Letter to Worldnet Daily

Since Tom Swift is trying to raise the Culture and Family Institute Hit Piece Against me again, both in comments on this blog, in sodomlist, and on Mitch Berg's comments thread. I thought I'd post my response.

Letter to Worldnet Daily

Dear WorldNetDaily:

You recently published an article that suggested that Log Cabin Republicans is involved with groups that advocate violence:

Since much of this article focused on myself, Eva Young, and an e-group that both myself and Allyson Smith (the author of the Culture and Family
Institute, source for your article) participate in, Us_Queers, I wished to respond. The US Queers Egroup can be found here. The latest active version of the egroup is available here.

I encourage your readers to check out this group for themselves. There are a variety of perspectives on that group. My participation in that group, and my work with Log Cabin Republicans are separate things.

First of all, WorldNetDaily never contacted me for comment on this article. I am on many Web forums and e-groups. This doesn't mean I agree with others on the forums. Before this, I remember debating with Allan Ross on the Queerpolitics list, and I thought he was totally looney left. On the Queerpolitics list, I condemned the sentiments expressed on the Web page quoted in the WorldNetDaily article. I was especially critical of the use of former President Ronald Reagan's name on this page. Former President Reagan was never a gay hater. In 1978, Reagan publicly opposed Proposition 6 which would have banned gay teachers in the California Schools.

I just disagreed that the UsQueers site should be forced to be taken down. I've always been strongly in favor of freedom of speech, and have always disliked hate-speech codes and that sort of thing. I also have always been a vocal opponent of hate-crimes legislation. If you review the contents of my Weblog, this should be obvious.

Look at other stuff in the Culture and Family Institute piece. They mention that I work for the University of Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Press published Judith Levine's book. Well, I don't work for the University of Minnesota Press and don't have anything to do with anything politically the university does, and don't have editorial control over what the University of Minnesota Press publishes or doesn't publish. It is a non-sequitor to say the university hired me and the University Press published Judith Levine's book - the two don't have anything to do with each other. I am employed by the University of Minnesota, but my political activities are independent of that. The piece mentions that Log Cabin Republicans should "fire" me. I am a local President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota, but this is a volunteer and not a paid position. I was elected to this position by LCR Minnesota Members at an annual membership meeting. It is up to the members of LCR Minnesota to choose the leadership for LCR Minnesota.

Also look at the end of the Allyson Smith piece on the C&F website:

Take action

Pray for Eva Young, Bruce Allan Ross, Rusty Morris, Patrick Guerrierro, and everyone associated with UsQueers.com and Log Cabin Republicans to be delivered from homosexuality. Do what you can to inform Republican Party officials about Log Cabin Republicans' radical 'gay' activist affiliations.

The piece then gives the e-mails and phone numbers of the president of the U.S., the Republican National Committee and Log Cabin Republicans.

This pretty much sums up the Culture and Family Institute agenda: to try to get gay people who are perfectly comfortable with their sexuality to change to being straight. I still do not understand why it is the Culture and Family Institute's business to decide who I fall in love with. It seems to me an issue that is my business and between me and a partner. It is also my business if I chose to remain single, or whether to get romantically involved with a woman.

As far as Gary Morella goes, I wrote him and the Penn State spokesman to ask if Morella spoke for Penn State or for himself. I also wanted to know whether the things he was saying were related to his research at Penn, or just speaking for himself as an individual. The Penn State spokesman told me Morella didn't speak for Penn State.

And let's see guess who was the source of most of this: Kirk Zimpfer of Muncie Indiana - a guy who believes sodomy ought to be punished by the death penalty, and also a guy who posted really crude sexual messages to other gay men on both the UsQueers list (the one I was criticized for participating in) and Sodomlist. If you want to see some of those messages for yourself, simply go to Sodomlist messages and
search on "homosareperverse" which is Kirk Zimpfer's pen name on that list.

Kirk claims credit for this article on the e-group rushroom by posting the CWFA story with this title line: "You're famous Eva and I'm the one that started it all."

He also claims credit for the article on sodomlist:

"Well, well, well, Sodom List's fearless leader makes national news."

"I'm taking full credit for this one, Eva. I sent out several e-mails to conservative groups and to Allyson Smith noting your involvement with UsQueers. Let's just hope that the LCR has enough common sense to remove a radical like yourself."

A number of Republican Party of Minnesota district chairs participated in the Southwest Minnesota Politics list run by Ben Thompson. Ben Thompson's
been convicted of molesting two teen-age girls. Ben Thompson also had a leadership role in one of Rep. Mark Kennedy's (R Minnesota) campaigns? Does that mean the Republican Party of Minnesota or Rep. Mark Kennedy support that criminal act? Of course it doesn't. This is the logic that the C&F folks are trying to use against me and against Log Cabin Republicans.

Eva Young
President
Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota