Part V: THEOCRATIC REVISION A ITS WORST

THEOCRATIC REVISION AT IS WORST
Distorted Facts:  The Cultural War Against Gays
By SweetPea

During the 1920s and 1930s the world learned that when sociopathic
leaders, such as Adolf Hitler, were megalomaniacal to put their insane
ideas in print, the world should wake up and listen. Today I would
humbly suggest that the same holds true for public statements made by
megalomaniacal religious leaders on the far right.  If we don't wake
up and both, listen, and infer the lessons from the past, we may not
only lose our Constitution and our freedom.   Some of us may well lose
our lives.

EXECUTION MANIA

If we take the Holy Bible at face value  there are anywhere from ten,
to eighteen, to twenty-three capital offenses. They are as follows:
Murder (Exodus 21:12, Exodus 21:15);   Murder (Exodus 21:12, Exodus
21:15);  Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16); Disobedience to parents (Exodus
21:17, Deuteronomy 21:18); Juvenile delinquency - incorrigibility
(Deuteronomy 21:18-21);  Bestiality (Leviticus 20:15); Violations of
the Sabbath (Exodus 31:15); Adultery (Leviticus 20:10); Abominations
(Leviticus 20:2); Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16); Incest (Leviticus
20:11); Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13); Witchcraft (Exodus 22:18,
Leviticus 20:27); False prophecy (Deuteronomy 13:5); Worshiping a
false god (Deuteronomy 13:6-10); Sacrificing to false gods (Exodus
22:20); Sodomy (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13); Sex with a woman
betrothed to another (Deuteronomy 22:25); False witness in a capital
crime (Deuteronomy 19:16-20); Fornication by daughters of priests
(Leviticus 21:9); Failure to abide by a decision of the High Court
(Deuteronomy 17:12); Unchastity (Deuteronomy 22:21-24); Cursing
someone (Leviticus 24:14); Negligence resulting in death (Exodus
21:29).

Wow!  That's quite a list, but whether like it or not the truth of the
matter is that there are pastors, laity, and members of congregations
who seriously believe that the above list of capital crimes should
indeed result in executions if the perpetrator is found guilty.
Consider the remarks that follow:

"Brute beasts ... part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be
utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven."
Jerry Falwell On homosexuals, as quoted in The Bible Tells Me
So, 1996  [2]

"I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be
blunt and plain: if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him
and tell God he died."
The Reverend Jimmy Swaggart in a September 2004 evangelism
 television broadcast [3]

"The State carries the power of the sword, that is, the power to
prohibit [homosexual] conduct with physical penalties, such as
confinement and even execution. It must use that power to prevent the
subversion of children toward this lifestyle."
Roy Moore in a 2002 concurrence in a custody case involving a lesbian
mother. [4]

"In Stranger at the Gate , I recalled my experience in a fifty thousand
watt Seattle radio station where I had gone to debate a
Reconstructionist Presbyterian Pastor on a Popular call in show.  When
I asked him how he interpreted the passage in Leviticus that calls for
the death of a man who sleeps with another man, he replied without
hesitation, 'It means you should be killed.'  After swallowing hard, I
asked him, 'Who should do the killing?  You church folk?'  He answered
without pause:  'No, that's the civil authority's job. That's why we
have to get more good men of God elected into government.'"   [5]
Mel White describing an encounter with a popular west coast
Presbyterian pastor

"(R. J. ) Rushdoony used that verse in the book of of Romans (Romans
1:32) to prove that the Laws of Moses, written thirteen centuries
before Christ, still apply to twenty-first century Christians.  In
Leviticus, the author makes it clear that men who sleep with other men
are an abomination and should be executed (Leviticus 20"13).  I have
met fundamentalist Christian Clergy and laity alike who take the whole
verse seriously and warn me in letters and on radio talk shows that it
s God's will that I be executed for accepting my homosexuality as
God's Gift."    [6]
Mel White on R. J. Rushdoony, founder of the Chalcedon Foundation
and of Reconstructionist theology.

I have no doubt that the majority, indeed a vast majority, of the
people in this country aren't so crazy as to call for the execution of
Gays and Lesbians, but for some reason, certain individuals with
authoritative personalities have obsessed over this issue and it has
become their idee fixe. I'd like to say that they weren't sincere,
that their desire to use the state to commit genocide against the gay
and lesbian community were something beyond the confines of their very
dark and twisted "faith," but the truth of the matter is that when
these people say that gays and lesbians should be put to death, they
are not kidding.  They are operating on the same paradigm and Osama bin
Laden and the Taliban.  One may worship Allah and the other may
worship the Old Testament Yahweh ( I see very little Christianity in
their fanatical rants), but in the end both, the radical right wing
Muslims and the radical right wing Christians operate under the same
principles.  They genuinely believe that their Holy Books are superior
to any secular document such as our Constitution and they want to
replace those governing documents with a very brutal and repressive
form of theocracy that will justify the execution of those who dare to
dissent.

Part of the problem with a literal interpretation of the Bible is that
it fails to recognize the fact that some passages are more relevant
than others.   Those who accept a literal interpretation of the Bible
believe that all parts of the text are equally without error, so you
literally end up with a form of Christianity in which the four Gospels
of Jesus Christ are as important as the Book of  Haggai or Malachi.
Lesser prophets are placed on the same level as Jesus Christ.   That
is a very twisted form of Christianity when your central prophet is no
more important than any other figure in the Holy Text.  But it does
provide a convenient excuse, a brutal justification for selecting the
violent and repressive parts of the Bible which promote bigotry, hate,
violence, and death.  And it allows your typical homophobe to
ignore the portions of the New Testament which call for love, mercy,
charity,  humility, and forgiveness.

I suspect that there are Christians who either won't admit, or who
can't understand that what they say can have an effect on what other
people do.  I do not deny them the right to speak their minds )freedom
of speech is one of the corner stones of our democratic republic), but
I DO retain the right to counter their hateful, obsessive scorn with
what I perceive to be the truth.   In short, I claim the right to
speak the truth to power--or if you will, I claim the right to speak
the truth to what I consider distortion, revisionism, and, often, out
right lies.

Where to begin?  So much of what the far right says is little more
that Orwellian Double Speak, revision at it's very worst. All to often
the far right attempts to portray itself as the innocent victim of
Gay and Lesbian Propaganda, but when you read their material,
listen to their rhetoric, and watch them on television you realize that
they are actually engaged in some of the most hypocritical projection
one could ever imagine.  In short, they are calling the kettle black.
As a mater of fact, many of the accusations they hurl at my
community sound as if they were penned by Hitler's Propaganda
Minister, Doctor Paul Josef Goebbels.

As an out-of-the-closet gay male I am getting a little sick and tired
of being compared to everyone and everything from Typhoid Mary to
Jeffrey Dahmer.  For all intents and purposes gay males are compared
to the worst kinds of people that you could ever possibly imagine and
the sad truth of the matter is that all too often what the far right
promotes as the truth is often picked at random out of their
proverbial asses.

This is the kind of garbage that we hear on an all to regular basis.

GAYS ARE DISEASED

First let's get something straight.  Homosexuality is not a disease.
Countless respected, mainstream organizations will tell you this,
including:  The American Psychiatric Association, the American Law
Institute, American Bar Association, the World Health Organization,
The American Psychological Association, the American Medical
Association, the Academy of Pediatrics, and  the Council on Child and
Adolescent Health.  Moreover, in 1999, the American Academy of
Pediatrics,  the American Counseling Association, American the
Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of
Teachers, the American Psychological Association,  the American
School Health Association, the Interfaith Alliance Foundation,  the
National Association of school psychologists,  the National
Association of Social  Workers and the National Education
Association, issued a document called Just the Facts About
Sexual Orientation in which they:

"Expressed concern about harassment of gay and lesbian youth;
condemned reparative therapy as potentially harmful and of little or
no effectiveness,  and describe transformational ministries as
representing only one part of Christianity--those faith groups which
view homosexuality as outside God's will. and incompatible with
Christianity.  The site other denominations as supporting equal
rights, and protection against discrimination, for gays and lesbians."
[7]

The idea that gays are either diseased or the disease itself is
nothing more than a reworking of what Nazi propaganda had to say
about the Jews during the 1920s and 1930s.  In the Nazi propaganda
film, The Eternal Jew, Jews were described as disease spreading rats:
"In this way, they (the rats) spread disease, plague, leprosy, typhoid
fever, cholera, dysentery, and so on. They are cunning, cowardly, and
cruel, and are found mostly in large packs. Among the animals, they
represent the rudiment of an insidious and underground destruction -
just like the Jews among human beings." [8]  Today, right wing
theocrats describe gays as carriers of STDs,  as disproportionately
diseased, as more likely to carry syphilis than straight men. "The
disgusting details of the homosexual lifestyle explain why so many
diseases are present in the homosexual community." [9]  That from
The American Family Association.

GAYS ARE A POWERFUL ELITE

In this very weak argument, the percentage of gays in the overall
American population is reduced to a mere one percent.  Having
dramatically reduced our numbers, the would be theocrats then go on
to accuse us of running the entire country!  Haven't you heard?  We
control Hollywood, we're wealthy, we control television and radio.
We're more powerful than other Americans.  Does that sound familiar?

It should.

It was the same thing that the Nazis said about Jews in the
first half of the 20th Century.  Again, from The Eternal Jew: At the
beginning of the twentieth century, the Jews sit at the junction of the
world financial markets. They are an international power. Although only
one per cent of the world's population, with the help of their capital,
they terrorize the world stock exchanges, world opinion, and world
politics. New York is today the center of Jewish power." [10]

GAYS ARE RICHER AND MORE EDUCATED

According to James Kennedy, "The homosexual community does
not fit the bill (of a legitimate minority) Homosexuals as a whole, are
better educated and better off financially than  Average Americans.
In fact, homosexuals hold a disproportionate number of professional
and management positions in our economy!" [11]  Robert Knight of the
Family research Council agrees:  "Homosexuals are among the most
economically advantaged people in our country. Research by
marketing firms shows that as a group homosexuals have higher than
average per-capita annual incomes ($36,800 vs. $12,287), are more
likely to hold college degrees ( 59.6 percent vs. 18 percent), have
professional or managerial positions (49 percent vs. 15.9 percent..."
[12].  But then again, so did the Nazi Propaganda machine."Fifty-two
 out of every 100 doctors were Jews. Of every 100 merchants, 60 were
Jews. The average wealth of Germans was 810 marks; the average
wealth of Jews 10,000 marks." [13]

To all of that I would ask one question:  "So what?"   Isn't that the
American Dream?  Work hard.  Get a good education.  Move ahead
in life.  That's what the far right itself spews whenever it wants to
slash or eliminate spending programs for the weak and the needy,
but when gays, lesbians, and Jews actually succeed suddenly the
American dream becomes a matter of being a powerful elite or over
privileged.  The message could no be more clear.  The American can
only be dreamed by white, male, reactionary Christians who can pass
a theocratic litmus test. Why am I not surprised? 

GAYS THREATEN CHRISTIANS

"Fundamentalist Christians see homosexuals as the primary threat
to the Christian Church as well. Says (James) Kennedy:  'It's obvious
that many in the homosexual community feel intolerance, even
contempt for the Christian faith.' Dobson:  'For more than forty years
the homosexual activist movement has sought to implement a master
plan with goals that include muzzling the clergy and the Christian
media.'  Falwell:  'Complete elimination of God and Christianity from
American society is being designed by homosexual activists) right
now.'  Robertson:  'Just like what Nazi Germany did to Jews, so liberal
America is doing to evangelical Christians.  Its no different.  It is the
same thing.  It is happening all over again.  It is the Democratic
Congress, the liberal-based media, and the homosexuals who want to
destroy the Christians." [14}  Those are rather interesting statements,
when you consider the fact that Robertson calls for the assassination
of foreign leaders and makes knee jerk predictions in which he almost
salivates at the idea of mass destruction. As for Jerry Falwell's remark,
what can I say?  The man certainly has guts, because this is the
same person who asked his if his followers would join him in a
declaration of war, stating explicitly that "There is no middle ground...
For Christians there can be no peaceful coexistence with these
sodomites whom God has given over to a reprobate mind."  [15]
And would it surprise you to know that the Nazi propaganda film,
The Eternal Jew, would have agreed with all of the above statements?
"What does the ancient Talmud law teach? Let us hear some quotes...
(now supposedly quoting the Talmud) Praise to the Lord who has set
apart the holy Israelites from other people. The heathen, who do not
keep the law, will be destroyed." [16]

GAYS ARE A THREAT TO CHILDREN

Ah yes.   The age old myth that all homosexuals want to do is
molest children.  Considering some of the sex scandals that rocked
the televangelist community in the 1980s, plus the Ted Haggard
fiasco, you'd think that this would be the last thing our beloved
Theocrats would talk about, but you have to say one thing--our
beloved theocrats certainly have chutzpah, because this allegation
simply is not true.  It's another scare tactic in the right wing war
against the other, against the dissident.  According to Doctor
Nicholas A. Groth, "The research to date all points to there
being no significant relationship between a homosexual lifestyle
and child molestation. There appears to be practically no reportage
of sexual molestation of girls by lesbian adults, and the adult male
who sexually molests young boys is not likely to be homosexual ."
[17]  But that doesn't stop the far right from spreading the same
old package of prevarications.   "They commit over 33% of the
sex acts with children. Of the pupil molestations, homosexual
teachers commit as many as 80% of those acts."  [18]  Or, if you
prefer, the delusional rantings of Jerry Falwell:  "'Mark my words,"
he writes. (The homosexual's) primary target is the nation's public
schools and our impressionistic children."  Translated into modern
English, homosexuals want to indoctrinate and convert children
(an ironic statement when you consider the fact that it is the radical
religious right which has obsessed over the idea of indoctrinating
homosexuals through restorative or conversion therapy until they
behave like heterosexuals).  Does anyone besides yours truly see
the similarity between this tactic, this particular example of revision
and the manner in which the Nazis dehumanized Jews?  "This
parasitical Jewish race is responsible for most international crime.
In 1932, Jews, only 1 percent of the wrld's population accounted for...
47 percent of crooked games of choice--82 percent of international
crime organizations--98 percent of prostitution."   [19]

GAYS ARE UNNATURAL, PERVERTED, PATHOLOGICAL

How do you answer something like this?  According to a majority
of the psychiatric and psychological organizations, homosexuality is
not pathological.  That isn't to say that gays and lesbians don't
suffer from other disorders such as depression as a result of
constant persecution and harassment by their indefatigable opponents,
but would humbly suggest that those who argue that homosexuals,
gays and lesbians, are by nature perverted and/or pathological should
take a few long strides into the 21st century.

 "Some psychologists and psychiatrists still hold negative personal
attitudes toward homosexuality. However, empirical evidence and
professional norms do not support the idea that homosexuality is a
form of mental illness or is inherently linked to psychopathology.
.
"The foregoing should not be construed as an argument that sexual
minority individuals are free from mental illness and psychological
distress. Indeed, given the stresses created by sexual stigma and
prejudice, it would be surprising if some of them did not manifest
psychological problems (Meyer, 2003). The data from some studies
suggest that, although most sexual minority individuals are well
adjusted, nonheterosexuals may be at somewhat heightened risk
for depression, anxiety, and related problems, compared to
exclusive heterosexuals." [20]

WHO SUFFERS?  WE DO.
The Inevitable Results of Threats and Hate Speech

The verbal attacks continue.  Gays and lesbians are compared to
everything from rats to Devil worshipers, which makes me wonder,
what kind of effect does this have on the society at large?  Well, we
already know, don't we?  It creates an atmosphere in which those who
are less than balanced, in which the highly disturbed feel free to act
on their violent impulses.  Can you say Matthew Shepherd?  Can you
say Harvey Milk?  They were individuals who were quite literally
murdered because of their sexual orientation, and they aren't the only
ones who have suffered such a tragic fate.

*Nicholas Ray West, a 23-year-old Southern Baptist singer was
kidnapped, tortured and executed in a gravel pit because he was
gay. [21]

*January 1994,  Michael Benishek, another gay Texan, was found
dead in San Antonio.  The coroner was uncertain if he died from a
severe blow to his head with a blunt instrument or from a knife slash
across his throat.  [22]

*February 1994, Tommy Musick, age 48, a gay hairstylist from
Midland, Texas, was shot four times in the head.  His 18-year-old
killer, Ramsey Harrell, received a mere twelve year sentence because
the jury held an an obvious bias against gay people. [23]

*In March 1994, police discovered the body of Joe Trevino, another
gay man who had been strangled and bludgeoned to death in his
home by two teenagers. [24]

*April 1994, John Anthony Burwell, age 26, was shot to death by
a 16-year-old youth from San Antonio.  The youth dragged Burwell's
body to his pickup truck, drove his victim's body to a nearby creek,
where he dumped his victim off a forty foot birdge into the water
below.  [25]

*June 1994, Paul Quintanilla's body was found in a field near Dallas
Texas.  The young man had been stabbed twelve times and his
genitals had been slashed.  [26]

* "On May 8, 1995, Bill Clayton, 17,  committed suicide after
having been brutally assaulted for being bisexual. [27]

* "Born Teena Brandon and raised as a girl, he was living as a man
 known as Brandon Teena in Falls City, Nebraska, when he was
 murdered at age 21. In December of 1993, two men who
discovered his gender raped him. His attackers later shot and
killed him after learning Brandon had reported the rape and
was to help police in the investigation."  [28]

* "On August 7, 1995, Tyra Hunter died after DC fire
department emergency medical technicians called her epithets,
backed away, and refused to render treatment on discovering that
she was a transgendered woman." [29]

* "On October 6, 1998, 21-year-old college student Matthew Shepard
was tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming, pistol-whipped, then left
for dead in the freezing night.  He died six days later." [30]

* "Billy Jack Gaither, 39, of Sylacauga, Alabama was bludgeoned
to death by two men on Feb. 19, 1999, then set on fire with
automobile tires because he was gay. [31]

* "Pfc. Barry Winchell, 21, was beaten to death by fellow
service members while sleeping in his cot on July 5, 1999 at Fort
Campbell, Ky.  His Army colleagues thought (correctly) that he
was gay, so they killed him." [32]

* "On September 22, 2000, a man looking to "waste some
faggots" entered a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia and opened fire,
killing Danny Overstreet, and injuring 6 others."  [33]

*On the Fourth of July, 2000, JR Warren, 26, who was black and
gay, was beaten to death by three men in West Virginia, then run
over by a car to make it look like a hit and run."  [34]

The upshot to all of this is that despite what the radical religious
right says about homosexual men being more violent than
heterosexual men, the truth of the matter is that there are more
heterosexual on homosexual crimes than there are homosexual on
heterosexual crimes.

In 2004 there were 738 incidents of anti-male homosexual hate
crimes; 164 incidents of anti-female homosexual hate crimes; 245
incidents of anti-homosexual hate crimes; 33 incidents of anti -
heterosexual hate crimes, and 17 incidents of anti-bisexual hate
crimes. [35]

In a similar vein, there were 855 anti-male homosexual offenses;
201 anti female homosexual offenses; 297 anti homosexual
offenses; 35 anti-homosexual offenses; 35 anti-heterosexual
offenses, and 18 anti-bisexual offenses. [36]

There were 902 male homosexual victims; 212 female homosexual
victims; 314 homosexual victims; 36 heterosexual victims, and
18 bisexual victims.  [37]

There were 832 offenders who acted out against homosexual
males; 163 against female homosexuals; 224 against homosexuals;
22 against heterosexuals; and 17 who offended against bisexuals.
[38]

THE PHONY EXPERTS

Where does this garbage come from?  Usually from bona fide quacks
in professional garb.  The most deplorable of which is Paul Cameron.
"On December 2, 1983, the American Psychological Association
sent Paul Cameron a letter informing him that he had been dropped
from membership. Early in 1984, all members of the American
Psychological Association received official written notice that
"Paul Cameron (Nebraska) was dropped from membership for a
violation of the Preamble to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists"
by the APA Board of Directors. Cameron has posted an elaborate
argument about his expulsion from APA on his website,  claiming
that he resigned from APA before he was dropped from membership.
Like most organizations, however, APA does not allow a member
to resign when they are being investigated. And even if Cameron's
claims were accepted as true, it would be remarkable that the
largest professional organization of psychologists in the United States
(and other professional associations, as noted below) went to such
lengths to disassociate itself from one individual."  [40]

Moreover, Cameron, who falsely claims that he is a sociologist, was
also dropped by the Nebraska Psychological Association, which
adopted a resolution stating, "formally disassociates itself from
the representations and interpretations of scientific literature
offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements
on sexuality."  This is important because Cameron repeatedly states
that homosexuals are pathological, that we are perverted; essentially
doing everything in his power to dehumanize gays and lesbians. 
(For more information about Cameron's insane rantings please be so
kind as to see the links in the source given in Footnote Number  [39]

IN CONCLUSION

So here we are, two years later, and we have a flip flopping president
who once supported gay rights, but who now sides allies himself with
the most visceral and rapacious haters that the House and he Senate
have seen since the run up to the Civil War.  Consider the following
comments by United States Senator John Boehner, R-Ohio:
"This unconstitutional bill would effectively give the federal government
authority to punish American citizens for 'thought crimes' — a concept
that has Big Brother written all over it. There are already state and local
laws on the books that punish violent crime against any and all
Americans,"  said Boehner..."  [40]

Senator Boehner should talk about Big Brother.  He's the one who is
engaged in Orwellian Doublespeak.  He's the one who is trying to revise
the issue into something else.  Obviously the attempt here is to
convince the American people that the government will try to arrest
people based entirely on what they think, when in fact hate crime
legislation only goes into effect after a a violent or abusive event has
taken place--a minor detail that the Senator seems to have omitted.
As Church Lady might have said, "How con-VEEEEE-nient." 

Other arguments claim that hate crime legislation violates the 14th
Amendment because it puts the federal government in a position where
it favors one group over another.  Not so. If a group of homosexuals were
to commit murder based on the fact that the victim was a straight man
or woman the hate crime legislation wold come into play.  In other words,
whenever the perpetrator is trying to terrorize an entire community, the
hate crime legislation would kick in.  The only thing that matters is
whether or not the act was intended to send a message to the victim's
community as a whole.  It has nothing to do with the federal government
taking sides. 

Even worse is the phony suggestion that hate crime legislation has been
designed to silence Christian speech.  In many ways this is a return to
the old Nazi argument that Jews want to hurt Christians.  As stated above
it has now been revised to read that gays and lesbians want to hurt
Christians.  It's sheer and utter foolishness on the part of fanatical
paranoiacs, but the point has to be covered.  The hate crime legislation
is primarily concerned with violent crime and what the perpetrator intended
at the time of the attack.  Period.  Granted, I can't blame some Christians
for worrying.  As I have already demonstrated, some of their rhetoric
isn't only ugly, moronic, and paranoid.   It can, and is, at times outright
hateful.  But that doesn't mean that the federal government has a right to
silence the speech.  Indeed, I want the public to hear what these people
are thinking. I don't want to drive their insanity underground where it will only
grow and fester like a deadly fungus.  I want their hurtful sermons, their
half baked sermons exposed to the light of day where it can be debated
and countered with better speech.  But, as I said earlier, I don't have to
like it. I can tolerate, even celebrate their right to freedom of speech, but
I suspect in my heart of hearts that this is a right that they do not
treasure as dearly as I do.

SOURCES


[1]  From: Wikipedia
List of Capital Crimes in the Bible
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capital_crimes_in_the_bible
Last updated on 6 December 2006

[2]  From: Southern Poverty Law Center
Intelligence  Report/Watch Your Mouth Slide Show
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=522

[3]  Ibid

[4]  Ibid

[5]  From:  Religion Gone Bad:  The Hidden Dangers of the
Christian Right
Pages 109-110
By Mel White
Published by the Penguin Group
Copyright 2006 by Mel White

[6]  Ibid
Page 108

[7[ From:   Religious Tolerance.org
Professional Associations Statements About Christianity
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_prof.htm

[8]  From: hatecrome.org
Matthew Shepard Online Resources
Nazi Anti-Jewish Speech vs Religious Anti-Gay Speech
http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hitler/hitler.html

[9]  Ibid

[10]  Ibid

[11] From:  Religion Gone Bad:  The Hidden Danger of the
Christian Right
Page 237
By Mel White
Published by Penguin Group
Copyright 2006 by Mel White

[12] From:   hatecrime.org
Matthew Shepard Online Resources
Nazi Anti-Jewish Speech vs Religious Anti-Gay Speech
http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hitler/hitler.html

[13]  Ibid

[14]  From:  Religion Gone Bad:  The Hidden Danger of the
Christian RIght
Pages 235-236
by Mel White
Published by Penguin Group
Copyright 2006 by Mel White

[15] Ibid
Page 238

[16]  From:   Hatecrime.org
Matthew Shepard Online Resources
Nazi Anti-Jewish Speech vs.Religious Anti-Gay Speech
http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hitler/hitler.html

[17]  From:  Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation
Copyright 1997 to 2007 by Gregory M. Herek PhD
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

[18]  From;   hatecrime.org
Matthew Shepherd Online Resources
Nazi Anti-Jewish Speech vs Religious Anti-Gay Speech
http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hitler/hitler.html

[19]  Ibid

[20]  From:  Facts About Homosexuality and Mental Health
Copyright 1997-2007 by Gregory M. Herek PhD.
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_mental_health.html

[21]From:  Religion Gone Bad:  The Hidden Danger of the
Christian RIght
Pages 307 - 309
by Mel White
Published by Penguin Group
Copyright 2006 by Mel White

[22]  Ibid

[23}   Ibid

[24]  Ibid

[25]   Ibid

[26]  Ibid

[27]  From:   hatecrime.org home page
Hate Crime Victims List
http://www.hatecrime.org/index.html

[28] Ibid

[29]  Ibid

[30]  Ibid

[31]  Ibid

[32]  Ibid

[33]  Ibid

[34]  Ibid

[35]  From: infoplease
Summary of Hate Crime Statistics 2004
(Source: Crime in the United States, 2004,
FBI, Uniform Crime Reports.)
Copyright  2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004885.html

[36]  Ibid

[37}  Ibid

[38]   Ibid

[39]  From:  Paul Cameron's Biosheet
House OKs Bill to Expand
Copyright, 1997-2007 by Gregory M.  Herek PhD
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_cameron_sheet.html

[40]  FOXNews.com
House OKs Bill to Expand Hate Crimes Law to Attacks on Gays
Thursday May 3, 2007
Copyright 2007 FOX News Network
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269853,00.html