Today in Disgusting People

There are a lot of disgusting people rearing their ugly heads this week -- it seems like more so than usual -- but today we have a double whammy.

First is the World Congress of Families, a group that was formed to "protect" "traditional family values." From its website (no, I'm not going to link. I don't link to hate groups.):

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the ‘seedbed’ of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).

What that actually means in practice is noted on their agenda for a meeting in Washington, D.C.:

While the current U.S. administration persists in its efforts to redefine marriage and family, other nations are seeking a reaffirmation of the natural family. Australia has just elected a conservative government and given the largest budget area to Kevin Andrews, long-time defender of the family and World Congress of Families supporter; Russia recently banned the propaganda of “nontraditional sexual relations” to minors; and across Europe and Africa, nations are concerned with life issues, shrinking populations, and the disintegration of the natural family. Here in America, what can our pro-family legislators learn—positively and negatively—by studying our colleagues’ actions abroad?

In other words, how to import the worst aspects of discrimination in Russia and Uganda to the US. I'm not even going to ask what equal rights for LGBTs have to do with "shrinking populations" -- which I don't think are a real problem in Africa. (Oh, wait -- I think that translates as "shrinking white, "Christian," conservative populations.")

Right Wing Watch has a post listing some of those "pro-family leaders and organizations," which include not only Brian Brown of NOM, Tom Minnery of Focus on the Family, and Alliance Defending Freedom, but Austin Ruse and Janet Shaw Crouse, not noted for their gay-friendliness. Right Wing Watch has a series of posts on their "allies" and their activities.

Well, they scheduled that meeting in Washington, and got the use of a meeting room in the Senate office building, courtesy of Mark Kirk (R-IL). Then Kirk's office did some research and found out who they are, and withdrew Kirk's sponsorship. According to Kirk's office, “Sen. Kirk doesn’t affiliate with groups that discriminate.”

(A note on Kirk: he's one of my senators, and started off on the wrong foot -- I was getting -emails about the deficit and cutting spending with all the teabagger talking points. I think his stroke woke him up -- he's turned into a real Illinois Republican, supporting ENDA, the equal marriage bill in Illinois, and the like.)

Well, John Boehner (R-Desperation) to the rescue:

“One of the duties of the Speaker’s office is scheduling rooms throughout the Capitol complex, and we routinely provide a forum for discussion of public policy issues from across the political spectrum, including for liberal causes,” Boehner’s spokesperson said, according to Buzzfeed. “This administrative task obviously does not imply endorsement of any particular point of view.”

Of course, this is Republican John Boehner, who this week already blew off teenaged girls wanting to talk with him about immigration reform, and who said that he sees “no basis or no need” for protecting LGBT workers, calling ENDA “unnecessary.”

See? You get a twofer.