Homophobia's Gathering South of the Border

"Don't miss this valuable opportunity to learn about the cutting-edge family, life and marriage issues affecting Rhode Island and all New England," the invitation begins, as NOM, the Family Research Council and others invite New Englanders to come and gather around their homophobic circle to discuss all the new, hip, bigoted ideas to beat back the marriage equality clock in New England. Something tells me it'll revolve around pathetic attempts to find new, manipulative and bigoted ways of screaming, 'the children, the children,' as if glbt families didn't have kids of their own, who suffer daily because of the discrimination pitted against them, in large part due to the actions of these groups.

It's fitting that they're doing this in Rhode Island, with the region's most bigoted Governor having his last days in office. Ironicly, while the forces of homophobia cluster in Rhode Island to try to block or repeal marriage equality, Rhode Island could very well be the next New England state to embrace it, once their stalwart ally, Governor Carcieri, is (thankfully) gone.

Here's a list of all of their old, bigoted speakers who will be coming, including the infamous Kris Mineau.

* Cynthia Hill, Senior Director, State and Local Affairs, Family Research Council
* Kris Mineau, Executive Director, Massachusetts Family Institute
* Peter Wolfgang, Executive Director, Family Institute of Connecticut
* Kevin Smith, Executive Director, Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire
* Christopher Plante, Executive Director, National Organization for Marriage, Rhode Island
* Shannon McGinley, Board Chairman, Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire
* Connecticut Youth Wing, Students, Family Institute of Connecticut
* Austin R. Nimocks, Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund
* Dr. Pat Fagan, Family Research Council
* Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, Family Research Council

Somehow, I think this is a meeting I can skip. We can spare them that $15 admission fee. Thankfully, there's professionals out there to put these last gasps of homophobia in perspective. Cue MassEquality's executive director, Scott D. Gortikov, who has it right in his statement about the event, in his Feb. 4th press release:

“If the extremists at the Family Research Council are trying to find an opening in New England to promote their bigoted agenda they are wasting their time. With four out of six New England states granting same-sex couples full equality in marriage, it is clear that the vast majority of New Englanders are fair-minded people who aren’t interested in taking rights away from their GLBT friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers.... If the Family Research Council and those attending its summit truly cared about promoting marriage and the family, they wouldn’t be getting together to dream up ways to undermine the ability of GLBT people to provide for and protect their families.”