Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

NEW YORK (AP) -- As the gay-rights movement advances, there's increasing evidence of an intriguing role reversal: Today, it's the conservative opponents of that movement who seem eager to depict themselves as victims of intolerance.

To them, the gay-rights lobby has morphed into a relentless bully - pressuring companies and law firms into policy reversals, making it taboo in some circumstances to express opposition to same-sex marriage.

"They're advocating for a lot of changes in the name of tolerance," said Jim Campbell, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. "Yet ironically the tolerance is not returned, for people of faith who don't agree with their agenda."

"They lost the argument on gay people and now they are losing the argument on marriage," said lawyer Evan Wolfson, president of the advocacy group Freedom to Marry. "Diversions, scare tactics and this playing the victim are all they have left."



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAY_RIGHTS_INTOLERANCE?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Long article with lots of quotes. Chuck Colson shows up about midway down.... and so does this (I love it):
"Their beliefs on this issue are very quickly becoming socially disgraceful, much in the way white supremacy is socially disgraceful," wrote Evan Hurst of the advocacy group Truth Wins Out. "They are certainly entitled to cling to backwoods, uneducated, reality-rejecting views ... but their `religious freedom' doesn't call for the rest of us to somehow pretend their views aren't disgusting and hateful."

When someone hits back, then they play the innocent victim.

Somewhere in here there's a great youtube parody waiting to be born.

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Number of black eyes? Number hospitalized? Number tied to a fence in Wyoming and pistol whipped and left to die in the cold? I don't think they know what this word, "bullying" means.

:shrug:

Until then, no.

This just means they're losing and they know it.

This is no different from both men and women on the right claiming that white males are victims of everyone one else.


"Yet ironically the tolerance is not returned, for people of faith who don't agree with their agenda."



What "agenda?" Equal legal rights? Campbell is claiming he is intolerant of equal rights. The media should make him get specific and explicit.

they run crying. I've got five words for them:

KISS MY FRUIT FLAVORED ASS!

Here is a Letter to the Editor that I am about to submit to the same (rag) paper that just happened to publish this article at the same time that the "rainbow flag" at the Richmond Federal Reserve controversy is consuming their op-ed pages.
I doubt it will get published but it is worth a shot.




Tuning in a bit late to the Federal Reserve flag “controversy” a few points need to be made and highlighted.

The Federal Reserve is overseen in various ways by the federal government but it is not a part of the federal government. As one letter, published in this paper June 8th, contradicts itself saying “…should not work for the Federal Government” and then two paragraphs later says “The Federal Reserve agency is an independent agency… “ . Also, what some might see as an unlikely pairing Rep. Ron Paul and Senator Bernie Saunders tried in vein to have the Federal Reserve audited only to be told basically “we don’t have to” as the Fed exerted its political muscle (mostly on the Democrats).

Bob Marshall might want to phone-a-friend over at the Chamber of Commerce and find out what corporations openly market to the LGBT crowd and their supporters. Here’s a clue Bob - start with Disney, then go to cruise lines, then watch gay-friendly TV networks and shows with openly gay characters and note who buys advertising time. The idea that LGBT “behavior” “undermines the American economy” is absurd. He might also want to read what must be a coincidentally timed article in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch about the “bullying” that the poor little perpetuators of an agenda of hate, discrimination, and intolerance are crying about. What they really are feeling is the economic, financial, and social pressures exerted by the LGBT community to move towards ending such horrible behaviors by these powerful "victims".

Many appear to have fallen into the old tired habit of the “foxhole debate”. Putting words into the mouths of people fighting in a war as to why they are fighting is an exercise in an odd fantasy. Ironically the military due to civilian oversight has been at the forefront of many advances of social justice - namely integration of the military in 1948 and equality of pay by rank. These were due to constitutionally mandated equal protection.

We are slowly moving towards stopping the discrimination against fellow citizens. Freedom is not a zero-sum-game more freedom for anyone does not mean less for anyone else. The Federal Reserve of Richmond should be praised for if nothing else raising a flag declaring that it is not ignorant and intolerant.

Other than that, great letter & I hope it gets published.

thanks. Stupid brain!!

.... is what Republicans do every day 24/7.

Careful with that wide brush you tar with, you may turn away some folks who may be or have reason to be sympathetic.

I've alerted on similar posts until I sprained my finger. But there's never an explanation for why it's all right to paint every person of faith as a backwards nitwit, oppressing gays, women, poor, disabled, and so forth. I appreciate your post, though (for what that's worth).

This post, of course, will be deleted for "calling out the moderators." Because that's unacceptable!

.... just a substantial proportion, which is freaking undeniable. And the idiots completely drown out the reasonable ones who mostly sit down and shut up.

The few liberal Christians enable their majority conservative counter-parts, simply by "respecting" their religious beliefs.

Sorry, but some beliefs are not worthy of respect.

... when said beliefs fly in the face of everything the belief system is supposed to stand for.

However, your hostile viewpoint has been seen here often enough to know what you're about.
Don't let your hate rule you, lagc.

I'm not even gay, but I would LOVE to "bully" a Westboro Baptist Church idiot!

"respectable" haters would say, except that it would kill their cash flow. Nothing coming out of Phelp's Klan is really any different than what Dobson, Perkins, Maggie Gallagher have to say. Nothing, it's just dressed up with better marketing.

At least Fred has the courage of his convictions and doesn't even try to pretend that he doesn't hate us with every fiber of his crazy brain. The rest are just play acting for profit.

you are still a homophobe.

who said the same type of shit during the Civil Rights push. Evil, hateful fuckers.

Every opressing force likes to claim the mantle of victimhood.

People standing up for basic human rights isn't bullying, and anyone who feels threatened by human rights advocates needs to take a long look in the mirror.

The day is coming when these hateful yahoos will be regarded as the far fringe of extremism, and they know it, too. They're just pissed and acting out of fear because they sense their power slipping away. Boo-freakin'-hoo.