OTTAWA, Ontario, December 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Word TV, a Christian TV show run by prominent evangelical pastor Charles McVety, has been shut down temporarily after an industry watchdog ruled that it had discriminated against homosexuals.

Outraged conservatives have called the ruling an act of censorship, while McVety himself has condemned the ruling, calling it “a gross breach of democracy” and “reminiscent of totalitarian regimes of the past.”

McVety told LifeSiteNews that he was never contacted during the investigation process and that he has been told that there will be no opportunity to appeal.  “I’m being persecuted by a bureaucrat who thinks he has the power to convict someone of a breach of his standards without a trial, without a hearing from me, without any due process, and based on completely ridiculous grounds,” he said.

Crossroads Television System, the Christian broadcaster known for such popular programs as 100 Huntley Street and The Michael Coren Show, took McVety’s show off the air after the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council (CBSC) ruled in June that the program put them in violation of their code of ethics.

The CBSC panel, which released the decision on Wednesday, rebuked McVety for claiming that the homosexual movement is driven by a “conspiratorial” agenda and suggesting that they prey on children.

The panel complained that he had described the Pride parades, which they said had become “mainstream,” as “sexual perversion” and “sex parades.” They also chastized him because he said Toronto was being advertised as a “sex tourism destination ... with full opportunity for sex with hot boys.”

An ad currently on the Tourism Toronto website targeted at the gay community states that “on any given day, hot boys and hot girls fill Church Street with energy, passion and opportunity.”

McVety had also said that homosexual activists seek to indoctrinate children “because unfortunately they have an insatiable appetite for sex, especially with young people.”

“And there’re not enough of them, so they want to proselytize your children and mine, our grandchildren and turn them into homosexuals,” he added.

The panel wrote: “Given the central role that the manifestation of gay pride plays in the LGBT world, the immediately preceding comments constitute a derision of the traditions and practices of that community.”

Campaign Life Coalition National President Jim Hughes condemned the ruling, asking, “Did [McVety] say anything that is untrue, or is his message just being shut out?”

Hughes said it seems like McVety is “just doing what he’s always done.  He’s been very consistent in pointing out that the homosexual lifestyle is very dangerous.”

Hughes pointed out that the homosexualist organization Egale fought against raising the age of consent for sex from 14.  “Where there’s smoke there’s fire, so perhaps his comments are valid,” he said. 

The panel also stated that McVety broke the code of ethics by attributing “to the gay movement a malevolent, insidious and conspiratorial purpose, a so-called ‘agenda’.” This “constitutes abusively discriminatory comment on the basis of sexual orientation,” they wrote.

They opine, further, that McVety was “utterly wrong” to claim that Ontario’s failed sex ed curriculum, which was pulled last April after an outcry from parents, was meant to “teach” homosexuality. Instead, they say, “the proposed curricular revisions are intended to teach tolerance.” 

“McVety is entitled to disagree that such teaching of tolerance should be tolerated but his twisting of the purpose of the revisions is wrong-headed, unfair and improper.”

McVety’s “most egregious” statement, they contend, was his claim that “it is now a crime to speak against homosexuality.”  The pastor was speaking about Canada’s Bill C-250, which added “sexual orientation” to Canada’s hate crimes section.  The bill, which passed in 2004, sparked a loud outcry from conservative politicians, religious leaders, and members of the public, who warned that it could be interpreted to allow prosecution of those espousing traditional views of sexuality.

According to the panel, however, McVety’s statement deserves censure because the bill does not explicitly criminalize speaking against homosexuality, but rather “inciting hatred” against homosexuals.

CTS TV, who made the decision to cancel the show, told LifeSiteNews, that as a member in good standing of CBSC they “have a responsibility to comply with the Canadian Association of Broadcaster’s Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code.”

“It is our policy in these circumstances not to air the program until we have assurance from the program that content will be compliant,” they explained.  “CTS anticipates that the program Word TV will be reinstated in short order.”

“As Christians, we have genuine concern for all people, including homosexuals,” said Hughes.  “That’s why it’s so important for us to tell them their lifestyle is dangerous.”

“With all the garbage that’s on TV, the censor boards dare condemn a man for expressing traditional, long-held, and widely-shared Christian teachings on sexuality?” he asked.

“What happened to freedom of opinion?” asked McVety.  “If they can knock me off the air for using the term sex parades, then they can knock anybody off the air in this country that they wish.”

NEW YORK, April 1, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- A transgender man said he was raped Saturday night in the "unisex" bathroom at a landmark homosexual bar in Greenwich Village.

The transgender man, who dresses like and claims to be a woman, was believed to be "heavily impaired" by alcohol and/or drugs, according to the New York Post.  The suspect is a regular at the Stonewall Inn.  

Security video shows the suspect following the transgender man into the single-occupancy bathroom, and the two coming out eight minutes later.  The transgender man called 911 and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Transgender activists have been fighting a culture war to eliminate natural male/female gender designations from society.  Facebook now has 58 possible gender identifications, while The Living Rede lists at least 63 gender combinations.  

As if in lockstep, the Obama Administration is pressuring cities and businesses to establish unisex restrooms and make intimate facilities wide open to all genders.  Mayors of major cities such as New York and Seattle have obeyed Caesar, making all public facilities transgender open by executive fiat.

The Obama Administration even went so far as to redefine Title IX school funding to economically force even elementary schools to let biological boys use the girls’ toilets, showers, locker rooms.  

All this in the name of the transgender person’s “safety” and “well-being.”  (And, of course, the men’s acceptance as women, and vice versa.)

And yet, creating “unisex” bathrooms and transgender-open showers and locker rooms welcoming the opposite sex has not resulted in greater safety for anyone.  Canada’s transgender-affirming laws can increase incidents of women being attacked by men in restrooms.  Concerned Women for America’s Donna Miller, in researching Canada’s transgender laws, found they actually endanger women, not protect them.  And in the United States, women have been killed in bathroom attacks.

It is ironic, then, that when liberals are fighting for transgender men not only to be affirmed as "women" in every sense (including legally, and biologically), including fighting for those men to have the "right" to use women's toilets and showers for their safety, that a “woman” is raped in what is supposed to be a safer facility.

Here we have the Stonewall Inn, the recognized and honored pinnacle of the gay/liberal agenda, the holy grail of homosexuality, transvestitism, and transgenderism, following the liberal line with unisex bathrooms, and a "woman" is attacked.

The moral of the story is that changing the signs of your bathroom from "men’s" and "women’s" to "unisex" does not protect anybody.

"The bottom line here is that men should never be allowed to enter women's restrooms," Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, told LifeSiteNews. "The LGBT Lobby is now trying to tug at our heartstrings regarding men supposedly being victimized just because they want to go to the bathroom.”

"But the real victims of the radical pro-transgender agenda are women and girls, who deserve to feel safe and comfortable in the private spaces of female restrooms and locker rooms,” the moral leader said.

"Once again we face the prospect of our entire society being turned upside down to appease the unnatural demands of less than one percent of the population,” LaBarbera concluded.  “Let us hope that reason and common sense prevail, and our lawmakers do not capitulate to activists who would put our wives and daughters and grandmothers at risk to achieve a distorted vision of 'equality' based on gender confusion."

The Stonewall Inn is considered the birthplace of the modern gay movement.  Run by the New York Mafia without a liquor license, a major riot began there on June 28, 1969, after plainclothes New York police officers raided the bar on morals charges.

Homosexual men, many dressed as women, come to the bar that night after hearing of the raid and began pelting police with bottles, slashing police car tires, and attempting to overturn cars.  The homosexuals were joined by the Black Panthers, and anti-Vietnam war protesters.  They broke windows and attempted to set the Inn and police ablaze.

Sporadic violence continued for days.  As a result, the "Gay Liberation Front" was formed.  On the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, June 28, 1970, the first ever "Gay Pride" public parade was organized.

In his second inaugural address, President Barack Obama honored the Stonewall riots, saying its aims are an integral part of American “freedom."

“It’s a very disturbing incident taking place in a site that’s very important historically, where something good happened,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.  "To see a violent incident like this is very troubling.”

Two New York politicians are working to designate the Stonewall Inn as the first national park honoring LGBTQ history.

RALEIGH, April 1, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – In a situation reminiscent of last year's religious freedom fight in Indiana, and the more recent one last week in Georgia, powerful politicians and CEOs across America are teaming up with the LGBT lobby to pressure North Carolina to overturn its new law protecting privacy in restrooms and similar facilities.

Inside the state, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has refused to back down on his signature of the measure, despite pressure from Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, who is running a campaign against McCrory.

The Republican governor signed the law last week after a statewide outcry against a Charlotte ordinance requiring all businesses and public buildings to allow citizens identifying as transgender to use their preferred bathrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities.

The bill overrode the Charlotte ordinance, but included exemptions that allow public entities to make their own internal hiring policies, and allows transgendered individuals who have legally changed their gender on their birth certificates to use restrooms and other facilities of the opposite sex.

Calling the law "a national embarrassment," Cooper has said he will not defend it, and on Tuesday he declared that "this new law provides for broad-based discrimination" and that "the LGBT community is targeted." He also said the law conflicts with the employment policies of the Attorney General's office, and thus "in order to protect our non-discrimination policy and employees, along with those of our client, the State Treasurer's Office, part of our argument will be that HB2 is unconstitutional."

State Senator Phil Berger said in a statement that Cooper's "zeal for pandering for the extreme left’s money and agenda in his race for governor is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general – and he should resign immediately."

Cooper argues the governor's office and others named in the lawsuit can hire outside attorneys to represent them.

Cooper's rhetoric mirrors that of CEOs and politicians nationwide who have partnered with LGBT advocacy groups to declare North Carolina persona non-grata thanks to the law.

Several LGBT advocacy groups have filed suit, saying the law is unconstitutional and meant to legalize discrimination. Scores of businesses have opposed the law, as well, with more than 120 "major" CEOs, including mega-billionaires like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Kellogg’s John Bryant, signing a letter opposing the law that was delivered to the governor by the Human Rights Campaign. The companies include Google, Microsoft, Barnes & Noble, Levi & Straus, Twitter, Starbucks, and Wells Fargo.

“In our meeting with Governor McCrory, we made crystal clear that HB 2 is discriminatory, shameful, and needs to be repealed immediately,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement earlier this week. “The question Governor McCrory faces is a simple one: will he seize this opportunity to show true leadership, or will he allow North Carolina to remain on the wrong side of history? This law is doing extraordinary damage to the state’s economic prospects, its reputation, and most importantly, it’s LGBT community.”

In the letter, the CEOs said they "are disappointed in your decision to sign this discriminatory legislation into law. The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business. This is not a direction in which states move when they are seeking to provide successful, thriving hubs for business and economic development."

"We believe that HB 2 will make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit and retain the nation’s best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the nation. It will also diminish the state’s draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses, and economic activity."

Corporations have regularly come down on the side of LGBT advocacy groups in recent years. Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook led the charge against an Indiana religious freedom law that was eventually neutered by Governor Mike Pence.

The openly gay Cook, whose organization does business in nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, had threatened Indiana with the loss of business from his company.

Earlier this week, several mayors and the governor of New York eliminated non-essential travel on the public dollar to the state. San Francisco and New York City -- as well as Seattle, whose mayor eliminated all publicly funded travel to North Carolina -- have been joined by Chicago and Boston, and Washington State, Connecticut, and Vermont became the newest states to ban publicly-funded travel.

“It is my hope for our nation that we do not allow issues of discrimination to divide us,” said Seattle Mayorr Ed Murray, who is openly homosexual, in a statement. “Our union is only made stronger when all Americans are treated equitably.”

For his part, McCrory has refused to back down. He accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of hypocrisy, telling Fox News that Cuomo should not continue to encourage travel to Cuba -- a nation that commits major human rights abuses as a matter of course.

In a statement earlier this week, McCrory spokesperson Josh Ellis said that "there’s no doubt there is a well-coordinated, national campaign to smear our state’s reputation after we passed a common-sense law to ensure no government can take away our basic expectations of privacy in bathrooms, locker rooms and showers."

In an unrelated press release, McCrory praised his state's 3.1 percent unemployment rate, calculated by the Labor Department. According to the release, since McCrory took office in 2013, North Carolina "has added more than 260,000 private sector jobs and is currently ranked 6th in the nation in job creation."

ROME, April 1, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- Life and family leaders from across the world will meet in Vatican City next month for the third annual Rome Life Forum to strategize on how best to defend and promote Christian teaching on sexuality, marriage, family, and life. 

“In this critical hour for the Church, it has never been more necessary for leaders to come together to defend and promote Catholic teaching on the family,” said event organizer Maria Madise, International Director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, to LifeSiteNews.

Madise said the event is open to anyone in a leadership position who is ready to role up their sleeves and get to work. 

“The Forum is intended for all who have, or aspire to, a leadership position in the life and family movement – whether it be internationally, nationally or in your local parish or community,” she said. 

Prominent speakers at the event include Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Also speaking will be leaders from international pro-life organizations including Fr. Shenan Boquet of Human Life International, John Smeaton of the U.K. Society for the Protection of the Unborn, and LifeSiteNews’ very own John-Henry Westen. 

The event will be held May 6-7 at the Hotel Columbus, followed afterwards by the May 8 Rome March for Life. Organizers are asking participants to register by April 8. 

In 2014, the year of the inaugural Rome Life Forum, 52 pro-life leaders from 16 nations signed a declaration calling on Catholic bishops to deny Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians in a spirit of love and mercy. 

Last year the forum focused on addressing the implications of the Synods on the Family as well as the papacy of Francis as they relate to the life and family issues. 

John Henry Westen, a founder of the Forum, has called the event an important opportunity to advance the culture of life.

“The Rome Life Forum was an initiative we believed would benefit the awesome leaders we know in many countries around the world. A meeting where they could get to know one another, trust one another and collaborate to advance a culture of life,” he said. 

For more information or to register, contact: 

Maria Madise
mariamadise[at]voiceofthefamily.info 
+44 20 7820 3148

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