In Michigan The Senate Decides That Sodomy Will Get You Fifteen Years In Prison

Run for the hills, Michiganders! Your state Senate has passed a bill that reaffirms the state's unconstitutional law making sodomy a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. 

Yes, despite that pesky Supreme Court ruling back in 2003 — Lawrence v. Texas — Michigan is one of more than a dozen states that still have sodomy bans on the books. Now some of those other states’ sodomy laws specifically target gay relations, Michigan's is among those that make oral and anal sex crimes illegal regardless of whether they're same-sex or different-sex.

No matter you’re orientation, if you go down or bend over, you’re doin’ jail time, people!

But, Michigan’s sodomy ban is also intertwined with a prohibition on bestiality — kinda making the two seem like the same thing. The law makes it a felony for anyone to commit "the abominable and detestable crime against nature with mankind or with any animal."

Now, if you’ve already been convicted of a sex crime in Michigan, and then get caught sodomizing, or perhaps being sodomized, well, you’re looking at life in prison.

For the last several years, Michigan legislators have been trying to pass Logan's Law, which is designed to keep pets out of the hands of animal abusers — a law I am all for — but Senate Bill 219, by GOP … naturally… Senator Rick Jones updates language in the state's ban on bestiality and sodomy as follows: 

SB 219 passed the Senate last week with the above language intact, and is expected to be considered by the House as early as next week. 

Now, Michigan lawmakers could remove their unconstitutional ban on sodomy by simply striking out the words "either with mankind or" from SB 219 but Senator Jones says that jeopardize the whole bill. 

"The minute I cross that line and I start talking about the other stuff, I won’t even get another hearing. It’ll be done. Nobody wants to touch it. I would rather not even bring up the topic, because I know what would happen. You’d get both sides screaming and you end up with a big fight that’s not needed because it’s unconstitutional."

Jones would like to see Michigan’s outdated and stupid sodomy laws struck down, and removed from legal books, but:

"[If] you focus on it, people just go ballistic. If we could put a bill in that said anything that’s unconstitutional be removed from the legal books of Michigan, that’s probably something I could vote for, but am I going to mess up this dog bill that everybody wants? No."

So, because there are people in Michigan who are cruel to animals — and should be punished to the full extent of the law, mind you — and because legislators refuse to discuss sex, it remains illegal in the state to go downtown or to turn around and grab your ankles.

Seriously.

NCRM

Fifteen Of The Dumbest Things Said About The LGBT Community In 2015

It’s no exaggeration to say that 2015 was a great year for the LGBT community, just like it’s no exaggeration to say that the march still goes on and we still have a lot of work to do.

But … let’s take a moment as the year winds down to look at a list of Fifteen Of The Dumbest Things Said About The LGBT Community In 2015 … courtesy of the Huffington Post:

Because of gay marriage, people will soon want to marry their lawnmowers

Yup, that’s what Iowa Republican Congressman and Asshat, Steve King said, citing an unnamed Christian lawyer who reportedly told him that only "one human" is needed for a marriage now.

I haven’t seen one marriage between a man and his tractor yet, though.

Same-sex marriage will lead to "love affairs between men and animals."

Pat Robertson, a certifiable loon and homophobe, argued that the Supreme Court's June 26 ruling used "faulty sociological grounds" and warned that:

"Watch what happens, love affairs between men and animals are going to be absolutely permitted. Polygamy, without question, is going to be permitted, and it will be called a right."

I still love Tuxedo, but, yeah, just as a friend, not a feline husband.

Same-sex attraction is like eating doughnuts

TLC aired a controversial special, "My Husband's Not Gay," and profiled Jeff, a Mormon man who said he'd chosen to marry a woman, Tanya, despite being attracted to other men. Jeff defended his decision to marry a woman using this analogy:

"I love doughnuts. So you could say I am oriented toward doughnuts, and if I was being true to myself, I would eat donuts a lot more than I eat doughnuts ... [but] am I denying myself because I don't eat doughnuts as much as I might like to eat doughnuts? I'm not."

Crazy, too, isn’t he?

Pastor warns of a "sodomite demon," contracted through kissing, sex

In July, James David Manning of ATLAH World Missionary Church warned heterosexual women about a "sodomite demon," which can be contracted through sexual intercourse with men who have had sex with other men.

"If a man injects himself in another man and injects his semen into him, and he's crazy, then that's gonna get in his blood as well. If demons are in him... you're gonna get penetrated by demons."

Demon semen. Who knew?

California's drought is the result of marriage equality, LGBT rights

In May, Bill Koenig of World Watch Daily, a "biblically relevant" news site that focuses on Israel, the Middle East and the White House, suggested that California’s four-year drought was caused by same-sex marriage:

"We've got a state that, over and over again, will go against the word of God, that will continually take positions on marriage and abortion and on a lot of things that are just completely opposed to the Scriptures. So there very likely could be a drought component to this judgment."

Again, I wonder, if The Gays are so All Powerful, why did we wait for the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage? Why not just send locusts and drought everywhere until we got our way?

Gay "X-Men" character will "indoctrinate" youth

Evangelist Franklin Graham blasted Marvel Comics after iconic "X-Men" character Iceman was revealed to be gay, arguing that it was "another attempt to indoctrinate our young people to accept this destructive lifestyle."

"God’s Word says homosexuality is a sin, and we are to be on guard against all sin," he wrote. "God calls us to repent, turn from our sins, and put our trust in His Son Jesus Christ who died and rose again to pay the penalty for sin."

If all it took to make people gay was seeing a gay character on TV or in movies, would everyone be gay? And wouldn’t that be great?

Baltimore protests are the result of same-sex marriage

In April, Texas Representative Bill Flores made a bizarre link between same-sex marriage rights and the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray:

"Look at what is going on in Baltimore today. You see the issues that are raised there. Healthy marriages are the ones between a man and a woman because they can have a healthy family and they can raise children in a way that’s best for their future, not only socially but psychologically, economically, from a health perspective."

So, a man in police custody died because marriage equality? That’s an idiotic stretch even for a Texas politician.

Parents should drown themselves instead of letting kids read "Harry Potter"

In November, Pastor Kevin Swanson blasted Harry Potter, and his opposition to J.K Rowling's iconic series stemmed from the author's revelation that she always thought of Dumbledore the wizard as a gay man. 

"America, repent that Dumbledore emerged as a homosexual mentor for Harry Potter, that Hiccup’s mentor in ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ emerged as a homosexual himself in order that history might repeat itself one more time."

Fictional gay people are scary, I guess?

Anti-gay bigotry should be blamed on Muslims

In May, Rush Limbaugh had some eyebrow-raising advice for businesses who want to deny services to same-sex couples: blame Muslims:

"I pointed out the other day, well, then should we maybe stop flouting and flaunting gay marriage, because gay marriage is really disapproved in Islam. Gay marriage, homosexual behavior is not tolerated, it is not permitted and it is punished severely when it is caught, when it's spied. And yet in American media all over the place we are celebrating gay marriage, we are flaunting gay marriage, and I ask, does this not also offend Muslims?"

So in one fell swoop he blames The Gays and The Muslims for all our ills.

Gay people should be put on an island to see if they die out

Texas Loon, and Congressman, Louie Gohmert, took his opposition to same-sex marriage to an entirely new level during a speech at Virginia's Liberty University in November. 

"How about if we take four heterosexual couples, and put them on an island where they have everything they need to live and exist, and we take four couples of just men and put them on an island where they have all they need to survive. And then let's take four couples of just women and put them on an island, and then let's come back in 100 years and see which one nature favors." 

Obviously, the best idea would be to put Gohmert on an island and never go back.

The word "garriage" should be used for "gay marriage"

Pat Fagan, who is the director of the Family Research Council's Marriage and Religion Research Institute, would like marriages between two men referred to as "garriage," and those between two women "larriage." 

This from a man whose last name is Fagan? Seriously?

There aren't enough places for anti-gay people to shop anymore

Mission: America's Linda Harvey, whose opposition to the LGBT community is well-established, argued that the number of "family-friendly, Christian-affirming" shops and restaurants she'll allow herself to frequent during the holiday shopping season is "growing shorter all the time." 

“Think about the grave harm homosexuality is doing to American culture, to our schools, to our freedoms, to our churches. Let’s do what we can to honor the standards of Christ during the celebration of His birthday."

Let’s honor Christ by showing our hatred. How, um, Christ-like?

Pat Robertson blames the gays for the U.S. stock market plunge

In September, Certifiable Loon™ Pat Robertson suggested that recent turmoil in the stock market was somehow tied to same-sex marriage:

"Our finances right now are hanging by a thread. The rupture of the entire financial framework of our world is so tenuous right now. If there was ever a time that we need the grace of God, it is now, and unless something is done to change the courts and to change the way this country is going, it is just a question of time before the fabric ruptures and we’ll all suffer because of it." 

Again, if The Gays can shut down the stock market to get our way, why didn’t we do it sooner?

People are "born" homophobic

Bryan Fischer twisted Gaga’s pro-equality mantra for his own hate message:

"Who would choose, at this time in our nation's history, to be a Christian? You're ridiculed. You're mocked. You're made fun of. So our defense is, hey, I was born that way." 

Nope, you were indoctrinated by your parents or your own mind, and as for the hate, look at a child and learn that hate is taught … by folks like Bryan Fischer.

Woman sues all gay people on God's behalf

Identifying herself as an ambassador for God and Jesus Christ, Sylvia Ann Driskell, a Nebraska woman filed a federal lawsuit against all homosexual people on the planet for breaking “religious and moral laws” in May. 

Driskell argued that “homosexuality is a sin and that the homosexuals know it is a sin to live a life of homosexuality. Why else would they have been hiding in the closet(?)”

Um, to spare ourselves from people like you, Sylvia.

Dumb is funny, right, but it’s also scary what some folks believe and say aloud. Let’s hope the ignorance starts slipping away in 2016.

On Ben Carson's Non-Apology Apology For Equating Being Gay To Bestiality and Pedophilia

Dr. Ben Carson is a Tea Party darlin’, so you know he’s not a favorite of mine. And while he is a brain surgeon—let’s not discuss that particular oxy-moron—he’s also quite the pundit that FoxNews likes to trot out when they want to bash Obamacare, Obama, the liberal media and, of course, The Gays.

Carson, if you don’t know, was really a nobody until a couple of months ago, when he gave a speech in front of President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast and called for a regressive tax system that would punish the poorest Americans.

Yeah, so brain surgeon? Not so much. But this week he made an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Witch-hunt, or whatever that show is called and decided that the world needed to know his feelings on same-sex marriage:

“My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman, it’s a well-established uh, fundamental pillar of society. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [the North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition. So it’s not something that’s against gays, it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society. It has signifcant ramifications.”

Oh did he really pull out that old chestnut where he compared being gay to being a pedophile or an animal fornicator? And, one would wonder, if Carson, a Black man, might have uttered the same foolishness back in 1967 regarding the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia, a decision that redefined the same “fundamental pillar of society”, i.e. marriage, as something that could not be inhibited by race.

Now, Ben Carson does know that his antiquated, outdated, and disgusting views put him at odds with every major medical association in the country, but he remains resolute that marriage not be redefined because it has never been redefined ever and is the exact same institution it was thousands of years ago when men could have hundreds of wives.

But, Carson found himself in the middle of a firestorm over his Gays = Bestiality/Pedophilia stance. And then he decided that, being a brain surgeon who apparently missed that trip to Oz to actually get a brain, he ought to apologize for his remarks because, as most people understand, just because you are gay doesn’t mean you want to have sex with children or dogs, and just because you want to have sex with children or dogs doesn’t mean you’re gay.

So Carson apologized; sort of:

“As a Christian, I have a duty to love all people—and that includes people who have other sexual orientations—and I certainly do, and never had any intention of offending anyone. What I was basically saying—and if anyone was offended I apologize to you—but what I was basically saying is there is no group…I wasn’t equating those things, I don’t think they are equal. If you asked me for an apple and I gave you an orange, you would say ‘well that’s not an orange.’ And then I’d say well there’s a banana…’that’s not an apple either.’ And there’s a peach…’that’s not an apple either.’ But it doesn’t mean that I’m equating the banana and the orange and the peach. In the same way, I’m not equating those things.”

Huh? First off, let’s deal with that whole “I’m a Christian and I love everybody” bull. See, I don’t get how saying someone who has a different sexual orientation is also some who would be a child- or animal-f**ker. I don’t see the ‘love’ in that statement; I see bigotry, ignorance, and hate.

Secondly, this whole “I’m sorry if…” nonsense. There is no ‘if’ in what you said; you offended people, and unless and until you offer a sincere apology, which should sound something like “I’m sorry I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry I offend anyone. I’m sorry I don’t have two active brain cells to rub together before I speak” you ought to keep quiet. That’s an apology. What Carson did was say ‘If I bothered you, well, I don’t care.’

But some folks do care, and some folks aren’t going to sit by and let Carson’s brand of Ignorant Speech go unchallenged: a group of medical students from the graduating Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine, class of 2013, are circulating a petition urging the university to withdraw its invitation from Carson, who is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during the ceremony this spring. To his credit, however, probably realizing his speech would be a disruptive event, Carson has said he would step down from his speaking engagement: “Absolutely, I would say that this is their day, and the last thing I would want to do is rain on their parade.”

And his colleagues at Johns Hopkins are equally disgusted by his remarks. Professor Todd Shepard, co-director of the university’s Program for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, said “I don’t think most people at Hopkins think what he says on this subject matter. They make him look nasty, petty, and ill-informed. It doesn’t tell us anything about his amazing abilities as a surgeon. It does remind us, however, that those abilities do not mean we should listen to what he says in any other domain.”

Here’s the deal: you can be against same-sex marriage because this is a free country where you have the right to your opinion, but, for the love of whatever it is you believe, please base your opinions on fact and not conjecture. And don’t demean the LGBT community with insults and degradations. Find a voice, right or wrong, and find a fact that will boost your opinion.

But, please remember, Dr. Carson and all those who think like he does, marriage has changed and changed and changed over the last thousand years or so, and it changed again as recently as the late 60s. So quit playing that tired card, and quit insulting our community and our intelligence.