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Revision as of 23:59, 5 October 2012 editMrX (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers97,648 edits →Anti-gay robocalls in support of Rick Santorum: better cite title← Previous edit Revision as of 00:00, 6 October 2012 edit undoStAnselm (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers160,672 edits Reverted to revision 516226610 by MrX: No it isn't. MR makes claims about "robo-calls with MassResistance's information" and that JCT asked Camenker to be part of it. Please discuss on the talk page. (TW)Next edit →
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In January 2007, Romney's campaign issued a press release attacking Camenker for MassResistance's "Mitt Romney Deception" report.<ref name=Levenson>{{cite news | last=Levenson |first=Michael | url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:DSNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=116D9540C2F3C490&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46 | work=The Boston Globe | title=Activist rains on Romney's parade | date=January 22, 2007 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref> Romney's campaign removed the press release from its site, but MassResistance continued to display it on their own site, and they issued their own press release as well.<ref name=MR-070112>{{Cite web | url=http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/press_release_011207.html | title=Mitt Romney Campaign's press release attacking Brian Camenker | publisher=MassResistance | date=January 12, 2007 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref> Romney responded in defense of his conservative record as governor that he was "as staunch a defender as anyone in the country" of traditional marriage, and a pro-life position on stem cell research.<ref name=Leblanc/> In January 2007, Romney's campaign issued a press release attacking Camenker for MassResistance's "Mitt Romney Deception" report.<ref name=Levenson>{{cite news | last=Levenson |first=Michael | url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:DSNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=116D9540C2F3C490&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0FB3382EE6AD1E46 | work=The Boston Globe | title=Activist rains on Romney's parade | date=January 22, 2007 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref> Romney's campaign removed the press release from its site, but MassResistance continued to display it on their own site, and they issued their own press release as well.<ref name=MR-070112>{{Cite web | url=http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/romney/press_release_011207.html | title=Mitt Romney Campaign's press release attacking Brian Camenker | publisher=MassResistance | date=January 12, 2007 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref> Romney responded in defense of his conservative record as governor that he was "as staunch a defender as anyone in the country" of traditional marriage, and a pro-life position on stem cell research.<ref name=Leblanc/>

===Anti-gay robocalls in support of Rick Santorum===
In March 2012, MasssResistance and the anti-gay organization, Jews and Christians Together<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://jewsandchristianstogether.org/ | title=Dump Romney | publisher=Jews and Christians Together | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref> made a series of ] endorsing U.S. Presidential candidate ] and opposing U.S. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney for the Ohio ] Republican primary.<ref name=Strasser>{{Cite web | url=http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/03/05/438127/santorum-backers-hit-romney-with-anti-gay-robo-calls-in-ohio/ | title=Santorum Backers Hit Romney with Anti-gay Robo-calls in Ohio | late=Strasser | first=Annie-Rose | publisher=Think Progress | date=March 5, 2012 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref><ref name=MR-robo>{{Cite web | url=http://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen2/12a/romney_robo_calls/index.html | title=Massive robo-call and email blast of MassResistance material in primary election states: Millions of voters reached! | date=March 12, 2012 |accessdate=October 5, 2012 | publisher=MassResistance}}</ref><ref name="Video-robo">{{cite video | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z_Xp-6n2Yk | title=Pro-Santorum Robo-Call Urges Voters To Vote For Santorum and NOT Romney & Homosexuality | publisher=MSNBC | date=April 12, 2012 | people=Rachel Maddow}}</ref>

The robocall said:
{{cquote|
Hi, my name is Brian Camenker; I'm a Jew from Massachusetts.

And, this is Darcy Brandon; I'm a Christian from California. If you believe as we do that marriage and sexuality should only be between a man and a woman, please help us stop Mitt Romney.

As Governor, Romney signed 'Gay Youth Pride Day' proclamations, promoted homosexuality in our elementary schools, and unconstitutionally ordered state officals to make Massachusetts America's first same-sex marriage state. Romney supports open homosexuality in the military, the appointment of homosexual judges, and the ENDA law, making it illegal to fire a man who wears a dress and high heels to work, even if he's your kid's teacher. When you vote tomorrow, please vote for social sanity and Rick Santorum, NOT for homosexuality and Mitt Romney.

Rick Santorum is the ONLY candidate who can be trusted to uphold traditional marriage, a straight military, and the rights of American children to have both a mother and a father. This message paid for by Jews and Christians Together.org and not authorized by any candidate. To get the facts before you vote, visit Jews and Christians Together.org.<ref name=MMD120305>{{Cite web | url=http://www.mmdnewswire.com/ohio-robos-hit-romney-on-gay-issues-92302.html | title=Ohio Robos Hit Romney On Gay Issues | publisher=MMD Newswire |date=March 5, 2012 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref>
}}
Camenker, one of the robo-call voices, remarked in a press release that "Mitt Romney would be the most liberal Republican ever nominated for the Presidency. Romney is so far left, he spoke against the right of the Boy Scouts to screen-out homosexuals. Mitt Romney proved during the January 8 Meet the Press debate that he's still as far left on the gay agenda as always. He proudly announced, 'a member of my cabinet was gay. I appointed people to the bench regardless of their sexual orientation.' Asked when he last stood up and spoke out for increasing gay rights, Romney said 'Right now.'"<ref name=MMD120305>{{Cite web | url=http://www.mmdnewswire.com/ohio-robos-hit-romney-on-gay-issues-92302.html | title=Ohio Robos Hit Romney On Gay Issues | publisher=MMD Newswire |date=March 5, 2012 | accessdate=October 5, 2012}}</ref>


==Hate group designation== ==Hate group designation==

Revision as of 00:00, 6 October 2012

MassResistance
Founded1995 (1995)
FounderBrian Camenker
TypeNonprofit 501(c)(4)
Tax ID no. 04-3271722 (EIN)
FocusOppose LGBT rights in law and policy
Location
Key peopleBrian Camenker, President
Revenue$137,953 (2010)
Websitemassresistance.org
Formerly calledParents' Rights Coalition
Article 8 Alliance

MassResistance is a Waltham, Massachusetts anti-gay group that promotes socially conservative positions primarily on issues surrounding homosexuality, the transgender community and same-sex marriage. It was formed in 1995 as the Parents' Rights Coalition, changed its name to Article 8 Alliance in 2003, and adopted the current name in 2006.

The group has criticized former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for not opposing same-sex marriage, and says it fights against students in public schools being taught about homosexuality. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated MassResistance as an anti-gay hate group.

History

Brian Camenker, a conservative activist in Massachusetts, founded Parents' Rights Coalition in 1995. The name was changed to Article 8 Alliance in in 2003 and then to its current name, MassResistance, in 2006. The organization is based is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Camenker, a resident of Newton, Massachusetts, has also participated in local politics and was the president of the Newton Taxpayers Association. Camenker's vocal opposition to "the homosexual agenda" began in 1992, when his neighbor showed him a teaching guide that contained what he characterized as "disgusting descriptions of gay sex".

MassResistance has promoted its platform through media appearances and lobbying for laws related to parental rights in public schools. The bills that have been submitted on behalf of MassResistance in the past several years have been consistently rejected by the the Joint Judiciary Committee.

Parents' Rights Coalition opposed a Massachusetts public school teacher reading of King & King, a fairy tale in which two men are married, to kindergartners. In 2006, they alleged that the school violated a law requiring the school to inform parents of all sex-ed related material. The lawsuit has since been thrown out of Federal Court

Activities

Taping at youth conference

In 2000, members of the Parents' Rights Coalition attended a statewide conference, called "Teach-Out", that was sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, held at Tufts University.

One student asked about fisting and was provided with an explanation. MassResistance dubbed the incident "Fistgate" after one of its members "secretly recorded the workshop". A state employee who participated in the discussion filed suit against Camenker and Scott Whiteman as a result of the distribution of the tape recordings.

In October 2008, MassResistance employee Michael Olivio was arrested for disorderly conduct at a school after parents became concerned about his taking many pictures of their children. When questioned by police, he explained that he was filming footage for a documentary, but mistook an elementary school for a high school. When asked by police to leave, Olivio began to "act erratically"; he "ran through yards shedding clothing as he ran". Camenker backed up Olivio's story that he was working for the MassResistance, but went to the wrong school.

Political criticism of Mitt Romney

Camenker first voiced concerns about Mitt Romney in 1994, when Romney ran for U.S. Senate on a platform supporting gay rights and abortion rights. According to Camenker, "Romney is a RINO, a Republican in name only".

In April 2006, MassResistance pressured Romney to end a state advisory commission on gay youth. Romney instead ordered the commission to focus on suicide prevention among gay and lesbian teens.

Mitt Romney Deception report

In November 2006, Camenker released a 28-page report critical of Romney's sympathetic positions on gay rights and portraying him as a social liberal. The report focused on Romney's term as governor of Massachusetts and his peripheral involvement with social issues such as gay rights and abortion. Camenker wrote that "the biggest problem is that Romney is so clearly and blatantly faking this. He's a fraud," suggesting that Romney was merely pandering to special interests.

In January 2007, Romney's campaign issued a press release attacking Camenker for MassResistance's "Mitt Romney Deception" report. Romney's campaign removed the press release from its site, but MassResistance continued to display it on their own site, and they issued their own press release as well. Romney responded in defense of his conservative record as governor that he was "as staunch a defender as anyone in the country" of traditional marriage, and a pro-life position on stem cell research.

Hate group designation

Since March 2008, the nonprofit civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has listed MassResistance as an active anti-gay hate group. In November 2010, the SPLC stated, "Generally, the SPLC's listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods—claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities—and repeated, groundless name-calling."

In 1996 MassResistance's leader, Brian Camenker claimed that suicide prevention programs aimed at gay youth actually were “put together by homosexual activists to normalize homosexuality.” MassResistance also asserted that groups such as the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which support school anti-bullying programs, actually want to "lure children into homosexuality and, very possibly, sadomasochism".

MassResistance has also insisted that gays were "trying to get legislation passed to allow sex with animals", later adding, "They are pushing perversion on our kids."

MassResistance has made claims that no homosexuals died in the The Holocaust of World War II, that the "pink triangle the Nazis forced imprisoned gays to wear actually signified Catholic priests," and that "gays are dangerous to kids". They have also made comments regarding "skyrocketing homosexual domestic violence" and called a gay pride event a "depraved" display that featured "a great deal of obviously disturbed, dysfunctional, and extremely self-centered people whose aim was to push their agenda".

References

  1. "2010 IRS Form 990 federal tax return". Foundation Center. 2010. Retrieved October 02, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. LeBlanc, Steve (July 2, 2006). "Group wages battle against Massachusetts gay culture". Rutland Herald. Rutland, VT. Associated Press. Retrieved October 02, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Schlatter, Evelyn (2010). "18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved October 5, 2012. Generally, the SPLC's listings of these groups is based on their propagation of known falsehoods—claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities—and repeated, groundless name-calling. Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups. {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  4. "Active U.S. Hate Groups". Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  5. ^ Jacobs, Ethan (March 26, 2008). "Shocker: MassResistance Declared a Hate Group". Retrieved September 17, 2012.}
  6. MassResistance Accomplishments "Successes". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. Helman, Scott (2007-01-10). "Mass. Activists Defend Romney Conservative Record; Group Lauds Social Stances". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  8. "MassResistance". Retrieved 2008-10-31. End ... homosexual activist recruitment of our children in the public schools!
  9. Most, Doug (June 2003). "There Goes the Neighborhood". Boston Magazine. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  10. ^ Levenson, Michael (January 22, 2007). "Activist rains on Romney's parade". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  11. ^ "US Court of Appeals Opinion". January 21, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  12. "Two for one: Help stop "Safe Schools Czar" Kevin Jennings -- and get historic documentary". MassResistance. Retrieved October 2, 2012. Brian Camenker, President of Parents' Rights Coalition (now MassResistance).
  13. "Parents May Sue School Over Gay Book". he Pink News. April 25, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  14. "Firestorm over GLSEN sex education workshop worsens".
  15. "The Fistgate Report".
  16. "Critics contend safe-sex forum far too graphic". The Union-News. May 17, 2000.
  17. Greenberger, Scott (November 28, 2000). "Educator fired for sex discussion sues to reclaim job". The Boston Globe.
  18. ^ Patten, Jim (October 23, 2008). "Man snapping pictures outside school caught after foot chase". Eagle-Tribune. Andover, Massachusetts. Retrieved October 5, 2012. But Michael Olivio's employer has come forward to back up his story. Olivio, 48, works for the anti-gay rights group MassResistance.org. Brian Camenker, head of the group, said Olivio mistakenly went to West Middle School Tuesday to snap pictures instead of the high school.
  19. ^ Leblanc, Steve (January 13, 2007). "Activist slams Romney over issue record". The Republican. Springfield, MA. {{cite news}}: Text "October 5, 2007" ignored (help)
  20. "The Mitt Romney Deception". MassResistance. November 20, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  21. "Mitt Romney Campaign's press release attacking Brian Camenker". MassResistance. January 12, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  22. Ma, Ken (November 24, 2005). "College students' blackface stunt creates backlash". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, FL. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  23. Wiggins, Ovetta (April 26, 2006). "Racial Slurs Make For Ugly Commute; Vandals Deface Bowie Church, Sound Barrier". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  24. Dininny, Shannon (January 16, 2012). "Civil-rights history gets boost; Whitman College students to teach subject this week". The Seattle Times. Seattle, WA. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  25. Aiello, Dan (December 31, 2009). "Sister of prop 8 mastermind will run for sacramento superior court judge". Sacramento Examiner. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  26. Camenker, Brian. "What same-sex "marriage" has done to Massachusetts". MassResistance. Retrieved 18 September 2012.

External links

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