News Tidbits

Huffington Post: Trans Pastor To Texas Bathroom Bill Supporters: ‘Stop Using God As An Excuse To Hate People’

Reuters: Amateur historian 'blew open locked doors' by exposing Irish babies' mass grave

Gay Star News: Philippines: LGBT rights are not natural rights says Christian pastor

Pink News: Franklin Graham claims Oscar-winning Moonlight is seducing kids into gay ‘lifestyle choices’

News Tidbits

Associated Press: Victims, Roman Catholic Church spar over New York sex abuse bill

Associated Press: Connecticut lawmakers consider banning conversion therapy

ABC News: Gay conversion therapy advocates heartened by Pence, Republican electoral victories

Reuters: Ireland: Baby remains found at former Church-run home for unmarried mothers

Pink News: Christian bakers battling ‘gay cake’ fine, despite taking $500,000 donations to pay it

LGBTQ Nation: ACLU demands documents to show Trump’s plans for ‘religious’ discrimination

WRAL: Franklin Graham calls for Beauty and the Beast boycott over gay character

News Tidbits

Washington Post: CPAC organizer denounces ‘alt-right’ as ‘left-wing fascist group’

Politico: White nationalist leader kicked out of CPAC

New York Times: Milo Yiannopoulos’s Pedophilia Comments Cost Him CPAC Role and Book Deal

NPR: Lack Of Education Leads To Lost Dreams And Low Income For Many Jehovah's Witnesses 

Associated Press: Kentucky ark attraction adding biblical truth exhibit

Associated Press: Rhode Island lawmakers propose banning anti-gay therapy

Gay Star News: North Carolina: Burglar broke into gay-friendly church to graffiti Bible verses condemning 'wrong-doers'

CBC News: Local Christian leaders don't want evangelist Franklin Graham speaking in Vancouver

CBC: Trinity Western law school fight heading to Supreme Court of Canada

Pink News: Australia: Anti-LGBT activist invited the whole internet to his rally and it didn’t end well

The Guardian: 'The exorcism was over in 15 minutes but nothing changed': LGBT life in Nigeria

Trump's Plans for Immigrants and Refugees Draw Mixed Reactions

President Trump is acting on his anti-immigration campaign promises. According to BBC News and CNN, on January 25th, Trump signed two executive orders boosting border patrol forces, increasing the number of immigration enforcement officers who can carry out deportations, depriving sanctuary cities of federal grant funding, and directing the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. In a move that smacks of scapegoating, Trump's executive orders also mandates that the Department of Homeland Security publish a list of crimes committed by aliens, according to Buzzfeed and the Independent.

Trump's ire also extends to refugees, which will have devastating consequences at a time when refugees are pouring out of Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. According to Reuters, Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would temporarily ban refugees from entering the U.S. and suspend visas for citizens of Syria and six other countries. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has temporarily suspended trips by staff to interview refugees in anticipation of Trump's new refugee policy, two sources told Reuters.

Some immigration-focused voices from the right were delighted. Writing at the Center for Immigration Studies, Mark Krikorian called the Trump's immigration plans "a resounding success" and was eager to see how the administration would handle "defiant sanctuary cities, greedy employers, leftist lawfare warriors, oleaginous lobbyists". In a blog post at NumbersUSA, Roy Beck observed that Trump's executive orders had addressed six out of ten goals set out in the group's "10 Steps to Fix Our Broken Immigration-Enforcement System". During the January 26th edition of Jay Sekulow Live, Jay Sekulow said that Trump's drafted plans on refugees "makes absolute sense".

In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham did not see Trump's measures as an affront to Jesus' teachings about welcoming the stranger.

"It’s not a biblical command for the country to let everyone in who wants to come, that’s not a Bible issue ... We want to love people, we want to be kind to people, we want to be considerate, but we have a country and a country should have order and there are laws that relate to immigration and I think we should follow those laws. Because of the dangers we see today in this world, we need to be very careful."

However, other conservative Christian voices frowned on Trump's plans. Groups that were pleased with Trump's reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy expressed disapproval of his plans for immigrants and refugees. For example, in a January 25th press release, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) urged Trump to continue the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The NAE called Trump's reported plans to restrict refugee admission based on religion or national origin "alarming".

"Christians and churches have been welcoming refugees for 2,000 years, and evangelicals are committed to continue this biblical mission. Thousands of U.S. evangelicals and their churches have welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees over the past 40 years through World Relief and other federally approved resettlement agencies. We don’t want to stop now,” NAE President Leith Anderson said.

News reports that the Trump administration plans to make severe cuts to the admission of refugees based on their religion or national origin are alarming. We call on President Trump to declare his support for the continuation of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which is critical at a time when the world faces a significant refugee crisis.

"While refugees to the United States undergo rigorous screening interviews, background checks and biometrics taking 18-24 months, there have been fewer than 100,000 per year. By comparison, there are over 75 million foreign tourist, business and student visitors to the United States each year — most coming with little or no security screening. Most refugees from the Middle East are women and children who have suffered the assaults of ISIS terrorists and civil war. We have the opportunity to rescue, help and bless some of the world’s most oppressed and vulnerable families,” Anderson said."

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also expressed disappointment in Trump's decisions on immigration. In a January 25th press release, the USCCB accused Trump of "disregard[ing] the judgment of state and local law enforcement on how best to protect their communities". Bishop Joe Vasquez, Chair of the Committee of Migration and Bishop of the Diocese of Austin, was "disheartened" by news of the border wall, which he claimed would make immigrants even more vulnerable.

"I am disheartened that the President has prioritized building a wall on our border with Mexico. This action will put immigrant lives needlessly in harm's way. Construction of such a wall will only make migrants, especially vulnerable women and children, more susceptible to traffickers and smugglers. Additionally, the construction of such a wall destabilizes the many vibrant and beautifully interconnected communities that live peacefully along the border. Instead of building walls, at this time, my brother bishops and I will continue to follow the example of Pope Francis. We will "look to build bridges between people, bridges that allow us to break down the walls of exclusion and exploitation.'"

In regards to the announcement of the planned surge in immigrant detention and deportation forces, Bishop Vasquez added:

"The announced increase in immigrant detention space and immigration enforcement activities is alarming. It will tear families apart and spark fear and panic in communities. While we respect the right of our federal government to control our borders and ensure security for all Americans, we do not believe that a large scale escalation of immigrant detention and intensive increased use of enforcement in immigrant communities is the way to achieve those goals. Instead, we remain firm in our commitment to comprehensive, compassionate, and common-sense reform. We fear that the policies announced today will make it much more difficult for the vulnerable to access protection in our country. Everyday my brother bishops and I witness the harmful effects of immigrant detention in our ministries. We experience the pain of severed families that struggle to maintain a semblance of normal family life. We see traumatized children in our schools and in our churches. The policies announced today will only further upend immigrant families."

These statements serve as reminders that conservative groups do not have a monolithic approach to immigrants and refugees. While more extreme groups among the right may smile upon Trump's executive orders, other conservative groups are calling for a more compassionate and nuanced approach. Will left-leaning activists find common ground with these latter groups and work together on immigration and refugee entry in the days ahead?

To read more, visit the following links.

Washington Post: Trump’s order to ban refugees and immigrants triggers fears across the globe

Christianity Today: Evangelical Experts Oppose Trump’s Plan to Ban Refugees

News Tidbits

Louisville Courier-Journal: Judge dismisses civil suits against Kim Davis

Vancouver Sun: Vancouver Christians collide over televangelist Franklin Graham

Associated Press: Groups press Walgreens on religious restrictions in clinics

Washington Blade: Judge: Religion permits Michigan funeral home to engage in anti-trans bias

Gay Star News: Canada: Homophobic zombies at Toronto Pride sued for $104 million

Pink News: Australia: Being ‘transgender is like anorexia’, claim conservative lobby group

News Tidbits

Houston Public Media: The Abortion Training Taboo: How Texas Politics Influence Medical Education

New York Times: Groups Unite to Push for More Conservative G.O.P. Platform at Convention

WPR: Evangelical Rally Draws Thousands To Madison; Franklin Graham Urges People To Vote For Christian Candidates

The Guardian: Protest at church's praise for Orlando massacre reveals California's fault lines

Associated Press: Chick-Fil-A in Orlando Donates Food After Massacre

Cincinnati*com: Former president Jimmy Carter visits Ark Encounter

Religious Right Tweets Following the Orlando Massacre

During the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12, a gunman opened fire on people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 50 people and wounding 53 others, according to CNN. The reported shooter has been identified as Omar Saddiqui Mateen, a 29 year-old man from Fort Pierce, Florida. Before exploring the massacre in depth, I'd like to share some tweets from Religious Right figures in the aftermath of the tragedy. Religious Right responses have been both supportive and hateful.

UPDATE: Texas Governor Dan Patrick posted a Tweet earlier today that read, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7." He has since deleted the Tweet amidst backlash, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Barack "Identity Politics" Obama and his dilemma: FL victims where homosexuals, but perpetrator was Muslim.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) June 12, 2016

What left should say but won't: we can't let gays kiss in public - it might offend Muslims. https://t.co/kAwqCcjct9

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) June 12, 2016

Americans don't need a lecture from the Islamic Society of Central Florida. An Islamist just slaughtered Americans on American soil. AGAIN!

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 12, 2016

Militant Islam seeks and brings death. Radical Christianity seeks and brings life. Praying for those involved in the #OrlandoShootings

— Jason Benham (@JasonBBenham) June 12, 2016

Christian, your gay or lesbian neighbor is probably really scared right now. Whatever our genuine disagreements, let's love and pray.

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 12, 2016

Fifty lives gone, at least. Fifty people made in the image of God. Horrific and heartbreaking. https://t.co/2a7XGj9gg0

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) June 12, 2016

Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and the families of those involved in the horrific tragedy in Orlando. #PrayForOrlando

— CWA LAC (@CWforA) June 12, 2016

My prayers are with the victims and family members who lost loved ones at the senseless shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) June 12, 2016

News Tidbits

Al*com: Legal group representing Roy Moore calls ethics complaint 'outrageous'

Christian News Wire: President George W. Bush to be Given the 'Family and Democracy' Award at World Congress of Families X, Tbilisi, Georgia

Daily Utah Chronicle: Students Protest Honorary Degree for Woman Involved with Hate Groups

Washington Post: Franklin Graham’s response to federal recognition for Stonewall: ‘A monument to sin?’

Raw Story: Trump-loving tow truck driver says God told him to leave disabled Bernie Sanders supporter stranded

Kansas City Star: Planned Parenthood sues Kansas, challenging Brownback's order to cut off funding

Kansas City Star: Children fled with Kansas mom’s guns while she showered, testimony says (Trigger warning) 

Associated Press: Congress sued for barring atheist from delivering invocation

Associated Press: Tennessee: LGBT community braces for impact of new counseling law

The Irish Times: Northern Ireland: Belfast bakers at centre of ‘gay cake’ case to appeal ruling

Commentary Tidbits

Vox: The rise of American authoritarianism

The Atlantic: The Religious Roots of Shaming-as-Rehab Programs

Out from Under the Umbrella: An Explanation for Trump’s Popularity from Shallow Hal

Right Wing Watch: Franklin Graham Boycotts Girl Scouts Cookies As Part Of Anti-LGBT Crusade

RH Reality Check: Accused Clinic Shooter Says His Victims Are ‘Casualties’ of ‘War’

Huffington Post: Read This Before You Say Anything Else About 'Taking Back America'

Bruce Gerenscer on the Religious Right's Waning Power

Bruce Gerenscer posted an insightful commentary piece on the Religious Right's waning influence and disconnection from millennials. In one segment, he argues that the Religious Right uses persecution rhetoric to induce a siege mentality in their remaining followers and ensure their loyalty.

"Part of me wonders if uproar over Scalia, same-sex marriage, Planned Parenthood, and the 2016 Presidential election is really all about keeping Evangelicals in the fold. People such as Franklin Graham, Tim Wildmon, Tony Perkins, and James Dobson know that Evangelicalism is losing young adults at an alarming rate. Even when young adults remain in the church, they are more likely to support same-sex marriage and abortion rights and are more likely to vote Democrat. These liberal-minded Evangelicals helped put Barack Obama in office in 2008 and 2012. Knowing they cannot retreat from the culture war, Evangelical parachurch groups increasingly resort to using methods meant to keep their supporters in a constant state of spiritual and political agitation. Anything that is perceived as an “attack” on Evangelical Christianity is quickly reported and added to daily email missives sent to supporters. From the war on Christmas to cries of religious persecution, Evangelical leaders paint a dire picture of the future for American Christians. Some even go so far as to suggest that Evangelicals will soon be rounded up and jailed for their beliefs."

Read the full commentary piece.

News Tidbits

The Advocate: Congress Members Urge FTC to Stop 'Ex-Gay' Therapy

The Guardian: Liberty Counsel: The law firm whose mission is to defend 'God's authority' 

The Guardian: Catholic bishops not obliged to report clerical child abuse, Vatican says

Womens eNews: California’s New Law Spotlights Crisis Pregnancy Centers

NPR: Professor Who Said Christians, Muslims Share A God Is Leaving Christian College

Pink News: Charity head Franklin Graham demands US-wide ‘referendum’ on scrapping same-sex marriage

Pennlive: Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson says U.S. 'a dangerous place' ahead of Harrisburg visit

Commentary Tidbits

Just One Train Wreck After Another: American Pastor Tells Descendants Of Slaves It Wasn’t As Bad As They Think – Abraham Lincoln begs to differ

Washington Post: Could the Zika virus move Catholics to reconsider birth control?

Right Wing Watch: Franklin Graham: Christians Must Take Over Every Mayorship In The Country To Stop 'Evil' LGBT Rights

Huffington Post: Harlem No Hate: Reasons Why Ali Forney Center Is Seeking to Acquire Site of ATLAH Hate Church

News Tidbits

Hawaii News Now: Hawaii lawmakers: Ban gay conversion therapy for minors

Georgia Voice: Anti-gay preacher, LGBT community prepare for back-to-back rallies at Georgia Capitol

Buzzfeed: Ted Cruz’s Iowa Backers Blast The Attacks From Huckabee Allies

Washington Post: Marco Rubio talks to Iowa about God

New York Times: Indictment Deals Blow to GOP Over Planned Parenthood Battle

Reuters: Texas Supreme Court sides with cheerleaders on ‘Bible banners’

Associated Press: Judge Sides With Ark-Building Group on Tax Incentive

Associated Press: Court to weigh practice of Christian prayers at meetings

MSN News: Self-avowed anti-Islam activist arrested in connection with the Oregon 'militia' investigation

Commentary Tidbits

Religion News Service: ‘Evangelicals for Life’ participants join Catholics in annual march

NPR: Inside The Nationwide Tour To Support 'Godly Leaders' 

Queerty: Rev. Franklin Graham Denounces Gay Christians As “The Enemy” In Insane Radio Interview

Religion Dispatches: The Apocalypse Is Upon Us, Ted Cruz Endorsement Edition

Right-Wing Figures Use Cologne Violence to Lash Out at Immigrants

Europe is still reeling from mass violence on New Year's Eve in cities such as Cologne, Germany. According to German prosecutors, 809 complaints have been filed in connection with New Year's Eve violence in Cologne, including 521 reports of sexual violence, reports the Associated Press. Civilian groups such as Finland's Soldiers of Odin have formed anti-immigrant crime patrols in the wake of the attacks.

As discussed in an earlier post, groups such as PEGIDA have used the attacks to bring attention to their political and social agendas. However, observers have warned their fellow Europeans against using the assaults to promote unrelated agendas. Reuters reports that during a public debate in Prague, European Union foreign policy head Federica Mogherini warned political leaders not to use the assaults "in an instrumental way" or to "[mix] it with other kind of affairs".

The American far right never got the memo.

As with other tragedies, some far-right figures used human suffering as an opportunity to pontificate on their own pet issues. They forgot about the victims of the Cologne violence, too enamored with their own anti-refugee, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

First, presidential candidate Donald Trump wasted no time in responding to the news. On January 6th, Trump posted a tweet that read "Germany is going through massive attacks to its people by the migrants allowed to enter the country. New Years Eve was a disaster. THINK!"

Germany is going through massive attacks to its people by the migrants allowed to enter the country. New Years Eve was a disaster. THINK!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2016

Reuters reports that during a rally in Iowa, Donald Trump spoke of the Cologne violence in the same breath as Germany's influx of refugees.

"Poor Germany! They're rioting right now in the streets of Cologne, rioting. What's gone on is unbelievable, with the crime, with the rape ... Here was a country that didn't have these--they didn't know about these problems. And I don't know what went on. Millions of people coming in, and what's happening in Germany is unbelievable."

Franklin Graham, whose statements about Muslims betray his mindset, saw the New Year's attacks as an opportunity to share his anti-refugee views. In a January 7th Facebook post, Franklin Graham used the Cologne violence as a platform to denounce supposedly inadequate vetting of refugees coming into the U.S.

"Gangs of Muslim men from North Africa and the Middle East roamed the streets of Cologne, Germany, on New Year's Eve attacking over 100 women—beating, groping, and raping. Unbelievably, authorities tried to cover it up because of fear and political correctness. Reports say that police were blocked from helping the women by groups of migrant men and were pelted by glass bottles and fireworks. This is a nightmare. Germany took in a record 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year, and look what is happening. If we don’t properly vet people that we allow to come into this country, this could happen here. I hope the Washington politicians—Republicans, Democrats, and the White House—see and recognize this very grave danger."

Pamela Geller, president of the anti-Islamic American Freedom Defense Initiative, weighed in as well.In a January 10th column at World Net Daily, Pamela Geller cited the New Year's attacks as evidence of a European "civil war".

"Yes, this is civil war. Will the Europeans fight? The police are on the side of their conquerors. There were too few police on New Year’s Eve in Cologne. The girls were on their own to “run the gauntlet.” And yet on Saturday, when there was a demo against the mass sexual attacks, there was an overwhelming police presence in Cologne. The anti-migrant movement was rallying against the rash of assaults on women by migrants in the city on New Year’s Eve. German police have water cannons and pepper spray to disperse demonstrators. Where was this strong police presence on New Year’s Eve? Why weren’t the tactics used against the anti-rape and robbery rally employed against the Muslim migrant hordes?"

Geller responded to the attacks with I-told-you-so language, insisting that Germany is "morphing into a Muslim state" before our eyes.

"I warned that all this would happen, and now it is happening. Those of us who sounded the alarm were smeared, libeled and relegated to the very fringe. European authorities have been much more intent on shutting down resistance to jihad than on stopping jihad activity and Islamic supremacism in their own countries.

[...]

Meanwhile, at such a time as this, “Mein Kampf” was reprinted in Germany for the first time in decades, and it immediately sold out. The timing on this is suspicious. “Mein Kampf” is a bestseller in many Muslim countries. Europe, and most particularly Germany, is morphing into a Muslim state at warped speed. The rise in Jew-hatred in Europe is tied directly to the increase in Muslim immigration. Islamic antisemitism is in the Quran."

Finally, the Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly used Cologne to buttress her anti-immigration stance. In a January 7th interview with World Net Daily entitled "Rape Jihad Shows Germany Is No Longer German", Phyllis Schlafly pointed to the Cologne violence as evidence that the U.S. should bar immigrants.

"We ought to close the border and say we’re going to have a pause in immigration, just like we did during the 1920s ... We respect our women in America. Other countries don’t. Other countries treat women pretty terribly. I just think we ought to close the border and have a pause, just like Trump believes."

Oh, that's rich, I thought. First, the Phyllis Schafly who claimed that husbands cannot rape their wives, who blamed the campus sexual crisis on too many women attending college, and who blasted the Violence Against Women Act as "feminist pork" is in no position to lecture anyone about respect for women. Second, closing U.S. borders would give female refugees one less country of refuge. This would be a slap in the face to women fleeing ISIS-controlled areas, where the treatment of women and girls is abysmal, as well as women fleeing other parts of the world where gender-based violence rages unchecked. If Schlafly respects women, why doesn't she want to help women escape violence?

What happened to the victims of the New Year's Eve violence? What happened to the real roots of the violence, such as misogynist attitudes in Europe's minority enclaves? If the far right is so incensed over Cologne, why won't it discuss these subjects? Because these aren't the far right's pet issues. It's much easier to rage against scapegoats than to cultivate empathy for crime victims, or to mount a sophisticated response to a social problem.


(Hat tip to the Washington Post.)

News Tidbits

Harvard Law Today: Panel on Spotlight film explores priest sex abuse scandal

Religion News Service: Franklin Graham quits the GOP over Planned Parenthood funding

Associated Press: Kentucky bows to clerk Kim Davis and changes marriage license rules

98.1 FM KMBZ: Abortion, gay-marriage foe to lead Kansas House panel

Washington Blade: Liberty Counsel sues Va. school district

ABC News: Anna Duggar Opens up About 'Betrayal' by Husband Josh Duggar

The Monitor: Uganda: Shun Politicians Who Support Homosexuality, Archbishop Ntagali tells Voters

Nyasa Times: Catholic Bishop Says Gays Are Horrible Sinners: 'Malawi Isn't Sodom and Gommorah'

Franklin Graham: "Islam has declared war on the world"

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is getting attention for his response to the Paris terror attacks. At Graham's direction, a group of chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team were scheduled to deploy in Paris to offer spiritual solace, according to a press release. However, his social media remarks about the attacks have attracted much more attention.

In a November 16th Facebook post, Graham wrote that "Islam has declared war on the world". Islamists seek global domination right now, but one day, Islamists will kneel before Jesus Christ, he assured readers (a sentiment he repeated on Twitter).

"Islam has declared war on the world, and it’s high time we acknowledge it and respond decisively. Thursday, suicide bombers struck Beirut, killing at least 41 people and injuring 200 in the deadliest attack in the capital since the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. Just over two weeks ago ISIS blew up the Russian jetliner taking 224 lives. Then the shocking and devastating Paris attacks. Let’s not forget what they have already done in America, killing nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 and then the carnage at the Boston Marathon in 2013. Add to these attacks the lone wolf Islamists who have followed the call to bring destruction and terror–it's a long list. As Alain Bauer, former security advisor to the French government, said on CBS 60 Minutes last night: We need to take ISIS at their word. I agree–they have told us what they plan to do. Their goal is world domination. They want to control us—they want to destroy us. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live under Islam. I will bow my knee to no one except Almighty God. The Bible says one day “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”–and that will include the knees of Islamists.

We need to elect a president and leaders willing to take the fight to the Islamic State. We need to join forces with Russia who was our ally in WWII, France who is our oldest ally, Germany, and others to destroy this enemy. The French are already responding to Friday’s attacks, but it is going to take much more to stop them.

Our world is in great peril. We need to pray for God’s mercy, His grace, and His protection. I pray that America will turn to God before it’s too late."

In a November 14th Facebook post, Graham warned readers that "Islam is not a peaceful religion", describing the faith as a "religious group who want to destroy us and our way of life". He expressed disapproval of "unchecked" admission of Muslim immigrants into the U.S., insisting that admitting more Muslims into the U.S. would spell disaster. Graham has a history of condemning Islam and Muslim immigrants. (Hat tip to the Charlotte Observer.)

"I’ve said this before, and many people criticized me for saying it. We must reform our immigration policies in the United States. We cannot allow Muslim immigrants to come across our borders unchecked while we are fighting this war on terror. If we continue to allow Muslim immigration, we'll see much more of what happened in Paris—it’s on our doorstep. France and Europe are being overrun by young Muslim men from the Middle East, and they do not know their backgrounds or their motives and intentions. Islam is not a peaceful religion as George W. Bush told us and as President Barack Obama has said—that is just not true. Our president and our politicians in Washington need to wake up before it’s too late. This is not the time to be politically correct. Our nation’s security is at stake. The future of our children and grandchildren is at stake. We should not allow any political or religious group who want to destroy us and our way of life to immigrate to this country. Right now let us continue to pray for the victims and family members of the ‪#‎parisattacks‬."

In his rage against the Paris attacks, Graham stereotyped all Muslims as extremists. Graham forgot that most Muslims are law-abiding people, and that the Muslims (and Christians, and Druze, and Yazidis) fleeing Syria are not sympathetic to ISIS. By demonizing all Muslims as extremists, Graham relegated them to the status of despised outsiders, undeserving of refuge in the U.S.

Such thinking is not only cruel, but dangerous. We cannot allow law-abiding people to be lumped together with Islamic extremists. We cannot allow the entire Muslim community to be scapegoated as threats en masse. We cannot ignore the fact that Muslims too have been persecuted, killed, and driven from their homes by Islamic extremists. If Americans are to mount a sane response to Islamic extremism, they must be able to distinguish friend from foe, harmless believer from violent jihadist. Stereotypes and irrational hatred will not keep us safe.

News Tidbits

CBC News: Duggar family speech at Alberta homeschooling convention cancelled

New York Times: In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law

Pink News: Charity head claims gay people ‘take children’ and praises Russia’s anti-gay laws

Lawrence Journal-World: Brownback criticized for speaking at conservative conference

Gay Star News: Trio of GOP presidential candidates to speak at conference organized by man who wants gays killed

LGBTQ Nation: Activist: Gay people ‘would send us to concentration camps if they could!”

Edge Media Network: Gay Conversion Therapy Organization Rebrands, Expands Mission

Commentary Tidbits

Emily Joy: 7 Reasons Not to Participate in Operation Christmas Child This Year

Feminist in Spite of Them: Christian Lay Counseling: Supporting Parents at the Expense of Protecting Children

The Advocate: A Firsthand Account of the Torture of 'Conversion' Therapy

Friendly Atheist: The 8 Most Terrifying Threats to Separation of Church and State

Daily Beast: Evangelical Family Wants Religious Exemption for Teaching Their Kids

Commentary Tidbits

Falls Church News-Press: The Conservative Movement Needs A Few Good Shrinks

Newsweek: The Duggar PR Crisis Is Being Handled by Huckabee's Political Adviser

Raw Story: The Duggars: The real ‘bad guys’ are the people who blew our conspiracy of silence about our pervy son

Right Wing Watch: Family Research Council: Anti-LGBT Conservatives Are The New Civil Rights Leaders

The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser: The Homophobia of Focus on the Family, Samaritan’s Purse, and Franklin Graham

Religion Dispatches: Caitlyn Jenner, Gender Identity, and Christians Behaving Badly (Again)

The Atlantic: The Real Christian Debate on Transgender Identity

Faithfully LGBT: Why Christian summer camps should stop rejecting LGBT counselors, campers