LGBT activist Wayne Besen’s organization Truth Wins Out has provided lots of entertaining legal theater as of late. First, they dared homophobic she-hag Linda Harvey to follow through with her baseless defamation suit. Then, they dared Marcus Bachmann to try and collect his vindictive $150 charge for cancelled ex-gay therapy sessions. And now they’re threatening to sue Greg Quinlan, the President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX), for claiming on TV that Besen publicly called for Quinlan’s death. Joy!
During his October 7th interview on WDCW-TV’s News-Plus with Mark Segraves, Quinlan said that Wayne Besen had asked for somebody to run Quinlan over, hit him with a bus or inject him with AIDS. That would have been pretty hateful rhetoric, as Quinlan said in the same program; except Besen says that he personally has never said any such thing.
Besen called Quinlan’s claim unconscionable, unacceptable, vicious and “deliberately and maliciously fabricated… with the sole purpose of smearing Truth Wins Out and damaging my reputation.” And in response, Besen has threatened to haul Quinlan into court… unless he meets the four following reparations in the next five days:
1. A written retraction be issued by Gregory Quinlan on PFOX letterhead admitting he fabricated the incident(s) and made untrue statements during the television interview. The retraction must be signed by PFOX’s Executive Director Regina Griggs and Mr. Quinlan.
2. A YouTube video of Mr. Quinlan apologizing for the false and defamatory statements.
3. Mr. Quinlan will offer to immediately make an apology on the very television show in which the defamatory statements about Mr. Besen were made.
4. PFOX will send out a press release, first approved by Mr. Besen, announcing the apology.
So… we assume that we’ll be seeing Besen and Quinlan in court very soon because there’s no way an ex-gay organization is gonna bow down to some uppity gay, right? And you know that Besen and TWO will blog the crap out of the trial if it happens. Doesn’t PFOX know better than to disparage a blogger? They’ll Tweet, Facebook and Google-bomb you back into the analog age—something potentially much worse than being run over by a big gay bus.
Cam
This is a fantastic tactic. The only way the bigots can win is to lie. This group is making it impossible, or at least very expensive for them to lie.
Without the lies they have nothing.
It’s the same reason the right wing is flipping out and trying to attack the mother of that child who confronted her. The LAST thing bigots can handle publicly is being confronted by the people whose lives they are trying to ruin. So the only tactic they have is to deflect and scream about something else.
FreddyMertz
Why does it always have to be AIDS?..there are far worse and deadlier diseases out there, why that disease in particular? Is it because one automatically assumes it’s a gay disease? That’s stupid! I would never with death on anyone….however, I would curse them with a more annoying condition like eczema or psoriasis.
Mark
@FreddyMertz: because using AIDS is a sure fire way to fire up their conservative ignorant base.
slanty
Good for them!
FreddyMertz
@Mark: true.
Susan
How absurd that Dan Villarreal stands in judgment of Wayne Besen. There is no gay individual who has provided the anti-gay side with more ammunition than the irresponsible Villarreal. He is a gift to NOM and the many other groups who are citing his Queerty writings as proof of gay depravity.
By contrast, Besen is fighting the good fight. The anti-gay side is constantly looking for ways to “prove” that gay people are seditious or violent or dishonest. Besen is suing to correct these lies and to shame the liars.
Villarreal, you don’t have 1/1000 of the integrity of Besen. He is a curse to the lying anti-gay side, and you are a blessing to them.
the crustybastard
@Susan:
Reading comprehension: D-
Please see me after class.
Bill
Looooooooooooooooooove this to death!
CBRad
@Susan: Daniel Villareal is okay, though. And I dislike Wayne Besen, but he’s not THAT bad either. The really contemptible bloggers who have always handed gifts-of-ammunition to the homophobes are Andrew Towle, David Hauslaib, Andrew Belonsky, Andy Humm, and Fat Pam Spaulding.