Salvatore Cordileone

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new Archbishop of San Francisco: Salvatore Cordileone. Though his name is not yet widespread, Cordileone, currently the Bishop of Oakland, has already had massive success pushing an anti-equality agenda: he was the heart of the Catholic Church’s strategy to pass Proposition 8 in California, which eliminated marriage equality for millions of Americans.

In 2008, Cordileone and a select cadre of Catholic leaders decided that their best chance to end marriage equality was to pass an amendment to the state constitution. Cordileone found the first major donor and built a lasting fundraising network for the group. He brought in an organization to lead the petition. He activated a network of California’s Catholic churches, and helped craft the Prop 8 messaging campaign, even using focus groups. The campaign was successful in passing Prop 8, making Cordileone a primary reason Californians are currently denied marriage equality. After the amendment passed, Cordileone bragged to a Catholic radio show that gay Americans never saw him coming, and called gay marriage a Satanic plot by “the Evil One” to annihilate morality.

Cordileone has continued to be one of America’s most prominent anti-gay Catholic officials. In January 2011, Cordileone was named the chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, a group dedicated to using religious influence to deny marriage equality. Cordileone is one of only 18 American bishops who have signed the Manhattan Declaration, a pledge to protect “the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty,” even if doing so means violating the law.

Pope Benedict’s choice of Cordileone is exactly wrong for the diocese of San Francisco, a city with a storied history of LGBT pride. It is a further step in the Vatican’s dedication to use Catholic doctrine to keep LGBT Americans suppressed and with fewer rights. In June, the Church publicly condemned Sister Margaret Farley, who wrote a book approving of marriage equality and advocating for comprehensive sex education. Cordileone can be relied on to side with the Vatican in such rebukes of reason and equality, and for that, the Church rewards him.

– Ben Sherman

Stephen Colbert's visualization of Chick-fil-A's Dan Cathy

The backlash against Chick-fil-A for its condemnations and campaigns against the LGBT community — including yearly giving to ex-gay organization Exodus International — continued today. (Check out video of the Human Rights Campaign’s protest in Washington DC yesterday.) As elected officials clarified to what extent they could actually limit the restaurant’s expansion in their cities, a new gender discrimination lawsuit suggests there may be more reasons not to welcome the Christian-run franchises.

Officials Back Off Threats To Block Chick-fil-A

Both Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) and Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno (D) have clarified that they will not be using their political power to obstruct Chick-fil-A’s expansion into their cities, though they still stand strongly opposed to the anti-gay company. When asked about blocking a new franchise near Boston’s Freedom Trail because of president Dan Cathy’s remarks, Menino told the Boston Herald, “I can’t do that. That would be interference to his rights to go there.” Moreno appeared on CNN this morning to make the same point, clarifying that he’s still on guard that Chick-fil-A’s beliefs may lead to anti-gay discrimination. Watch it:

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee also offered his disapproval for the company’s anti-equality policies, tweeting, “Closest #ChickFilA to San Francisco is 40 miles away & I strongly recommend that they not try to come any closer.”

Woman Sues Chick-fil-A For Gender Discrimination

Former Chick-fil-A general manager Brenda Honeycutt is suing the company for wrongful termination, alleging she was let go from her job so that she could be a “stay home mother.” According to the suit, her boss, proprietor Jeff Howard, excluded Honeycutt from meetings he held with male general managers, then eventually fired her, telling her and several others it so she could be a stay home mother. He hired another male employee to replace her. Honeycutt was also not the only female employee unfairly treated by Chick-fil-A. Given the controversial Biblical principles already known to dictate the company’s other principles and practices, this suit does not bode well for its reputation.
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Charlie Rogers, an openly lesbian Nebraska woman who was the victim of a disturbing recent hate crime, has spoken out about her attack to thank her supporters and derail rumors that the crime did not happen. After breaking into her home and painting vulgar anti-gay slurs on her wall, three masked men bound her with zip ties and carved the word “dyke” into her stomach with a knife. Before the men fled, they also poured gasoline in her house and attempted to light the house on fire as she lay bound by the ties. Although she survived the horrific attack, Rogers was found bleeding and naked after she had crawled her way to her neighbor’s doorstep screaming for help.

In an interview with a local television station, Rogers has decided to come forward and reveal her identity following the incident to quell rumors that the attack was fabricated. Responding to internet stories or homophobic newspapers who have openly questioned her story, Rogers tearfully described the doubts as “victimizing again, saddening.” The former University of Nebraska basketball player, who is also an active community volunteer and owns a small business, had originally tried to keep her identity secret, but decided last week to publicly defend her integrity against the recent allegations:

ROGERS: My world has been changed forever…For people to think this doesn’t happen here, it does. It did. [...] The idea that people think it’s a lie is so hurtful. It’s understandable. Intellectually I understand that people have a hard time wrapping their heads around what happened. So do I. But I’m a person, with feelings, with concerns. It’s just so…it feels like a punch in the stomach. Like a betrayal, instead of the focus being on safety, healing…I’m not a pawn in a game. I’m a person.

Watch it:

–Angela Guo

Mark Regnerus

Mark Regnerus’ flawed paper in the journal Social Science Research claiming that gay parenting harms children has been widely criticized by major medical organizations and over 200 professors across the country, while hate groups and ex-gay ministries have defended it. There are many indications that the paper was published as a political calculation, and the University of Texas has agreed to investigate whether it constitutes scientific misconduct. Now, a member of the journal’s editorial board has completed an internal audit of the study and found it to be “bullshit.”

Darren Sherkat, professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, explained how the paper’s publication was handled. He found that its definition of “lesbian mothers” and “gay fathers” — as any parent who had any relationship of any length of time with a person of the same sex — was so “extremely misleading” that it should have “disqualified it immediately.” Only two of the study’s respondents actually lived with a lesbian couple for their entire childhoods. Sherkat also condemned Loren Marks’ accompanying paper critiquing same-sex parenting studies, calling it a “lowbrow meta-analysis of studies” that was “inappropriate for a journal that publishes original quantitative research.”

Sherkat writes that the editorial process was followed appropriately, but unfortunately, the unanimous support from the paper’s peer reviewers was biased by their connections to the study. Two of the six were actually paid consultants on the study, as were two of the three commentators in the journal. Editor James Wright should not be blamed for acting on the feedback he received, but Sherkat is still suspicious about Regnerus’s motivations:

There should be reflection about a conservative scholar garnering a very large grant from exceptionally conservative foundations to make incendiary arguments about the worthiness of LGBT parents — and putting this out in time to politicize it before the 2012 United States presidential election.

Indeed, given how quickly conservative news outlets and anti-gay groups pounced on the study as its champions, it’s hard to see it as anything but a political scheme, not a valid contribution to social science.

Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R)

Florida Lieutenant Governor and Romney surrogate Jennifer Carroll (R) is walking back a comment she made in regards to accusations that she had a sexual relationship with one of her female aides. After vehemently denying the affair, the married mother of three quipped, “Black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.”

Equality Florida and GLAAD launched a petition demanding Carrol apologize for the sexist and anti-gay comment implying that her marital status and physical appearance somehow prevented her from being capable of having an affair with a woman. Sure enough, the lieutenant governor faxed her apology to Equality Florida’s Executive Director Nadine Smith:

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended with my recent comment. It is wrong and inexcusable to make a comment that hurts people, and that was not my intention. As a Christian, my faith guides me to love and respect all people. The false charges that have been lodged against me are no excuse for what I have said that may have been hurtful to members of your organization and to other Floridians. Please know that I am committed to treating every person with the utmost courtesy, respect and dignity and I hope you will accept my heartfelt apology.

Smith released a statement thanking Carroll for taking responsibility, adding that the lieutenant governor called her to personally apologize. Carroll’s original comment was met with criticism from black women and the LGBT community, igniting a social media campaign and the petition.

– Steven Perlberg

Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers has finalized the wording for the ballot question inviting voters to vote yes for marriage equality. There was great debate over the initially proposed language, with advocates on both sides concerned the language did not fairly represent the question. Now, it seems both sides approve of the wording. Here’s how it progressed:

ORIGINAL MAINERS UNITED PROPOSAL: Do you favor a law allowing marriage licenses for same-sex couples that protects religious freedom by ensuring no religion or clergy be required to perform such a marriage in violation of their religious beliefs?

SUMMERS’ FIRST PROPOSAL: Do you want to allow same-sex couples to marry?

SUMMERS’ FINAL LANGUAGE: Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?

Mainers United for Marriage supports the language because it clarifies that the law only pertains to civil, not religious, marriage. Unsurprisingly, Protect Marriage Maine would have preferred it ask about “redefining marriage,” but chairman Bob Emrich said he’s glad it doesn’t include “misleading” language about religious liberty protections. The anti-gay coalition, affiliated with the National Organization for Marriage, would likely not settle for any “religious liberty” that isn’t an across-the-board option to discrimination.

Meet four generations of Harlan Gardner’s family to understand why marriage matters in Maine:

LGBT Youth in New Jersey invited Kirk Cameron to meet with them this week during his visit, but apparently Cameron is too busy. Even though the whole point of the meeting was so that Cameron could learn about the teens’ experiences, he responded (through spokesperson Mark Craig) by encouraging them to listen to more of his homophobic comments:

CRAIG: I want to share this thought with you, from someone who sees and works with Kirk almost everyday of the year – I promise you his goal is not one of trying to hurt people in any way, in fact it is just the opposite. He has a concern for their well being – not only now, but eternally. He goes out to share a positive message through events like this weekend and I assure you he will only be presenting a positive/ inspiring message.

I would like to suggest if you really are interested in Kirk’s thoughts on the matter, you can listen online to the interviews and comments Kirk has shared where he was given ample time to communicate his heart and thoughts. I hope you can attend the event and see for yourself.

Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) intervened, condemning Craig’s letter as “compounding” the young people’s concerns, offering to meet with the Youth Caucus in Cameron’s place at their luncheon tomorrow.

Following Craig’s suggestion, here again is one of Cameron’s “positive/inspiring messages,” telling CNN’s Piers Morgan that homosexuality is “unnatural, detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization”:

The Garden State Equality’s Youth Caucus may not have come up empty in their effort to meet with Cameron. Members of The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, the religious organization that invited Cameron to New Jersey, have agreed to listen to their stories. It was that group that sued New Jersey for the right to discriminate against same-sex couples with their public-use boardwalk pavilion, but lost because their tax-exemption was tied to the a conservation and recreation state program, not their religious status. Their willingness to listen, along with Rep. Pallone’s support, will at least help the LGBT youth appreciate that their experiences matter.