Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 03/28/2006 9:15:39 AM PST by Reagan Man
(CNSNews.com) - Religious conservatives meeting in Washington, D.C., lashed out at homosexual advocacy groups and organizations catering to the political Left on Monday.
One participant criticized the "gay agenda," which he said calls for not only acceptance, but also "affirmation and celebration of this behavior as normal and even desirable."
The two-day conference, entitled "The War on Christians and the Values Voters in 2006," is sponsored by Vision America, an organization that describes its mission as "restoring Judeo-Christian values in America." Conference participants produced a "Values Voters' Contract with Congress," which includes key elements of the conservative, religious agenda.
Based on the Republican Party's 1994 "Contract with America," the "Values Voters' Contract" lists 10 aims, ranging from legislation to keep the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to laws guaranteeing greater religious freedoms in the workplace, prohibiting human cloning and embryo research, and guaranteeing a "right to life" to all children before birth.
Defending the family is a key goal of the so-called "values voters." The traditional or natural family is one of the targets of the political Left, said Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute. He said he was proud to share the stage with "heroes in the fight for normalcy."
Peter Sprigg, the Family Research Council's vice president for policy, noted that the family "is not merely a social construct subject to infinite redefinition.
"We believe what makes a family is one man and one woman uniting in marriage for a lifetime and bearing children from that union," Sprigg stated. "We are against anything that threatens the traditional family or undermines that idea," including pre-marital sex, pornography, adultery and prostitution.
"And yes, we are also against the practice of homosexuality," he added.
Sprigg said Christians do not hate homosexuals. "On the contrary, we desire the best for them. However, we believe engaging in behavior that is unnatural, immoral and dangerous to the public health and their own health is not the best thing for people with same-sex attractions."
He noted that the FRC and similar organizations also oppose the "gay agenda," which "demands full acceptance of the practice of homosexuality -- morally, socially, legally, religiously, politically and financially.
"Indeed, it calls for not only acceptance, but affirmation and celebration of this behavior as normal and even desirable," Sprigg said.
The Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman and founder of Traditional Values Coalition, stated that the "gay agenda" would come to a quick end if Americans rose up in numbers against it.
However, "Christians are nice guys, and nice guys finish last," he added.
LaBarbera agreed with Sheldon's analysis. "By simply saying we oppose the sin and not the sinner, we leave the playing field to homosexual activists and their euphemistic talking points, which are 'discrimination,' 'equality' and that poor euphemism, 'sexual orientation,'" he said.
Regina Griggs, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, said that while everyone is a sinner, homosexual behavior can have especially dangerous results. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in 2002, 49 percent of AIDS cases resulted from sexual relations between two males 13 to 24 years of age.
While most speakers said they prefer using the word "homosexual" instead of "gay," Sheldon said he usually sticks with the term's original meaning: "sodomite."
A number of organizations were criticized for supporting the "gay agenda," though one group in particular -- the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) -- was the subject of another panel decrying its "radical secularization" efforts.
Mike Johnson, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, noted that the ACLU has always had a subversive agenda and is the "number one religious censor in America" due to its skillful use of fear, intimidation and misinformation.
One method the ACLU uses to "chip away at the moral and religious foundation of America" is to silence the gospel by removing any references to God in the public square, he said.
However, Mat Staver, founder, president and general counsel of the Liberty Counsel, noted that since Samuel Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court, he's noticed a growing reluctance on the ACLU's part to attempt appeals to the highest court in the land.
"Maybe they realize the Supreme Court isn't their social engineering friend anymore," Staver said.
William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said he has been battling the ACLU for decades, and is encouraged by the "great work" being done by such groups as the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Counsel.
Donohue said he has discovered why the ACLU files so many lawsuits to try and force communities to take down nativity scenes. "It's because there aren't three wise men and a virgin in the entire ACLU."
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which describes itself as the nation's "largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization," says its goal is to ensure that "all GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
"By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all," the group's website states.
The ACLU's Lesbian & Gay Rights Project brings "impact lawsuits" in state and federal courts throughout the country, according to the group's website.
"Our legal strategies are built on the idea that fighting for civil rights means not just persuading judges but ultimately changing the way people think," the group states.
Bravo. Beautifully said.
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
In order to perceive comedy or satire, you have to have a sense of humor.
Baptist ping...
Probably won't see this mentioned on MSM.
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Homosexuals have no more rights than a rapist, pedophile, or incestuous marriages.
____
Well, except for the fact that rape and pedophilia are crimes committed against someone not consenting to the act. People who commit crimes lose some of their rights when convicted of a crime.
Being homosexual is not a crime, so therefore your statement is simply incorrect.
So what sharp tongued response will you have for me, am I allowing evil to prosper or am I just another filthy apologist?
Quoting a nut who can find anti-Catholic bias in a cloud formation doesn't exactly enhance the author's credibility.
Look at the bright side. Now you can add the honorific, "F.A." after your name. :)
Yep. Mainstream conservatives are failing in their responsibility to slap down the goofballs in much the same way the Muslim world is failing to slap down the extremists, and with the same long-term results.
Moral issues aside, I cannot see how you can make an argument that private, consensual relations between adults (even if homosexual) are in any way legally analogous to rape and pedophilia (both of which involve non-consenting victims and/or children) or incestuos marriage (which would require legal recongition).
Yes, it is. Unfortunately, too many Americans, especially young people, think that watching Comedy Central/Colbert is watching the news. Our young men, especially, are being "dumbed down" by the absolute tidal wave of homosexual/feminism fanaticism in the public school system.
I know it's satire. You know it's satire. Kids who watch it think it is the Huntley-Brinkely Report.
Life IS short. Make it count.
I have more faith in people's discernment abilities than you do, even those who were born after Huntley-Brinkley. People know it's comedy.
BOTTOM LINE:
Even if all the Special or Extra rights were granted to the homosexual, it still remains -- Same Sex IS immoral and a Sin.
All the leagalizing in the world cannot change this FACT.
"Kids who watch it think it is the Huntley-Brinkely Report."
I'm not sure whether you just know some pretty dense kids or the parents aren't doing their jobs, but the teenagers I know who watch this are well aware it's satire.
Why must you resort to name-calling? What about anything Mr. Donohoe says or does would take away credibility from the author?
I dont even know where to start. Homosexual marriage is in the best interests of children???? You really think that? But this one has got to go into the archive of stupid statements for all time,
"No actually am able to separate between the question of sin versus the power of the government. The government is not entitled to regulate sin. they are allowed to stop innocent people from being raped. I can't believe you can't see the difference."
So tell me genius what is sin? Is it just something that we make up and changes over time? So I guess the govt. should get out of the legal business all together huh? Isnt murder a sin? But wait we wouldnt want the govt to regulate the punishment for someone who commits murder would we? Now that I think about it the govt. according to you is not entitled to regulate almost any crime; because many of them double as sins too? Isnt that a strange coincidence? sarcasm
Also you didnt answer my question again, re. an incestuous marriage - this is betweeen two consenting adults and father and her 18 year old daughter. This has nothing to do with protecting children per your answer - "There are all kinds of restrictions on marriage in addition to the gender restriction. They are all designed to provide the best environment to raise children. For example banning incest and requiring VD tests... These are valid restrictions."
Please try it again - remember its best to stay quiet if you realize that your putting your foot in your mouth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.