Liberalism's Totalitarian Side

The following items will show just how frighteningly little many liberals actually care about your freedoms----especially freedom of speech and freedom of association----how frighteningly close many liberals are to being oppressive and even fascistic. The most recent notable events are the last entries.

1. In 1989, in Madison, Wisconsin, two heterosexual women who advertised for a roommate and turned down a woman because she was a lesbian, were summoned before Madison's Equal Opportunity Commission, interrogated for hours, ordered to pay thousands in damages, and forced to attend "sensitivity training" (brainwashing?) sessions at a local homosexual organization. (After three years, enormous public outcry and a $10,000 legal tab, the Madison City Council dropped the penalties.)1

2. In 1991, well-known liberal attorney Alan Dershowicz acknowledged that: "Political correctness is the most serious issue on college campuses. We are tolerating and teaching intolerance and hypocrisy [and, he could have added, censorship and fascism, etc.]."2

3. According to a 1991 Time magazine article: "Several schools have punished students for expressing religious objections to homosexuality or, as at the University of Washington, questioning a professor's assertion that lesbians make the best mothers."3

4. In 1991, a Minneapolis Catholic Archdiocese was fined $15,000 and assessed $20,000 in damages after homosexuals complained that the church denied them their "right" to meet in church-owned facilities.4

5. In 1991, mandatory "sensitivity training" lectures were held at a state hospital in Pueblo, Colorado. Employees were urged to sign a form declaring their "imperfect attitudes toward gays and lesbians" and to wear buttons stating "it's okay to be gay." Those who declined were walked to the front, told to turn and face their colleagues.5

6. In 1992, a homosexual named Eric Pollard wrote the following about the radical homosexual group ACT-UP: "I have helped to create a truly fascist organization....[W]e subscribed to consciously subversive modes, drawn largely from the voluminous Mein Kampf [of Hitler], which some of us studied as a working model."6

7. In 1992, the Attorney General of Hawaii ruled that, under a state "gay rights" (sad wrongs) law, church leaders are legally forced to consider homosexuals for all church positions (except the pastorate itself).7

8. In 1992, Denver public school teachers, including kindergarten teachers, came under pressure from their superiors to teach homosexuality is normal.8

9. In 1994, in Sweden, an evangelical pastor was jailed for preaching a sermon from Romans 1 ruled to be "belittling" to homosexuals.9

10. In 1994, the government of Ontario, Canada, imposed a speech code law on its universities, banning comments about sexual orientation found to cause a "negative environment or climate." (Is that vague enough?) Speech overheard off-campus, at social functions, during academic work, even over the telephone, can be punished. Guilty students could be suspended, forced into "sensitivity training," or even expelled.10

11. In 1995, a federal district court affirmed a New Jersey "gay rights" (sad wrongs) amendment which makes it illegal(!) to say or print anything which could indirectly "promote discrimination" against homosexuals.11

12. In 2000, Daniel Mindus reported in National Review: "Recognizing the gap between their lesson plans and most parents sensibilities, mainstream sex educators openly embrace a policy of secrecy. The Centers for Disease Control lauds one program, Becoming a Responsible Teen, that insists students sign a contract of secrecy; if a student talks to his parents about what he has learned in class, he is thrown out of the program."12

13. In October 2002, John Leo of U.S. News & World Report noted that: "In Saskatchewan [Canada] last year, a newspaper was fined for publishing an ad that quoted Bible verses on homosexuality. For this [so-called] human-rights violation, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the man who took out the ad had to pay $1,500."13And he also reported: "Sweden is about to forge ahead of Saskatchewan by passing a constitutional amendment banning all speech or material opposing homosexuality. When it does, remarks that offend gays could bring a jail term of up to four years. Religious objections to homosexuality would not be allowed, even in churches."14

14. In February 2004 a Canadian teacher named Chris Kempling was warned by Justice Ronald Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court that he "must either stop publishing [in his hometown newspaper via letters to the editor] his Christian beliefs about the immorality of homosexual behavior or forfeit his job as a secondary school teacher...[even though] Holmes acknowledged that Kempling had 'a long and unblemished teaching career, and a notable record of community service.'"15 The fact that Kempling was merely stating facts (e.g., that homosexuals tend to be promiscuous) was irrelevant. "In 1990 Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada had stipulated in Canada (Human Rights Commission) v. Taylor that neither truth nor lack of evil intent is a defense against a charge of making a public statement that is likely to expose a person to hatred or contempt on the basis of sexual orientation or any other prohibited ground of discrimination in a human rights code."16

15. "A Swedish court [in 2004] sentenced a Pentecostal pastor to one month in prison after finding him guilty of offending homosexuals in a sermon....[The] pastor said he merely wanted to make clear the biblical view on homosexuality."17

16. In May 2005 a Canadian man was "charged and ordered to pay $17,500 in damages to several [complaining] homosexuals as a result of a flier he distributed in Regina, containing warnings against the dangers of a [demonstrably unhealthy] homosexual lifestyle."18

17. In June 2008 in Canada the Rev. Stephen Boissoin---for merely writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper in Alberta condemning the "homosexual agenda," which letter did NOT contain hateful words---was fined $5,000 and was ordered to stop making "disparaging remarks" about homosexuals in emails and in newspapers and on radio (etc., etc.) FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE by liberal fascists, by rank liberal bigots, on Alberta's so-called Human Rights Commission.

18. A bakery in Oregon called Sweet Cakes by Melissa recently shut its doors. Why? Some time back, two lesbians wanted to order a cake for their same-sex ceremony, but owners Aaron and Melissa Klein turned them down, explaining that same-sex ?marriage? isn?t consistent with their faith as Christians. The women left, and next thing they knew Sweet Cakes was sued for discrimination. Then came intense, negative media coverage, vicious phone calls and emails, protesters, threats against their children, a boycott, then a boycott of all their suppliers, followed by an investigation by the Oregon Labor Commission, which recommended ?rehabilitation.? Aaron Klein said he was forced to close his bakery because of homosexual mob tactics.

19. A florist in the state of Washington is being sued after turning down a long-time customer, a homosexual man, who wanted flowers for his same-sex ?wedding.? The owner politely explained her refusal arose from her Christian faith. But she didn?t get the memo about the unacceptability of resisting any homosexual request these days. The gay man sued her, and then the state attorney general piled on with another suit.

20. A Christian photographer in New Mexico was fined $7,000, a ruling recently upheld by the creatively fascist New Mexico Supreme Court. Elane Photography declined taking photos of a same-sex ceremony, citing Christian religious beliefs.

21. Former NFL player Craig James was fired after one broadcast as a commentator for Fox Sports, allegedly because of remarks he made while running for the U.S. Senate in Texas. All candidates on a panel were quizzed about same-sex marriage, and Craig James spoke up for the biblical view of sexual morality.

22. A bakery in the Denver area is being sued by a homosexual couple for not baking a cake for a same-sex ceremony. Possible jail time is involved.

23. A bar owner in Portland must pay $400,000 to 11 transvestites because of emotional distress. He asked that they not return to his bar because customers were complaining and leaving.

24. Natalie Johnson of San Antonio was fired from Macy?s in 2011 after she refused to allow a teen male to enter the women?s dressing room. She cited religious faith and concern about the privacy of biological women. Both of these protected classes---sex and religion---are included in virtually every ?non-discrimination? policy or law (including Macy's).

25. Dr. Frank Turek, Christian author, speaker and radio host, is also a management consultant. He was fired from his consulting contract with Cisco Systems when a homosexual participant in his class took offense after reading one of Turek?s books supporting man/woman marriage. The participant complained to Cisco human resources, and Turek was gone.

26. Jim and Beth Walder are Christians who own a bed and breakfast in Paxton, Ill. When they declined renting their facility to a homosexual couple for a civil union, they were sued.

27. A Vermont bed and breakfast was sued by a same-sex couple based on the state?s ?human rights? ordinance for not hosting their event. The Wildflower Inn eventually agreed to pay $30,000 in settlement fees.

28. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association in New Jersey declined a lesbian couple?s request to use the venue for their civil union. They sued, won, and a higher New Jersey court upheld the judgment.

29. A bed and breakfast in Hawaii turned down a lesbian couple?s reservation, and they sued. The lesbians won based on Hawaii?s housing ?non-discrimination? law.

30. Liberty Ridge Farms, located in New York, was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay two lesbians $1,500 each. That's because the farms' owners, due to their religious beliefs, refused to rent their facilities for a lesbian ?wedding.? The New York Division of Human Rights found the owners guilty of violating New York's human rights law.

31. A Christian-owned business, Hands on Originals, was asked to print shirts for the Lexington (Kentucky) Pride Festival but declined due to the owner?s religious beliefs. Lexington Human Rights Commission Executive Director Raymond Sexton is recommending that the HRC fine the owner and force him to attend mandatory ?diversity training? (i.e. indoctrination sessions) conducted by the commission (shades of George Orwell?s 1984). Ironically, the commission?s vice-chairman is a fervent homosexual activist.

These are just a few examples of the many outrages liberals are perpetrating in this country and elsewhere. If these don't motivate you to get involved in protecting your freedoms, we don't know what will.

Footnotes

1. Mark Olsen, Refuge (Cascade, CO: Sardis Press, 1996), p. 198.

2. James Warren, "Drawing laughs," Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1991, section 5, p. 2.

3. William A. Henry III, "Upside Down in the Groves of Academia," Time, April 1, 1991, p. 67.

4. Mark Olsen, p. 196.

5. From the document, "Training sexual orientation," by the State of Colorado Department of Institutions, 1991.

6. Eric Pollard, Washington Blade, January 31, 1992, p. 39.

7. Mark Olsen, p. 197.

8. Denver Post, Dec. 2, 1992, p. 1.

9. Roger Magnuson, Informed Answers to Gay-Rights Questions (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1994), p. 55.

10. Jerry Carroll, "Political Correctness Takes a Nosedive," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 26, 1994, p. E-7.

11. Press release, "Federal Court Rules that New Jersey Gay Rights Amendment Overrides Free Speech Claims," The Rutherford Institute.

12. Daniel Mindus, "What to Tell the Children," National Review, Sept. 11, 2000, p. 46.

13. John Leo, "Bombarded by bans," U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 21, 2002, p. 12.

14. Ibid.

15. Rory Leishman, "Mad Court Disease," Touchstone, March, 2005, p. 61.

16. Ibid.

17. Lars Grip, "No Free Speech in Preaching," Christianity Today, Sept., 2004, p. 23.

18. "Saskatchewan Man Convicted Of 'Hate Speech' for Anti-Homosexual Flier," Wanderer, June 16, 2005, p. 9.