The Catholic Church has been caught both lying and openly discriminating against a gay couple in Massachusetts. James Fairbanks and Alain Beret were planning to purchase a mansion and surrounding property from the Diocese of Worcester in Northbridge, MA, in hopes of renovating it into a banquet hall, and the deal was negotiated. Last month, the pair was notified they’d have to renegotiate because of additional costs for a sprinkler system, so they made a new offer that should have satisfied everyone, but the diocese suddenly backed out to pursue “other plans.”

Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, who overseas property sales for the diocese explained that Fairbanks and Beret “couldn’t come up with the money,” but he accidentally included an email to the broker with a very different explanation:

I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they’re shaky anyway. So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language.

Beret and Fairbanks never declared that they were married, but even if they were not gay, the potentiality for same-sex marriages to take place at the mansion would be no different. Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, and Beret says he will fight: “For the sake of my dignity, I’m not walking away.”

The controversy over Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay policies has been sidetracked as many focus instead on the narrow question of whether political bluster by city officials condemning the company could infringe on its First Amendment rights. In the meantime, activists across the country are calling out the harm caused by the company’s anti-gay giving and its president’s condemnations of homosexuality. Here’s a round-up of some of the latest pushback:

• Today, the Human Rights Campaign protested in front of the Chick-fil-A truck in downtown Washington, DC.
• The young people of Youth Empowered to Act in Laguna Hills, California protested outside a newly opening Chick-fil-A, informing customers about the company’s anti-gay donations.
• Philadelphia Councilman Jim Kenny has suggested he’ll introduce resolutions officially condemning Chick-fil-A and its president, Dan Cathy.
• Former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) is calling on others to boycott Chick-fil-A.
• Since Tuesday, students at seven universities have launched Change.org petitions demanding that Chick-fil-A be blocked from their campuses: University of Illinois, University of Kansas, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Ball State University, College of Charleston, Wichita State University, and Minnesota State University.
• Chick-fil-A has also had to publicly deny it was using a fake teenage girl’s profile to defend itself on Facebook.
• Support continues to grow for next week’s planned Chick-fil-A Same-Sex Kiss-in.

Given the growing awareness of Chick-fil-A’s multi-million dollar commitment to demonizing people who are gay, it’s understandable that many feel they can no longer welcome the restaurant in their neighborhoods. If nothing else, the controversy provides an important opportunity to educate about the lives and families of same-sex couples who Dan Cathy believes will destroy society.

The latest surge of news about Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay positions provides a unique case study about how easily stories can be spun based on what information is shared and how that information is presented. Unfortunately, the mainstream press is missing much of the story, in part because conservatives are only telling the part of it they can most easily defend while trying to rewrite the truth about the rest. Even the Boston Globe — oblivious to its own past reporting — believes the new Chick-fil-A controversy is a open-and-shut matter of respecting the First Amendment. Here are the basic facts about Chick-fil-A in regards to LGBT issues:

• Chick-fil-A has given at least $5 million to anti-gay organizations, including known hate groups and proponents of ex-gay therapy, since 2003, including almost $2 million in both 2009 and 2010.
• Chick-fil-A has a 0 rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which signifies that the company does not offer one protection, one benefit, or even one diversity training for its LGBT employees.
• Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy openly admitted that he would probably fire any employee who “has been sinful or done something harmful to their family members.”
• It has recently come to light (thanks to Jeremy Hooper) that current Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy has used the following language to describe supporters of same-sex marriage:
  • “We are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say ‘we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.”
  • “I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”
  • “We see all the twisted up kind of stuff that’s going on. Washington trying to redefine the definition of marriage and all the other kinds of things.”
  • “We are suffering the consequences of a society and culture who has not acknowledged God or not thanked God—he’s left us to a deprived mind. It’s tragic and we live in a culture of that today.”

That is outright condemnation. That is open discrimination. Now, Chick-fil-A said last week that it will “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” which sounds nice, but as the HRC score indicates, there is nothing to substantiate such a claim. There is no policy on the company’s books that actually protects LGBT people from discrimination, and funding hate groups cannot be justified as “honor, dignity, and respect.”

With all of the facts at hand, there is no accurate way to portray Chick-fil-A as any kind of “victim.”  There is also no accurate way to reduce Chick-fil-A’s words and actions to merely defending “biblical principles.” This is — in every way, shape, and form — a company proactively engaging against the interests of LGBT people, and that is the quite justified reason for outcry. Note that Dan Cathy’s comment to the Baptist Press that the company is “guilty as charged” for defending “traditional marriage” — as poignant an admission as it was —is relatively benign compared to other reasons listed above, which is probably why it’s the only comment conservatives have even acknowledged.

Opposing marriage equality is an offensive anti-gay position, it’s true. But Chick-fil-A open and willfully condemns, discriminates, and campaigns against LGBT people, and every piece of chicken sold funds that ongoing effort. Any story or talking head that omits those details is missing the entire point of the controversy.

Mitt Romney meeting with David Cameron in July, 2011.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrived in Great Britain today for the Olympics and to expand his foreign policy experience with a three-country swing. Knowing he’d be meeting with Romney this morning, Prime Minister David Cameron prepared himself last night by hosting a reception for the LGBT community where he reaffirmed his support for marriage equality:

CAMERON: I think marriage is a great institution – I think it helps people to commit, it helps people to say that they’re going to care and love for another person. It helps people to put aside their selfish interests and think of the union that they’re forming. It’s something I feel passionately about and I think if it’s good enough for straight people like me, it’s good enough for everybody and that’s why we should have gay marriage and we will legislate for it.

Romney, of course, has a long history of opposing marriage equality, believing that kids “pay the price” because they’re better off with straight parents. Cameron has said he supports the freedom to marry because he’s conservative and because of the “values of Christianity,” whereas Romney ironically does the opposite to cater to conservative Christians.

Fifth-grader Kameron Slade’s speech on marriage equality is surely a winner. Last month, it disqualified him from his school’s speech competition because the principal said that the content was “inappropriate.” But Kameron shared his speech with news station NY1, and hundreds of thousands of people watched it through ThinkProgress or other outlets. The following week, the principal offered the “compromise” of allowing Kameron to read his speech just to his classmates.

But Kameron was destined for more. Moved by his words, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D) invited him to give his speech before the Council. Quinn noted that it was the day after the state celebrated one full year of marriage equality. Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D), who is marrying his partner this weekend, described Kameron as “the most courageous and wonderful young man I’ve ever seen.” Here again are Kameron’s simple but powerful words as he presented them to the New York City Council:

SLADE: Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge? If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice. We must learn to accept all differences.[...]

My mom is very open with me about same-gender marriage. However, some adults may feel uncomfortable and think it’s inappropriate to talk about this to children. I think adults must realize that as children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can also learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what’s the point in trying to hide it?

In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are. Same-gender marriage is becoming more popular. I believe that same-gender marriage should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.

Watch it: