The strangely anti-family and arch-conservative Illinois “Family” Institute tells us that ‘homosexual monitor’ Petey LaBarbera is in dire need of some help to continue pursuing his constant supervision of homosexual activity:

Please support Peter and Americans For Truth — the only national group focusing solely on educating and alerting America to the real threat to freedom and children posed by the homosexual/bisexual/transgender movement. (emphasis added)

So, being gay is a threat to freedom but somehow the fact that conservatives are working their tushies off to deny gay Americans equal rights and protections under the law is not? What is wrong these extremists who insist on bringing their nanny-state attitudes into everyone’s bedrooms?

In an even more bizarre twist, that IFI alert was sent out in response to a Holiday Inn conference center which decided to cancel a gay-bashing event set up to raise funds for Petey’s Americans for Truthiness money machine. Of course, it was conservatives at Concerned Women for America of Illinois and Missouri who started the whole “don’t let Americans use hotels if you disagree with their bedroom practices” jig in the first place (Missouri’s CWA branch being, curiously enough, led by a man; and the very manly Petey himself was also a senior “analyst” for CWA). Apparently these cons have never heard of karma. (What was it that IFI said about a threat to freedom?)

Several folks have noticed that often the people who most rail against a given sexual proclivity — like Sen. Larry Craig and his long history of ardent gay-bashing and Rep. Mark Foley with his record of child “protection” work — seemingly do so because they are trying to force others to protect themselves from what they consider their own prurient interests. (What was it that IFI said about a threat to freedom?)

Of course, debate by kilobyte is one thing. Anti-gay conservative extremists in other states are going several steps further, and it’s only a matter of time before Petey’s allies cross the line (indeed, some already have). In Ohio, “concerned” nanny-state extremists have taken to invading Christian churches that believe God’s love is for all people, whether gay or straight. Those loving churches have graciously welcomed such belligerent protesters (who apparently forgot God’s command to love thy neighbor as thyself). I think it unlikely that such mean-spirited “their way or the highway” congregants would return that favor. (What was it that IFI said about a threat to freedom?)

In addition, Petey’s comrades from Kansas, the ultra-conservative Westboro Baptist Church followers, have taken to protesting at military funerals across the country, claiming our brave soldiers deserved to die because America has gay people living in our country. (What was it that IFI said about a threat to freedom?)

Why Petey wants to review gay porn, gay parades, and gay pageants as well as frequent gay bars, men’s bath houses and homosexual “adult” stores is between him and the friends he makes while he’s “researching” gay folks. I could care less. Petey is his own person, responsible for how he excercises his own liberty. But, why he doesn’t bother to “research” heterosexual proclivities, including those among his fellow fundamentalists, is curious (h/t Lloydletta).

In fact, the virulently anti-American Petey and his conservative friends obsession with other men (gay or not) is really quite strange overall… We’re all Americans, why can’t these people accept that?

(Why “anti-American”? They ardently oppose Americans who just happen to be gay. They are free to do so, just as we patriots are free to acknowledge their anti-American and anti-liberty stands. Call a spade a spade.)