GLN RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY NEWS
Last Chance to Participate in Signature Ad Protesting Focus on the Family's James Dobson
Focus on the Family's James Dobson is the most powerful, well-funded anti-gay activist in the United States. Dobson is scheduled to be honored by Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications on the evening of Saturday, November 8th.
As announced in the previous edition of GLN News, the Gay Liberation Network is currently organizing a so-called "signature ad" -- an advertisement of individuals and organizations protesting the honoring of Focus on the Family's James Dobson by Chicago's Museum of Broadcasting Communications. By collecting modest contributions from a host of individuals and organizations, the ads become a collective expression of large sections of our community.
Here are some of the organizations that have signed onto the ad:
Amigas Latinas, Association of Latino Men for Action, Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches, Chicagoland Pride at Work, DumpDobson.com, Equality Illinois, Gay Liberation Network, Orgullo en Accion, PFLAG Aurora, PFLAG of Woodstock / McHenry County, Rainbow Sash Movement, Truth Wins Out, and Women & Children First Bookstore. The ad will appear in the October 29th editions of the Chicago Free Press and the Windy City Times.
Here is the text of the ad:
Keep Focus on the Family's
HATE
Out of Chicago.
An Open Letter to Members and Friends of the LGBT community
Many have worked towards making the Chicago area a better place for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people.
Unfortunately Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications proposes to stain this record of progress on Saturday, November 8 by honoring one of the nation's leading haters of LGBT people -- Focus on the Family's James Dobson.
Here is a sample of Dobson's hate expressed in his own words:
“For more than 40 years the homosexual activist movement has sought to implement a master plan that has had as its centerpiece the utter destruction of the family.” (March 24, 2004 Focus on the Family radio broadcast).
“Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.” (The Daily Oklahoman on Oct. 23, 2004)
And James Dobson is not a lone, deranged hater crying in the wilderness. He is a dangerously powerful person who controls a broadcasting empire with over 3000 outlets, 1300 employees, and a $150 million annual budget. He uses this empire to advocate the denial of our equal access to employment, housing and public accommodations.
These attacks are the centerpiece of a concerted drive to rollback all of our gains of the last four decades. For example, an offshoot of Focus on the Family is the leading organization pushing a referendum to overthrow marriage equality in California.
Focus on the Family controls the nation's highest profile "ex-gay" ministry, which futilely tries to "convert" LGBTs to straight by "praying away the gay." In so doing, they reinforce self-hate and psychologically harm the very individuals they claim to help. Such "ex-gay" programs are roundly condemned by every respected medical and mental health organization in America.
After years of gradual progress in public acceptance of LGBTQ people, Dobson's long-standing campaign against us may soon start to get much greater traction. The US economy is tanking, people are worried about losing their life savings, and the search for scapegoats may begin to be the order of the day, generating higher waves of hate and violence against us.
In this context, it is foolish for anyone concerned about LGBT freedom to be complacent about the danger that Dobson represents.
What you can do
1. We encourage all readers of this ad to contact the Museum of Broadcast Communications and ask them to rescind this award to one of America's leading haters. Send the message that it is irresponsible for any institution to promote a scapegoater of any minority. E-Mail the Museum of Broadcast Communications' Bruce Dumont, brucedumont@museum.tv
2. Express your 1st Amendment rights by protesting this disgusting award. The protest will be:
