Welcome

"This incident exposes the seamy relationship between homosexual activists, government, and big business. For example, activist groups have persuaded some liberal jurisdictions to adopt 'equal benefits ordinances,' forcing corporations to offer 'domestic partner benefits' to homosexuals or forfeit government contracts. They then tout those benefits policies to bring pressure on other companies--never mentioning the policies were only adopted because of such 'pay-to-play' demands. After using government to pressure business, the activist groups may have used business to put pressure on the law this spring when it was rumored that Coca-Cola pressured law firm King & Spalding to drop the Defense of Marriage case--an action widely criticized in the legal community. But GLAAD crossed the line--even with their supporters--in accepting a corporate payoff in exchange for their own effort to pressure government regulators. Corporations would be on safer ground if they would steer clear of groups like GLAAD and simply remain neutral in the culture wars." - Tony Perkins, president of the SPLC-certified hate group, the Family Research Council.

The controversy that prompted the resignation of GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios has widened to include the departures of six members of the group's board of directors. Politico reports:

Six board members of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have resigned amid the fallout over the organization's letter in support of AT&T’s proposed bid for wireless rival T-Mobile, a person familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Some board members were said to have resigned because of concerns that GLAAD failed to adhere to its conflict of interest standards and to protest GLAAD's failure to protect its president, Jarrett Barrios, who submitted his letter of resignation to the group Saturday amid a growing backlash in the gay blogosphere over the group's AT&T stance. Barrios had signed the letter GLAAD sent to the FCC in support of the wireless mega-deal.

After enduring weeks of criticism over a letter sent to the FCC supporting the merger of AT&T and TMobile, GLAAD head Jarrett Barrios has resigned. Those critical of the letter pointed out that AT&T is one of GLAAD's biggest annual donors. Other recipients of AT&T donations such as the NAACP and the NEA have issued similar letters.

"If Tracy Morgan is truly sorry for what he has done, then he should make the effort to learn the damage that is caused by homophobic parents and help to educate others about the terrible harm caused by parental rejection. He heard the crowd cheering him on. What if one of them has an LGBT child? I would advocate that his employer, NBC, join in this effort. Their power to reach millions is obvious. There is no more valuable effort that can be done for LGBT youth than to work to help them be loved and protected in their own homes." - Ali Forney Center executive director Carl Siciliano, writing for the Huffington Post.

RELATED: Morgan has agreed to meet with Siciliano and GLAAD.

During a call with GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios and members of GLAAD’s staff today, Morgan committed to meet this week in New York City with LGBT youth from the Ali Forney Center who have been hurt or left homeless by parental rejection as well as family members who have lost children to anti-gay violence. Those he will meet include Elke Kennedy, the founder of Sean’s Last Wish. Elke’s son Sean was killed by anti-gay violence in 2007 at the age of 20 in South Carolina, when another man called him a f*ggot and punched him so hard it broke his facial bones and separated his brain from his brain stem. Since that day, Elke has traveled more than 140,000 miles to speak in states across the country about hate violence and bullying. Morgan also committed to participate in GLAAD’s upcoming ‘Amplify Your Voice’ PSA campaign to combat anti-LGBT bullying.

GLAAD tweeted back: "Language about stabbing kids for being gay isn't 'foul.' It's dangerous."

UPDATE: Morgan has apologized via this brief statement:

“I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”

GLAAD:

"Tracy Morgan's management needs to investigate these allegations and should they prove true, we call on him to remove these violently anti-gay remarks from his show and send a strong message that anti-gay violence is not something to joke about," said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. GLAAD is working to confirm the story with Morgan’s management and hopes to have more details today.

Human Rights Campaign:

“Hateful remarks that mock youth suicides and the very real emotional and sometimes physical bullying LGBT kids face on a daily basis have no place in a comedy routine,” said HRC Vice President of Communications, Fred Sainz. “I’m shocked that Tracy Morgan would find humor in so viciously attacking our youth. If these allegations are true, Tracy Morgan must immediately accept responsibility and apologize. His employer, NBC Universal, also must come forward and condemn these atrocious comments.”

GOProud has planted an anti-JMG story on the wingnut site Daily Caller, whose dumb bunny writer manages to spell my name two different ways in consecutive sentences. I'll totally cop to calling GOProud "kapos and Quislings," cuz ya know, they totally are. But Daily Caller also quotes Chris Barron as saying that I regularly post misogynistic comments. (No citation of that bullshit is offered in the article, of course.) This, from the guy who regularly tweets fat jokes about Meghan McCain and who only yesterday said that Rachel Maddow "looks like a dude."

"As many of you know, I played a gay man on a popular television show..."

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios: "Following outrage from community members and allies, Blake Shelton took the right step in speaking out against anti-gay violence and sending an important message to his fans and viewers of The Voice." RELATED: Shelton's original tweet and GLAAD's demand for an apology are here.

Last week American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer appeared on a Houston Fox affiliate to declare that viewing Glee will turn kids gay and eventually give them AIDS. That prompted GLAAD to launch a campaign calling on the Fox station to apologize for hosting the hate group spokesman. But no dice.

Bryan Fischer is an extremist with no qualifications to offer the discussion apart from his bigotry. This a man whose disdain for diversity is evident in his track record of making statements such as calling Muslim student associations "parasites" and a "toxic cancer." FOX Houston gave Fischer a platform in the nation's fourth largest city, and one of its top ten media markets, to broadcast his anti-gay rhetoric. And rather than challenge him, the host, Damali Keith, contributed her own uninformed and anti-gay commentary. After receiving complaints about this FOX Houston program, GLAAD contacted the station to demand that they issue an apology. Broadcasting anti-gay speech is dangerously irresponsible, and the station must be accountable. In conversations with GLAAD, a representative of the station implied that an apology was in order and should be expected. However, no apology has been issued, and in an abrupt reversal, representatives of the station now maintain that they stand behind this content.

Yesterday Fischer responded to the furor.

GLAAD, which stands for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has taken umbrage with me for saying on Fox that homosexual behavior "is conduct that bears enormous psychological and physical risk to those that engage in it" and "is just as risky and just as dangerous as injection drug use." GLAAD put almost immediate pressure on the Fox affiliate to apologize for giving me any air time at all, being the fans they are of the First Amendment and all, and according to GLAAD, Fox at first said they would. But subsequently, the Fox station has had an apparent change of heart and has yet to issue the promised apology. Perhaps it’s because Fox did some research and found out I was telling the truth.

Fischer headlined his post, "GLAAD Hates The First Amendment."