarbara probably doesn’t even care whether marriage equality wins or loses. He’s just looking for his next opportunity to hang out at a leather convention and check out gay porn. Peter’s made a name for himself by showing up at every kinky fetishy event he can find, ostensible to gather evidence of how debauched the proceedings are. What does he do with all of that evidence? We can’t begin to speculate, but gee whiz he sure must have a lot of it by this point. Say hey next time you see her headless toro on Grindr. But, remember, he’s only there doing opposition “research.”
10. Every Republican Running for President
These crooks are the biggest losers of all, because they have to keep up their antigay rhetoric even though they are the most vulnerable to being punished for it and clearly don’t believe a word of what they are telling the loony base. To change their minds at this point would alienate what few supporters they have left, the GOP far right base, so they’re going to stick by their increasingly unpopular positions only to get wallop in the general election.
And because they’re running for president they’ll all have a highly visible demonstration of how toxic it is to oppose marriage equality today, especially after the Supreme Court, dominated by Republican appointments, has put to bed bans on marriage equality for good.
Tough luck, Rick Santorum, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, and friends! Smell you later!
ted72
We need not be sore winners. Leave them alone. Except for the toxic GOP presidential hopefuls. They can do real damage to us – a society as a whole.
Christine Miller Markman
What brilliant writing! I don’t think that many of them will fade away. They made a living, oftentimes, in this hatefulness.
McShane
Peter LaBarbera, is a fart with eyes. A big ol’ squishy shart.
*headless torso
*LaBarbera 😉
Ladbrook
No, let’s not forget them. I assume most will move on and fight other battles, but we should never let history forget what they said and what they did. They need to be ensconced in the history books our children and grandchildren will read… right next to the white supremacists and segregationists (see: Wallace, George).
And some still need to be exposed for what they practice in private vs what they preach in public. No, not all of them are closet cases, but I suspect that most are hiding some sort of perversion or a general hatred towards other minority groups. Pull a Sherman, and burn the place down. It’s what they deserve.
Ronald Wei
Caning is to good for them.
Marc Hesselink
What a bunch of nut cakes
Frank Brady
Some people have nothing to offer in exchange for the power they pathologically seek so they must create a diversion to make it seem they do – sadly, always a scapegoating of others!
Bradley Phillip
Brian, look at #2 …..lol
petensfo
My local paper had an opinion piece this week about not forgetting the good that the churches do… I gotta say, I feel as though before we move forward, gay people should basically be asking that these turds make an amends. There’s a big difference between people holding a heartfelt religious position (no matter how wrong it is) and working earnestly to pass laws to restrict the lives of another.
Yes, we should move on & yes, we should forgive… but without an examination of conscience, aren’t we just okaying them now taking their bigotry underground?
GayEGO
Well! We can shout LOSERS 10 times, their looney-tunes opinions are going down the hopper…..flushhhhhhhh! :>)
Giancarlo85
Another big major loser in this: GAY REPUBLICANS (people like lauraspencer, BJ McFrisky and other loons). Gay republicans are upset because they didn’t want gay people to get married. They want to please their straight friends and live in shame the rest of their lives.
Ladbrook
@Giancarlo85: True… and with that said, I always thought that the Republicans would push marriage equality at some point by parroting Andy Sullivan’s 1989 book on the subject.
The odd thing is that in the 80’s and 90’s we were painted as these childlike hedonistic sex-addicts who couldn’t keep our pants zipped, which is exactly why marriage is so important to straight society: it calms down the men. One would think that conservatives would have used SS marriage and monogamy as a way of encouraging “maturity” and as a way to slow down the spread of HIV.
But no… hate, fear, and homophobia won out and it’s still winning in the Republican mainstream if you base your opinion on the outrage expressed after the Obergefell decision. Sad, really. All they did was waste 20 years of history for no other reason that to delay the inevitable.
DimAsAnEmber
Show them kindness, and try and change them. And if that doesn’t work, simply forget them. Bigoted or not at this point, they’ll have very little impact on history, and what’s the point of helping them mark something they’ll see as an achievement? It’s worthless for us to memorialize them.
AtticusBennett
dear america, if you want to know which candidate in the next election has NO PLAN AT ALL for the economy, or helping the working and middle-classes, look no further than those who keep harping at MARRIAGE.
anyone mention in a platform about “sanctity of marriage” and protecting bigots from Marrying Gays, is evidence that their fiscal policies will f**k over the working and middle class.
so wake up.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: There’s no reason to single people out without giving them a chance to defend themselves. And I don’t recall any of them saying that they aligned with Republican ideals.
Rhoda Mackenzie
No debate – it is the law of the land.
Xzamilio
@ted72: No, we do. Because there are no “sore winners” in this case, and there are still many things LGBT people need to do in other areas where we are not equal. These loathsome people are still lobbying against protections for LGBT against discrimination, especially our transgender counterparts.
@DimAsAnEmber: I’m all “kindness”-ed out. I’m so damn tired of you wishy-washy tree hugging wimps always saying “We’re better than them… we shouldn’t be mean to them. Just ignore them.” Yeah, it’s real easy in PRINCIPLE… try growing up with the shit and seeing and experiencing firsthand what that kind of bigotry and hatred can do the mind of an LGBT person (myself included) and then say “just forget them.” You don’t forget that.
You beat these idiots into submission and you make it socially unacceptable to hold these kinds of harmful opinions… you don’t tell them they can’t their opinions, but you damn sure let them know what draconian idiots they are.
MCHG
@Giancarlo85: I’m pretty sure BJ has said he’s an independent. I don’t know about the others, but of course not every conservative is a republican and vice versa. Some straight Republicans supported gay marriage on the principle that government should not be in the business of determining what kind of contracts private citizens can enter with each other. When it comes to gay Republicans, their largest group, the Log Cabin, has been pro gay marriage for many years and celebrated the supreme Court’s decision. Of course, there could be gay Republicans who disagree with the supreme Court’s decision, but that has more to do with their political principles than their sexuality. I just wish that now that gay marriage is the law of the land, gay liberals can stop assuming all gay people share the same political views.
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: You don’t seem to follow much and you seem to be INCREDIBLY slow in reading comprehension (dim indeed).
@MCHG: Nope. He’s not an independent. He’s definitely a right wing republican. He defends every politican with an “R” next to their name (even Ted Cruz). But you MCHG are the worst… I totally forgot about you. You defend shitty conservatives whose beliefs are incredibly dangerous to this nation.
“When it comes to gay Republicans, their largest group, the Log Cabin, has been pro gay marriage for many years and celebrated the supreme Court’s decision.”
No they haven’t. They were upset because it would piss of their party even more and they’ll never be allowed to take part in any conventions! The LCR group sold out years ago and is mostly straight people. There are very few gay people left in that group.
You have warped views, MCHG. As always. Any gay person who disagrees with the Supreme Court decision is a misguided demented idiot. What political principles? You just don’t seem to get it at all.
“gay liberals can stop assuming all gay people share the same political views.”
Blah blah blah blah blah blah… more bullshit from the master of bullshit himself. What gay liberals? I’m not a liberal. I’m a left wing green. And yes, gay people should share the same left wing political views. Remember who brought you the most progress… it wasn’t some sell out group like LCR or some right wing closeted nutcase. It was the political left throughout the western world. 97% of gay people are left wing… that just leaves the 3% that are closeted basketcases who are more concerned about pleasing certain right wing groups.
You are a lying bigot, MCHG. And it’s best you come to terms with that.
Giancarlo85
Gay conservatives… talk about a walking contradiction. How can one even exist being a gay conservative? That must be an existence of self hatred and bitterness.
DimAsAnEmber
@Xzamilio: But in doing so, that’s fueling the far right machine, showing them that we deserve the hatred they spew freely. And my opinion is not wishy-washy, and it doesn’t make me a wimp. Because we are better than them. There’s no point in singling people out, mainly because there was no central figurehead against LGBT advancement. And if they can’t shut up and move on about gay marriage, then we should forget them. They should feel that their arguments were so insignificant that they weren’t WORTH making history. Don’t insult me just because my opinions don’t magically align with yours.
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: Nope. You’re basically being an enabler by letting such hatred slide. I have a right to point out people (like MCHG and BJ) who are willing to sell out LGBT people for some phony political “principles”.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: But I’m not talking to you, am I?
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: I’m just pointing out an inaccuracy in your post.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: That doesn’t give you a reason to enter a different conversation. And there are benefits and downfalls to both approaches. I believe a compassionate one would be better overall than fighting, especially now that the most symbolic battle’s been won.
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: Oh please. Everything on here is fair game. If you want a private conversation with someone exchange emails or something. There are only downfalls with your approach. A compassionate one? More like pandering. That’s all I see it as. One battle may have been won, but there are many more to fight and it won’t happen with a soft approach.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: That’s only what you think, not what is true. Everything said about going about this both ways MIGHT be true. And forgetting is not the same as forgiving. Just because I’m letting it slide doesn’t mean I’m letting it go.
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: No. What I state is true. This isn’t about opinion, but about fact. You are letting it go and you are pandering. Letting stuff slide allows the right wing to sneak in more idiotic laws and legislation onto the books. That’s the problem. You can’t show compassion towards those who show pure hatred and venom.
Your way is catastrophic.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: No, it’s not, and compassion does not equate to pandering. And I’m not saying let people legislate against the LBGT community, stay them with the overwhelming opposition from the public. They can understand what we want without becoming combative or reckless. Making personal attacks like they have don’t teach them anything except to struggle harder against the tide of progress.
darian
Some people are always trying to ice skate up hill. I’ll be so glad when this bigots move on.
dwbyers1960
There you go sounding like a gay nazi again.
dwbyers1960
@Giancarlo85: No dick head it’s called being sensible.
darian
@dwbyers1960: Are you talking to me?
Xzamilio
@DimAsAnEmber: Only gullible fools believer in magic, so NO, the insults are not about your opinion magically lining up with mine… it’s about your opinion being dismissive and cowardly. I wonder how far we actually would have gotten with civil rights if we just “ignored” the arguments against us as LGBT people… but, it must be nice that we live in an more open society where some of us can just let it wash off of our backs, but reap the benefits of those that didn’t. Being better than them doesn’t mean being weaker than them… and frankly, I am done tolerating bronze/iron age mythology, ignorance wrapped in the guise of “good ole values”, and complacent LGBT people who think that turn the other cheek bullshit works… it doesn’t. There’s a huge point in singling out these ignoramuses in the article, because they singled themselves out by becoming the face of their organizations and movements. Humiliation is good, especially for those who think they can make their living making our livings hell.
Miss me with your bull.
rand503
Don’t forget Bryan Fisher, who constantly rants and lies about gays in the worst way. Same with Linda Harvey. And Maggie Gallagher has NOT faded away! She still writes her shrill anti-gay pieces, but now she doesn’t hide the fact that she hates gays. She wrote recently about the need for reparative therapy for minors.
No, we must never forget what they have said and done to deny us rights and demonize us, because there will always be a new crop of people willing to do just that. No, I do not think for one minute they will back off on their hate or keep trying to pass laws against us or deny us our rights. When you are on a religious crusade, there is no compromise. Just as they never gave up the fight against abortion, they will fight us every single step of the way until they die. Anyone who believes otherwise is merely hoping for a fool’s island.
To any of those who say they are sorry for the hurt and damage they caused, and cease it, I will accept their apology and welcome them with open arms. There will be a few, but not many. Mostly politicians.
To those few who don’t apologize, but just fade away, I am willing to forgot about them. There will hardly be any of them.
To those who won’t say they are sorry, but are just trying to couch their hate in nicer language, I will be just as tough on them as I always have been. That describes most of the jerks mentioned above. Blow me, Tony!
Those are the only three choices. The hate isn’t going to fade just because of a court ruling. The hate will continue so long as there is just one person listening. Even then, they are doing “god’s work” and believe they will be judged badly if they remain silent. There is simply no rationalizing with them, and no compromise possible.
Chris
They’ve lost nothing. Does anyone really think that the ten listed above believe the hate-filled vitriol that they spewed forth every day that they could? They were actors, paid to play their roles.
They (and others like them) are like specialized versions of Anne Coulter. They rode the anti-gay hobby horse and made their millions. Now that they’ve tapped this particular vein of anti-gay hate for whatever profits they could, they will reinvent themselves and move onto their next opportunities for bilking people by preaching hate.
In the meantime, while people like them shift attention to issues of so-called “values,” their backers and contributors buy elections, destroy our environment and economy, and steal millions from the government.
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: You are incredibly naive. You cannot teach anything to the willingly ignorant like the right wing antigay crowd. And exposing them as the frauds they are is the only way. You just don’t get it. If these idiots aren’t doing damage directly to us, they are doing damage to the whole country by electing idiot Republicans.
Chris is right. These right wingers are selling this country out to corporations, ruining the environment and sacrificing the entire future. You think it is sensible to show compassion? Not in my book! If they aren’t being antigay, they are being antienvironment and pro big business.
BruceMajors
Of course, none of the current crop of Democrats supported gay marriage until a few years ago.
None has ever done anything that spent any political capital to support it.
None campaigned against Proposition 8 in California.
The leading candidate supported at least tacitly the Defense of Marriage Act, and when she ran for office in 2008 said she believed marriage was between a man and a woman.
DimAsAnEmber
@Xzamilio: Way to twist my words. It’s a turn of phrase, for one. And being kind to them doesn’t mean I’m being dismissive or complacent. I’m not going to end pushing for actual equality. And I agree with what you’re saying, more or less. America is supposedly a secular country, so we shouldn’t even let religion become part of any debate on legislation. It’s not about ignoring these people, it’s about not even letting their religious sentiments register as plausible arguments. We pity them, and leave them in the dust, like the things of the bygone era that they are. Liked your blog, by the way.
DimAsAnEmber
@Giancarlo85: Fine then, whatever, I don’t care. Have the political views that you want, and I will as well. I won’t reply to any of your comments anymore, and I hope you don’t to mine. But I can leave saying that I didn’t insult your intelligence or character, and that I didn’t single people out and point fingers like you did. Like the right-wingers that you detest did. And I didn’t fling out personal attacks when you didn’t understand my points. I’m leaving this at a draw.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
The title of this thread should be:
“Sad,demented, guilt ridden, twisted closet cases with one fat wannabe faghag”
Giancarlo85
@DimAsAnEmber: I will reply to whatever I please, especially when I see that so called “compassion” towards these hateful right wingers. They aren’t just damaging my own civil rights, but they are trying to damage the environment and eocnomy too.
Don’t you get it? These right wing idiots stand for so much more than just being anti-gay. They are anti-environment, anti-progress, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-healthcare and anti-jobs. Why don’t you seem to grasp that?
Xzamilio
@DimAsAnEmber: Oh, you bastard, You complimented my blog, so now I like you. All right, fine. I’m not a fan of your pacifist approach, as religious fundamentalism of that nature needs to be mocked and ridiculed within an inch of its life. Religion has had too much leeway in American politics (and still does). I’ll just say this: if being nice to them was effective, it would have worked by now. Kindness doesn’t register with fundamentalists…