CALIFORNIA: AG Shoots Down Another Attempt By Gay Death Penalty Advocate

Yesterday California Attorney General Kamala Harris rejected another attempt to place the Sodomite Suppression Act on the 2016 ballot. This time Christian activist Matt McLaughlin tried a different angle.

In his first public comments since proposing the original “Sodomite Suppression Act” in February, Matt McLaughlin expressed outrage that Harris’ office, which is charged with preparing ballot measures, summarily dismissed his latest offering, the “Sodomite Suppression Mandate.” “What I’m proposing is not murder,” McLaughlin said in a telephone interview with The Sacramento Bee. “I’m proposing the laws as they’ve ever been. The Bible doesn’t change.” McLaughlin said he purposely didn’t defend his first ballot proposal, a statute law, when Harris asked a judge for permission to keep it from the ballot. He said he devised his second as a constitutional amendment, which he thought she would have to clear for signature gathering. McLaughlin said that for centuries, homosexuality was a crime, often punishable by death, but as gays and lesbians won legal and political battles for their rights, “I feel mine were attacked. I’m a Bible believer.” Christian supporters of gay rights have noted that Jesus never spoke about homosexuality.

McLaughlin says he is considering a lawsuit against Harris.

JMG reader Mike points us to what appears to be McLaughlin's blog. From the current top post:

Harris’ office wants to pretend that she doesn’t even have to consider the brand new initiative I filed – she unilaterally claims the right to apply the court’s default judgment regarding the “Sodomite Suppression Act” to the new “Sodomite Suppression Mandate” initiative proposal that was filed on June 24. Of course, that is blatantly dishonest. The first initiative only sought to change the Penal Code, but the second one seeks to amend the state’s constitution – that makes them radically different proposals. The dishonesty of this slippery lawyer Kamala Harris can be compared to her obtaining a default judgment to repossess your car, and then she brings it your front door and tries to use it to foreclose on your home.

This seems to be McLaughlin's 1988 yearbook photo.

Matt Barber Columnist: All Gay-Friendly Christians Must Also Be Executed

"Many claiming Christians will express their support for the sodomites, and they many times will bring up the 'love of Christ' to vindicate their support for them. Let us remind such people that no where in Scripture is evil tolerated simply because it does not physically or directly harm someone, or because it is private. In fact, Christianity is so much against allowing private deviancy, that it says that those who 'approve of those who practice them' are 'worthy of death' (Romans 1:32). This means that opinions expressed in favor for homosexuality and other deviancies (such as cannibalism), are worthy of capital punishment. This purely illustrates that Christianity is so much against the license to do evil — even if it is done in private — that it prohibits any approval of it." - Theodore Shoebat, who yesterday called for Christians to burn the "fag flag."

RELATED: The above-linked post is from Shoebat's site. He and his father Walid Shoebat are regular contributors to Matt Barber's BarbWire. In April 2015 Theodore Shoebat called for executing all gay people.

CALIFORNIA: AG Kamala Harris Wins Battle Against Sodomite Suppression Act

Yesterday the California Assembly approved a resolution which denounces the Sodomite Suppression Act, the proposed 2016 ballot measure to have all gay people put to death. The Assembly's move is now moot as a Superior Court judge has approved Attorney General Kamala Harris' request to strike the measure before petition signature gathering can begin. The court's ruling comes despite the position taken by some legal experts who say ballot items cannot be challenged until after being approved by voters. In early May, Sodomite Suppression Act author Matt McLaughlin vowed to have a court force his item directly onto the ballot if he is not allowed to gather petition signatures.

RELATED: Still potentially on the 2016 California ballot is the Intolerant Jackass Act, which was green-lighted to begin collecting signatures earlier this month. The Intolerant Jackass Act was filed in response to McLaughlin's measure and would require him to attend LGBT sensitivity training. McLaughlin has reportedly demanded an apology from the author of the Jackass Act. Seriously.

CALIFORNIA: "Intolerant Jackass Act" Backers Can Start Collecting Signatures

Via CBS San Francisco:

While the status of a “Sodomite Suppression Act” proposed state ballot initiative remains in limbo, proponents of a rival “Intolerant Jackass Act” initiative were cleared by state Secretary of State Alex Padilla to begin collecting signatures Wednesday. The rival initiative would force the filer of the Sodomite Suppression Act or any similar initiative to attend sensitivity training and donate $5,000 to a pro-gay or pro-lesbian organization. When Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin filed the Sodomite Suppression Act earlier this year, which would make homosexuality punishable by death, it set off a nationwide backlash for its evident hatred and dubious constitutionality. Attorney General Kamala Harris sought a court injunction rescinding her obligation to prepare a title and summary for the initiative, a necessary step before proponents can begin gathering the 365,880 signatures necessary to get it on the ballot.

The Intolerant Jackass Act was filed by activist Charlotte Laws in late March. Last month the California Assembly approved a bill that would raise the referendum filing fee from $200 to $8000. The measure has not yet been heard by the state Senate.

Host Of Rubio Fundraiser Once Worked For Gambian Dictator Yahya Jammeh

Josh Israel reports at Think Progress:

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who announced last month that he will seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, will hold a campaign fundraiser on Wednesday with an array of Washington lobbyists. One of the lobbyists co-hosting the event (and helping to raise money for Rubio) is BGR Group principal Jennifer Lukawski. She recently served as the registered foreign agent for a western African regime known for its human rights abuses, including repeated threats to behead gay people. In April 2013, BGR Government Affairs LLC and the then-Secretary General of The Gambia signed a contract. In exchange for $45,000 a month (plus expenses), BGR agreed to “advocate and help build support for increased political and economic assistance from government and non-governmental organizations for The Gambia’s adolescent and adult female education programs. BGR may provide guidance and counsel on other issues from time to time as required.” Several weeks later, Jennifer Lukawski informed the Department of Justice that she would be lobbying for The Gambia pursuant to that deal. The arrangement continued until that December.

Last week Gambian president Yahya Jammeh vowed to "slit the throats" of gay men, prompting a denouncement from US National Security Adviser Susan Rice. Neither Rubio nor Lukawski, a former Heritage Foundation staffer, have responded to the Think Progress report. (Tipped by JMG reader John)

Subpoena Issued For Martin Ssempa In Civil Lawsuit Against Scott Lively

Last month the Center For Constitutional Rights surprised us with the revelation that Ugandan Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa is a US citizen and is therefore subject to a subpoena in their civil lawsuit against Scott Lively, who stands accused of crimes against humanity. The Ssempa subpoena has now been issued along with a $1900 check to cover his travel expenses to Massachusetts. Ssempa is very prolific on Twitter and has not yet publicly commented there about this development. (Via Equality Case Files)

CALIFORNIA: Gay Death Penalty Advocate Vows To Have Court Force Ballot Measure

It turns out that there was more to that letter from Matt McLauglin than I reported early this morning. Via CBS San Francisco:

In a bizarre legal twist in a jaw-droppingly hateful proposal that calls into question the entire California ballot initiative process, the author of a bill proposing murdering California’s gays may ask a court to place his proposal on the ballot without gathering a single signature other than his own. In a letter quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Matt McLaughlin writes to the state attorney general, “Take notice that if your office and the California secretary of state refuse to clear the Sodomite Suppression Act for signature circulation, I may demand as remedy that it be placed on the election ballot directly.”

Judge Steven Rodda in Sacramento agreed to give the attorney general until June 25 to prepare an official title and ballot summary for the initiative, which would amend the California penal code to make sex with a person of the same gender an offense punishable by “bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.” The attorney general plans to move then to have her original request to quash the measure granted by default. Her office said in its appeal for more time that the Orange County lawyer who paid $200 to submit the initiative, Matthew McLaughlin, has not attempted to defend his so-called Sodomite Suppression Act in court.

It's not clear from the above-linked report if a court can indeed force the issue onto the ballot without the approval of the state or gathering the required signatures. (Tipped by JMG reader Benjamin)

CALIFORNIA: Court Grants AG More Time To Quash Sodomite Supression Act

California's infamous Sodomite Suppression Act, which would ask voters to approve of executing all gay people, was due to enter the petition-gathering stage next week. Yesterday a state court granted Attorney General Kamala Harris more time to quash the referendum.

Harris asked a state court in late March for permission to reject the measure, calling it obviously unconstitutional and "utterly reprehensible." But since a judge has not yet acted on the unusual request, she said in legal papers filed Wednesday that she would be legally bound to clear the initiative's author on Monday to start pursuing the 366,000 signatures needed to put the law before voters in November 2016.

Judge Steven Rodda in Sacramento agreed to give the attorney general until June 25 to prepare an official title and ballot summary for the initiative, which would amend the California penal code to make sex with a person of the same gender an offense punishable by "bullets to the head or by any other convenient method."

The attorney general plans to move then to have her original request to quash the measure granted by default. Her office said in its appeal for more time that the Orange County lawyer who paid $200 to submit the initiative, Matthew McLaughlin, has not attempted to defend his so-called Sodomite Suppression Act in court.

McLaughlin sent Harris a letter in early April in which he declared, "Costly litigation is not something that you may require me to incur prior to exercising my rights under both the California Constitution and the initiative statute." He has not yet responded to any inquiries from the press and we still don't even know what he looks like.

Hate Group Leader Austin Ruse: Send Me Money Because JMG Is Reading Your Mail

In a money beg issued today by C-FAM leader and Breitbart columnist Austin Ruse, he asks his followers to "give as much as you can" because "sexual weirdoes" [sic] like yours truly are reading their mail.

Subject Line: The Sexual Weirdoes are Reading Your Mail! Dear Friend of the Friday Fax, Right this second the sexually crazed boys and girls at places like Media Matters, Right Wing Watch, Joe.My.God, Southern Poverty Law Center, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and RH Reality Check are reading these words. They monitor every word we write. They monitor everything we say, too. Why do they do this? Because they know we are a real threat to their agenda to impose their crazed sexual ideas on the rest of the world. They shake in their boots because they know the reach and powerful effect of C-Fam and the Friday Fax. This is why they have tried to shut us down. This is why they have tried to shame us from the public square. This is why they call us names and would really like to see us jailed (a UN apparatchik actually said that not many years ago). The thing is, the brave staff of C-Fam and the Friday Fax don’t care! The crazed sexual revolutionaries cannot touch us and it drives them nuts. The only thing that can stop us is money. Yep. Filthy lucre. We cannot do this work without it. We cannot be a thorn in their side without it. We cannot block their agenda without it.

As noted in the above-linked Right Wing Watch report, by "your mail" Ruse means his weekly public subscription email blast, which I actually don't happen to subscribe to. Until today. Heh.

RELATED: Over on Breitbart, Ruse today is screaming that the "Big Gay Hate Machine" (my next band name) is gunning for Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Austin Ruse was fired by the American Family Association last year after a guest-hosting spot on their radio network during which he declared that liberal university officials "should all be taken out and shot." Ruse also claims that a Vatican priest once offered him absolution if he were to murder Hillary Clinton. Ruse is the head of C-FAM, the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, which is a member of the World Congress of Families, the coalition working with NOM and others to export anti-gay hatred to foreign counties. During a speech at CPAC 2012, Ruse denounced the United Nations for issuing a resolution against the gay death penalty. Ruse is married to FRC "senior fellow" Cathy Ruse.

Matt Barber: Revolution Is At Hand

Activist "Punks" Iranian Officials: "What's Your Favorite Way To Hang Gays?"

David Keyes, executive director of Advancing Human Rights, attempted to "punk" the New York City visit of Iran's foreign minister last week by staging a giveaway of ice cream and balloons to "celebrate" the 1000th hanging by the Iranian government. Via The Blaze:

Keyes said he uses comedy and satire to highlight human rights abuses, because “dictators fear humor.” Though Keyes didn’t get up close to the foreign minister, he did approach – armed with festive helium balloons in the red, green and white colors of the Iranian flag – Iran’s deputy foreign ministers Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi. “Guys, how are you going to celebrate 2,000 hangings,” he asked as he walked alongside them. “What’s a favorite way to hang gay people, you think?” The Iranian officials appeared momentarily flustered by the display and apparently walked around the block in a circle, Keyes said. Keyes extended his hand for handshakes, but the Iranians didn’t take him up on the offer. As they entered their SUV, Keyes saw someone inside taking his picture. “Snapping pictures of me, that’s a little terrifying,” Keyes said.

(Tipped by JMG reader Gene)

Georgia Church: Death To Homosexuals

Via Talking Points Memo:

The pastor of a church in Milledgeville, Ga., recently changed the sign outside his church to read, "Homosexuality is a death worthy crime," according to Georgia television station WGXA. The sign caused a stir in the neighborhood, but Robert Lee, the pastor of Ten Commandments Church, defended his sign and claimed he was quoting the Bible. "Homosexuality is an abomination, and the Bible says that homosexuality is a death worthy crime," Lee told WGXA. Lee told WGXA that he hoped his sign would have an impact and said he would oppose a Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. "The institution of marriage was instituted by God and it should not be changed by people who deserve not to live," he said.

More from Gay Star News:

"Homosexuality is an abomination, the Bible says homosexuality is a death-worthy crime," Lee told WGXA. "The institution of marriage was instituted by God and it should not be changed by people who deserve not to live. Before I accept homosexuality, I will die." The sign was first spotted by passerby Robert Owens, who found it very offensive. He said: "I have a gay brother and a lesbian niece, who live out in California, and I don't want them to come here and visit me and see a sign like that."

Local television interviews Lee here.

Today's FRC Marriage Fast Message: Pray That The Jewish Justices Remember That Homosexuals Are To Be Executed

The Family Research Council's 21-day fast against same-sex marriage is in its 16th day and today they focus on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The FRC would also like its followers to pray that those heathen Jews on the Supreme Court remember that the bible demands the execution of all homosexuals.

Pray that Justice Alito will hold fast to his integrity on the matter of marriage. Pray that he will be even stronger than in the past, and that he will be a powerful influence on his colleagues. May each of these Justices be reminded of the truths of their own faith tradition and teaching. For those of Jewish faith, may they consider the clear teaching of Genesis on marriage (1:26-28; 2:18-25) and of Leviticus on homosexual behavior (18:22; 20:13). For those of Catholic faith, may they consider the words of the Lord Jesus, who quoted Genesis on marriage between one man and one woman and concluded: “What God, therefore, hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mt 19:6) and the words of Saint Paul on homosexual behavior, which is a sin people can repent of and be delivered from by the grace of God (Rom 1:26-27, 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:8-10). May each consider that the Founders, who firmly opposed homosexual behavior, would never have imagined that the founding documents even suggested any right to same-sex “marriage,” and therefore no legitimate interpretation of the Constitution should confer special status to those who engage in it. May the Holy Spirit awaken a fear of God in each of the Justices, reminding them of the truths of Scripture. May their consciences be stirred and may their ruling serve to re-awaken the consciences of all Americans that we should view marriage between one man and one woman as a sacred union that should be protected and encouraged by government.

Bolding and link are motherfucking mine.

Regular Matt Barber Columnist Again Calls For Death Penalty For Homosexuality

"The Law of God, that says that homosexuals must be put to death, must be enacted against this evil. You say that this is inhumane, that it is cruel, but it is not. What is truly cruel is giving freedom to caretakers and disgusting parents the 'freedom' to force children to watch this sickness manifest before their innocent eyes. Any parent, or adult, who brings children to a sodomite event should be arrested and punished, for those that 'have pleasure in them that do them' 'are worthy of death' (Romans 1:32), as we learn from the sublime words of St. Paul. This is true love, to destroy evil where it stands, to cut it off before it grows like a weed and consumes all of the nurturing love of righteous truth. The state must be slaughter these wicked reprobates or else they will continue to flood the world with their gloomy darkness." - Theodore Shoebat, writing for his father's Shoebat Foundation.

Both Shoebats are columnists for BarbWire, the personal site of Christian leader Matt Barber, who is the vice president of the Liberty Counsel and an associate dean at Liberty University. Barber has published three BarbWire columns by the younger Shoebat in the last month. A few weeks ago Barber penned a World Net Daily column in which he proclaimed "disgust" at two previous BarbWire columnists who support putting gays to death. And then he went on to blame "virulent homosexual and atheist bloggers" for pointing out the columns in the first place. Both of the earlier BarbWire columns from gay death penalty advocates were deleted within 24 hours without any comment or apology on the site. It appears that since Theodore Shoebat only calls for the murder of millions of gay people on his own site, he will continue to be welcome to write for Matt Barber. Praise Jesus.

RELATED: Theodore Shoebat also enjoys compiling YouTube clips of gay men being brutally beaten by Christian mobs.

Rep. Louis Gohmert: Intolerant Gays Are Persecuting Christians All Over America

Bill Maher On Religous Fundamentalism

Raw Story has a recap:

“On the one hand, clearly God has spelled it out — He hates f*gs,” Maher said. “But you like your gay neighbors Rob and Larry. But the Bible tells you to kill them. Yes, it literally says kill them. What to do?” He then chided California attorney Matt McLaughlin and his “Sodomite Suppression Act,” calling it the latest in a long tradition of anti-LGBT rhetoric equating homosexuality with a Biblical apocalypse. “Take fundamentalists at their word. They fundamentally believe this stuff,” Maher explained. “And if you believe that God wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah for being too gay, then yeah, He must be itching to hit West Hollywood.” He then veered into another criticism of Islam, asking his audience to imagine a country full of people like McLaughlin. “Well there is, it’s called Saudi Arabia. It’s called Iran. It’s called Pakistan,” Maher said. “I could go on. But suffice it to say that in many Muslim countries, you wouldn’t have to work hard at all to get signatures on your ‘Kill All The Gays’ ballot initiative. In 10 such countries, it’s already the law.”

Pastor Eat Da Poo Poo Subpoenaed In Scott Lively Crimes Against Humanity Suit

The Center For Constitutional Rights writes today with the surprising news that notorious anti-gay Ugandan Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa is actually a US citizen and is therefore subject to their subpoena which demands he appear at Scott Lively's trial for crimes against humanity. From the motion filed in Massachusetts by CCR's client, Sexual Minorities Uganda:

Mr. Ssempa is an anti-gay activist and longtime associate of Defendant. Mr. Ssempa is known for employing forced outings, and “homosexual exorcisms,” and showing graphic pornography to his church congregations, as well as for making threatening statements and taking other actions, in order to deny the humanity of LGBTI individuals. Mr. Ssempa has long conspired with Defendant and three others to deprive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (“LGBTI”) people of their fundamental rights. Indeed, from at least 2002, Mr. Ssempa has known and worked closely with Defendant and others to develop anti-gay strategies and tactics. For example, as early as 2003, Mr. Ssempa was involved in an attempt to exclude LGBTI persons from governmental HIV/AIDS prevention programs and policies. In 2007, Ssempa began to publicize the names, photos, and address information of LGBTI advocates in an attempt to intimidate those persons. Mr. Ssempa also facilitated Defendant’s communications with the Ugandan Parliament about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which, among other things, criminalized advocacy of LGBTI rights and provision of various services to LGBTI persons, and provided that the death penalty be imposed for a second conviction for consensual sex between adults of the same gender.

Ssempa is very prolific on Twitter but so far it doesn't appear that he's yet mentioned the subpoena.

Foundation For Moral Law To SCOTUS: Say No To Same-Sex Marriage Because The Bible Says To Kill Homosexuals

The Foundation For Moral Law, which was founded by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, has filed a Supreme Court amicus brief which declares, among other reasons, that the bible says homosexuals must be put to death and therefore same-sex marriage must be stopped. An excerpt:

The law of the Old Testament enforced this distinction between the sexes by stating that “if a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.” Leviticus 20:13 (KJV). At creation, therefore, the sexes were established as “male and female” and “[f]or this reason,” marriage was defined at its inception as a union between a man and his wife. Genesis 2:18-25. Only the male-female marriage is inherent in the same created order that gives us our legal equality before the law, as recognized in the Declaration of Independence. The Bible has been considered the authoritative source of morality and worldview for Western civilizations for nearly two millennia (three millennia for the Tanakh or Old Testament), including the time period in which the institutions of American law and government were established. The concept of being “created equal” cannot be properly understood without a recognition of “the laws of nature and of nature’s God” upon which the concept of equality depends.

Note that they leave off the "they shall surely be put to death" portion of that Leviticus quote. The brief goes on to cite the British death penalty for sodomy under laws adopted in 1533 during the reign of Henry VIII. The FML brief also gleefully cites the infamous Paul Cameron study which declared that gay men have shortened lifespans. Cameron's result came by averaging the ages of men listed in AIDS obituaries, which is like averaging the ages of children killed in car accidents and concluding that the average American child dies by the third grade.

The Foundation For Moral Law has been headed by Roy Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, since he returned to the Alabama Supreme Court. Serial arrestee Caleb Moore, their son, is also an employee. See the full brief at Equality Case Files.

Headline Of The Day

Details. It's really astounding that nobody has been able to get so much as an old photo of this guy. (Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

NEW YORK: Prison Guard Suspended After Facebook Threat To Shoot Gay Neighbors

A part-time corrections officer in a Buffalo suburb has resigned after his superiors were notified that he had posted a Facebook message in which he threatened to shoot his gay neighbors. He has also been suspended from his full-time job at the infamous Attica state prison. Via the Buffalo News:

Richard “Rick” Pilarski Jr. resigned Saturday as a cell block attendant for the Cheektowaga Police Department after he acknowledged the Facebook exchange with family and friends in which he threatened to shoot gays. The exchange was spurred by a news account about a proposed ballot initiative in California known as the “Sodomite Suppression Act,” which calls for imposing the death penalty on gay men and women who are sexually active.

“We brought him in today and he decided to resign from the position,” Assistant Police Chief James J. Speyer said Saturday. “He was remorseful and apologetic. It is one of those situations where he never intended it to be something that would come out.” Speyer said the department received a complaint late last week and immediately suspended Pilarski without pay while beginning an investigation. Pilarski, 33, also was placed on administrative leave Friday from his job as full-time state corrections officer at Attica Correctional Facility, as the state investigates the complaint.

“Wouldn’t this be the greatest thing in the world??? The guys around the corner would be the first 2 faggots in my sights. What you do in your house is one thing but when you fly flags of equal rights and the rainbow flag in a small quiet neighborhood is another,” Pilarski posted Monday on Facebook. Pilarski acknowledged the Facebook posts were his but explained that he thought he was having a private conversation, Speyer said. After admitting the Facebook exchanges, Pilarski resigned from his part-time job, Speyer said. He worked five shifts a month in the cell block.

Prison officials and Pilarski's corrections officers union have declined to comment. His Facebook account has been deleted.