The subject, Exxon, is a reliably low-ranking company on the gay rights spectrum, scoring a negative twenty-five (!) on the Human Rights Campaign's latest Corporate Equality Index. The lawsuit, however is a first of its kind. Basically, Freedom To Work has filed suit with Illinois' Department of Human Rights, claiming that the oil giant discriminates against gay applicants. The LGBT rights org. submitted two fictional applications and claim that the less-qualified-but-more-hetero applicant was offered an interview while the more-qualified-but-more-'mo applicant was shut out. Report at link: (graphic: Memeographs) Associated Press report: Complaint Accuses Exxon Mobil of Anti-Gay ...

Found on Twitter account of NOM's Comm. Director: Translation: "Who Is My Father?" [@AmericanPapist] First of all, what the hell does this even mean? Just because Darth Vader uttered an iconic line with the word "father" in it doesn't mean that it has resonance. Not to mention, I'm not sure I'd want to link a known villain to my cause. But beyond that, do these French activists (and NOM allies) really think that Disney, the current owners and gatekeepers of all things Star Wars, are going to let them use this for their discriminatory cause? Ridiculous! ...

James Dale: ...

Opponents of Equality in Boys Scouts Project Adult Baggage Onto Supportive Future [GLAAD] ...

"Save California" leader Randy Thomasson tells popular conservative radio host Janet Mefferd why California parents should keep their children home today. It's because teachers and administrators who back Harvey Milk Day are just like Hitler, natch: *Source: Janet Mefferd, 5/21/13 And the popular conservative Christian radio host doesn't bat an eye. "You do," Ms. Mefferd proudly responds to a soundbite that compares teachers who promote tolerance to a madman who slaughtered millions. My friends, we must look out for another. It's getting really ugly out there. ...

You have to say one thing for Liberty Counsel lawyer and Liberty University Associate Dean Matt Barber: unlike so many in his anti-LGBT movement, he is actually proud to stand by his reliably over-the-top rhetoric. Latest case in point: He went on fringe radio show "Crosstalk" and demeaned gays and President Obama in every way possible, using words like "demonic" and "evil" and "spiritual warfare" and "rebellion against God" to describe his fight and his opposition. But when RightWingWatch posted the clip, Barber didn't run away from it. No, no—he personally retweeted it, as if ...

A welcome change of pace on the Catholic commentary circuit: "Though few will state it publicly, one of the arguments against admitting homosexuals as adult scout leaders is the unsubstantiated belief that homosexuals are more prone to sexual abuse of children than are heterosexuals. Similarly fallacious arguments have been made regarding the predilection of Roman Catholic clergy to sexual abuse of children. Consequently, one would think that Catholic church leadership would be particularly sensitive to such unjust assumptions. Yet the silence of Catholic leadership regarding the Boy Scout controversy has been deafening. If [Cardinal] Dolan wants the Catholic church to do a ...

Tony Perkins: "We denounce any and all acts of unprovoked violence. No American should be the target of violence - period. We hope and trust that justice will be served in that the perpetrator of this senseless act of violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law" [FRC] Brian Brown: "We condemn in the strongest possible way the murder of a gay man in New York by a killer who apparently hurled anti-gay insults at him moments before the killing. This senseless act cannot be condoned in America or anywhere, and we urge that the perpetrator be ...

Considering I've been waking to news of a new anti-gay hate crime on what feels like a daily basis, my patience for loose rhetoric like this is really wearing thin: "No matter how many TV shows are produced about gay couples being married and raising children, or phones calls made by president Obama to gay athletes, homosexuality will never be the majority in our culture. I think it’s high time the 97% of the rest of heterosexual America stand up for the preservation of American society not the distortion of it." —Crystal Wright, writing for conservative behemoth Townhall.com And the comments ...

John Stemberger is the man leading the current effort to keep the Boy Scouts discriminatory. Yesterday, he decided to go after another country's young scouts as well: *Source: Janet Mefferd, 5/20/13 A joke? Hippies? Lacks esprit de corps (common spirit and devotion)? Does anyone remember designating Mr. Stemberger as the world's authority on acceptable youth experiences? I know I never got a ballot. ***For much more on Stemberger, see his GLAAD CAP profile. ...

Remember that moment in the third presidential debate of 2012 where President Obama was all like, "Please proceed, Governor," since he knew his opponent had unwittingly painted himself into trap? Yeah, well—that's kind of how I feel when orgs that proudly fly in the face of all credible science stand up for a cause, wrongly thinking their advocacy is helpful to their side: Ex-Gay Group NARTH Encourages Boy Scouts To Continue Anti-Gay Discrimination [ThinkProgress LGBT] Better idea: Keep snake oil out of Boy Scouts' canteens; let gays in. ...

Remember when Exodus International's Alan Chambers added me to an email thread of conservatives, revealing all kinds of nasty things that were being said about me/us? Well, one of the thread's participants adds more: "Earlier this month, [Alan] Chambers even went so far as to insert secretly the email address of Jeremy Hooper, an abrasive homosexual activist, into the middle of a private group email thread containing a number of pro-family leaders (including moi). This led to a number of misrepresentations online by homosexual activist sites and even Salon.com. This deceitful alignment with a person who maligns ...

After a school day where the teacher tells him that "God made men to be fathers and women to be mothers"… …and a zoo trip where add teaches him that all all animal families "consist of a male, a female, and their offspring," a young boy named Michael decides to pray for his friend with two dads: That is the gist of Amber Dee Parker's new anti-gay children's book: Because the drive to reject people who are so clearly a natural part of our world isn't going to be indoctrinate itself. They've got to be carefully taught. Oh, and did you notice ...

Last night, thousands of distraught New Yorkers took to the streets to rally/protest against the violent turn that has gripped the Big Apple during the month of May. The powerful and peaceful rally also included victims and families of the slain. It was heartfelt, powerful, and needed. I was there. But according to one of the most rabidly anti-gay voices in American politics, the whole thing was just an attempt to "politicize" [Matt Barber] This is truly vile behavior. A man is dead in an act that everyone admits was a hate crime. Gay New ...

If found out, his bosses would instantly remove him from his job. That's where we still are with the Boy Scouts of America, and that's where we will remain unless there is a policy change. Gay boys and gay adults are routinely given the boot, making the organization seem like something out of an earlier era of institutionalized fear. This week in Texas, BSA delegates will vote on whether or not to change the policy, at least as it applies to boys. In the run up to that vote, this aforementioned gay employee (who wishes to renin anonymous) shares his experiences ...

With just eleven days to get pass the marriage bill, this promising report out of Illinois: Advocates: votes are there for marriage bill [Windy City Times] As someone who happens to love both equal rights under the constitution and Chicago-style pizza, I couldn't be more hopeful. Invite me to your wedding, and I promise to not let my ritualistic eating of the latter make me late to the ceremony granting you the former. ...

The conservative movement's favorite "historian", David Barton, wants you to believe that gays are inherently diseased and that no cure will ever be strong enough to fend off God's wrath: *Source: WallBuilders Live, 5/20/13 "SHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! The adults are conducting research!" cries out the world community of credible and responsible virologists. ...

I can't say I'd blame the National Organization For Marriage for laying low in Illinois, considering the team fighting against marriage equality in the state is one of the most hostile local coalitions I have ever witnessed. But this is still interesting: NOM a no-show It's upsetting to report that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) appears to be completely skipping the Illinois fight. No one we talked to has seen any evidence of anything NOM has done there, nor have they even been contacted by NOM. It's noteworthy ...

Spotted at one of last Friday's "On My Honor" rallies against inclusive Boy Scouts. This was posted to the On My Honor coalition's official Facebook page: [SOURCE: On My Honor] So apparently it's not enough to deny gay boys and men of our worthwhile orientations. Some of these adults, who have every right and reason to know better, are trying to deny gay boys of their very boyhood. End result: More nasty messaging that tells some of the most vulnerable children in our population that they were born into some sort of "other" class that falls outside of the "acceptable" ...

MSNBC's Daily Rundown just ran the following clip, featuring the Republican party's current nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and attributed it to me. I thank Chuck Todd's team for reminding me that it exists: *Source: Faith 2 Action 4/6/10 It's hard to out-anti-gay Ken Cuccinelli. But he, the man who wants to be Cuccinelli's right hand man in the Governor's office, actually accomplishes the task. In Virginia this year, the "Lt." in Lt. Governor might just signify "Liability." He also told his pal Peter LaBarbera that liberalism has killed more Blacks than the KKK, lynchings, slavery, and Jim Crow: [FULL: ...