Threats of protest halt Pink Swastika author's scheduled talk

Courtesy photo.

Temecula Valley News staff

Thursday, March 19^th, 2009.
Issue 12, Volume 13.

The Murrieta/Temecula Republican Assembly’s (MTRA) next meeting was scheduled to be April 3; however, that meeting and location are now in doubt as a result of threats of protest.

According to MTRA president Bob Kowell, their speaker was scheduled to be Pastor Scott Lively from Abiding Truth Ministries in Massachusetts. Pastor Lively’s book, "The Pink Swastika," has gained the attention and protest of gays and gay activists across the world.

"The meeting was to be held at Temeku Hills Country Club," said Kowell. "Temeku Country Club informed MTRA that, due to our speaker, the event could not take place there because they had received threats of demonstrations. MTRA was informed that there could be a liability issue with someone getting hurt on their way to using the public pool while passing through demonstrators."

A message was left with Temeku Hills Country Club for comment, but as of press time there had been no response.

The Pacific Justice Institute has pledged support of MTRA’s free speech rights. According to Chief Council Kevin Snider, they will be drafting a letter to Temeku Country Club asking them to honor the contract.

Kowell says MTRA will work with the country club to secure the spot and keep people safe as well. The police would be asked to help keep demonstrators at a safe distance.

The local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is adamant that Lively shouldn’t be able to speak to the group at all and believes retaliation may be warranted.

In a letter sent out Wednesday, March 25, PFLAG president Maryann Johnson wrote, "On April 3, Mr. Lively was going to speak at the Temeku Hills County Club for the Republican party. The LGBT community became outraged.

"There are gay families and friends of this particular community that have homes and pay their taxes, and to know that their community would let this demeaning act of discrimination take place, is upsetting and frightening.

"PFLAG informed the country club that they had upset the LGBT community and retaliation may be warranted. The Country Club did some investigation and canceled the event."

Snider, representing MTRA, says that Temeku Country Club may be violating the Republican club’s free speech civil rights if Lively is not allowed to speak because someone doesn’t like what he has to say at a meeting.

Kowell says the question of free speech is important. "Can a group be deprived of their right to host a meeting? Scott Lively is disliked by some. Can a meeting be dismissed because someone doesn’t like someone else?

"When Temecula showed ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ some people protested that event but were kept from getting physically close. That was at the public theater in Old Town. To some, that play was extremely offensive but still proceeded as planned.

"Lively is disliked by some extremists because of ‘The Pink Swastika,’ about a homosexual cult within the Nazi Party. He does not say that all homosexuals are Nazis, however.

"The question should be asked: can we talk about a Christian cult such as Jim Jones but not talk about a homosexual cult? Does that mean that all homosexuals are always good and could not have ever done anything wrong?

"The overwhelming majority of homosexuals are certainly not a cult nor interested in violating people’s freedom of assembly anymore than the overwhelming number of Christians would be called a cult.

"‘The Pink Swastika’ brings up some good points. Even though many of the homosexuals who started the Nazi Party, such as Roehm, were purged, that appeared to be more of a power struggle than actually exterminating homosexuals. The book should be read before making any decisions, however."

Johnson explains in her letter, "We have to create a world in which our young people may grow up and be educated with freedom from fear of violence, bullying and other forms of discrimination, regardless of their real or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation or that of their families."

Kowell said, "I believe our group has the right to gather and hear the research that Scott Lively has gathered over the years."

In an interview with Lively he stated that he has challenged opponents for years to debate him as to the veracity of his research and work. To date, he says "no one has ever taken him up on the challenge."

(previous announcement about event and speaker)

TEMECULA — Scott Lively, Esq., founder and leader of Abiding Truth Ministries, known for his vocal stand against what he considers to be the promotion of homosexuality in today’s culture, will speak to the Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly at a dinner meeting Friday, April 3, at Temeku Hills Clubhouse, 41687 Temeku Drive.

Check-in for the event is 6 p.m. and dinner begins promptly at 6:30.

Lively is the author of the book "The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party" and its sequel, "The Poisoned Stream."

Cost is $15 for members; $20 for non-members; $10 for students under 25. To RSVP, call Adele at (951) 302-9105.

21 comments for "Threats of protest halt Pink Swastika author's scheduled talk"

1:22 pm Sat, Mar 21^st, 2009

1. JACKSON says :

I read the 24 page online synopsis written by Scott Lively, and must conclude that his is a superficially erudite treatise to villify gay people as being fascists at heart, blaming them for sowing the seeds of Naziism in Germany. This is a transparent expose of Scott Lively's irrational fear of gay people. Why does the radical wing of the Republican Party in Riverside County alienate themselves from the principles of equality and rights for all people? They are bent on the destruction of their own party.

1:23 pm Sat, Mar 21^st, 2009

2. Anna Monday says :

Maybe someone is slandering the Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly by announcing that they are entertaining this preposterous topic? If not, this meeting fuses two of Republicans’ favorite things as of late: an irrational hatred of homosexuals and irresponsible, sloppily researched revisionist history. Maybe this is why higher education has been one of the casualties of the W. era; an uneducated population is defenseless against flimsily fabricated propaganda, no matter how absurd.

Comment Continued : The comment above was written from the same location.

1:23 pm Sat, Mar 21^st, 2009

3. Jon Monday says :

I am shocked that the Village News would run an announcement for this hate-filled propaganda. And I wonder how many Republicans embrace the idea of hosting this equivalent of the KKK at their gathering.

The very idea of the Nazi movement welcoming homosexuals is way beyond revisionist history - it's insane. It has all the moral authority and truth of Holocaust deniers.

Here is an excerpt from a Holocaust survivor website:

“After taking power in 1933, the Nazis persecuted homosexuals as part of their so-called moral crusade to racially and culturally purify Germany. This persecution ranged from dissolution of homosexual organizations to internment of thousands of individuals in concentration camps. Gay men, in particular, were subject to harassment, arrest, incarceration, and even castration. In Nazi eyes, gay men were weak and unfit to be soldiers, as well as unlikely to have children and thereby contribute to the racial struggle for Aryan dominance. Follow the links on this special focus page to learn more about the Nazi campaign against homosexuals in Germany.”

Author and historian Erik N. Jensen regards Scott Lively’s linkage of homosexuality and Nazism as the recurrence of a "pernicious myth", originating in the 1930s attacks on Nazism by Socialists and Communists and "long since dispelled" by "serious scholarship".

Where do true Christians stand on this outrage? Where do Republicans stand on this outrage? Where does the Village News stand on promoting this garbage?

7:17 am Mon, Mar 23^rd, 2009

4. Devon says :

THE PINK SWASTIKA should be read after reading THE PINK TRIANGLE: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals - by Richard Plant. Author Plant gives a scholarly and well researched, historical account of How the Nazis treated gays. This is a scholarly work surveying the Nazi persecution of homosexuals.

After the war he returned to Germany to learn as much as he could from personal interviews and research in existing Nazi archives. Although gay men and lesbians were persecuted, imprisoned, and sent to concentration camps in which most of them died, Plant saw that historians remained largely silent about these events. Plant's careful work in doing the research for this book was a vital early effort to help reconstruct the events surrounding the Nazi persecution of homosexuals.

On the other hand, "Pastor" Scott lively holds very extreme, toxic and paranoid views about homosexuals. What kind of flock does "pastor" lively fend?

7:17 am Mon, Mar 23^rd, 2009

5. DefendOurConstitution says :

Hatred against gays: why should anyone be surprised that a fundamentalist church does not understand that hatred is NOT a Christian value. As Jesus himself said: "he who is free from sin shall cast the first stone."

7:42 am Tue, Mar 24^th, 2009

6. Disappointed in the city of Temecula says :

I can't believe this newspaper would ever advertise this event and I hope we get a list of who attended this event to make sure they are never to be voted into a higher office. I am ashamed to be resident of Temecula and hope people come out to protest this invite of such a hateful and ignorant man

7:43 am Tue, Mar 24^th, 2009

7. Laurel says :

Holocaust revisionist and homobigot Scott Lively has been the CA state director for Don Wildmon's American Family Association.
Lively co-founded Watchmen on the Walls, a quasi-religious anti-gay hate group which calls homosexuality "inherently evil". His collaborators include Alexey Ledyaev and Ken Hutcherson.

Why did this Republican group invite such a disreputable man as Scott Lively to give them dinner entertainment. Of course we have free speech in America. People are free to preach homophobia and hate.

2:16 pm Tue, Mar 24^th, 2009

8. Human Mother says :

I too am shocked that this announcement was run. What's next? An announcement that the Westboro Baptist church will be here protesting the funeral of a fallen soldier? It is shameful that this Republican group is spreading hate as a family value!

4:54 pm Tue, Mar 24^th, 2009

9. Scott Spencer says :

I'm deeply offended that your paper would promote an organization The Abiding Truth Ministries that is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Mr Lively is also co founder and spokesperson of Watchmen on the Walls also listed by the SPLC as a hate group. In addition among Mr Lively asscociates is Alexey Ledyaev head of the New Generation Church that was in the news when one of his church members murdered a gay Fijian man.

Mr Lively is no different than neo Nazi Tom Metzger who's hate group was found responsible for incitement to murder an African American man in California several years ago.

Mr Lively's book " The Pink Swastika " is revisionist history that has been debunked by all but the most extreme of Gay Haters.

Does the inclusion of so callled Pastor Lively's press release mean that we will see future releases from Fred Phelps group that protest with " God Hates Fags " signs at dead US soldiers funerals claiming they died because of America's permissive culture?

You and your newspaper should be ashamed for giving voice to such a hateful extremist point of view on the Faith pages.

Scott Spencer

3:25 pm Fri, Mar 27^th, 2009

10. Pastor Scott Lively, J.D., Th. D. says :

The Price of Free Speech in the Era of “Gay” Power

Last night I learned that one of my upcoming lectures on homosexuality
and the “gay” movement may be forced into an alternate venue due to
the belief by the original forum’s management that I am a “hate
group.” I’m not sure who’s responsible for telling them this, but I
suspect it was the Southern Poverty Law Center (the once venerable
civil rights champion turned Christian-basher). It might have been the
same SPLC staffer who called Mike Spence of the California Republican
Assembly yesterday to pressure him to cancel my event, which is being
hosted by the CRA’s Temecula, CA chapter. Reportedly, Mr. Spence was
told that, among other things that qualify me as a hater, I advocate
the lifetime imprisonment of homosexuals.

I do not now, nor have I ever advocated imprisonment of homosexuals.
Nor do I, as they suggest on their website, endorse or condone the
murder of homosexuals.

The SPLC and its co-conspirators intend that I, upon hearing these
outrageous accusations, will rush to prove that I am not a hater, and
in the process, compromise all or part of my beliefs and values.
That’s what most others have done when faced with far less vicious
lies, which is why you can’t find more than a handful of public
officials anywhere in the nation willing to affirm the self-evident
truth that homosexuality is morally wrong and biologically disordered.
They’ve all fallen back to the least vulnerable position and last line
of defense of family: the definition of marriage.

It is my tenacious loyalty to the truth and gift of being able to
articulate it compellingly that makes the “gays” and their SPLC attack
dog hate me, and tell such lies about me. It started years ago with
more run-of-the-mill falsehoods, and eventually graduated to the
current whoppers. I refuse to be intimidated.

If you stop and think about it, can you name any single person in
America who openly disapproves of homosexuality who is not called a
hater? Or what Barney Frank called Justice Antonin Scalia recently --
a “homophobe?” That is indeed the purpose of this nonsense word
“homophobia:” to define ALL disagreement with the “gay” agenda as
irrational hate. A phobia is an anxiety disorder, a form of mental
illness, yet the term as they use it applies to everyone who, for any
reason, dares to oppose the social legitimization of homosexuality.

“Homophobia” is not a scientific term, but a deviously crafted
instrument of psychological manipulation. And its use by the “gay”
activists and their allies reveals just how underhanded they are
willing to be in the pursuit of their selfish goals. Note that I’m
talking about the activists, not people who genuinely want to be left
alone to their privacy -- They don’t bother me and I don’t bother
them.

The “gay” activists, however, lie about everything. “We’re born that
way?” There’s not been one definitive study proving that theory in
fifty years of effort, so why do so many people believe it’s been
scientifically established? Relentless lying. “We have no agenda?” Has
there ever been a more politically aggressive and organized special
interest group? -- all the while denying that they even have an
agenda? “We just want tolerance?” Yet, far past tolerance and even
celebration of “gay” culture in many places, the now politically
powerful homosexual movement demands the censorship and punishment of
their detractors. Is that proof of an honest commitment to “tolerance”
as an ideal, or the cynical manipulation of public sympathy to gain
political advantage?

So, by definition, to be a pro-family leader in this new era of
“tolerance is to be a constant target of misrepresentation and
outright falsehoods designed to poison the well against you so that
average people will be reluctant to listen to what you have to say.
Who are the real victims here?

Case in point. Why do they say I endorse the murder of homosexuals?
This lie has now spread all over the Internet. It started when I came
to the rescue of the Russian speaking community of Sacramento when it
was being smeared with racist propaganda by the Sacramento Bee
newspaper. There had been a fight between a group of Russians and a
group of Fijians in a public park in Sacramento. According to reports
from the trial, one Fijian man had been “dirty dancing” with other men
and the Russians asked them in vain not to do this in front of their
children. In the fight that ensued, a Russian man punched the Fijian
man once. The man fell, hit his head on a rock, and died that night in
the hospital of a brain injury. It was certainly a lamentable tragedy,
but an obviously unintended death if not just a freak accident.

However, the Bee and the “gay” activists characterized it as
deliberate murder. Worse, they blamed the entire local Russian
community of creating this “hate crime” by having been politically
active in the preceding months by rallying in large numbers when “gay”
issues came before the California legislature which is headquartered
in that city. Guilt by association when the association is a common
ethnicity is racism. And skewing facts to serve the “gay” political
agenda, especially by a trusted organ of the media, is lying by
misrepresentation.

In defense of the thousands of innocent Russian immigrants of
Sacramento, I therefore made public statements accusing the Bee of
racism and misrepresentation. The “gays” and the SPLC then
mischaracterized my comments as endorsement of murder. And they
continue to do so, even after the trial of the only man arrested in
the matter (not the puncher, who apparently fled the country). In the
trial the jury deadlocked on the question of whether the incident was
even a hate crime, let alone a murder, causing the case to end in a
mistrial. The “gays” then embellished the tale, stating falsely that
the Russian man was a member of a church I was affiliated with in
Sacramento. Not only was that not true, but I never met the man, nor
ever gave any hint of approving of or condoning what he did. I was in
fact very clear that I was personally grieved by what had occurred.
They are liars.

The next year, 2007, I was on a lecture tour of the former Soviet
Union, speaking in universities, churches and conferences in about
fifty cities through eight countries. At a conference in Novosibirsk
(New Siberia) I was relating the story of what had occurred in
Sacramento when a small group of 10-12 Russian nationalists (a genuine
hate group in a crowd of about 1200 Christians -- it was open to the
public) cheered when I said the Fijian man died. I stopped my speech,
rebuked them, and then spent the remainder of my time explaining why
we should “love the sinner, hate the sin.” However, there was a “gay”
activist in the conference who filmed the event, and the next day
posted it on YouTube -- except this person edited it so the clip ended
with the boors applauding, deliberately misrepresenting the incident.
They “lied” by omission, solely to harm me. Thankfully, the conference
organizers later published the entire speech on YouTube.

Why do they claim I advocate the imprisonment of homosexuals? That was
the story they invented while I was in Uganda earlier this month for a
week of lectures, sermons and media appearances in the capital city of
Kampala. While there I also addressed a group of members of the
Ugandan Parliament in their assembly hall. My purpose was to call for
a liberalization of the Ugandan law against homosexuality by shifting
the emphasis away from punishment and toward rehabilitation. I
analogized it to the example of my own life, citing my choice of
optional therapy for alcoholism after being arrested for drunk driving
years ago (during which time of therapy I became a Christian and was
completely healed of drug and alcohol addiction). I was accompanied at
Parliament by an African-American former homosexual man who addressed
the issue of reparative therapy and how it had helped him overcome
same-sex attraction.

The first reports from Kampala by the “gays” accused me of calling for
forced treatment of homosexuals (not true) and later the story was
amended to add that I advocated the imprisonment of homosexuals
(another lie).

For the record, I approach the homosexual issue first as a Christian
theologian, meaning that I assume the Bible is true and a provably
superior guide to human behavior to all competing worldviews if the
underlying biblical principles relating to any given issue are
correctly construed. Secondly, I approach the issue as an attorney
which makes me a respecter of empirical evidence, which I attempt to
analyze as logical secular thinkers such as Aristotle might. Both
approaches reach similar conclusions about homosexuality: that it is,
as Pope John Paul said (and Aristotle would affirm), "objectively
disordered." In other words, the male/female duality of the human
design is self-evident, and deviation from the design is predictably
problematic for both individuals and society. (By the way, I am not a
Catholic.)

From this premise, I conclude that public policy should actively
discourage all sex outside of marriage, not just homosexuality, but
that any such policy should be no more intrusive on personal freedom
than is necessary for the preservation of a genuinely family-centered
society. Where that might, for various reasons in some cultures,
include the criminalization of non-marital sexual relationships (as
was true in America prior to Kinsey), it should never involve
imprisonment in my opinion. Instead, like laws against littering and
excess noise, these policies should serve to deter anti-social conduct
in as light-handed a manner as possible. That is what I believe and
what I teach. If you watch carefully you will see the “gay” activists
and the pro-homosexual media twist even this. So be it.

There are many other misrepresentations about me circulating on the
Internet, and other examples I could relate of dirty tricks done to me
over the past twenty years that would outrage any fair-minded person,
but space is limited, and I think I‘ve made my point. But generally
speaking, I’m a pretty nice guy with my own share of life challenges
like anybody else. What makes me different from most people is that I
know a lot about the “gay” agenda and why it should be opposed by
society, and that knowledge makes me responsible to speak out no
matter how much I get lied about for doing so.

Meanwhile, I have genuine sympathy for homosexuals, whom I believe are
already imprisoned. Not in physical jails, but in the mutual
self-delusion they share and continually reinforce among themselves
that their attraction to persons of the same gender is unconquerable.
They are imprisoned by the lies they tell themselves. I don’t want
them to be imprisoned. My prayer is that they will be freed, to enjoy
the sublime blessing of sexuality in faithful, life-long marriage, as
was intended by the one who made us male and female by design.

7:54 am Mon, Mar 30^th, 2009

11. J. Kirk says :

Well...some high-ranking Nazi's were gay. Ernst Roehm, Edmund Heines, Karl Ernst, Paul Rohrbein, maybe even the top nazi himself.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-strange-strange-story_b_136697.html

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/72054-oxymorons-gay-nazi-gay-aryan-gay-supremacist/

What ironic is that those groups who are protesting this author and shut him down from speaking because "he's a facist" are themselves doing the work of facists by not letting him speak. The next thing you know they are going to keep people from reading books like perhaps, this one, or The Myth of Hetersexual Aids, which gay activists also protested the publication of. What's the next step, book burning? Instead of protesting him, how come nobody wants to debate him?

7:54 am Mon, Mar 30^th, 2009

12. freeta goodholm says :

It is best we do not hear or read or think ideas or opinions that may upset us.

7:54 am Mon, Mar 30^th, 2009

13. Coriolanus says :

Scott Lively said: "I’m a pretty nice guy "

Uh, no, you are not. You dragged a lesbian journalist out of a church by her hair, for which a court ordered you to pay $16,000 in damages. That is not a thing that a "pretty nice guy" does.

1:43 pm Tue, Mar 31^st, 2009

14. Barbara says :

In your response, Mr.Lively, you say, "I do not now, nor have I ever advocated imprisonment of homosexuals." Instead, you claim to endorse rehabilitation and appallingly compare this to your choice to rehabilitate from your past indiscretions with drugs and alcohol. You preached about this in Uganda recently where the LGBT community lives in constant fear of those who, like you, consider them to be immoral. What do you think that rehabilitation would entail for a homosexual person who is arrested for their "crimes" of showing their love for another of the same sex? In a society where there is intolerance of and retaliation against homosexuals, do you honestly believe that no harm will come to them as they are bullied into pretending that they are something they are not?
You have said in the past, "Discrimination against harmful conduct is entirely rational, and in many cases necessary." You also said, "I’m talking about the activists, not people who genuinely want to be left alone to their privacy -- They don’t bother me and I don’t bother them." Are the homosexual acts of those who "don't bother" you less harmful in your eyes? Whom, sir, am I harming by being an "activist" in a loving, monogamous relationship with another woman? Are you saying that it is acceptable to discriminate - using the "social" definition of this term, of course - because it is your ethnocentric belief that homosexuals are committing harmful acts? Would it be less harmful to sit idly by as our rights are trampled and our children are killing themselves because of their orientation?
In Uganda, you said, "This gay movement around the world has a handbook that they use and that is what the Ugandan gay movement is using now. You must be ready to stop this gay agenda. And don’t think that fighting the gay movement is the solution—you will be fighting a losing battle because this movement has come to stop humanity. They have a clear vision, mission and strategies. The only way to defeat them is to compete with them. Their movement is 70 years old and that’s why they don’t care about you. They know you will die soon and they will replace you and take over the nation. They have decided to recruit the youth." Please sir, show me this handbook. Show me where the "facts" are written to support what you preached to the Ugandans. When you do, perhaps we could sympathize with your laments of slander.
You have also said, "Sexual orientation must be exposed for what it is: a nonsensical theory about sexuality invented by "gay" political strategists to serve their own selfish interests at the expense of the welfare of society as a whole." Allow me to enlighten you. Sexual orientation is not a theory. For example, you are presumably heterosexual, correct? That, sir, is your sexual orientation. I do not believe that there is anything theoretical about that, do you? In fact, the American Psychological Institute's definition of sexual orientation is "an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectionate attraction toward others." You say that homosexuality is a choice that we are making and you have found no research disputing this fact. Have you looked for any? Allow me to assist you. The following is a link to an article titled "Scientists Link Brain Symmetry, Sexual Orientation" http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/scientists-link.html. This was one of many legitimate scientific studies disproving your theory. Perhaps next you will claim that this was some sort of conspiracy conjured by "Gays" and fueled by their "agenda" to take over the world. Your claims are frightfully paranoid, sir.
The Bible teaches us, "1. Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."MK. 4.24 What gives you the divine right to openly condemn a community of God's children? There is no justification for your claims. You call me and my LGBT brothers and sisters liars for informing others that we are born this way. You say, "There’s not been one definitive study proving that theory in fifty years of effort, so why do so many people believe it’s been scientifically established?" Well, sir, I have provided one of many for you. However, I will take this line of reasoning one step further. Have there been any "definitive studies" proving that God exists? Have there been any "definitive studies" proving that the teachings of the Bible are the word of God? Have there been any proving the opposite? Would I, therefore, have the right to call you a "Relentless" liar if I happen to disagree with you?
In the United States, our founding fathers endeavored to separate church and state. In an article for "Americans for Truth about Homosexuality", you state, "...if I’m a “hater” for civilly opposing what they do, why aren’t they haters for uncivilly opposing what I do? Such a double standard, in the context of a public debate on “civil rights,” is not just hypocritical, it is surreal." It seems you are confused about what 'civil' means in the case of 'civil rights'. You refer to 'civilly opposing' homosexual behavior. In this context, civil means "adequate in courtesy and politeness". In the case of 'civil rights', however, civil is 'of or relating to the state or its citizenry'. (Merriam-Webster) According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and federal laws enacted by Congress, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990." These are the rights that we 'activists' are fighting for. These are rights that heterosexual individuals enjoy. These rights have nothing and SHOULD have nothing to do with the Bible. We are fighting for equality under United States law and in that fight, it is our hope to garner tolerance from those who believe that what we do with our lives is wrong...whatever your definition of tolerance may be.
You are free to speak your mind, and we never had any intention of telling you that you are not. However, we as citizens of this community have the right to choose to keep your radical and dangerous propaganda out of our town. I applaud the Temeku Hills Country Club for canceling your speaking engagement and Maryann Johnson for having the courage to speak out for our community.

7:45 am Wed, Apr 1^st, 2009

15. JACKSON says :

The Southern Poverty Law Center has some strong words about Scott Lively on their Hatewatch website:
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/

California GOP Group Hosts Author Who Claims Gays Behind Holocaust:

"A chapter of a group once described by Ronald Reagan as the “conscience of the Republican Party” has announced plans to host a speech by the author of a book that falsely claims that homosexuals largely orchestrated the Holocaust. The Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly, a local chapter of the conservative GOP activist group California Republican Assembly, says it will hear on April 3 from Scott Lively — a man it boastfully describes as “The Pastor Vilified by the Newspapers as a Hater Because of his stand Against the Promotion of Homosexuality.”

Lively, who runs Abiding Truth Ministries, co-authored the notorious book The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party and claims that “the Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic male homosexuals throughout its short history.” The book’s crude thesis, that gay men played instrumental roles in forming the Third Reich and carrying out the Holocaust, has been thoroughly discredited by real historians. (Lively’s speech to the Murrieta-Temecula group is entitled “The Pink Swastika.”) Lively is also co-founder of the anti-gay hate group Watchmen on the Walls.

The Murrieta-Temecula Republican Assembly’s leader did not return a message left by Hatewatch, but its website, adorned with the words “God Bless America,” does note that Lively “is called a ‘Hater’ by the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center.” (The SPLC lists Abiding Truth Ministries as a hate group because of its promotion of clearly false allegations about homosexuals.) CRA President Mike Spence said that local chapters like Murrieta-Temecula operate independently.

March has been a busy month for Lively. Just a few weeks ago, he flew to the Ugandan capital of Kampala for an anti-gay conference, where he argued that gays and lesbians should be forced into conversion therapy as an “alternative” to Uganda’s current criminal punishment for homosexuality: life in prison. Lively compared the lives of lesbians and gays to those of alcoholics, claiming that “to give arrestees the choice of therapy instead of imprisonment [is] similar to the therapy option I chose after being arrested for drunk driving in 1985 (during which time I accepted the Lord and was healed and transformed into a Christian activist).”

For years, Temecula was the home base of Lively’s Abiding Truth Ministries. But he has recently relocated his operations to Springfield, Mass. He also keeps up a busy speaking schedule in Russia and various former Soviet republics, promoting his book."

9:03 am Wed, Apr 1^st, 2009

16. Truth Seeker says :

Before this controversy, I didn't know much about homosexuals in the Nazi Party. I thought it to be preposterous. After hearing about all the controversary, I decided to read the book. It made me a believer and truly I was not before.

Comment Continued : The comment above was written from the same location.

9:27 am Wed, Apr 1^st, 2009

17. Local resident says :

People have aked the question: why bring this issue up now when we have so many other issues to worry about? OK, gay lobby: why are you bringing this issue up now when we have so many other issues to worry about? Also, dah!- we just had an election on Prop 8 and dah!: Scott Lively was just blasted recently on the front page of a local paper. It would be absurd not to bring Scott here to talk about the Pink Swastika at this point.

Oh, and free speech? It looks very fascist to keep people from saying their point of view. If he has nothing of value, why is he a threat?

6:59 am Fri, Apr 3^rd, 2009

18. Scottsdale says :

Read Scott Lively's book and found it very well researched and truthful. The fascists are the radical homosexuals who want access to children through the media and public education. Their actions goes against nature and is costly to our medical system. Why would we want our children to take "pride" in their obscene behavior? It is so unLockean and goes against nature's laws. Their lifestyle choice is nihilistic and should NOT be promoted or given 'special rights' by govt.

1:10 pm Fri, Apr 3^rd, 2009

19. Truth says :

Lively beliefs are straight from the Bible and he is not preaching anything that is not from the Bible. He speaks about sin: "You shall not commit adultery" "You shall not murder" "You shall not steal" "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," "You shall not engage in homosexual behavior" etc. And everyday we ALL commit sin. But what Lively is reminding us, is that God does NOT like it when we commit these acts. Read the Bible before you attack Lively. He didn't make up the rules, God did! God's plan for natural sexual relationships is his ideal for his creation. Unfortunately, sin distorts the natural use of God's gift. Sin often means not only denying God, but also denying the way we are made. When our society says that any sex act is acceptable so long as nobody gets hurt, it is fooling itself. In the long run (and often in the short run) sin hurts people-individuals, families, whole societies, whether it be stealing, adultery, or homosexual behavior! SIN IS SIN!
LEVITICUS 20:13

3:57 pm Fri, Apr 3^rd, 2009

20. DawnB says :

Quote:
My purpose was to call for
a liberalization of the Ugandan law against homosexuality by shifting
the emphasis away from punishment and toward rehabilitation.
Endquote

Lively well knows that being gay has not been considered a mental illness for decades by all of the respected mental health organizations. Thus, there is no need for "rehabilitation." In fact, there's a cause for celebration. I celebrate my friends' happiness (I know many gay and lesbian couples) - including friends that are involved in gay relationships, as well as those who are involved in hetersexual relationships.

Yes, homophobia can be viewed as an anxiety disorder. It can also be viewed as an irrational fear or hatred of something - such as gay relationships. If we are talking about two competent adults, why would a rational person object to a happy relationship? Rational people celebrate that stability and happiness.

There certainly is no rational reason for society to interfere with such a relationship. Gay relationships are no longer viewed as detrimental to society. We've come a long way. Perhaps Lively should re-read Texas v. Lawrence. I certainly studied it extensively in law school.

Finally, Lively misunderstands the feelings of the members of PFLAG. While I certainly do not speak for my friends and fellow members, this member certainly respects the right of a person to listen to any speaker of his choice. I, however, as a private party have the right to publicly voice my opinion about that (in a rally or a march), and to let any establishment know what I think about them hosting a certain event. In other words, I have the right to respond to hateful behavior, and help people to think about what behavior to support. Now, that's reasonable behavior. Moreover, the government may not interfere with that (the government may merely place reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner). Remember that topic from law school, Mr. Lively?

DawnB, J.D.

7:45 am Mon, Apr 13^th, 2009

21. TemeculaResident says :

Perhaps if Germany's Jewish community had stood up before Hitler came to power and challenged the lies that the Nazis spewed, just maybe millions of European Jews might be alive today. I'm not gay but I am Jewish and I wish the homosexual community much luck and support their legal and constitutionally protected rights to protest and challenge Mr Lively and his lies.

Let us not forget the lessons of the past. First you denigrade and vilify the minority group, then you strip him of his/her legal rights (witness what just ocurred re:Prop 8) then you move in for the kill....LITERALLY!

Threats of protest halt Pink Swastika author's scheduled talk

21 comments for "Threats of protest halt Pink Swastika author's scheduled talk"

Add your Comment