National Geographic

Clip description: "Continuing to make amends for anti-gay comments he made, comedian Tracy Morgan met with LGBT teens in New York. Randi Kaye talks with Jayden Love (homeless teen), Carl Siciliano (The Ali Forney Center) & Elke Kennedy (Sean's Last Wish)."

ABOVE: "Tracy Morgan listens to Jayden Love, an Ali Forney Center client rejected by her religious family." I can't imagine a more effective remedy for Morgan than meeting the kids of the AFC.

Compiled by Right Wing Watch.

"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.

"I am disgusted and appalled by Tracy Morgan's homophobic rant. The devastating repercussions of hate-filled language manifest in very real ways for today's LGBTQ youth. I've known Tracy for two years, spent many long hours with him on set, and I want to believe that this behavior is not at the core of who he is. I'm incredibly disappointed by his actions, and hope that his apology is sincere." -Openly gay 30 Rock cast member Cheyenne Jackson.

"The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community. It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket." - Tina Fey, in a statement released to TMZ.

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.”

Blabbeando blogger Andres Duque has transcribed NY Sen. Ruben Diaz' appearance on Pura Politica, some of which I excerpted here yesterday. In the below clip, host Juan Manuel Benitez plays a 2009 interview segment in which Diaz compares being gay to having sex with animals, a position Diaz then defends. Start at around 6:00.

Igor Volsky at Think Progress reports the words of Rev. Ariel Torres Ortega of Radio Visión Cristiana, who spoke at Sen. Ruben Diaz' hate rally in the Bronx yesterday. Ortega's speech was being translated into English from the podium, hence the odd wording below.

"Committing sexual acts between man and man. And receiving the retribution of the things that they have done from straying away. And because they did not take God in count. God gave them over to reprimand their mind to do things that are not right, being against all justice, fornication, perversity, aberrations, malignity…those who practice such things are worthy to death, not only do they do it, but those who also practice it. God bless this earth. That is the word of God."

Pastor James White of Arizona's Alpha & Omega Ministries has posted a vicious response attacking Minnesota state Rep. Steve Simon, who last week asked "How many more gay people does God have to create before we accept that he wants them around?" White says that gay people will stop at nothing to get at the defenseless children of Christians. You'll have enough of his hate after just a few minutes on this lengthy clip.

The UK Guardian reports:

As the video shows, the rhetoric of the protesters became increasingly venomous toward the families and children who came to attend the ICNA Relief fundraising dinner. Protesters shouted invective statements such as "Go home terrorist," "Muhammad is a pervert, Muhammad is a child molester," "Go home and beat your wife, she needs a good beating," at the event-goers.

A local city councilwoman spoke to the protesters: "I know quite a few Marines who would be very happy to help these terrorists to an early meeting in paradise."

(Tipped by JMG reader Russ)

"The purpose is not just to prevent Massachusetts people coming down. It's also to put a big letter of shame on the behavior. We don't want them here. We don't want them marrying. If you're going to do it in San Francisco, it's your own business. Bet it will pass with over 60 percent. The public in my opinion knows the difference between perversity and diversity." - Mecklinburg County Commissioner Bill James, predicting easy passage of North Carolina's pending constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

James has a long track record of outrageously homophobic statements, including his regularly-spouted claim that gays are "sexual predators" who are "7 to 11 times more likely to molest children." In December 2009 he mocked the AIDS-related death of a fellow legislator's child, saying to her, "You son was a HOMO? Really?" You can contact him here.

Same-sex marriage has long been banned in North Carolina by state statute, but a constitutional amendment has been swatted down for almost a decade by a Democrat majority legislature. Last year the GOP swept into power in both state chambers.

In a joint move with the National Hispanic Coalition, GLAAD announced today that it is filing an FCC complaint against the Spanish-language show, Jose Luis sin Censura, which routinely features anti-LGBT hate speech and has encouraged audience members to attack gay guests on the program.

In over twenty episodes that aired between June 18 and December 7, 2010, the program contained images and language of the nature that is never displayed or is bleeped out of pre-taped English-language programs of the same nature, including the words "pinche" ("f*cking" in English) and "culero" ("assf*cker"), anti-gay language, including epithets such as ""maricón," "joto" and "puñal" (or "f*ggot"), and anti-Latino slurs, such as "mojado" ("wetback"). The program frequently featured blatant nudity and female guests have been shown in violent fights. Hypersexualized images of women's breasts and genitals while stripping for male guests and audience members also make up routine offerings. Guests and audience members were often incited to engage in verbal and even physical attacks, especially against people perceived to be LGBT. Many episodes showed the audience standing and shouting anti-gay epithets and profanity at guests.

An online public petition to the FCC has also been launched. The below clip is very NSFW.

An anti-gay Islamist group is accused of peppering East London with stickers declaring the area to be a "gay-free zone." The stickers include the warning: "Fear Allah."

Pictures of the stickers were sent in by a local resident, who said he tried to remove them. He told PinkNews.co.uk: “Tower Hamlets council won praise from Stonewall for its LGBT friendliness, but these stickers are a warning that Islamist extremists in Tower Hamlets have not gone away from London’s streets. “According to police figures, a homophobic crime is committed in Tower Hamlets at the rate of more than five a month.” The resident suggested that they may have been posted by members of Islam4UK, which has been accused of being a front for the banned Al Mahajaroun Group. Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “There have been a series of homophobic threats and assaults by Asian youths on LGBT people in the East End over recent years. “I’ve been attacked by Muslim youths three times in and around Brick Lane. In all three attacks, the assailants shouted religious slogans. My LGBT Muslim friends who live in the area are nervous and anxious. They fear attack and dare not reveal their sexuality.”

One local LGBT activist believes the stickers are actually the work of a far-right anti-Islamic group such as the English Defence League, who may be seeking to inflame tensions between gays and Muslims.

On Tuesday, American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer announced that Native Americans were "morally disqualified from sovereign control of American soil" because they had rejected attempts to convert them to Christianity. That may have finally been just a little too extreme for Fischer's bosses at the AFA. Right Wing Watch reports:

The Native American Rights Fund said Fischer’s comments are “not worth dignifying with a reply,” and AFA blogger Elijah Friedeman called Fischer’s views “repulsive.” It appears that the AFA is now expunging Fischer’s vicious article on Native Americans, along with Freideman’s denunciation - they have even removed his column from Renew America where it was also posted. Fischer’s original article has been removed from the AFA’s Focal Point blog (while leaving his radio commentary on YouTube); similarly, Friedeman’s reaction was taken down from the AFA’s website and is no longer listed on his blog either.

Still remaining is Fischer's column calling for Muslims to be banned from the military, his column describing gay activists as domestic terrorists, his column demanding an overturn of our democracy in favor of Biblical law, his column calling for the abolishing of high school, and his column recommending that homosexuals be rounded up and put in concentration camps. The American Family Association is perfectly OK with all of that.

Two British men have been charged with violating a new law against inciting anti-gay hatred.

Razwan Javed, 30, and Kabir Ahmed, 27, were accused of handing out leaflets called ‘The Death Penalty?’ outside a Derby mosque. It reportedly said that gay people should be executed and the pair are also accused of pushing it through letterboxes. The pair were reportedly arrested after a tip-off from a member of the public. If convicted at a crown court, they could face up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine. They will appear before magistrates today. This is the first time anyone has been prosecuted for inciting hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The new law matched similar legislation against inciting racial and religious hatred.