Surfing
the net on a recent weekend I came across this story on a website called
justinsomnia.org.
Blogger Justin Watt took aim at ‘ex-gay’ group Exodus
International’s offensive billboard (left) by creating a
parody of the image (right).
Seems the owner of the site — Justin Watt — recently placed
a parody on his website poking fun at an offensive billboard from the “ex-gay” group
Exodus International.
You’ve probably seen the Exodus ad somewhere before — I seem
to recall seeing it on a D.C. subway train once: “Gay? Unhappy?” Beneath
the question is the organization’s web address. Watt re-created the
billboard on his site so it read, “Straight? Unhappy?” He included
the address for www.gay.com underneath the re-tooled image.
I laughed so hard at that I was crying.
There’s no question this was a parody of Exodus’ attempt to
wreak havoc with the sanity of vulnerable gay men and lesbians. There’s
also no question that his creative efforts fall under the category of protected
speech.
Despite that — Exodus International hired right wingnut Matthew Staver’s
Liberty Counsel in an effort to force Watt to remove the images from the
site.
As an advocate for free speech, I couldn’t pass up the chance to
add our voice of condemnation to Exodus’ preposterous notions — not
to mention their lack of good humor — by giving you the chance to
see the images in question.
Fortunately for Watt — the experience has turned out to be a good
one. He was sent a “cease and desist” letter from Staver — ominous
in tone and banking on the possibility that Watt was an easy target for
their bullying tactics
Since Watt wasn’t born yesterday, he contacted the ACLU, which quickly
armed him with the law firm of Fenwick & West (a team of four experts
in intellectual property, free speech, copyright and LGBT rights). This
sent Liberty Counsel retreating, and — you’ll be happy to know — the
story and images are now spreading all over the net like wildfire.
Although the Liberty Counsel may be down for the count on this one — they’re
still a formidable foe to lock horns with.
An ultra-conservative legal organization hell-bent on advancing its organizers’ agenda
of theocracy, laws governing a woman’s right to reproductive freedom
and demonizing the left and the LGBT community, the Liberty Counsel describes
itself as a “ministry” and is headed by Staver, who claims
Rev. Jerry Falwell as a “close personal friend.”
It’s clear that Liberty Counsel is an organization intent on eroding
the separation of church and state. Many of the group’s statements
imply that anything less than active bias for Christianity amounts to bias
against Christianity. It’s also been pointed out that the Liberty
Counsel is only interested in furthering religious freedom as it pertains
to Christianity.
Their supporters believe that “separation of church and state” is
neither in the law of the United States, nor is it being interpreted correctly
with context to the laws that do exist concerning religious freedom. They
feel that the courts, by misinterpreting these laws, have been infringing
on religious freedoms. A peek at their website shows that gay and lesbian
issues are paramount: they’ve been at the forefront of the battle
to pass same-sex marriage amendments and the derailment of any and all
attempts to develop legal protections for gays and lesbians. In short — Liberty
Counsel is a distinctly un-Christian, hate-filled intolerant gang of thugs
with law degrees.
Anyone who reads this paper or keeps up with the gay press at all knows
that Exodus is also an ultra-conservative, “Christian-based” organization
that eschews the psychologically dangerous practice of “conversion
therapy” to change an individual’s sexual orientation.
When two elements like this come together you know the outcome couldn’t
be any less than dark tragedy or high comedy.
David Moore Editor
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