LGBT Groups To Journalists: Stop Conflating Bigotry With Religious Faith | Blog | Media Matters for America

I am having a tough time with this one, particularly the "fringe" part. While I do agree that the media gives the Reich (too) much air-time, I am not completely sold that it is the journalists "conflating religious belief with anti-LGBT attitudes." Granted they are not helping the matter but I think they are victims, just as the viewers are, to, as Joseph Goebbels puts it, propaganda:

To attract people, to win over people to that which I have realized as being true, that is called propaganda. In the beginning there is the understanding, this understanding uses propaganda as a tool to find those men, that shall turn understanding into politics. Success is the important thing. Propaganda is not a matter for average minds, but rather a matter for practitioners. It is not supposed to be lovely or theoretically correct. I do not care if I give wonderful, aesthetically elegant speeches, or speak so that women cry. The point of a political speech is to persuade people of what we think right. I speak differently in the provinces than I do in Berlin, and when I speak in Bayreuth, I say different things than I say in the Pharus Hall. That is a matter of practice, not of theory. We do not want to be a movement of a few straw brains, but rather a movement that can conquer the broad masses. Propaganda should be popular, not intellectually pleasing. It is not the task of propaganda to discover intellectual truths. Those are found in other circumstances, I find them when thinking at my desk, but not in the meeting hall.

Combine that with the Big Lie sentiment of Hitler - If you tell a lie long and loud enough, people will eventually start to believe it,

All this was inspired by the principle—which is quite true within itself—that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.

You can see where it all leads,,,

Two prominent LGBT groups are urging journalists to stop conflating religious belief with anti-LGBT attitudes in their coverage of the upcoming midterm elections, pointing to the dramatic rise in support for LGBT equality in communities of faith across the country.
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Instead of highlighting religious support for LGBT equality, media outlets tend to rely on the voices of some of the most extreme voices of anti-gay conservatism, treating them as broadly representative of religious voters. Nowhere was this more apparent than during the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, when even mainstream news networks relied heavily on commentators like Tony Perkins - president of the anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council - to speak on behalf of religious voters:
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Perkins represents a tiny, fringe element of the religious right - the kinds of people,,,The media's unwillingness to distinguish anti-LGBT bigotry from sincere, mainstream religious belief isn't just inaccurate - it makes it more difficult to advance meaningful protections for LGBT people. Coverage of the upcoming midterm elections offer media outlets a new opportunity to dispel the "God vs. gay" mythology that has warped audiences understanding of faith in America for years.

As for the "fringe" I will reiterate something I wrote last year,

To those that criticize us that have differing beliefs (Pagan, Wiccan, atheist, agnostic,,, insert any non Judeo-Christian religion you wish) or attempt to silence us because of your ignorance, it is time to wake up.
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"I would say that the moderates of any religion wouldn't condone extremism. That is the fringe that is held by the radicals of the given religion."
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This is no longer true, it never has been. This ignorance that is being spread is utter bullshit, what was once "fringe" by some people’s thinking is the mainstream. As Anderson so readily demonstrates, it is a Sunday morning norm.

Sorry to say, if you do not speak out against the extremism you condone it, it is no longer fringe when it is occurs in our everyday life. To borrow a phrase from a wise friend, I leave you with this: "The religions of "love" teaching hate!!"

LGBT Groups To Journalists: Stop Conflating Bigotry With Religious Faith | Blog | Media Matters for America

ADDENDUM::Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men" | GLAAD

Part 2,,,

,,,But once I became a Christian and was told that my sexuality was deviant and sinful, I felt ashamed about it. This may sound bizarre to some people—how I so quickly went from pride to shame—but when you’ve had a spiritual experience and seek to understand it by finding pastoral help, it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing them as the experts, and believing their interpretation of certain Biblical passages without taking the larger picture into consideration. And without knowing that their interpretation is not the only interpretation.

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I think you’re seeing the result of how stifled I felt. According to the dogma of conservative Christian churches, we have to believe that homosexuality is sinful and wrong. Period. The problem for me was that I had to turn away from what I witnessed and experienced in my day-to-day life; I couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge what was glaringly obvious, which was that I saw an abundance of healthy homosexual relationships. My uncle has been with his partner for nearly 30 years. My ex-girlfriend from years ago recently married her partner in California after having been in a committed relationship with her for close to 20 years. They’re normal people, living normal lives. They have jobs, and hobbies, and families. There isn’t anything perverse or abhorrent about how they live.

A favorite tactic of certain sectors of the pro-family movement is to highlight the sexual behaviors of gay men. You never hear anyone talk about the sexual practices of lesbians. Women are rarely mentioned unless you’re talking about smoking or excessive alcohol consumption. The assumption is that the general public is disturbed by sexual situations in bathrooms, parks, or other public places, or by men acting flamboyantly during pride parades and celebrations. News of these types of situations could be used as fodder to demonstrate the supposed inherent depravity of homosexual men, implying that all gay men have it within their nature to lurk in bushes waiting to hook up with someone.

Former anti-gay activist: "I've never met an 'ex-gay' man I thought was not still attracted to men" | GLAAD

ADDENDUM::Change is possible: Former 'ex-gay' activist Yvette Schneider 'celebrates the worthiness and equality of all people' | GLAAD

Part 1 of Scheider's GLAAD interview,,,

Yvette Cantu Schneider has one of the most robust pedigrees of anyone who has ever worked in the so-called "ex-gay" movement. From the late nineties right through to the second decade of the twenty-first century, Yvette managed to find herself laboring for and with just about every top anti-LGBT group and activist you've heard of. From her high-profile start at the Family Research Council to her work with California's Proposition 8 campaign—with many stops, at many different groups and campaigns along the way—Yvette became one of that movement's most visible faces and certainly one of the most known women in a line of "work" known mainly for its male spokespeople.

To this day, Yvette remains one of the key people who anti-gay voices like to cite in order to prove that "change" works. In a December 19, 2013, press release concerning the Duck Dynasty brouhaha, notorious anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who was a colleague of Yvette's during their shared time at the Family Research Council, cited Schnieder as an example of a person who has "ovecome homosexuality through faith in Jesus Christ." "Ex-gay" websites continue to list her as among their ranks and push her story as a source of inspiration. The American Family Association continues to sell a video, "It's Not Gay," in which Yvette appears as a talking head. They all still claim Yvette as being both an example and a worker bee for their side.

That all changes today. Yvette has reached out to GLAAD, exclusively, to share her story—one that will come as a shock to her former colleagues and allies.

In a nutshell: Yvette no longer wishes to identify with the "ex-gay" or anti-LGBT movement; is sorry for the pain she caused as part of that world; is highly questioning of the idea of "ex-gay" itself; and is now fully supportive of LGBT people, our truths, and our families. Yvette has made her sincerity clear to me, saying "as opposed to when I was doing things for the Christian Right out of duty and obligation, I'm doing it because I want to and feel it's the right thing to do." She hopes that by speaking out, she can start to undo any damage she might've helped to impart.

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 "I had entered the Church and become a Christian for a sense of community, to belong to a family that would love and accept me unconditionally, the way Jesus did. I was told, along with everyone else, that I would be used by God to accomplish His purposes, that my life would have purpose and meaning. If I played by the rules. When I developed feelings for a female friend at church, a superior pulled me aside and said that my roommates sensed this attraction, and it would be better, according to the Bible, for a millstone to be hung around my neck and for me to be flung into the sea (Matthew 18:6 NIV). I quickly learned to toe the line."

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Although I never even remotely "tried" to change my sexuality beyond the use of  fervent prayer,/fasting and biblical studies (I was already part of "the church").  I can so relate to the, "I would be used by God to accomplish His purposes,,," bullshit.  I even had the millstone crap thrown at me as well, especially after years of study my conclusion(s) led me to the belief and understanding that there is no biblical justification for condemning our 20th/21st century understanding of homosexuality.

Change is possible: Former 'ex-gay' activist Yvette Schneider 'celebrates the worthiness and equality of all people' | GLAAD

Leading ‘ex-gay’ Yvette Schneider comes out to back bans on ‘ex-gay’ therapies | Gay Star News

The mighty continue to fall!!

I have said, and I will continue to say till my last breath on this earth, there is no such thing as an ex-gay or ex-lesbian. Next in line is Anne Paulk. Any takers?
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Yvette Schneider, one of the most prominent poster children for the American ‘ex-gay’ movement, has come out in favor of LGBTI rights and as bisexual and has joined the call for so-called 'reparative therapies' that aim to change people’s sexualities to be banned for minors.

Schneider made the revelation via a series of blog posts with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) – an organization she herself once volunteered for in the early 1990’s while identifying as a lesbian.

However a conversion to Christianity in the late 1990’s lead to her rejecting her same-sex attraction and joining the ex-gay movement, eventually working for the virulently anti-LGBTI Family Research Council and speaking on behalf of campaigns by the American Family Association.

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‘Not only is the efficacy of change therapy dubious at best, but the type of therapy this legislation bans is specifically for minors. It’s damaging to take a child who is questioning his or her sexuality, or who may display qualities that are not in line with what our society considers normative for their gender, and communicate to the child - and parents - that there is something wrong with him, that in some way he or she is deficient.

Leading ‘ex-gay’ Yvette Schneider comes out to back bans on ‘ex-gay’ therapies | Gay Star News