Marie Osmond For Marriage Equality

Mitt Romney’s Son Tagg Signed “Abortion” Clause In Surrogate Birth Contract Of His Twins

TMZ reports:

TMZ has learned Mitt Romney’s son Tagg — who had twins this year through a surrogate — signed an agreement that gave the surrogate, as well as Tagg and his wife, the right to abort the fetuses in non-life threatening situations … and Mitt Romney covered some of the expenses connected with the arrangement  … and it may boil down to an incredibly stupid mistake.

The twin boys -- David Mitt and William Ryder — were born on May 4, 2012.  We’ve learned Tagg and his wife Jen, along with the surrogate and her husband, signed aGestational Carrier Agreement dated July 28, 2011.  Paragraph 13 of the agreement reads as follows: 
    
“If in the opinion of the treating physician or her independent obstetrician there is potential physical harm to the surrogate, the decision to abort or not abort is to be made by the surrogate.”

Translation:  Tagg and Jen gave the surrogate the right to abort the fetuses even if her life wasn’t in danger.  All the surrogate has to show is “potential physical harm,” which could be something like preeclampsia — a type of high blood pressure that could damage the mother’s liver, kidney or brain, but is not necessarily life-threatening.

Paragraph 13 goes on:

“In the event the child is determined to be physiologically, genetically or chromosomally abnormal, the decision to abort or not to abort is to be made by the intended parents.  In such a case the surrogate agrees to abort, or not to abort, in accordance with the intended parents’ decision.”

And there’s another relevant provision in Paragraph 13:

“Any decision to abort because of potential harm to the child, or to reduce the number of fetuses, is to be made by the intended parents.”

Translation:  Tagg and his wife, Jen, had the right to abort the fetuses if they felt they would not be healthy.

Sources connected with Mitt Romney tell TMZ, Mitt was involved in the surrogate arrangement because he paid some of the expenses connected with the agreement.  We do not know if Mitt Romney read the contract or knew the terms.

Mitt has said, “I’m in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest and the health and life of the mother.”  Otherwise, Romney is against abortion. 

Now for the stupid mistake.  We’ve learned Tagg chose the same surrogate in 2009, who gave birth to a boy.   Attorney Bill Handel — a nationally-known expert in surrogacy law who put the deal together between Tagg and the surrogate — tells TMZ when the 2009 contract was drafted there was no Paragraph 13 providing for abortion because Tagg and his wife didn’t want it.

Handel says in 2011, when the second contract was being drafted, everyone involved “just forgot” to remove Paragraph 13.  Handel says, “No one noticed.  What can I say?”

Ann Romney Is Against LGBT Rights But Won’t Discuss Them

“Moron Of The Week” Inductee Mitt “Magic Underpants” Romney: I Will Repeal Obamacare

Moron Of The Week: Pussy-Married Mormon & Gay Torturer Josh Weed

Not sure if he’s really gay himself or not. If he’s not, he’s guilty of trying to pass as such for the only purpose to gain the trust of his victims. He’s an Ex-Gay Reparative Therapist.

He made some comments recently, which went viral on the blogosphere, stating that although he’s gay, and his wife know about it, he’s happily married and says to enjoy a really good sex life.

And if he really is gay, I only see him as worst than peeps like Tony Perkins or Bryan Fischer. At least they’re true to their bigotry.

EXPOSED: Opposite-Married Gay Mormon Is Actually An Ex-Gay Reparative Therapist

Joe.My.God. reports: 

Earlier this week much of the LGBT blogosphere and the mainstream media talked about Josh Weed, the “happily married” gay Mormon who claims while he’s completely homosexual, he has a satisfying marriage with a woman with whom he has a “robust sex life.” But as it turns out, Weed is actually an anti-gay “reparative therapist” who gets paid to torture gay men about their completely natural sexual orientation. Some of you may want to rethink the kind words you said about this motherfucker on Monday’s blog post.

This is Josh’s comments that Joe is refering to:

“Some might assume that because I’m married to a woman, I must be bisexual. This would be true if sexual orientation was defined by sexual experience. Heck, if sexual orientation were defined by sexual experience, I would be as straight as the day is long even though I’ve never been turned on by a Victoria’s Secret commercial in my entire life. Sexual orientation is defined by attraction, not by experience. In my case, I am attracted sexually to men. Period. Yet my marriage is wonderful, and Lolly and I have an extremely healthy and robust sex life. How can this be?

“The truth is, what people are really asking with the above question is ‘how can you be gay if your primary sex partner is a girl?’ I didn’t fully understand the answer to this question until I was doing research on sexuality in grad school even though I had been happily married for almost five years at that point. I knew that I was gay, and I also knew that sex with my wife was enjoyable. But I didn’t understand how that was happening. Here is the basic reality that I actually think many people could use a lesson in: sex is about more than just visual attraction and lust and it is about more than just passion and infatuation. I won’t get into the boring details of the research here, but basically when sex is done right, at its deepest level it is about intimacy.”  

 What “Moron Of The Week” Inductee Mitt Romney Could Learn About Equality From Marriott

 The Advocate reports:

Mitt Romney could learn a few things from Marriott — where he was once a member of the board.

BuzzFeed points out a new marketing campaign from the hotel chain called “Be You, With Us.” The campaign is posted at Marriott.com/Pride and is part of Pride month.

Romney has twice served as a member of the corporate board for Marriott, which is Mormon-owned. And NPR reports that hotel owners J.W. and Richard Marriott have given more than $1 million to support the Romney campaign, with much more donated to mostly Republicans in congressional races.

But the company has a long history of supporting LGBT rights that has it scoring highly on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign.

“We are proud of this campaign and of our long-standing reputation for our commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said Joanna Todd, a Marriott vice president in a statement announcing the new ad campaign. “Our core strength lies in our ability to embrace differences and make everyone feel respected and valued when they visit and stay in our hotels.”

CALIFORNIA: State’s Fair Political Practices Commission To Investigate NOM

Joe.My.God. reports:

Thank to a persistent campaign of complaints by GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, the California Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate NOM for campaign finance violations. Via press release from Fred Karger:

• In his sworn complaint of May 17th, Karger alleged that NOM did not report over $340,000 that it raised to pass Proposition 8 four years ago. California joins the state of Maine which is in its third year of its investigation of NOM, the leading anti-gay marriage organization in the country.One of the 11 missing contributions was $10,000 from presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s Alabama PAC. In addition to the Romney money there were 10 more contributions NOM did not report, including: $150,000 from Michael Casey of Jamestown, RI, $100,000 from Sean Fiedler of New York, NY and $25,000 from NOM Board member Craig Cardon of Mesa, AZ, a General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).

“Moron Of The Week” Mitt “Magic Underpants” Romney: I’m Still Completely Against Any Relationship Rights For Gays

MARYLAND: Mormons Working To Overturn Gay Marriage Bill

The Huffington Post reports:

Mormons are gathering signatures to bring a referendum on Maryland’s marriage equality law to the ballot in November, as the state’s pro-gay marriage coalition hires a new leader and a recent poll shows more support in Maryland for the law. The Washington Blade reports that Mormon Church members are actively working to overturn the law legalizing same-sex marriage that was signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley in March, making Maryland the eighth state to legalize gay marriage. Maryland’s law will go into effect in January 2013, if the state’s voters don’t repeal the law in November. The Blade published an email sent to Mormons in D.C. and southern Maryland, asking for help gathering 200,000 signatures to bring a referendum on the law to Maryland voters in November — here is an excerpt from the email:

• As you have probably heard, the Maryland legislature passed a same sex marriage bill last February. A coalition of inter-denominational churches throughout Maryland has joined together to try to get a referendum on the November ballot that would allow the residents of Maryland to vote on this bill before it becomes law. Martha Schaerr, who is a member of the LDS Church, is organizing signature collection within Montgomery County and within the LDS Church.We need to collect approximately 200,000 signatures by the end of May. We are looking for people to gather signatures within the LDS community. If you are willing to help with this important effort please contact Martha Schaerr as soon as possible at martha.schaerr@gmail.com or Teressa Wallace at wallacemail@juno.com.

Mormon Church officials told The Blade that it is not involved with the referendum effort — but The Blade finds parallels between the Maryland effort and the Church of Latter-day Saints’ efforts in California:

• Dale Jones, an LDS spokesperson, said the church has no direct involvement in the effort to overturn the marriage law in Maryland.“While the Church’s position in support of traditional marriage is well established, the effort in Maryland is not being organized through the Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City,” Jones said. “Members, of course, will make their own decisions regarding their involvement in local issues.”But the message recalls the Mormon Church’s lead role in passage of Proposition 8 in California in 2008. The First Presidency of the Church, or its governing body, publicly backed the initiative and reportedly encouraged members during church services to take an active role in contributing money and get-out-the-vote efforts to support the ban’s passage. 

Meanwhile Marylanders for Marriage Equality, a coalition that helped pass and is now working to uphold Maryland’s gay marriage law,appointed a new campaign manager on Wednesday — The Baltimore Sunfinds the hiring to be evidence that opponents of the law are very likely to collect the required 55,736 valid signatures needed to put the measure on the November ballot. Josh Levin, a veteran political strategist is taking the job as the most recent poll numbers show growing support for the law among Maryland voters, according to The Sun:

• The announcement of the appointment came as same-sex marriage proponents were touting the results of a poll by Hart Research suggesting that Maryland voters favor the new law by 51 percent to 43 perecent. That is a wider margin than suggested in most previous polls.

The Washington Post’s latest poll reporting, at the end of March, showed Maryland voters nearly split, with opponents feeling more strongly opposed to same-sex marriage than supporters feel in favor.

“Moron Of The Week” Inductee Mitt “Magic Underpants” Romney Is A NOM’s Donor

The Advocate reports:

Mitt Romney has not only signed a pledge from the National Organization for marriage to fight for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, he’s also given money to the antigay group’s efforts, according to a document circulated by the Human Rights Campaign.

HRC posted a copy of a Federal Election Commission filing from the Alabama-based Free and Strong America PAC, run by the Romney presidential campaign in 2008. It shows a $10,000 donation to NOM that could be the very same contribution that a campaign spokesman once bragged would help fund the Proposition 8 battle that was happening at the time. 

The Huffington Post  reports that Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told Salt Lake City’sDeseret News in October 2008, “The governor feels strongly that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman, and one of the most high-profile fights on this subject is happening in California.” He revealed that Romney had made a $10,000 donation, but until now there hasn’t been any docmentation to confirm it — that is, if it’s the same donation. 

As a donor and presumably a member of NOM, since a portion of all donations automatically goes toward membership dues, it’s possible that the Romney campaign saw the “confidential” memo in which NOM outlines its strategy to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies.” 

HRC and others are calling on Romney to denounce NOM. But as a 2012 candidate he’s signed a pledge from the group that commits him to its ideals, including a ban on marriage equality via an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, an effort to repeal marriage equality in Washington, D.C., and the formation of a presidential commission to investigate NOM’s opponents. 

“The evidence continues to pile up and is painting a very clear picture of Mitt Romney’s anti-LGBT associations,” the HRC said in announcing the document. “A candidate can’t claim to be ‘better for gay rights than [Ted] Kennedy’ when it’s convenient, but then fund a far-right anti-LGBT strategy to keep other interest groups happy.”

Spread The Word: All Dead Mormons Are Now Gay

Like Bill Maher says, if they get to do stupid rituals, why can’t we, too? 

“Moron Of The Week” Inductee Mitt “Magic Underpants” Romney On Marriage At CPAC

Dan Savage To Utah’s Pornphobe Bigots: All Men Watch Porn*

Via Dan’s Slog:

But not all men murder their wives and children.
* Some men claim they don’t watch porn. No one believes them.
UPDATE: Sorry, I just have to throw in a quote from this absolutely idiotic story out of Utah—the state with the highest per-capita porn consumption rates in the nation—that argues that WATCHING PORN WILL KILL YOUR BRAIN AND THEN YOU WILL KILL YOUR CHILDREN:

• In the wake of Josh Powell’s actions that killed his sons and himself Sunday, KSL has heard from many viewers asking, “How does a person do this?” “Are there warning signs?” … Julie Hanks, a licensed clinical social worker, said, “The fact that he murdered his own sons shows that he did not regard them as real people. I think he did see them as possessions.” What causes a person to disconnect? Pornography allegedly played a role in the Powell family. Josh’s father, Steven Powell, is in jail facing child pornography charges, and it has been alleged that Josh had images on his computer.
• Susanne Gustin, a criminal defense attorney, said, “It seems to me that it was adult pornography, but it was probably pretty hard core. That raised some concerns in the investigators’ minds and in the judge’s mind.” Pornography alone can be harmful, but coupled with severe personality disorders it can lead to destruction. Another licensed clinical social worker and therapist, John Murdock, said, “Pornography, in particular, is going to shut down your frontal lobes, and that’s where you are going to do your reasoning, your emotional regulation and your judgment, things of that nature. It’s like being in a car with no brakes.”

This is completely insane—sexphobic, pornphobic hysteria of the latter-day order.
How many men have murdered their children in Utah this week? Utah, again, has the highest porn consumption rates per capita in the whole freaking nation. If viewing pornography “shut down [the] frontal lobes” and that lead men to kill their children—if porn consumption was one of the “warning signs” that you may be married to a Josh Powell—it’s a miracle that children make it out of Utah alive.
Most men watch porn. Most men watch hardcore porn. Most men don’t kill their children.
Fucking nutjobs.

“Moron Of The Week” Inductee Mitt “Magic Underpants” Romney Slams Prop 8 Veredict

Think Progress reports:

In 1994, Mitt Romney called for “full equality” for LGBT Americans, but this afternoon his presidential condemned the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling against Proposition 8. “Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage. This decision does not end this fight, and I expect it to go to the Supreme Court,” Romney said. “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices.” As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent asks, “That note about judges who interpret the Constitution according to their own “prejudices” — is that a reference to the fact that the judge on the case was gay, which was cited by Prop 8 supporters as proof of his bias? Naah, probably not. A major party presidential candidate would never go there.” For more on Romney’s devolution on LGBT equality, click here.