1. MassResistance working with Orthodox Jewish groups in New Jersey to stop pro-homosexual "anti-bullying" bill signed by GOP Governor.

On January 5 "conservative" New Jersey GOP Governor Chris Christie shocked the pro-family movement by signing a far-reaching pro-homosexual public school "anti-bullying" bill despite passionate objections from parents and religious leaders.

Over the last several weeks, MassResistance has been working with Rabbi Noson Leiter of Garden State Parents for Moral Values, which has has been coordinating an effort across New Jersey to confront this.

MassResistance was contacted by Leiter's group for help after the anti-bullying bill, Bill S2392, was passed by the New Jersey Legislature and went to Governor Christie's desk. Rabbi Noson's group has been using space on the MassResistance website for their press releases and announcements. We also worked with them on media promotion and strategy.

The new New Jersey anti-bullying law is touted by its supporters as the "toughest of its kind in the nation." It was largely written -- and tirelessly lobbied for -- by New Jersey Equality, the state's major homosexual lobbying group. Similar to the recent Massachusetts anti-bullying law, the supporters used recent teen suicides as a springboard to intimidate lawmakers into rushing it through the legislature without much challenge, using hysterical news coverage by a compliant mainstream press. And in the end, it got passed easily and signed by a so-called "conservative" GOP governor.

Lifesite News: "New Jersey Lawmakers whisk through far-reaching 'gay bullying' legislation."

ABC News: "Gov. Christie signs anti-bullying bill"

Pro-family groups outraged

Despite discussions with the Governor's staff about the dangers of this bill to religious freedom, the Governor decided not to go against the wave of hysteria or offend the homosexual lobby, and signed the bill.  Pro-family groups are outraged, and have been very direct in their criticism.

As Rabbi Leiter's Januray 11 press release described the bill:

S2392 establishes state-sponsored LGBT -indoctrination of public school children. The new educational requirement (section 26, referring back to an LGBT provision in the cross-reference) would expand pre-existing law, and thereby mandate teaching the acceptance and respect of sinful homosexual conduct, in K- 12. It subjects children, teachers, and staff to radical LGBT ideology . . . Thereby, the law threatens the religious liberties, as well as the parental and educational rights, of Bible believers within the public school system.

Members of Rabbi Noson's group outside of NJ State House during "gay marriage" debate.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin of the Rabbinical Alliance of America (which includes Orthodox rabbis across New Jersey) said:

This bill, written by LGBT radicals, is not truly about protecting children from bullying or anything else. It's about advancing the LGBT agenda in schools -- K-12.

Rabbi Levin outside of state capitol.

See Rabbi Levin's January 5 press release HERE


Greg Quinlan, an ex-gay, of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, released the following statement when was signed:

Governor Chris Christie has signed the "Anti-Bullying Bill Rights." This legislation is very bad. It really is the LGBTIQ indoctrination and protection act.

It will not stop a single act of bullying nor would it have prevented the tragic suicide of Rutgers's' University student Tyler Clementi.

In a rapid two weeks this bill was introduced, heard in committees of both chambers and then passed by both houses. The governor waited 45 days and then signed the bill. 80% of the legislation is an unfunded mandate. The rest is nothing more than protection for sexual deviance. However obesity, ectomorphism (very skinny), etc., is not covered. The governor was presented with many legal opinions that demonstrated the unconstitutionality of the bill in both US and NJ constitutions respectively.

This legislation is been touted as a model for legislation in other states.

And the pro-family movement in New Jersey isn't giving up. They are continuing to join with other conservative and religious groups and are publicizing the dangers of the bill as much as possible. And MassResistance is continuing to help them any way we can. We'll keep you informed on this.

2. Pravda USA: Vicious campaign continues in Springfield against pro-family pastor Scott Lively and his Bible-centered coffee house.

NOTE: We are continuing to cover this story. A terrible injustice is being done to Scott Lively, a respected pro-family pastor, attorney, writer, and activist who gave up his law career to set up a Christian mission in the most horrible, drug-infested neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts. Scott Lively has broken no laws. On the contrary, he is trying to help by bringing down-and-out people to God. But the political and media establishment in that run-down city is so obsessively hostile to traditional values and morality that they are determined to humiliate him, marginalize him, and drive him out. Just as important, this is a prelude of will happen to the rest of us before too long.

Media erupts after police arrest "unregistered sex offender" in coffee house

Just days after the first salvo in the media against Scott Lively, Springfield Police burst into the coffee house and arrested a volunteer manager and coffee server,  charged him with being an unregistered sex offender (though he HAD in fact registered), and immediately threw him in jail.

The media was quickly notified, and another series of articles about the "controversial anti-gay pastor" were published.

Attempt to generate hysteria over inner-city Christian mission

The Springfield Police Department (which has a "gay and lesbian" employee group) had apparently been working overtime to investigate the coffee house, and they acted swiftly.

But it turns out that Michael Frediani, also known as Michael Free, actually had registered properly and legally. He had only committed a minor technicality which in no way deserved the aggressive police action and jail situation. The judge let him go almost immediately.

But there's a larger point here. The very reason that Scott Lively set up his Christian coffee house in that horrible neighborhood (instead of, say, in Wellesley) was to attract people like Michael Free, who might have criminal pasts or whatever, and bring them closer to God. And by doing that the entire neighborhood and city is improved. That's his mission. That part of town is certainly full of people like Michael Free. Scott Lively's coffee house is the last place the police should be "investigating." They should be praising him.
 

Scott Lively (left) with Pastor C. S. Cooley, a Board member of the coffee house, at an evening event in the coffee house last summer. [MassResistance photo]

And interestingly, the coffee house does not attempt to attract kids (as the homosexual groups do). However, if a few do come in and play the guitar, etc. (as they said they do) since it's monitored by at least two adult staff members, it's clearly better than any other place in that area of town for kids to be.

Here is Scott Lively's statement on the Michael Frediani situation:

Michael is a genuine born-again Christian who is one of the most spiritual, Jesus-centered men I have ever met. I "hired" him to be our volunteer coffee house manager and he served in that role for about a month. He unfortunately did not disclose the specific nature of his past, though he said it was very rough and he had served time in prison. The newspaper made it seem as though he was in hiding or something, but he had been registered as a sex offender at his prior residence and had filled out the paperwork to transfer his case to Springfield (they moved just two weeks ago). When his lawyer produced that paperwork in court the judge released him on his own recognizance, though he was still technically in violation of the registration law because he did not make a personal appearance at the Springfield PD after he moved. He resigned the next day and we accepted it though the entire board stands behind his claim to be a changed man and we do not believe he is a threat to anyone.

It has been 15 years since his conviction and he is now married to a very supportive wife who is due to have their second baby in about five weeks.

His job with us was really not much different than a barista at Starbucks, except that he prayed with people. He had no contact with children, except for some high-school students who always came in packs and there is almost always a steady stream of patrons through our door, and other volunteer staff there as well. Our policy is to always have two people on staff when possible.

Singled out by authorities for harassment

The nearby high school has an enormous truancy rate -- over 25% by some estimates. On any given school day there are large numbers of kids all over the area, in stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and in the streets. But according to investigations by Lively and others in the neighborhood, Lively's coffee house is the ONLY business that's ever been descended upon by school officials and police in this manner to deal with truants. It's unquestionably because of his views on morality.

Absurd, slanted press coverage

Scott Lively is a man who has devoted his adult life to telling the truth and doing good works. But here's how the local newspaper, the left-wing Springfield Republican, covered it. They attempted to portray him in the worst possible light, filter his rebuttal through their own prism, and, of course, got the main facts wrong. (Notice there was no article about the false charges of being "unregistered".)

MassResistance report  of original Boston Globe and Springfield Republican articles.

Here are the Springfield Republican articles on the incident. Note the inflammatory headlines:

January 7: "Springfield officials worry Holy Grounds coffee shop run by anti-gay pastor Scott Lively attracts truants"
The original article, Jan. 7

January 10: "Controversial pastor Scott Lively says students no longer can visit Holy Grounds Coffee House in Springfield during school hours"
Pressure by city officials, Lively agreed to this. But it begs the question, in that neighborhood, where would they rather kids go?

January 13: "Police arrest manager of Holy Grounds Coffee House -- operated by anti-gay pastor Scott Lively -- as unregistered sex offender"
Presented in a pretty hysterical manner. They print cherry-picked quotes from a general interview with Frediani such as: "I talk to all the kids,"  "We have a place that is safe." "The presence of God is here right now."  "I invite God to touch them and he does."
You can bet that if it were a homosexual-oriented venue, the article would be entirely different - if it appeared at all.

January 13: "Pastor Scott Lively of Holy Grounds Coffee House says he did not know his manager is a convicted sex offender"
Followup later that day. More of the same.

January 13: "Interview: Controversial pastor Scott Lively responds to learning his Holy Grounds Coffee House employee was sex offender"
Additional followup Jan. 13. This absurd article includes "direct quotes in quote marks and some paraphrased quotes by Lively, who has generated controversy for his anti-gay statements." It's basically just rambling notes a reporter wrote down while talking to Lively, presented in a semi-comprehensible way.

Anyone who's been to Scott Lively's Holy Grounds coffee house (as we have) can attest that it is a truly Godly place. It is an oasis in a spiritual desert and dangerous neighborhood. Scott's coffee house is the only place there where anyone would want kids to hang out.
 

And of course, the homosexual newspaper Bay Windows had a front-page article on all this, which quoted Springfield City Councilor Timothy Rooke (see #3 below).

3. Springfield City Councilor calls Scott Lively an anti-Semite in TV interview! Says he must be kept from "vulnerable" kids!

The homosexual activists and their friends in high places are relentless about destroying those who disagree with them.

Springfield City Councilor Tim Rooke intensified his attacks on Rev. Scott Lively last week with a libelous outburst on the local Fox TV station WGGB. Rook has been the public face of Springfield's political establishment, attempting to slander and marginalize Lively since the original Springfield Republican article on January 7.

Most of Rooke's attacks have been prompted by Rev. Lively's opposition to the homosexual agenda targeting children -- which Rooke apparently feels is a good influence for kids rather than destructive.

But now he is making the absurd and libelous charge that Lively is anti-Semitic. It's an unbelievably sleazy thing for an elected official to say.

Rooke told the Fox TV station:

"I don't think we need anybody exposing any anti-gay messages or anti-Semitic messages to students who may or may not agree with him."

"My concern was are they interacting with a gentleman who has a very different viewpoint I think than most of the people in Springfield."

"They're at a vulnerable age, and some of the students that were going into the coffee shop who are gay weren't aware of his past. So the benefit is that at least now they have become a little more educated. "

This is particularly ironic -- and outrageous -- because Lively's famous book, The Pink Swastika, is just the opposite of anything anti-Semitic and was co-authored by an Orthodox Jew. It is a disgusting way for any politician to behave.

In the same TV piece, they use clips obviously given to them by homosexual activists and tell the views:

"He [Lively] also spoke to the [Uganda's] Parliament which later passed a law making it a crime to be gay."

That's a blatantly false statement. The bill was never passed. And it did not make it a crime to "be gay". It made it a crime to commit certain homosexual-related crimes of assault or coercion on minors.

Lively has said that he has no intention of suing Rooke for his obviously actionable libel, and has attempted to talk with him about it. He's finally gotten an appointment, and the two are scheduled to meet on Monday. (Interestingly, the Superintendent of Schools told Lively that his schedule "has no openings for several weeks.")
 

Had enough of these kind of politicians fighting against you and your children?
You can contact Timothy Rooke HERE.

We've noticed that many Fox local stations around the country are actually more aggressively pro-homosexual than their "liberal" local competitors. This is obviously no exception.

Pro-gay Springfield City Counsilor Timothy Rooke wants to make sure nobody gives any kids in schools a different opinion.

4. Fighting back: Scott Lively's hard-hitting letter of rebuttal published in Boston Globe.

Scott Lively is fighting back.

To their credit, after their outrageous article, the Boston Globe was willing to let Scott Lively publish a letter in rebuttal. (He had wanted to write an op-ed column, but they turned that down.) The letters editor even worked with him on it to make it as good as possible.  It doesn't undo the damage , but it's something.

Here's the letter that the Globe published:

Letter to the Editor
January 15, 2011
(See letter on Globe's website)

RE “SHIFT in mission for religious firebrand: Antigay pastor refocuses on aiding Springfield’’ (Page A1, Jan. 5): It isn’t fair of the Globe to limit my rebuttal to about 250 words after attacking me on the front page, but here goes.

First, the Globe is taking sides to call me “antigay’’ if it defines “gay’’ as an unchangeable state of being. The pro-family side defines homosexuality as a form of voluntary conduct that violates God’s design for sex and family. We are against behavior, not people.

Second, I have never advocated or condoned violence against others, either in Uganda or any of the other 30 countries in which I have lectured. The deviously edited videos and print articles produced by my pro-“gay’’ enemies in the media do not accurately represent my views.

Third, neither I nor my Orthodox Jewish co-author of “The Pink Swastika’’ are Holocaust deniers. That reference was removed by its author from a blog months ago under threat of a lawsuit, a fact I would have shared with the reporter had he asked during our two hours of interviews. By the way, our book boasts quotations from dozens of mainstream historians and scholars.

Finally, these accusations are not new. I have prepared thorough responses to each at my group’s website, www.defendthefamily.com. I’m also willing to debate these issues in any neutral venue where I can explain pro-family reasoning directly to the audience without the filter of hostile journalists.

Scott Lively
President
Abiding Truth Ministries
Springfield

5. Transgender agenda in Cambridge -- politicians working with activists to require "gender neutral" restrooms in all public buildings!

While the Transgender Rights and Hate Crimes Bill percolates in the State House, the battle takes on another front. The Boston Herald has reported that the City of Cambridge is working on a plan to require "gender neutral" bathrooms in all city buildings, restaurants and bars and other public-use buildings.

The "transgender lobby" appears to be the force behind this. As the Herald quoted  in their article:

"A bunch of people feel uncomfortable going to a men's or a women's room," said John Gintell, co-chairman of Cambridge's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Commission, and a key advocate of the city's push for restrooms that are open to people of all genders.

But, he added, "transgendered people wouldn't be the only clients" of the gender-free restrooms.

Other users could be elderly people who rely on opposite gender aides and parents of young children who need assistance.

. . .  Earlier this week, by a nearly unanimous vote, the council instructed the city manager to explore the possibility of requiring gender-neutral bathrooms with members of the city's GLBT commission.
. . . If the new research takes root, the city could require city buildings, restaurants and bars and public-use buildings to have gender-neutral single- or multiuser bathrooms.

Supporters say that simply switching signs on the front of restroom doors could make life safer for transgendered people who are now forced to decide between men's and women's lavs.

This is a classic example of how the homosexual movement operates. They work tirelessly to change the laws to force all of society to accommodate and accept their agenda, no matter what the consequences or cost.

Conspicuously ignored, of course, it the fact that the liberal mental health community officially considers transgenderism - known scientifically as "gender identity disorder" - as a disorder requiring treatment, not accommodation by society.

Although Cambridge is considered a fringe liberal area, this is a warning of things to come unless people are vigilant. We are waiting to see the new "Transgender rights and hate crimes" bill that the homosexual lobby has likely filed again this year in the Legislature. We'll keep you informed on developments.
 

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