Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin.
Last weekend, the anti-LGBT hate group Liberty Counsel held its annual conference, The Awakening, to provide a platform for anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim voices.But the event was much more than that –– at times, it seemed a call to battle. “The war wages. We cannot stand idly by,” the Counsel said in promotional materials. And true to form, the panel of speakers formed an angry chorus.
The vitriol was perhaps best embodied by retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who employed violent rhetoric in lamenting the advances in LGBT equality, particularly in regards to trans people. Boykin is executive vice president at the anti-LGBT hate group Family Research Council. He is perhaps best known for his anti-Islam statements over the years.
At The Awakening, however, Boykin lambasted non-discrimination ordinances that include sexual orientation and gender identity protections, especially those designed to protect trans people from humiliation and discrimination by allowing them to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. He even threatened physical violence against anyone using a bathroom that didn’t align with their assigned sex at birth:
“Where is the Christian world today? Where are the Christians of America today? They should be flocking to people like Kim Davis. They should be flocking to the city council to say, ‘No you’re not going to let a man go in my daughters bathroom, just because he feels like a man today.” Boykin said. “Where are the Christians that are standing up to these kind of evil.”
[…]
“Homosexuality is a developmental, gender identity disorder,” Quinlan harped, later adding, “I tell parents and friends who have loved ones in the lifestyle, to pray for relational failure –– that every relationship they have that is in that lifestyle will fail. And it does eventually because it’s a bankrupt relationship and it’s based on false premises.” Ironically, Quinlan, who claims to be a “former homosexual,” was married to a woman who also claimed to be “ex-gay.” The two made their marriage the focus of ex-gay activism and proof of change until 2008, when they divorced.
Could it be . . . SATAN? Dana Carvey really needs to make a comeback to ridicule these christians.
These religious extremists will never be satisfied with “live and let live”. Their hate is a fuel, and they burn it continually. It may take a while, but their numbers will continue to decrease as their hate gets more intense and reasonable people realize that they do not want to be part of that.
Johnson catman:
Oh, I hope so. These people are so damn scary.
re Caine @2:
Well, I have mentioned that I tend toward optimism. :-)
The war wages.
The war on syntax?
… pray for relational failure … And it does eventually because … it’s based on false premises.
Pray for something you think is inevitable, and then take “credit” if it happens? False premises squared, (ex-)Gen Boykin…
The vitriol was perhaps best embodied by retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who employed violent rhetoric in lamenting the advances in LGBT equality
Imagine how one would feel, being under the chain of command of an asshole like that?
For starters, you’d either know that his aides agreed with him, or were cowards who kept silent. That propagates down the chain of command, so under Lt General asshole you’ve got Maj jerkface and Capt compromised chickenshit. Civilians don’t understand what it’s like in an ultra-hierarchical organization like the military. If Lt General asshole signs your fitness reports, and is a bigot homophobe, you’re going to get a less-than-glowing report that can end your career. So, you suck it up and nod along. It’s similar in the police (which is usually run along military lines) .. That’s why it’s so important to get racist and homophobic asswipes like the general out into the light of day. For all that they’re big brave douchebags-in-uniform, they can’t seem to stand being in the spotlight with their beliefs.
PS -- normally right wingers get their panties in a wad when ex- general rank military get involved in politics and designate themselves by rank. For some reason that doesn’t bother them this time. I wonder why? Oh, right: the military is chock packed full from top to bottom with christian dominionist asswipes.
I always find it ironic that the evangelical Christian leaders, the same people who make such a point of judging people by the contents of the heart, seek to discriminate based not on what is in a person’s heart, but what equipment was between their legs at the time of birth.