Second Breakfast

Its all our fault. I knew this would eventually happen. It was only a matter of time before an angry God, convinced of the utter depravity of the homosexual minority in this country, decided to do something. Jerry Falwell was convinced it might be a meteor in Florida, but apparently New Orleans is slightly more sinful than Florida (election fraud or not). So we can lay the blame for the thousands killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and billions in losses directly at the Prada-sandaled feet of those damned queers. At least, according to the gentle folks at Repent America.

These folks are definitely a treat (and apparently have a broken keyboard from their use of ALL CAPS). Some highlights from their web site:

• ARE YOU GOOD ENOUGH TO GO TO HEAVEN? - Don’t worry…you aren’t.
• RA LAUNCHES PETITION DRIVE URGING PRESIDENT BUSH TO NOMINATE ROY MOORE FOR THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Sweet. He’s totally crazy. He and Scalia can go golfing together.

I said to myself on Tuesday “I wonder how long before some fundie blames the gays for the death toll in New Orleans?” I figured it would be Falwell, but he’s either too tired or too sick these days to be the first one to scape our particular homo-goat.

Now let’s see how many non-crazy conservative evangelicals publicly and unwaveringly denounce this shit. I bet you five dollars it will be zero.

So this has been blogged and reported about to death already, but I need to weigh in. Our friend Pat Robertson, always a font of crazy rantings, but this week he called for the assasination of Venezulean president Hugo Chavez on his “700 Club” program. This has of course led to a groundswell of outrage from the left, and predictable backpedaling from the right. As John Stewart pointed out, the response seems to be one of three categories: 1) dismiss the message (”What Pat really meant was…”), 2) dismiss the messenger (”Pat’s time really has passed. No one listens to him anymore.”), or 3) dismiss reason and critical thinking entirely.

Now Robertson has already apologized for his statement, or at least clarified his intentions. He’s still a crazy bastard as far as I’m concerned, and a dangerous one.

Let’s hear what “Reverend Pat” has had to say over the years (taken from “Postive Atheism’s Big Scary List of Pat Robertson Quotations“):

“The Constitution of the United States, for instance, is a marvelous document for self-government by the Christian people. But the minute you turn the document into the hands of non-Christian people and atheistic people they can use it to destroy the very foundation of our society. And that’s what’s been happening.” — The 700 Club television program, December 30, 1981

“You say you’re supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don’t have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don’t have to be nice to them.” — The 700 Club television program, January 14, 1991

If the widespread practice of homosexuality will bring about the destruction of your nation, if it will bring about terrorist bombs, if it’ll bring about earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor, it isn’t necessarily something we ought to open our arms to.

I would warn Orlando that you’re right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don’t think I’d be waving those flags in God’s face if I were you. — The 700 Club television program, August 6, 1998, on the occasion of the Orlando, Florida, Gay Pride Festival 199

I think “one man, one vote,” just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights. — Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, March 18, 1992, suggesting that South African white people’s votes ought to count more than other votes because they are in the minority

This is my favorite, well-known gem:

“The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.”–fundraising letter, 1992

Do Pat’s listeners and followers actually listen to what he’s saying? Do they question it? Do they think he’s at all crazy? I hope so.

So apparently there is a group of doctors in California who denied fertility treatment to a lesbian woman who had been in preparation for artificial insemination for many months, on the grounds that her “lifestyle” violated their fundamentalist Christian beliefs. And to top things off, the California Medical Association has weighed in in support of the doctors.

What’s next? Am I going to have to worry that when I go to the emergency room my doctor or nurse there, if my husband is present, may decline to treat me on the grounds that our relationship is immoral and “family-destroying” (the irony of the statement aside)? Maybe my dentist will refuse to clean my teeth given my moral degeneracy? I already can’t give blood, and apparently the FDA thinks I shouldn’t be a sperm donor too since by having sex with men means I must have HIV.

There is apparently a substantial number of people in this country who would pretty much prefer if their queer neighbors, co-workers, and family members would just fuck off and die in the corner somewhere. Sometimes they say it with baseball bats, and sometimes with press releases. Either way, its violence of the most personal kind.

And I’m fairly certain its not something that Jesus would do.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2005

CONTACT: Joel Ginsberg
Interim Executive Director: (415) 255-4547, jginsberg@glma.org

GLMA URGES CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION TO WITHDRAW SUPPORT FOR
DOCTORS WHO DISCRIMINATE
CMA defends actions of physicians who refused care on basis of sexual
orientation

SAN FRANCISCO - The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association today strongly
urged the California Medical Association to withdraw its
friend-of-the-court brief from a case involving two obstetricians who
denied fertility care to a San Diego woman because she is a lesbian.

In the lawsuit, Guadalupe Benitez, represented by Lambda Legal, charged
that her doctors refused to inseminate her after she had received 11
months of preparatory treatment from the clinic. The doctors claimed
that because of their personal religious beliefs about gay people, they
would not administer the treatment and asserted that their
fundamentalist Christian beliefs exempt them from California’s civil
rights laws. In May, the California Medical Association filed an amicus
brief in favor of the doctors who discriminated against Benitez. A few
weeks later, the Christian Medical and Dental Association filed its own
amicus brief.

Joel Ginsberg, Interim Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical
Association stated, “Objecting to the morality of a procedure is one
thing. Objecting to the morality of a patient is another. Since 1990 the
American Medical Association Code of Ethics has stated, ‘Physicians
cannot refuse to care for patients based on race, gender, sexual
orientation, or any other criteria that would constitute invidious
discrimination.’ This is part of a disturbing trend we’re seeing across
the country to give legal cover to health care providers who want to
refuse care to people they don’t approve of.”

Jennifer C. Pizer, Senior Counsel in Lambda Legal’s Western Regional
Office in Los Angeles said, “The California Medical Association wants it
both ways-you can’t on one hand say that discrimination is bad then on
the other provide a road map for how to deny treatment for a particular
group of people. CMA’s decision to enter this case in support of
discrimination against patients is extremely distressing.” Lambda Legal
has filed legal papers urging the California state appeals court to
reject the arguments of the CMA’s brief.

Regarding the CMA’s decision to file a friend-of-the-court brief on
behalf of the doctors, Ginsberg said, “We feel that the CMA is deeply
misguided in supporting physicians who allow ideology to obstruct the
delivery of compassionate health care. The fact that the Christian
Medical and Dental Association-which calls homosexuality ‘destructive
to. healthy marriages, families and society’-has also filed an amicus
brief in support of the doctors which makes many of the same arguments
as the CMA’s brief is most telling. There is a documented, systemic
problem of homophobia in health care that has real consequences. The
American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has just filed a document,
‘Special Issues in Women’s Health,’ that addresses this very subject.
Unfortunately, the CMA’s support of discrimination will only make things
worse.”

Ginsberg concluded, “Like most of the homophobia in medicine, the CMA’s
posture most likely comes not from a desire to discriminate, but from a
thoughtless disregard for the realities of people’s lives. We urge to
the CMA to immediately withdraw this amicus brief which has the
potential to be so intensely hurtful to LGBT persons everywhere.”

Case Background

Benitez’s lawsuit was thrown out of state court initially, but Benitez
won an appeal two years ago which said patients can sue health care
providers who discriminate against them based on their sexual
orientation, and federal law does not exempt health care providers from
state civil rights laws. That unanimous state appeals court decision set
an important precedent as the first ruling of its kind in the nation.
With that ruling allowing her to proceed, Benitez’ case returned to the
trial court.

Last fall, Benitez won a legal ruling in the trial court saying that
doctors in a for-profit medical group must comply with California’s
antidiscrimination laws and treat all patients equally, whatever the
doctors’ personal religious beliefs may be. The doctors asked the Court
of Appeal in San Diego to review that ruling before trial and the court
ordered both sides to submit briefs. The parties’ briefs can be found at
www.lambdalegal.org.

For more than 20 years, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association has
worked to ensure equality in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender patients and health professionals. For more information,
call 415-255-4547 or visit www.glma.org.

As my husband has already posted, we were featured in an article in the Ann Arbor News regarding the impact of the passage of Proposal 2, which is now being used to attempt to deny same-sex couples domestic partnership benefits granted by their employers. In our case, since I currently have no health insurance through my employer, I’m on Alan’s policy through the University of Michigan where he’s a graduate student. Having insurance through Alan is a big relief, and has made my current job uncertainties rather less stressful.

So now we’re the official poster-boys for same-sex marriage and domestic partnership stuff, at least for the next fifteen minutes. As you can imagine, this inspires people who feel the need to communicate. So yesterday we got a call from someone (straight married guy he pointed out) expressing his admiration and support for us. I need to call him back and thank him for his kindness.

Today I got the following missive in the post, typed on pink paper with a copy of our picture from the paper, with a note in pen that says “Arn’t [sic] You Darling?”. For the purposes of enlightening the public, I shall produce the note in its entirety:

————————
Faggott!

Is pink your color WIMPS? women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead undulged in sex with each other, men instead of having normal sexual relationships with, burned with lust for each other, men did shameful things with other men and as a result suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.

When the refused to acknowledge God, He has abandoned them to their evil minds, fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway.

When man lays with another man like he would with a woman it is abomination and sinful, it is NOT in God’s image, on judgement day you will have to answer for this sin.

Faggotts are a disgrace, I must say WIMP you [sic] WIMP boy friend is so GORGEOUS! you are anti-God secular scum, anti-American scum, you have a problem with your benefits get separated benefits morons.

About the only ones on your side are the liberal-left they love ya, and so does the corrupt ACLU, your kind are part of an immoral class and party of the enemy within, you will not be happy until the word of God and Jesus Christ are stamped out and that ALL of America will be faggot land.

I have seen faggots turn their adopted kids into faggots, you spread AIDS along with the doppers [sic?] and niggers of Africa its not too late to repent your life style, its your choice to be faggots, no one told you to, marriage is for a man and a women [sic] that is God’s law and I would say your [sic] mocking God right now.

————————

Some thoughts

• This guy (its always a guy) must be an idiot. He uses a typewriter and his own handwriting. If you’re going to send threatening letters at least use a freaking laserprinter. They are slightly harder to trace. I’ve seen CSI. I know what forensics people can do.
• The reference to Romans 1:26-27 is typical. See the page on these passages at textweek.com (a wonderful resource), which provides some excellent exegesis on Paul’s intentions here.
• I’m curious which one he thinks is gorgeous. The letter was addressed to me (no return address, the coward), so he must mean Alan. The picture isn’t the best (our wedding pics are better, although I’m thinner now), but he does look pretty good. I’m glad I married him, thank you very much.
• The idea of turning America into faggot-land is appealing — we would certainly get into a lot fewer wars and someone would convince Condoleeza Rice to get her teeth fixed — but as a Christian and ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) he’s rather off the mark in terms of my intentions towards denying the Christian faith. Maybe its cliche, but I try (often with great difficulty) to live my life with a nod towards “What Would Jesus Do?”. I have a strong suspicion that my Savior, who spent his time hanging out with prostitutes, Gentiles, and Roman collaborators (sinners, all) would not be spending his time penning anonymous and threatening letters to people who are asking for health insurance.

  Also, despite its flaws and the constant idiocy of the current administration, I love my country, thank you very much, and I thank God that I live in such an amazing (if sometimes amazingly flawed) country.

• Both of us having lain with women as well as men, I’ll tell you that one never lies with a man as one does with a woman. Its completely different, bub! “Abomination” is a rather big word, and given that I’m not too concerned with touching the skin of a dead pig either, I don’t think admonitions about ritual un-cleanness are particularly apropos. I have read my Bible, dorkus, including the parts you conveniently skip over.
• I’m not mocking God — I honor and respect God in all of her mystery and glory and awesome presence. However I am mocking you, for you dishonor the faith that you claim to hold dear in sending this evil trash into my house.

There, I feel better now. Peace.