Today's Cultural Warfare Update

Focus on the Family glad Michigan won't include the HPV/cervical cancer vaccine in its standard school vaccination set;

Colombia's national government now gives GBLT couples more recognition than the US's, by allowing social security and inheritance; Focus on the Family calls it "marriage-like rights," which they, of course, oppose;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM against embryonic stem-cell research in Oregon; they call it a "Clone-and-Kill Bill" and "the destruction of human life";

Kroger stores in Nashville - Kroger is a grocery-store chain, the parent company owns QFC locally - pull the Nashville gay newspaper off the shelves; Focus on the Family and Exodus International (an "ex-gay" quackery group) both happy; EI says, "Many people who subscribe to a conservative set of values or a Christian set of values don’t appreciate that sort of influence into their places of employment and the places that they shop or do business with";

FotF puff piece supporting Atty. General Gonzales and the Bush administration's justice department, which has been working with the explicitly anti-GBLT Alliance Defense Fund;

FotF promotes their "Values Voters Summit" 2007, a smaller-scale event in a non-election year; primary issues are fighting abortion rights, fighting marriage rights, and the 2008 elections;

FotF happy that a Missouri bill would "cost Planned Parenthood $1 million per site" in the state; the bill requires facilities providing abortion services to qualify as "ambulatory surgical centres";

Focus on the Family claims that discovery of functionality in "junk" DNA is "a strike against evolution," makes up the claim that "Darwinists" relied on "junk" DNA as "evidence of the randomness of evolution," then knocks down that strawman; "This is a strike against evolution";

FotF promises that four particular state legislators in Massachusetts who voted against the anti-marriage amendment are "going to have to answer to their constituents for that"; we'll see if Focus on the Family decides to try to make examples out of them; they also point readers at their state affiliate, the Massachusetts Family Institute;

Massachusetts Family Institute/voteonmarriage.org ACTION ITEM to thank the 45 legislators who voted for the amendment to revoke GBLT marriage rights;

Massachusetts Family Institute/voteonmarriage.org ACTION ITEM to condemn the "11 Traitors" - yes, they call them traitors - who voted against the anti-marriage amendment;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to condemn bill to lift "overseas gag rule" barring groups receiving US foreign aid funding from discussion abortion and requiring family-planning groups to focus heavily on abstinence-only AIDS prevention;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support a Bush judicial nominee in the Senate; accuses Democrats of planning to call him a racist; People for the American Way report that in 2001, Judge Southwick removed a child from a woman's custody solely and explicitly on the basis of her being a lesbian and opposes GBLT equality under the law; also, quoting PFAW, "Southwick went even further by joining a gratuitously anti-gay concurrence which extolled Mississippi’s right under “the principles of Federalism” to treat “homosexual persons” as second-class citizens. The concurrence suggested that sexual orientation is a choice and stated that an adult is not “relieved of the consequences of his or her choice” – e.g. losing custody of one’s child"; I don't have primary sources for this so am not providing a separate URL;

Focus on the Family promotes conference on "the morally treacherous waters of bioethical issues";

FotF spinoff Family Research Council condemns Southwest Airlines and SunTrust Banks, Inc., for being sponsours at DC's Capital Pride Festival, the annual GBLT event;

Remember Kansas's theoconservative attourney general who went fishing through abortion provider medical records? One of the guys he hired to do so is using those records in anti-abortion activities. Focus on the Family condemns the new Kansas AG for trying to stop him;

Focus on the Family triggers National Right to Life Committee purge of dissatisfied Colorado affiliate which was angry at James Dobson for not being absolutist enough in his anti-abortion activities; mmmmmm, purges;

Focus on the Family condemns Olympia (Washington) school for a six-person panel talking about their personal experiences with anti-GBLT discrimination; the are, of course, outraged; it appears to have been part of an anti-harassment/anti-bullying programme, which Focus on the Family opposes when it includes GBLT people; they also call it a "homosexuality lesson";

FotF ACTION ITEM against Maine expanding parental-leave act to include same-sex parents; it allows people to take medial leave to take care of an ill partner; they are, of course, opposed, presumably because sick fags should be left to die alone or something; I think the opposition to programmes intended to prevent bullying and harassment of queer teenagers is still worse than this, but this is pretty low;

FotF political article noting that "2008 Democratic Candidates Push Gay Agenda";

California assembly passes GBLT marriage rights for the second time; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) promises to veto it again if it reaches his desk (through the Senate); Focus on the Family has an ACTION ITEM out to urge said veto and to urge California state Senators to vote against the bill;

FotF notes "Lightning Punctuates Giuliani's Abortion Comments";

American Academy of Physician Assistants fails to ban "reparative therapy" (the so-called "gay conversion" therapy) outright; the "Fellowship of Christian Physician Assistants" continues to lobby for it.

( Articles and excerpts below )