In the Words of a Homophobe

Warning: reading not for the faint of heart.

In Feb 1999, Billy Jack Gaither, 39, was led to the woods where two good ol’ Alabama boys Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler, 21 killed him.

Mullins is the one who charged with the murder. His “sidekick”, Butler, claimed he didn’t know Mullin’s intentions that fateful night. His side of the story was that the three went to the woods and when Gaither started talking “queer stuff”, anger seized the both of them and they killed him.

In a plea bargain, though, Mullins testified Butler knew he intended to “do away with” Gaither before they even asked Gaither to join them in the woods, a place known by the local young people as a “party place.”

The killing hardly reflects a spontaneous act of anger. Mullins sliced Gaither’s throat, beat him, stabbed him, and threw him in the car. Gaither tried to escape so Mullins beat him with an axe handle that was conveniently leaning against the car. As Mullins dragged the bloody Gaither to a clearing, Butler had set two tires on fire with kerosene. They threw Gaither’s body on top of the burning tires.

Here’s the clincher: as the investigation unfolded, Mullins, the local skinhead with SS tattoes on his hand, apparently was gay himself and may have had an affair with Gaither. No one, including Butler, knew this until after the fact.

Both were sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

Below is the chilling details in Mullins’ and Butler’s own words, compliment’s of PBS’ Frontline Special, Assault on Gay America, yes, the PBS - the one the republicans want to shut down for their liberal bias. The link, by the way, has much useful information on homophobia including the characteristics shared by homophobes, e.g. Republican, conservative, Christian, little or no gay acquaintances etc. No wonder the republicans want the station shut down.


Mullins confession, in his words:

JEFF MOBBS, SYLACAUGA POLICE DEPT: Today is March the 3rd, Wednesday, 1999. It’s 6:03 p. Steve, we’re here on the death of Billy Jack Gaither. Can you tell us what happened back on, February 19, 1999?

STEVE MULLINS: Yes, I can. Uh, I called, I called Billy Jack about four o’clock and asked him to come pick me up so we could go out to the bar. Um, he came and picked me up about seven (7:00). From there, uh, he had already bought a six pack of beer and we rode around and I drank it, some of it. Rode around and, uh, then about 8:30, 8:45 he was gonna go in the Tavern and try to collect $20.00 from this guy. Um, I stayed in the car because I didn’t have any money to get in and didn’t really want to go in. Um, He came back out about an hour later which was about 9:15 or 9:30. We, uh, went to the 11th Frame, told Charles Butler that I was there with Billy Jack and he knew Billy Jack was . . .

JM: What do you call, what do you call Charles Butler?

SM: Charlsey.

JM: Charlsey?

SM: Charlsey.

JM: What is his real name?

SM: Charles Butler.

JM: Is it Sr. or Jr.?

SM: Jr.

JM: Charles Butler, Jr.

SM: Yeah.

JM: Okay.

SM: Um, told him who I was with, told him what I was thinking about doing.

JM: And that was?

SM: Um, killing Billy Jack. Um, it was after a few minutes and I went back outside and was waiting, we were waiting on Charlsey; waiting on him and then we went, went back or I went back inside to see if he was coming on or about ready to go and he finished up his game of pool and he come out and he got him some beer out of the back of his daddy’s truck, six pack took him a shot of moonshine, asked me if I wanted some, I didn’t, we left, uh . . .

JM: You, you told him that you were with Billy Jack Gaither? Is that correct?

SM: Right.

JM: Okay. And you told him what you were planning on doing?

SM: Right.

JM: And that was?

SM: Killing Billy Jack.

JM: And why were you planning on doing that? Why, why did you tell him that too?

SM: Because, I thought I could trust him and I knew he didn’t like queers either.

JM: So, what are you saying? Are you saying that he, he?

SM: So we left, uh, went back to his daddy’s house, Charles Butler, Sr. and he started getting ready and we discussed what, you know, what we were going to do, we talked about it. Um, we got Billy Jack to go out to the boat launch on Millerville Highway and Charles, Charlsey was taking a, relieving hisself at the front of the car. Me and Billy Jack was standing at the back and Billy Jack was watching him when he was taking a leak and I grabbed Billy Jack and threw him on the ground, cut his throat, and uh, he was just sitting, he was knelt on his hands and knees. I told Charlsey to open the, to pop the trunk and he went around and popped the trunk and Billy Jack tried to get up. I stabbed him twice in the rib cage and told him to stay where he was. Charlsey popped the trunk I told Billy Jack to get in the car. He did. We shut the trunk. I drove us to 165 Cedar Creek Circle and uh, got two tires, and a gallon of kerosene, box of matches and an ax handle.

JM: What did you use to, uh, cut his throat?

SM: A pocket knife. A plain old pocket knife.

JM: What did you do with it?

SM: I threw it in the river.

JM: Okay.

SM: Uh, got the two tires, the ax handle, the gallon of kerosene, the box of matches and went to Peckerwood Creek Road, um, uh, got the tires out of the trunk, the ax handle, propped it up against the car. Charlsey was lighting the, lighting the tires. Uh, I drug Billy Jack out onto the ground and uh, had my back fumed to him, he out of the blue knocked me down the hill into the creek um, and when I finally got back up to the, to the top he was trying to leave in the car. He was laying across the seats. Charlsey was gone. I found out later he had hit him and he took off running, um, I told Billy Jack that he couldn’t go nowhere or anywhere cause I didn’t have, I had the keys and I grabbed him by his pant’s legs and drug him away from the car and got the ax handle which was leaned up against the door of the car and started beating him with it and Charles, Charlsey showed back up and I took my shirt off and told him to get the blood out of the car and we talked and I was still beating him and when 1, I gave; out of energy and couldn’t do it anymore, um, the fire got to going and the tires started burning real well and I drug him into the flame and uh, we stood there for a few minutes and then we left. Went to the Exxon, no, went to the trailer at 165 Cedar Creek Circle, went there, I went inside and uh we both, me and Charles Butler both went inside and uh, he sat in the kitchen and I went back to my bedroom and got some things to take a bath with and took a, took a shower, got cleaned up, changed clothes and l asked Randall Jones if I could use his car to take this guy home and go out to the bar for a little while and um, we left, I uh, I drove Randall’s car and Charlsey drove Billy Jack’s car. We went . . .

JM: What happened to the clothes?

SM: Um, my pants and shoes and socks were left in my bedroom and the shirt was
burned.

JM: Where did, where did it get burned?

SM: On the fire.

JM: Okay.

SM: Along with the ax handle. Um, we left and went to the Exxon in Sylacauga on 280. Um, Charles parked the car on the left end of the building and sat there and waited and gave me the $20.00 to go in and get a gallons, a gallon or a dollars worth of gas, um, I did that, went in and got the gas, paid for it, got my jug, went back and got in the car, met him around on the end of the building, discussed where we were gonna go with the car and we left and we went to, out Millerville Highway to the trash dump and he took, drove the car back off into the mud and um, got, you know, I he, I gave him the gas and he started pouring gas all over the car and I was back in the car waiting on him and he set it on fire and we left and went to the Southern Station for about a hour and uh, took him home and I got back home about 3:30 a.m.

JM: Where are the pants at now?

SM: There in the trash. Superior Garbage picks the trash up and they carried them
off.

JM: What day do they pick up?

SM: 1, I don’t know, we, our trash they hadn’t paid the trash bill down there and so you know, the trash can got gone with it and it was probably last week, last Tuesday, I don’t, I don’t know what days they run 1, you know, Randall worked with them for a little while and we were supposedly getting free garbage pick up and he quit and they disposed of the garbage can, I guess last Tuesday.

JM: Say you called B. J.?

SM: Yes, yes I did.

JM: What was the conversation?

SM: Just, we were talking about going out to the bar.
JM: And when he got to pick you up, did he already have some beer? Do you know what kind it was?

SM: Bud Lite in bottles, six pack.

JM: You know where that watersheds place is? Boat launch, I think you called it.

SM: 1, I don’t know how to get to it I mean 1, you know, I know, well, I know, you know the road that carries you out that away, but I don’t know how to get exactly to it.

JM: What’s the name of that road?

SM: Alls I know is you go out Millerville Highway and you’ll see a little brown sign that’s got a boat ramp on, a boat being launched and that’s where you turn at. You go down to where it T’s and take a right.

JM: Left or right?

SM: Left. Uh, go down and you’ll come to that road will dead end to where a road T’s off and you take a right down to I don’t, you know, 1, I don’t, I know it’s out that away, I don’t know exactly where. I’ve been out there swimming but not to the boat ramp. That was .

JM: Whose idea was that to go out there?

SM: Charles’s. It was his idea to go to the boat ramp cause that was, that was his idea to go out there, I didn’t know where to go.

JM: And what happened to the, the uh, knife that you had?

SM: Threw it in the river.

JM: And you don’t know what kind it was?

SM: Uh, black handle, uh, stainless steel blade. That’s all I know, regular, regular size, you know, probably three inch blade, I guess. Three or four inch blade on it.

JM: How far out did you throw the knife?

SM: Uh, not being able to see, guessing by hearing the splash, probably twenty, thirty feet.

JM: So it’s pretty close to the bank?

SM: I guess, you know, its pitch black dark and I just chunked, you know it could be fifty feet. I just threw it and you know, I didn’t close it up or nothing, I just slung it and . . .

JM: Which side of the boat ramp you on?

SM: Uh, the right side. As you, where you launch your boat, its right off at an angle.

JM: Where did you pull the car at? Towards that boat ramp?

SM: Uh, I didn’t, Billy Jack was driving and he circled around and pulled it up as you’re facing towards the boat ramp on the right side, on the edge of some woods, this big open area right there.

JM: Was there anybody else out there?

SM: No.

JM: Did you meet any other cars coming in or out of the roads you took?

SM: No, I didn’t.

JM: When you, when you left there, you said earlier that Billy Jack was in the trunk, is that correct?

SM: Right.

JM: You leave there and where do you go?

SM: Back to the 165 Cedar Creek Circle.

JM: Okay, and tell me again what you do there?

SM: I got the two tires that were around back, two of the tires that were around back, um, an ax handle, a box of matches, and a gallon of kerosene.

JM: Where do you put ‘em?

SM: I put it all in a, well, I put the two tires in the trunk and put the rest in the back seat.

JM: Describe the box of matches that you . . .

SM: It’s a large box of matches. I guess the biggest ones you can buy in a store.

JM: Do you remember the name?

SM: Huh-uh.

JM: Where were they at inside the house?

SM: Uh, on top of the, above the cabinets. Couple other boxes there now.

JM: Did you go back, um, did you go back to the scene or have you been back to the
scene since it happened?

SM: No, I haven’t.

JM: Either, have you been to either place?

SM: No.

JM: Since it happened?

SM: No, I haven’t.

JM: When you get down to Peckerwood Creek Road, is what you’re calling it. Is that correct? Is that the only name of the road you know?

SM: Yeah.

JM: Alright, you call the road that you come in on as “One Minute Road.?

SM: Yeah. You take One Minute Road to Talladega Springs, go down and it will cross a, a fairly new bridge and it’s the first dirt road to your left.

JM: If um, if I’m coming down Fayetteville Road from Sylacauga, I come through Fayetteville and I come to the forks right?

SM: Uh- huh.

JM: I take the left fork. That’s the One Minute Road you’re talking about right?

SM: Uh, yeah, you go down that away. That One Minute Road comes out right there and where the some kind of monument or something is in Talladega Springs.

JM: Which, do you turn left or do you turn right off the Talladega Springs Road?

SM: Left.

JM: Turn left?

SM: Right. Then at the bridge, you turn left.

JM: You go to the end of the pavement to the bridge and then you turn left.

SM: Right.

JM: When you’re down on, at Peckerwood Creek, you say Charlsey was starting the
fire. .

SM: Yes.

JM: And he puts some kerosene on the tires and starts it?

SM: Yes.

JM: And you’ve gotten Billy Jack Gaither out of the trunk already?

SM: Yes.

JM: Okay. And then next thing you know, you go falling down the, the hill?

SM: Yes.

JM: Did you go into the water?

SM: Yes, I did.

JM: What were you wearing at that time?

SM: Pair of blue jeans uh, a white sweatshirt, and a pair of socks and a pair of tennis shoes, underwear.

JM: Okay. So you basically got pretty wet then?

SM: Yeah. From head to toe.

JM: Alright and then what happened?

SM: I climbed back up to the top and Charlsey is not around and Billy Jack is trying to get. in the car, got the ax handle in his hand um, I tell him he can’t go anywhere because I’ve got the keys and I drag him back out to the back of the car and beat him.

JM: What happens to the your clothes?

SM: Um, my T-shirt or my sweatshirt? I took it off and Charlsey used it to clean up the blood in the car and then he threw it on the fire and the blue jeans were taken off in the trash.

JM: Who put the kerosene on the body?

SM: Uh, I put, well, we both did.

JM: Both of you did?

SM: Both did.

JM: How much kerosene did you have?

SM: It was a gallon.

JM: Full gallon?

SM: Uh- huh.

JM: What did you have the kerosene in?

SM: A red gallon jug, gasoline jug.

JM: You leave there after uh, you’ve already put Billy Jack on the fire? Is that correct?

SM: Yes.

JM: You’re driving the car?

SM: Yes.

JM: Was there any damage to the car then?

SM: No.

JM: No damage to the car?

SM: Just blood. That’s it.

JM: Okay. You leave there and you go where?

SM: Back to the trailer where I lived at and um, that’s where I took a shower and
changed clothes.

JM: That when you- you change clothes? What happens then?

SM: 1, wake up Randall Jones and ask him to borrow his car to go out to the bar for a
riffle while and take a friend of mine home.

JM: What were you wearing then?

SM: Uh, a pair of dress or khaki pants and a sweat jacket.

JM: What did you do with the clothes when you took them off?

SM: The clothes from, the wet clothes, I laid them in the bedroom floor.

JM: Okay, when did you get rid of them?

SM: Uh, last week um, Tuesday maybe Tuesday.

JM: What did you do with them?

SM: I threw them in the garbage.

JM: What did you throw in the garbage?

SM: The pair of pants, the the rest of it was washed in the laundry.

JM: And your tennis shoes?

SM: They were also washed.

JM: When um, when you approach uh, uh, Charlsey in the bar you tell me you tell him something.

SM: Yeah. . . ,

JM: What did you tell him?

SM: Told him that we, you know, he wasn’t comfortable with leaving with Billy Jack because he knew he was queer and you know, I mentioned to him about getting rid of him.

JM: What were your words?

SM: That was basically it. You know.

JM: So, then you planned to what you call, “get rid of Billy Jack” is that correct? .

SM: Um, yeah somewhat.

JM: Did you and Charlsey talk prior to this about getting rid of B. J.?

SM: Yes.

JM: How long?

SM: How long did we talk or how long had it been since we talked?

JM: How long had it been?

SM: Probably a week. Two weeks.

JM: Why?

SM: Just cause he was queer.

JM: How? You said you knew- how did you know Billy Jack before then?

SM: From the Tavern and just acquaintance. Just knew him.

JM: That’s all how you knew him?

SM: You know, a ride home. You know, a ride to the grocery store here and there. Just, you know, just knew him.

JM: And that’s only- only way you knew him?

SM: I didn’t know his last name or anything till this.

JM: You told me that um, that Billy Jack uh, ‘propositioned you earlier. Is that correct? Tell me what he said.

SM: He told me he wanted to suck my click.

JM: And?

SM: 1, I didn’t say anything.

JM: Okay. When did he tell you this?

SM: Uh, he told me a couple of times, but it you know it was probably a week or two before that that he told me and I didn’t say anything and then he told me that night also.

JM: Where did he tell you?

SM: Just riding.

JM: Riding? How much do you think you had to drink that night?

SM: Six pack.

JM: How much did he have to drink?

SM: Billy Jack? Uh, two that I saw of. He bought those separately.

JM: Kelley, you got any more questions?

KJ: No.

JM: Sgt. Nail? This will end the statement. Steve you got anything else to say?

SM: No.

JM: This’ll end the statement. It’s 6:30 p. m. Day is Wednesday, March the 3rd 1999.


Butler’s interview in prison after being found guilty:

Before the night of the crime, had you ever heard of Billy Jack Gaither?

No, sir. . . Let’s talk about what happened. Can you do that?

I reckon it started when me and Daddy had gotten off work. We had entered in this pool tournament. I’d played maybe two games, and Steve, he’d come in, and he asked me if I wanted to go to The Tavern with him. I told him that I was engaged in this pool tournament. He said, “I’ll be back in a while.” So he went on. I reckon they went to The Tavern, and I went on playing my games. They came back, and he come in and asked me if I was ready to go, and I said, “Sure.” So, we’re going out, and apparently a fight had broken out right there at The Tavern. Steve had some old warrants on him from Sylacauga, and so he didn’t want to go there. So instead, we go out to the Watersheds—this little public place where everybody goes out to have a good time. But it wound up different. Billy Jack started talking about some gay issues. . . . wanting to have a threesome, or whatever. Tempers flared up. Steve jumped on him, and cut his throat there . .

You’re saying Billy Jack basically hit on you, right?

Yes.

And you kicked him. Why?

I don’t know. I’d been drinking a lot whiskey, and just didn’t have no understanding . . . I didn’t even know the man, for him to be hitting on me. . . . Tempers just flared. It’s like he didn’t have no respect.

He was disrespecting you?

Yes.

How?

Well, sir, I don’t know. It’s not like I’m some gay tramp out there, waiting to be corn-holed by some prick.

So if a woman had done that to you, that wouldn’t be disrespect?

No, sir, I don’t reckon so.

Why is it disrespect if a man does it?

Well, sir, why would he want to just assume that I was gay, just like himself, and throw himself on me like he did?

Did he start grabbing you?

No sir, he didn’t start grabbing at me. Nothing like that.

He just asked you? It was just words, right? If a woman did that, you’d think, “That’s pretty cool”?

Yes sir, I reckon so. But he’s a man, and he did it, so it’s disrespect.

Why?

Would you like for a gay man to hit on you? Would you like for him to engage you into a threesome? How would you feel?

I don’t think I would kick him, Charles. What did kicking him did what for you?

Didn’t do a whole lot of nothing. Didn’t do no good, that’s for sure.

But you were clearly angry. What about it made you angry? What had he done?

Well, sir. . . I don’t think I needed to kick him. I don’t reckon he deserved that.

I want you to know, I’m not judging anything. I’m just trying to understand it. One thing that might help is to understand what that feeling is. When he came on to you, that was bad? That crossed a line?

Yes.

What was the line that he crossed? What had he done?

. . . I couldn’t remember what his exact words was. I don’t know. Hell, I don’t know.

You were pissed, flat-out pissed. Right?

I reckon.

At what?

At him coming on to me. It’s just stupidity, I guess. No, no, no. It’s just a feeling, like any other feeling.

He had made you—

Uncomfortable, I reckon.

And not a man—he was trying to make you not a man?

No. I don’t think anybody could ever do that. . .

When you were growing up, were there gay people around?

Yes, sir. I had one friend in particular. He’s lived with us several times, such as Steve himself. Steve even lived around him, and knew him as long as I have, if not longer. I’ve been to gay clubs with him, and all that. But we had an understanding from this guy we met that we was friends, and we was only to be friends.

So you’ve had gay friends. It’s not that you mind gay people.

No, sir. It’s not at all.

Did you think less of gays?

No. No, sir. I don’t they’re think any less than I am or . . . I don’t know.

They’re just the same old people. But I really never give it much thought.

But you went to gay clubs?

Yes.

Now Charles, if you go to a gay club, other men are going to look at you and say, “Well, he’s here. I’m here. He must be gay.”

No, sir. No such thing, especially when a fellow like me walks into a bar. My appearance alone sets me off.

You mean, you don’t look gay?

That’s right.

So if you went to a gay bar, nobody would know that . . .

I reckon. The numerous times I’ve been to a gay club, nobody’s ever hit on me. I’ve had people come to our table and sit down and want to talk to me and such, but they never did lead off to a confrontation, or what have you. They just want to know who I am—just being friendly. . .

So your reaction to Billy Jack then seems extreme. It seems you would be a little sympathetic to him. . . . So something had to snap in you that night, right?

Yes.

Have you thought about what that was?

No, sir. I ain’t never really thought about it. Never.

You thought that he disrespected you.

Yes.

I’m trying to get what that means, for a man to disrespect another man in that way.

I don’t know, man. It’s hard to explain it, I guess. I don’t know.

Are you a Christian?

I wouldn’t call myself a Christian. But I am a believer of God, and I never have forsaken him. And I’ve tried to follow in the right steps. I know I’ve not always been faithful for him. None of us has.

But were you raised in the church, or a Christian?

I went to church regular when I was young. Yes, sir. But I generally grew apart from it, I’ve went off and on ever since then—never was firmly grounded in a church.

So you didn’t study the Bible or that sort of thing, like some people did?

No, sir. No, sir. There are at least some folks who say that homosexuality is wrong, and that they can show you that in the Bible.

Have you talked to folks like that?

Yes.

What do you think of that?

Well, sir, it’s a sin. I never really give it much thought. I don’t know whether it’s . . . just because it’s a sin to be gay, don’t mean a gay person is like Satan himself. . . . They’re just as good-hearted as anybody else. You wouldn’t think of them as being sinners.

But their lifestyle is a sin?

Yes. . .

How come you’d go to gay clubs?

On account of my friend, Steve Edwards. First time I went, it was me, my brother, my sister-in-law, and Steve Edwards. We’d all go and, hell, I had a pretty good time, just getting out there. So Steve offered to go with me again, or invited me to go up there again with him. And I say, “Sure, why not?” I’d sit there, play pool, or sit up there and cut up with the bartender. . . .

What was the club like? Where was it?

It was right there in the midst of Birmingham. . . . They had the loud music going. It’s more like a saloon music type of group in there. They had a little dance floor separate from the bar area. It was a nice place. Outside, they had a privacy fence around, with little tables and chairs and little canopies over the table, for a little private talk, whatever. It was an all-right club.

Was it just men? Or men and women?

There’s women there, too. Men and women.

You say it was a gay club. Were the people who were there almost exclusively gay, or were there a mix of them?

No, there’s straight people there. Anybody could come in there.

So if it was straight people and gay people, why is it a gay club?

Well, sir, I don’t know. It’s just what everybody called it.

Could you look at the men and tell which one was gay?

Some of them, yes, sir. It really was hard to tell which ones were the women.

Why was that hard to tell?

You had your drag queens. They looked just about like a woman.

That could make it dangerous for you?

Oh, yeah.

Did you ever hit on women at the club?

No, on account of I didn’t know which ones were which. . .

Why do you think Steve Mullins jumped Billy Jack Gaither?

I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t reckon he wanted his sex life to get out to anybody, on account of he’s hiding—he’s kept a secret from me for so long, so I don’t reckon he wanted anybody else to know.

Was something going on between him and Billy Jack?

I reckon. There were rumors. One of Billy Jack’s brothers stated in a newspaper that he knew that Billy and Steve was together. My attorney found another gay man that Steve was involved with. So I don’t know. . . . My attorneys discovered that Steve is flat broke, and wanted some money in exchange for sex. He lured the both of us out there—promised him sex with the both of us. Instead, it just blew up in his face, and he just didn’t know how to handle it. I don’t know.

So the killing was a coverup?

I guess so. I don’t know what to think. . . .

I’m curious about how you feel. It was Steve who attacked him, who beat him with the stick and killed him. What role do you feel you played?

I feel cheated. But I don’t hold no hate for nobody, nor no grudge against nobody. I just feel cheated. . . .I’m torn away from my family on account of something someone else has done. I don’t know.

Do you feel responsible at all?

I don’t reckon I could have stopped him, or stopped what had happened. Should I feel responsible? . . .

I bet you’ve lived through what happened a thousand times. Do you have regrets?

Yes. I have dreams—nightmares—from time to time. But it’s not like it was before. When it was first happening, things played back in my dreams. I’d have nightmares of Steve [Mullins] and us together again. . . I remember when we was at the trailer. Steve opened the trunk of that car, and Billy was laying there on his side. Blood was just covering half of his face . . . . It just sent something all up and down my back. And then, seeing Steve standing over him, beating him like he was. . . . I could feel every thump that went across his body. . . .It’s like a never-ending story. It’s like walking across a bed of glass. It’s painful, every step.

In the Words of a Homophobe

Warning: reading not for the faint of heart.

In Feb 1999, Billy Jack Gaither, 39, was led to the woods where two good ol’ Alabama boys Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler, 21 killed him.

Mullins is the one who charged with the murder. His “sidekick”, Butler, claimed he didn’t know Mullin’s intentions that fateful night. His side of the story was that the three went to the woods and when Gaither started talking “queer stuff”, anger seized the both of them and they killed him.

In a plea bargain, though, Mullins testified Butler knew he intended to “do away with” Gaither before they even asked Gaither to join them in the woods, a place known by the local young people as a “party place.”

The killing hardly reflects a spontaneous act of anger. Mullins sliced Gaither’s throat, beat him, stabbed him, and threw him in the car. Gaither tried to escape so Mullins beat him with an axe handle that was conveniently leaning against the car. As Mullins dragged the bloody Gaither to a clearing, Butler had set two tires on fire with kerosene. They threw Gaither’s body on top of the burning tires.

Here’s the clincher: as the investigation unfolded, Mullins, the local skinhead with SS tattoes on his hand, apparently was gay himself and may have had an affair with Gaither. No one, including Butler, knew this until after the fact.

Both were sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

Below is the chilling details in Mullins’ and Butler’s own words, compliment’s of PBS’ Frontline Special, Assault on Gay America, yes, the PBS - the one the republicans want to shut down for their liberal bias. The link, by the way, has much useful information on homophobia including the characteristics shared by homophobes, e.g. Republican, conservative, Christian, little or no gay acquaintances etc. No wonder the republicans want the station shut down.


Mullins confession, in his words:

JEFF MOBBS, SYLACAUGA POLICE DEPT: Today is March the 3rd, Wednesday, 1999. It’s 6:03 p. Steve, we’re here on the death of Billy Jack Gaither. Can you tell us what happened back on, February 19, 1999?

STEVE MULLINS: Yes, I can. Uh, I called, I called Billy Jack about four o’clock and asked him to come pick me up so we could go out to the bar. Um, he came and picked me up about seven (7:00). From there, uh, he had already bought a six pack of beer and we rode around and I drank it, some of it. Rode around and, uh, then about 8:30, 8:45 he was gonna go in the Tavern and try to collect $20.00 from this guy. Um, I stayed in the car because I didn’t have any money to get in and didn’t really want to go in. Um, He came back out about an hour later which was about 9:15 or 9:30. We, uh, went to the 11th Frame, told Charles Butler that I was there with Billy Jack and he knew Billy Jack was . . .

JM: What do you call, what do you call Charles Butler?

SM: Charlsey.

JM: Charlsey?

SM: Charlsey.

JM: What is his real name?

SM: Charles Butler.

JM: Is it Sr. or Jr.?

SM: Jr.

JM: Charles Butler, Jr.

SM: Yeah.

JM: Okay.

SM: Um, told him who I was with, told him what I was thinking about doing.

JM: And that was?

SM: Um, killing Billy Jack. Um, it was after a few minutes and I went back outside and was waiting, we were waiting on Charlsey; waiting on him and then we went, went back or I went back inside to see if he was coming on or about ready to go and he finished up his game of pool and he come out and he got him some beer out of the back of his daddy’s truck, six pack took him a shot of moonshine, asked me if I wanted some, I didn’t, we left, uh . . .

JM: You, you told him that you were with Billy Jack Gaither? Is that correct?

SM: Right.

JM: Okay. And you told him what you were planning on doing?

SM: Right.

JM: And that was?

SM: Killing Billy Jack.

JM: And why were you planning on doing that? Why, why did you tell him that too?

SM: Because, I thought I could trust him and I knew he didn’t like queers either.

JM: So, what are you saying? Are you saying that he, he?

SM: So we left, uh, went back to his daddy’s house, Charles Butler, Sr. and he started getting ready and we discussed what, you know, what we were going to do, we talked about it. Um, we got Billy Jack to go out to the boat launch on Millerville Highway and Charles, Charlsey was taking a, relieving hisself at the front of the car. Me and Billy Jack was standing at the back and Billy Jack was watching him when he was taking a leak and I grabbed Billy Jack and threw him on the ground, cut his throat, and uh, he was just sitting, he was knelt on his hands and knees. I told Charlsey to open the, to pop the trunk and he went around and popped the trunk and Billy Jack tried to get up. I stabbed him twice in the rib cage and told him to stay where he was. Charlsey popped the trunk I told Billy Jack to get in the car. He did. We shut the trunk. I drove us to 165 Cedar Creek Circle and uh, got two tires, and a gallon of kerosene, box of matches and an ax handle.

JM: What did you use to, uh, cut his throat?

SM: A pocket knife. A plain old pocket knife.

JM: What did you do with it?

SM: I threw it in the river.

JM: Okay.

SM: Uh, got the two tires, the ax handle, the gallon of kerosene, the box of matches and went to Peckerwood Creek Road, um, uh, got the tires out of the trunk, the ax handle, propped it up against the car. Charlsey was lighting the, lighting the tires. Uh, I drug Billy Jack out onto the ground and uh, had my back fumed to him, he out of the blue knocked me down the hill into the creek um, and when I finally got back up to the, to the top he was trying to leave in the car. He was laying across the seats. Charlsey was gone. I found out later he had hit him and he took off running, um, I told Billy Jack that he couldn’t go nowhere or anywhere cause I didn’t have, I had the keys and I grabbed him by his pant’s legs and drug him away from the car and got the ax handle which was leaned up against the door of the car and started beating him with it and Charles, Charlsey showed back up and I took my shirt off and told him to get the blood out of the car and we talked and I was still beating him and when 1, I gave; out of energy and couldn’t do it anymore, um, the fire got to going and the tires started burning real well and I drug him into the flame and uh, we stood there for a few minutes and then we left. Went to the Exxon, no, went to the trailer at 165 Cedar Creek Circle, went there, I went inside and uh we both, me and Charles Butler both went inside and uh, he sat in the kitchen and I went back to my bedroom and got some things to take a bath with and took a, took a shower, got cleaned up, changed clothes and l asked Randall Jones if I could use his car to take this guy home and go out to the bar for a little while and um, we left, I uh, I drove Randall’s car and Charlsey drove Billy Jack’s car. We went . . .

JM: What happened to the clothes?

SM: Um, my pants and shoes and socks were left in my bedroom and the shirt was
burned.

JM: Where did, where did it get burned?

SM: On the fire.

JM: Okay.

SM: Along with the ax handle. Um, we left and went to the Exxon in Sylacauga on 280. Um, Charles parked the car on the left end of the building and sat there and waited and gave me the $20.00 to go in and get a gallons, a gallon or a dollars worth of gas, um, I did that, went in and got the gas, paid for it, got my jug, went back and got in the car, met him around on the end of the building, discussed where we were gonna go with the car and we left and we went to, out Millerville Highway to the trash dump and he took, drove the car back off into the mud and um, got, you know, I he, I gave him the gas and he started pouring gas all over the car and I was back in the car waiting on him and he set it on fire and we left and went to the Southern Station for about a hour and uh, took him home and I got back home about 3:30 a.m.

JM: Where are the pants at now?

SM: There in the trash. Superior Garbage picks the trash up and they carried them
off.

JM: What day do they pick up?

SM: 1, I don’t know, we, our trash they hadn’t paid the trash bill down there and so you know, the trash can got gone with it and it was probably last week, last Tuesday, I don’t, I don’t know what days they run 1, you know, Randall worked with them for a little while and we were supposedly getting free garbage pick up and he quit and they disposed of the garbage can, I guess last Tuesday.

JM: Say you called B. J.?

SM: Yes, yes I did.

JM: What was the conversation?

SM: Just, we were talking about going out to the bar.
JM: And when he got to pick you up, did he already have some beer? Do you know what kind it was?

SM: Bud Lite in bottles, six pack.

JM: You know where that watersheds place is? Boat launch, I think you called it.

SM: 1, I don’t know how to get to it I mean 1, you know, I know, well, I know, you know the road that carries you out that away, but I don’t know how to get exactly to it.

JM: What’s the name of that road?

SM: Alls I know is you go out Millerville Highway and you’ll see a little brown sign that’s got a boat ramp on, a boat being launched and that’s where you turn at. You go down to where it T’s and take a right.

JM: Left or right?

SM: Left. Uh, go down and you’ll come to that road will dead end to where a road T’s off and you take a right down to I don’t, you know, 1, I don’t, I know it’s out that away, I don’t know exactly where. I’ve been out there swimming but not to the boat ramp. That was .

JM: Whose idea was that to go out there?

SM: Charles’s. It was his idea to go to the boat ramp cause that was, that was his idea to go out there, I didn’t know where to go.

JM: And what happened to the, the uh, knife that you had?

SM: Threw it in the river.

JM: And you don’t know what kind it was?

SM: Uh, black handle, uh, stainless steel blade. That’s all I know, regular, regular size, you know, probably three inch blade, I guess. Three or four inch blade on it.

JM: How far out did you throw the knife?

SM: Uh, not being able to see, guessing by hearing the splash, probably twenty, thirty feet.

JM: So it’s pretty close to the bank?

SM: I guess, you know, its pitch black dark and I just chunked, you know it could be fifty feet. I just threw it and you know, I didn’t close it up or nothing, I just slung it and . . .

JM: Which side of the boat ramp you on?

SM: Uh, the right side. As you, where you launch your boat, its right off at an angle.

JM: Where did you pull the car at? Towards that boat ramp?

SM: Uh, I didn’t, Billy Jack was driving and he circled around and pulled it up as you’re facing towards the boat ramp on the right side, on the edge of some woods, this big open area right there.

JM: Was there anybody else out there?

SM: No.

JM: Did you meet any other cars coming in or out of the roads you took?

SM: No, I didn’t.

JM: When you, when you left there, you said earlier that Billy Jack was in the trunk, is that correct?

SM: Right.

JM: You leave there and where do you go?

SM: Back to the 165 Cedar Creek Circle.

JM: Okay, and tell me again what you do there?

SM: I got the two tires that were around back, two of the tires that were around back, um, an ax handle, a box of matches, and a gallon of kerosene.

JM: Where do you put ‘em?

SM: I put it all in a, well, I put the two tires in the trunk and put the rest in the back seat.

JM: Describe the box of matches that you . . .

SM: It’s a large box of matches. I guess the biggest ones you can buy in a store.

JM: Do you remember the name?

SM: Huh-uh.

JM: Where were they at inside the house?

SM: Uh, on top of the, above the cabinets. Couple other boxes there now.

JM: Did you go back, um, did you go back to the scene or have you been back to the
scene since it happened?

SM: No, I haven’t.

JM: Either, have you been to either place?

SM: No.

JM: Since it happened?

SM: No, I haven’t.

JM: When you get down to Peckerwood Creek Road, is what you’re calling it. Is that correct? Is that the only name of the road you know?

SM: Yeah.

JM: Alright, you call the road that you come in on as “One Minute Road.?

SM: Yeah. You take One Minute Road to Talladega Springs, go down and it will cross a, a fairly new bridge and it’s the first dirt road to your left.

JM: If um, if I’m coming down Fayetteville Road from Sylacauga, I come through Fayetteville and I come to the forks right?

SM: Uh- huh.

JM: I take the left fork. That’s the One Minute Road you’re talking about right?

SM: Uh, yeah, you go down that away. That One Minute Road comes out right there and where the some kind of monument or something is in Talladega Springs.

JM: Which, do you turn left or do you turn right off the Talladega Springs Road?

SM: Left.

JM: Turn left?

SM: Right. Then at the bridge, you turn left.

JM: You go to the end of the pavement to the bridge and then you turn left.

SM: Right.

JM: When you’re down on, at Peckerwood Creek, you say Charlsey was starting the
fire. .

SM: Yes.

JM: And he puts some kerosene on the tires and starts it?

SM: Yes.

JM: And you’ve gotten Billy Jack Gaither out of the trunk already?

SM: Yes.

JM: Okay. And then next thing you know, you go falling down the, the hill?

SM: Yes.

JM: Did you go into the water?

SM: Yes, I did.

JM: What were you wearing at that time?

SM: Pair of blue jeans uh, a white sweatshirt, and a pair of socks and a pair of tennis shoes, underwear.

JM: Okay. So you basically got pretty wet then?

SM: Yeah. From head to toe.

JM: Alright and then what happened?

SM: I climbed back up to the top and Charlsey is not around and Billy Jack is trying to get. in the car, got the ax handle in his hand um, I tell him he can’t go anywhere because I’ve got the keys and I drag him back out to the back of the car and beat him.

JM: What happens to the your clothes?

SM: Um, my T-shirt or my sweatshirt? I took it off and Charlsey used it to clean up the blood in the car and then he threw it on the fire and the blue jeans were taken off in the trash.

JM: Who put the kerosene on the body?

SM: Uh, I put, well, we both did.

JM: Both of you did?

SM: Both did.

JM: How much kerosene did you have?

SM: It was a gallon.

JM: Full gallon?

SM: Uh- huh.

JM: What did you have the kerosene in?

SM: A red gallon jug, gasoline jug.

JM: You leave there after uh, you’ve already put Billy Jack on the fire? Is that correct?

SM: Yes.

JM: You’re driving the car?

SM: Yes.

JM: Was there any damage to the car then?

SM: No.

JM: No damage to the car?

SM: Just blood. That’s it.

JM: Okay. You leave there and you go where?

SM: Back to the trailer where I lived at and um, that’s where I took a shower and
changed clothes.

JM: That when you- you change clothes? What happens then?

SM: 1, wake up Randall Jones and ask him to borrow his car to go out to the bar for a
riffle while and take a friend of mine home.

JM: What were you wearing then?

SM: Uh, a pair of dress or khaki pants and a sweat jacket.

JM: What did you do with the clothes when you took them off?

SM: The clothes from, the wet clothes, I laid them in the bedroom floor.

JM: Okay, when did you get rid of them?

SM: Uh, last week um, Tuesday maybe Tuesday.

JM: What did you do with them?

SM: I threw them in the garbage.

JM: What did you throw in the garbage?

SM: The pair of pants, the the rest of it was washed in the laundry.

JM: And your tennis shoes?

SM: They were also washed.

JM: When um, when you approach uh, uh, Charlsey in the bar you tell me you tell him something.

SM: Yeah. . . ,

JM: What did you tell him?

SM: Told him that we, you know, he wasn’t comfortable with leaving with Billy Jack because he knew he was queer and you know, I mentioned to him about getting rid of him.

JM: What were your words?

SM: That was basically it. You know.

JM: So, then you planned to what you call, “get rid of Billy Jack” is that correct? .

SM: Um, yeah somewhat.

JM: Did you and Charlsey talk prior to this about getting rid of B. J.?

SM: Yes.

JM: How long?

SM: How long did we talk or how long had it been since we talked?

JM: How long had it been?

SM: Probably a week. Two weeks.

JM: Why?

SM: Just cause he was queer.

JM: How? You said you knew- how did you know Billy Jack before then?

SM: From the Tavern and just acquaintance. Just knew him.

JM: That’s all how you knew him?

SM: You know, a ride home. You know, a ride to the grocery store here and there. Just, you know, just knew him.

JM: And that’s only- only way you knew him?

SM: I didn’t know his last name or anything till this.

JM: You told me that um, that Billy Jack uh, ‘propositioned you earlier. Is that correct? Tell me what he said.

SM: He told me he wanted to suck my click.

JM: And?

SM: 1, I didn’t say anything.

JM: Okay. When did he tell you this?

SM: Uh, he told me a couple of times, but it you know it was probably a week or two before that that he told me and I didn’t say anything and then he told me that night also.

JM: Where did he tell you?

SM: Just riding.

JM: Riding? How much do you think you had to drink that night?

SM: Six pack.

JM: How much did he have to drink?

SM: Billy Jack? Uh, two that I saw of. He bought those separately.

JM: Kelley, you got any more questions?

KJ: No.

JM: Sgt. Nail? This will end the statement. Steve you got anything else to say?

SM: No.

JM: This’ll end the statement. It’s 6:30 p. m. Day is Wednesday, March the 3rd 1999.


Butler’s interview in prison after being found guilty:

Before the night of the crime, had you ever heard of Billy Jack Gaither?

No, sir. . . Let’s talk about what happened. Can you do that?

I reckon it started when me and Daddy had gotten off work. We had entered in this pool tournament. I’d played maybe two games, and Steve, he’d come in, and he asked me if I wanted to go to The Tavern with him. I told him that I was engaged in this pool tournament. He said, “I’ll be back in a while.” So he went on. I reckon they went to The Tavern, and I went on playing my games. They came back, and he come in and asked me if I was ready to go, and I said, “Sure.” So, we’re going out, and apparently a fight had broken out right there at The Tavern. Steve had some old warrants on him from Sylacauga, and so he didn’t want to go there. So instead, we go out to the Watersheds—this little public place where everybody goes out to have a good time. But it wound up different. Billy Jack started talking about some gay issues. . . . wanting to have a threesome, or whatever. Tempers flared up. Steve jumped on him, and cut his throat there . .

You’re saying Billy Jack basically hit on you, right?

Yes.

And you kicked him. Why?

I don’t know. I’d been drinking a lot whiskey, and just didn’t have no understanding . . . I didn’t even know the man, for him to be hitting on me. . . . Tempers just flared. It’s like he didn’t have no respect.

He was disrespecting you?

Yes.

How?

Well, sir, I don’t know. It’s not like I’m some gay tramp out there, waiting to be corn-holed by some prick.

So if a woman had done that to you, that wouldn’t be disrespect?

No, sir, I don’t reckon so.

Why is it disrespect if a man does it?

Well, sir, why would he want to just assume that I was gay, just like himself, and throw himself on me like he did?

Did he start grabbing you?

No sir, he didn’t start grabbing at me. Nothing like that.

He just asked you? It was just words, right? If a woman did that, you’d think, “That’s pretty cool”?

Yes sir, I reckon so. But he’s a man, and he did it, so it’s disrespect.

Why?

Would you like for a gay man to hit on you? Would you like for him to engage you into a threesome? How would you feel?

I don’t think I would kick him, Charles. What did kicking him did what for you?

Didn’t do a whole lot of nothing. Didn’t do no good, that’s for sure.

But you were clearly angry. What about it made you angry? What had he done?

Well, sir. . . I don’t think I needed to kick him. I don’t reckon he deserved that.

I want you to know, I’m not judging anything. I’m just trying to understand it. One thing that might help is to understand what that feeling is. When he came on to you, that was bad? That crossed a line?

Yes.

What was the line that he crossed? What had he done?

. . . I couldn’t remember what his exact words was. I don’t know. Hell, I don’t know.

You were pissed, flat-out pissed. Right?

I reckon.

At what?

At him coming on to me. It’s just stupidity, I guess. No, no, no. It’s just a feeling, like any other feeling.

He had made you—

Uncomfortable, I reckon.

And not a man—he was trying to make you not a man?

No. I don’t think anybody could ever do that. . .

When you were growing up, were there gay people around?

Yes, sir. I had one friend in particular. He’s lived with us several times, such as Steve himself. Steve even lived around him, and knew him as long as I have, if not longer. I’ve been to gay clubs with him, and all that. But we had an understanding from this guy we met that we was friends, and we was only to be friends.

So you’ve had gay friends. It’s not that you mind gay people.

No, sir. It’s not at all.

Did you think less of gays?

No. No, sir. I don’t they’re think any less than I am or . . . I don’t know.

They’re just the same old people. But I really never give it much thought.

But you went to gay clubs?

Yes.

Now Charles, if you go to a gay club, other men are going to look at you and say, “Well, he’s here. I’m here. He must be gay.”

No, sir. No such thing, especially when a fellow like me walks into a bar. My appearance alone sets me off.

You mean, you don’t look gay?

That’s right.

So if you went to a gay bar, nobody would know that . . .

I reckon. The numerous times I’ve been to a gay club, nobody’s ever hit on me. I’ve had people come to our table and sit down and want to talk to me and such, but they never did lead off to a confrontation, or what have you. They just want to know who I am—just being friendly. . .

So your reaction to Billy Jack then seems extreme. It seems you would be a little sympathetic to him. . . . So something had to snap in you that night, right?

Yes.

Have you thought about what that was?

No, sir. I ain’t never really thought about it. Never.

You thought that he disrespected you.

Yes.

I’m trying to get what that means, for a man to disrespect another man in that way.

I don’t know, man. It’s hard to explain it, I guess. I don’t know.

Are you a Christian?

I wouldn’t call myself a Christian. But I am a believer of God, and I never have forsaken him. And I’ve tried to follow in the right steps. I know I’ve not always been faithful for him. None of us has.

But were you raised in the church, or a Christian?

I went to church regular when I was young. Yes, sir. But I generally grew apart from it, I’ve went off and on ever since then—never was firmly grounded in a church.

So you didn’t study the Bible or that sort of thing, like some people did?

No, sir. No, sir. There are at least some folks who say that homosexuality is wrong, and that they can show you that in the Bible.

Have you talked to folks like that?

Yes.

What do you think of that?

Well, sir, it’s a sin. I never really give it much thought. I don’t know whether it’s . . . just because it’s a sin to be gay, don’t mean a gay person is like Satan himself. . . . They’re just as good-hearted as anybody else. You wouldn’t think of them as being sinners.

But their lifestyle is a sin?

Yes. . .

How come you’d go to gay clubs?

On account of my friend, Steve Edwards. First time I went, it was me, my brother, my sister-in-law, and Steve Edwards. We’d all go and, hell, I had a pretty good time, just getting out there. So Steve offered to go with me again, or invited me to go up there again with him. And I say, “Sure, why not?” I’d sit there, play pool, or sit up there and cut up with the bartender. . . .

What was the club like? Where was it?

It was right there in the midst of Birmingham. . . . They had the loud music going. It’s more like a saloon music type of group in there. They had a little dance floor separate from the bar area. It was a nice place. Outside, they had a privacy fence around, with little tables and chairs and little canopies over the table, for a little private talk, whatever. It was an all-right club.

Was it just men? Or men and women?

There’s women there, too. Men and women.

You say it was a gay club. Were the people who were there almost exclusively gay, or were there a mix of them?

No, there’s straight people there. Anybody could come in there.

So if it was straight people and gay people, why is it a gay club?

Well, sir, I don’t know. It’s just what everybody called it.

Could you look at the men and tell which one was gay?

Some of them, yes, sir. It really was hard to tell which ones were the women.

Why was that hard to tell?

You had your drag queens. They looked just about like a woman.

That could make it dangerous for you?

Oh, yeah.

Did you ever hit on women at the club?

No, on account of I didn’t know which ones were which. . .

Why do you think Steve Mullins jumped Billy Jack Gaither?

I don’t know. I have no idea. I don’t reckon he wanted his sex life to get out to anybody, on account of he’s hiding—he’s kept a secret from me for so long, so I don’t reckon he wanted anybody else to know.

Was something going on between him and Billy Jack?

I reckon. There were rumors. One of Billy Jack’s brothers stated in a newspaper that he knew that Billy and Steve was together. My attorney found another gay man that Steve was involved with. So I don’t know. . . . My attorneys discovered that Steve is flat broke, and wanted some money in exchange for sex. He lured the both of us out there—promised him sex with the both of us. Instead, it just blew up in his face, and he just didn’t know how to handle it. I don’t know.

So the killing was a coverup?

I guess so. I don’t know what to think. . . .

I’m curious about how you feel. It was Steve who attacked him, who beat him with the stick and killed him. What role do you feel you played?

I feel cheated. But I don’t hold no hate for nobody, nor no grudge against nobody. I just feel cheated. . . .I’m torn away from my family on account of something someone else has done. I don’t know.

Do you feel responsible at all?

I don’t reckon I could have stopped him, or stopped what had happened. Should I feel responsible? . . .

I bet you’ve lived through what happened a thousand times. Do you have regrets?

Yes. I have dreams—nightmares—from time to time. But it’s not like it was before. When it was first happening, things played back in my dreams. I’d have nightmares of Steve [Mullins] and us together again. . . I remember when we was at the trailer. Steve opened the trunk of that car, and Billy was laying there on his side. Blood was just covering half of his face . . . . It just sent something all up and down my back. And then, seeing Steve standing over him, beating him like he was. . . . I could feel every thump that went across his body. . . .It’s like a never-ending story. It’s like walking across a bed of glass. It’s painful, every step.

The Silencing of Homosexuals

Arkansas tried it first, but failed by one vote. Oklahoma tried it and it is now law. Alabama has put it forth through its legislature. Later this year may prove success or failure. Local governments in a dozen or so other states are trying it. Some may succeed. Some may not.

What is it that they're all doing?

Banning books. Specifically, books that portray gay characters in a positive light.

The book that has stirred the latest call for censorship, The King and King, aimed to teach children about diversity. It tells a story of a prince who searches for a companion and, after rejecting many princessess, takes another prince as his own.

State Rep. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, AL, wants that book off the shelf. He has proposed state legislation that would require books in publically funded institutions that have gay-positive themes to be placed in an adult section and out of the reach of children.

The problem: public libraries don't have an adult section.

Like the law in Oklahoma, the Alabama law would only encourage public institutions to separate the gay-themed books. It's a non-binding law with a heavy price tag, though. Since the institutions targetted are publically funded, any that fail to separate the books could face severe budget cuts.

"Great!" you might think. "My child shouldn't have easy access to such books."

The King and King won't be the only book relegated to obscurity. Added to the "adults only" section will be the classics such as Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Even some of Shakespeare's works would be banished to the adult section.

Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof would be vanguished, too. And if Crowe has his way, not only would the play be shelved in an out-of-reach place, but no school could ever perform the classic.

His proposed law doesn't stop at elementary schools nor does it stop at shelving books in a special section.

Its effects stretches clear through the universities. Yes, he feels it is necessary to protect our children from the harmful influence of positive gay role models even when they reach young adulthood. Universities would need an "adults only" section to house gay-themed books and only with parental consent could a college student check the book out.

Let's not forget that not only are the books being put out of reach and plays being banned, but free speech will be limited. Schools, including colleges, could not teach or even suggest that homosexuality is a normal facet of human sexuality. Schools, including colleges, could not sanction gay clubs like the Gay-Straight Alliance or the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Student Union.

Crowe's philosophy is simple: if you don't like the facts or opinions of others, hide them from everyone. That makes it easier to tell them what you want them to believe.

Regardless of one's beliefs towards homosexuality or even the degree one feels our children need to be protected from it, everyone should oppose this dangerous move by Crowe. Today, books with gay-positive themes are banned. Gay positive speech is supressed. Tomorrow, what will the banning flavor of the month be?

If that sounds like a scare tactic consider some of these titles that joined The King and King as books most requested to be removed from libraries for the year 2004:

1. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series for promoting witchcraft and wizardary
2. Walter Dean Myers' Fallen Angels for racism, sexual content, language, drugs, and violence
3. Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal, a sex education book cited as being too explicit, especially for children
4. Robert Carmier's We All Fall Down for sexual content and language

Even classics such as Mark Twain's Huckleberry Fin and JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye have graced this list in years past.

Imagine, for a moment, the book banning craze takes root and all gay-positive themed books are locked behind glass. Imagine, for a moment, that in addition to locking away the books "for the sake of the children" any gay-positive speech is censored or banned and gay support groups vanguished from our publically funded institutions.

Some readers may see the inherent dangers of the gay-ban precedence. Others may applaud the descion feeling relieved that they wouldn't have to "deal with the morally corrupt freaks" any more.

Imagine for a moment, now, that other groups successfully add to the list of banned books your favorites - science fiction for the promotion of beastiality, romance for sexual content, religious texts for violating the separation of Church and state.

Bingo! The jackpot!

Locked up side by side with the gay-positive books for being morally corrupt rests the Bible for violating the separation of Church and state compunded with the use of gratuitous violence, sex, racism, and sexism. Student religious groups would no longer be allowed to spread God's word on school grounds and no fliers could be distributed advertising Christian community events.

And every time you walked into a library, there behind the glass case is the Bible, locked away as a not-too-subtle reminder that there is something inherently wrong, or evil, with Christianity.

Now stop and think, for a moment, about the book banning craze. There's always been threats of banning books. Even the American Library Association, which compiles the most requested banned titles list, acknowledges that while the complaints are received, rarely - if ever - are the bans honored. No lawmaker has stepped up to the plate and requested, by law, that whole classes of books be banned based on certain content criteria.

Until now.

Something about showing homosexuals in a positive light has a lot of people scared. You may think that the Bible and other Christian works may never get banned nor would any other genre of books. But let the gay book ban take root and gain legitimacy and the precedence is set.

The only remaining question is what books are next?

It's the Women's Fault

Ok, this is a first draft and will need tweaking, but you get the idea of how easy it is to write that far right, anti-gay stuff - only this time I chose women.

Remember the good ol' days. Women knew their place - in the kitchen. They couldn't vote and sure as heck weren't allowed to open their mouths about such heady topics as religion and politics.

The world was a lot better back then. God knew what He was doing when he made women subserviant to man. The day she defied God and Adam and bit into that apple was proof enough that women were like children. They need constant supervision lest trouble brews.

Before women could vote, the country ran smoothly and was prosperous. A couple of elections after a bunch of whipped boys allowed women to vote, our great nation was plunged into the Great Depression. When those same whipped boys allowed women into the workplace, fast food and pre-packaged meals hit the market. Obesity has skyrocketed and our children suffer a disproportionate number of ailments ranging from asthma to ADD to autism. Let women into the White House and they seduce our leaders with their wicked ways. Give them effective birth control and they take sexual freedom to new heights. Marriage has crumbled under the weight of divorce and a record number of our children are being raised in single-parent households. Millions of children who could be born are ruthlessly killed in their first few weeks of life. It may be the woman's body, and even though it took a father to create the child, the woman, alone, decides the child's fate. Under the feminine agenda, the unborn child is to be viewed as invasive tissue in the woman's body that she can do with as she sees fit. And if the woman decides to bring that "invasive tissue" to term, the woman uses the child as a weapon to financially, and sometimes emotionally, destroy the father.

It's time to take our nation back from the women and the feminine agenda. The Bible makes it very clear where a woman's place is. If we put them back in the home caring for the household and raising the children like God intended, juvenile delinquency rates will plummet. The need for medicating our children to control them will nearly vanish. More children will have the opportunity to see daylight instead of ending up as another abortion statistic. Politics won't be muddied with irrational thinking. For example, if you're homless, your homeless because you don't have a job. That can be fixed. But if you don't have a job because you don't want to work, then that is not a social ill that needs fixing. That's you being lazy.

1 Timothy 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

It's time to put an end to the feminine agenda and embrace the natural order of things as God intended.

AFA Delays Ford Boycott

From the Boycott Ford website:

UPDATE!

FORD BOYCOTT SUSPENDED UNTIL DECEMBER 1, 2005

Following a meeting with a group of Ford dealers, AFA has suspended its boycott of Ford Motor Company until December 1, 2005. In the meeting, the dealers asked for time to see if the concerns raised by AFA in their boycott announcement could be addressed by them in cooperation with officials from Ford Motor Company.

AFA felt that the dealers were making a good faith effort and agreed to accept their request. Therefore, the suspension request was accepted by AFA. During the remaining period AFA will work with the dealers in attempting to resolve our differences.

We urge those supporting the boycott to disregard the boycott until December 1, 2005.
On or about December 1 we will notify our supporters as to status of the boycott.

Click here to visit AFA.net.

To view the original website containing the reasons for the boycott, click here.


I reckon they'll pretend they're making progress for the benefit of the 2.2 million sheep following them. Helps build membership excitement and more donations.

While the boycott may be on hold, I still encourage everyone to tell Ford that they support Ford's diversity program and not to bow under pressure from a hate group.

And I encourage everyone to tell the AFA where they can permanently shove their boycott come December first.

Boycott Ford

story

The American Family Association, a gay hate group, has called on its 2.2 million members to boycott the Ford Motor Company because of Ford's perceived support of the "homosexual agenda" and gay marriage. Following the link, one becomes aware of the main complaints the AFA has of Ford:

1. Ford advertises in gay publications with ads tailord to the gay market.
2. Ford wishes to sell its vehicles to homosexuals.
3. Ford supports diversity training throughout its company and subsidiaries.
4. Ford financially contributes to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Commision.

Specifically, they are asking their members to contact their local Ford dealers and tell them that they will no longer buy Ford products as long as the Ford Motor Company supports the homosexual agenda and gay marriage.

The AFA is the same group who boycotted Disney World because Disney offered domestic partner benefits and held a "gay day." That nine year boycott officially ended practically the same day they announced the Ford boycott.

Show Ford that not everyone is as homophobic as members of the AFA. Contact your local Ford dealer and tell them that despite the boycott call, you plan on remaining or maybe becoming a Ford customer. To find your local dealer, click on the make of your vehicle below:

Ford Jaguar Lincoln Land Rover Mercury Mazda Volvo

You may also contact the corporate headquarters in Deerborn, MI and tell them what you think about their contributions to the gay community and their push for diversity training in the automotive industry. The link provides an easy to use, online form submission. You may also contact them the old fashioned way:

In United States:

Phone:800-392-3673
800-232-5952 (TDD for the Hearing Impaired)

Mail:
Ford Motor CompanyCustomer Relationship Center
P.O. Box 6248
Dearborn, MI 48126

Hours of Operation:8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday-Friday)

In Canada:

Phone:800-565-3673

Mail:Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
Customer Relationship Centre
P.O. Box 2000
Oakville, Ontario L6J5E4

Hours of Operation:8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday-Friday)
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET. (Saturday)

Be sure to let the AFA know how you feel about their boycott, too. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. (The link takes you to an easy online feedback form for the AFA.)

Little Guy Protest Site Update

Visitors to the Little Guy Protest website will find a couple of sections a bit more interactive.

First, the efforts have a section where you can tell us if you plan to participate in the campaign or not as well as be able to leave comments about the campaign. Not only will the feedback tell us our successful or unsuccessful a campaign is, but also, we'll be able to relay that information to our members more accurately through the semi-monthly newsletter. Check out this month's effort to experience the new feature.

Oh, if you haven't already, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. Unlike other newsletters, though, this one conveys information without suckering you into buying something.

The other bit of added interactivity is in the news section. Every article will have a section where you may send a letter to the editor concerning the story. You may even indicate if you would like the letter published or not. Check out AFA Calls For Ford Boycott to experience this new feature.

Any news articles or efforts posted to the site prior to 01 Jun 05 will not reflect these changes, but they will be a permanent feature in all future news articles and campaigns.

We Want You!

And I Can Help You Become A Member Of This Exclusive Club!

Let's face it, there's nothing to being a heterosexual. You see one heterosexual, you've seen them all. But to be gay...now that's something special. The club is so exclusive, only 1-3% of the population earns the honor. Even by liberal estimates, only 10% of the population qualifies for membership.

Do You Want To Join The Ranks Of This Exclusive Club?

It's not as easy as it looks to become a member. People are born heterosexual. They're taught from infancy through adulthood what it means to be heterosexual. Date. Kiss. Marry. Have children. Being gay takes a special kind of person, though. First, you have to make a commitmant to be different. Once you make that commitmant, you have to fight the natural heterosexual urges. If you don't, your membership is immediately revoked. Once you've made the commitmant and mastered your natural desires, the real challenge begins. You have to fight the heterosexuals' ignorance, prejudice, bigotry, and, yes, hatred. Remember, you're in an exclusive club and the people who can't make it show their jealousy with a vengeance. They'll be determined to make you fail...make you lose your membership.

I Can Teach You Everything You Need To Know!

From the first step of making the commitmant to mastering your natural urges to step-by-step instructions on how to act gay. Do you really think Jack of Will and Grace fame was born that way? Nah. It took years of practice to perfect every nuance of being gay. As an introductory offer, I can send you your first lesson for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Subsequent courses can be yours for the low, low price of $49.95!

My clients normally pay $119.95 per lesson. I've taught Jack. Boy George. Elton John. With just one lesson, I taught Eric McCormack to play the part convincingly enough to land the role opposite of Jack.

But you can have the first course at 85% off the regular price! That's a hundred dollar savings!

Hear What Our Satisfied Customers Have To Say:

Learning to become gay changed my life! And it wasn't all that hard. For the first time in my life, I can wear jeans and a tee shirt, cut my hair to near crew cut, and ride my Harley with pride. Best of all, guys don't throw their one-liners at me anymore. I can walk into a bar and kick any guy's ass there! -Molly, NY

With this course I have the confidence to cry at the movies! Let me tell you, honey, I used to avoid the movies out of fear of showing those tears. Not anymore! Oh, and I absolutely adore Judy Garland, Streisand, Boy George, Bette Midler, and all those gorgeous divas. I blast them on my car stereo and people stop and stare at me. I never got that kind of attention as a hetero!
-Mike, FL

So What Do You Get For $19.95?

Your first lesson will teach you how to make the commitmant to be gay and stick to it. Through motivational tapes and videos of famous homosexuals, you'll come to believe gay is the way. I'll also teach you how to supress your natural urges to be heterosexual and, most importantly, how not to slip back into the straight life. You'll also have access to our online support group and chat room. And for the first month's lesson, I'll throw in a personal coach...
for free! He/she will always be one phone call away if you ever feel like slipping into the murkiness of heterosexuality.

Money Back Guarantee!

If for any reason you are not satisfied with my course or just decide you
don't have what it takes to be a member of this exclusive club, just return
the course material and your money will be refunded...no questions
asked. We fully understand not everyone has what it takes to be gay,
but we don't make fun of you for it.

What Can I Expect In Future Courses?

If you pass the first course, we'll step you through all that it takes to be
gay. We'll teach you how to walk and talk. We'll teach you the gay
slang. By course three, we'll start tuning your gaydar. We'll teach you
to appreciate real music like Streisand, Cher, and Celine. By course eight,
you'll have every show and broadway tune memorized. By course
twelve, we'll have your gaydar fine-tuned and dressing will be second
nature. You can choose from the butch look to flashy dresses to leather.

We'll teach you it all.

You Must Act Now!

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) issues a limited number of membership cards per year. As a result, we can only offer this course to the first handful of applicants. Don't be left out! I'm so confidant you'll love this course that I'm going to make you an unbelievable offer. The last course teaches you all you need to know about the gay agenda. Before the NGLTF issues you a membership card, you must pass the National Gay Agenda Entrance Exam. The NGLTF charges $499.95 for applicants to take this test. If you do not pass this exam to be accepted as a homosexual, I'll cover the cost of the exam!

So act now while seats are still available!

Sincerely,

Mark Darien
President, National Organization of Homos Expressing Transformation of Resistant Oppressors of Society (NO HETROS)

ps
Order your first course by Mar 31st and I'll send you a 8ft x 6ft all-weather, rainbow flag absolutely free. What better way to make the commitmant than flying the rainbow colors proudly in your front yard?

© 2004
Mark Darien

New Month, New Effort

Well, sort of. We had some participation in May's Write Your Own Bill campaign. We need a lot more support. For June, we're rerunning the Write Your Own Bill campaign. If you support same-sex marriage, please consider taking the time this month and support the easy-to-follow campaign.

On other matters: yes, I haven't been posting much. Please stay tuned, though. You can always visit littleguyprotest.com to keep abreast of everything new. I try to post a sampling here, but you may find more there.

This week, I am working on getting at least two more posts up here. Look for Silencing of the Homosexuals and Boycott Ford.

That's it for now - short, brief, sweet, and to the point.

Moral Stance or Homophobia?

Take a look at the polls. Any poll. Almost any poll shows most Americans favor equal rights for homosexuals by a two to one margin. Most people feel homosexuals should not be discriminated against in the workplace. Homosexuals shouldn't be denied housing solely because they are gay. They should be entitled to the many legal rights and protections a marriage grants such as inheritance rights, power of attorney, next of kin status, and right to make medical decisions. By nearly the same two to one margin, Americans even favor a civil union status for gay couples.

But ask the average American if same-sex marriage should be legal and by nearly the same two to one margin, most Americans oppose granting marriage status to homosexuals.

By now, most everyone has heard at least one, if not almost all, of the justifications to deny same-sex marriage. They're all easily disputed, but many people cling to their favorites as if they were the gospel truth. That begs the question: why are equal rights for homosexuals embraced by the majority, but that same majority rejects the one basic civil right of marriage of homosexuals?

One dirty little word no one wants to hear: homophobia.

"Wait," you might think, "How can it be homophobia when most Americans believe homosexuals should have equal rights?"

Let's skip over to the KKK website for a moment. They proudly boast that they don't hate Black people. They don't stop there, either. They believe that Black people should be treated equally and with dignity and respect. They also state that White people are the victims of reverse discrimination and by allowing Blacks special rights and privileges in our society - such as hate crime protection or affirmative action - the Whites' status in society is being diminished. By allowing Blacks to marry Whites, the White race is becoming muddied and destroying the core family values which built this country.

Do those arguments sound familiar? Do you still consider a Klansman a racist? If you answered yes, then you see why the arguments against same-sex marriage are homophobia-driven.

The million dollar question is where this homophobia derives its powers.

The answer, directly or indirectly, points to the Bible and religion.

In all fairness to most of the major world religions that condemn homosexuality, homophobia may have its roots even further back in human history. Roman soldiers, for example, would rape the men of a defeated army believing the defeated soldiers would lose their "manhood" and be unable to fight in the future. Looking at primate behavior, when two male chimps battle, the weaker male will show his submissiveness to the stronger male by holding his rump in the air and the fight is over. The weaker chimp learned his place.

I'll leave it to the sociologists and anthropologists to debate the origins of homophobia. It's not hard to see, though, that as human civilizations moved from an extended family of hunterers and gatherers to the more complex agrarian societies and cities to the complex civilizations we have today, the innate beliefs that homosexuals were different became codified in our religions as being a bad thing.

That's all conjecture, of course. Early man doesn't appear to have been as focussed on homosexuality as we are today. Even our early religions didn't pay much mind to homosexuality. The attention to homosexuality by the Christian religion didn't begin to gain steam until a few hundred years ago. As Churches struggled to define the crimes against nature, homosexuality stood in the spotlight.

Today, many of those old beliefs hold true for many. Homosexual men aren't real men. Lesbians can't possibly have a mothering, nurturing instinct. Homosexuality defies natural law. And when all else fails, the Bible condemns homosexuality.

Rest assured that teaching homophobia isn't a matter of parents sitting their child down and, while explaining the birds and the bees, also explain that homosexuality is a bad thing. The lessons are more subtle than that.

Uncle Charlie is the skeleton in the closet no one talks about. When he comes over for a visit, he brings a friend, the same one he's been bringing for the last fifteen years. When Uncle Charlie is introduced to new family friends, he's Uncle Charlie and his friend Bob. When his nephew or niece asks who Mr. Bob really is, the answer is simply a really good friend who goes way back. Bob is never Uncle Charlie's spouse.

When the nephew or niece is old enough to put two and two together, the lesson taught is that homosexuality is shameful.

Every time a child turns on the television and hears our political and religious leaders debate homosexual issues in less than flattering terms, the lesson taught is that homosexuality is shameful.

When the child goes to school and is taunted with fag barbs or learns he can bring another little boy near tears by calling him a fag, the lesson learned is homosexuality is shamful.

When a child hears his parent make an offhand remark about homosexuals, whether overhearing a joke Daddy tells his friend or hears a negative comment towards something on television, the lesson is homosexuality is shameful.

When a child looks around for a positive gay role model and finds none, the lesson is homosexuality is shameful.

The child grows up carrying these prejudices inside him. As an adult, the lessons learned early on are hard to shake off. Sure, the compassionate adult can see the need to treat homosexuals with dignity and respect. It's not hard to convince an adult that in legal matters concerning a couple, the gay couple should be afforded the same legal protections.

But marriage? Now you are asking the adult to forget all his early lessons that were drilled into his head. Allowing homosexuals to marry is forcing an acceptance of something that has always been shameful. For some people, not only is homosexuality shameful, but it ought to be because the Bible says so. Asking people to accept same-sex marriage as legal is asking them to throw away a lifetime of lessons and asking them to throw away centuries of stereotypes and quiet acceptance that homosexuality is not normal.

If we look at the polls again, though, there is hope for acceptance of gay marriage. While the overall polls show a two to one opinion against legalized same-sex marriage, demographic breakdown of the polls show a slightly different story. Among degree holding, college graduates, there is a nearly even fifty-fifty split in favor of same-sex marriage. Among young adults in the 18 to 25 age group, almost half favor legalized gay marriage.

The key, then, to acceptance of legalized, same-sex marriage appears to be education. The more people understand homosexuality, the faster the homophobic fears will fall by the wayside.

Maryland Governor Vetoes Gay Rights Bill

Read Story

Republican Governor Ehrlich of Maryland vetoed legislation that would've given eleven basic rights to homosexuals, mostly covering medical and post mortem decisions. His objected to the proposed law's requirement to form a domestic partner registry, a move he felt would pave the way to civil unions and eventually gay marriage. He also vetoed a bill that would have abolished an unfair property tax assessed on unmarried couples.

He did have a noble reason for vetoeing the legislation. He wanted to "protect marriage" and there is no debate or compromise on that issue.

Yes, we need to protect marriage. I can't think of one person who would actively seek to destroy marriage. My only question: what are we protecting marriage from?

Maybe we need to protect marriage from a government that wishes to make life and death situations for our spouse. We've learned from Terry Schiavo, haven't we, that a husband can't be trusted to make a sound medical decision for his wife.

Maybe we need to protect marriage from a government that wishes to pass the Constitution Restoration Act. In case you haven't heard, that proposed act sitting in Congress as you read this would take legal jurisdiction out of the courts on matters that are governed by God's laws. If you're wondering how that relates to marriage other than gay marriages, then consider God's laws could be used to determine legality of divorces, custody decisions, child support payments, and even the "fitness" of being a parent.

Yeah, I know. You're saying, "That's far-fetched."

Not really. Every inch of our rights we give away today will stretch into feet, yards, and miles for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Marriage needs to be protected, but not from homosexuals.

It needs to be protected from the government.

If you live in Maryland, why not ask the governor what he thinks he is protecting marriage from?

Interested in writing your own law legalizing gay marriage? A quick and easy way to submit your bill for your elected officials' consideration.

Showtime Celebrates Gay Pride Month

Showtime Press Release:

Showtime Presents Provocative Programming Slate for Gay Pride Month in June

May 18, 11:09 am ET
Wednesday

Line-up Includes SAME SEX AMERICA, WE ARE DAD, JACK, DAMAGED GOODS, SHOOK and New Episodes of QUEER AS FOLK

LOS ANGELES, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In June, Showtime Networks will honor Gay Pride Month with provocative programming featuring the network's celebrated new documentary SAME SEX AMERICA, which takes a hard look at the headline-making gay marriage controversy. A mix of compelling dramas and documentaries, the network's original programming slate demonstrates that gay Americans, despite decades of civil rights advances, are still struggling for acceptance and equal rights. The June line-up will also include four new episodes of QUEER AS FOLK, which begin its fifth and final season on May 22 and ends July 31st with a two-hour season finale. This groundbreaking series, which airs Sundays at 10 p.m., was the first television drama series to fully explore the lives and issues of a gay community. The Gay Pride Month programming also furthers the network's commitment to Viacom's KNOW HIV/AIDS initiative, an unprecedented, global media campaign that combats HIV/AIDS through education.

The line-up includes the following films:

SAME SEX AMERICA (June 28, 8 p.m.) has played to enthusiastic audiences at many prestigious festivals including The Tribeca Film Festival, The Full Frame Documentary Festival and The Independent Film Festival of Boston. The film follows several gay and lesbian couples as they try to navigate the civil rights clash over same sex marriage. Beginning in Massachusetts, where the move to legalize gay marriage created a conservative backlash that reached all the way to the White House, SAME SEX AMERICA examines both sides of the political debate and a family's right to define itself without interference from the state or federal government. The film is directed by Henry Corra ("Umbrellas," "George") of Corra Films, Inc., edited by Charlene Rule, produced by Alex R. Johnson and executive produced by Robert F. Katz, Jerry Kupfer and Jay Peterson.

WE ARE DAD (June 19, 7 p.m.) is a gut-wrenching documentary centered around partners Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau. The two have been deemed "unfit" by the state of Florida to adopt the five children they have raised since birth -- even though they were viewed as capable foster parents for the "unwanted" children born HIV positive. When one of the children - now a teenager -- is found to be HIV-free and thus "adoptable," the state decides to remove him from the only home he has known. The film is produced and directed by Michel Horvat and was acquired for SHOWTIME from All Channel Films.

JACK (June 19 at 5:05 p.m.), the Emmy® and GLAAD® award-winning original movie which aired on SHOWTIME in 2004, stars Anton Yelchin (SHOWTIME's HUFF) in the title role. Jack is a 15-year-old boy who must come to terms with his parents' divorce and the revelation that his father is gay. Stockard Channing ("The West Wing," "Six Degrees of Separation") and Ron Silver ("The West Wing," "Reversal of Fortune") play his parents. Jack, already struggling with the usual adolescent demons, must fight the gay- bashing he encounters at school and come to terms with his family. JACK was directed by Lee Rose, from the screenplay by A.M. Homes based upon her novel, and is a Daniel L. Paulson/Susan Rose/Ellen M. Krass production.

DAMAGED GOODS (June 14 at 10 p.m.) is a one-hour documentary which explores the lives of five people living with a stigmatized disease in a judgmental society. It follows them from the moment they are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS through treatment and acceptance. The film features interviews with some of today's prominent medical authorities and activists in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The film is produced and directed by Nadia Buckmire, with Rahi High also producing.

SHOOK (June 28 at 10:40 p.m.) is a dramatic short film about a woman who discovers her husband is bi-sexual and that she is pregnant. With concerns for the child, she gets tested for HIV and attempts to understand her husband's relationship with a male friend and its impact on their marriage. This film, directed and produced by Melanie RW Oram, first aired on SHOWTIME in February during the 2005 Black Filmmakers Showcase.

QUEER AS FOLK (Sundays at 10 p.m.) Featuring four all-new episodes in the month of June, this award-winning series will continue to explore cutting-edge social and political issues that affect the gay community. This season gay rights issues, such as gay marriage, are explored with a sensitivity and candor rarely seen on television. Starring are Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell, Peter Paige, Hal Sparks and Sharon Gless with special guest appearances by Rosie O'Donnell and Cyndi Lauper. QUEER AS FOLK is executive produced by Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman and Tony Jonas. Cowen & Lipman developed the series for American television based on the British series created by Russell T Davies. Sheila Hockin serves as producer. The SHOWTIME series is from Cowlip Productions, Tony Jonas Productions and Temple Street Productions.

KNOW HIV/AIDS is an unprecedented, global media campaign that combats HIV/AIDS through public service messages (PSAs), television and radio programming, and free print and online content. The multi-year effort combines the public health expertise of the Kaiser Family Foundation with the power of Viacom's media brands and unmatched audience relationships to foster awareness of the disease and its prevention. More information about KNOW HIV/AIDS is available through the initiative's comprehensive Web site, http://www.knowhivaids.org/, or toll-free number 1-866-344-KNOW (5669).

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO(TM), SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC xtra. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD®, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM) and FLIX ON DEMAND. SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL®, which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.
Source: Showtime Networks

Write your own law and send it to Congress

ACLU Announces Same-Sex Marriage Plans

Press release from ACLU:

ACLU Launches Marriage Campaign to Move Americans to Treat Families of Same-Sex Couples More Fairly

May 16, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: media@aclu.org

Executive Director of Equality Utah to Lead the Charge

NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced plans to launch a national Marriage Campaign to persuade Americans that it is unfair to deny legal protections to the families of same-sex couples. The campaign will be led by Michael Mitchell, who comes to the ACLU after serving as the Executive Director of Equality Utah, that state’s lesbian and gay advocacy organization.

"Our Constitution guarantees basic fairness to all people, yet lesbian and gay couples who make lasting commitments to each other just like married couples, are denied protections for their families," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "With states racing to enact amendments that will forever ban same-sex couples from getting legal protections, it is critical to show why it’s wrong to keep people from visiting their partners in the hospital or from making emergency medical decisions, and how it hurts children to be legal strangers to their parents."

The goal of the Marriage Campaign is to step up the dialogue with the American people and show through firsthand accounts how lesbian and gay couples and their children suffer when their families are not recognized by the law. Among other public education efforts, the campaign will offer assistance to local campaigns fighting constitutional amendments that seek to ban gay people from marriage and other family protections.

"One thing I learned during Utah’s recent constitutional amendment challenge is that most people don’t realize the toll these measures take on very real Americans with very real families," said Michael Mitchell, the new Director of the ACLU’s Marriage Campaign. "When people are given the opportunity to see the chaos caused by our government’s treatment of gay families, their attitudes change. I’m eager to bring the lessons I learned here in Utah and from my colleagues around the country and focus them into an active, honest conversation with the American public."

Mitchell has served as the Executive Director of Equality Utah since 2001, when he helped to oversee the campaign to defeat Utah’s anti-gay relationship amendment. He is also on the board of the Equality Federation, a network of statewide LGBT advocacy organizations. Prior to joining Equality Utah, he worked as a senior advisor on the congressional election campaign for Donald Dunn. He also served as the Executive Director of the Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards.

"We’re at a defining moment in the civil rights struggle for gay people," said Matt Coles, Director of the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "While we have recently made several important breakthroughs, our opponents are motivated like never before. It’s time to fight back, and with Michael’s enthusiasm and leadership we hope to show America that this is simply a matter of basic fairness for all families."

To learn more about the ACLU’s efforts towards greater fairness in marriage, visit http://www.aclu.org/getequal/ffm/index.html.


Write your own law and send it to Congress

Update on "Communion Denied"

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After further investigating, it turns out that the reason the Church denied communion is because last year, some parishioners decided to make a scene and block the sash wearers from receiving communion. To avoid problems this year, the Church made the decision to ban the wearing of the sash of you wanted communion.

Keep in mind, the sash wearers are heterosexuals who take one day out of the year to show their compassion for homosexuals. The Church teaches that homosexuals are "intrinsically disordered", a definition leaning more towards hate speech than it does to the teachings of Jesus. Many of these sash wearers have a gay child and by wearing the sash, they are saying to homosexuals, "You have a friend in Church" and to the Church they are saying, "We really need to talk about human sexuality and not sweep it under the rug like some dirty little secret."

This Church in St Paul decided to take the easy way out. Instead of denying communion to the parishioners who created the scene, the anti-gay folk, they decided to punish the parishioners who wanted to show compassion for homosexuals.

In all fairness to the Catholic Church, a Church in Rochester, NY and one in Seattle both experienced similiar disturbances. The priests in those Churches made sure the sash wearers still received communion.

Communion Denied

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Yesterday, in St Paul MN, the Rev. Michael Sklucazek told his parisioners that anyone wearing a rainbow sash would be denied communion. He felt that the wearing of the rainbow sash was a political statement and contrary to Church teachings. Protests are fine, but not in the Church, he reasoned.

The story begs the question: why did the wearing of the sash for the last four years mean nothing to the Church, but now it's an issue?

Parisioners wearing the sash weren't homosexual activists. One was a nun. Another was a husband and wife and their three children. (They chose to wear a rainbow pin instead of the sash, but were still denied communion.) They all chose to wear the rainbow to show they support gay Catholics.

Yup, there's gay Catholics. And the official teaching from Rome is that homosexuals should be treated with compassion. A group called the Raibow Sash Alliance decided to wear the colors for no other reason than to let gay Catholics know they have friends in the Church.

They didn't set out to change Church policy. They didn't advocate the changing of Church teachings. They just wanted to let gay Catholics know they have friends.

The official Church lesson taught yesterday in St Paul, MN: "show compassion to homosexuals" means keep them in the closet and out of sight.

You'd think the Pope would stop the double talk and speak plainly. Remember, the Vatican describes homosexuals as "intrinsically disordered." The Pope, while a Cardinal, referred to homosexuals as "sinful deviants."

In St Paul, yesterday, the Catholic teachings spoke loudly. It's still ok to hate homosexuals.

Can You Feel the Christian Compassion?

The Illinois Family Institute. Sounds impressive, but if you notice, most gay-hate groups have impressive, positive sounding names. Hides the ugliness underneath, I reckon.

IFI's mission (from their website):

The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is an independent 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to championing and re-affirming Biblical morals and values within our rapidly changing culture. IFI works within the state of Illinois with the goal of promoting and defending Biblical truths in order to promote an environment where families can thrive and reach their full God given potential to serve and glorify Him in the opportunities afforded to us by His gift of liberty.

To accomplish this goal, IFI works to educate Christians and the general public on matters of moral concern; to initiate, promote, encourage and coordinate activity designed to safeguard and advance public morality consistent with Biblical Christianity. While we are financially independent, our efforts are reinforced by our working partnership with Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, as well as similar state-based organizations across the United States.

What they are asking Christians to do:

IFI E-Byte: Kraft Foods, Harris Bank Sponsor Chicago "Gay Games"5/11/2005 11:19:00 AM By Peter LaBarbera, Executive Director and David E. Smith, Senior Policy Anaylst

American Family Association reports that Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods--makers of popular products like Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Oreo Cookies, Maxwell House Coffee, and Ritz Crackers--has signed on as a sponsor of "Gay Games VII, a sporting event drawing homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals from all over the world, to be held July 2006 in Chicago. Harris Bank, based in Chicago, and Buca di Beppo Restaurants are also among the sponsors.

By allowing their corporate logos to be used to promote the "Gay Games," Kraft, Harris Bank and other sponsoring companies are celebrating wrong and destructive behaviors, and showing their disdain for the majority of Americans who favor traditional morality and marriage.

Here are the (non-homosexual) corporate sponsors so far for the Homosexuality "Games" to be held in Chicago next year:

Kraft Foods: 1-800-323-0768
Harris Bank (with more than 150 Illinois locations): 1-888-340-2265
Bridgeview Bank (with 15 Chicagoland locations): 1-800-794-2070
Buca di Beppo Restaurants (with 5 Chicagoland locations): (612)225-3400; famiglia@bucainc.com
Play It Again Sports (with 10 Chicagoland locations): 1-800-567-6600 (ask for Steve Murphy)
Francesca Restaurants (with 14 Chicagoland locations): (773)334-8368; info@francescarestaurants.com

IFI will keep you abreast of all the Illinois companies sponsoring this immoral event, and those that are helping to celebrate sexual misbehavior in general.

What I am asking you to do:

I love their last line, "immoral event" and "helping to celebrate sexual misbehavior." I think we should tell them that we don't support hate groups masquerading as Christian groups.

Contact them through email and tell them what you think.

Write them through snail mail at:

Illinois Family Institute
799 Roosevelt Road
Building 3 Suite 208
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

Fax your letter: (630) 790-8390

Call them toll free and tell them what you think: (800) FAMILY-1

Sounds like fun, huh?

King Tut and the Gay Agenda

Talk radio is abuzz. Internet chat rooms are in a tizzy. The conservative and Christian right stir the pot into a seething foment. After being pronounced dead and mummified over three thousand years ago, King Tut has come to life and he has a lot of people hopping mad.

"You don't believe gays are everywhere pushing their agenda?" asked Pat Robertson. "Explain how three independant teams of researchers, through MRI scanning of a mummy, came to the conclusion that King Tut was gay? MRIs of old bones can't show makeup and eye shadow, you know. It's the gays' queerification of America at play here."

Many conservative religious leaders echoed the sentiments after a picture of what researchers think King Tut looked like was released. King Tut is pictured as a small framed (5'6") boy of nineteen with a boyish, almost feminine face, pronounced overbite, weak chin, and sloping, elongated skull. His smooth, hairless skin appeared to have makeup on and his eyes appeared to sport a dab of eye shadow.


While everyone had something to say and theories to offer, the prevalent belief to emerge is that revisionist historians are portraying well known, historic figures as homosexuals. The theory goes that the more famous people who are viewed as gay, the more tolerant people will become of them. Eventually, that tolerance of gays will give way to acceptance and acceptance will give way to liking homosexuals.

"They [homosexuals] are well on their way to making people like them and before long they'll be in our schools recruiting new members. They can't procreate so they recruit," said Jerry Falwell. "We must put an end to this nonsense before we find a homosexual behind every decent American."

When a reporter asked President Bush about the King Tut controversy, he simply stated, "To each his own. It's not for me to judge. But if he tries to come to this country, first, he won't be king. There's no room for another king in this country. And second, I hope he doesn't come here hoping to get married. We just don't do that."

When the reporter started to explain that King Tut can't come to this country because he's been dead for over three thousand years, President Bush abruptly cut him off before the reporter could explain. "Look. I don't understand homosexuality, but if our immigration laws are stopping him from coming here because of it, then he can always enter the country through Mexico like everyone else."

Gay rights advocates are enraged at the controversy. "You can't look at someone and say 'They're gay.' It doesn't work that way," commented a spokesman for the National Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, and Transgendered Alliance, a national gay rights group. "Stereotypes might help make sense of the world for some people, but it won't help them understand it correctly."

When pressed further on the issue, he added, "He was a king. Don't these religious and conservative nuts know that if he were gay, he'd have been queen?"

The storm over King Tut rages on....

This is satire and purely fictional

Support the basic civil right of same-sex couples being allowed to marry? Learn how to write your own bill and submit it to Congress for their consideration.

"It's a Shame"

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Jerry Walker, a 28-year, retired Navy veteran elected to a college board won't apologize for saying "It's a shame" when he learned one of the colleges he represents has a gay-straight student union. He won't apologize to the individual for saying "That's a shame, too" when the individual stated he was gay.

Ok, maybe he wouldn't need to apologize if he were just anybody. There are rude people in the world. Liberals certainly don't have a shortage of them and neither do conservatives. But this man represents a college that celebrates diversity. His opinion represents the college in an indirect way. In his position and with his level of education and experience, you'd think he might have an inkling about decorum and diplomacy.

Apparently not. Walker doesn't like homosexuals and he's let the world know it. The college is running damage control operations, but that's it. Makes you wonder what would've happen if he said, "That's a shame" upon learning that the college had an inter-Tribal Club. No, no one can say that Walker believes Native Americans belong on a reservation the same way he believes homosexuals belong in the closet, but I'd bet a tootin' dollar that if he had said that, there would be no damage control - he's be out on his ass in the unemployment line.

Instead, the college board issued a statement saying that Walker "wasn't speaking for the board" when he made those comments.

That's it.

And that's the fashion of the day. The mainstream media wouldn't dare publish blatantly racist or sexist articles. Homophobic articles are ok. No respectable talk show host or news organization would favorably interview a racist or chauvinist, but a homophobe is granted legitimacy towards his views. No organization would tolerate racist or sexist comments in any official capacity, but homophobic views are treated as respected opinions people are entitled to hold.

One homophobic is no big deal. A system that actively or passively promotes homophobia, though, now that's a shame.

DC Tests Mass Gay Marriage Law

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A gay couple asked the DC attorney general a simple question: "Since we were legally married in Massachusetts, can we file joint District tax returns?"

The attorney general's answer was simple. "If you believe you were legally married, then you can file a joint return, but the chief financial officer has the final say."

That simple question and equally simple answer sent the conservatives in Congress scurrying for their combat gear. How dare those queers think that they could file joint returns just because one state has an unconstitutional marriage law on the books?

Sen Sam Brownback (R-Kan) drew out the big guns and aimed them straight for the mayor of DC and the chief financial officer. The not too subtle hint was allow the joint filing and watch your budget shrink to nothing.

The District is in a unique position. Congress has final say over everything District-related, including the city's budget. Residents have a voice and the mayor speaks for them and Congress hears them. When the people or mayor speak trigger words - like gay - that Congress doesn't like, the mayor and the citizens become mimes in Congress' eyes. The DC mayor and residents are amusing to watch for a little bit before they become annoying. Their lips move, but, thank God, no sound comes out.

The chief financial officer saw Congress' big guns aimed squarely on his forehead and he blinked. Showdown over. That gay couple can't file joint returns.

Whether DC residents or law says otherwise or not is unimportant.

Write Your Own Bill And Submit It To Congress!

Finally, the grand opening of my first true effort to mobilize a grass roots effort. Littleguyprotest.com encourages you to write your own legislation in support of same-sex marriage and submit it to your Representative and Senators for consideration.

For complete details, click here and follow the simple instructions.

In a nutshell, I am encouraging the repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in support of basic civil rights and encouraging the Federal Government to honor all individual state's laws regarding same-sex marriage and civil unions in support of state's rights.

If you're not the writing type, don't worry. I've provided an easy, step-by-step, copy and paste solution to make the effort as painless as possible.

By all means, if you participate, feel free to leave your comments here as to any responses you may receive.

Or any other comments or suggestions you may have.